Winding down the College Football Season

We're down to the last two weeks of the college football season, however everything seems to still be up for grabs. We have the Iron Bowl beginning in just about an hour, Oregon vs Arizona and then rounding out the day with Boise St vs Nevada. All of these matchups could help determine who goes to the National Championship and then who comes to see us for the Rose Bowl.
We still have rooms available for anyone needing them over this timeframe and we understand that people will not make their reservations until they find out if their team is coming. We'll be ready for your reservations on next Sunday afternoon, December 5th. Also, go right to www.marriott.com/laxot and you can make your reservations there. Yes, the rate is a little higher, however once you get here, you don't have to worry about driving again. You're only 3 blocks from the Rose Parade and there is a shuttle that picks up from the parking lot across the street from the hotel to go to the Rose Bowl Stadium.
If you're a college football fan, the next two weeks will be super exciting and don't sell yourself short on this excitement. Do I want you to stay at my hotel, of course I do. But at the same time, if you're from Wisconsin or Stanford, this is a really big deal to come to the Rose Bowl and you deserve the best.
Good luck to all of the fans out there...especially Oregon and Boise State as that would be the GAME of the YEAR.

Forecast...Rain...What Could Be Better

Its set to rain this weekend in Pasadena and Southern, California. We don't handle this as well as some parts of the country due to all of the sunshine we get on a regular basis. When the sun goes away, it tends to take away our motivation to move around. But this is when we have to revert back to our Southern California roots.
And our roots tell us to kick back and relax.

And what better time to relax than when it rains. Normally, we can head up and do some hiking in the San Gabriels or come cycling along the foothills, but not when it rains. This is the time when relaxing with a good book, a good football game or even taking in the new Harry Potter flick. Old Town Pasadena has the great new Gold Class Cinema which is an experience in itself and shouldn't be missed. www.goldclasscinemas.com

And then there's the big UFC event on Saturday night that can be viewed at Barney's Beanery, Jake's Billiards or the 35er.

Don't miss the opportunity to relax and enjoy a rainy weekend. There's always more than enough to do as far as chores, obligations and outdoor activities, but not very many rainy weekends. Don't let this one pass you by.
http://www.ehow.com/list_7351214_rainy-weekend-ideas.html

Laps around the Rose Bowl

One of the really great parts about living in the Pasadena area is the free workout facility. Head over to the Rose Bowl ( www.rosebowlstadium.com ) any weekday evening and you'll see exactly what I mean. Lots of people running, walking and cycling. However, I don't have the schedule to stay consistent with evening workouts, so its off to the Rose Bowl in the morning hours. I normally have only about an hour to dedicate in the morning before work, but the Rose Bowl is perfect for it.
This morning I didn't see any other cyclists and just the few regulars walking and running the perimeter. I was able to get in 3 laps and then ride back home, however I got a really good victory in today. I normally exit the route headed north on Rosemont, as that will bring you out on Windsor and then its just a quick trek to get up to Altadena. However that hill getting to Windsor is very much on the steep side. Normally, I put it in the granny gear, and just pedal my heart out, however this morning I decided to take it on full force. I stood up, kept the bike in the high gear and decided to pedal it out until I gave out. I wasn't sure which would go first, my legs or my lungs, however they both decided to give out at the same time, which was at the top of the hill. We'll see if it gets any easier tomorrow.
18 days to the big ride.

Cool Breeze Century

Who doesn't want to do something big to challenge themselves? Probably a lot of people, however the thought most of the times sounds good. After all, Rocky wasn't able to make 6 movies without having a good story line.

Mine is now the Cool Breeze Century. My goal is two fold, as I want to do the Rocky training and hopefully get the Rocky result. The nice part of cycling is that the only person you compete with in a ride like this, is yourself. The ride is on August 21st and my goal is the 100 miles completed in 6.5 hours. That's not 6.5 hours of riding, but 6.5 overall, including any breaks and stops along the way. So, my goal would be three fold, and that would be to not have any flat tires.

My blog over the next month or so will be dedicated to updates with the training. It will start in the morning and go for the next 5 weeks.

The To Do List continued...

Well, the To Do list is still there, however its continuing to dwindle down. However here are the joys of being a homeowner. I successfully completed number one of cleaning out the coils on the air conditioner, however as that one was crossed off, another was added on, of calling out the AC repairman. Can anyone say neverending... :)
But I can't complain, as the weather this week in Southern California is not bad at all. For anyone who may read this and is not familiar with June in LA, we have what is called June Gloom. The marine layer comes in from the Pacific and helps keep us somewhat cool. So this is not a bad week to not have the AC working.

Next week is supposed to be a little more warm which should give our friends attending the E 3 Conference in downtown LA, a more traditional California experience. I've not been to the conference before, however it looks to be all about the gaming industry and what's new and exciting. I have a dartboard in my garage and a couple of board games. Needless to say, if you are fighting traffic next week to get into the LA Convention Center, you will not be fighting me. I will be at home playing darts. And not electronic ones...good old fashioned ones that make holes in the wall.

Okay, along with the darts will be the To Do list. So have fun, those of you visiting for the conference next week, however make sure you get around to see some sights in LA...we're more than just a downtown.

To Do List

Most everyone seems to have a 'To Do' list in some form or another. I notice that as I get older the list gets longer. I have great ideas for home and just don't implement them, it seems. My current list includes items like:
fix duct in attic
clean coils in AC unit
empty boxes in office
empty more boxes in guest room
fix the front yard (there are a couple of holes created by a mole and then heavy downpour)
install cabinets in garage
fix gate going to backyard
build fence around pool pump
fix wood rot on side of house
I'm happy to say that my list of nine things has had several wiped off in the last few weeks...however, it still continues to grow. But this is what I've come up with. When I now see projects that appear, I take the Buddhist path and acknowledge them and move on. I don't want my list to grow as unfortunately for me, this list is a point of discontent. I can't relax while that list is still there.
We just celebrated Memorial Day and with this day off, I worked from 7am-5pm on my list and considered it a great day. At any rate, my list of 9 has been reduced to a list of about 4 and a half as I'm halfway done with that front yard.
If I get to the point of taking vacation days for my list I will, at that point, remove all paper from my house.

Stop and smell the flowers

Its now the third day of the time change and even though its been difficult getting up in the mornings, its really great to have that extra hour of sunlight in the evening. Let's face it, most of us are working until 5 or 6pm and to go home while its still light out is a big motivator to get outside and enjoy the outdoors a bit during the week and not just saving that for the weekend.

One thing that I've noticed this week, and maybe its all the sunlight I'm being exposed to, but Pasadena smells just like a fresh dryer sheet. In other words, you get the aroma of flowers every where, just as if it were the first day of Spring. If you haven't stopped to take a deep breath this week, go ahead and take a moment and it shouldn't be very hard to smell those flowers. I'm not sure what kind they are, but its been very, very nice waking up to that and going home to it in the evenings.

Pasadena is very characteristic of a lot of Los Angeles in that we are exposed to a lot of sunshine, however we build our lives around it and appreciate it. We're not like a New York or a Boston, but seem to have a little more landscape instead of being a concrete jungle. Maybe that's the reason public transportation isn't the greatest here and we Southern Californians will drive to get down the block since we all have cars to get around, but you know what...I'll take it.
Give me a bunch of different cultures, lots of great restaurants, taco trucks a-plenty and as much sunshine and flowers as I can stand.
I love LA...Pasadena to be more specific. :)