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