So yesterday my friend James and I are chatting with a friend whose name is "Barb" (No, it isn't).  She's an attractive young woman in her early 20s who is working as a waitress while she puts herself through college.  She's bright, personable and very cute.  She's also never said a single nice thing about her boyfriend in my presence.

Somehow the subject of flowers came up - I think I mentioned something about sending somebody flowers a few months ago.  Barb remarked "It would be nice to get flowers."  "Your boyfriend never gives you flowers?" I asked, somewhat incredulously.  She just shook her head, a little sadly.

"Do you like flowers?" I asked.  "I love flowers!" she replied.

Wow.  Barb needs a new guy.  Today's lesson...fellas, figure out what makes your lady happy and then DO THAT.  I'm not saying Barb's guy should send her flowers every day, that would be a little much.  But if you love flowers and your guy NEVER gives you flowers?  That's just wrong.  Seriously wrong.  Here's why...

...even if flowers just "aren't his style" what should be his style is MAKING YOU HAPPY.

And if giving you flowers, or taking you to the opera, or rubbing your feet or reading Dr. Seuss to you or taking salsa dancing lessons or ....makes you happy.  Then damn it he should do it.  Not every day.  I'm not saying he needs to learn to love the opera.  But if he loves you he should be making an effort to make you happy.

When I'm in love with somebody I want to experience the things they love.  I want to read her favorite books, see her favorite movies, listen to her favorite music, taste her favorite foods, visit her favorite places, meet her favorite people...  I might not love them.  I might not even like them.  But I love HER and it's important to me to understand and experience the things that she loves.

And if she loves flowers then you'd better believe I'm going to give her some.  And not just on Valentine's day.

Ben's Bonus Tip of the Day - Valentine's Day

Ladies, if your man only does nice things for you on February 14th then you need a new man.  Period.  I'm a conscientious objector to Valentine's Day myself.  I don't need Hallmark to tell me to do nice things for the woman I love.  My partner is likely to get flowers from me just because it's Thursday and I love her.  My partner might get a little card from me or a back rub from me or taken out to dinner just about any day.  If I love her I want to find a way to make her smile EVERY DAY.  Not just on Valentine's Day. 

Maybe it's just a little thing like calling her or sending her a text message to let her know that I'm thinking of her and miss her.  Maybe I'll cook her dinner.  Point is that if you love a woman you love her every day and not just when Hallmark tells you to.

Fellas there is no better feeling in the world than seeing the woman you love smile and knowing you're the reason for it.  Trust me.

O.K., here's something I've been kicking around for a while and I figured maybe I'd take a shot at posting it.  Each month, or at least each month until I get bored with it, I'm going to post a few ideas for things to do that month that I think will improve your life in ways big or small.  The ideas will nearly always be little simple things that just about anybody can do, they won't be expensive, they won't bring about world peace.  But they may just make things a little bit better.  I'm going to try and do them too.

Let's make something of a "scavenger hunt" out of it, eh?  If you want to participate post a comment on this entry when you've finished all five (you have until the end of Feb!) and if you also want to tell us anything about what your experience with one or more of the tasks was that would be great as well.

So...here's the list for February...

1. Say "Hi" to a neighbor - Look for an opportunity, some time during the month of February to greet a neighbor you haven't acknowledged in at least a month - maybe somebody you've NEVER met.  You don't have to sit down and share your life stories, even just waving and saying "Good Morning!" is fine.  Maybe while you're both pushing the trash cans to the curb, mowing the lawn, going out to get the newspaper...
   
   BONUS IDEA: If you've never actually met this neighbor before actually walk over and introduce yourself.  Learn their name.
   
   Again, key point is that this needs to be a neighbor that you don't usually say hi to.  It doesn't count if you say "Hi" to a neighbor you play softball with every Saturday.
2. Sell something - Time to get rid of that old bike that's gathering dust in the garage, the piece of stereo equipment you haven't used since 1998 or the chair that just doesn't really fit in your house.  Have a garage sale or just post it on eBay or Craigslist.  You'll reduce the clutter in your life, make a little space for a NEW bike perhaps, and maybe even put a little money in your pocket.   Even just selling it for $100 would be nice. 
   
   Admin note: To complete this task you need only list the item for sale, you don't necessarily have to complete the sale.
   
   BONUS IDEA: Don't want to go to the trouble of selling it?  Donate it to a local organization like Goodwill or the Salvation Army.
   
   Key point is to simplify your life a little by eliminating a bit of clutter, and maybe even convert that clutter into a little bit of money that you can use to pay debts, save for retirement or even spend on idea #3...
3. Try a neighborhood restaurant - Chances are good that there is a restaurant in your neighborhood that you haven't tried yet.  I don't mean the new Burger King they just built over by the movie theaters.  I mean the little family Mexican place down the street or the Thai place next door to the Baskin Robbins at the strip mall.  Have lunch or dinner there sometime this month.  Maybe it will be great and you'll have a new favorite place.  Maybe it won't be very good at all.  Either way at least the next time somebody says "Hey, what about that little place over on Elm Street?" you can answer with some knowledge.  I've found that it can be a real joy to have one or two little places that you know where the food is great and the owner seats you themselves.
   
   BONUS IDEA: If you really like the place consider writing a review of your experience and send it to your local newspaper.
   
