A Home in Paradise

My friend Lynn is selling her house in Paradise, CA and I told her I'd help out by posting the link to the website on here. I doubt anyone who reads this is in the market to buy, but you may know someone who is. Keep an ear out. It's a great house. Check it out!

http://paradiseretro.tripod.com/index.html

Krauss & Plant

Carolyn and I saw Alison Krauss and Robert Plant at the Greek Theater in Berkeley last night. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! If you have never been to the Greek Theater, I'll try to describe the setting. It's all outdoors and sits in the hills by the UC campus, surrounded by trees. The floor seating is all chairs, but surrounding that is a steep stadium-style set up that's concrete. Above that is the lawn. It's so steep that when the fog rolled in (yes it was freezing last night), I doubt the people on the lawn could even see the stage.

The music was insane of course. Most of the songs they performed were from their "Raising Sand" album that they put out last year. But, they did several Led Zeppelin songs including an amazing version of "Black Dog." They slowed it way down and quieted it down to almost a whisper. With the fog and lights, it was totally surreal. That song and Alison's "Trampled Rose" and acapella version of "Down in the River to Pray" were my favs. It was weird because Alison sang the most songs and Robert Plant even acted as a back up singer to her a few times. I really thought it would be the other way around.

Overall, it was a great concert and I was able to snap a few pics and video clips.

Thanks NASA!

It's another smokey day here today and I was wondering if all the martians could see the fires from space. And they can!

All the Smoke

I just can't believe how smokey it's been the past few days. There are several fires burning around the Bay Area and I hear the worst is the one on the Napa/Sonoma County line. The smoke is blowing right toward us and the sky has been gray all week. We're really starting to feel it too. I had a chunky coughing fit yesterday morning and I couldn't run at the gym today because I was having trouble breathing. I never have trouble on poor air quality days, so I think that's really saying something.

On my drive home, I noticed the gray smoke made the sun turn an eerie shade of red. It was pretty and ugly all at the same time. So, I took a couple pictures.

The Commute

The one question everyone asks me about my new job is; "how is the commute?" My typical answer? "Oh, it's not that bad. It's usually anywhere between 25 and 40 minutes." Then I always get a; "oh yeah that's not too bad." I think everyone expects me to have horror stories because they know how bad 680 can be.

The truth is, there are certain secrets to the commute and after three weeks of studying it, I've learned how to make it better. For instance; before the 24 split, when all the right lanes clog up, I just stick to the left lanes. Then at Livorna, when everyone seems to lose their sense of how to drive and come to complete stops for absolutely no reason, I stick to the far right lane where all the sane people keep moving smoothly. Of course, good music is key. And for the drive home, there's only one trick to improving the commute...go to the gym for an hour first and wait for everyone to get off the freeway. It works every time!

I also like to entertain myself during my commutes by playing Let Me See. This is a game I have invented that really helps pass the time and keep my drives fun. There are many different versions of the game and I really encourage everyone to invent their own, but here are a few that I like to play:

Let me see if I can count how many cars are in this BART train going over my head
Let me see if I can cut this guy off without having him flip me the finger
Let me see how many of these women in Range Rovers are wearing huge diamond rings
Let me see if I can figure out this personalized plate in less than 10 minutes
Let me see how many cheaters are driving in the carpool lane with just one person
Let me see if I take this street if I can get to the freeway any faster (I really lost this game. It added 10 minutes to my drive home)
Let me see how many of my coworkers I'll see in traffic with me this morning (Usually at least one)

Let me see if any of these radio stations actually play music in the morning

Let me see if I can get to work without wrinkling my blouse
Let me see how many people got themselves into accidents today, ruining the commute for the rest of us
Let me see if there's a real reason why we are all stopped (Usually not, but one time it was because someone had dropped dozens of tiny balls onto the road and some poor CHP officer was picking them all up by hand)
Let me see if my water bottle will still be cold by the time I get to work
Let me see if I can get home before dark
Let me see how many 18 wheelers I can get stuck behind today
Let me see if anyone will actually use their blinker

So now you can see why my commute really isn't that bad. Plus, my philosophy is that as long as you like where you're headed, you won't mind what it takes to get there. I don't actually subscribe to that theory for life, but for the office and home, it works for me!

