Evan Yamoto

Author: admin

  • Hello Again

    I used to use Macs when I was a kid and then I switched over to PCs in the mid-90’s when Apple hit a low point and Microsoft took over.  I even hated Macs shortly afterwards because I had to support them despite nobody using them at the time.

    But something happened and of course, it was Steve Jobs.  He got Apple back on track and the rest is history.  I didn’t even notice that Macbook Pros started using Intel processors.  When I finally caught on that I could use the Mac with all the great creative apps but still boot to Windows to do my regular work and play games, I was in and haven’t looked back.

    This was my 2011 Macbook Pro with the anti-glare screen.  It was really an amazing computer and everything just felt so polished and designed incredibly well.  2011 MBP

    It was even known as the best Windows laptop, but this still makes my head spin.

    2011 MBP bootcamp

    It was easily the best computer I’ve ever owned.  Unfortunately, this model did have a problem with the graphics card that was soldered onto the logic board.  Mine didn’t have any problems until one day, nearly 5 years later, it did.  But I was able to give it to my in-law who rebuilt one using my parts so it didn’t go to waste.

  • Tahoe 2011

    My dad was an avid skier.  He founded a ski club and even lived in Switzerland for a month to learn how to ski.  He was also a ski instructor in his youth and that’s how he met my mom.

    My dad was also a very smart and successful man.  He was a mechanical engineer by trade, but he really had a keen sense of business and investing.  He bought properties and was even into commodities in the ’80’s like pork bellies that I thought was only in Trading Places.

    He and my mom bought a cabin in Tahoe as a rental before they bought their first home.  Who does that?  Well my dad did and it worked out for them.  They actually bought a different place, made some money, and sold it buy this cabin that we spent just about every winter weekend in.  My parents would pick us up from school and we’d drive up to Tahoe, ski Saturday and Sunday and drive home.  I can’t imagine doing that by myself, let alone with two kids.  I really don’t know how they did all of that, but I’m grateful they did.

    In 2011, I wanted to make a trip up there since I hadn’t been for over 10 years.  We went up there for Memorial weekend and I invited my childhood friends.  We were considering playing golf but some crazy storm came through.  It probably ended up being more fun that way since all the kids got to play in the snow and we didn’t even have to go anywhere!

    I think we stopped at Ikeda’s every trip.  I can still remember their burgers, but I’m not sure if I ever really liked them. But they always had candy and I know I liked that.

    It was so cold, but my wife and I still made it fishing.  I only caught one trout, but someone gave me one and we had a nice dinner.

    Being there brought back a lot of memories.  I would’ve like to go there more often, but Tahoe is so hard to get to from southern California.  We drove and it took us over 9 hours.  My wife was pregnant too but she did great!

    Looking back, I’m not sure why we still went but I’m glad we did.  My mom ended up selling the place shortly before she passed.  Maybe we’ll make it back there one day, but it won’t quite be the same.

  • Dog/Baby Gate

    When we learned we we’re expecting, I already started worrying about safety.  Our condo had stairs that lead to the living room, so I made this gate.  I told everyone it was for our dog, but it was really for our son.

    gate-finished-5

    It’s made from Douglas Fir.  It’s known as a cheap wood that’s hard to work with, but I think it looks really nice.  I like that straight grain and I picked knot free boards.

    wood sanded

    I sanded them smooth to avoid splinters and rounded every corner being an over-protective, soon-to-be parent.wood stained

    I forgot what stain this is, but I want to say it was called Golden Pecan.  My memory is terrible though, so that could be completely wrong.

    We moved on from the condo and bought our house when our son was 3.  He was working on the next milestone, so I cut up the old gate and made two of these potty step stools for him.  I also saw this on Ana-White.com.

    img_1364

  • Seared Ahi Salad

    I’m not sure if this really qualifies as cooking, but this is something I used to make all the time.  It’s just a lightly seared, Ahi salad.

    Ahi Salad

    It’s as simple as can be, healthy and pretty delicious.

  • Kauai 2011

    My wife and I took a late honeymoon to Kauai in 2011, courtesy of my brother. It was just over a year after we got engaged and it seemed like so much happened since then.

    It was another perfect trip to Hawaii. I hadn’t been to Kauai in over 15 years, but it was nice to see that some things were exactly like I remembered.

