You are cordially invited to the Official* CGB Cocktail Party.

Location: Old Memorial Stadium

Dress code: Charles Tyrwhitt shirts or Cal hoodies/jerseys. Hats are optional.

Music: Multiple rooms of music. First with referenceable top 40 music. Second with classic rock, cause they don't make music like this anymore. Third with underground music (seriously, it pipes in from the tunnels). Fourth with absolute silence, because why do kids these days need so much music everywhere?

Food Menu: Jumbacos, In N Out, Chaat, SF Soup Co. If you don't like these options, please be sure to yell very loudly about how much your opinion is right.

Decor: Lots and lots of puppies. Also, posters of Aaron Rodgers, Marshawn Lynch, Desean Jackson, and, for some reason, Tom Brady.

Drink Menu: Hand-crafted beers, vintage wines, root beer floats, Rishis

Time:

22-29: 6 PM to 3 AM

30 to 35: 6 PM to whenever the wife calls

36 to 40: 7 PM to 10 PM (yawn)

41 to 50: Fall asleep before leaving

51 and over: 2 PM to Where is Everybody?!

Guests are totally welcome. Bringing of signicant others will result in unnecessary mocking by your host.

Mention "Doom" to our doorman (unemployed stanfurd law graduates) to skip the line.

We all talk a lot about how unproductive we are because of the DBD. It's an exaggeration, though, since CGB has some of the most powerful minds in industries as varied as lawyering, banking, marketing, dentistry, chemistry, construction of nuclear weapons, etc.

But today, I thought I'd shift this towards a new focus: How has the DBD helped you? It could be anything as simple as recommendations for travel, fashion advice (you're welcome), networking, etc.

I can list a couple.

One time, I was going to a wedding a debating what to wear. RaptorCallOnMe recommended straying away from black tie and wearing something more colourful. Turned out to be great advice! #rishiweddingtalk

Another time, I mentioned I was applying to Haas for b school and daveman spoke with me for some time about his experiences as Haas, which really helped me on my essays.

So, how about you guys? Let's hear some stories! (Beyond the fact that it's fun, we're all awesome, and it's a great diversion from reality)

GO BEARS

By some odd fortune, you now possess a bar. It's completely paid off and you have the capital to actually run it.

What kind of bar is it? Who do you want to attract? What's your unique selling point?

Note: It can't be called "Puzzles" and if you sell the bar, you'll get $5 in return.

Continue reading this post »

We all have opinions. We all perceive things differently and that plays into our view of them.

There are some things that most people seem to love -- puppies, for example.

There are some things that most people seem to hate -- movies about a million Hitlers, for instance.

Most things inspire neutrality or a huge range of opinions across the board.

But then there are those... people, concepts, ideas, beliefs for which it appears everyone has an opinion on and it's either strongly in favour or strongly against.

A few things come to mind (oddly, mostly food). Peanut butter. Dark chocolate. Marmite (wtf is this anyway?). Outsourced. Investing in gold. Notch lapel tuxedo jackets. Alcoholic beverages named after obnoxious, but dashing Indian gentlemen.

Tim Tebow.

For a little context, see the open thread from the weekend's NFL games here. Or turn on ESPN. Or load any sports messageboard. Or just go into a crowded sports bar and yell "TIM TEBOW?!

So, friends, what are those things that you encounter that everyone either seems to love or hate and nothing in between?

And what the hell is the word/term for this? (It's not lightning rod)

Continue reading this post »

Congrats!

For those of you who had vacation or took days off, it's even harder. Leaving the laziness of the holiday season and immediately hitting the ground running because it's the New Year and everything needs to get done NOW!

But, that's okay, you can destress at the gym, right? Wait, no you can't, because all dumbbells are scattered around the gym, every cardio machine is taken as people stroll on treadmills while reading a magazine, and the squat rack has a line as people use them to do curls.

Plus, there's the slight post-holiday hangover. In quick succession, we had Diwali, Halloween,Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hanukkah/non-denominational holiday around Christmas, AND New Years! But what's there to look forward to now? If you're looking forward to red envlopes, you have Chinese New Years. But for the rest of us? Valentine's Day? Nah, that involves spending hella money if committed and indifference otherwise.

