I've done it. After years of chafing under my cell phone service provider, I have successfully ditched Ma Bell, and moved to Credo. What's Credo? Credo is the new name for Working Assets, the Ralph Nader greenie phone company. After trying to move to them for years, they've finally got a great offer that gets me a smartphone (Blackberry 8330) and buys me out of my ATT contract. Check it out at: www.credo.com/specialvalue.
Work has slowed down. It's slowed down so much I'm considering evaluating my investment portfolio. And that hasn't happened in years. Call me a Cassandra, but I'm wishing I could remove all my retirement money from the market and use it to pay off my mortgage. The tax implications would be horrendous. Still, the banking situation has me more than a little bit freaked out. Doesn't it seem strange that, now that the government is done bailing out the banks, that the banks are now shoring up the FDIC? Sure, just a measly 45 billion. But still. It's sortof like robbing Peter to pay Paul, and then turning around and robbing Paul to pay Peter. Kindof like the entire banking infrastructure is just a big fat Ponzi scheme.
freaky.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
eat prunes
This morning I attended my first Bootcamp session at UC San Francisco's Mission Bay campus. Boy,was it difficult!
First, for those of you who have not had occasion to skip rope in the past, say, 20 years or so, you can pretty much hear the rusty gears grinding in the part of your brain responsible for neuro-muscular memories. For my "first" time, I adopted the strategy of trying to keep one foot off the ground at all times, which helped me go for 3, even 4 times in a row, but my standing leg got awfully tired.
What can you expect at Bootcamp? All the good old fashioned moves, like toe-touches, squats, deep knee bends, lunges. During which, our "instructor" John regaled us with nutrition tips, such as: Don't wait until you're old to eat prunes. THey're good for helping you keep your arteries clear -- as well as your guts.
And: If you're on a desert island what one food do you want to have? Hint: it has protein and vitamin C. He says it's broccoli. I want a second opinion.
I had a nice visit back east, to Rochester NY. Here are things they have in Rochester:
mosquitoes
wine - some good, some not
roadways, miles and miles of roadways
green plants
bugs
piped-in music straight from 1984
Talbots
the Erie canal
clouds
gorgeous full moons (with misty clouds)
rivers, lakes, ponds, streams
locusts
frozen custard
haddock sandwiches
Genesee cream ale
styrofoam cups
sailboats
swimming pools
luxury European sedans
gigantic houses set in fields, surrounded by other giant houses
First, for those of you who have not had occasion to skip rope in the past, say, 20 years or so, you can pretty much hear the rusty gears grinding in the part of your brain responsible for neuro-muscular memories. For my "first" time, I adopted the strategy of trying to keep one foot off the ground at all times, which helped me go for 3, even 4 times in a row, but my standing leg got awfully tired.
What can you expect at Bootcamp? All the good old fashioned moves, like toe-touches, squats, deep knee bends, lunges. During which, our "instructor" John regaled us with nutrition tips, such as: Don't wait until you're old to eat prunes. THey're good for helping you keep your arteries clear -- as well as your guts.
And: If you're on a desert island what one food do you want to have? Hint: it has protein and vitamin C. He says it's broccoli. I want a second opinion.
I had a nice visit back east, to Rochester NY. Here are things they have in Rochester:
mosquitoes
wine - some good, some not
roadways, miles and miles of roadways
green plants
bugs
piped-in music straight from 1984
Talbots
the Erie canal
clouds
gorgeous full moons (with misty clouds)
rivers, lakes, ponds, streams
locusts
frozen custard
haddock sandwiches
Genesee cream ale
styrofoam cups
sailboats
swimming pools
luxury European sedans
gigantic houses set in fields, surrounded by other giant houses
Saturday, September 05, 2009
cricket
Somehow, a cricket has taken up residence outside my bathroom window. It's three stories up, and there's no cricket food to speak of, but it hangs out there each night, rubbing its legs together and cricketing all night long.
The Chinese would say it's lucky.
Lucky is what I've been feeling lately, although it's hard sometimes to remember between the stress of a busy work schedule and the sorrow of friends who've lost family in the last few months. Last weekend, a friend generously gave me 3-day passes to Outside Lands music festival, and 5 of us shared two tickets, seeing Black-Eyed Peas, Ween, Mike & Kim, Pearl Jam. The weather was gloriously warm -- hot even.
It's hot in Rochester, NY this weekend. Almost too hot for a walk along the Erie Canal, or breakfasting on the patio at my parents favorite brunch place. I've joined my family here to celebrate my father's 80th birthday. Tomorrow there is swimming planned, minigolf, and a big dinner. Should be fun.
The Chinese would say it's lucky.
Lucky is what I've been feeling lately, although it's hard sometimes to remember between the stress of a busy work schedule and the sorrow of friends who've lost family in the last few months. Last weekend, a friend generously gave me 3-day passes to Outside Lands music festival, and 5 of us shared two tickets, seeing Black-Eyed Peas, Ween, Mike & Kim, Pearl Jam. The weather was gloriously warm -- hot even.
It's hot in Rochester, NY this weekend. Almost too hot for a walk along the Erie Canal, or breakfasting on the patio at my parents favorite brunch place. I've joined my family here to celebrate my father's 80th birthday. Tomorrow there is swimming planned, minigolf, and a big dinner. Should be fun.
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