We had a big blow out to send my girlfriend off properly. She and I spent all of Saturday in Santa Barbara for an early Valentine's Day and Sunday we were in Torrance to see a number of her friends before she left.

( Santa Barbara and Torrance. )

Between work and everything else going on, its been a busy holiday. But I still had time to enjoy everything with Kanae. Some lovely gifts for Christmas and a tasty dinner. For New Years Eve, we met up with Kanae's friends for lunch in Long Beach and to ring in the new year, we went to an amazing whiskey bar with live blues; Seven Grand.

( Christmas and New Years Eve. )

Sorry its been so long since I've posted. This stuff actually happened a while ago, but quite important for the Fall! The Corn Maze is a must and I tracked down a pretty good one not too far away. Glendale is a fantastic place to walk around in with all the shopping and nifty areas close by.

( Glendale and Woodland Hills )

Kanae and I took the opportunity to check out Malibu (it was her first time) and I knew of a nice little beach off of PCH that wasn't near the main huge crowded part of Malibu. Surprisingly, no traffic to or from the beach. The weather started off pretty cloudy, but cleared up quickly and we were left with another beautiful day in California.

( Malibu! )

Got to see one of my students from Japan after a three year hiatus. He's studying at a university in San Diego until next week so I thought I would take the oppportunity to hang out with him and check out the city at the same time. We went to the Gaslamp District where there are a lot of interesting shops and some really nice little restaurants ( Read more... )

Originally built in the 1920's as a hotel (supposedly), this building retains all the features that made Art Deco so popular in that era.

( See for yourself! )

I apologize if the photos are too bright, the sun up in the mountains is brutal. Check out my horsie!

( The Mustang. )

The main purpose of my visit, but I also had a little time to see my family but not much else. Not to mention Spirit Airlines decided to strike after I arrived so I had to find another flight, this time on US Airways. That flight was delayed so I missed my connecting flight in Phoenix and had to wait for another one in the afternoon. Made it to ( Read more... )

Check out the first three hours of my new sleeve. The outline's all done, next is to get the greyscale shading and red highlights. Lots of open space to put some good designs on her kimono, too!

( Yoroshiku! )

Spent Memorial Day weekend in Vegas checking out another hot rod show. Tons of great cars, but not too many extras. I'm gonna be sure to save my money for Viva Las Vegas next year. The cars there were as great as the Rockabilly Rod Reunion, but there was a lot more to do on top of that. Anyhow, awesome weekend in an excellent city.

( Open up three deuces, I'm never lookin' back! )