But don't despair, friends. We have the ultimate celebration of friendship and good living to look forward to. And the only proper way to celebrate is to drink excessively and be in ten places at once. Yes, friends, it's almost time for Rishi Day again!

Continue reading this post »

Hi lovers,

I missed you tons. I hope you missed me too.

So as you rang in the New Year, surrounded by friends and family, kissing your significant others/random stranger you met five minutes ago, you must have thought -- gee, how can I improve myself?

So let's hear it, CGB, what are your resolutions?

And what can we do to help meet our resolutions?

I'll say for one thing: be specific. Don't just say "lose weight" or "eat healthy". Say "go to the gym x times per week" or "limit dessert to once a week". Don't say "be more aware of what's going in the world", say "Read BBC for ten minutes first thing every morning" or "Subscribe to the Economist"

Anyway, my diatribe is done.

My resolution is to be more involved with charity work. To make it more specific, it means taking on a bigger role in one charity I'm involved with and increasing the hours I spend per month on it.

K, that's a wrap. Catch you on the flippity flip.

On the first day of Cal-mas,

My true love gave to me

A Rose Bowl on New Years Day.

On the second day of Cal-mas,

My true love gave to me

Two quarterbacks,

And a Rose Bowl on New Years Day.

On the third day of Cal-mas,

My true love gave to me

Three tight ends,

Two quarterbacks,

And a Rose Bowl on New Years Day.

On the fourth day of Cal-mas,

My true love gave to me

Four coordinators,

Three tight ends,

Two quarterbacks,

And a Rose Bowl on New Years Day.

On the fifth day of Cal-mas,

My true love gave to me

Five Golden Bears,

Four coordinators,

Three tight ends,

Two quarterbacks,

And a Rose Bowl on New Years Day.

On the sixth day of Cal-mas,

My true love gave to me

Six season tickets,

Five Golden Bears,

Four coordinators,

Three tight ends,

Two quarterbacks,

And a Rose Bowl on New Years Day.

On the seventh day of Cal-mas,

My true love gave to me

Seven points a touchdown,

Six season tickets,

Five Golden Bears,

Four coordinators,

Three tight ends,

Two quarterbacks,

And a Rose Bowl on New Years Day.

On the eighth day of Cal-mas,

My true love gave to me

Eight previous bowl games,

Seven points a touchdown,

Six season tickets,

Five Golden Bears,

Four coordinators,

Three tight ends,

Two quarterbacks,

And a Rose Bowl on New Years Day.

On the ninth day of Cal-mas,

My true love gave to me

Nine lovely mic men,

Eight previous bowl games,

Seven points a touchdown,

Six season tickets,

Five Golden Bears,

Four coordinators,

Three tight ends,

Two quarterbacks,

And a Rose Bowl on New Years Day.

On the tenth day of Cal-mas,

My true love gave to me

Ten Pac-12 games,

Nine lovely mic men,

Eight previous bowl games,

Seven points a touchdown,

Six season tickets,

Five Golden Bears,

Four coordinators,

Three tight ends,

Two quarterbacks,

And a Rose Bowl on New Years Day.

On the eleventh day of Cal-mas,

My true love gave to me

Eleven healthy starters,

Ten Pac-12 games,

Nine lovely mic men,

Eight previous bowl games,

Seven points a touchdown,

Six season tickets,

Five Golden Bears,

Four coordinators,

Three tight ends,

Two quarterbacks,

And a Rose Bowl on New Years Day.

On the twelfth day of Cal-mas,

My true love gave to me

Twelve sold-out games,

Eleven healthy starters,

Ten Pac-12 games,

Nine lovely mic men,

Eight previous bowl games,

Seven points a touchdown,

Six season tickets,

Five Golden Bears,

Four coordinators,

Three tight ends,

Two quarterbacks,

And a Rose Bowl on New Years Day!