   Key point is to get more connected with your own neighborhood.  Remember the restaurant can't be a big chain place - the idea here is to experience something a little more authentic; a "mom and pop" place.  It's remarkably satisfying to have a good meal and then be able to thank the owner of the restaurant by first name as you shake his (or her) hand and leave.
4. Walk around the school - Take a walk to and around (if possible) the nearest public school.  You can take your dog, your friends, even your iPod if you like.  The idea is to get out, have some fresh air, get a little exercise, and see the neighborhood a bit.  Doesn't matter what kind of school it is (elementary, high school, junior college...) but preferably it should be a public school.  You almost certainly have one within easy walking distance.  Maybe next Sunday morning after you read the paper you should lace up your walking shoes, grab the dog, and take a nice Sunday stroll to and around the school.  Maybe you can even knock off task #1 on the way and task #3 for lunch after you're back.
   
   BONUS IDEA: Make it a weekly thing and pick a different school each week.  Done all the schools?  Walk to the library and back.
   
   Key point is to get some exercise, see your neighborhood a bit and get a good look at the local school.  Even if you don't have kids yourself the school is an important part of your neighborhood.
5. Make room for new books - Go through your book collection and find 3 books that you don't need anymore.  Maybe you've already read them, maybe you lost interest in them, maybe they were gifts from people and never really interested you in the first place.  Think of which of your friends or family might enjoy one and give them the book (or books) that you think might interest them.  It's a nice little gift and it's better that the book be enjoyed by somebody rather than just collecting dust on your shelf.  If you can't think of anybody to give them to how about donating them to a local library, school or senior center?
   
   BONUS IDEA: See if your local library, school or senior center needs volunteers for a "Read to Me" program.  You could go in one day a month (or more often if you like) and spend an hour reading to kids, seniors or others.
   
   Key point is to look over your books, realize what you have, share some of those books with others.  And make room so that you can go to Borders and get more books!  Along the way you make discover that you have a book you'd really like to read but had forgotten about.

O.K., those are your tasks for February.  I'm going to do it - let's see if you do too.  Just to make it interesting I have a $25 Borders gift card for the first person who finishes all five tasks and posts a comment below telling us about it.

Quote for the Day (Courtesy of my Mom):

"Instead of falling in love, why not just set your house on fire? You will get the same amount of drama in your life, but a lot less damage."
              - Garrison Keillor -

-B-

O.K., O.K.  Sheesh, I go a few days without posting an update on my training and people get all agitated. :)  So here it is...

• Running is going fine.  I did a nice quick 3 miles yesterday after doing about 6 the night before.  I thought about doing another run last night but that would have been 3 runs within 24 hours and saner heads prevailed.  Tonight I'm planning to do a longer run - around 13 miles.
• I haven't been on the bike since Saturday - been focusing on running most of this week as well as some strength training.
• Weight is going fine.  I've lost another pound and a half and am actually the lightest I've been in quite a long time.  I can wear pants with a 36" waist now and could probably even get into a 34" waist...assuming I didn't plan to exhale.  I'm still nowhere near "skinny" of course.
• To answer PK's question - I'm not sure if I'll run on the Big Island this weekend or not.  Part of me would like to go for a 5-6 mile cruise on the Ironman course; but part of me figures that I'm "on vacation" and I should just relax, recover, enjoy the pool and hit the training hard again when I get back to Oahu.  I am planning to take my running gear with me, though, just in case I can't resist the temptation. :)  But I am planning to run while I'm in L.A. next week.

Everybody happy now? :-)

-B-

BUSINESS BRIEFS
Hawaiian, Aloha, go! offer $29 fare

Hawai'i's three major airlines are offering limited $29 one-way tickets for interisland travel from today through the end of February.

Naturally I already paid full-fare for my tickets to the Big Island this weekend.  Oh well, it's a business trip (at least Friday is) and I'm getting at least partially reimbursed.  (Oh, and "full fare" is only like $49 one-way anyhow)

If any of you are considering inter-island travel during February though, now's the time to go book them!

-B-

Cable TV has brought us hundreds (thousands?) of new TV channels and while some of them live up to their exciting promise (Discovery Channel, History Channel, etc.) others have still fallen somewhat short in my opinion.

One good example is the 24-hour news channels like CNN and Fox.  It's a great idea to have news available 24 hours a day -- when I was growing up we had news at noon, then you had to wait until 6PM and then not again until 10PM.  Each was generally 30 minutes, or at most 60 minutes, long.  If you missed one of those newscasts you were in the dark until the next one.  The other downside was that there was only so much they could squeeze into 30 minutes - after the crop report, the sports the weather and all the commercials you were lucky if they had time to mention how the middle-east peace process was going.

So now we have 24-Hour news channels.  News available to you anytime you want it and they have plenty of time to give you a detailed examination of the stories of the day.  Unfortunately they have to bow to ratings and most people don't really want detailed examinations of the news of the day...unless that news relates to whether or not Britney is wearing underwear apparently.

Don't get me wrong, it is great and important that now news from anywhere in the world can be communicated quickly.  And now with the ubiquitous nature of the Internet and camera phones it seems like anytime a butterfly lands on a leaf everybody knows about it.  I just wish that there was less fluff and more substance.

Then again, maybe the human spirit can only handle so much substance.  Maybe it needs the fluff to maintain some balance and relax.  Maybe we really need Paris Hilton and Kevin Federline to keep us from sinking into a massive depression.  Sometimes it's good to focus on the trivial and absurd so that we don't have to dwell too much on the awful things that human beings sometimes do to each other.

Maybe the solution is to let CNN and MSNBC stick to the hard news and let us switch off to E! or some other ESPN when we feel like we need to take a break and watch the latest celebrity trainwreck.

-B-

"Just sayin' whatever comes into the top of my head.  It's like....random!"

