Love it or Leave it

Movin' on up!

2011-04-08T15:51:00.001-07:00

Sorry folks, but I will no longer be posting here on Blogger. I've moved to Tumblr. The new URL is: http://thelittlefella.tumblr.com/ Please visit me there for all future posts (and old posts too!) Thanks!

We did it!

2011-04-04T14:59:00.001-07:00

It's all over now and it was amazing. Here's a few pics until I get my act together to post more.

Wedding Pics

A Cautionary Tale

2011-03-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

Two Fridays ago the bearded man and I had returned home after a long night out and about in Downtown LA. I was really tired and when I needed my cell phone, asked him to throw it to me. Those were my exact words: throw it to me. Unfortunately for me, the bearded man not only took them literally and did throw it, but since I was underneath a blanket threw it at the big blob instead of into maybe a pair of hands. The result? My first (and hopefully last) black eye. I can attest to the corner of an iPhone with a very hard plastic case in the eye will cause immense amounts of bruising and cause one to scream/cry like a 3 year old (maybe that's just me). Luckily for me it was the weekend and I had a few days to deal with the pain and start to laugh about my misfortune before work on Monday. Even luckier is the bearded man who in testimony to his character not one person doubted our I Love Lucy style explanation.

The bruising is all gone now and with plenty of time before the wedding. So brides and anyone who doesn't want a black eye, I don't recommend ever asking for a phone to be thrown to them unless they know exactly where it's headed.

p.s. 12 days! ACK!

5 weeks to go!

2011-02-27T14:58:00.000-08:00

I didn't think I'd actually end up this close to my wedding day sans venue contract signed, or with any definitive wedding colors, or just a sketch of what my centerpieces will look like, but that's how it goes. Life just has a habit of getting away from you and before you know it you're faced with things like marriage license requirements and big decisions like what do I want my name to be?

The bearded man and I went to our respective bachelor/bachelorette parties last week. And even though we both went to Sin City we managed to avoid seeing each other the entire time. I did try to text him, but had the phone taken away immediately after. It was the first time I had gone that long without speaking to him in the 5 years since we've met (this includes my time in Brazil and D.C.) and it was a lot harder than I thought. I've gotten so used to someone else being willing to listen 24/7 and luckily my girlfriends were nice enough to by my sounding board.

So wedding plans, what's left. Well besides the license, it's mostly logistics and supplies. Trying to figure out how to transport and chill 800 beverages (that's 1 beverage per hour per person), how to display my cupcakes/candy bar (I ditched cupcakes as centerpieces) and who is going to take all of it down at the end of the afternoon (beg friends and family to help?). This brings me to the hardest part of wedding planning, asking for help. I like to host parties and I like to organize and plan, but as much as this wedding is my party I'm hosting I can't do the traditional things I'd do like set-up and clean up, making sure that everyone has drinks or that the food is good. So it's delegation time to the bearded man, to my kickass Maid of Honor, to my family and friends who have volunteered their assistance. So with a hope and a prayer it will all come off without a hitch. Time to start learning the anti-rain dance for April 2!

Paperless Post to the Rescue!

2011-01-21T18:23:00.000-08:00

So early on we decided to only send real paper invites to those of our guests who are not so computer savvy (aka all of our family and parent's friends). With a wedding our size this cut the number of invites we needed to actually print, label and send to 100. For our friends though I wanted to use Paperless Post which is Evite's way more mature and hip cousin. I first learned about this awesome website when it was in Beta mode from my Aunt who had received an e-vite for a very nice party being thrown by USC. I had spent some time designing our wedding e-vite and was a bit disappointed that our friends would not get the same papel picado (Mexican cut paper) feel as our real invite. Lo and behold when I arrived today on the Paperless Post website to find this amazing piece of electronic stationary:

Sometimes when you're just about ready to quit on all this wedding planning stuff, perfection just falls into your lap. For those of you still in throes of wedding planning and working full time, check out this awesome post by Liz Coopersmith on Broke-ass Bride today.

80 days and counting down

2011-01-13T14:58:00.000-08:00

We're less than 80 days out from the wedding at this point and it's starting to really sink in that a) this is really happening and b) there's a lot left to do. I have three major goals for the wedding:
1. Our guests have a good time
2. We get to enjoy the wedding
3. Everyone leaves with a full tummy of delicious food

Now even though that seems like a small set of goals, making sure those are accomplished requires a lot more planning. So for a quick rundown on my list of to-dos:
1. Arrange for rental and set-up of the reception tent, tables, chairs, dancefloor and tablecloths.
2. Address and send out invitations.
3. Update the website with the RSVP link.
4. Meet with the wedding coordinator from the church to arrange for the rehearsal.
5. Reserve the rehearsal dinner location.
6. Schedule my dress fittings at the seamstress.
7. Decide on the music for the ceremony and the reception.
8. Purchase alcohol, other drinks, cupcake stands, cutlery and table settings.
9. Buy the remaining pint glasses for my favors and paint on the chalkboard square.
10. Figure out last minute accessories including jewelry, wedding bands, hair flower.

So many things and so little time, this is why people hire wedding coordinators. I'm trying to take it one step at a time and to not allow my life to become consumed in the planning of this event. And, be okay with not finishing everything on that list. So here's to the last big push until April 2. Wish me luck!

UPDATE 3/9/2011: I just realized that I've done everything on this list except for #9 and #10. WOO HOO!

Guest BlogPost Today at Charmed Weddings

2010-12-14T13:59:00.000-08:00

I'm really excited that my very first Guest Blog Post is up, check it out here.

I don't know how many of my readers are planning a wedding, but just in case a great resource is Liz Coopersmith at Silver Charm Events. Not only does she write a very helpful blog, but she hosts teleconference calls with industry professionals about all questions wedding including catering, photography, and choosing a venue. Last but not least she is a regular contributor to one of my favorite wedding blogs around the Broke-Ass Bride Blog.

Featured on Metro's the Source Blog

2010-12-08T12:18:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to report that my "Why I Ride" profile I submitted to Metro was posted today to the Source blog. I've appreciated reading the different profiles about why people choose to ride Metro or in some cases choose not. I've also thought the suggestions provided by many of those profiled have been useful and constructive. My main suggestion (despite being a daily rail user) is to improve the quality of the bus system in LA. The infrequency, unreliability and lengthy trip times of the current bus system make them a choice for only those without any other option.

The bearded man and I discussed yesterday why we love where we live so much yesterday. And despite the cute neighborhood of shops and cafes the real reason we love it is our commute. We both manage to have 20 minute commutes to our workplaces. The key thing in the future will be a) always considering our commute when we choose where to live and b) being willing to move if the job is worth it so that we can live approximately halfway between both of our jobs. This also means that purchasing a home does not work with this philosophy, because that will essentially root us in one place. As much as I would love to be able to rip out the carpet in my living room or throw large outdoor BBQs in a big backyard it does not outweigh all the extra time I have added to my day by not driving.

Adventures in Crafting- Favors

2010-12-02T10:48:00.000-08:00

I like to craft. Growing up in the Girls Scouts I would spend time making handmade Christmas ornaments and using rubber stamps on just about anything. In Junior High I got into scrapbooking and most recently have tried my hand at sewing. The problem with all of these is that I don't like mistakes and once I've screwed something up (in my mind) I tend to just give up on the whole project.
Once engaged though it became evident that crafting and DIY (do-it-yourself) are super popular ways to make your wedding feel personalized and help save some dough. I decided I would only craft things that a) I couldn't find somewhere online for a decent price or b) didn't exist and would be forced to create myself. So far I've taken on two major craft projects for the wedding: favors and invitations.
Our favor idea came from one of my favorite Christmas gifts- a pint glass with a rectangle of chalkboard paint that lets you put your name on it infinite amounts of times. Here's the inspiration:

Image courtesy of Incredible Things

Unfortunately those cost $4 each and black does not go with my color scheme. (Side note: I don't really have a color scheme, I have a color- green.)

So I decided to do a test run and try my hand at making my own. The bearded man and I picked up 6 Vanlig pint glasses at Ikea for $3.99. We then headed over to a true Los Angeles gem- Jill's Paints to pick up primer and chalkboard paint. We decided to go with a foam roller at the suggestion of the friendly staff at Jill's and picked the only green shade that we liked from the selection at hand. The primer, chalkboard paint and foam rollers came to about $45. I randomly taped up some rectangles on each glass and got to priming. Here's what they looked like after Step 1:
I decided to leave them over night to dry before adding the first coat of green chalkboard paint. I didn't love it with the first coat so I waited another 24 hours before adding a second one and voila:I'm really pleased with how they came out and have already put them through the dishwasher once to see how they hold up. Next we'll be buying the remaining 200 (YIKES!) pint glasses at a restaurant wholesale supplier and getting to work. I might reconsider this as a good idea around #150, but oh well I'm in for the long haul now!

