Welcome to NYC...

I'm having lots of fun with traveling this week. Boston came in with multiple flat tires and went out with a torrential downpour (and a delayed flight to JFK). New York is opening up with some lovely weather, as seen from the Park Avenue view from StepStone's new New York office. Unfortunately, living in San Diego tends to lead one to under-invest in fuzzy boots, which isn't good for February East Coast trips...

Welcome to Boston!

There are a few joys about the East Coast I temporarily forgot about before my flight landed in Boston's Logan airport this evening. One of which is the crazy cabbies that pervade big cities like Boston and New York. The cabbie that transported us from the airport to the Marriott seemed relatively normal until he took out a median right in front of Copley Square. This caused the cab to immediately get not one but two flat tires. It was good for a chuckle (only because we were right in front of our hotel).

The other thing I temporarily forgot is how hostile Northeastern-ers can be. As we were de-planing, a man - who apparently left a bag on the plane - was nearly gunned down by vocal abuse from a United gate worker. Apparently the man was in some sort of security violation. However, the United worker seemed to lack some tact with his approach to dealing with the situation. Can't recall the last time I heard a San Diegan yell like that in public. A San Diegan's response would have likely began with something like, "Dude, why are you re-entering the plane? That's not cool - it's against our security regulations." But that's the difference between East and West Coast-ers.

Winter Olympics

I've been watching some of the Winter Olympics over the past few days. I'm definitely more of a Summer Olympics fan - soccer, track and field, etc., and am convinced that many of the Winter Olympic events really shouldn't even be classified as sports. For example, if I ran the Winter Olympics, the first event I would strike down would be ice dancing. This should be a Monday night reality TV show following "Dancing with the Stars," and IMHO is not an actual sport.

However, there are some events which I've found to be incredibly exciting. Last night's 1,000 meter short track speed skating final with Apolo Ohno is a great example. Short track speed skating is volatile and definitely a full-contact sport. From the athlete's perspective, it must be challenging to prepare for an event in which someone can bump you and take you out of the race and there's really nothing you can do about it. In last night's race, Apolo was bumped and lost a significant amount of speed, allowing the two Koreans to pass him. However, in the interview following his bronze medal performance, he was very classy about it, acknowledging that that's just part of the sport.

I've also been impressed with the downhill skiing. I think you have to be a bit crazy to do it, but it's fun to watch and I've been excited to see the Americans have such success this year. Go USA!

Flu Season is Here

I work in a small office and several of my co-workers have been sick off and on over the past several weeks. After initially thinking the Green Vibrance might have boosted my immune system so much that I could avoid the sickness, I was brought back to earth on Wednesday. I woke up with a tickle in my throat and by the time I left work it felt like my throat was nearly swollen shut. Since I have a busy travel schedule over the next couple of weeks, I almost flew into a panic because there is nothing worse that traveling when you're sick. I drove myself down to the Urgi-Care in Pacific Beach, where the doc told me I didn't have strep throat (whew) and prescribed a Z-Pack.

Although I felt considerably better by Friday afternoon, I have been doing a lot of sleeping and relaxing this weekend. The sickness seems to be lingering, which makes me a little nervous to get on a plane tomorrow morning. I'll keep downing the orange juice and Mucinex-D and hope for the best...

Soaking up the Rays...

Like her Aunt Avery, Reggie loves to soak up the sun after a long walk.

Weekend Long Run

I ran nine miles this weekend at an 8:57 per mile pace. Slower than my targeted 8:42 per mile pace, but not too shabby considering the La Jolla Half Marathon is at the end of April. Think I'll sign up tomorrow...

The Ocean and the iPhone: Not Meant for Each Other

This lovely three day weekend featured perfect weather in La Jolla (the typical 72 degrees and sunny), as well as some killer waves. Per SurfLine, the waves were four to seven feet at Windan'sea today with the occasional ten foot wave. I got up bright and early to take Reggie down to the beach so she could run around sans leash before the lifeguards get there at 9am. I also took my phone because I wanted to catch up with a few friends after the beach as I was walking Reg through town.

That turned out to be a bad choice.

We got down to the beach and I saw the tide was very high and the waves were pretty aggressive. I decided it would be best to sneak around a group of rocks so Reggie would have more room to run on the beach. I got caught up in waves up to my knees several times as we were maneuvering around the rocks. However, the real death blow to my iPhone came just as we made it through the rocks and onto the beach. I failed to realize the size of the wave after it crashed against the wall. I positioned myself too close to the wall and after a big wave was literally soaked head to toe: everything on me, including the iPhone in my front pocket, was drenched.

I rushed off the beach in vain, trying to get home as quickly as possible to dry the iPhone with my hair dryer. It partially worked - I could access email and surf the web, but the speakers (and thus the phone) were broken. So sad. That giant wave cost me $214.

Slow Ramp up on the Running Train

In January, I decided to get back into running. However, it is pretty discouraging to go out for a run after taking time off because you lose all the stamina you had built up before taking time off. My current plan is to run three times a week, and increase the distance I run each week by a half mile. I started with three miles in January and am up to 5.5 miles this week. On the weekends, I’ve been trying to sneak in slightly longer runs, with the long run last week lasting eight miles. Surprisingly, I’ve worked back up to running at a decent pace (8:40-ish/mile pace) rather quickly.

