Check out the view from my new office:

Awesome.  Now I’ll get even less work done.  The water’s a little chilly though:

-Nick

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Our friends are tackling ambitious projects around their houses; installing flooring, building decks, ripping out walls, remodeling bathrooms, etc.  In a way, I’m impressed by the knowledge, planning, and do-it-yourself-enthusiasm these projects require.  But in another, much more powerful way, it just doesn’t sound like that much fun.

I’m not handy.  Never have been, probably never will be.  I had every opportunity to learn — I mean Dad is quite the handyman.  He had every tool imaginable, and used them to remodel the house, fix cars and lawnmowers and sprinkler-systems, and even build a cabin in the mountains.  I didn’t mind helping, but would have had no idea where to start if I was on my own.  You would think I’d have picked up at least something through pure osmosis, but not so much.  Sometimes I think Mechanical Engineer Bryn is the daughter he never had.

So it should come as no surprise that when it comes to home improvement, I haven’t initiated much work.  Plus, it’s tough to find motivation to invest in big capital improvements when your home definitely more than qualifies as “good enough”, and you’re $150k underwater.

That said, I have undertaken a number of home improvement projects even a not-so-handyman could finish.  They are laughably small, and I’m pretty proud of myself, so please enjoy:

Hose Rack (2 screws, 1 nail)

Bike Rack Hanger (1 nail)

Chin-Up Bar (4 screws)

Bird Spikes (2 pieces of floss)

Coat Rack (4 screws)

Beyond that, I’ve installed some weather stripping (no tools), and some towel hooks (2 screws).  We’ve also done some painting, hung a mantle and some shelves, and had laminate floors installed by a contractor.  And Bryn Macgyver-ed some mouse-proofing for the kitchen.  But that’s about it.

I’d like to think the time not spent at Home Depot was put toward something productive, but we probably just wasted it blogging.

-Nick

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I found this unnecessary sign at the post office this week.

No one, ever, has intentionally spent more than 15 minutes at the post office.

I also appreciate how the installer found it necessary to buttress the sign to the column of the building itself.

-Nick

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This lovely little notice has been in our neighbor’s window for months.

It’s a little unnerving, since we share a wall.  The section of the building code referenced in the notice is so broad that it covers everything from structural integrity and roof safety to heating, “natural light”, and “improper maintenance.”  Rumor is the previous owner uninstalled the water heater (among other things; the place is gutted), which is apparently a violation of the municipal code.  A code-savvy neighbor must have taken note and tattled, I mean reported, to the city.

It’s a bank-owned property and the previous owners were finally evicted this week.  I don’t know their situation and I certainly don’t wish bad on anyone, but we’re definitely not heartbroken to see them go.  Between the BMX quarter pipe in the garage (which would have been awesome, except it backed up to our kitchen), the illegally parked cars, and the piles of crap dumped in our shared driveway, we’re looking forward to some new neighbors.

-Nick

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Skiing in shorts last week.  Yeah it was warm.

Also some dog-sitting.  He looks comfy.

-Nick

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None of these were taken by me, I just wanted to share some of our friends’ cool photos from the wedding weekend.

Best Costco Run picture (Bruce).  Just like Costco in America, Costco in Mexico is not stingy with the samples.  Only we were shopping in the liquor section, so we got shots of tequila and rum.  The ladies at the checkout I think were having a good laugh at the contents of our carts.

Best Background Check photo (Kellie).  This random shirtless gentleman enjoyed watching our ceremony and pictures from a nearby rock.

Best Infinity Pool photo (Caresse).  Beautiful!

Best Game Face photo (Adam).  Check out the intensity as Paul is about to do work on his Corona and 4 tequila “tastes.”

Best Corona Commercial photo (Bruce).

Best Dad Tequila Shot photo (Adam).  I love the semi-concerned looks on both the bartender’s and Kristen’s faces.

Best Turtle Release photo (Bryn).

Best Brooklyn House photo (Kate).  Best part is Bryn is the sober one.

Best Sunrise photo (Judy).

Best Fish Story photo (Bruce).  Tyler reeled in the catch of the day!