New Year's Resolutions

2010-11-18T11:39:00.000-08:00

No I'm not starting early for 2011, but I was about to write out a To Do list when I came across my 2010 New Year's Resolutions. I'm so glad I kept this, because it's fun to see which of those things I've crossed off, which I still haven't done and those I completely forgot about even promising to do.

1. Exercise 3x/week and go to yoga 1x/week.
I haven't kept this up consistently throughout the year, but this was by far my healthiest year yet. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that I'm not commuting 45 min or more each way to work and have an extra 90 minutes a day to spend at yoga or working out. Funny enough I also canceled my gym membership this year, because with 2 people and 1 vehicle having to drive to a separate location to work out was not convenient. Instead I've switched to yoga classes down the street from my train station, running outside and Jillian Michael's 30-day Shred at home in the living room.

2. Take a trip to a different continent.
This was one of the worst years for traveling. Although the bearded man and I managed to fit in a lot of shorter trips: Grand Canyon, Vegas, Seattle, San Francisco (twice), San Diego; there was no international travel. Our last trip of the year will be to another national park which is great since we'll probably not be able to fit one in next year with the wedding.

3. Consolidate IRAs.
A major fail on this one, especially since it's been on my list for 2 years! I hate dealing with the paperwork, but I'm going to make a concerted effort to try and get this done by the end of the year. Due to my plethora of jobs, I have about 5 disparate accounts all just languishing.

4. Cook food I like.
I have to hand it to Real Simple for all of the awesome easy recipes with a few ingredients. The bearded man and I cooked through all 20 of the dinners listed in their 4-week menu plan for dinner. I would say we enjoyed more than 75% of them and there are some we have already made again! I also need to credit again my lack of a commute for my ability to cook more often.

5. Organize apartment/purge.
We have a constant "outbox" where we put stuff that we want to give away and every so often I go through my wardrobe to look for items I no longer wear, are worn out or don't fit. The best plan I can think of for doing this is Apartment Therapy's Home Cure, which just finished but there are awesome short videos to lead you through it. Coupled with the book makes it easier than you might think.

6. Invest in home furnishings/art.
Only made modest progress on this one. We bought a big mirror for the living room and finally framed our favorite photo from a trip to Brazil, but that's it. The majority of our walls are still just plain old white. As for furnishings we purchased a chest for the living room to hold the pull-out bed sheets/blankets, a liquor cabinet/board game holder, and some new throw pillows, but that's about it.

7. Run two half marathons.
I ran three this year, so here's one resolution officially checked off complete.

8. Finish college scrapbook.
I have made so little progress on this one that I wonder if I'll ever want to finish it, but I think I'll make the commitment to finish this one and then maybe go for easier digital versions in the future (Shutterfly, Costco photobooks, etc.) I just never want to take the time to get out all of the supplies, make the necessary amount of mess and clean it up.

So out of 8 resolutions I've managed to do at least most of them a little and 3 of them completely. Guess it's time to start thinking about some new goals for 2011, maybe blogging a little more frequently?

SF vs. LA Transit

2010-10-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

So the SF Giants have managed to make it all the way to the World Series, take down the un-hittable Cliff Lee and win the first of four games to be crowned Champions of Baseball. But how does the Bay Area's transit system match up to LA's?

1. The airport: SF's rail line picks you up at the airport. LA makes you take a shuttle that can be confusing and time consuming. 1 point SF.

2. Price: This is tough, because it depends what system you are using in SF. There are two main transit operators: BART- the Bay Area Rapid Transit and Muni which is the local bus and light rail provider within SF proper. BART's prices are based on geographical distance with a heavy premium for the airport. It cost $8.10 from SFO to Civic Center station (approximately 25 minute trip). The Metro line is $1.50 per ride with no transfers, so if you happened to only take the Green Line to the LAX shuttle it would only cost $1.50. If you had to transfer a day pass might save you some money and runs $5.00, still cheaper than BART. Muni though can be significantly cheaper than Metro, because it allows on and off privileges for 90 minutes for $2 and we managed to go from brunch, to Golden Gate park and to lunch all on one fare. Metro does not allow transfers and taking four buses would have cost $6.00 at a $1.50 per ride. 1 point for SF for Muni's transfers, 1 point for Metro for non-geography based fares.

3. Convenience: Now here's where SF really stands out from LA. First, BART has a paper fare card that can be reused, reducing the number of times you have to visit the fare machine. Times for when the next BART or Muni will arrive are available online and via the iPhone. In the station, times are listed for the next arrival of a train (soon to be available in LA, but should have been around for awhile now). Metro only recently created an iPhone app, but it still does not provide real-time updates for bus/rail arrivals and there is no mobile version of bus/rail schedules (only a painfully slow-loading PDF version). 1 point for SF

4. Style: Now I know this is not as important, but I do want to at least give props to LA for not putting carpet and fully upholstered seats on their rail like BART. I always worry about the number of germs and nastiness that must be living in them. Also, MUNI has weird seat set-ups in their buses with seats facing each other that seem like space wasters. Plus, the public service ads in MUNI paled in comparison to the beautiful Metro ad campaigns.
1 point for LA

Final tally: SF, 3 vs. LA, 2. Looks a lot like our baseball season, they're better than us, but not by much. And with today's approval of the expansion to the Westside, we'll start being able to build a system in the near future that can compete with our Northern neighbors.

L.A. ranked #4 among workers using transit

2010-10-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

A recent release from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey listed the LA Metro region #4 in terms of the number of workers using transit, but the percentage of workers using transit LA is still lagging behind at 6.2%. I think there may be several reasons for the lack of more transit riders, but here's a few:

1. Employers are more willing to subsidize parking rather than transit. Until parking becomes a scarcity it is a difficult sell. Metro has already put in place reduced transit fares for employers through its B-Tap program. Unfortunately, Metrolink's sizable expense results in employer reimbursements' accounting for a very small portion of the cost. In other cities such as SF, DC and NY the cost of a monthly parking spot can equal rent on a small studio.

2. Many of public transit riders in LA are not workers, but rather students, elderly and of course those people who don't ride i.e. the unemployed. Not that other Metropolitan areas don't have the same types of riders, but I think LA has a disproportionate amount of non-working riders. I would be interested to see how LA matches up against other areas when all transit riders are considered.

3. LA has several areas where the majority of workers are headed. Traveling to DTLA via transit is very doable, but other city centers: Century City, Long Beach, Santa Monica, Westwood, Burbank, etc. are so spread apart that having reliable, frequent trips for workers is difficult.

The reasons I ride transit have a lot to do with the fact that my transit is subsidized by my employer; I work in DTLA at a transit hub, i.e. Union Station; and I learned how to ride transit from my time at USC where parking costs over $300/semester (parking scarcity). Take away one of those and I might be with the other 93.8% of workers in the LA Metro area- stuck in traffic, in a car by myself, listening to NPR and cursing.

A New Topic for a Bit

2010-10-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

As much as I love writing about transit, it's been getting a little tedious. Mostly because I tend to travel the same route 5 days a week and except for the occasional rant or transit-related news item there isn't much for me to write about. But I have been ditching my usual reading of transit and policy blogs/articles for a much different topic- Weddings.

The bearded man and I got engaged a couple days after our 4 year anniversary. He couldn't do it on the actual anniversary date, because I'd be "expecting it and it wouldn't be a surprise." So instead he chose to wait to a random rainy Saturday after coming home from brunch with his Dad. There was no grand gesture, but it made me laugh and I started cursing once I realized what was actually happening. So fast forward 7 months and we are now 6 months away from our wedding date- 04.02.11. And interestingly enough my dependency on public transit has affected some of my wedding planning decisions- so this blog won't totally lose its feel. But since I've managed to already change it once, I thought why not one more time? This will be a whirlwind of activity and I thought that it might be fun to invite the internets in on the fun/chaos.

Thanks for putting up with me!

-Juice

Constructive Tweeting

2010-09-22T12:48:00.000-07:00

I had a bummer experience on Metro last Friday. After leaving a little early to be able to purchase some breakfast on my way to work, I arrived with a good 3 minutes to purchase my one-way pass with my pre-paid token. The first machine I used ate my token. I put it in and nothing happened, no ticket, no returned token. Now instead of being a smart Metro rider, I decided to try the same machine again. I thought maybe my first token was stuck and the second would jar it. Bad idea as my second token was promptly swallowed up.

