The damage to our car was over $15,000 and we knew we’d take a hit because of the frame damage, so…  Our salesman connection at Mercedes called us when they needed to move a unit for a loss.  We went with the 2010 E350.  

#2 in progress. Tried the rooftop bar at the Thompson Hotel in Beverly Hills.  The Lobster Tacos were outstanding, but the service ruined the experience.  

#63 Done. Bought some candy from my brother, Sean. Although he looks a bit nervous, Sean confidently opened his candy and soda pop shop in Simi Valley today.  Traffic was high and sales were robust. The future is bright.  If random candy and soda pop pictures are your thing, I took a few pics and posted them here.

#2 in progress. Maybe I’ll knock this one out in no time.  Tried Delphine at the new W Hotel in Hollywood.  Surprisingly a very good French bistro. The Hollywood W is the new “IT” place to be and it shows.  

In honor of the coach who made Marquette Basketball matter. Hopefully today’s game isn’t a white knuckler. Go Warriors!

Happy Birthday Michelle.  May the luck of the Irish find you.  And to clarify, that’s “good” luck.

#1 in progress. Business has been busy.  As we work toward getting into the manufacturing trade, we decided we could use another hand.  Our job ad garnered 150 resumes in three days.  From those 150 we were able to narrow the field down to 25 qualified applicants.  We then emailed those 25 applicants with a set of questions to answer.  With the additional info, we narrowed the field down to five applicants for face to face interviews. Four of the five would have made great additions, but ultimately it came down to two.  After much deliberation, we decided to hire both.  We are now a company of five.  Scary and exciting.

We had an earthquake this morning, but I slept through it.  With my back in its current condition I will be unable to take cover if the big one hits any time soon.  

The field is set and MU continued to overachieve with a six seed.  Not exactly happy with the match up with the Washington Huskies, but a sweet 16 run is definitely doable.  Win Thursday and I’ll be in San Jose on Saturday. 

Had my bi-annual back throw out party today.  Watching Brittany’s first club soccer scrimmage in three months helped ease the pain for a couple of hours, but man does back pain suck.

#15 in progress. Read Superfreakonomics, the follow up to Freakonomics and learned one very important fact… Pimps provide better value than Real Estate Agents. 

#2 in progress. We ventured downtown to try The Edison.  Great libations and high end bar food.  The place is huge and maintains much of the architecture and artifacts from when it was L.A.’s first power plant.

I chose the wrong year to miss the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden. Warriors win again.

Brit had her first softball game today, and despite not being totally comfortable out there she played great.  She played second base, made six out of seven plays that included a Willie Mays style catch that garnered raves from both teams, and went 3 for 4 at the plate.

#1 in progress. Placed an ad on craigslist yesterday afternoon for a part time assistant and the response has been eye opening. So far, I have a stack of about 60 resumes and they keep coming.  About 80% are college graduates. Many went to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. A few are USC alums.  And we have one from Princeton.

I was 6 for 9.  I still don’t think Sandy should’ve won it, but it was the best speech of the night.  Hurt Locker writer wins an Oscar for his first screenplay.  Encouraging.  Or not. Jeff Bridges’ win is long over due. Sometimes the Oscar has an adverse effect on those who win him.  I really hope that’s the case for Mo’Nique.  And finally, Tom Hanks has no sense of drama.

#2 in progress.  Tried Thomas Keller’s Bouchon in Beverly Hills last night.  Tried escargot (pictured) for the first time and became a huge fan.

My Predictions.

• Best Picture – The Hurt Locker. I thought it was an intense and virtually flawless war movie.  Avatar was an experience I’ve never had at the movies, but in five or ten years when 3D is the norm it will remembered as the first, not the best.
• Best Director – Kathryn Bigelow. She’ll be the first woman director to win, and deservedly so.  She somehow directed Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in the same movie (Point Break) and managed to have a career.
• Best Actor – Jeff Bridges. I haven’t seen Crazy Heart yet, but Jeff is one of my favorite actors.  How he hasn’t won an Oscar and Jamie Foxx has is a travesty.
• Best Actress – Meryl Streep.  I like Sandra Bullock just fine, but The Blind Side is a formulaic popcorn movie.  It’s inspiring, but so was Rudy.  Did Rudy deserve an Oscar? Take this scene from the Blind Side:  Woman, “You’re changing that boy’s life.” Take a wild guess at what Sandra’s response is.  I’m not going to tell you because you already know.  And if you can write the dialogue, Oscar has no place in the discussion.
• Supporting Actor – Christopher Waltz. Quentin Tarantino writes meaty parts for everyone in his movies, but Waltz made Nazis fun.
• Supporting Actress – Mo’Nique. Ugh.
• Original Screenplay- Quentin Tarantino. He’s probably too famous and colorful to pass up.  The Hurt Locker dude probably deserves it, but…
• Adapted Screenplay – Jason Reitman. I’d give it to the District 9 guy, but Reitman seems to have this one.
• Best Animated Film – Up.  It’s also nominated for best film, so if it doesn’t win best animated film then the voters are stupid.
• The other categories are for bathroom and snack breaks.

Happy 60th Birthday to my Brother-In-Law, Tom.  Seems like just yesterday you were in your fifties.  Celebrate the day!

Netflixed Law Abiding Citizen.  Sympathized with the villain.

From the pages of last year’s list, Sonia’s quest for the perfect smile took a major step forward today, albeit a painful one.  Under local anesthesia, Sonia had four teeth pulled and two screws inserted into her jaw bone.  I think she’s ready to write a book titled, Be Happy with your Crooked teeth.  Meanwhile, Brittany’s teeth are moving ahead of schedule.