• After what is probably about 4 years I finally changed my profile picture.  It was time - the one I had on there, while pleasantly distant, still featured me with a beard.  The new shot is quite recent and really one of the better pictures I've seen of me in a long while.  Photographer credit to Maureen.  I didn't dare ask how much she had to photoshop it to make me look good. :)
• I got a new bike jersey yesterday.  It's a cool and colorful Island Triathlon Training jersey. My only reservation is that it's only a large (he didn't have an XLs).  I can generally get away with a large if the jersey doesn't have any sleeves but this one does have sleeves so it's a little snug.  Still, it's pretty comfortable, even if a little tight.  And it's a bike jersey...it's supposed to be tight.
• Facebook has a lot of those "Hot or Not" or "Are you Interested" applications you can install.  For the most part I avoid them.  I don't really need 15,000 strangers telling me I'm a "6".  Some feedback is better left alone. :)
• I'm going to miss running the Harold Chapson 8K this weekend.  Be over on the Big Island enjoying the Keahou Resort.  I've learned a lot of lessons at the Chapson in the past.  One year I learned that it's not a good idea to have a big steak dinner the day before a race....who knew. :)
• Speaking of food - did a bunch of cooking this weekend.  The vegetable stir-fry was good but I needed to start the rice earlier.  Took longer to cook than I expected.  The pasta salad was also quite tasty (and I have leftovers for lunch today) but could have used a splash of vinegar to add some zest.
• Marshall came and spent the weekend; it was so nice to see the little tyke.  This was his first time seeing the new townhouse and he gave each room a careful inspection and a good sniffing. (Marshall is a 13-pound Maltese by the way; in case you didn't know)  He also made friends with the dog next door who seemed excited to finally have another canine to "talk" with, even if only through the fence.

-B-

O.K., so I've been posting a few "love advice" type entries lately, inspired by Greg Behrendt's book "He's Just Not That Into You."  To say I've been surprised by the response is an understatement - mostly women, but even a couple of guys, have written with feedback.  So...I guess I'll do a couple more.  Let me restate that I have absolutely no qualifications, other than being a straight guy, to offer love advice.  There's certainly not much in my own history to indicate an expertise at dating - but they say those who can't do, teach so...

Be Careful What You Ask For

A year or so ago a dear friend of mine was asking me for advice regarding her boyfriend.  They'd been together for 8 months or so and he had never stayed over at her house (they always stayed at his), he never complimented her (told her she looked pretty) and she'd hadn't really met any of his friends or family.  He would sometimes go days without talking to her and she didn't really feel comfortable contacting him during the day even to say "hi".  They took a train trip together and after the romantic festivities ended he sent her back to her own bunk so he could get some sleep. "Alice" (not her real name) is a lovely, slender, girl by the way, not the kind who is going to crowd him much even in a small train bed.  He was frequently dishonest with her and evasive when caught in an obvious lie.

Her dilemma: "Does he love me or not?"

My answer: "Sweetie, if he DOES love you is this really the way you want to be loved?  Do you want to spend the rest of your life being sent back to your own bunk after he's done with you and never being told that you're pretty?  And if he doesn't love you at this point then I guess it doesn't matter."

Ladies (and gents for that matter): Just being "loved" isn't enough.  You have to be loved in a way that makes you happy.  If that's the best he (or she) can do and it's not enough...time to move on.  Life is too short to waste it in a bad relationship - ESPECIALLY if the guy is a lying jerk.  Go back out there and find somebody who will adore you and treat you with the respect you deserve.  Find somebody who wants you to stay in his arms and who never makes you question your own self-worth.  He's out there somewhere, I'm sure of it.

Go.

-B-

P.S. "Alice" broke up with him and moved on.  Good for her!

DISCLAIMER: You probably don't want to take love advice from me.  That said, here's another observation...

If your man really loves you, he will tell you so in front of your friends and his.

Sorry ladies, but if your man is ashamed to say he loves you in front of his friends, then he doesn't really love you.  If he loves you then he's proud of you. 

If your man only tells you he loves you when you're alone, then I don't think he really means it.

And the corollary to this...

If your man really loves you, he will treat you like he loves you in front of your friends and his.

If your man is nice to you when you're alone, but treats you like dirt when you're in public...then he doesn't really love you.  Now you may try to argue with me on this one and say "Oh, but he's so great when we're alone."  O.K. then maybe the two of you should just never go out again.  But unless becoming a recluse is a good option let me suggest that any man who really loves you will NOT want to hurt and/or humiliate you in public.

Make a list of the 5 things you've always wanted in a man.  If "A guy who my friends want to beat the crap out of because he treats me like a potted plant when we're out together" is on your list, then great.  If you'd prefer to have a guy who makes your friends call you the next day to say "He is SO great!" then maybe you should kick "Mr. Only-When-We're-Alone" to the curb.

-B-

O.K., time to wrap up the Vegas trip.  New rule: it shouldn't take longer than a weekend to read about the weekend.

So, after spending a few hours wandering the strip, trying to find a good hat (close, but no fedora) or the right pocketwatch, we finally headed back to the hotel in time to go to dinner.

We had 5:30PM reservations at TJ's steakhouse and we arrived right on time.  We got our seats, right under a portrait of a young Barbra Streisand ("She's like buttah!") and ordered our drinks.  It's not a big mystery what I'm going to have at a steakhouse: I ordered the New York Strip.  The waiter grimaced slightly when I said "Medium-well" but I pretended not to notice.  Maureen ordered the Filet and we decided to share an order of the potatoes au gratin.

