Fun Factoids: SoCal versus the Midwest

Here's a quick list of things that are more likely to happen to you if you live in Southern California and not the Midwest:

1. Rainbow flip flops on casual day are totally acceptable. At your former firm, wearing a skirt without panty hose was cause for dismissal. Now you're cruising into the office on Fridays in flops and shorts.

2. High school friends of your friends are porn stars. You kind of dismiss this story the first time your friend tells you a friend of a friend from high school that you just met at a party is a porn star. The second or third time you meet the kid and hear the same story, your curiosity gets the best of you. You Google to confirm or deny the allegation and kind of regret the Googling but are oddly intrigued. Regular discussions of the nuiances of his porn career now spring up every time this kid shows up at a party.

3. You doubt the economy is really in a recession because so many people can afford plastic surgery and luxury sports car. At the gym and beach, the plastic surgery work is so obvious, it makes even other women stop, stare and comment. On the road, every fifth car is a Range Rover, Aston Marton, Ferrari, Lamborgini or Maserati. Seriously? There are three or more luxury car dealers within five miles of your house. If there was really a recession, wouldn't at least a few of them closed their doors by now?

4. You suspect your neighbor is a drug dealer. From what you gather, he is home at all hours of the day yet manages to pay rent in a relatively pricey area, has visitors looking for him from 7:30a 'til 11:30p, and your living room constantly smells like wackey weed but you don't even know what 4:20 is. Initially you thought a skunk had sprayed but after the fifth day in a row of the smell, your naivete wears off and you reminisce about your favorite episode of "Weeds." Unfortunately he isn't as charming as Nancy Botwin.

There are definitely more of them, but these are the most humorous I could think of this evening.

The Best Thing About the Weekend? The Afternoon Nap.

The Infamous Pillow

The Living Room Is Complete!

In a previous blog post, I raged about Jerome's Furniture not selling these awesome turquoise pillows that matched my rug perfectly. It was a total set up - they had them sitting on the couch I purchased but they refused to sell them with the couch. Being the anal person that I am, I really wanted them and made multiple attempts to package them into my rug/couch/table purchase. The sales guy wouldn't budge. I knew I would be frustrated for months searching for the right match. And I was.

However, I was recently wandering the aisles Target when I found the perfect pillows and perfect throw blanket to match my rug. I also found a great vacuum. Great trip for the economy, but not a great trip for the Amex bill. However, I now have my living room completely set up. I am very excited about it.

Soccer, soccer, soccer

This afternoon as I was cleaning my apartment I turned on the TV. Ironically, the TV turned on to the WPS championship featuring Sky Blue FC (out of New Jersey) against the Los Angeles Sol. The game was actually exciting (yes, I was kind of shocked) and Sky Blue pulled off a 1-0 win. Tar Heel Heather O'Reilly scored the game winning goal and Tar Heel Jenni Branam had the shutout for Sky Blue. LA was playing a player down after the referee sent off a Sol player for throwing an elbow and taking out a Sky Blue player. She was also the last defender. Although there was some controversy over the call, I think the referee made the correct call. Not only was she the last defender but she also blatantly threw an elbow (watch the replay - that was not a natural arm movement).

This afternoon also marks the start of the Tar Heels soccer season. They are taking on UCLA as we speak. Unfortunately the Heels are almost exclusively on the East Coast this season, so I'm not sure if I'll get to see them play. Maybe if they make it to Texas, I'll hop over for the Final Four. Good luck to the Heels and let fall begin!

AFC Half Marathon: It’s All About the Lines

One of my friends suggested to me the night before the AFC Half Marathon that I should set my alarm for 6:30a and get up to run the 13.1 miles by myself along the beach in order to avoid all the hassles of running in a big race. She is wise beyond her years.

I chose to run in the race, waking up at 4:30a to get to Balboa Park by 5:30a to wait in line to use the Port-O-Potty to wait in line to catch the bus up to Cabrillo National Monument, to wait in line to use the Port-O-Potty again to wait in line with the rest of the cattle for the race to start. Seriously? There was a two and a half hour lag time between my wake-up call and my first running steps. That’s a bit too much for me.

