The Allergic Reaction...

Okay, it doesn't look too bad here, but believe me, poor Reggie's lips and nose swelled up so much she could barely breathe. She had a very sad look on her face the entire time...

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The Market Rally

For the first time in what seems like a very long time, I was pleasantly surprised by looking at my Yahoo! Finance screen today. First the market was up 3%...later in the day it had moved higher...several meetings later, the market was closed...and up 708 bps!?!?!? Seriously, the S&P 500 gained more than 54 points today to close at 822.92. Very exciting. The DJIA has recovered almost to 8,000 after dipping below 7,000. Although there are certainly a lot of scary economic things going on, it sure makes me feel better when the market rallies six or seven percent in a day.

What is Anaphylaxis?

According to Wikipedia, anaphylaxis is "an acute systemic (multi-system) and very severe Type I Hypersensitivity allergic reaction in humans and other mammals. The term comes from the Greek words ανα ana (against) and φύλαξις phylaxis (protection).^[1] Minute amounts of allergens may cause a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction. Anaphylaxis may occur after ingestion, skin contact, injection of an allergen or, in some cases, inhalation."

I found out firsthand yesterday how scary anaphylaxis can be. After Reggie got her second round of vaccinations, she projectile vomited right in the crack of my Crossfire. Not on the seat, not on the floor, but right in the crack between the gear shift and my seat to where I had to go get a spoon and try to spoon out the vomit chunks. It was not fun and she didn't seem to be that sick. However, then she peed several times in her crate after being outside, which I thought was peculiar because she's been doing so well with potty training.

So I was officially annoyed and then I noticed her breathing pretty heavily. I looked down and her nose and lips were swollen up big time. Then I Googled, got in touch with the emergency vet and they told me to bring her in immediately because she could die from anaphylactic shock. Yikes...three hours later, several injections later and several hundred dollars later she is on the road to recovery. Poor pooch! Please note for future dog owners - be very careful when your puppy gets its vaccinations. Little Reggie's reaction didn't set in full force until about three hours after her shots.

And Now I'm Chillin'!

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Hi There, I'm Ready For More Retrieving...

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Running Update

I've come to realize being a mom of a 10-week old puppy, having a busy job, being in a wedding and aspiring to run a marathon simultaneously may be a bit too much for me to take on.  However, I'm doing the best I can - Reggie gets two walks in the morning, a walk a lunch and serious playtime as soon as I get back from work.  Work has been exceptionally busy and I'm hoping to get in at least four quality runs/workouts a week.

This weekend was productive - I ran 8.5 miles Friday, 5.0 miles Saturday and 10.0 miles Sunday.  Yesterday I got in a good night run - 7.5 miles at a 8:53/mile pace.  Hopefully tomorrow will be some intervals on the treadmill and then Saturday I'm shooting for a 14-16 mile jaunt through Mission Beach.  We'll see how that goes...

Big Bust for San Diego Cops Downtown

As you can tell from the above photograph depicting a 16-year old petticab driver being busted by (numerous) San Diego cops, the crime in downtown San Diego is pretty mild.  We are in the midst of the World Baseball Classic, which tonight features Japan vs. Cuba in an elimination round.  Apparently this kid didn't signal properly before turning down a closed street in downtown next to PETCO Park... 

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Padres Beating Up on the Giants in Scottsdale

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Don't Mess With The Duck!

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Friday...Vacation...Recoup

On a relaxing Friday morning, I woke up and went for a nice 8.5 mile run at a 8:44/mile pace.  I was pretty happy with the pace but need to pick up the mileage a bit.  However, with a busy work schedule, a new puppy and just returning from a bachelorette weekend in Atlanta that rolled right into a multi-day business trip in Boston, I'm glad to be getting back to a normal schedule.  I am currently watching some Carolina basketball and just relaxing...so nice.  Ahhh....

Boston

Being on the East Coast reminds me how much I love living on the West Coast.  Yesterday, the weather went from pouring rain to sleet to snow.  It was about 30 degrees and miserable.  I am trying to convince myself to go for a run in the sub-40 degree weather.  

Working away in the Hilton and wishing I was back in San Diego.  My flight leaves Boston at 5:10p tonight...can't wait to head home, hang out with Reggie and enjoy temperatures above freezing.  Enough said.