The Mission Gold Line station only has two machines for each direction. The other was being used by what I could only assume was an infrequent Metro rider, as she used at $20 bill to purchase her $1.50 pass and spent several moments trying to count up her $1 coins. Luckily, she finished up her transaction in time for me to put my 3rd token in the second machine and retrieve my fare with time to run to the train. So after $4.50 spent in tokens I finally had valid proof of fare. Needless to say I was not pleased and promptly fired off a tweet to @metrolosangeles. I received a reply tweet a few hours later that I should call the 323.Go.Metro customer service line to report what had happened or use the intercom located next to the ticket machines in the future. Unfortunately, neither of these options would work for me, because the Customer Service line has notoriously interminable wait times (over 20 minutes) to reach an agent and I was not going to miss my train just to talk to someone on the intercom. Plus, I feel that Twitter is a great forum to receive real-time information from customers about service issues and relay the information to whomever needs to know and if @metrolosangeles is not the appropriate Twitter handle to respond to, I suggest the Customer Service folks at 323.Go.Metro to start their own.

I guess to add icing on the cake, when I exited at Union Station I was greeted by no less than 6 Sheriff officers asking for proof of fare. If I had been someone who could not afford to waste 3 tokens or who only had exact fare I would have been fined despite my good faith effort. I made sure to relay to them the problem at Mission Station's ticket machine and they did seem to be at least mildly interested in the information.

For better or worse, my tweet was posted on Metro's Source blog. I hope to be listed under compliments in addition to rants one day, because no one likes a Debbie Downer.

TAP Cards and Turnstiles

2010-08-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

Metro's electronic fare system, TAP, was in the news again for the cost of installing locking turnstiles that are still not being fully utilized and the slow adoption of riders from paper to electronic. Although, many of the assertions made in the Daily News article are true there is little doubt that the majority of other public transit entities in the U.S. struggled through the same issues when they transferred from paper to electronic fare systems. Other systems do have advantages though to LA's Metro including having staffed stations that allow for confused riders and problems to be addressed in real-time by a Metro employee and a much larger rail system that was built with turnstiles originally in mind. I never quite understood what made Metro choose to start with a honor system except for that when the Red Line was built it was feared to be rarely used by anyone let alone have to worry about fare evasion. As the network has grown and lines are added the increased need for oversight has made this system a problem. As a regular rider, I take offense to being constantly asked by Sheriffs and fare checkers for my proof of transit. I often see them paying more careful attention to patrons that one might expect to be potential fare evaders: teens on skateboards, individuals that are asleep, etc. Without a system that ensures every rider has paid the profiling will continue.

As for the article's questioning as to why more riders haven't adopted TAP, I believe that until paper tickets are no longer an option for students and seniors, there will be little motivation to move to the new system. People enjoy what is familiar and will not change unless forced. With the increase of use there will hopefully be more outlets to purchase a TAP and remove the burden of finding an outlet near you. And maybe one day soon, Metro will be able to lock those pretty new turnstiles once and for all.

Am I a loser?

2010-08-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

According to Hollywood, I just might be. Slate has a great article entitled "Dude, Where's your car?: How not having a car became Hollywood shorthand for loser". This is an idea not lost on me. I often wonder what people think about the fact that I live in L.A. and there's only 1 freeway-drivable car in a 2-person household. I would argue that not having a car to get me to all my destinations, has increased my cool factor.

1. I'm not stuck in my car for 90-120 minutes a day commuting 5 days a week. Although this means I don't get to listen to endless amounts of bad radio, I do get to spend my commuting time listening to my iPod and This American Life podcasts.

2. By having only 1 car, we were forced to move to a transit-friendly neighborhood. In addition to being near transit I also live within two blocks of a local wine store, Trader Joe's, two yoga studios, half a dozen restaurants, two coffee shops and a bakery.

3. I'm able to shop at the weekly Thursday farmer's market, something I never got home in time to visit when I drove. I can also make almost any yoga class or dinner date within 30 minutes of me being off of work, even on a Friday! (Gasp! Has taking public transit turned me into one of those crazy hipsters who only shop locally? And if so, isn't that the definition of Hollywood cool these days?)

4. A weird side effect of not driving during the week is how little I drive on the weekends and nights. The bearded man and I tend to stay within the 10 mile radius area around our place, which just happens to include Downtown LA the newest cool spot to be in Lala land.

So I guess I will dust off those weird stares and uncomfortable pauses when I tell people I don't drive very regularly. I'll remind myself there are millions of New Yorkers who never even care to get their license and not worry about being called out like poor Cher.

Too many transfers, too many delays

2010-08-17T21:05:00.000-07:00

My coworker is a brave soul. She travels on 3 Metro rail lines a day to get to work: Green to Blue to Red. The total distance of her commute if she drove would be a little over 13 miles. For the most part taking public transit works for her. She doesn't spend close to an hour in traffic, her car isn't forced to put on mileage and since work pays for the majority of her monthly pass it's cost effective. But there's something that is rarely taken into account: the psychological toll of relying on transit day after day to get you to and from a place 10+ times a week. The problem is that with 3 rail lines that's 3 times as many places for things to go wrong, multiply that by a round trip and that's 6 times a day things could go wrong, multiply that by 5 days a week and you're up to 30 times...you get the picture. The problem becomes when the days that the trip goes off without a hitch start to seem fewer than the number of times SOMETHING goes wrong. This can range from something minor like one or two doors not opening on a train causing momentary chaos at every station to a crash with a car, requiring everyone switching to a bus bridge. In LA it tends to be the Blue Line with problems more often than the others, and in Washington D.C. it typically was the Red Line, but when one of these "problem" lines are on your daily commute your ability to rely on transit as a timely and efficient option starts to dwindle. Not to say Metro isn't trying the twitter feed @metrolosangeles has started keeping much better with transit alerts and continues to be responsive via the source blog for issues being raised by customers. Check them both out if you're a rider or just a transit enthusiast.

The end of $2.00 for a monthly pass

2010-06-30T15:43:00.000-07:00

Today is the end of June which for most people means that the year is halfway through, but for those transit riders out there it means the start of a new fiscal year and LOTS of changes. Tomorrow LA Metro will increase the base fare by $.25 to $1.50 and the monthly pass will go from $62.00 to $75.00! I am lucky that my employer pays for $60 towards my transit costs in lieu of paying that same amount for parking. The tough decision now will be whether to continue buying the monthly pass or switching to tokens. There are a few pros and cons to each.

Pros for tokens- I will only buy $60 worth a month and therefore have no out of pocket expense.
Cons for tokens- I no longer get to TAP my way on to the bus/train each morning. Not to mention the inconvenience of having to purchase my pass everyday. And it's possible I'll use up all of my tokens and need to pay out of pocket anyways.

I've decided to try tokens for one month and see how it goes. Tomorrow should also mean a shakeup for Metro's bus routes which means new schedules/routes/stops, etc. Trying to figure everything out is difficult, but we have 511 to the rescue! Similar to 911 for emergencies, 511 is for transit and transportation. Southern California recently unveiled it's go511.com site with transit planning information, traffic alerts, carpool and bike information. It's a lot more user friendly then the trip planner offered on Metro's website AND more comprehensive than Google transit. (Sidenote: This may not be Google's fault since transit companies must be willing to provide the site with route and time information for this to work.) 511 might not be everything to everyone, but it is the dawn of Southern California transit being integrated on a regional scale that is easily accessible from any computer! Woo hoo!

Stranded on the Gold Line

2010-05-05T15:29:00.001-07:00

Yes I have to admit that for two evenings in a row, my favorite method of transport, the Gold Line, left me stranded. Monday evening I left work to ride the 6:10pm train to Sierra Madre Villa station from Union Station when an announcement comes on that the train will be leaving in approximately 3 minutes. This is odd, considering this will make the train late something that I'm happy to report is relatively rare for the Gold Line, particularly during morning/evening rush hour. After a few minutes, the driver instructs everyone to exit the train, as it will be going south to Atlantic Station. We are then told that a train running north will be arriving shortly. Two more trains arrive traveling southbound and still no northbound train. Finally, we get the real update there is police activity at the Chinatown station and train service between Union Station and Lincoln/Cypress station has been canceled for an undetermined amount of time.

