Faraday Run

From work- Faraday- Melrose- Palomar Airport Rd- El Camino Rd- Back to Office

See run HERE

Weekly total: 21.73 miles

Monthly total: 71.56 miles

Yearly total (minus January): 71.56 miles

Swim total: 1.9 miles

George's miles: 39.5

Car Pickup Run

From work- El Camino- Cassia (Aviara) Rd.- Pointsettia- to Paseo Del Norte to Brent's office

See run HERE

Weekly total: 16.99 miles

Monthly total: 66.82 miles

Yearly total (minus January): 66.82 miles

Swim total: 1.9 miles

George's miles: 36.32

Whatever You Like

It isn't his greatest, but Weird Al has struck again making a funny parody out of T.I.'s "Whatever You Like"

On this review site, called Everhype, it gets a 67% which I suppose I could agree with. The song is also available on the review, or YouTube:

Monday College Run

From work- El Camino- Palomar Airport Rd- College- Back to office

See run HERE

Weekly total: 11.2 miles

Monthly total: 61.03 miles

Yearly total (minus January): 61.03 miles

Swim total: 1.9 miles

George's miles: 36.32

Weekend Bay Run

From Home- Olney-Grand To 1.5 mile mark on bay- Back home.

See workout HERE

Weekly total: 5.53 miles

Monthly total: 55.36 miles

Yearly total (minus January): 55.36 miles

Swim total: 1.9 miles

George's miles: 30.65

Friday Relax

Ran to a field- Kicked a soccer ball around- ran/walked back

total: 2 miles

Weekly total: 14.34 miles

Monthly total: 49.83 miles

Yearly total (minus January): 49.83 miles

Swim total: 1.9 miles

George's miles: 30.65

For Those Looking for Motivation

This may not be the best song to run to, but the video is encouraging and helps average runners like me to aspire to be more.

I've always dreamed of competing in the Olympics, but the lack of natural talent and limit of free time to dedicate to train hold me back...

Which is why I find simple motivation in songs like this. Taylor Swift is one of those love her or hate artists, but many people agree that this is a good song. At least according to these reviews:

Thursday- Soccer Night

Played Soccer Thursday Night.

Played about 25/40 minutes... approximately 2.5 miles running

SCORED A GOAL! (kind of... kicked it in, bounced off other team's legs, went in).

Also did yoga class for an hour.... good workout.

Weekly total: 12.34 miles

Monthly total: 47.83 miles

Yearly total (minus January): 47.83 miles

Swim total: 1.9 miles

George's miles: 26.6

Wii Fit- Does it Count as a Workout?

I got Wii Fit for Valentine's Day and as I began playing, it wasn't what I thought it would be. People that have plaed it claim to be sore, they sweat, and they feel a workout. Me, on the other hand, feel nothing.

Based on reviews of the Wii Fit, many people simply like the fact that you are involved in the game. Instead of just sitting in a seat pushing buttons, you at least have to stand and move around a bit. I am most looking forward to unlocking more yoga poses. I guess eventually I can make it into a full flow.

Beach Run- Finally Some Sunshine

No run Tuesday- Jury Duty

Today's run: Hwy 101 from Palomar Airport- Tamarack and back

See workout HERE

Weekly total: 9.74 miles

Monthly total: 45.33 miles

Yearly total (minus January): 45.33 miles

Swim total: 1.9 miles

George's miles: 26.6

Monday-Back Running

No run/workouts Fri/Sat/Sun
(Sat- Little bit of soccer drills, minimal jogging)
Monday run: College run- El Camino- Palomar Airport-College- back to office

See workout HERE

Weekly total: 5.67 miles

Monthly total: 41.16 miles

Yearly total (minus January): 41.16 miles

Swim total: 1.9 miles

George's miles: 22.43

Soccer/ Yoga

Thursday night is soccer night.

Took Yoga for Athletes class (1hr)

Soccer game: played about 30 minutes/40 minutes

Roughly 3-3.5 miles running equivalence

Weekly total: 8.86 miles

Monthly total: 35.49 miles

Yearly total (minus January): 35.49 miles

Swim total: 1.9 miles

George's miles: 22.43

Swim is King

Going to swim the rest of the week to give the knee a rest. Before I go to the doctor to see what it is, only to find out its the usual running aches and pains and that " i just need rest," I am going to preempt the inevitable and rest it.

Tuesday swim:

not so good- borrowed goggles that were too big. Had to stop every lap to drain them.

Swam about 20-25 minutes. ~1/2 mile.