The steaks were good, but not great.  The potatoes were fantastic and the company was even better.  We had a nice leisurely dinner, laughed and flirted mercilessly and as the time approached to go for the show finally got our check and left.  We skipped dessert because we planned to get some after the show.

We figured we had enough time to make our 7:30p curtain especially if we just took a cab over to the Wynn rather than attempting the monorail again.  Our cabbie was efficient and took us right to the front door, with just a tiny bit of excitement as he darted back into the taxi line a little unexpectedly.  We paid him and strolled into the hotel.  First thing we noticed is that the cocktail waitresses here appear to be the daughters of the ones at the Bellagio.  Hard to believe some of them were 21.

It's Showtime!  Maybe Plus One or Two...

We found the showroom, strolled up and got our tickets at Will-Call at a couple of minutes past 7:00.  For our 7:30P show.  Which started at 7:00P.  :)  Well, o.k., so we missed the very beginning.  Guess that'll teach me to look at the times more carefully.  But it's Maureen's fault for taking MY word for what time the show started.  O.K., o.k., I bought the tickets, I should have known the time.  Anyhow, it was fine.  We had seats fairly close to the stage on the left and we settled in for a fun evening.

If you're a Monty Python fan then Spamalot is for you.  It really helps if you've seen "Holy Grail" because the play is basically a musical adaptation of the best scenes from the movie.  Everything from the "Knights who say 'NI'" to the killer bunny rabbit, Tim the Enchanter and of course the French taunters ("We fart in your general direction!") are well represented.  The show ended seemingly too soon.

After the show we found a little coffee shop in the casino lobby and got hot chocolates and cheesecake.  Found a table for two right by the window and spent some time laughing about the show and people-watching. 

• "She's not used to walking in those heels and he's sort of a jerk for walking two steps ahead of her the whole way."  "Yeah, he's not very proud of her.  He doesn't really want to be seen with her; I'll bet he speeds up when the cocktail waitresses come by so he can act like he's not really with her."
• "Oh, check out the guy and his entourage."  "The guy in the back thinks he's got a shot with the waitress who brought them the drinks - he's looking around for her as they walk through the casino."
• "That guy has worked for the casino for so long they let him stay as a courtesy, but he has to work the lamest game on the floor.  He's just going to stand there, with no players, and spin the wheel hoping somebody shows up and wants to know what the game is.
• "Wow, the people coming out of Reve don't seem very excited." "They're all thinking 'Damn, we should have gone to Spamalot!'"

Finally we decided to head for home, of course there were a thousand sort of bored looking people who wished they'd seen Spamalot standing at the taxi line so instead we wandered around the Wynn for a while.  Went to see the Ferraris, but it was closed (We did figure out why that girl was walking thru the casino dressed as a gas station attendant though) so we looked at the pretty trees, took a few pictures, and observed that nobody at the Wynn was really a fashion disaster (except maybe for me).

Eventually, 6 stories later, we got a taxi and headed for home.

It's Playoffs Weekend...

And there are a LOT of Chargers fans around.  Every where you look somebody's got an LT or Merriman jersey on.  I even saw a guy wearing a Chargers jersey with a number I don't think we even have on the roster.  Second most common jersey was Packers with only a handful of Patriots or Giants jerseys in evidence.  Maybe that was an omen.

Called to arrange our airport shuttle then headed downstairs and found a table at the bar to watch the game.  Chargers needed to bring their "A" game to beat the Patriots.  Unfortunately they only brought their "B" game.  Nuff said.

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Went outside, only slightly depressed that my Chargers fell short, to wait for the airport shuttle.  And waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Finally called them only to find out...they had no record of our reservation!  O.K., plan B.  Cab to the airport.  Nice lady driver - told us that one of the shuttle drivers got fired for taking the shuttle home last night and going to sleep.  While he was supposed to be picking folks up. No word on what his passengers did. Oops.

Anyhow, we got to the airport, got checked in, shared a last meal together then it was time to grab our respective flights home.  I'm really not good at airport goodbyes.  Maureen had a stopover in Phoenix - rather a convoluted way to get to Fresno I thought.  My flight was a non-stop, thank goodness, and I ended up seated next to a nice kama'aina couple.

Memorable Moments

• "JONES BEAT TRINIDAD!"
• "I don't want to!" "But we have to."  "Says who?" "The Hilton people."  "CURSE YOU CONRAD HILTON!"
• "JONES BEAT TRINIDAD!"
• "This is the song that goes like this..."
• "I don't mean to change the subject, but did you hear that Jones beat Trinidad?"

-B-

Just saw an ad for a "weight loss" pill that claims you just take their pills and you don't have to diet or exercise and you'll lose weight.

"70% of the weight loss will be pure body fat!" they say.

Uh-huh.  And 20% will be brain cells and the last 10% will be from your wallet.

Kids I've lost more than 30 pounds of fat over the last two years and while yes, I do supplement, the fact is that the vast majority of my fat loss has come from trying to eat a little smarter and exercising.  It's not easy but it's not that complicated.

Burn more calories than you consume.

Now I do acknowledge that everybody's metabolism is different and for a few folks they may need some more dramatic efforts to lose fat, but I don't think that a mail-order diet pill is the secret for anybody.

In my non-doctor opinion.

-B-

I recently bought a couple of new audiobooks.  I'm just finishing, for the second time, "Way of the Peaceful Warrior" by Dan Millman and wanted to start on something new.  As a few of you know I've been dealing with a difficult personal matter for a while now and so the book "He's Just Not That Into You" caught my eye on iTunes.  Yeah, I know, it's written for women but...