Rather than being smart and heading over to the nearest happy hour I decide to go on a bus adventure with the goal of reaching Gold Line's Lincoln/Cypress station and continuing on my trip home. Unfortunately, Metro's website does not include a mobile transit trip planner and loading the full version on my iPhone takes an excruciatingly long time. I decide to wing it and board the LADOT DASH to Lincoln Heights/Chinatown. Turns out this bus goes by the Gold Line station, but stops about 1 mile away. I decide to transfer to Metro Line #45 which also has a head sign of "Lincoln Heights" but alas this bus also does not meet up with the Gold Line. I decide to exit and transfer to my third bus, Metro Rapid Line #751 which travels along Daly and does meet up with the Gold Line station. To make a long story short, my 15 minute ride turned into a 90 minute ordeal.

Considering I've been using the Gold Line as my main commuting transit option I am pleasantly surprised that in 6 months I had only two days when getting to/from work had taken significantly longer than it would have driving. That was until yesterday when I was stranded again for the second time. Luckily, this time I was already at Lincoln/Cypress station when the police activity shut down the northbound trains and I quickly phoned the bearded man to come retrieve me and spirit me away home. But what about those riders who do not have a back-up option? In order for public transit to become a viable option for those who do not HAVE to take transit, giving riders a sense of security that they will be able to reach their destination in a reasonable amount of time or offer options in the event of emergency is key. I was hoping that the new Twitter feed @metrolosangeles might be able to alleviate this by reporting in real-time issues affecting service. This is not currently possible, but I'm glad to see that Metro's blog the Source was at least responsive to the fact that its passengers are talking on Twitter about service issues. I'm particularly excited that my frustrated tweet from Monday evening made it to the Twitter Tuesday post, check it out here. Hopefully, this will be the last of the mysterious shutdowns due to unexplained police activity at least for awhile, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed as I stand on the platform.

Dodger Game Express

2010-04-15T20:51:00.001-07:00

I had the privilege of attending the Dodgers' home opening on Tuesday afternoon and utilized the free Dodgers Express bus from Union Station to just outside the field level entrance at the stadium. For someone like me that works at Union Station there could not be a more practical means of transport to the game and this service will save me a considerable amount of money ($15 per game). It being a sold out game, the Express bus was running fairly frequently and I waited a mere 10 minutes to board. My fellow riders were particularly rowdy as we had less than 30 minutes until the first pitch and the traffic on Cesar Chavez was brutal. Some suggestions I heard from the riders included: 1. creating a bus only lane before game time to allow for faster trip times
2. allowing the bus to turn right from the far most left lane into the parking lot rather than having to travel in the congested center and right lanes
3. having a bus only travel lane once we've entered the line for parking
My personal suggestion is that they make more than one drop off to allow those people with reserve and top deck level tickets to disembark closer to their seats. I would imagine that those individuals sitting at the field level will probably be driving to the game seeing that $150+ per ticket was in their budget. I didn't take the Express back to Union Station as I was lucky enough to have the bearded man pick me up and take me to dinner, but I will at some point during the season and report back on how it fairs. I suspect that it might be faster to walk down to Sunset Bl. and take a regular Metro bus (Route #2, 704) but that will also be part of my research. Finally, I want to test out if I can make it back from a 7:00pm game to Union Station in time to make the final Gold Line train (that is if the game ends in 9 innings, and doesn't last 5+ hours like Wednesday's game). All good information to know whether it is truly possible to attend a Dodger game in L.A. sans personal vehicle.

Overall, I was impressed with the Metro representatives on hand to direct people to the bus, and especially amazed at the driver for putting up with all those awesomely rowdy and crazy Dodger fans. Here's hoping that after this year, it will be seen as a reliable and necessary service that either the Dodger organization or Metro will make available every season and not just if funding is provided by the Southern CA Air Quality Management District. For more information on why and how this was funded, please read the LAist article.

There will never be enough $

2010-01-25T15:46:00.001-08:00

The L.A. County Metropolitan Transit Authority (aka Metro) released its operating budget for the next fiscal year and anticipates the operating budget will be far below what it needs to be. The obvious solution for Metro is to reduce service and increase fares. Yet, one of the main reasons Metro does not raise more money from its fare box is that the system as it stands today is inefficient and difficult to use as a primary form of transit. The long wait at the bus stop and the number of transfers necessary to get from Point A to Point B is why ridership continues to decrease. The only people left to ride Metro are those who are forced to because they have no other option. There will not be an increase in ridership until Metro realizes that cutting service and increasing prices is not the only answer. How about optimizing a system that has not been radically changed in several decades? Why not work on creating an integrated Regional System where local city transit systems connect to a concentrated Metro System which serves Downtown, major commuter routes and other centers of L.A. life. There was going to be such a system, it was called Metro Connections, and it was basically shelved after barely even getting off the ground 2 years ago. I'm just hoping that with this new set of impending service cuts Metro finally does something about Express Route #460 which travels a whopping 27 miles each way from Downtown to Disneyland! I really would like to know what the ridership looks like on that gem as well as an explanation as to why the L.A. County Metro is paying for service that should be left to the Orange County Transit Authority. For more information please read the LA Times article.

Gold Line Drama

2010-01-22T11:16:00.000-08:00

This past week in L.A. there's been a deluge of rain and wet weather, but luckily for this public transit commuter the actual trip time hasn't been severely affected. That is until this morning when around 4:00am a tree fell on the tracks and caused closures from Sierra Madre Villa Station to Southwest Museum Station. As my home station is Mission in South Pasadena, I knew I'd be in for an adventure to get to work. I assured the bearded man not to worry and feel free to take our one rain proof vehicle (Scooter in pouring rain didn't sound like a good idea). I departed at 8:10am hoping to at minimum catch Route 176 that travels to Figueroa and York and transfer to Route 81 that travels down Figueroa through Downtown L.A. Lucky for me I managed to walk right on the bridge bus transporting passengers between the stranded stations and Southwest Museum Station. For the 2 stops we visited (Highland Park and Southwest Museum) I found Metro staff to be informative and quickly moving people along as best as possible. I made it to work in about 50 minutes, or about 3 times as long as it would take on a normal operation day.

I did hear from other co-workers at stations farther northbound (Fillmore) there was little to no Metro presence or explanation regarding the situation. I understand that it is difficult to react quickly, but information is key. With the no-cost, instant ways to transmit timely information via Twitter, there is little excuse for Metro in not keeping their riders informed of service disruptions. I know a few months ago Metro was looking for a blogger to keep the public abreast of developing transit issues, but it appears they have a greater need for a Twitter account manager transmitting issues like today's in real time.

Luckily for me, close to 25% of my department takes the Gold Line to work so there was much sympathy and understanding when I arrived to work 30 minutes late. Looking forward to taking the Gold Line Eastside extension this afternoon to Mariachi Plaza for a michelada at Eastside Luv!

In the Battle of Rail vs. Bus...

2009-11-10T11:22:00.000-08:00

Rail vs. Bus has been a consistent battle since completion of the Blue Line in 1990. By connecting Long Beach to Downtown L.A., the transit planners resolved some of the commuter headaches of the 710 and 110 freeways. In 1993, the Red Line opened it's first leg from Downtown to MacArthur Park and exposed all the difficulties with building a heavy rail line (a.k.a. subway) in a city as developed and busy as Los Angeles. Other communities began clamoring for their own rail lines and the expansion continued with the Green (traveling on the 105 fwy.), Gold (Pasadena to Downtown and now to East L.A.) and the faux Orange (technically a Bus Rapid Transit system, but close enough for the Valley). Now Metro officials have declared that Crenshaw Blvd. should receive it's only Light Rail from the Expo Line which is currently underway to the existing Green Line.

I am personally not 100% convinced that rail is the best way to spend transit dollars in a city as sprawling as Los Angeles, but it is understandable why it continues to win the battle vs. bus debate.

Metro caused me to move

2009-11-06T13:54:00.000-08:00

Shortly after I started taking the bus on a regular basis from Whittier to Downtown L.A., two things happened: 1) I got a new job located at the transit hub in L.A., aka Union Station and 2) my bus commute became unbearable on one rainy day in early October. The benefits of my work being located at THE transit hub are enormous. Rather than having to take a very slow Municipal bus line (a.k.a. Montebello Bus) and having to transfer to an equally slow Metro bus (#33/#333) to get to Pico-Union, I now had the advantage of taking a very slow Metro bus (#270) to several very fast, Express buses by a variety of transit providers. It didn't cut down the overall trip time by much, but it did allow me to walk to the bus stop from my house. This all worked out very nicely until one day it rained in L.A. And for those of you who aren't native Angelenos this means the entire city is thrown into chaos.