Best Good Picture Gone Bad photo (Adam).  Erik ftw.

Best Night Shot (Bruce).  I think the pool area looks awesome lit up at night!

Best Sniper Shot 1 (Judy).  Crocs caught on camera during the ceremony.

Best Sniper Shot 2 (Steve).  This had to have been on major telephoto!  We were shooting some final pics with the photographer before heading up to the reception… with no one else around (or so we thought)!

-Nick

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Dance party, Cabo style.  After dinner, my playlist ended and Bryn’s began.  What happened after that was captured by a dozen digital cameras.

There was a people-tunnel.

There was the rhythm-less groom dancing.

There was an undocumented bobsled race and an invisible jump rope.

I remember this being kind of hard in flip-flops.  And trying not to spill my beer.

There was some getting Hot in Herre.

There was some motherly love.

There was some epic sing-a-long.

And Bryn rocking out.  This is one of my faves.  Bryn in a deep lunge with her arms up high and her eyes shut tight.  And me just standing there.

There was a crazy lumberjack.

And then we ended up in the pool, which I think is the mark of a good party.  Someone wasn’t quite ready to trash the dress though, so this was clearly premeditated.

And thankfully lots of others joined us.  Otherwise might have been kind of awkward.

-Nick

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On April 2nd, we had a private legal ceremony at San Francisco City Hall.  The photographer (who took some awesome pictures — as seen on Live From the 925) signed as our witness.

Then we kept quiet and told no one our little secret.

We decided to share the pictures discretely at the reception, by using them as the table numbers, and let our guests figure it out.  Individually the photos weren’t necessarily incriminating, but collectively they were pretty obvious.

It took some time to get the ball rolling but after that the news spread quickly!

Some were more surprised than others.

I think this photo by Kellie captures the idea perfectly and is one of the coolest pics of the weekend.

-Nick

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Let me be the first to acknowledge that weddings are pretty selfish events in general, and destination weddings even more so.  It’s a lot to ask of guests to travel any serious distance and to take any time off work, just to see you tie the knot.  The event itself can’t be rationalized so there’s not much point in even trying.  It was truly humbling that so many friends and family would choose to make the trip and spend the weekend with us.  We had an awesome time and can’t thank everyone enough!

It was a bit surreal for Bryn and I, arriving a day before everyone else.  Even though everyone had made their RSVPs and reservations, it wasn’t until the first guests arrived did it hit us: this is really happening, and it’s really cool.

I found if I hung out near the front desk while friends were checking in, the bar would bring extra welcome margaritas.  Hey, just trying to be a good host!

Mom and dad were generous to sponsor a welcome dinner at Villa Valentina in San Jose del Cabo.  When we went to visit the place the day before, it was all under construction with last minute improvements, so we were nervous it might not to be done in time.  But when we showed up we were greeted with this beautiful private courtyard and terrace.

Most of the other options for a similar-sized dinner felt really corporate, in the high-priced tourist-gouging, take-a-number, we-do-this-every-weekend sort of way.  So nice job Bryn for finding this spot off-the-beaten-track.

The staff greeted us with margaritas, beer, and appetizers, and they even had a professional photographer on hand to take pictures.

Another one of my faves:

We were worried nobody would play our BRYCK bingo trivia-mixer game, so thank you for playing along!  Angela won bingo and Adam won blackout.

With bellies full of paella and rum-spiked sangria, we were ready to tackle the tequila tasting.  It started calmly enough…

And slowly morphed from tequila tasting into tequila shots.  Either way, a good time was had by all.  Or at least nobody told me otherwise.

The making of that last picture apparently made some people nervous, so they had to document Big Steve balancing on the second-story ledge to capture it as well.

Muchas Gracias to Daniel and Villa Valentina for their hospitality and to mom and dad for hosting a great evening!

-Nick

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Enjoyed some vino straight from the barrel last Saturday!

This was at Ruby Hill in Livermore.  I guess they let you taste next year’s wine before they bottle it, so you can decide if you want to pre-order any.  But isn’t it supposed to be better after aging?

-Nick

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