1. I figured maybe I'd get a nugget or two of helpful stuff that would apply to me.
2. I've always been a fan of Greg Behrendt.

I'm only a few chapters in and I suppose there probably has been a moment or two that gave me some insight or positive thought into my own situation but there have also been several things that I thought really rang true and that I wished more women understood or could read for themselves.  Let me share one of them now, and if I come across others I'll try to share them as well.

Busy is NOT an excuse

Ladies, if a guy says he was too busy to call you...chances are he's just not that into you.  Sorry.  If I'm really into you, then I'm thinking about you.  Simple as that.  Maybe not every minute, but probably at least every hour. 

Do I have busy days?  Are you kidding?  I run a technology consulting firm and my cell phone rings, chirps or squawks at me ALL DAY LONG with clients calling, e-mailing or texting.  I have days where I'm almost literally running from client to client from morning until sundown.  I get a couple of hundred e-mails a day.  I oversee several other field consultants who have questions and need direction.  I'm writing three books and at the end of this coming week have to fly to another island to deliver two presentations.  I'm busy.  Guess what...if I'm into you, you're in that elevator with me.  If I'm into you, every now and then I'll sit back in my chair, look out the window and wonder what you're up to.  If I'm into you I can whip out my cell phone for 2 minutes while I'm walking briskly from building to building to call you and say "Hi".  If I'm into you I can dash off a text message to you between bites of my hurried sandwich just to let you know that I'm thinking of you.

Am I busy?  Yes.  But if I'm into you then even 90 seconds of talking with you will be the best minute and a half of my very important day.  You'd better believe I'm going to call, or text or e-mail or somehow reach out and let you know you're on my mind.  I will find SOME time during my day to reach out to you.

Don't get me wrong, there CAN be valid reasons not to call.  Busy just isn't one of them.

No guy is too busy to get what he wants and if what he really wants is you...

-B-

'Nuff said.

-B-

[Editor's Note - this is sans pictures because spaces.live.com is giving me flack about how many pictures I have I guess.  I'll try to add them back in later...]

O.K., O.K., I promised I would wrap up the Christmas trip so I guess I'd better get to it.  This is episode 5 of what I'm guessing will turn out to be a 6 episode epic.  For those of you who have bothered to read this far, I apologize.

O.K., when last we left our hero it was Christmas Eve morning and I had just arrived at my Aunt Susan and Uncle David's house in Indianapolis right around 0900. 

I was greeted warmly at the door my Aunt who announced that she had "won her bet."  My mother arrived in the foyer just as Susan explained that she had bet my mother I'd be there before 10AM (the official start time of the festivities) while my mother had apparently bet that I'd be late. :-)  They couldn't recall what exactly they had wagered and I didn't think to ask later if they had finally settled.

Throughout the next hour other family members arrived, the highlight for me being the arrival of my grandparents and Uncle Mick driven to the event by my cousin Mike, who has been really great about transporting them around when they need it.

Gabe, Ashley, my cousin Sherri and her family, and my cousin JD all arrived as well.  JD's fiance' Beth unfortunately couldn't join us due to work/family obligations of her own.

The rest of the morning was spent opening presents and enjoying some delicious food (Mmmm...ham).

After lunch Mike took my grandparents and uncle Mick back to Lafayette, Ashley and Gabe headed to his folks for Christmas eve, Sherri and her family headed for home and the rest of us decided to go catch a movie.  A short drive later we were enjoying "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story."  I didn't expect much, but found it to actually be pretty funny.

It was nice to enjoy Christmas with the family - a too-rare experience in past years.

-B-

Had a great evening run last night.  Hooked up with my old pal and running buddy Sue-Baby.  She really is one of my very favorite people and can always be counted on to make me laugh or be the voice of reason (sometimes in the same sentence) when I need her to be.

We met over at Kapi'olani Park around 5PM, did a little impromptu stretch, then headed out for a cruise through Waikiki towards downtown.  She's just a little faster than I am, so I was grateful that she elected to slow down to my pace for this run.  We were both wearing our Garmin GPS watches, but didn't feel the need to press the pace much.  We kept it conversational and enjoyed having the time to catch up with what's going on in each other's lives.

Out through Waikiki, we took Kalakaua to the Convention Center, then cut down the promenade to Ala Moana Blvd.  We followed Ala Moana mostly on the Marathon course out to downtown, cut up Bethel street to Hotel, then took Hotel across through downtown to Iolani Palace.   Eventually we wound our way back through Ala Moana towards Waikiki - dodging the occasional homicidal bicyclists barreling down the sidewalk.

Finally we crossed back into Waikiki and enjoyed watching the tourists and listening to the street performers as we chatted and ran back to the park. I had thought about doing one lap of Kapi'olani Park to add another 1.5 miles before getting into the cars to go home, but as we ran through Waikiki I started to get a stitch in my side and decided that maybe it would be better to just wrap it up when we got there.

Total distance: just a hair under 10 miles.  Next week I'll add at least Kapi'olani Park if not Diamond Head to the run so hopefully I'll get up to 12 or 13 miles.  Sue-Baby expressed interest in doing it again soon, but unfortunately she'll be on the mainland when I do my next run.  So perhaps the one after that.

Pacing: A week or so ago I added 9 miles onto a Saturday workout with Brian and had a tough go of it.  Part of the reason, I think, was that I had just finished a 10K tempo run and had a hard time shifting gears to come back off my 10/minute pace to ease off into a 13 minute pace.  So I ended up running my 9 miles with an AVERAGE pace of around 12:28.  Considering that some of that was uphill, and I was especially tired towards the end, it means that I was actually quite a bit faster than that for much of it.