I had arrived to work relatively on-time most days via my new route and was surprised at how even the unpredictable rain didn't affect my travel time to work. Unfortunately, it was the ride home where my faith in bus transit started to wear thin. I waited at my stop next to the El Monte Busway for any express bus that was headed towards El Monte Bus Station. As I stood there, three buses that would have taken me to my transfer point were so full that two didn't stop and one stopped loading passengers. By the time I was able to board Foothill Transit's Silver Streak I had missed my transfer connection. For a regular route, this wouldn't be a problem, but the Metro 270 only runs once an hour! Add that the cold weather and rain and I called in the cavalry and asked the bearded man to come pick me up.

This long roundabout story played a large part in our decision to move to a location where I'd be within walking distance of a Metro Gold Line stop that has a frequency of approximately every 8 minute during peak hours. It means no more transfers, no more waiting at a stop wondering if the bus will ever come and a 99% likelihood I'll have somewhere to sit. More to come on the move, and the ever evolving result of having only 1 car in a city ruled by what you drive.

Riding around on 2 wheels

2009-08-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

Today I spent most of my trip on the Montebello Bus Line 41 sleeping until I realized I was about one stop away from where I needed to get off. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people talk really loud on their cell phones in the bus. Apparently the guy behind me was frustrated about some Architect Committee members sending out rogue e-mails with other people blind copied. The fact that I even know this much proves how loud and obnoxious this one sided conversation was. Anyways, after exiting on 3rd and Spring I walked down to 6th and Spring to wait for the 33/333. It took about 10-15 minutes for the bus to arrive, but once boarded we had to wait an additional few minutes to allow a rider in his wheelchair on the bus.

This got me thinking how difficult it must be to get around a city like L.A. in a wheelchair. Owning a van with a wheelchair lift is VERY expensive, plus having to modify it with hand controls is another cost. But for $.25 someone can travel on Metro throughout the County. This is a huge public benefit that is not often considered when talking about public bus transit. The bus also allows disabled individuals to be dropped even closer to their destination as opposed to the fixed routes of light rail/subway/busways. Unfortunately, there remains several problems for disabled passengers when using Metro: 1) not all buses have the wheelchair lifts/they are not always working; 2) the frequency of the bus service can lead to VERY long commutes; 3) the passenger must always know where he/she wants to get off so the bus driver can assist them in debarking, which requires extra planning and research on the part of the rider.

Overall, I would hope that by improving the overall bus system for all riders, disabled passengers would benefit even more as they depend on public transit for the majority of their transportation needs.

Total transit time today: 90 minutes; 50 minutes from Whittier to Downtown L.A.; Transfer wait: 10-12 minutes; 10 minutes from Downtown L.A. to Pico Union

Redesign

2009-08-14T11:05:00.001-07:00

Thank you to my few loyal readers, but I have decided to take this blog in a different direction. What prompted my decision has mostly to do with an advertisement I saw for a transit blogger for Metro's website. The purpose of this blog was to inform readers of on-goings in the transit world and progress on projects, Measure R money, etc. As I'm now a frequent commuter of multiple bus lines within L.A. County, I thought it might be interesting to report on what I see and hear while on the people's limo.

So let's begin with a review of Montebello Bus lines 41 and 341 (the Express). This line travels down Beverly Blvd beginning at either Norwalk Blvd in Whittier or Montebello Blvd. for the Express. After several trips on this line, I'm very impressed with the bus driver's service, the timeliness, and the cheap fare ($1.10 for regular, $1.30 for Express). The 341 travels on the 60 fwy. to the 101 fwy, exiting 4th Street before it continues Downtown. In total, the Express saves approximately 15 minutes in total trip time.

After I get downtown, I then need to make my way over to Pico Union. This second leg of my trip is unfortunately very tedious. There are 3 options: Metro Line 33 which starts at 7th and Spring and requires a 3 block walk to transfer, Metro Line 333 (limited stops) which begins at Union Station, and the Dash D route to the Dash- Pico Union route.

At first, I rode line 33 because it came the most frequently and dropped me off within 3 blocks of work. The line 333 is faster because of the limited stops, but comes less frequently and drops me off about a 1/2 mile from work. Finally the Dash combo drops me off the closest, but requires an extra transfer (although does save $0.75).

I have finally tried all three combos and believe Metro Line 333 to be the winner. Although it requires the longest walk to work, it saves time with less stops and comes frequently enough to warrant waiting out the extra few minutes in comparison to the Dash. Plus, it's drop-off point is in a safer neighborhood than Metro Line 33.

What I learned today was how inefficiently dispatched many of the Dash routes can be. The entire ride our driver was peppered with requests to spread out so that there was more space between him and the buses before and after him. The lack of specificity by the dispatcher allowed for no one to actually take responsibility for creating the required space and was very ineffective. I tend to believe that this is just how it's always been done at Dash without any ability to prove that it's useful or efficient.

Next up, a review on upcoming projects at Metro and an update on Measure R funding.

Grunts, Traffic Control, MJ and Insurance

2009-07-08T11:30:00.001-07:00

Did you get to watch the amazing final round of Wimbledon this year? Or were you too scared to hear hours of guttural noises as tiny felt balls were pummeled across the court at very high speeds? Either way you should check out this HILARIOUS video courtesy of ABC News: The Unstoppable Tennis Grunt

After yesterday's big build up to the scary traffic drama surrounding MJ's funeral I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the LAPD and their ability to contain the chaos. It was almost eerily empty in South Park yesterday (that's the area by Staples towards USC for those of you who are not LA neighborhood savvy). I even managed to order a Fatburger and have it in my possession in less than 10 minutes, which is typically a near impossible feat. And because there was so few bystanders, the LAPD was able to send a bunch of cops home and save the city some overtime money. Considering the budget situation these days, a huge congrats is in order to Chief Bratton and Co.

I listened to most of the memorial on KCRW and was surprised at how touching it was to hear Brooke Shields, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson pay their respects. I am especially sad for those kids who have lived such unimaginable lives thus far and now are being thrown into what must seem like an even stranger world. If it turns out that MJ's death was caused by abuse of prescription drugs, I can only hope it means we'll actually get a real debate on what's going on at the pharmacy. We've turned from the illegal street drugs of the 80s and 90s to the legal, but very dangerous pain and anxiety pills of the 21st century.

Which leads to me my last topic of discussion, the need for healthcare reform in this country and the hope that this Congress will actually make some headway in making this a reality. It seems that my favorite economist and those busy bean counters at the Congressional Budget Office have added up the costs of the most recent Senate Healthcare Plan and it's a) not that expensive and b) the money we would spend is a drop in the bucket in comparison to what we spend annually on healthcare already. The current system is certainly not benefiting many besides the insurance companies, so isn't it about time we spend money on helping everyone else out as well?

Such a bad blogger

2009-07-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

Life has been overly crazy lately, and I blame it on the gradual warming of the temperature and lengthening of the day. It seems that now that it's sunlight until 8pm there are just so many more fun options of things to do and updating the blog isn't high on the list. So I was thinking should I just give up and quit the blogging business? But then again there are so many other things I still want to comment about and muse over, so I decided to forge ahead.

Item #1- Google Transit now includes Los Angeles County trip information! This means you can enter any two addresses in L.A. County in Google maps and receive trip planning options featuring a variety of service providers. This was already available in Orange County, but it seemed that Metro was going to do everything it could to prevent itself from joining the 21st century, and I'm glad to report the fight is over. Technology won!

Item #2- Michael Jackson's funeral. Tomorrow the King of Pop will be laid to rest and potentially hundreds of thousands (some predict even a million) will come out to witness the spectacle. I work very close to the Staples Center and the Laker parade of last month caused some definite traffic headaches, but this sounds like it's going to be A LOT worse. I miss MJ not because he affected me on a daily basis, but his music always makes me happy (especially at the club) and now when I hear it I'll have to remember that there will never be another MJ single or new album. Despite all the drama going on about whether he was a good person or should he be missed, there is no doubt that his music changed people's lives and the way we think about popular music forever.

Item #3- The return of Manny and the Dodgers. Yesterday was a tough game for the boys in blue as we eeked out a win in the 13th inning after our prized saver Jonathan Broxton, fell apart in the 9th, allowing 4 runs and forcing extra innings. Again, these troubles were not on the offense or defense side, but mainly from the bullpen (especially as Chad Billingsley pitched an excellent 8 innings). Mota and Belisario each had wild pitches and it was not until Weaver came in that we had some resemblance of control. I don't think this is a huge problem as I can almost guarantee that the main thing Colletti is looking for in the mid-season trade is some new pitching blood. Plus, everyone is allowed to have a bad day even the Ox. Pitching aside, Manny's return has been pretty uneventful and it was nice to see Pierre play so well on Sunday. He had 4 singles, but none of those turned into runs, which points to why Manny should play despite Pierre's current batting average. Manny hits doubles, and homers, while Juan bunts, singles and runs like a mad man to beat the throw. Manny just requires less from his teammates to get him home, and I'm pretty sure any pitcher would rather face Pierre over Manny further gaining some advantage for Mr. Ramirez.