Q: When Is Projectile Vomiting A "Great Success"

A: That was a rhetorical question.

Reggie!

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The Phoenix Airport and the 48 Hour Divorce

I was reading away in the Phoenix airport, trying to catch up on backdated issues of the WSJ and waiting for my flight to Atlanta to begin boarding when an interesting character sat down next to me.  She immediately announced her CinnaBon had nuts on it – which she didn’t like – so she offered it up to the general public.  She took an envious look at my turkey sandwich from CPK and asked if it was good.  I told her not really, the bun was kind of soggy and it tasted like it had been hanging around for a couple of days before I purchased it.  She then proceeded to ask if I was going to eat the other half of it.  To which I responded, “Probably.”

 

Later she was yapping away on the phone (not quietly, so it’s not like I was eavesdropping on her conversation – I think half of the folks sitting at Gate A7 knew what was going on in her life by the end of the phone conversation).  She called up her ex-husband and was ranting to him about how her latest marriage – now less than 48 hours old – was heading for divorce already.  By the MGM Grand notebook she was carrying, I cleverly deduced her and the soon to be ex had jetted off to Vegas to get hitched.  Classy.  

 

I heard her negotiating with the US Airways travel agents in an attempt to get on the 1:04p flight from Phoenix to Atlanta.  Apparently, her and the soon to be ex got in a fight on their last fight, he “called the cops” on her and threatened to take the marriage certificate and divorce her before she could divorce him.  Which made me think: what’s wrong with people?  I quietly got up and moved as far away from the crazy woman as possible, hoping to avoid any further knowledge of whatever drama was in the midst of transpiring.  Could be the shortest marriage in history…I wonder what the world’s shortest marriage in history is.  I’ll have to do some research and post to the blog.   

Happy Birthday, Budman!

Today, March 6th is my father’s birthday.  He was born March 6th, 1957, which makes him…well, you can do the math.  Although I can’t be in Smithfield, Virginia to celebrate with you, I hope you have a fabulous birthday and make it out to San Diego soon to visit me and your new granddaughter Reggie.  I miss you!

Economic Doom and Gloom

Are we heading for another depression?  I try to be an optimist, but after catching up on reading three days of the WSJ this morning in the airports, I am becoming increasingly nervous.  The markets are already down 25% this year, with the DJIA trading below 7,000 and the S&P 500 below 700.  Accessing the capital markets has become a joke, and everyone in the free world is looking to the U.S. government for a bailout.  Yikes.  

 

Apparently GM is now more open to bankruptcy and auto sales declined 40%+ year over year.  One out of ten mortgages is delinquent and Wal-Mart is one of the only retailers with increased year over year sales as people trade down  to shopping at Wally World as they’re pinching their pennies.  Did you know that Wal-Mart earns something like 40% of its revenues from food sales.  That gives me the shivers; I’m glad I don’t have to shop at WMT for food...  

 

People are raiding their closets and turning their living rooms into “boutique used clothes stores.”  Citigroup is now trading at like a dollar per share.  Merrill Lynch executives are being subpoenaed for received tens of millions of dollars in compensation for 2008 as the company was forced into an arranged marriage with Bank of America so it too didn’t have to go the way of Lehman Brothers.  Hmmm…wonder if they’ll have to return any of that cash.  Maybe they can redistribute it to some of the people delinquent on their mortgages and save the American taxpayers some cash.  Doubtful.

 

Private equity firms are getting crushed as well, with Blackstone’s earnings down something like 20% and KKR’s positions down closer to 30%.  Which begs the question: which funds will be worse performers – 2006 vintage year buyout funds or 1999 vintage year venture capital funds?  I think the median returns for ’99 VC funds are up to a whopping 72 cents on the dollar and it sounds like the mega buyout guys should have no problem writing down their portfolios immediately by 30%.  It’s looking like a very close race to take the cake on the crappiest vintage fund performance ever title. 