Contrast that to last night, when I was pretty comfortable (except for the stitch) the whole way.  According to the Garmin Sue-Baby and I averaged around 13:10 on last night's miles.  A much more leisurely pace - and keep in mind that includes a few stops for stop-lights and traffic.  At L.A. I won't have to stop for the traffic and my target pace should be just under 13.

Questions and Acknowledgements

• AM - My goal for L.A. is to get under 5:30, though honestly I'll be very satisfied to just PR at the Marathon distance, which would be under 5:46.
• SF & EG - Foot feels o.k.  It's clearly not 100%, but I'm able to run with just a tiny bit of discomfort and no pain.  Yes, they are taped.
• CI & JN - Thanks for the kind words.  They are much appreciated!

-B-

Need some quick and dirty exercise gear for home?  Next time you empty a gallon jug of milk (or juice) don't just toss it in the recycling.  Thoroughly rinse it out, then fill it with water.  It should weigh a bit under 10 pounds and you've now got a handy little "dumbbell" that you can use while watching TV or working at the computer.

-B-

When last we left our heroes we were on Shecky's shuttle heading for the Las Vegas Hilton. 

We arrived to find a surprisingly long line (for slightly after midnight) of people waiting to check in.  While we waited we chatted and did some people-watching of others in line and the folks behind the desk.  The line moved quickly and before we knew it we were standing in front of a striped-haired girl named Julianne who was apparently somewhat new to the job.  She was very friendly and ended up upgrading us to a "resort" room because she apparently didn't have any regular rooms left that had all of the features we'd requested.  Twice while we were standing there she commented on how cute a couple she thought we were. 

When she handed us the keys she said "I'm upgrading you to a resort room at the same rate, but don't use any of the amenities."  "Which are the 'amenities'?"  I asked.  "Do you mean like the shower?"  "Or the bed?" Maureen chimed in with a laugh.  "Oh, no!" She hastened to reply, as she disappeared into the back presumably to confirm what "amenities" we weren't supposed to use.  "I mean you'll see signs in the room that say you're entitled to free Internet and free spa treatments and such" she said, as she returned.  "Since you're only paying the regular room rate you don't get those bonuses for free, though you can pay for them if you want to."  Ah, o.k.

The room was nice, but not really all that.  I guess I'm a little spoiled from my travels where I tend to stay in fairly nice places.  We had a golf course/city view.

The next morning was Saturday and after our long flights the night before we opted to sleep in a bit.  By the time we finally got motivated, dressed and moving it was nearly time for lunch so we headed out to see the city a little and enjoy the burger bar at the Mandalay Bay (other end of the Strip).

We hopped on the monorail which was a new experience for me since that monorail didn't exist the last time I was in Vegas.  I got a kick out of the recorded narrators not only announcing destinations but throwing in a little humor as we went.  And, of course, the highlight of any monorail trip is a birds-eye view of the "World of Concrete" convention taking place at the Convention Center that weekend.  Brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it.  Now I'm all verklempt! Talk amongst yourselves.  I'll give you a topic...the peanut is neither a pea nor a nut, discuss.

We rode to the last stop on the Monorail, then hopped off and began a curious journey on foot and tram through several different hotel/casinos.  It's a good thing Maureen knew where we were going because at that point I was lucky to know where we were, much less where we were headed.

After what seemed like a maze of twisty passages, all alike ("XYZZY!" shout the geeks) we finally arrived at the Burger Bar.  We were starving.    Apparently so was half of Vegas because the hostess told us the wait was about "An hour.  Or hour fifteen."  Yeah, that's not happening.  I hadn't eaten anything since a sandwich and cookie at the Honolulu Airport nearly 22 hours earlier!  So we settled for House of Blues instead. 

We dined on cheeseburgers and fries (garlic fries with ranch dressing!), discussed the architecture of the restrooms and offered an extensive therapy session to a co-dependant napkin while we did a little people-watching.  Our bellies finally satisfied we struck out to explore the Strip a bit.

Lions!

Hard to see in this picture but I don't think the guy on the right is looking at the piano. :)

We spent the afternoon wandering the Strip, shopping for hats and watches, but finally had to head back to the hotel to get changed for dinner (5:00 reservations at TJ's Steakhouse) and the show (we had tickets at Will-Call for the 7:30PM show...more on this later).

Memorable Moments

• "Excuse me, will you take our picture?  Do you have a camera?"
• "Wow, that's a look.  Not every woman would have the courage to dye her roots black like that."
• "She's from Iowa."  "Or Nebraska."  "YES, Nebraska, good call."
• "I think this napkin is going to follow us home!"
• "Circus Circus, Circus Circus, Circus Circus.  Circus."
• "This hallway seemed a lot longer yesterday."
• "Tell me, Corporal Picard, how is it you have a French name and a British accent?"

...TO BE CONTINUED...

-B-

Let's do the good stuff first...

Back from Vegas (that story to be continued soon) I've resumed my training with vigor.  This afternoon I did a chest/triceps session at the gym and this evening I went for a late run.  My Garmin 305's battery died two miles into the run so I don't have any stats on it but I know it was a bit over 5 miles and it was quick and relaxed.  I felt strong the whole way, my foot felt o.k., and I did the last mile at a pretty strong pace - playing around to see how much I could increase my cadence without increasing effort.

Tomorrow morning I'm up early, planning a short bike ride, then tomorrow evening maybe another run on the 5 mile course I did tonight.