Continue reading this post »

Well, friends, five days until Christmas. Kinda sat, innit? Pretty soon, all the Christmas decorations and the trees and the lights... all gone :(

Great, I don't want to post this DBD anymore.

Wait, no, I'll push through it. All right, Rishi, gather yourself.

....

So five days and I'd imagine most people aren't done with their Christmas shopping yet? But some people are just hard to shop for! So let's instead use the the CGB community to try to help each other out! Give ideas! Help find a gift for a specific person!

Here's my list of go-to gifts (which I've mostly exhausted by now)

For girls:

- Stuffed animals (bonus if you get the Little Brown Bear from Bloomingdales, since part of that goes to charity and that just makes everyone feel all warm and fuzzy and that's before they cuddle the teddy!)

- Perfume: It's a tough one, but if you know the girl well enough, it can make for a great gift. Go to Sephora and describe the person you want to buy perfume for and find their suggestions. Then buy the perfume somewhere else cause Sephora is expensive

- Chocolate. Self-explanatory.

For guys:

- Alcohol: depends what they drink, but a good bottle of wine or whiskey or whatever.

- Cologne: Different strategy than picking perfume for girls; pick a cologne that you think girls would like

- Cufflinks: Most guys do not have enough of these

And that's my list of ideas. Okay, GO BEARS!

Oh wow, it really snowed a lot last night! It's such a winter wonderland out there. It's like having a big white sheet of paper to draw on.

Wait, turn up the radio. I hear they're closing schools today because of the snow. I don't want to go to school today. I didn't do my homework. I want to crawl back into bed and sip on hot cocoa and relax by the fireplace. Think of what a great Friday that would be. It'd be a fun three day weekend.

Then maybe later, we can go play out in the snow. Have a snowball fight or make a snowman or something. Oooh, actually, I got my toboggan in the garage. Maybe we can go sledding or something too?

What a fun day this is going to be! I'm so glad we don't have to go to school today. That would just be a bummer on a day like this, wouldn't it? I can't wait until we're grown up and done with school. Work is easy, no stress, no homework. Yay snow!

So it's well-known by now that all members of CGB are superheroes, part of an international, crime-fighting syndicate (or crime-creating, depending on your orientation). Superheroes have a superpower (or several, I guess). Superman is a Super Man. Spiderman has the web thing.

Now, anyone knows that all superheroes have one weakness. For Superman, it's Kryptonite. Green Lantern's is Yellow. Batman's is, well, everything, since he's human. Bad example.

So what is your strength and weakness? (and you only get to pick one)

Mine!

Strength: Unlimited energy

Weakness: Free alcohol

Since I have to fill up words, I may as well guess a few others.

Continue reading this post »

Hey CGB!

So I've really enjoyed the time we've spent together. It's been a wonderful time, filled with all sorts of emotions, from angry (U$C), to hopeful (furd), to happy (Twist getting punched in the face).

But I really need to know where this is going, ya know? Like, where is this headed? Is this going to get a little more serious or is it just going to remain casual or what?

I know, I hate to bring this topic up too, but I just really need to know. I was talking to Niners Nation the other day and they recommended that I just sit you down and ask you straight up, instead of dropping passive-aggressive hints. And what's what I'm trying to do. It's what you wanted anyway, right? More openness and honesty and transparency? Well here we go?

So, CGB, I ask you -- where do we go from here?

What? Another Christmas DBD by Rishi? In other news, war in the Middle East, Republicans and Democrats disagree, and the English find another way to screw up tea.

So one of the things I love about Christmas is the opportunity to revisit those movies and tv specials that make the season even more special.

I'm sure I'm missing a ton, but that's where you guys come in!

Home Alone 1 and 2 - There were only two films in this series. They're both excellent, but I appreciate the Christmasy feel of the second more, just due to the "Christmas in NY" factor. One of those things on my list of things I need to do.

Love Actually - Nice and entertaining movie and really gets into the Christmas spirit

It's a Charlie Brown Christmas - Good Grief!

Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean - Oddly, probably my favourite on this list. What's not to love about this brilliant special? From Mr. Bean unplugging the entire Harrods for testing his light to his staged play with the decorations at the store. I can't wait to watch this.

