On Hiatus - Back The Week Of July 5

As I mentioned earlier this week, I will be on hiatus from writing the blog for a bit. I plan to return the week of July 5th but am not sure if I will return that day or the next but it will be that week.

I'll be working the day job all next week but fitting in quite a bit of activity. The following week I will be completely unplugged from the day job. If you know me on Twitter or Facebook I am not sure how much of those I will be using either. I'm really trying to do somewhat of a technology detox.

It all started when I finally dropped my BlackBerry Storm too many times. I had dropped the poor thing twice last summer in one night on the concrete floor of the Staples Center. When I dropped it from about 5 feet onto concrete a few weeks ago that was the final straw. The screen was finally toast and I could barely make a phone call. For now, I've transferred back to my HTC Touch Pro. Using this phone is a true exercise in patience and I really, really hate it very much. However, having to go to Verizon and get a new phone sounds about as delightful as being stuck in the dentist's waiting room. I might actually get a new phone over the next two weeks. I might not.

At any rate, not having a phone that was great with social media capabilities has really caused me to relax. I thought I would feel lost but I actually have quite the opposite feeling. It's quite freeing.

What I will be doing on my break is as many outdoor activities that I can possibly fit in. I'll be going to at least two surfboard demo days, one each from my favorite surf shops; Rider Shack and ZJ Boarding House. There's also International Surfing Day and Hands Across The Sand that I will be attending. On top of that I am going to check out a 6:00 am workout meetup group that meets on the beach. I'll also be hitting my two favorite 9 hole courses to work on my short game (Penmar and The Lakes).

Of course, I'll be fitting in time to sleep in late, be lazy here and there, and have some tasty Belgian beer.

Have a great remainder of June everyone! See you soon!

Love That World Cup Advertising

I'm an absolute nut about the World Cup every time it comes around. Seriously, I really am a huge fan. The games have me so enthralled that the vuvuzelas don't even bother me.

Team USA is my choice, of course, and I can't stop ribbing my English friends about their goalie and The Hand of Clod that allowed the US to have a draw in the first match. My favorite trash talk is that Green can always move here to Los Angeles and become a model since he's not a bad looking fellow. (I know, pretty rude for me to say!)

The advertising for the event has been almost as exciting as watching the action on the field. My ultimate favorite is full version of Nike's Write The Future. Brilliant advertising from them as always. If you haven't seen it and you know your international soccer/football stars then prepare to be blown away. Pay special attention to the bits with Wayne Rooney - love it!

Not to be totally outdone by the competition is the Star Wars Cantina from adidas. Even David Beckham's appearance at the end doesn't ruin the fun.

Advertising Age just covered this topic in the last few days and listed five of the most watched of the World Cup advertisements so far. If you aren't totally pumped up to watch the games after these then you just aren't a fan.

That said - I still just don't understand why the sport isn't more popular in the US. I mean really, the WHOLE WORLD is enamored so clearly we must be missing something here.

De-Stressing For The Summer

When I started this blog over two years ago I posted every day of the week - including weekends. At about 1.5 years in I decided to give myself a break and take the weekends off. Now I'm thinking of de-stressing my life a bit more.

First, I'm doing away with the regular features on a particular day. I used to do 5 questions every Monday where I would interview an interesting athlete, blogger, or other sports-related guest. That evolved a bit to the Monday 5 where I would have these interviews, lists, and anything else in bits of five. Now I'm just going to write whatever moves me on Mondays. I might have something to do with the number 5 and I might not.

That doesn't mean I'm doing away with interviews. I will just post them on whichever day makes the most sense. (Yes, that means I will get some more interviews up eventually.)

Likewise for the other "regular" or "quasi-regular" features I have had.

In addition, I might not post every single weekday and I am going to take some time off at the end of this month.

I want to concentrate on more quality as opposed to quantity. There will still be posts about "my own fandom" as on person described my writing as. There will also be my reflections of golf rounds, surf sessions, yoga classes, and other activities I am engaged in.

At this point I feel that I really need to relax, remove stress, and enjoy the outdoors. I want to spend more of my summer mornings surfing, golfing, or hiking and less behind the computer writing.

Let's see how this goes! Have a great week!

