Well, This Should Be Interesting....

To our Cast,

As per our conversation today, in Episode xxx, [redacted] will be recreating a dust storm. The Special Effects Department will be using FX Dirt which is considered the safest product available. Even though the material is non-hazardous and non-toxic, it can still be irritating to the eyes, nose and throat. Anyone with a history of asthma or other respiratory limitations should advise the production office. The FX Dirt will be used well within the the regulatory permissible exposure limits for nusiance particulates. A representative from Ellis Environmental, an outside testing company, will be on set during the heavy dust days monitoring the air to maintain a safe and healthful work environment.

[redacted] has blocked the scenes to minimize your exposure to this effect. We will be using stunt doubles in wide shots and only bring you in for closer shots. Our medic will be equipped with all materials to deal with this type of effect including having a portable eye wash station on set. If you experience any discomfort, please notify production or see the medic immediately. Attached please find the Material Safety Data Sheet for the FX Dirt.

Costco, Ikea, Death Warmed Over

Today, Jody and I did our bit to personally stimulate the economy.

To explain: We moved out here with very little in the way of furniture. This is partially because we hated our old furniture and partially because we had to move as cheaply as possible (due to Jody's modest relo package). In essence, we sold most of our stuff in NYC and came here with little more than kitchen supplies, a dining-room table, a hammock, and our clothes.

We bought some living room furniture weeks ago, but are waiting for it to arrive. We have also scavenged a ton of stuff off of craigslist, which seems to have much higher quality stuff in LA than in NYC (and of course we're not in a walkup, so it's easier to grab stuff on a whim). I scored 6 gorgeous dining room chairs for $50 (!), a liquor hutch/linen cabinet for FREE, a dented but useable black lateral file cabinet for FREE....and so on. So we have a few things, but we're far from settled.

One of the ways we've been getting by in the interim is to rent stuff. In fact, we have rented a sofa for the past several weeks, and a TV since June.

It doesn't cost a whole lot to rent a little TV, but it adds up after a while. We just wanted to wait for the holiday sales before we made a major purchase which we knew we'd live with for the next ten years.

Today we bit the bullet and finally picked one out, a beaut from Costco for a ridiculously low price compared to what we'd have paid even a month ago. And a vacuum cleaner, because the house is currently a cat hair dust bunny farm.

We'd never set foot in a Costco before. I found it really a bit insane. But I sure am glad to discover what everyone's been talking about for years.

And we didn't stop there. There are also no closets in this house, so no clothing storage, so a big mess. Presto! Off we went to Ikea in Burbank and bought Pax wardrobe frames, shelves, doors, etc., in an effort to create some kind of elegant clothing solution. I guess I miss building Ikea kitchens, so now I have to build Ikea closet-y things.

Satisfied we'd done our bit to put the country on the right track, we headed home (took two trips in our l'il Prius to haul it all) with Jody feeling more than a little queasy and light-headed. By the time we got here, she also had a headache and fever. And is now conked out for hopefully the next several hours while she fights this thing off.

Sigh. A very productive day from the standpoint of getting a little more settled here, but not without its toll.

Unexpected Detour

I'm too pissed off to write about it.

So just read this post from Jody's blog.

Trek

This will be a post about the other side of Los Angeles.

Or, better yet, how about the other side of Hollywood?

Or, better still, how about the other side of the Hollywood sign?


Yeah, I know, that was an incredibly lame intro. Cut me some slack, 'k?

I set out today to make what I estimated to be a 2½-hour hike into Griffith Park. I wound up hiking for over 4 hours. Partly because I was enjoying myself, and partly because it took me that long to get even close to where I'd parked my car. (In the end, I called a friend and hitched a ride for the last half mile, because it was well after sunset, and I was afraid my car would be towed.)

I'm pretty damn tuckered out, so I'll expound in future posts: on Griffith Park, on Hollywood land, and on the status of my calves.

But overall it was an amazing day.

The sign looms over town, serving as a navigational aid
(it's always north), and a reminder of LA's colorful past


Road to nowhere


In the valley, someone has created a small monument;
perhaps an offering to the movie gods?

Still Hacking

Honestly, being in LA with a cold just plain sucks. It's like having a cold in the middle of summer. Enough already!

And seriously, could anything be more boring than me blogging about my cold?

I didn't think so.

Cough, Cough

I've been laying low, waiting for this cold to run its course. It's worse in the mornings and evenings, and almost disappears in the middle of the day.

It's mostly just a cough now; we're past the congestion portion. Hoping to be more or less back to normal tomorrow.