Bowl Games - Go Bears!

Good morning/afternoon (lazy bums)/evening (Garfield?) friends of CGB! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with feasting, laughter, and love.

And those of you who were crazy enough to wake up early to go hunt for "bargains" this morning; hope you enjoyed yourself! I went to Macy's at 5 am this morning and got a new suit (which I said I wouldn't; apparently, I can't even trust myself). Macy's opened at midnight and was apparently madness today. H&M across the street had lines literally wrapped around the block. Apparently, Old Navy was insane too, because nothing says "good use of time" like standing outdoors in the cold for three hours in order to save $10 on a pair of cargo shorts! If $10 is all it costs for someone to stand in line for a few hours, I wonder if I can hire someone next year to do the same for me! After all, solid business model -- they get, say, $20 for just standing around. If I use it to, say, get a tv for several hundred dollars off, then I gain too! We both win! Trademarking this right now, even though it probably already exists!

Um, so I just want to conclude by saying I love you all! Happy Thanksgiving!

We only have two days left until the Big Game! Let's keep our enthusiasm and continue to mock stanfurd students and stanfurd as much as possible!

So I'll start with a list of Ten Ways You Know You're A stanfurd Student

10) You join the Occupy Oakland movement to protest against accumulation of wealth, but have to stop by Chase to deposit your weekly trust fund distribution from daddy

9) You graduated in 2008 and went to three total football games during your four years at furd, but suddenly proclaim your love for the Trees on facebook

8) In your job interviews (that your daddy set up for you), every sentence begins with "Well, when I was at Stanford [sic] University..."

7) You're excited about this ESPN Gameday thing showing up to your campus, but 6 am is way too early

6) You've never heard of a "kegger" before... and it doesn't sound as fun as the "wine and cheese nights" you're used to

5) In your first job, you were taken aback when your boss wouldn't let you drop your month-long project the day before it was due

4) You LOVE the diversity that Palo Alto restaurants offer, ranging from mildly-overpriced Italian bistro to gelato to super-overpriced Italian bistro to frozen yogurt to bill-it-to-daddy-expensive Italian bistro.

3) One day, your last name appeared somewhere on the new wing of the library and your professors started treating you much more nicely. Must be the new perfume.

2) You're an independent thinker who just so happens to hold the exact same opinions as your professors.

1) You don't understand any of this list

GO BEARS, BEAT sTANFURD!

Hello friends and lovers!

So this season has not gone as intended. I know a few people here are feeling Bearish (ed note: this means down) about the Big Game on Saturday. Worried that stanfurd will beat us on the field. Worried that they will retain the axe. Worried that Andrew Luck will regain his mojo.

But, it is our duty as Cal fans to psyche ourselves up for the Big Game! Remember all the reasons you hate stanfurd? Here, let's take a moment and think of them

[Waiting]

Okay, it's been five hours and I'm tired of waiting for you to finish your list, so let's just carry on.

Think of all the trash talk the furdies have been laying down for the past 361.25 days (note, math probably not right). Think of all the new "fans" that suddenly dedicate their status to stanfurd football, even though they probably spent their college days grooming their ponies instead of tailgating and watching games. Think of how much worse that will be if furd can keep the axe for another year. Doesn't that get your blood boiling?

So, in summary, Forget stanfurd and let's GO BEARS!

Yesterday, I audited a class at Haas as part of the b-school application process. I took off from work a little early and BARTed over to Berkeley.

Now it's been a few years since I've graduated from Cal. The first year after graduation, I still had a lot of friends in Berkeley, so I visited pretty often. After that, I still had a few, so here and there. Last year, I pretty much only went for the football games and maybe to visit friends who had graduated, but still lived in the city of Berkeley. So, visiting was more about seeing the people and the city; not really the campus.

So on the walk from BART all the way up to Haas (through the "scenic route"), it was a bit of a surreal feeling. A walk I've done probably a hundred times, yet haven't done in years. And that too during actual class hours, which meant I saw the students walking to and from class, hanging out on the lawn, grabbing coffee at FSM... all the stuff I was doing several years ago.