#37 research.  Every year, Restaurant Magazine, the most respected magazine and critic in their field, chooses the top 50 restaurants of the world. Based on 2009’s list, there are only eight top 50 restaurants located in the USA, six of which are in New York City.

Hit the Clippers-Jazz game with Sean to see former Warrior, Wes Matthews.

Having trouble finding the right book to read next.

After their top three players graduated, Marquette limped into the season with low expectations.  Those expectations were lowered further after losing three key players to injury and one top recruit quit the team.  But the Warriors banded together and have thus far put together one of the more remarkable seasons in some time.  Today’s third straight overtime win on the road gave the Warriors ten wins in the Big East, making them only one of two teams to have at least ten wins every season since joining the league.  Another win or two and we should make the NCAA Tourney.

#10 in progress. The Ghost Writer, not to be confused with Nicholas Cage’s Ghost Rider, is a ten minute political thriller spread out over two hours.  Cold and pointless.

#49 Complete.  Having binged on more burritos and hot dogs than the average food critic, I certainly wouldn’t claim to have an overly sophisticated pallet.  But what I do have is the desire to experience the new on a nightly basis. In fact, Sonia and I have been practicing six out of seven nights for the past couple of years.  After seeing our year end American Express spending pie graph, it became apparent that we need some kind of culinary write off.  Perhaps my restaurant review blog will one day fit into some 1099 loophole.  Until then, I’m just going to continue my nightly journey to satisfy the taste buds.

The above picture is that of the esteemed restaurant critic and curmudgeon, Anton Ego, from the Pixar movie, Ratatouille.  An awesome movie, by the way. A sewer rat who dreams of becoming a great chef tries to help a hack cook save a dying French restaurant.  The only thing that stands in their way, besides the fact that the chef is a rat, is a good review from the cynical critic who hasn’t given a good review in over a decade.  The character development of this Darth Vaderesque critic was phenomenal, which made his final review that much better.  Here it is:

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations, the new needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau’s famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau’s, who is, in this critic’s opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau’s soon, hungry for more.

I’m finally worth more dead than alive.  After undergoing a battery of tests over a couple of months, I was finally cleared for life insurance, thoroughly surprising the hypochondriac in me.  Now that Sonia and I are both covered, we’re going to go for a hike on a jagged cliff with our shoelaces untied.

#28 done. Wrote a letter to my little sister, Rosie, to be opened at her retreat.

1159:57… 1159:58…1159:59…Happy New Year.

#98 Done. It’s ten instead of one hundred and I won’t be blogging about it. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to completing the following in 2010.

1. Grow our business.  Hopefully we can double again in our third year.
2. Visit my Mom in Santa Rosa.
3. Get into shape. It’s really going to happen this year. I promise.
4. Eat a meal outside of the U.S. This goal will make the annual list.
5. Finish the first draft of my novel.
6. Budget Cheeseheads. Raise the budget.
7. Vegas, New York, Chicago, San Diego, Boston, Nashville and Florida.
8. Read a novel a month.
9. Volunteer, give, sponsor, etc.
10. Don’t blog.

#95 Complete.

#18 Done.  Journaling my life for over two years now and I’m more than ready to let it go.

The Incomplete List.

#5. Finish my current screenplay.  I rewrote Cheeseheads, so technically I didn’t finish the one I started in the beginning of the year.

#14. Sorry

#24. A major failure. Gained 20 instead of losing 15.  Now I’m in for some work.

#26. Inspiration never struck.

#33. I’ll reflect on this list in about six months and consider writing an article about the year that was.

#34. Pathetic I didn’t see one.

#36. Would have nice combined with #34.

#40. I still remember being awed as a kid.  Would love to get up there again.

#42. My French got in the way.

#44. This will be done early next year.

#46. WIll try again this year.

#47. Perhaps we’ll get around to doing this on the way up to my mom’s.

#49. I think I’ll stay off the horses.

#52. I don’t even know what this means.

#56. I’m a coward.

#59. I’ll stick to eating seven courses.

#62. Newport is only 40 minutes away. Don’t know why we can’t get down there.

#64. Nope.

#65. Shamu died.

#66. Hopefully I’ll add this to the routine.

#67. I heard they got a nice one Africa.

#79. Santa Rosa eludes me.

#80. They sucked anyway.

#82. Sort of scary down there at the moment.

#88. All set to go until I hurt my hand.

#89. Had a couple of ideas, but never got around to it.

#91. Stupid one.

#96. Trip to Chicago interfered.

#97. Dumb.

#26 Incomplete. Not going to happen.

#33 not yet.  So, this blog thing is coming to an end.  The overall experience might make for a halfway decent article, but not at this time.  Instead, I think I’ll wait six months or a year to gain perspective.  So, come January 1st there will be no more posts. C’est la vie.

#66 incomplete.  Just didn’t get around to hiking anything but the usual trail.

#19 Done. Although this blog is coming to an end, I will continue to add posts to My Grandfather’s Office when the inspiration strikes.

Click photo to read.

#84 Done. Sonia finally got her braces and she’s been in pain ever since.  They said it will all be worth it.

Saw The Lovely Bones.  A good story ruined by the director’s excessive use of computerized production design.

#59 not going to happen. Too little time, too little desire.

Merry Christmas.  Kids are growing up fast.  Everyone got what they wanted as usual.  Xmas eve dinner was great.  Xmas breakfast was comforting.  Now it’s time for the traditional xmas nap.  Here are a few more pics from last night.

Santa made an appearance at the annual Youmans Christmas Eve Party.  Good times as usual.

#21 Done. Having read Hemingway’s first novel, I figured I should read his last one as well. The Old Man in the Sea is proof that character trumps story.  To recap, the other four classic novels read this year were The Big Sleep, Tropic of Cancer, Slaughterhouse Five and The Sun Also Rises.