Wednesday night Sue-Baby and I are going to do a nice long run together - probably a little over 10 miles.  I'll be increasing that by a couple of miles each week, with the aim of doing 18 at least a couple of times before tapering for L.A.

And now the bad stuff...

In the last week two separate incidents here in Hawaii have shocked the state. 

In the first crime a man rammed his ex-girlfriend's car off the road and then beat her to death with a shotgun in front of a number of witnesses, even striking a good Samaritan who tried to intervene.  The brutality and public nature of this crime are just startling; especially in a state that averages fewer than 30 homicides a year.  I can only hope that the murderer is sent to prison for the rest of his life.  Sadly Hawaii has a tendency to be rather soft on criminals.

In the second a 2 year old child was thrown to his death from a freeway overpass in the middle of the day by a neighbor with no other apparent link to the child.  While I don't know the details of this shocking crime it's been widely talked about around the islands and I suspect there will be a LOT of fallout for Child Protective Services who apparently had an extensive file on the child's mother.

Everywhere I've gone today I've heard people talking about these crimes.  Leaving a client meeting this morning my client mused what our children must think when they hear about these awful crimes.  I can only hope that they are but a tragic anomaly and that our paradise can now return to its usually peaceful calm.

-B-

O.K., back in paradise after a lovely weekend in "Sin City". 

The trip started out on Friday with just a bit of excitement.  The flight from Honolulu to L.A. wasn't bad - though I got a blast from the past because Orbitz only issued paper tickets for this one.  Even the gate agents seemed a little bemused by that when I checked in.  I slept about half the flight and worked the other half (as those of you who found themselves flooded by e-mail messages from me on Sunday can attest).

Where things got exciting was when we got into L.A., just a couple of minutes late.  I had just over an hour to make my connecting flight to Vegas.  Under most circumstances and in most airports that would be no big deal.  But we arrived at Terminal 3 and my paper ticket said the next flight was US Airways - that's in Terminal 1.  So I grabbed my duffel (didn't check any luggage this flight) and hiked it over to Terminal 1.  After standing in a short line I spent 10 minutes with a puzzled looking agent who finally said "Oh, this flight is operated by United.  That's Terminal 7."  Terminal 7?  That's all the way across the airport and the flight is in 40 minutes.

Grabbing my bag, and with more that a little consternation, I set off across the airport.  A young woman named Blair, on her way home to Raleigh, was in the same boat - she had to get over to United to catch a flight too - so we made the hike together.  She was a tad overloaded so I carried one of her bags for her.  Along the way we chatted a bit - she works for Barnes and Noble.  Book-fiend that I am I was suddenly overcome with an urge to buy books.  Anyhow, we continued our steady, purposeful, hike across the Airport finally arriving at the United check in.  I wished her best of luck and headed to the counter where dinosaurs with paper tickets are supposed to go.

The skeptical lady behind the counter didn't think I had much chance to make the plane, but she quickly processed my boarding pass and told me "Run."  Run I did.  That run came to a screeching halt when I got to the TSA line - which was long and not moving.  "I have a flight in 30 minutes" I beseeched the TSA guy at the front of the line.  "Everybody has a flight in 30 minutes" he replied dismissively, gesturing towards the back of the line.  So to the back of the line I went, standing anxiously and hoping for a miracle.

The guy in front of me was going to San Francisco - he too had a flight in 30 minutes and was quickly losing hope.  I started to run through my options in my head -- the flight I was on was the last flight to Vegas for the night!  If I didn' t make it I either had to call my parents to see if they could come get me (and bring me back tomorrow) and spent the night in L.A. or I could go to Avis and rent a car to drive to Vegas.

The notion of losing one whole night of our weekend was too much for me so I resolved that if I missed the flight I'd just rent the car.  Of course other thoughts were running through my head:

• My return flight was a non-stop from Vegas, so I'd probably have to pay a one-way fee to Avis.
• At least this way I'd get to have an In-and-Out Burger.  If I had to rent a car and make the 4 hour drive to Vegas at this hour of the night you'd better believe I'll be drowning my sorrows in a Double-Double with cheese.
• I have the vouchers for the airport shuttle!  Maureen will have to take a cab or try to sweet-talk the Grey Line people into letting her on.
• Would the hotel let her check in when the reservation is in my name?

Just when things looked bleak a miracle appeared...in the form of a small woman in a TSA uniform.  "What time is your flight, honey?" she asked the guy in front of me.  "10:30" he said, anxiously.  "Mine's at 10:30 too!" I chipped in as she opened the ropes to lead him away.  "Come on, honey" she said, gesturing to me.  She led us to the front of the line and sent us through.  Another TSA lady asked where my gate was and gave me directions "You may have to jog a bit, but you'll probably make it" she said, encouragingly.  "75A isn't too far."

I cleared the metal detector and X-ray machine in record time, pulled my shoes back on and set off running.  Suddenly I was grateful for months of marathon training as I cruised through the terminal.  "75A isn't too far?"  I thought rounding yet another corner and seeing the gates stretched out before me into the distance.  It probably seemed further because I was lugging that big duffel.  Anyhow, I finally get to 75A and the agent is calling out to me (and another woman who arrived at the same time) "Vegas?  Come on over we're going to close the door!"  I give him my boarding pass, relieved, and walk briskly down the jetway.  SO glad to have made the flight.  Remarkably somebody else made the flight too...Blair.  No idea why they put her on a flight to Vegas but I guess she was going to connect out of there to something that would get her closer to North Carolina.

I grabbed my cell phone to leave Maureen a voicemail and text message letting her know I made the flight after all.  She was already in mid-air herself, but at least when she touched down in Vegas she'd know that I was on the way.