Weekly total: 5.36 miles

Monthly total: 32.49 miles

Yearly total (minus January): 32.49 miles

Swim total: 1.5 miles

George's miles: 16.64

Monday- Treadmill

For not running this weekend, skipping a race I intended to do (but failed to pre-register or set an alarm), and resting my knee, I had a shitty running day today. I wanted to wake up and run this morning, but it was raining and I was too tired. Skipped my regular lunch run, and ran on a treadmill. Disappointing, E.

The Run: From office- to gym- treadmill- back to office

See my run HERE

Hills: none

Difficulty (1-10): 2

Weekly total: 5.36 miles

Monthly total: 32.49 miles

Yearly total (minus January): 32.49 miles

George's miles: 16.64

Friday: Faraday in the Rain

The Run: From office- Faraday- to Melrose- to Palomar Airport- back to office

See my run HERE

Hills: rolling hills, one larger one

Difficulty (1-10): 7

Weekly total: 27.13 miles

Monthly total: 27.13 miles

Yearly total (minus January): 27.13 miles

George's miles: 9.73

Places I’d Like to see Before I die…

When most people think “Dream Vacation,” they typically recall places like Fiji, Hawaii (ugh, don’t get me started on that one), the Bahamas, and more recently Dubai. While I am sure these “exotic” places have enough scenery to keep your desktop background updated for years, it is probably the only benefit to be had from one of those vacations. And I think what most people like about these places is that it is easy to travel to, there are five star resorts to stay at, and you have little to worry about beyond drinking your Pina Colada before it melts.

When I think dream vacation, I think adventure. To me this means climbing a mountain to the Incan Ruins or Climbing the Andes Mountains to find where the survivors of the Uruguayan rugby team lived for months. Or, if I feel lazy like everyone else, I’d at least like to visit those places that are OUTSIDE of the main tourist attractions.

In 2007, I took a mini tour of Scotland, traveling outside of the main Edinburgh and Glasgow metro areas, I saw one of the prettiest towns in the country. It’s called Luss, one of the small Villages along Loch Lomond. Even as hung-over as I was, it was one of the sights f the trip that made me appreciate my vacation. If I were to plan my vacation, it would be in traveling to towns like this that force me to appreciate the culture I am in. After all, there is a reason I am there, so why not “live” it, even temporarily.

I can get just as good of views of a small almost desolate town as I can in (snide tone) HAWAII.

Poinsettia-College Run

The Run: From office- El Camino-to Cassia (Pointsettia)- Aviara- up College- back to office

See my run HERE

Hills: several, mile-long hill up College

Difficulty (1-10): 4/7.5

Weekly total: 22.39 miles

Monthly total: 22.39miles

Yearly total (minus January): 22.39 miles

George's miles: 9.73

If I Were a Rich Man....

As a kid, I was just as excited as an Asian tourist to take the Beverly Hills celebrity home tour, except we did it even cheaper than them, and I understood what I was looking at (though I had no factual evidence to whether it was true). My dad was the tour guide, and in the midst of getting lost, he would start to make up whose home belonged to who. There was one that I never forgot, because it was the home of my childhood hero, Lucille Ball. This is a photo of her house before it got remodeled and de-Lucified:



I am a simple person, but I like a smidgen of elegance. Though Lucy had bright red hair, she was exactly that. Her home was also simply elegant. It used to be open for tours, and supposedly I have been inside, but was too young to remember (damn those baby memories our mothers tell us about).

Another home I have recently taken interest in is that of Andy Garcia’s. His home is “reminiscent” of his Cuban childhood, and while I myself don’t have a Cuban childhood beyond weekly visits to my grandparents’ house, it still rings home to me. His childhood was much like my dad’s; born in Cuba, coming to America just before Castro came to full power. Amazing stories they both have, and one that any posterity would be proud of.


Doing a basic Google search, this is the best photo I could get of his house.







There are one or two photos of the interior of his house, which are definitely flaked with bits of “Cuba” throughout. Should I ever consider remodeling, or striking gold, or even owning my own house, I would try to combine the simplicity of Lucy’s house with the elegant Cuban reminiscence of Andy Garcia’s home.
It's hard to see, but notice the painting; very Cuban (if you know what that means). I can definitely picture old Cuban men smoking cigars in this room with cups of Cuban coffee.

The wives are intermingling, trying to talk gossip above the smoke.






Photo Sources:
1 2 3

Late Wednesday Residential Run

The Run: From office- El Camino-to Pure Fitness- across to housing track- Palomar Airport- back to office

See my run HERE

Hills: small hills in housing track

Difficulty (1-10): 3

Weekly total: 15.35 miles

Monthly total: 15.35 miles

Yearly total (minus January): 15.35 miles

George's miles: 9.73

The Least Tantalizing, Best Job in the World

Best Job in the World? Not for me, no sir!