Because I'm a bit overnostalgic, I threw on some tunes that reminded me of my time at Cal and walked. Past VLSB, the Main Stacks, Memorial Glade, the Campanile... remembering what it was like to be doing this. Went through a class at Haas.

Then walked back to BART, past Wheeler... and automatically started heading back towards my old apartment before I realised what I was doing. The most odd part of all of this is it didn't feel weird; it felt like I was just back in routine again.

So that's my story of visiting Berkeley again as a "student". What's your "Back to Berkeley" story?

It is now 7:22 AM PST/10:22 AM EST.

You've already done some work, had your morning coffee, and checked the frontpage news.

There is no DBD at CGB. And you've already z'd through the old DBDs.

Do you:

A) Go do more work in hopes that a new DBD may spring up in the meantime?

2) Think of a great story to fill a new DBD and then post it?

Threeve) Pet your cat (choice only available for Dr. Claw)

Z) Post a brand-new, completely useless DBD in hopes that it will provide more timepass?

Continue reading this post »

And so we've officially kicked off what is, for me, the best time of the year.

Spring is nice, with the flowers blooming.

Autumn is cool, with the changing leaves and brisk air.

Summer is great, with warm weather and slow work schedules and more outdoor activities and barbeques and outdoor happy hours.

But nothing beats the stretch of the "Holiday Season". Your mileage may vary, but for me, it kicks off with Halloween and continues until about New Years. Well, okay, I'm a little self-involved, so in reality, this year, it kicked off with Diwali (right before Halloween) and lasts until my birthday in January!

The point being, you get Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hannukah/Non-denominational Winter Holiday, and New Years in that time! A time to spend with friends and family and grad schools applications (damnit)! You can tell it's officially that time because Starbucks has rolled out their red coffee cups!

For me, what makes the season is that time with friends and family, the decorations, the lights, the music, and, well, the whole spirit in the air. No matter what the motivation is, seeing strangers be nice to each other warms whatever remains of my heart.

So, CGB, what are your favourite things about the Holiday Season?

 GO BEARS!

So what are folks wearing for Halloween? And what are your plans?

I was going to do a write-up of Halloween is through your different ages, but then I remembered that The Oatmeal already did that :(

So instead, I'll just offer my perspective of why the second best age to be celebrating Halloween is in your college to post-college phase!

The best is obviously as a kid with access to seemingly unlimited amounts of candy, restricted only by your disdain for gross candies like Abba Zabbas and Big Hunks and whatever other weird stuff is out there. Seriously, who the hell liked that stuff? Stuff should either come from the core Snickers/Reese's Group or the Sweet Tarts/Warheads group. If you're throwing something else, it'd better be good. Weird peanut butter taffy or honey flavoured chewy treats? Get that outta there.

But I digress. Now Halloween is awesome for a couple reasons:

1) Creative, topical costumes: I love seeing people dressed as identifiable characters that required their own creativity. I look forward to homemade Charlie Sheen costumes!

2) It's an excuse for more people to go out and party! More shenanigans! More desperate girls!

3) Oh right, the girls and their slutty outfits.

Okay, time to work. Share your Halloween thoughts!

CGB being full of Indians as it is, it's time for a Diwali DBD! Happy Diwali to everyone!

Diwali is a festival celebrated not just in Hinduism, but in Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, and probably a bunch of other -isms as well! I'm sure you've heard the backstory (but I'll post it in the comments somewhere anyway). The tl;dr version is it's a festival to celebrate the triumph of good over evil; of light over darkness; of [postive metaphor] over [negative metaphor]!

Instead, let's talk about the fun parts of the celebration!

A typical Diwali celebration will be at a family member's or friend's house. It's the New Year for us, so it's an opportunity to bring together all the closest friends and family.