One More Break

I know, I've had a lot of breaks lately and haven't put out as many thoughtful posts in the recent weeks. I'm thinking of a reinvention. Seriously - a really big reinvention. I have a lot of things I am considering so stay tuned for all of that. I promise that I'll make some decisions here this month. No more cheap, quick posts that have no substance. I really don't want to post every day of the week simply for the sake of posting.

In the meanwhile, it's World Cup time! Enjoy it!

I'm Late, I'm Late, I'm Really Quite Late

I walked nine this morning with a great group of new friends and had a blast. I'll fill you in on the course and my game tomorrow. Right now I must catch up with this mountain of email.

I must say, nine holes before coming to the office is fabulous. A surf session is also great. Let's put it this way - enjoying the outdoors before you have to sit inside for 9-10 hours is a great way to start the day.

It was especially fun to be silly with the girls. We weren't quite as silly as my bud Heather, but you can only be so conscious at 6:00 am.

Have a great one all!

Wild World Of Wednesday - June 9, 2010

I'm crazy busy and just have golf on my mind. I'm meeting up with some friends for a really early round tomorrow so I've got to get out and get an early start today. In the meantime, enjoy that golf swing that we can't get enough of from Charles Barkley. Hopefully my swing doesn't look that bad. I certainly have a better trajectory most of the time.

It's June, How Is Your Fitness Plan?

At the beginning of this year I decided to commit to making a real change to my diet and exercise routine. I stopped adding salt to my food and started making sure that I had freshly made juice (with my own juicer) every morning, for example. I have also changed up my exercise routine a number of ways by trying new activities and different combinations of activities. I have also made the effort to stick to physical therapy, acupuncture, and all prescribed treatments to heal an old injury.

Here in my sixth month of this new lifestyle I am amazed at the results so far. Really!

For starters, my endurance is amazing. Yes, I've bragged about this before but I am incredibly amazed. I really credit what I eat and my health practitioners tend to agree. The way I eat is very simple, I make my meals with fresh ingredients that I can see and never add salt, sugar, or other processed flavors. Nothing that I eat comes from a box or a bag or is pre-made if I can help it.

I have so much energy that I barely drink caffeine any more. I used to drink 2-4 cups of coffee every morning. Now, I finish maybe 1/2 a cup and I'm good.

My hard work was evident when I spent 3 hours in the water on Saturday. We paddled up and down a particular spot trying to get a good spot and I never really got winded. Back in January I would have been incredibly short of breath and feel like I was going to pass out after just a short time.

Not anymore!

How's your fitness plan coming along?

* As always, I'm not paid to be a "fitness expert" or anything like that. You should really research and do what is right for you!

5 Things I Love About The Weekends

1. The Surf: One of my favorite spots was more crowded than I had ever seen but nothing compared to the video above. I moved on to another spot and was in the water for 3 hours hanging with a new surf bud. Even though we didn't catch many waves we had a blast. We were at the same spot that I had two pretty bad wipeouts at in the last year so I spent some time just getting my nerve back up. Sometimes I'm a big baby but I still manage to have fun.

2. The Sun/The Weather: It seems as though our El Nino winter is finally letting us go and it's warming up more consistently. I know, we're incredibly spoiled here in SoCal. It makes it that much harder when the sun doesn't come out or the wind really picks up.

3. The Produce: I went to a BBQ over the weekend at a longtime friend's place that so happens to be on the same land as this wonderful produce farm. The property owners crashed the party long enough to tell us that they have an overabundance of apricots and to please go raid a specific area in particular. Well, they didn't have to tell us twice. Not only did we get apricots; but oranges, avocados, and lemons. I had all but the latter with my breakfast this morning. Yum! It's so awesome to be able to eat something that you picked from the tree yourself. Talk about fresh!

4. So Much To Choose From: Surfing one day and out on a farm the next. That's pretty awesome in my book. This week I'm letting the weekend creep into my work week a little. I'm going for nine holes one morning before I hit the office and going surfing after work another day.

5. What's not to love? I can't think of anything. Even if it rains on the weekend (which it doesn't do too much this time of year) there are still plenty of things to do.

Yes, this is another "I love SoCal post".

Geeking Out On Purple Today

Yep, I'm wearing my Magic Johnson 1987 MVP t-shirt, funky purple ring, and funky purple necklace.

I'm holding my breath that the rest of the series goes like it did last night. The Lakers played incredibly well and stayed away from that dangerous 3 that they always seem to miss. Keep jamming it in for 2 fellas - that really seemed to work!