Anyhow, doors closed, flight took off.  After a little while I popped open my laptop to do a little work.  5 minutes after I started the pilot comes on and says we're making our initial descent into Vegas and to please turn off electronic devices.  Well, that was a short work session.

Two random thoughts...

• I expected the light from the Luxor to be brighter.  It was hard to spot, probably due to all the other ambient light from the strip.
• This trip renewed my hate-hate relationship with airplane lavatory sinks.  Maureen and I established that I have "man hands" which I suppose is a good thing, until you're trying to get them wet in a sink where the spigot extends about 2 millimeters away from the edge of the tiny basin.  I'm half tempted to pull one of the paper cups, fill it with water from the spigot and then pour that over my hands so I can get them wet and rinsed.

Finally on the ground in Vegas we had to sit on the tarmac for a little while longer because another plane was still in our gate.  I passed the time chatting with Maureen on the phone -- seemed sort of odd to be chatting on the phone when we were both at the same airport, probably only a few hundred yards apart.

Finally we get to our gate and disembark.  I wave one final goodbye to Blair who was on her way to her connecting flight and head to baggage claim where Maureen was waiting.  It was great to see her again and we strolled to the Grey Line shuttle stop, happy as clams.  (Are clams really that happy?)

We found our shuttle and our driver, Shecky Greene, who was sort of gruff and grouchy but tried to be funny, loaded our 16 passenger bus with 17 passengers, then had to ask one fellow to exit and wait for the next one.  After what seemed like an eternity while he tried to figure out who had given him tickets, who had given him vouchers and what hotels we were all going to ("Las Vegas Hilton" I said, for what seemed like the 8th time) we finally pulled out and headed for the hotels.  In Vegas at last...

...TO BE CONTINUED...

A couple of shots of Honolulu Airport:

-B-

I don't have a lot to say this morning.  I know, some of you are thinking "That's never stopped you from blogging before!"  So here are a couple of quick thoughts:

• Got my confirmation card for L.A. Marathon on March 2nd.  My Bib# will be 20958!  That's my lucky number!  (No, not really)
• This morning is about work and packing for Vegas.  Maureen and I are going to see Spamalot on Saturday night.  It looks like a lot of fun and to say I'm looking forward to the trip would be an understatement. :)
• No running this morning.  My body is telling me it wants me to take a recovery day - because of the toes, because I worked late last night and didn't get much sleep and because I'm feeling some muscle soreness.  I have an evening event at the ship tonight so there will be lots of vigorous hiking and climbing up/down ladders I'm sure.  Tomorrow morning I'll probably do 3-5 miles to start the day.

Thought for the Day: Do you know what is really important to you?  Not what you think other people think should be important to you, but what is truly foremost in your heart?  Think about it.  Then try to align your life so that you are truly serving that which is most dear to you.

This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately.

-B-

O.K., so yesterday the foot passed the most important test - Running.  Today was a new, somewhat easier, test - Biking.

I didn't really have a lot of concern about this one - if I can run I can bike I figured.  I was a little concerned about the different dynamics of the movement of the foot inside the bike shoe (as compared to a running shoe) and about the angles and forces generated in the bike as opposed to the run.  But realistically, I figured it would be fine.  And it was.

So, with toes taped, I donned my bike kit and headed for the garage.  One concession I made to my injury today is that I decided to wear socks.  I never wear socks in my bike shoes but I figured that would give a little extra protection/cushioning for the damaged toes.  It made the bike shoes perhaps a tad snug, but it was o.k.

Just like yesterday's run I opted NOT to wear a watch on this ride.  I just wanted to get in the saddle, turn the cranks and ride for a bit without concern for speed or time.

So I set off.  As it's my first ride in a week or so, and I have a busy day today, I decided to just do my short course (maybe 6 miles) today.  The ride got elongated slightly because towards the end of the early loop I decided my tires were too low on air.  Unfortunately I'm not carrying my frame pump at the moment (Bad Ben! Bad Ben!) so I couldn't fill them at the roadside.  So I took an impromptu right turn and rode back to my garage (maybe a little over half a mile away).  I topped off both tires, then rode back onto the course and resumed the ride.  Made a big difference having those tires properly inflated - note to self: check the tires before you set out!

The rest of the ride was smooth.  I didn't press too much, felt comfortable, got that nice burn in the quads that tells me I am actually doing some work.

Tonight I rejoin my running team for some speed work.  I'll take it a little easy, at Brian's insistence I'm sure, but it will be nice to just get back out there and resume my training.  No extra Waikiki miles tonight, but if the toes feel o.k. I may opt for an extra lap around the park (another 1.5 miles).

Questions and Acknowledgements

• I'd like to send a shout out to the lady in the Chevy Tahoe who ran the stop sign and made a left turn right in front of me, forcing me to brake and swerve to avoid hitting her driver's side door at 20MPH.  I know it must be hard to see the gaudy white, blue, yellow and purple bike jersey I was wearing when you have your coffee in one hand and your mobile phone in the other but that red octagonal sign by the side of the road is not a leftover Christmas decoration.  It's an instruction to you, and other drivers, that you are supposed to stop and look for oncoming traffic.  Yes, including bikes.
• AL & SN - Thanks for the understanding and kind words of support.
• Sue-Baby - Great to hear from you, glad G liked the rings, GREAT STORY!  Lunch soon, dear.
• Alan, Bill and Ray - you guys are champs.  Thanks for carrying the water and getting the job done.  I'll make it up to you on gameday, I promise.
• Maureen...just two more days!

-B-