Oh there's so much more to report on from the IOUs now being issued by the world's 8th largest economy to the fact that Minnesota finally has two senators and Alaska is down a governor, but these and other topics including the 21st century's first military coup must wait for further investigation and research. Until then, stay thirsty my friends.

The Opera of Life

2009-06-02T11:57:00.000-07:00

I recently went to the Opera with the bearded friend and was happy to see that 19th Century musical theater is still alive and well in the 21st century. It was particularly great people watching as the average opera patron is near 70 years old. It was almost impossible to count the number of Stuart Weitzman and Ferragamo low heeled pumps I saw, but they all pretty much resembled these to the right. This was still a vast improvement over what the rest of the younger set was wearing which ranged from full on floor length gowns to the always a mistake black bra with white dress. It has been awhile since I've done a post on fashion, but thought it might be time for another featuring highlights from the Opera:

1. A black bra should only be worn when wearing black or a color that is so dark it is indiscernible from black except under the most extreme lighting situations.

2. Strapless bras were invented for a reason, please utilize them whenever your bra straps would be otherwise visible. Yes, that includes if they match or (God forbid) are clear, and no just because Carrie Bradshaw always had her's showing does it make it okay.

3. Purses should at least be in the same realm of the outfit, for example if wearing an evening outfit, the purse should be equally evening-esque. This means exceedingly large work purses, shrunken backpacks and fanny packs need not apply.

4. Wear only as high of heel as you can actually walk in without looking like you're in extreme pain or about to eat it.

5. Men: please wear pants that allow for your belly to be placed within the confines of your pants.

6. As with #3, wraps/sweaters/coats worn to an evening event should match the occasion, please leave the track jacket in the car and freeze if necessary.

7. Jeans to a Saturday evening performance of the Opera is poor form, even in L.A.

8. Taking off your shoes is never an option, please refer to #4 if your feet are in pain.

9. Open-toed shoes require clean and groomed toenails, and at minimum some clear polish.

10. And finally, if leg will be shown, please choose either stockings or a fresh shave for the rest of us who might have to sit next to you and accidentally brush across you as we scoot to our seats.

Sweeps and Swept

2009-05-21T17:14:00.000-07:00

The Dodgers are riding high off their most recent sweep of the NL East leading Mets. So much for not being able to win outside of our division or without Manny. The team has been on a tear of 1st inning runs and it continued yesterday. Casey Blake was honored with a bobblehead and proved he's worthy in Tuesday's game when he cracked a 3-run homer to win the game. I have thoroughly enjoyed this season's home games, especially since I've only seen them lose once and my hilarious game buddies: Gin, the Oz man, and bearded friend. I can't wait to see the Dodgers take on their cross town rivals this weekend. Also, last night marked the first time play-by-play was announced by a female! Although, it was only online and not TV or radio, it's pretty cool to hear a woman's voice announcing the action. It's been a recent dream of mine to be a Dodgers beat writer, but given the recent cutbacks in journalism, maybe I should switch to Dodgers announcer. I mean Vin is going to retire soon right? (Note: I will cry and mourn when this man steps down from the mic. He is a golden god.) Why not make it the Juice?

On the same day my Dodgers were kicking the Mets' error proned butts, California went to the pools and told the Governator and the legislature NO to any taxes, changes in spending and basically swept away all hope of balancing the budget. What will come next will be severe cuts combined with some bad borrowing, which will result in even more political gridlock and chaos. What's next? Constitutional Convention!!! At least I can only hope that is what's next, because "this aggression cannot stand". (10 points if you recognize where that quote is from.) There were so many good articles about what happened but check out the one from the NYtimes and this column from the LATimes.

Oh and if you want to see what our President looks like from about 291 different angles, check out the White Houses's flickr album of the first 100 days. Nothing like a handmade suit, a starched white shirt and a nice tie to make you look Presidential.

Old Friends Good Times

2009-05-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to spend some time last night with my friends from elementary school. Most of these girls I haven't seen in over 10 years! I left my grade school after 6th grade to go to an all-girls school (much to my dismay) and didn't really keep in good contact with most of them since then (probably due to my inability to drive, use the phone at my convenience, etc. at the age of 12). But one of my friends from my past is getting married and all of our Moms who really miss hanging out with each other wanted to get together to celebrate. It was so much fun seeing all of them and it wasn't until I got home and showed the bearded man my elementary school yearbooks did I realize how instrumental all of them were in making me who I am today.

I've always found it unfortunate that there are people in your life that you are no longer as close to as you once were. There were years when I spent the majority of my waking moments with these lovely girls. We did everything together from selling girl scout cookies to getting detention together in 5th grade. I've also found that as you get older it becomes even more difficult to keep all the people that once were close to you in that same reach. The bearded man is very lucky seeing as his two best friends he's known since the age of 3 and is still very close to both of them today. I hope one day that I'll reestablish my relationships with a lot of these wonderful women and my other high school/college/grad school/past coworkers who I've lost touch with.

p.s. My friend Monica has a really cool blog about eating healthy and running. Two things I've been trying to do more regularly, and she's MUCH better about updating it than me. Check it out here!

I have joined the dark side

2009-05-14T11:34:00.000-07:00

I decided to get a Twitter account a few days ago, mainly because I didn't want to be the very last person on the face of planet earth to join. I don't really get the point, other than being able to know what's going on with everyone in your world at that very moment. Between Facebook, text messaging and Twitter there is literally no reason to ever call/e-mail/meet up with anyone in real life. Maybe that's the real goal of all this technology we won't need our real selves, just our online personalities. There was even a recent NPR article about what happens to our online persona once we pass away and the different services that exist so you can determine what happens to your Facebook/Twitter/Gmail accounts. That seems like a lot of planning and I don't know how I quite feel about planning your afterlife on the Net, but it's something to think about.

In other news, the LA Times has been running an excellent series exposing some of the darker side of LAUSD. I recommend reading all of the articles as they discuss how difficult it is for the District to fire teachers regardless of the reason (including sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior that borderlines on criminal) to what happens to teachers who are deemed unfit to be in the classroom, but cannot be fired. I know these cases are the exception to the rule in a district with tens of thousands of teachers, but it's important for the public to understand this does go on and could lead to large potential savings if dealt with properly. More than anything, I feel these articles are a wake-up call to the teachers' union that it is not just ALL the Governor, and bad administration there are things they could do to ensure this does not continue in the future.

Say it ain't so Joe...

2009-05-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

After yesterday's turn of events, I can only imagine what it was like to be a Chicago White Sox fan in 1920 when their top player Shoeless Joe Jackson was banned from baseball for life after being found guilty of throwing the World Series. Even though Manny might not have been banned for life, 50 games is no drop in the bucket. Plus, it was kind of like being told there would be no Christmas this year or that vacation hours were being canceled at work. Another friend of mine used the analogy of finding out your ex has a STI and not knowing when she/he got infected. No matter what listening to the news unfold about Manny and his suspension made me sick to my stomach. Not because the team can't win without him, and not because the season is over. Not even because I'm naive enough to believe this isn't going on throughout all of professional sports (and in a lot of Colleges), there's just too much money involved to prevent it. What really makes me bummed out is I like Manny. I like the way he winds up to bat like a caveman, slamming his black bat down at the end of the batter's diamond. I like the way he knows when he's hit it out of the park and takes a nice long look as the ball disappears into the stands. I even like those commercials and billboards proclaiming "I'm Baaccccck!".

Because in the end this is L.A. and we love superstars. We want big sports' personalities that match our egos and our self-importance. We don't want to be a team of really good rookies and few vets patched together through a relatively inexpensive team salary. It's why we loved Darryl Strawberry in right field despite his affection for illegal drugs, and why we'll never fault Gagne for taking whatever he needed to make sure it was "Game Over". It's also why this couldn't have happened to a better team, because Manny may change the dynamics of the way Dodgers will play for the next 50 games, but it won't change the team or their fans. On July 4th, Dodgertown will claim its independence not only from one player, but from the rest of the country who believed our success only depended on Mr. 99. And to that end, I'll be there still rooting for a homer from the man in dreds, because what it comes down to, he was just not savvy enough to avoid getting caught.

