I’m not bad at capturing my life in photos. I take a camera almost everywhere I go. I am however pretty bad at actually editing and uploading my photos. I’m always months behind in editing and even further behind on posting to this blog. I don’t even post up all my photos. Many of them sink into the blackhole that is my Lightroom catalog.

While looking through my catalog the other day, I rediscovered many photos from weekend outings and day trips that I had forgotten about. Mostly, because the trips weren’t long enough to justify a whole post. So, I decided to combine them into one post, like this one. Expect more to come.

Nihon Whisky Lounge & Bonobo

Sometime in the middle of 2013, Jeff got obsessed with Scotch whisky and started a collection. The obsession started rubbing off on me after I bought a bottle of Yamazaki 12 year. We decided to take this interest in whisky and convert it into an idea for our next party, a whisky lounge!

I started doing some research on Reddit and compiled a list of whiskies to try. Jeff and I took this list with us to one of Jeff’s favorite lounges in SF, Nihon Whisky Lounge.

Nihon is a lounge in the Mission District that blends Japanese fusion food with an extensive selection of whiskies. Basically, it is the perfect place to taste a few whiskies before buying bottles. However, I’ll warn you about the price. Our check was much higher than at other lounges I have been to, something that for me was not offset by the intimate atmosphere or the whisky selection.

However, the quality of the food and service are great. If you are looking for a place to take someone special and don’t mind the price, then Nihon fits the bill.

While Jeff and I were tasting, Jennifer and Nish joined us for a few more drinks. Shortly after, we all headed to the Bonobo concert.

Bonobo was fantastic, but you probably knew that. If you didn’t, Go listen to him or read about him and you’ll see. Bonobo’s recordings are great, but he is even better live. The energy in the crowd and the lighting combined to create an amazing experience.

Brohaus Party #4

Brohaus Party #4 was our first party after a long hiatus and also the first after Dustin, Eric, Jeff and I came back from Burning Man. The four of us were all in awe of how people on the playa were able to design such deep and enjoyable experiences. We took that inspiration and poured it into the party.

The party was the day after Halloween. So, we encouraged everyone to come in costume or wear costume items that we provided. The fight room ¹ was converted into the whisky lounge I mentioned before. We set up shark races outside using remote controlled shark balloons.

Many people brought some pretty creative costumes: Linterest, lumberjack, light up suits, asian horror girl, inflatable sumo wrestlers. I loved all of them.

Blizzcon 2013

Blizzcon 2013 was my first Blizzcon. I’ve been playing Blizzard games for more than 10 years, but only made time to attend their conference last year. We went as a large group, an annual event that the rest of the TAMS/UT people have been doing for some time.

The convention had plenty to offer to every type of attendee. There were pro tournaments right on stage, announcements for new products, plenty of chances to play games, cosplay, merchandise, art for sale and more.

While walking around the convention center, I saw famous figures in the Starcraft community, well known Blizzard employees and professional cosplayers that I recognized. However, the only person that I really had to stop and take a picture with is John Romero. He is the co-founder of id Software and helped design Wolfenstein 3D, Quake and of course Doom, the first widely popular first person shooter and one of the most significant games in history.

I saw him out of the corner of my eye and did a double take. I didn’t expect such an important person to just be casually walking around the hall.

Of course, the most important part of Blizzcon is hanging out with friends. Jeff and I went for a run around the convention center and Downtown Disney one morning. A bunch of us waited in line a few times to crush noobs in Heroes of the Storm (which wasn’t yet available to the public at the time). We rooted on our favorite Starcraft players in the 2013 StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals. I got Hafu to autograph a screenshot of Chuan losing to her while she was streaming Hearthstone. We had late night food at IHOP.

These things really defined my convention experience and left me with fond memories.