Since it's a "Festival of Lights" (Diwali or Deepavali literally means "A Row of Lights"), houses and rooms are decorated with lights. Think Christmas in America, but sadly, there are no electronic Rama lawn ornaments. But you know what else lights up really well? Fire! So we all launch fireworks (homemade ones, nonetheless) to keep the sky lit and the night loud. We have sparklers (I have no idea what else to call them) or puljaris. Basically, sticks with a lot of sparkling fire on the end. It's like a pyro's dream come true!

A puljari! FIIIIIREEE!

Also, people worship Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth and prosperity on this night. So, naturally, people play card games and gamble their wealth! Teen patti, a regional variant on poker, is very popular amongst adults. Even kids. Don't be surprised to hear about the son of a wealthy industrialist losing his BMW because he bet his hand on it!

So, in short, here's to wishing everyone a happy day, full of joy and prosperity, and for good to continue to triumph over evil!

  And here's what the streets look like! Don't forget the Pizza Hut!

Continue reading this post »

I know we've all been enthralled by the excitement of your fantasy football teams for the past few weeks. After all, it's so exciting debating the merits of Ahmad Bradshaw vs Rashard Mendenhall. I mean, one has more TDs and more yards, but on the other hand, the other is going up against a weaker defense this week! I'd better take some time off work and decide who I should start on my fantasy football team this weekend so that I can make the exciting jump from 4th place to 3rd place in my office fantasy pool! Woo, that'll tell Kirk from HR who's boss!

But I'm not here to criticise fantasy football. Instead, I'm here to inform you about a new contender for the throne. And I hope you're ready for this:

FANTASY SOCCER

http://www.nevermanagealone.com/

There's a new SBNation blog dedicated to helping you manage your fantasy soccer team. And it's never too late to join. Best of all, you can incorporate players from different leagues and... okay, I have no idea how the hell this works.

Here's a sample post:

My decision to drop Sergio Aguero and Emmanuel Adebayor has paid off for now as a new look strike-force of Robin Van Persie, Daniel Sturridge and Mario Balotelli combined for 4 goals and 53 points. There were also okay contributions from Frank Lampard & David De Gea, Boyata returned his cost, but David Silva, Kieran Gibbs, Cabaye, Jose Bosingwa & Shaun Wright-Phillips scored next to nothing between them.

GO BEARS; BEAT THE UTES

Someone's gotta be the Debbie Downer. Sorry, guys, it's me this time.

Like many of you here, I've been a lifelong Niners fan. I've dealt with basically a decade of nothingness from the team. And I'm always looking for signs of improvement.

So I'm happy to see this team at 5-1, with a few solid victories and one blowout victory. But I don't like people talking about playoffs and the Super Bowl just yet.

I want to offer one simple cautionary tale so that we don't get carried away.

The 2007 Detroit Lions. More specifically, they started out the season 6-2. Read the following psasage and imagine if you could see it being written about the Niners:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=271104008

The Lions (6-2) have established themselves as a legitimate contender in the NFC and perhaps the surprise team in the entire league at the midway point of their season. They are one game behind Green Bay (7-1) in the NFC North.

 

"This is real," defensive tackle Cory Redding said. 'This is a different team. It's not the same-old Lions anymore.'

 

In the Super Bowl era, 76 percent of the 146 teams that started 6-2 made the playoffs. The Lions haven't won six of their first eight games since 1999, the last season they made the playoffs.

 

"I hope we keep playing one snap at a time," coach Rod Marinelli said. "The rest of that is too far down the road. I know that's boring. I'm boring.'  

Anyone remember what happened to them? They finished the season 1-7, then followed that up by going 0-16 the next season.

Continue reading this post »

Totally unrelated to any happenings in football or anything else... what's your preferred method?

Drinking tons?

Petting a puppy?

Punching Twist?

Playing video games?

Feeding the homeless?

Come one, come all, let's share our ideas! And, while we're at it, let's talk about nice things.

Wow, I'm pretty sure I have to write about a hundred more words to fill this thing up. Why is it when I have to write an essay that's limited to 600 words, I end up writing 1000, but when I have to write 150 words, I have nothing useful to say?

So Christmas/Holiday season is coming up. Exciting, huh? Ice skating, decorations, Christmas trees... turkey?