So tonight I return to the stadium and will not mourn Mannywood, because he didn't build that stadium or this historic run of games. No I leave that to Kemp, Blake, J. Lo, Furcal, Andre and even J. Martin to pull us out and keep us above .500. And as for Pierre I say "Vamonos Juan!"

Swine Flu, Souter and Silliness

2009-05-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

I went on a brief trip to the Bay to visit some friends and partake in some Bacchanalian activities, but was instead forced to stay inside all weekend due to the flu. I still don't know if what I had was the infamous H1N1 virus or not, nor do I really care, because either way it was the flu which meant I had to drink lots of liquids, eat clear food and rest. Plus, seeing as the symptoms of swine flu and regular old fashioned flu are the same I don't know how one would go about determining which one they have. Unless of course everyone visits this gem of a site. There's just something about pandemic flu, that really gets my snarky, sarcastic juices flowing, or is it just that I realize how much the human race loves to blow things out of proportion? We manage to gloss over such real problems like HIV/AIDS, homelessness, or world hunger, because those are just not sexy enough and don't have such easy fixes as washing your hands, and not blatantly sneezing on people in confined spaces.

The other big piece of news is that Justice Souter is planning on retiring. He's staring down at 70 and realized he doesn't want to spend his "golden years" stuck in a stuffy black robe in D.C. And who can blame him? 19 years is a long time to spend at any job, especially one as intellectually taxing as being a Supreme. I applaud him for wanting to hangout in nature in New Hampshire. But what does this mean for the President? He has to appoint a new Justice and so early in his term. It's not a big surprise, there's been a short list floating around since the campaign and considering Specter just made the big leap to the Dems, it doesn't seem like confirmation will be difficult. But on the other hand, Obama should be careful what he wishes for, Souter was appointed by Bush the First and has been a thorn in the conservatives' side ever since. Who knew these amazing legal minds would have the nerve to think for themselves and not be swayed to party politics? Awww...how I love the system of checks and balances.

Finally, just some general silliness that has been bothering me. First, the Dodgers' catcher Russell Martin has changed his jersey to read J. Martin in some sort of ridiculous homage to his Canadian roots. He has not been hitting like he used to and I'm starting to think there's some kind of bad Canadian mojo on him. If this is what happens when MLB players play in the World Baseball Classic then I say cancel it! Also, in addition to the traditional Take Me Out to the Ball game at the 7th inning stretch, there is a mandatory singing of God Bless America. I really hope this is gone soon, otherwise I'm definitely utilizing the facilities during this time. Don't mess with the 7th inning stretch, it's like apple pie and well, uh, baseball. Finally, the McCourts need to buy another two houses in Malibu, so they've shamelessly named a section of the Stadium, Mannywood which includes two tee shirts with the name splashed across it and two tickets for $99. Eee-gads, isn't it bad enough that you're insisting on calling the Stadium, Dodgertown?!

Don't Bite the Hand that Feeds You

2009-04-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

This post was written on April 16th and I thought deserved to be posted despite it's antiquities.

Yesterday, tax day was met with "Tea Parties" across the U.S. to protest paying taxes, and government spending in general. The Governor of Utah was booed for accepting stimulus funds, and Texas Governor Rick Perry hinted at seceding from the Union. News stories abounded about the parties, and ironically the idea apparently stemmed in part from CNBC's commentator Rick Santelli urging angry taxpayers to host tea parties. Isn't this the same CNBC who was recently in big trouble as being a "faux" news source? Jim Cramer, CNBC's money guru, was recently hammered by Jon Stewart and others for his comments about the strength of the stock market. I wonder how many of those people who took the day off from work (or presumably didn't have work yesterday) make more than $250,000. For all of those individuals who fall into that category I say please feel free to protest away. But I would hedge a bet that the majority of those individuals make far less than that figure and have no real idea about what they're protesting. Some state the President's budget currently in front of Congress, others talk about the bailout and yet others cite the blooming deficit as reasons to be out on the street and angry.

But if that's really the case, maybe some of these protesters should consider what this government/country would look like without the budget/bailout/deficit. First, the budget addresses several of the shortfalls that are occurring everywhere at the state and local levels. Without the stimulus package 2,000 more teachers would have lost their jobs at LAUSD. Countless other government services people rely on such as unemployment insurance, MediCaid, children's health care programs would go unfunded. Who would pick up the slack? Certainly not private industry and non-profits are under an even bigger burden to generate revenue.

Blame Baseball

2009-04-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry about my lack of posting recently, but the start of Baseball combined with a nice jaunt to Colorado turned me into a news-less, uninteresting blogger. I apologize and will redouble efforts.

So let's start with the most important thing of course, the fact that there are a mere 170 games left in this year's regular season of baseball. And the Dodgers might actually do pretty well this year, although I'm not promising 100 games like a fellow fan I know. For the first time in a long time, the Dodgers' lineup has great hitting potential and defense skills. The pitching staff has it's holes, but as long as the bullpen isn't overworked by the starters I think it will be A-OK. The main thing will be manufacturing runs, avoid leaving tons of players on base and staying healthy. This is particularly important for those players who have experienced recent health issues, namely Furcal and Wolf. As much as I miss Nomar and Jeff Kent it's refreshing not to have 40+ year-olds playing key infield roles. And this just might be the year that Andre Ethier plays as well as he looks in a uniform. After a promising home opener win (11-1) against the dreaded Giants (rumored to have the best pitching in our division) I can look forward with confidence for finally being a team who is serious throughout the season and not just post-All Star break and after 6 mid-season trades.

The other thing that is particularly special about today is the fact that's its TAX DAY! This has always been one of my favorite days of the year, as I love doing my taxes, plus it's great to see the operation that goes down at post offices today. For those of you who haven't filed, as long as you don't owe anything you're in the clear. And for those of you who do owe, well then hop to it! Owing the government and paying penalties is about as bad of a combo as there is. Plus Obama is urging everyone to not stress and just make a "good-faith effort". I wonder if that means just thinking good thoughts about your tax return or if there's actual action that needs to be involved.

Finally, a quick plug for my two favorite bloggers who both just released new books. Check them out if you're at all interested in a) crazy mother/daughter relationships or b) the best baseball team in history. Maybe I should consider writing a book, or maybe I better stick to just posting more regularly.

The rise and fall of news

2009-03-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

I heard some sad news today from a fellow transit junkie friend of mine. Steve Hymon, the transit reporter for the LA Times, was laid off along with 30 other people at the paper once regarded to be one of the nation's best. It's amazing that there are still enough people in that building to actually put together enough stories to produce a paper, and the quality level definitely reflects these staffing changes. Just a few of the things he's reported on recently include: LA's plans for the stimulus money with regards to transit, the Expo and Gold line construction, and not to mention his excellent Bottleneck Blog. It's disconcerting that in a city with as much transportation issues as LA, the main newspaper would choose to decrease the amount of reporting on this extremely important topic.

Seeing as I now must rely on the New York Times for reliable and interesting news information, I found this somewhat hilarious post about Paul Krugman in the Freaknomics blog. My favorite economist wrote a scathing opinion on the new plan to price "toxic" assets in the public-private partnership developed by the Treasury Department. I know it's not fair that Krugman gets to criticize all of Obama and Geithner's moves without having to develop a solution (that is politically viable) but it's important that someone is pointing out the possible pitfalls. For the taxpayers' sake, let's hope that this Nobel award winning Economist is wrong, at least this once.

Finally in reference to my previous post, check out Steve Lopez's column about the last hired, first fired policy at LAUSD.

And for those of you who watched the Presidential Press Conference last night, please take a moment to watch Jon Stewart explain how conferences should go. HILARIOUS!

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Defying Logic

2009-03-18T16:18:00.000-07:00

Lately I have noticed several things that do not make a whole lot of sense. They range from the inane to the important but here's a brief list.

1. Chicken Carnitas. El Pollo Loco has debuted their new line of Carnitas menu-items, which might sound normal enough for a Mexican fast food joint, but they're made from chicken! Carnitas by definition is pork, just like carne asada is beef. Next they'll start serving Ensenada style fish tacos made from tofu!

2. First hired, first fired. Several of my grad school friends have fallen prey to this ridiculous HR policy utilized throughout public offices. It basically means that regardless of prior experience, expertise, education, or ability, the first person hired, will be the first person fired when budgeting requires a trimming down of staff. Why this is flawed logic, is pretty obvious, but let me break it down. Without younger people moving into these public servant jobs, there will be no one with the necessary experience and institutional knowledge to take over once the baby boomers retire, not to mention who will actually get things done while everyone else is busy chilling on disability?