I ran a blazing first nine miles and then hit a giant brick wall. It didn't help that a significant portion of the last two miles were uphill. When all was said and done, I finished in just over two hours. Disappointing time but I was glad when it ended. And then I had to wait in line to get out of the parking lot. Eek.

Reggie and Gracie

Reggie Gets a Roommate (Temporarily)

Last week, I had the pleasure of dog sitting my friend Kristin’s dog, Gracie. Gracie is a two-year old yellow lab that gets along with Reggie very well. They had a grand old time together and managed to not fight (or destroy the house) for five whole days. However, I do think little Reg was a bit miffed that I didn’t devote all of my attention to her.

I didn’t realize just how much Reggie liked having Gracie as a roommate until Kristin picked her up. Reggie and I headed out for a walk as they left. I heard this awful yelping noise and thought Kristin must have accidentally caught Gracie’s foot in the door or something. However, I realized it was poor Reggie revolting at the realization her roommate was moving back in with mom. It was too sad and very cute. Gracie, Reggie misses you!

Harvard Business Publishing’s “The Daily Stat”

Today’s fun factoid related to “Women, Shopping, and Happiness.” Interestingly, women control almost $12 trillion in consumer spending. However, I thought the even more interesting piece of the article related to happiness. “The Daily Stat” cited a BCG survey of over 12,000 women in 22 countries which discovered “only 5% of women say shopping makes them extremely happy, compared to pets (42%), sex (27%), and food (19%).” Now you know why such a significant portion of this blog talks about Reggie. Coming home to her really brightens up my day!

Last Run Before the AFC

Last night was my last run of any distance before the AFC Half Marathon on Sunday morning. I got home from work around 8p, took Reggie for a quick walk and then headed out for a five miler. I was speeding along for the first couple and then slowed my pace a bit, ultimately finishing in just over 45 minutes. I am still optimistically hoping to finish the AFC in under two hours but will have to fight through the last couple of miles, which are uphill. My long runs generally stopped just after the 10 mile mark which means I’ll need to run on fumes to hit the 13.1 mile mark.

The other thing that gives me pause about Sunday’s race is the 7:00a start time. I wouldn’t have a problem if I could show up at 7:00a and run. However, the race is a point-to-point starting at Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma and finishing in Balboa Park, after a steady two to three mile climb up from downtown. The race instructions I’ve read so far really emphasize that the last bus to the starting line leaves from Balboa Park at 6:00a, meaning people need to arrive no later than 5:30a. This indicates my wake up call will come around 4:45a in order for me to make it downtown by 5:30a. Eek. Hopefully I’ll be able to squeeze in a power nap on the bus. At least we shouldn’t have to deal with hot sunny weather as I’ll be all wrapped up with running by 9:00a.

The Economics of Owning a Dog

My co-worker Tony and I frequently chat about what the “real cost” of owning a dog is. Since my impulse purchase of Reggie, he’s asked me to closely track exactly how much money I spend on having a dog. He initially asserted he thought total cost of ownership over a dog’s lifetime was around $40,000. I thought that sounded way too high.

Although I haven’t meticulously kept track of every expenditure on Reggie, after this weekend’s purchase of a high-quality vacuum (the Eureka Comfort Oh! for $150, which I’m quite happy with thus far), I decided to do a little modeling work to show how much a dog ends up costing its owner. My assumptions are pretty conservative – $40 per week for a dog walker, about a bag of food per month, $15 per month each for doggie poop bags and dog treats and so on. I’ve estimated the capital spent in the first year on one-time items to be $2,355. These include the purchase price for the actual dog ($900), spaying and micro-chipping ($500), first year vaccinations ($200), puppy crate ($125) and so on. I’ve also modeled the expected annual expenditure, which turns about to be around $4,523. Assuming a 12-year life, the cost of owning a dog with my current model turns out to be $56,631. Good thing I didn’t produce this model before getting Reggie…

The US Soccer Team Loses in Azteca Stadium (Again)

Yesterday, the US men’s soccer team fell 2-1 to Mexico in a World Cup qualifier. Prior to entering the match, the US’s record at Azteca Stadium was 0-22-1 stretching back to 1937. Hopefully the stadium will never be used in an actual World Cup match (for any of the team members that are superstitious). What is the longest losing streak by a major sports team in a stadium? A question to ponder and email me about!