Also, days off work. That's never a bad thing, right?

Maybe frustration is the wrong word. Maybe heartbreak. But that sounds kinda emo. Like "wahhhh girl broke up with my my life is over #depression" and emo is lame anyway. Kinda like hipster. WOOO 150 words.

GO BEARS!

In the vein of websites like FML and TFLN comes "That Awkward Moment When..." that's gaining popularity.

It's a pretty simple game. Describe an awkward moment that you think others can relate to:

http://thatawkwardmoment.net/

Here are a couple examples to get you started: (http://stricktlydating.hubpages.com/hub/The-Best-That-awkward-moment-when-Quotes)

• That awkward moment when you're left alone with your friends' parents
• That awkward moment when someone you hate says something funny and you try not to laugh
• That awkward moment when someone says hello and you say "Good thanks!"
• That awkward moment when you say "Goodbye!" to someone but you both walk off in the same direction.
• That awkward moment when you type your ex's name into your Facebook status instead of the 'Search' bar.
• That awkward moment when you try to exit through a closed glass door.

Also, let's just make some CGB-related ones because life here is so much cooler than it is for these socially-awkward penguins who post these things:

• That awkward moment when you've post a new DBD, only to discover you've been beaten by a couple minutes
• That awkward moment when you brag about posting the joke first, but on everyone else's screen, you came second
• That awkward moment when you close the DBD without z'ing through all comments first.
• That awkward moment when you quote part of an article, but all that shows up is "I <3 cock"

Continue reading this post »

Yesterday's DBD was exhausting. Tomorrow we have a tough match-up against the Blue Hose.

As such, I want the biggest GO BEARS! as the 1000th post in this DBD. Whoever does it and follows protocol will win a prize (tbd).

I'd post more, but I'm shopping for more shirts and vests online to get myself dressed up for wedding happenings.

So, um, I think I have about thirty words remaining until I hit the minimum. So, anyone else want to reminisce about college? Oh wait, we already did that yesterday? Damnit. I'll post some funny videos in the comments I guess. Wait, the minimum words isn't 100? What the hell is it? Do I just have to keep typing a stream of consciousness until the "Current word count" turns green or something?

Yeah, okay, I guess I can do that. So I just have to make it through work today until I can get home and start to plan my strategy and HEY I'M FINALLY OVER THE WORD COUNT MINIMUM

GO BEARS!

Note: It's 7 AM and there's no DBD. If you wanted to avoid another Rishi-style DBD, maybe you should have posted one. Your parents/spouse/children/cats will be very disappointed in you!

It seems like it was only a little over a month ago when I was preparing for my best friend's wedding and obsessing over what to wear. Oh wait, that was only a little over a month ago. But at least that went well!

Now it's time for another big wedding. Weddings are always a big deal, but Indian weddings take it to another level. Multi-day affairs, even in America (seriously, this one had a prayer service on Wednesday; the Mehndi, or henna decoration ceremony, tonight; the Sangeet, or another excuse to sing, dance, and be merry on Friday night; the wedding ceremony Saturday daytime, and the reception at night). And the biggest issue out of all of this? That's five different outfits to choose!

So now that that's all figured out (navy suit with pink shirt and blue for Saturday night, for those of you curious), the next step is to figure out how to approach this one, since weddings should obviously be all about me. Since this is a family friend's wedding and there will be my mother and plenty of her friends in attendance, I can't approach it with the same reckless abandonment that I did the prior one.

But I still need to get noticed! Do I just dance with anyone? Do I talk nicely to parents so that they talk their daughters up to me for an arranged match? Do I just drink the entire bar? What a bonanza!

Also, people, seriously stop getting married so fast! Enjoy your twenties! Do dumb things, enjoy life!

Okay, enough for now.

GO BEARS BEAT THE HOSE!

So, as you may or may not know, depending on the rapidness with which you z through my comments, I'm going to Vegas this weekend with my buddies. Joy time!

But as I started to break down the roster, I was noticing a shift... this will be the fourth consecutive Labour Day Weekend Vegas trip for me and things have changed a lot since those trips.