More Marathon Progress

Training for the marathon with a new puppy and a busy job is challenging.  This week, I actually managed to get in two mid-distance runs, an interval workout on the treadmill and a workout on the elliptical machine.  Not too shabby.  Tuesday’s ran was lackluster, but this morning’s six mile jaunt at 4:43a was improved.  I felt better during the run and was running at an average pace of 8:43/mile.  Not too bad.  I was also relieved to get some intervals in on the treadmill.  I ran 10 quarter mile intervals on the treadmill at a pace ranging from 9.2 to 9.6 MPH with a rest interval ranging from 75 to 90 seconds.  It kind of reminded me of high school track again.  I’m not a big fan of the interval workouts but I’m going to continue to try to get at least one in a week to improve my speed and crack the 3:40 (or even a PB below 3:48) for the Rock ‘N Roll Marathon at the end of May.  

From Quiet To Chaos…

Things in my life have been quite hectic since the pickup of puppy Reggie just one week ago today.  Friday afternoon one I got the news that I would be working on a deal at work that would be fast tracked and needed to be wrapped up in about nine business days.  Lots of work still to do, but I’ve made progress and will be in Boston Monday meeting with a firm and several other related to this work assignment.  

 

I am typing this blog post on an airplane heading from Phoenix to Atlanta on my way to my good friend Leslie Gaston’s bachelorette party in Atlanta.  Leslie is marrying an awesome guy whom she actually dated in college as well, David Marcus.  I am so excited for them and happy to be a part of their special day, which is just over a month away on April 17th in Atlanta.  This weekend will be lots of hanging out with the girls, chuckling about old times and having fun in the ATL!  I can’t wait.  My bridesmaid dress from J. Crew is en route to my apartment and I picked out a very cute present for Leslie to be gifted in just a few short hours.  Good times.

 

Living with a puppy is definitely a warm-up for having a kid, especially if you are caring for the puppy by yourself.  This morning I woke up at 3a to finish packing, walk the dog, go for a run, feed the dog, walk the dog again, pack up her stuff and transport her to the puppy sitter and get ready to catch my 9:50a US Airways flight to Atlanta.  

 

Reggie is a doll and I’ve been impressed by how quickly she learns.  She is very sweet and I think we’re going to make a great couple.  The poor girl had a little anxiety earlier this week and got really upset, barking frequently when I crated her and had to go to work.  Being a rookie mom, I left the window of my room open and apparently she disturbed several neighbors.  Since my roommate Sara typically gets home earlier than I do, when Sara came home, Reggie started barking again and several neighbors came over and gave Sara a hard time about the dog.  I felt horrible; Sara took the brunt of several tongue lashings on behalf of my dog, Reggie was so sad I left her in the crate and I have to admit I have a little separation anxiety myself.  

 

My kind neighbors Katie and Brett, fellow dog owners – they have a great dog named Kalli – gave me some great advice: complete cover her crate with blankets so it’s more den-like, leave her with some music playing and leave one of my t-shirts in her crate when I’m not there to remind her of me.  I also added a Kong bone with peanut butter in it to keep her occupied.  So far, the good byes have gotten easier and she has been sleeping at least six hours at night.  Good times.

Reggie: The Natural Retriever

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Marathon Training: A Tough Slog Through Mission Beach

Saturday I managed to do about a nine mile slog through Mission Beach, Crown Point, part of PB and back to De Anda Cove. The flu bug I caught sure knocked me square on my rear for a solid week and has made getting back on the marathon training track challenging. I was initially hoping to get 10-12 miles in on Saturday but was relieved when I made it 9 miles.

Sunday I was very sore, hobbled six miles along Embarcadero and then played a soccer game Sunday afternoon. Today was a bit of a recovery with a 45 minute workout on the elliptical bright and early this morning at The Sporting Club. We'll see how well the body has recovered tomorrow morning when I attempt some interval training on the treadmill...

Puppy Time

I picked Reggie up on Friday and we've spent many hours together bonding already. She is a joy but definitely a big responsibility. So far, we've made very good progress on the training front: she is a natural retriever and has taken to the leash pretty well. Unfortunately the guy at the dog store Saturday saw two fleas on her, so I spent the afternoon bathing her, bathing Chica (my roommate Sara's cat) and cleaning the apartment like a madwoman. Trying to give a cat a bath is one of the most challenging things I've done in my life...I don't recommend it.

I have a new toy for recording short videos and will try to upload some video Reggie to the blog over the next week or so...