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters

A great place to grab a cup of Joe and experience Bird Rock. It offers caffeine and a working Internet connection, which I am really excited about at this point in time.

Rough Week For Reggie

Even worse than the technology difficulties I've experienced over the past week are poor Reggie's challenges. As you can see from the above picture, she's developed some kind of weird pink spot on her lip. Initially I though it was a bruise. I've stopped crate training her and let her have the run of the kitchen, hallway and bathroom when I'm gone. My friend Jen generously lent me her EvenFlow fence, which I use to keep Reggie out of the living room (so she doesn't eat the couch and rug). I spilled her food one morning last week and as I was picking it up, kicked over the fence, which fell right into Reggie's face as she was running towards me. I initially thought it was a bruise from the fence but it doesn't really look like a bruise. We'll have to see what Dr. Lindsey says about it this week if it doesn't look better.

Poor Reg is also experiencing extra goopy ears, probably from all the swimming we've been doing. She shakes her head more than usual and I've been cleaning her ears two or three times per day this weekend. She is not a big fan of getting her ears cleaned, poor kid. Hopefully the lip and ears heal up ASAP. If they don't, we're off to the vet this week.

Two Weeks to the AFC

With time ticking down to the AFC half marathon in a couple of Sundays, I did one of my last long runs this weekend. Nine and a half miles from La Jolla, down through Bird Rock, the neighborhoods of PB, to the boardwalk past Crystal Pier and back. It was a good run but my body feels like it hits the wall between miles seven and eight. Which could make the last several miles of the AFC kind of tricky. Should be interesting to see how it goes. From what I've heard, the first five miles are a nice easy downhill trek starting in Cabrillo National Monument, through downtown and then a steady uphill climb for two miles to finish in Balboa Park. I'm already mentally prepping for the last two miles to be pretty tough. Inspirational suggestions would be lovely if you have any...

Relay For Life in Coronado

Yesterday was the big Relay for Life down in Coronado Island. Team Pete raised a total of $3,375 with my supporters chipping in a solid $200. Thank you again everyone who donated and supported this great cause. The event itself was a lot of fun, and I spent a couple hours down in Coronado with the team yesterday. There was live music, led by the next generation of rock stars. Two kids, who were probably 12-15, were rockin' out some serious tunes and taking requests from the audience. I have confidence they'll turn out to be great musicians in the near future.

I dedicated my walk to my Uncle Mike, who lost his battle with leukemia more than seven years ago on December 27, 2001. It was on my 21st birthday and a really tough loss for everyone in our family. Uncle Mike, wherever you are right now, Blondie sends out a "Can of corn." Hope things are well and we all miss you.

Q: When Isn't Technology Great?

A: When it doesn't work as planned.

Over the past week, I feel like half of the technology-related products in my life have malfunctioned, which has led to lots of frustration. It started last Saturday morning with my iPod Shuffle. As I was sauntering toward the meet up with my running group, I realized my Shuffle had died. Given you can now get an even smaller Shuffle which holds up to 1,000 songs for $79, I figured I should go ahead and upgrade. The new Shuffle doesn't have any buttons on it; you control it through the headphones. Two runs into my new Shuffle, the headphones malfunctioned and I now have to go back to the Apple store again. Ugh.

Time Warner is on my short list of most hated companies. My Internet connection stopped working about a week ago and I haven't figured out how to fix it yet. That alone is incredibly annoying; however, to add insult to injury, my DVR box keeps randomly resetting in the middle of show playbacks. Each reset takes about 10-15 minutes, making it really annoying to try to watch any show I have recorded. I need to call and get both of the problems diagnosed, but the pain and waiting that comes with calling Time Warner has historically been very high (and long), which has led me thus far to continue putting it off. Ugh.

As we speak, my computer's mouse has stopped working so I now have to use the touch pad, which annoys me. Hopefully all my technology will be up and running again ASAP.