Three years ago, it was a mix of people fresh out of college and people still in college, a behemouth of a group at 40. A vast majority of group was singles. In fact, I believe there were only two couples on the trip.

Two years ago, it was seven guys, a pretty different group than the year prior. Still, only one of the seven was in a serious relationship.

A year ago, it was a mix of older and younger friends, with some in long-term relationships, others not. More trending towards the former.

This year? I'm the oldest one on the trip (not by much). Literally only one person from the trip from three years ago; the rest, though good friends, aren't people I've been friends with for seven years. And the trip is almost entirely couples... literally, there are two other single guys. This will be interesting.

So, for me, that's my sign that I'm getting old -- not only are some of my older friends staying home from Vegas LDW because of other obligations (or lack of desire to go crazy), not only are more in relationships, but people are now travelling in couples.

So rather than writing yet another self-absorbed Rishi-style DBD, I figured I'd open it up. Other than Cal sports, what gets you pumped up, no matter what?

I'm super-tired and desperately need sleep, yet the prospect of going out today after work for my friend's birthday today is enough to make me not worry about sleep deprivation. Instead, I'm super excited to go out now and pull through the night! So, I guess for me, it's good friends and partying that really get me psyched. That does explain Vegas (in addition to all the oxygen that they obviously pump into the casinos)

So, CGB, what gets you pumped?

It's almost 7 AM PST and there's no DBD up. So before anyone complains that I'm posting yet another DBD centered entirely around myself, maybe you should have posted something yourself? Seriously, why aren't you at work yet anyway? I've already gone through half an hour of seeing the market get its face ripped off and I'm not even done with my morning coffee yet!

I was out at dinner with a friend last night just talking about plans for the upcoming weekends and it suddenly hit me... my best friend is getting married in a week*

*I'm too cool to have one best friend, so I have a couple that I apply the label of "best friend" to.

And now it's starting to worry me. That I'm starting to hit that age where this will become more commonplace. The dominoes will fall and more and more friends will start to get married in the coming years. The same friends I used to go out with on a regular basis, that always had time to go get lunch, grab a drink, join on big group trips, etc., are going to be settled down. Instead of spending Saturday nights raging at the bars, they'll host wine tasting dinner parties. Instead of hitting the sports bar to cheer the Niners on with me on a Sunday morning, they're getting ready for another Bed, Bath, and Beyond trip since they forgot to pick up the new matching hamper set on Wednesday and anyway, it's like 20% off!

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With the weather forecasted to reach the 70s in SF today, I figure it's time for a long overdue appreciation of the joy that is summer and all that comes with it.

Sure, there are downsides. No football or basketball or good new tv shows. But that just gives more reason to go out! So here are a couple things that I personally appreciate about summer in the city! Share yours!

1) Summer fashion -- Summer suits (seersucker, poplin) and light colours. I love wearing them on Fridays and getting ready for the outdoor happy hours (see #2). Also, pastel polo shirts. If you've been dedicated to the gym, even better!

2) Outdoor happy hours -- Something about being in the greatest city in the world (sorry, NY) and enjoying warm weather outdoors, while sipping on a cool beverage is exciting.

3) BBQs -- In spite of being a vegetarian, what's not to like about grilling food outdoors and tossing a football around or playing beer pong? A great way to get a bunch of friends together in a different setting

4) More hikes -- Okay, fine, I put this on the list for other people.

5) The beach -- Unfortunately not so big up here in the city, but that's not going to stop me from enjoying it.

6) Swimming and the pool -- Not just the big pool parties in Vegas and whatnot, but even just grabbing a few friends and swimming around in the pool on a lazy Sunday. Love it!

7) Running outside -- I'm not a big fan of running, but it's much better in the evenings when it's warm, along the waterfront.

8) Summer jams -- I fully admit to enjoy catchy, throwaway summer tunes.

9) Warm nights -- They're still kinda rare around here in the city, but, man, when they happen... It's amazing

Okay, that's a long enough list for now. And wow, this is a pretty self-indulgent DBD, but that's what you get!