On a more somber note, John Wooden is in grave condition this morning. Apparently he's been hospitalized for a few days. At 99 years old there is certainly reason for concern. My best wishes go with Coach and his family.

Have a great weekend everyone!

I Can Only Think About The Lakers

It's finally here - that finals match up that so many wanted to see. Yep, it's a Lakers vs. Celtics Finals.

I really don't have much to say. I'll just be holding my breath and watching intently. So yeah, anyone that wants to trash talk is welcome to do so. I'm one of those that likes to stay quiet and root for my team. If it makes you feel better to bash the Lakers then go ahead and get it out of your system. I'm incredibly appreciative that my hometown has such a consistently awesome NBA team.

I also love to find fun, retro gems like today's video. How fun is that?

GO LAKERS!

Wild World of Wednesday - June 2, 2010

Cover HWC: Are you media and will be in Rio during September 19-26? The Homeless World Cup has sent out the notice to apply for accreditation today. Check the details here.

Sadly, I won't be able to make it to the event this year but I hope to make it one year very soon. If you are lucky enough to attend make sure you take a plethora of pictures and send me the link to where you have them.

Surfrider Spring Cleaning: For a limited time when you join, renew your membership, or make an extra donation the Surfrider Foundation you can get an extra gift. Click here for details.

Do Surfers Use Social Media (and Other Musings)? There are more surf meet-up groups and social networks popping up all the time. I just wonder how many surfers really use social media and how effective they are? Sure, more and more are and I can tell. I've been a part of 5 groups so far over the past three years but 2 have shut down for lack of activity. What would it take to engage this crowd? From what I know there hasn't been any one source that has done so with any huge success. Facebook groups seem to be leading the way but even these have limited effectiveness, depending on the concept.

I was pondering this because I've just joined a new women's surfing group in my area. I'm hoping to make new friends to join me during sessions. I've never really been a solitary surfer ever since I've started. For me, it's always more fun if you've got a friend or two with you to cheer you on and laugh at you when you have a spectacular wipeout!

Oh, and yes golfing friends - I'm joining a women's golfing group also to work on my game. Everything is more fun when you have more friends to share with. I feel that playing with my former minor league pitcher hubby and 6'5" cousin aren't helping to advance my game lately. I've met a wonderful group of ladies recently and hope to get some fun and encouraging rounds going. Wish me luck with that and with finding some surf sisters.

Aren't Surfers Laid Back?

I like these fellas in the video - they are booing a rude person at their break.

I won't pretend that localism doesn't exist nor will I deny being a part of it when I was younger.

Today, I just don't care who is out there surfing. I don't want to be one of those elitists that think I'm the only one entitled to be in the water. I mind my own business and stay away from the main lineup unless there are a few of my buds in there.

There really is enough for all of us.

I had two very different experiences over the weekend. On Saturday I put my 6 year old niece on a surfboard for the first time. There are still tiny bruises on my arm from where she was holding on for the first few that hit us! She did get to the point where she trusted that the board would keep her floating. We came in because she was a bit too cold but she can't wait to get back out and try to stand up.

Yesterday I went to a break that I knew would be crowded but has a lot of space. I figured I could carve out a spot where I would be out of the main lineup. That didn't happen.

Before I could even get unpacked there was a yelling match in the parking lot. Ouch. It's a beautiful, sunny day and you don't have to go to work. One of the fellas that was yelling had his family with him. He didn't start it though, a guy waiting to park in the spot next to him did. He wanted him to hurry up and get his "sh*t" out of the way so that he could park. If Mr. Impatient had only looked down a few spots he would have noticed that there were 5 other spots.

It wasn't much better in the water. I saw people intentionally running over and cutting off others. Needless to say, I didn't go in. I like this break too - it has a close parking lot where hubby and the hound can watch me catch waves.

It's getting warmer and more people will be in the water. As far as I'm concerned, you're welcome to come in no matter how good you are. Heck, I'm not very good at all. It would be nice if we could all extend a little courtesy to everyone. Why wait until someone gets hurt? How would you feel if you made it so that someone got a concussion or even drowned? If we're all courteous we can all have fun.

Sure, some folks will disagree and tell me I'm a kook.

So be it.

I don't even care if you judge me because I turtle instead of duck diving my long board.