Mermaid Triathlon - Fremont

Yesterday was my second time doing the Mermaid Triathlon in Fremont and I have to say; it went much better than my first time there. Mostly because this time...I remembered my timing chip! Yay! Last time, I took it off after the swim and forgot to put it back on, which meant I didn't get my split times for the bike and run. Then, I had to run back to the transition area after I had finished the race, put it on and run back to the finish line to get my overall time. What a nightmare. You bet I'll never make that mistake again.

Yesterday's race was 400m swim (1/4 mile), 11 mile bike and 2.5 mile run. Here's how my race compared to last year:

2007
Swim: 11 min. 43 sec.
Overall: 1 hr. 39 min. 17 sec.

2008
Swim: 10 min. 23 sec.
Bike: 45 min. 4 sec.
Run: 31 min. 29 sec.
Overall: 1 hr. 27 min. 51 sec.

So, I shaved a good 11+ minutes off. I'm happy with that.

But let me tell you, that swim was BRUTAL. The chicks in my wave could not swim in a straight line to save their lives. They were flailing all over the place. I got kicked in my head, my side and I think my shoulder because I have a gnarly bruise this morning that I can't explain. Then, some girl held on to my leg for awhile as if I were a tug boat, pulling her to shore. Seriously. The swim also confirmed my fear that the swim distance for the Sacramento Triathlon in April wasn't right. There's NO way I swam 400m in 5 minutes in that race. They just sent the buoy out in the river, thought it looked good and gave us the go ahead. Theirs was probably closer to 200m. Whatever.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful Father's Day. We're taking Dad to see Indiana Jones and for lunch at Top Dog because really...what more could say "I love you Dad" than an action movie and hot dogs?!?!

My Little Poem

Today was an interesting day at work. All of the veterans were out on vacation and the only ones left were me, Nahal (who started the same day I did) and Sylvie (who has been there just over a month). Our Marketing VP, Anne, was there too, but for the most part us newbies were left on our own to run the department. We thought it was hilarious. So, I wrote a little poem about it for my missing coworkers and sent it out. Too bad they won't read it until Monday!

I should first explain that Kacie is my direct supervisor, but she works from home and is only available by phone or email. Shawna also works from home...in Kansas. So, they were able to read this today and so was Anne. Luckily, they all have great senses of humor, so they got a kick out of it.

WHOA IS US

Here are the newbies; Michelle, Sylvie and Nahal,
Alone in the office, while everyone else has a ball.

You’re all out at weddings, at home or on a boat,
And we’re hard at work here, keeping our department afloat.

We’re stuck writing emails, releases and answering the phone,
Still learning what to do and left on our own.

No Kim for questions, Jessica in style, or Melissa with music,
(Ugh, if my computer beeps again I swear I’ll freakin’ lose it!)

I know, I know…“there’s always someone to help,”
“So If Anne is busy, give Shawna or Kacie a yelp.”

But we think of you with envy as you soak up the sun,
While we suffer below florescent light, far from having fun.

If only we could be resting, relaxing and in a good mood…
Hey, maybe the Realtors will leave us leftover food!

At least after four days in heels and skirts,
No one cares that we showed up in jeans and t-shirts.

Anyway…enjoy your time off on this beautiful, sunny Friday,
Maybe we’ll take a three martini lunch for our own little partay!

Nah…we’ll just eat at our desks and stick around ‘til 5 o’clock,
And know that soon Jenna will be home and Heidi in dock.

We’ll get our work done and watch the clock hands tick by,
And wait patiently for a three day weekend for Fourth of July.

I write you this not to complain or be rude,
Just to remind you we’re the suckers with no vacation time accrued.

Poor Blog

Oh, my dear, sweet, poor blog. It has been so neglected. But rightfully so. With my new job, all I do all day is write. Write, write, write. More writing than I did in TV I think. So much writing, I've literally ran out of words, so I printed out a list of positive words and synonyms and taped them to my desk for when I get stumped. Lame, but it's better than staring off into space trying to think of something. So, needless to say, my brain is mush when I come home.

Writing used to be my stress reliever, but I think that's going to change. So, how will I rejuvenate myself now?? I still have to figure that out.