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January 20, 2008
January 12, 2008
Beard
do you think it would have the same effect if i shaved my chest and let it grow back out again...
I like Carrot Cake too...
...Lisa
January 10, 2008
Two And A Half Pounds Of Smoked Salmon
I mostly blame you Jim.
I blame you because I know that you enjoy a good bagel with lots of lox the morning after a night of drinking. That’s why I bought two and half pounds of smoked salmon in the first place. You see, I was at Costco the Sunday before New Year’s Eve when, while minding my own business I was accosted by a blue-haired devil of a woman. She was serving a platter of oh-so tempting bite-sized morsels and wouldn’t take no for an answer. With you and Lisa coming to town the next day, I thought that I’d impress (you) and surprise (lisa) with my extra large, extra tasty, chub of smoked salmon.
Fast forward to the Saturday following New Year’s Eve.
Imagine my surprise when, six days later, while searching for the feta cheese in the back of the fridge I found a humongous unopened package containing two and a half pounds of smoked salmon on the bottom shelf, lurking there in plain sight.
That was four days ago. And so it is, that my mission in life ever since has been to make sure that not a single bite of this salmon goes to waste. I was raised to always finish my food, no matter how big the plate in front of me, and to have love and respect for the environment. You pair these two values together and what you get is ME, on a mission, to ensure that this salmon did not die in vain. The unfortunate part of my circumstance is that neither of my roommates, nor my girlfriend, care for smoked salmon. When approached with the proposition of helping me in my mission, Maria turned her head and scrunched her nose upwards as if I had just licked the backside of a skunk and was coming in for a kiss.
I am happy to report that as of tonight I have only one remaining segment of what was surely once a gigantic fish that swam the frigid Alaskan waters as generations of men passed through. (I have since segmented the fish into 10 individually wrapped pieces in an attempt to fool my psyche of the massive task before me.)
If somebody were to ask, I would liken my accomplishment to that of Cool Hand Luke on his 45th egg. The end is near, and if could taste anything other than smoked salmon, surely it would be victory.
January 8, 2008
Jan 20 - Carlsbad 1/2 Marathon
...I can't believe it but it's been a whole year since my heart breaking withdrawl from the '07 Cbad Half Marathon. I was forced to withdraw from the race due to an infected toe nail a mere 5 days from race day... but hey, if that's the result from running around in the red dirt in Kauai for 9 days w/ no shoes then sign me up - I'll never run another day in my life!
We need not revisit the pictures from this devastating and traumatizing incident. But if you're perverse, go ahead: pervert click here
So here we go again. I probably wouldn't have signed up for this year's race - espeically since I haven't been able to get any motivation in my training much lately - but there's a group of 5 of us from work that decided we'd all get jiggy with it if it were a group effort.
And there you have it - that was the first and last time I will ever write the word 'jiggy'. Ever.
...Anyway, there's not much more to be said, except - if you're gonna be in North County on the 20th, you better stop by to say HI.
You'll know how to spot me - I'll be the guy wearing no shirt, in the bear suit.
...and for any/all cheerleaders that stop by to say HI, the first round of pankcakes after the race are on ME!
(Pictures of the Cheerleaders 2 Years Ago!)
A Mammoth Repeat
January 7, 2008
I bet you girls probably didn’t know…
(a letter to Brenda & Cari)
… that after we parted ways in ’98 from our home at 37 E Speedway, I continued to live with the Big Brown Cow for years to follow. In fact, I kept that couch –at least at the very end, what was left of it – up until the day I moved to San Diego. For five years I cared for and loved that couch as if it were one of my very own. I moved it to and fro, arranging, rearranging, and rearranging it again to match it with a countless number of different yard sale furnishings offered by many a roommate – though, no matter the house, the décor, or the roommate, the Big Brown Cow always succeeded in capturing center stage of the livingroom. I moved Brown Cow to and fro, from at least five different homes through the course of my tenure at the UA. We shared some good times, and bad ones as well.
I took this picture in June of ’02 as I finished loading my U-Haul to make the trek to SD. Had I enough room in my small 14-ft U-Haul BelieveYouMe it would have made the trip. Alas, I did not, and so, it did not. I was sad to see it go, but as I left it there in the alley way off of E. Adams Ave. & N. Mountain Ave. I couldn’t help but think of all the great times we had on that couch – starting way back in 7th grade when I’d ride my bike up the hill in the heat of the summer with Altar, Lee, Luong, Sean and crew to hang out all afternoon with ‘the girls’ while Brenda’s parents were away at work – and I knew that it was not a sad departure, but a happy one, because goddammit that couch had lived a good couch life.
January 5, 2008
Cool Fix for a Hot Planet
January 3, 2008
tonight's the night (crock pot)
i prepped everything last night, and this morning i placed all the ingredients into my new crock pot (thanks Mitra!) and put it on low.
the weather forecast is for wind and rain later today... which means that when i pull into my cold, dark, wet driveway tonight there will be a steaming hot pot of love (aka - beef stew) waiting for me inside!!
i can't wait.
January 2, 2008
i had leftover Salmon...
...for lunch today.
it was only a week or so old, but Maria, well, she was worried about it for some reason.
i microwaved it for a minute and a half so that it got real hot.
i think i probably killed most of the bacteria that might have been on it.
i'm sure i'll be fine.
now i have my leftover ravioli for tomorrow... see how great that worked out!!
Will '08 be the year for me to buy in San Diego?
Interesting article, though, nothing much new – just a summary of the most recent data on the "health" of the SD housing market:
I find the propaganda reports submitted by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) absolutely hilarious! This is the same group of jokers that insisted there was no housing bubble and that there would be no pull-back (from the unsubstantiated run-up in prices over the past 4 years) even as home sales stalled, and prices were dropping early last year. Why does the paper continue to publish their bs? The fact of the matter is nobody knows WHEN the market will turn around – all anybody can do is wait and see. Please NAR, don’t patronize me with your self-interest feel-good bs. Just go away for now and come back in two years to scab your middle-man 3% cut when this market finally does turn around. Or, don't come back. Maybe by the time this debacle is over with, the means and methods for purchasing homes online will finally nail the coffin shut on your vampirish, near-extinct existence.
In my humble opinion, my guess is that based upon the current state of the economy and local SD housing market, it may stabilize by the first quarter of '09 - at the earliest! There was a huge run-up over the past 4 years, and as far a market correction goes, we’ve got a ways to go yet. It's possible it may even take longer than that, but any predictions beyond this timeline is just a crapshot at this point since anything beyond the second quarter of this year will depend on related and non-related economic developments that are yet to unfold (recession? inflation? interest rates? employment?) - not to mention our increasing dependency upon the stability of other world markets (*ehm* such as China).
For the time being, I’ll continue to watch, but will likely not consider doing anything until at least the end of this summer.