Apparently, this has made me a bit cocky because today I found myself contemplating signing up for the La Jolla Half Marathon on April 25th. I have no doubts if I continue to ramp-up my running at the pace I’ve been since January I can run 13 miles by the end of April. However, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the elevation of the La Jolla Half, check out the course map here: www.lajollahalfmarathon.com/Assets/_assets/pdf/Course+Map.pdf

I’ve run the big hill before (from mile six to seven), and yes, it is as bad as it looks.

In Search of Healthy Beverages: Green Vibrance and Zico Coconut Water

In the spirit of trying to live a healthier lifestyle longer than the first two weeks of January, I’ve been searching for healthy beverages to replace soda. The first item mentioned above, Green Vibrance, is a supplement I drink in the morning, so it doesn’t fit this bill. However, I initially decided to try it because it came highly recommended by a health guru friend. The downside of Green Vibrance is that is a bit pricey and tastes like lawn in a bowl. The upside is that it is a nutrient-dense food from vegetable sources and gives your body beneficial nutrients that are typically lacking in daily diets. In order to make Green Vibrance more palatable, I mix it with four to six ounces of Naked Juice’s Green Machine. And then I am super-charged with vitamins for the rest of the day.

To replace soda, I’ve been sticking mainly with three items: Zico coconut water, Amazon acai drink by O.N.E., and green tea. Coconut water has more potassium than a banana, thus is great after a workout for helping your body to recover. I really like the “Passion Fruit” Zico coconut water. I initially tried the plain coconut water, which was a bit challenging to drink. O.N.E. (One Natural Experience) makes a really good Amazon acai juice; however, to my knowledge, it doesn’t come in single serving sizes, making it less convenient to take to work. Finally, I’m back to drinking lots of my favorite green tea, Tazo. This mix has been helpful in keeping me away from soda when I get tired of drinking water and need something a little more flavorful. Try them out!

Music Fiesta

After a brief hiatus in live music shows, my music calendar has perked up notably over the last several days with three great additions: G. Love and Special Sauce this Friday at the House of Blues, The National in May, and the Black Eyed Peas in April.

G. Love is a blast from the past and I’m excited to check out the House of Blues in downtown San Diego, as I’ve not yet seen a show there. I’m so committed to The National concert in May, I’m likely to have to schedule an earlier flight home from a wedding in North Carolina that weekend but still bought tickets. The band has roots back to Cincinnati and I can’t wait to see them live again, as they skipped this year’s Street Scene (boo).

One group that thankfully did not skip Street Scene 2009 in San Diego, the BEPs, are coming to San Diego in early April. The BEPs were my favorite performance at this year’s Street Scene, with a show that had the entire audience rocking. I booked tickets today for standing room only, floor seats. Bring on the mosh pit – “I Gotta Feeling” this concert is going to be crazy!

The Thief

I am an Internet shopper, particularly for mundane items that I know I want, and want to make sure I get the best price with the least possible effort. Therefore, I turn to the Internet. What did people do before NexTag and Bing? However, a recent development has thrown a chink into my Internet shopping.

Several weeks ago, I ordered three items: Keurig K-cup refills for my Keurig coffee maker, poop bag refills for Reggie, and some Lancome make up. The Coffee People Donut Shop coffee is quite delicious, as I first tasted it over Christmas break at my parent’s house. When my existing Caribou Coffee K-cups ran out, I opted to order some Donut Shop coffee from Amazon.com. While I was on the site, I re-ordered poop bags for Reggie because they are so over-priced at PetCo. Whereas 120 bags cost $13-15 at Petco, I ordered some ridiculous quantity (around 700) for $25 on Amazon.com. Finally, after several failed attempts to find my favorite Lancome cover-up at a variety of department stores, I opted to order it online from Lancome.com.

I’ve never had issues with having packages delivered to my apartment before, despite the fact that I don’t have a porch (thus packages could potentially be poached by bums, rogue neighbors, etc.). I learned a tough lesson with this order and had nearly $100 of merchandise stolen. I won’t speculate who the culprit was, but had to resort to having all packages delivered to work. Good thing our receptionist is cool and friendly. May bad karma strike down my thief, whomever he or she is. Seriously?

Q: How Many Feathers are in a Goose Down Comforter?

A: Enough for me to never leave Reggie alone with my goose down comforter again.

Friday night after a long week at work, I stopped at Zenbu, a fantastic La Jolla sushi spot, for dinner and a few drinks. The sushi was amazing, but unfortunately, very over-priced, with rolls running from $15 to $20 per roll. If you’re looking to splurge on sushi, the quality at Zenbu is high. However, be ready for your wallet to take a significant hit. Even the seaweed salad will set you back $10. Zenbu offers some great off-menu choices in the roll department, so make sure to ask your server to give you the full scoop. I indulged in the Johnny roll and highly recommend it – it is tempura-ed and served with an amazing sauce. The “Oriental Mule” is an interesting and tasty cocktail.

However, after the fine dining experience, I was met with an unpleasant surprise. I returned home to find Reggie on my bed covered in what looked like white puffy snow. She had been very well behaved over the past few weeks, so I had started to let her have free reign of my bedroom during the day, mostly because she loves to sleep on the carpet, as well as on my bed. Apparently she was not on board with my fine dining experience and late arrival home. As a result, she chewed the corner off my down comforter, causing goose down feathers to fly literally EVERYWHERE in my room. I couldn’t deal with this on Friday night and spent between an hour and an hour and a half Saturday morning cleaning up. Goose down had permeated every possible region of the room, causing me to move furniture, dust all surfaces multiple times, and vacuum over and over…

Needless to say, I am much more defensive with my down comforter now that I have a general idea of the amount of goose down inside. Sorry, Reggie.