Matt Fong’s Blog

The concert over the weekend at Horning?s Hideout was pretty unique and amazing. Yah, I felt a little out of place without dreadlocks, facial hair, and horrendous amounts of body odor (hrm?I really should watch what I say, I keep forgetting I have pictures of me linked from this site J). EVERYBODY is sooooo friendly there. I guess a combination of the String Cheese Incident and wilderness feeling of Horning?s Hideout attracts a chill audience. Tents were everywhere, all of us scrunched together in a series of small meadows. It wasn?t uncommon for random neighbors to walk-up, sit by our tens, and talk & hangout. By nightfall, everyone was having a good time?although many started at daybreak. The morning wakeup call would be people yelling ?Bloody Marries for a Dollar?. Lots of people were selling all sorts of things.

The weather there felt like it was a desert. The heat just pounded on your neck (and in my case my forehead ). Even sitting in the shade was hot. We did spend large amounts of time by the lake (which, btw is freezing but it was a nice way to cool down). Despite mostly hot weather, we were once reminded that in fact it was the Northwest by a 2 hour period of heavy rain and thunderstorms (good thing we attached the rain cover to our tent!!!).

Everybody had a great time. There was music, small stands to purchase everything from tie-dye items to food, and many interesting talks. Apparently tickets to the concert sold out for the first time, so if you plan to go next year, plan ahead. This is definitely an experience not to miss.

Went to my friend?s wedding today. It was up in the Kitsap peninsula so I had to drive up from the hippy bazaar in Oregon today. The wedding site was perfect with a farm setting overlooking acres of woods and trees with a classic red house in the middle. On top of that, the day and evening weather could not have been better for outdoor activities?the sun was out and the sunset produced this awesome shade of red.

The wedding itself was a Baha?i ceremony. It?s the first wedding of its kind I?ve been to and it was interesting. The ceremony itself was quick and over in under 10 minutes. If I had my way, all weddings would be like this J. The following reception however lasted till the evening. Greg?s the first of my friends to get married and I?m happy for him. Here?s a link to their wedding site?maybe there?ll be pictures soon.

I got an email from Justin Brooks today. He?s been saying I should go visit him in Minneapolis but it turns out he?s headed to South Korea in August. I think I?ll just visit him there .

I hoped on a plane right back up to Tacoma on Monday ?and well, there?s not much going on. Summer is different up here than during the school year. For one it?s hot and the daylight lasts forever (I wonder what it would be like living in Alaska during the summer). Second, everyone is really laid back which is really, really cool. For once in our demanding school careers, students get a big fat break. So much time and so much fun J.

I?m headed off this weekend to a String Cheese concert west of Portland. Turns out it?s sort of close to Forest Grove where I was a couple of weeks ago. Apparently Horning?s Hideout is this isolated concert center in the middle of the woods. I?ve never been there but it sounds like a lot of fun?camping and stuff.

Looks like the insurance company is going to call my car totaled. I guess its back to AutoTrader.com for me. Props go out to Stroud?s Auto Body repair center in Tacoma, WA. I?m definitely a customer for life. Their service and consumer oriented approach to doing business should be strived for by all auto repair shops. Initial estimates of my car had the repair bill set at $7,900 with almost $3,000 worth of labor. Instead of taking that $3,000 worth of work, they did what was best for me and convinced the insurer to total my car (meaning they made significantly less money). Stroud?s superior service is in sharp contrast to Burns Auto Body and Collision Center which is a company I would NEVER use. They are part of a Direct Referral program with many insurance agencies. In effect they cut corners, saving the insurance companies money and ripping off the consumers. So I think this will be the final chapter of my two week old parked car that was totaled. RIP.

I went sailing for the first time in a long while in the bay last Friday. It?s the first time I?ve been on my friend?s (Nick) parent?s boat. The boat was larger than I had imagined, with a full livable area complete with kitchen and toilet below deck. The boat was surprisingly similar to the boat we sailed in the British Virgin Islands several winter breaks ago. Unlike in the picturesque but often windless B.V.I., wind is virtually guaranteed in the S.F. Bay. Indeed, the wind didn?t fail us; bringing us around Yerba Buena Island and through the construction of the east side of the new Bay Bridge. There?s like 10 huge cranes floating next to the soon-to-be old Bay Bridge along with associated drilling equipment. The visibility of the construction is new and wasn?t around when I left S.F. last January. Anyway, sailing was enjoyable.

Today I just finished up a day hike to Mt. Tamalpais. I hadn?t been up there since High School, and the views haven?t changed much (they?re still stunning?at least on a clear day). Today was no exception with awesome views of the Golden Gate, Stinson Beach, and Ocean Beach. Hiking in the Bay Area is pretty different than up in Washington State. For one, I?m not used to seeing so many people on a trail. They had this ?Mountain Play? thing going on at the top of Mt. Tamalpais so there were literally lines of cars and buses winding up the narrow, windy road to the top. Oh?and $5 to cross the Golden Gate Bridge is a RIP-OFF!

We went to this indoor Go Kart racing place tonight and I had an exhilarating time. I?ve never seen one of these places indoors, but I have raced the Go Karts at Malibu Grand Prix in Redwood City, CA. Just to get you into the daredevil/racing mood, they have you put on these full body racing suits, complete with helmet and neck protector before you begin. Apparently these things can go up to 35mph. Thinking about it, I?m not sure these things go much faster than the Go Karts at Malibu, but there are some significant differences that make this experience much more enjoyable. First of all you drive on the track with other Go Karts. It?s easy for you to bump (but apparently this is a big no-no and will get you kicked out) and cutoff other drivers. Second, you are given 10-15 strait minutes of driving time rather than having to stop at each lap. When you are finished you get a complete breakdown of your lap times to the thousandths of a second. Yours truly came in first but settled for second on the second time around. Anyway, this is a must for the race car driver at heart (although rather pricey). Check out the Gokart Indoor Racing Center off 101 in Burlingame (and if you go this Saturday you can try-out to be on the next Survivor, wippy ).

I?ve been really good about continuing to swim. I?m swimming about three days a week for about 45-minutes to an hour a day. I feel in shape which means I feel a whole lot less guilty about being a couch potato or constantly eating out J. I think if there were an outdoor pool in San Francisco I?d be more enticed to swim daily. Usually when I?m back at home I swim either at the YMCA pool at the Presidio (yah free towel service!) or the St. Ignatius Herbst Pool. When I swim at the latter I often run into John and Matt, old Riordan HS Swimming Alumni. It?s always good to catch up with them and apparently they are headed on a road trip to Seattle, so maybe I?ll meet em up north.

I received some sad news about the passing of Brent Rice from the Whitworth Swim Team in a tragic car accident. I personally didn?t know him well but I did compete against him for two years while I was swimming for the UPS Loggers. His name stands out because he was a fast swimmer and a good competitor (although I was never fast enough to even be considered competition for him). So?.Arrrrr, mate.

Trackback pings allow blog publishers to reference another person?s blog. Trackbacks are a key element that enable blog writers to collaborate their ideas. Which reminds me that I was thinking about creating another section of my own blog about my twisted political opinions (but I think there are already enough of those on the Internet). I?ve subscribed to several RSS feeds and I?ll reference their trackback pages if I ever use another blogger?s ideas.

Apparently everyone is graduating. My cousin graduated high school today. My family went out to dinner last week to celebrate my graduation and hers. We went to Bacar Seafood/Wine Bar Restaurant on Brannon. It was okay, but I?ve shied away from eating Seafood on Sunday?s and Mondays because of a book titled Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (a hilarious read and good non-cooking cookbook).