Thanks for your patience during my personal renovations. We're working to build you a bigger and better blog for tomorrow and the future!

Recalculating Route

A good friend of mine (hi, Jay!) relates the amusing story of what happens when he and his wife are driving and they ignore the directions given to them by their GPS Navigation system:

GPS System: "prepare to turn left ahead . . . prepare to turn left . . . turn left now . . .PLEASE, turn left now!"

(Jay and Nancy continue to drive straight)

GPS System (maybe a little grumpily): "recalculating route..."

They find it hilarious that rather than saying "Idiot, you missed the turn," the pleasant female computertron voice simply bleats out "recalculating route" with the sunny optimism of technology that will solve your life's problems no matter how hard you try to trip it up.

In fact, when life throws Jay and Nancy an unexpected and potentially unpleasant curveball—a curveball that requires that they change their approach to a problem or situation—one of them will sometimes turn to the other, smile wryly and repeat the mantra: "recalculating route."

I am recalculating my route today. As any runners who are reading this blog probably could have told me, the idea of trying to run six days out of seven after an extended layoff was maybe a wee bit optimistic (particularly given the toll it's taking on my 40-year old body). As such, while I plan to stick with the fitness plan (I'm already at the point where it feels like it'll stick, and I'm enjoying it besides), I am going to throttle back a tad on the schedule. To wit, something like this in each four-day stretch: short run, brisk hike, long run, day off. This will give my body a chance to recuperate a little from the pounding of the pavement, while still ensuring that I'm doing something healthy most days.

I am also literally recalculating some of the runs I did earlier this week. I thought the high school track was a quarter-mile, but based on my last two days of road running (which I've been measuring with my car's odometer), it's definitely less than that. Probably more like 1/5th of a mile, which means that when I thought was running three miles in 27 minutes (9 minute miles), I was actually running 2.4 miles in 27 minutes (11:15 miles). That jibes a little better with my times and distances of the past two days.

Anyway the main thing, as far as I'm concerned, is to build up my endurance. So today I went for a long run in Griffith Park, an enormous and mostly-wild LA City Park that has several entrances within a five minute drive of my apartment (my Mount Hollywood hikes have been in a different part of it).

From the park's website:

With over 4,210 acres of both natural chapparal-covered terrain and landscaped parkland and picnic areas, Griffith Park is the largest municipal park with urban wilderness area in the United States.

In one section of the park there's a long, mostly level bike path on pavement with a dirt running path next to it that appears and disappears. Still an occasional car going past, but much better than the street running I've been doing.

I set my pace to be very easy, because I wanted to see how long I could go.

The result: 47 minutes; 3.7 miles. A pretty leisurely amble (that's not even five miles an hour), but after a long sabbatical followed by three straight days of running, a long jog with no break for 47 minutes is nothing to sneeze at.

I'll take it. It's doing my body good.

Sick of running talk yet? Me too. And I promise this blog will rarely be about running from now on.

In parting, I'll leave you with this thought:

How COOL is THIS???        :)

A Real Post Will Come Tomorrow

But I wanted to get this in:

10:30am, 3 miles, 27:04

Please Help Me Stay Motivated

I have been trying to get back into running mode for a while now.

Sometimes running is very easy for me; sometimes, not so much.

You'd think sunny LA would be one of the places where it's easy. But as it happens, I don't like to inhale exhaust fumes when I run, and there are not a lot of level parks nearby (I prefer to run mostly level ground). So it's a little harder than you'd think. This is why I started hiking more. And I suppose I could run the hiking trails, except they're pretty damned steep, and I'm not up to that level yet.

So today I actually took the time to find a high school track/football field not too far away, and got back on the horse. 3 miles in 27 minutes. Not a lot, but best to re-enter the game slowly, says I.

I truly want to make running a daily habit, the way it was for me way back in the summer of '05. I'm more than a few pounds over my optimal weight, particularly after the holidays.

So I have decided to subject myself to you all as my personal trainers. Every day, somewhere in my post, I'll state how far I ran that day. Even if there's nothing else for me to post about, I'll put that info up. Once a week (usually Sundays) I'll allow myself a day off; but in an effort to really make a difference, only once a week.

So here's your mission, should you choose to accept it:

If any day goes by, and you don't see a sentence somewhere that says "3 miles, 27 minutes" or "day off" or something similar, then I am asking you to call me on it.

I pledge not to be dishonest and just post something to avoid your remarks. Do me a favor and hurl them (supportively, if possible) if you see me slip.

In this way, I'll have a chance to see to what degree acute peer embarassment can be a motivating factor.