The Outlook book has made it to Amazon.com (sort of).  You can find it here or by searching Amazon.com for “The Lawyer’s Guide to Microsoft Outlook 2007.”

The Word book is in edit now and should be in print in just a few more weeks…

Also…

We’re participating in Earth Hour by turning off our lights.  So the house is bathed in a romantic candlelight for a while…

-B-

O.K., so I’m getting ready for tomorrow’s Waterfront Triathlon.  It’s just a sprint-distance race so I’m not too concerned with the distances but I really would like to be faster than I was last year.  In particular I want to have a good swim and a good run – the bike I’m not so concerned with.  I glanced back at last year’s results to see how I did – and remembered that last year I took it pretty casually.  Shouldn’t be a difficult time to better.  One thing I notice about the results from last year, though, is that they go by total time and that there are a couple of people who have no recorded time after the swim who mysteriously have a total time.  Fault in the timing?  People who never crossed the timing mats?  People who DNF’d?  Don’t know, but it’s odd.

I am going to wear my BlueSeventy suit tomorrow for the swim.  For a while I was having a mental lapse and thought the swim was only 400m and figured why bother.  But the swim is 750m.  Not a huge distance (I do almost 3 times that every weekend) but far enough that it’s worth wearing the swimskin.

So how did I spend the day before?  Hanging out with Carrie and Marshall, of course!  Started our day with a fun walk to the park.

And what do fierce little dogs do after a brisk morning of scampering and frolicking?

Yeah.

Simply Organized

After the park we went to “Simply Organized” a new store in Kapolei that intrigued us both.  We both LOVE to be organized.  We walk in the door and it’s a huge, clean, modern store just filled with stuff to organize your closets, garage, office, kitchen, etc.  But what catches my eye fairly early is a rack near the door where they are selling cupcake carriers.  Yes, big, plastic, covered trays for transporting cupcakes.  Big trays – the size of laser printers.  And they have nearly FORTY of these things.  My initial reaction is…wow…are there forty people in this town who bake their own cupcakes and have trouble carrying them?

So we continue through the store.  They’ve got plastic containers for everything you can imagine.  Food storage, laundry, organizing your socks, hanging up your tennis racket.  I notice they have refill packages of “DampRid” (stuff you put in your closet to cut down on the humidity from your shower) and I need more so I pick one up.  I notice the $6.99 price tag for the 42oz bag but I’m going with it.  Stay tuned…we’ll get back to that.

Generally I like the store.  Love the organization, they’ve definitely got a lot of selection.  But I can’t help that notice that nothing in there really seems like a bargain.  Every little plastic tray is $20, $30, $40.  They have a cool three-bin trash can, for trash and recycling etc, but it’s $130 or something.  What I’m looking for is a plastic basin that I can use at the transition tomorrow to rinse my feet.  Oddly, I DON’T really find one of those.  That’s o.k., KMart is across the street and surely they’ll have one.

Finally, after passing two MORE displays (including an endcap) of cupcake carriers (brings the total to 52 or so) we decide to check out.   $7.32 (including tax) for the bag of DampRid.  Across the street we go…

…at KMart we’re strolling up an aisle and happen to pass their display of DampRid.  42 ounce refill bag…$3.99.  Yes, the exact same thing I bought barely 500 feet away at the Simply Organized store, half the price.  I get that KMart buys this stuff by the container load and can afford the discount.  But really…I have to wonder how long Simply Organized is going to stay in business if most of what they sell you can buy for half the price across the street.  AND there’s a brand new Target store half a mile away.

Simply Organized needs to figure out a business model soon.  If they’re counting on sales of Cupcake Carriers to keep them afloat…

On the way home we stopped at Hapa Grill for some yummy cheese bread and salads. Mmmmmm.

So Proud of Her!

Carrie found out today that she’s been accepted to attend a workshop on careers in Geosciences in Las Vegas in a couple of months.  It’s a big deal and something she’s really excited about.

O.K., shortly off to bed.  Gotta get up at 0500 to make the very short trip over to the starting line for the race tomorrow.

-B-

O.K., I’ve been bad about updating lately so here’s a quick highlights post…

Home Life

Things with Carrie are still going great.  In fact tonight we went to Outback Steakhouse for a little treat since we both finished our major manuscripts and, well, just wanted a treat.  Afterwards we stopped off at the new Target store in Kapolei to check it out (and buy a few things). Two bits of related info/trivia

• The company that owns Outback Steakhouse isn’t remotely Australian.  They’re based in Tampa, Florida and they also own Fleming’s Steakhouse, Roy’s Hawaiian-Fusion Cuisine and Carrabba’s Italian Grill (among other things).
• The Target store in Kapolei (and it’s sister in Aiea) are the first two Target stores in Hawaii.  Despite the economic troubles right now Target is STILL opening something like 5 new stores a month in the U.S. this year and the one in Kapolei was both busy and looking a bit “picked over” tonight.  A good sign that folks are still shopping and spending, at least in Kapolei.

So how well are things going with Carrie?  Well, she’s sitting 5 feet to my left right now with Marshall in her lap while she works on some data for work.  :)

Work

Work is going pretty well.  We’re busy and have some interesting projects in the pipeline.  We recently let somebody go, but it wasn’t a layoff and we are looking at it as an “open position” that we’ll eventually fill, as opposed to an eliminated position.