There has been a lot of commotion for the “Best Job In the World” in which I suppose I could still apply to. After all, what harm is there in submitting a video, except for my confidence when I find out only 10 people have viewed my video. And, those 10 people will be co-workers in my office that I coerced into viewing.

The thing about this job is that so far it hasn’t gotten a positive impression from me since I found out about it. First, I wasn’t able to load the site itself for at least 3 days. While it was able to build my curiosity up effectively, it did nothing for my motivation to want to waste my time attempting. Then, once I got the page to slowly load, it wasn’t even that appealing. The descriptions of the job were vague at best, and if you are anything like me and read in between the lines, you’d find that the job isn’t entirely “the best” by any means:

Explore and report back
There’s so much to see and do, so you’ll have plenty to write about in your weekly blog. And with so much life above and below the water, you’re sure to capture some entertaining moments for your video diary and photo gallery. To keep you busy, Tourism Queensland will organise a schedule of travel and events on the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Your schedule could include sampling a new luxury spa treatment at qualia on Hamilton Island, trying out new snorkelling gear on Heron Island, or bushwalking on Hinchinbrook Island.

Translation: Make sure to bring your “stupid sign” as we have you test out Joe Outback’s latest patent in snorkels with breathing holes, test out our new “hot” body wax, and walk through some bushes to see if the plants are poisonous.

Feed the fish
There are over 1,500 species of fish living in the Great Barrier Reef. Don’t worry – you won’t need to feed them all.

Translation: Be swarmed with thousands of fish at a time as they ravage you for their bit of food. If they bit your arm or other prized treasures, we are not liable. Don’t worry about the sharks though, they typically mistake humans for fish but stop after the first bite.

Clean the pool
The pool has an automatic filter, but if you happen to see a stray leaf floating on the surface it’s a great excuse to dive in and enjoy a few laps.

Translation: We need someone to chlorinate the public peephole, scrape the mildew and dirt off the walls, and it is especially important that the grout on the pool deck stay clean enough to lick off of. Therefore, your toothbrush is necessary.

Collect the mail
You’ll have some time on your hands, so why not join the aerial postal service for a day? It’s a great opportunity to get a bird’s eye view of the reef and islands.

Translation: we need someone to do the busy work. While you’ll get to fly in a plane for a brief period, what we really need is someone to lick, stamp, and fold letters that we send out. Make sure your salivary glands are moist.

While my translations are mild and tame, I am sure there is much more to it than what I depict here. Sometimes when I picture the job, I see it as a mafia/torture situation, and once a week they let you out of the dark hole to “video blog” about what a great time you are having. Psha! Yeah right!

One thing that this job has done for me, is spiked my desire to look for a vacation to go on. Why can’t these opportunities present themselves as something more appealing like a “dream vacation” or something a little bit more straight forward.

Dentist= No Run

Opted out of running today, after little sleep and a dentist appointment.

Will do better tomorrow.

Monday College Run

The Run: From office- El Camino-Palomar Airport-College-back to office

See my run HERE

Hills: rolling hills throughout, mile up College Rd.

Difficulty (1-10): 7

Weekly total: 11.31 miles

Monthly total: 11.31 miles

Yearly total (minus January): 11.31 miles

George's miles: 5.69

Chalcedony SundayTraining

The Run: Chalcedony-Olney-Grand-to the Bay's 1 1/2 mile marker and then back.

See details of the run HERE

Hills: on the way back, up Olney (about 4 blocks)

Difficulty (1-10): 3

Weekly total: 5.62 miles

Monthly total: 5.62 miles

Yearly total (minus January): 5.62 miles

George's miles: 0

My First Blog

Well I have officially decided to jump on the band wagon and start a blog. I remember when my friends in college started blogging and the whole concept was so new. Now it seems like EVERYONE has something to blog about.

So now the hard part starts. All these questions have come into my head since I have decided to start blogging: what should the title be? What do I want to write about? Am I over thinking this process way too much??

I feel like the saying, "if you don't have anything good to say don't say anything at all," keeps coming up. I mean who really cares about what I am doing on a normal basis. I tell my friends and family what is new in my life, so why blog about it to the masses?

Then I realized blogging is just a way to get your thoughts out and have fun with it. You can be as creative as you want and write about whatever you want. I love being creative and writing so why shouldn't I have a blog.

So stay tuned and who knows what random stuff I'll write about, but the important thing is I'm doing it!