    What made this trip special is that we met a lot of local people. One older couple was so nice and they brought us to their house and he (Jack) took us fishing. He ended up being the head agricultural guy for the island and we got a tour of the private farms, lakes and gardens. Not to mention, he had over 20 world records in fishing, so we learned from a master! It was really one of the nicest things anyone did for us and it’s probably one of my most memorable travel days ever.

     

  • Cooking Crab

    Christmas time means a lot of things to me, but one of my family’s newer traditions has been to eat lots of crab.  Unfortunately, there was a problem with the crabs last year so I didn’t have any but I’ll probably make up for it this year.

    I don’t cook too often, but I like to from time to time.  This is one of the recipes I’ve picked up from the internet and have been making it ever since.  It’s pretty much garlic and butter and is pretty delicious.

    Garlic butter crab

    This is my aunt’s recipe that she makes for Christmas.  It may not look great in this picture, but it’s very tasty too.  It’s made with black beans and ground pork and is as messy as it is good.

    Black bean & pork crab

  • Wedding

    My wife and I got married at the Japanese Friendship Garden at Balboa Park in San Diego, 2010.  I originally made my old site to help with the planning and everything turned out great from what I remember.

    We planned and did everything on our own.  And since we nor any of our guest live in San Diego, we had to do a little more planning to make it as easy as we could on everyone.

    I wish I could remember what catering company we used, but they were great.  They setup the site, made some great food and the service was excellent.

    Wedding

    But everything happens in a blur and we we’re rushed from place to place.

    Wedding

    We actually got legally married at the courthouse the day before, so I wasn’t nervous at all during our ceremony.  But I do remember both of us feeling relieved at this moment and that we did it.

    a (268)

    And from there on, it was just a lot of fun!

    Wedding

    We had such a great time and we were so happy to celebrate the weekend with our closest family and friends. Everything worked out great an I can’t say how thankful we are to everyone involved. It was really everything we hoped for.

  • Maui 2009

    On our second trip to Hawaii, we went back to the same place in Maui we visited a few years earlier.  It’s always nice, but it didn’t have the same feeling as when I hadn’t gone in almost 10 years.

    This picture was taken in Lahiana, which I was pretty disappointed with.  I have such good memories of being a kid and playing around town and going the Lappert’s Ice Cream.  That’s still there, but everything else is so touristy there now and a lot of places were closed down.

    Maui

    Since we just went to Maui and did all the tourist things on the last trip, this trip we took it easy and did lots of fishing.  This became our thing to do until we had kids, but hopefully we’ll all be able to do that again one day.

    The funny thing about Hawaii is that there’s nothing but fish in the water, but they’re pretty hard to catch.  We learned this again and again over the years.  We’d catch some things, but not what we wanted and it actually took a long time to hook something decent.Maui

    We also drove up to Honolua Bay but didn’t make it down to the beach.  I’m not sure why we didn’t make the short walk.  It’s one of those things that seem so easy after you have kids.  It was just us and we were younger so I’m not sure what stopped us.

    Maui

    Another good thing about this trip was that I got to see my Auntie Irene for the last time.  She was such a great woman and was always fun to be around.  I didn’t know her that well but I always looked forward to seeing her and I miss her.

  • My Beginning with Planters

    Here are some planters I made for my old condo.  I designed it to fit along the back of the patio to add some privacy but to not take up much space.  I didn’t even own a saw at this time, but I borrowed my in-law’s and cut some select pine from Home Depot.  I lined the interior with aluminum flashing to give it a more modern look, but it also provided some waterproofing.  The most expensive part of it were the legs that I bought from a site that provides exactly what it says it does, tablelegsonline.com.

    planter-side

    bamboo planter

    I ended up making some small square ones for some small Japanese maple trees, but I never took pictures of them.  This was our dog sunbathing, but you can see one in the upper corner.

    boba sunbathing

  • Pumpkin Carving

    I’m not really into Halloween, but I made these pumpkins years ago for a contest at work.  I used some carving tools and Dremel to make these guys.

    I think I won something for Marvin the Martian.

    marvin martian pumpkin

    I can’t remember if I won something for Eric Cartman or not.  I wanted to make the whole South Park gang but I ran out of time.cartman pumpkin