A sort of redesign

The new header is pretty much it. Like it?

The photo is from one day when my fiance and I went down to Cabrillo Monument, and then down to the tide pools.

My afternoon wasn't so bad

And I guess neither is living in San Diego....

Thinking about fasting

So I'm thinking about starting a fast on Sunday. I'd like to go for 5 days, but we'll see. Last time I tried, I really didn't get too far. I basically spent two days not eating, but instead making a list of all the foods I was craving. The only other time I tried was maybe 4 years ago, I made it almost 4 full days.

Even though I have no real reason to do it, I kind of buy into the whole Eastern Spirituality stuff, as well as benefits of natural foods, fasting, and meditation, although I don't practice any of the three all that much. Well, maybe the natural food thing about 50% of the time. We'll see if I can do it. Maybe I'll blog my experiences, if I'm up to it. Or maybe I won't even fast.

Now that I think of it, while most people I mention it to react in horror wondering why I'd intentionally deprive myself of food for days, to me it's a personal challenge. I'm not really a competitive person with others, but I like to push myself mentally. That's why even though I've never done anything crazy like this, I really like the idea of going to a meditation retreat, or spending weeks in the woods hiking by myself. It's my way of proving to myself that I'm mentally strong willed I guess.

Another reason to not like Exxon Mobil

I had posted this a while back about Exxon Mobil. Here is another reason to not buy from them. If Common Dreams is too liberal for you, see this CNN article then.

Missed Monday

There's something about being home during the workweek that makes it different than being home on the weekend. Yesterday I took the day off, and it was great. I just did errands and stuff, but it seems so much more relaxing than a Saturday or Sunday. One of the actual perks about my work is that our birthday counts as a "holiday". Kind of a roaming day off, we can take it pretty much whenever, so I did yesterday.

Yep, it was pretty sweet. Got to skip the whole "Monday" thing. I've gotta do it more often.

Anyone here like to travel?

Or write? Or travel and write? Or want to write about cool places in your city that might be of interest to people visiting?

(Note: Self promotion to follow)

I have a website called Worlds Revealed where you can write about cities, restaurants, hotels, museums, etc, etc. Basically anything of interest to people travelling. So if you're up for writing a few reviews, or sharing some of your travel stories, check it out!

Rainy day in San Diego

And by rain I mean not really rain, but California rain, which is really called a drizzle by most people, but is an excuse for Southern Californians to sit inside and think the sky is falling.

This whole weekend was pretty uneventful, probably for most people. It was cloudy all weekend, with off and on rain (drizzle). I grew up in CT, and I know rain is normal, but for some reason after you've lived here for a while, you forget how to function when the sun isn't shining. I kind of walked around my apartment, watched tv, looked outside to see if it was clearing, paced around, messed around on the computer, etc. It actually is nice to have some down time from the nice weather, but it's weird.

I did manage to make it outside to go running though, made it four whole miles. I'm thinking about signing up for a half marathon, I've never actually run a race before, but I've always wanted to run a marathon, but I figure a half is a better way to start.

I also played around with my website. It's been a while since I've done any work on it, but I have (re)decided that I need to focus on it for it to be successful. (Hint, hint, take a look!). I also decided since I've been taking quite a few photos during my hikes, that I'd document my hikes and some of my scenic photos.

And that's about it. Now time to go make some dinner...

Gone Organic

I'm glad to see that organic and healthly is the new fad. I do all my shopping at Trader Joe's and Henry's these days, but every now and then I stop in at Von's to grab a thing or two. And I'm happy to report that even there they now have extensive organic selections. They even have the environmentally friendly diswashing detergent that I started buying. (It's better for the environment, vegetable based, and biodegradable). I remember last year I was trying to find whole wheat spaghetti, and had some serious problems finding it. Tonight at Henry's I noticed that they had half an aisle of whole wheat AND organic pastas.

My fiance is ok with the organic stuff as well, though she probably wouldn't be if it wasn't for me. She calls all the stuff I get "hippy stuff". Anyway, I've begun to really get into the "hippy stuff", I feel better health wise and I feel more responsible to the world and environment. And I'm glad to see it's catching on...

a favorite blog

One of my favorite blogs I visit, is written by someone who spends her life traveling, living Life, and trying to understand "her place in this Universe." Most of us are looking for "our place", but not many find it. What she writes is inspirational, humbling, and human. If you have never visited Solbeam, you should.

Jogging on the beach

I went jogging on the beach this morning. Yea, I'm lucky. It rained last night, which normally makes for a nice brisk morning, things are wet and different from the norm here in San Diego. But being on the beach after it rains makes you realize a few things.

The first being that people are idiots. The sand was matted down and there was litter all over the place. Maybe this is a normal occurrence every morning and I just never realized. Doesn't everyone love the beach? Yea? So why do they throw their empty doritos bags on it?

The second being that people are idiots. The storm drains for the city of San Diego collect the water off the streets and send it where? You guessed it. Out onto the beach and into the ocean. Maybe this made sense one hundred years ago when they actually collected only rainwater, but now they collect oil and trash and debris off the streets, which makes for a nice stew that comes out onto the beach and into the water. Not only does it come out onto the beach, but it washes away the sand and makes a channel about 2 feet deep and 20 feet wide. Way to go California. Maybe it's time to reconsider this policy.

And the third being that surfers are dedicated. The ocean in Southern California is polluted on a regular basis, but after a rain in which the above things happen, in the water is probably not exactly the smartest place to be after a rainstorm. But it's not their fault. They enjoy what they do and are dedicated and I don't blame them.

As a side note, I grew up on the east coast, so to me a river was a natural place filled with water that moved slowly from its source to its destination. I couldn't believe it when I learned that the Los Angeles River was a concrete channel that routed run off water through the city. And the "LA River" even doubles as the place to film high speed chase scenes for movies during the dry season. Ha! That's not a river!

Also, as another side note, how sad is it that we can pollute something as enormous as the ocean to the point where it's inadvisable and a danger to our health to go in it?

Sixteen candles ... wait, I mean children

I'm sure you've probably heard, there's this couple from Arkansas (I think), who just had their 16th child. People are eating this story up, but honestly, I think it's disgusting, and absolutely one of the most socially irresponsible things a couple could do. If we were living in the 1700s, and birth survival rates weren't what they are today, and these people were running a farm and needed the farm hands it would be one thing.

But in this day and age, with people around the world starving to death, food and supply shortages, with the massive population growth and problems with sprawling cities, what can these people be thinking? How can TWO people possibly think they have the right to bring SIXTEEN people into this world. Correct my math if I'm wrong, but isn't that 800% population growth? Can you imagine the world we'd be living in if everyone thought having this many children was a "blessing from the good Lord"? The father actually said something like if the good Lord will bless them with another child, they would be happy. I think if there's any good Lord up there, he might be saying something like, "Good Lord! What is wrong with you people?"

I know of many people who think a large family is the greatest thing ever, to be surrounded by all this love. I personally think wanting a large family is purely based upon selfish motivations. Ever since I was little I've thought that 2 in and 2 out is the way it should be. There has got to be a threshold of people that this world can safely hold, and although we may or may not be close to it, I think on social, environmental, and economic levels, having so many kids is a bad idea.

Been busy

My fiance and I flew back east for a wedding in Rhode Island, and spent a few days at my parents house in CT. I took a few photos.

Here is the sunrise (yes, sunrise) over Manhattan from Newark Airport.


A great view of the clouds flying over Connecticut.


And finally carrying my camera pays off during a trip to the bathroom. No, this isn't mine. Yes, it was already there. No, I didn't use it.