My second book “The Lawyer’s Guide to Microsoft Word 2007” has gone off to edit and will hopefully be in print before my birthday.  I’m already looking ahead at the third book and will probably start the first draft of that manuscript in the next week or two.

One reason I haven’t had as much time for my personal blog is that I’ve been blogging more for work.  That’s keeping me fairly busy and will hopefully translate to even more business.

Also, I’ve started Twittering for work.  I figured I’d give it a try.  Not sure I’ll stick with it or not but in just a couple of weeks there are 76 people who think I’ve said something worth following.  @bschorr if you’re interested.

Fitness

My training has been a little stop/start lately.  I’ve been ocean swimming every week.  Running sporadically.  Haven’t been on the bike as much as I’d like but plan to remedy that.  Gym…well, I still remember where it is.  Probably.

I have to keep working on my training though because my race schedule is unforgiving.  Next Sunday I’m participating in the Waterfront Triathlon at Pu’uLoa (Formerly “Iroquois Point Triathlon”) which, though it’s just a sprint-distance and I’m mostly just hoping to beat last year’s time, is still a multi-sport event that will require me to put out a good effort.

After this I have the Haleiwa Metric Century ride on April 26th – that’s a 100K bike ride that I’m hoping to use as a good tune-up for Kona.  Speaking of Kona…

Ironman 70.3 Hawaii as it’s officially called looms large on my calendar: May 30th.  That will be my biggest challenge of the year and the first time I’ve attempted the “half-ironman” distance.

After that…it’s off to Seattle on June 27th for the inaugeral Seattle Rock-n-Roll Marathon.  Many of you already know this because many of you (Patricia & John, Maureen, Sandi…) are coming to do the same race!  Should be a heck of a party; not sure I’ve ever run a race (other than Honolulu Marathon) with so many other friends.

After Seattle my next race is another Rock-n-Roll event…the Chicago Half-Marathon on August 2nd. I figured I’d be in town anyhow and it should be a great event.

Then Jill and a bunch of other friends are talking about going over to Kauai to do the Kauai Marathon on September 6th.  Haven’t finalized that one yet, but it looks likely.

THEN…first week of November is the New York City Marathon.  Yep, the world’s largest marathon.  Entry is mostly by lottery and I’ve already tossed my name in.  I’ll find out in a month or three if I got drawn – if so, I’m off to run the NYC Marathon.

FINALLY (maybe) is my home race: The Honolulu Marathon.  If all goes to this plan that would make FIVE marathons this year (I already did Arizona back in January).

So yeah, I’ll be fit…but really tired.

FAQ: No, Carrie is not a runner.  But she is a bicyclist and a competitive paddler who has done the Na Wahine O Ke Kai (Moloka’i channel crossing) and expects to do it again this year.

Travel

As you might guess with all those races and with a busy work schedule, I have a lot of travel coming up.  Wow, do I.  (Some dates tentative)

• Chicago: April 1-6.  I’ll be in town to speak at TechShow, then off to Indiana to visit my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and my “sister”, her husband and their new baby.
• Montreal: April 18-21.  I’ll be there to speak at LegalIT.
• New Orleans: May 12-17.  LPM Spring Meeting.
• New York/Connecticut: June 13-18.  Going to our friends Adrienne & Chris’s wedding with a stop off at the USS New Jersey and dinner with my cousin Meredith (and perhaps Marjorie too!).
• Seattle: June 25-28 for the Seattle Marathon and visits with friends.
• Chicago (Yes, again): July 14-18.  LPM Meeting for TechShow 2010; followed by another visit to my grandparents and family.  Hopefully Carrie will be along this time to meet the family.
• Chicago (Yes AGAIN): July 31-August 4.  Speaking at ABA Annual Meeting, then running the Chicago Half-Marathon (see above) and perhaps some more family visits.
• St. Maarten: Oct 13-17.  LPM Fall meeting for TechShow 2010.

Delta Airlines, Sheraton Hotels and Avis Rent-A-Car are all very happy right now.

Farewell to Chief Bill Snively, a good friend. (Sept 14, 1931-Feb 28, 2009)

Today we attended a memorial service for Bill Snively, a Navy chief and one of my fellow tour guides aboard the USS Missouri.  Bill was a good friend and a terrific guide who really epitomized for me what a Navy chief is.  Knowledgeable, straightforward, quick to tell you what he thought and just as quick with a smile or a joke.  Bill’s service was attended by over 100 (I’m estimating) folks who knew and loved him and there were many more who I’m sure wished they could have been there.  After military honors (including a 21-gun salute) from a Navy honor guard his ashes were scattered over the side of the Missouri into Pearl Harbor, and then all present tossed flower petals over the side as well.  It was a truly moving honor for a very deserving man.

O.K., that’s all for now.  Back to work for me…

-B-

So I'm going to dedicate this post to a few of my favorite things, so to speak.

First of all, the news that brought a lot of rejoicing to my family, is the birth of little Auden Grace Huddleston.  My "sister" (actually she's my cousin) Ashley and her husband Gabe welcomed their first daughter on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009.

I get to meet the little sweetie (I hope) very soon.

A couple of random pictures that make me smile...

It's surprisingly hard to not laugh when you're a sea cucumber(?) wearing a top hat.

I think this is what love looks like.  The sweet little moments when you're just together in every way.

-B-