30 years old... 100% classy

We had a great dinner last night with our friends Emily & Jay at a Cuban restaurant in downtown Denver called Cuba Cuba (http://www.cubacubacafe.com/).

3 shots of Sailor Jerry rum along with various rum drinks helped in celebrating the occasion and making it a great time altogether. My head hurts... time to get back to work (notice the 100% classy shirt I got as a gift from TonyD)

A Big Thank You to those who remembered my birthday and called. I do appreciate it and will give you a call back soon.

I'd like to take a minute to re-introduce myself as...

A 30 year old! Given my entrance into the next decade today, I've decided on a few things after slowly rolling out of bed:

1) I'm ready to start a new chapter in my life regarding the direction I take in home, work and play,

2) enjoy every day like its my last and care about the people and things that are worth caring about,

3) start looking into hearing aids, dentures, walkers and those sensor things that detect coins in the sand (toungue in cheek, I think),

4) I will not be shy in promoting my 30th birthday. [Seriously, this has been a huge weight on my shoulders and I was going to just sneak through the day. It kind of feels good to get the monkey off my back (except for the fact that I'm now 30- YIKES!)]

5) and this song seems appropriate for today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imsm-jIjVio

along with a funny cartoon...

I could go on with a list, but won't...

I Wish... I was somewhere tropical sipping on a drink with a hat and listening to some Bob Marley, Jimmy Buffett and a little John Denver! I'll have to settle with a Cuban restaurant in Denver.

I'll post pictures from tonight's dinner tomorrow.

Four days of great golf! (and a nice visit with family)

We just got back from a trip visiting the in-laws in Tucson, AZ. The trip was fun as we spent time with Ray and Ursula (Melissa's dad and step-mom) touring around Tucson and enjoying a few dinners out. We took an afternoon trip to Tubac, not to be confused with Tupac Shakur. It's a former artist-driven town just north of the Mexico border. The town is becoming slightly more commercialized and pricier, however still has a unique border-town charm to it. The highway and street signs are in KM rather than miles and the mountains and scenary were beautful and very green.

I probably had more fun than Melissa seeing I got to play a great golf course called Arizona National four days in a row. The first two days included 6am tee times and waking up at 4:45am, which is a bit early on all counts, and 7:30a and 6:30a tee times the following days. However we generally got our rounds finished in less than 3 hours and beat the dreaded Arizona heat. After a near implosion during the first round, I managed to score in the mid-to-upper 80s three days after a first day 97 on easily the toughest course I've ever played. Not hitting the fairway leaves you with a ball in the desert and a penalty stroke (note: I saw a hawk kill a bird right over the fairway and had a few rattlesnake sightings in the desert while playing, amongst various lizards, etc in the desert). I played with the old-man early morning crowd and really enjoyed the company of the people we played with. They are golf obsessed and proved to be some very nice and helpful people. If I had a handicap, it would have dropped a few strokes just based on the advise I received over the four rounds.

It also turns out one guy we played with three days is a part-owner in an Oregon winery that my company banks. He had only the highest compliments on the quality and knowledge of the folks from SVB. When I started at this "smaller bank" I could never have imagined how many random people I would meet that have great things to say about the bank. It may have seemed like a gamble to take the position with SVB, however I am more than happy with how it is turning out.

Overall, it was a fun four day trip. Now I want to figure out how to calculate my handicap...

Bringing "Cool" back?? We will see...

Tonight begins the Aaron Rodgers era in Green Bay, live on Monday Night Football, in front of millions of viewers. How will he do? Early indications from the Green-Gold scrimmage do not weigh favorably on young Mr. Rodgers. Tonight he'll get a series or two in against what has been a bad, undisciplined defense in Cincinnati in front of his home fans at Lambeau.

"I have a lot of expectations on the way I think I should play," Rodgers said. "I know the guys in the locker room believe in me. Management believes in me. It's just me doing the things that [coaches have] taught us to do: Managing the game, taking the big plays when you have those opportunities, and pulling back when we don't. I feel like the time I put in the offseason has prepared me for that."

Let's hope so as the entire Packers nation will be closely following and watching every throw and handoff. Not only must he live up to the high standards set by departed starting quarterback Brett Favre, but he more than any other player has been entrusted with making sure the Green Bay Packers remain a Super Bowl contender this season.

Here's hoping Packers nation cuts the guy some slack and let's him get 8-10 games into the season before the boo-birds come out (and let's remember this is still the pre-season). Given the quality of the NFC North, a late playoff run is still possible with a 3-5 or 4-4 start!