3. The Obsession with OctoMom. I know it's kind of like watching a trainwreck in slow motion, but OctoMom really isn't that interesting. I can't imagine why people want to see her on TV. She never says anything outrageous, no driving around with the baby on her lap, and she hasn't even shaved her head bald yet. I bet the paparazzi really misses the old BritBrit these days. Plus, it's embarassing to see Whittier and its environs on the news every night. First Nixon, now this.

4.The wrap sandal. Is it me, or is this look even worse than the open toed boot? Now instead of worrying about only our toes being cold in winter, our spring option is to at least keep our ankles warm.

5. Local news television. My bearded friend brought this one up the other day. Who really relies on local news tv for important and reliable news and information? I watch KTLA in the mornings, mainly because I love Mark Kriski's crazy antics and I like to hear the weather before I get dressed but as for news this is what I learned this morning: a NASCAR race will be at Irwindale Speedway this weekend, the Woz was on with his partner in Dancing with the Stars, Manny is playing cricket and most important there is a REALLY long line for tickets at the Jay Leno show with the President in town. All super important and relevant news info considering that the economy is in shambles, AIG is giving out millions in bonuses paid by taxes and oh yeah the entire State is on the verge of chaos (again). I'm so glad I tuned in.

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back!

2009-03-04T21:16:00.001-08:00

Mannywood has returned and not a moment too soon or to late for that matter. Just in time to let the Dodgers break into their new stadium without any Mannigans. (Like my new word?) All in all, I'm proud of the Dodgers management for staying the hard line and only offering the 2 years. Andruw Jones was a hard lesson learned, but hopefully we won't suffer another for a LONG time. No matter what, I'm sure that Manny will do well and that the Blue faithful will welcome him back with open arms. Hey, these are some of the same people who still actually like Kobe. But I digress...

Another person who is back to his old stomping grounds is a former top executive from the now defunct Countrywide. He's opened up shop in Calabasas with some of his old friends with a new venture called PennyMac. Turns out this new business buys mortgages that are in default for pennies on the dollar and then calls up the homeowners offering them reduced interest rates and better terms. The homeowner ends up being able to renegotiate for a monthly amount they can actually pay and PennyMac reaps huge profits since they bought the loan on the cheap. Now this all sounds wonderful and just picture perfect, but then again these are the same guys who put alot of these people into these bad loans in the first place. Very fishy...but don't take my word for it, read all about it here.

Get on the Socialist Bus

2009-03-02T09:52:00.000-08:00

The title of this post is a joke a conservative friend of mine likes to tell, only half-kidding when he describes President Obama driving a big bus with the destination Socialism on the front and everyone jumping on for a ride. It was interesting to hear it reverberate during the campaign as Joe the Plumber and Sarah ranted about promises to "spread the wealth" around. Whenever I hear that phrase I always think about the game of Life and landing on that square where you had to give the other players $100.

The article in the NY Times about socialism, quotes several pundits detailing how socialism is 'un-American' and will be soundly rejected by the public, particularly in the area of universal health care. I think that might be the case if the country was prospering and people weren't losing their jobs left and right. Because as far as I can tell whether you're on the left or the right, almost everyone can use a little help right now. And before we start lambasting socialism let's take a moment to think about all the things we enjoy that might be just along the lines of what those Comrades in funny hats we're thinking.

1) Free public education. Now that's a handout if I ever saw one. America has always loved to believe that education is the great equalizing force. Except for the fact that even wages for college-educated workers have remained stagnant while prices continue to rise. Add to that the fact that no one making $35,000 at 22 in their first entry-level job has enough to move out of their parents' home, pay off their student loans and afford to put into their 401(k), which leaves few with the ability to pull themselves up from their proverbial bootstraps.

2) Unemployment insurance. Sure we pay into this, but the majority of us (God-willing) will never use it, which means we're "spreading the wealth" by helping out those who are less fortunate than us and are not currently gainfully employed. I guess you could say that it is always there in case you need it, but why not just take the money you pay into it and put it in your own rainy day fund. Oh, I forgot Americans hate saving, we like spending!

And while I was thinking about another one (please feel free to post your own) I came across this jewel of news. The only thing states spend more on than prisons is Medicaid! Yup, we've finally reached the point where corrections budgets are larger than education, transit and public aid. So if you're wondering what happens when you have a public school system that graduates only half of its students, you don't need to look too far. We continue to "spread the wealth" except this time instead of with books and after-school programs, it's with 3 square meals a day and a very tiny window. We tried to buy our way out of crime, but that hasn't seemed to work, unless you're a member of the prison guard union that is.

No celebration for Sactown

2009-02-19T14:50:00.000-08:00

Everyone please put away your Congrats posters and stop patting yourselves on the back. The budget California just passed after more than 5 days of being locked inside a room is mediocre at best, and pointless at worst. No one has faced the fact that California’s budgeting system is terribly flawed, and will continue to be so for the following reasons:

1. The majority of Californians don’t care. Yes, it’s a pain when the DMV is not open on Saturday or if I won’t get my $32 tax refund, but for the most part the budget not being passed had little effect on most state residents. The people that do care: counties, cities, state workers, and state politicians’ families don’t make up a large enough percentage of the population to really make this a priority.

2. The right and left in California never have to agree on anything except for taxes and the budget. I’ve written about this before, but this is the one time when Reps can really stick it to the Dems for rolling over them the rest of the year with a simple majority. What generally happens, is a refusal to compromise at any cost, and the few that do cross the party line cut themselves a nice deal in exchange for alienation from their party. There needs to be a change in the 2/3 majority vote for the budget and tax increases.

3. Californians want everything for nothing. No one wants to give up any of their current funding, but no one wants to increase taxes. And this happens every year, not just when the economy is in recession. For 16 of the past 18 years, California has run a structural deficit, which means even when the economy is good we’ve spent more than we’ve taken in and covered that gap with moving money around on the books and/or borrowing. Except this year, with a $41 billion gap and the lowest bond rating in the nation, the politicians were forced to come up with a solution.

4. Even the politicians have little incentive to make it work. The voters want term limits to prevent lazy voters from sending the same inefficient officials back to Sacramento year after year. As a result, we have politicians who need to find their next gig after their term is up and spend the majority of their time in office raising funds for their next election, fixing long-term problems with short-term solutions and burning bridges at every turn, because they won’t be in office long enough to care. I know expecting the voter to care about who they choose to represent them is asking a lot, but this automatic system of accountability has not improved the quality of public policy or reduce the amount of corruption.

Read the following 3 opinions by some very smart individuals about other reasons why we’re in a budgetary mess. They include the hyper-partisan nature of our State officials, and the ballot initiative process, which allows the same voter who is too lazy to vote out ineffective politicians to make changes to our State Constitution and determine where to spend money with only a 50% majority. Today is the type of day I wish I could avoid reading the news and spend my time blissfully enjoying TMZ and other gossipy websites. Who is Jennifer Aniston dating these days?

The Government: Spender of Last Resort

2009-02-04T16:59:00.001-08:00

The past week's news about the economic stimulus plan has really started to irk me to a level I have not seen since a certain VP candidate was on all the talk shows remarking on our proximity to Russia. It seems that Congress is involved in a big game of chicken, and the only ones who are going to get hurt are the "everyday Americans" (note: I don't even know what that phrase means, but everyone uses it so I thought why not?). Why do I think we're headed to an even bigger disaster? Read this article from salon.com to get a taste as to why if the economic stimulus doesn't actually spend money and instead just cuts taxes we'll be an even bigger lurch. Actually, you don't even have to do that just think about what you did last year, when the feds gave you $300 to stimulate the economy. What did most of us do? Well those of us who needed the money used it to pay off some debt or put it into savings. Nowadays, $300 isn't a lot towards big ticket items such as big screen TVs or cars, the two industries really hurting these days.

Tax cuts don't work to stimulate the economy. Should we have tax cuts if the government isn't using the money or doesn't need it? Yes of course. Especially when we've balanced the budget. But in times of extreme deficit, how are tax cuts going to help? Another suggestion was there needs to be tax incentives for small businesses to hire people. Hmm...if businesses need to hire someone to be more productive they will. How will hiring a person they don't need to receive a tax break help their overall bottom line? If there is no demand for the service/product you sell why would you expand capacity?!

I'm sorry I'm in such a rant right now, but it would behoove the majority of politicians and pundits to sit down and read an Economics 101 book, particularly focusing on macroeconomics. Once you realize the magic equation of GDP=C+I+G+(X-M) it becomes painfully obvious that if C (consumption) is non-existent and I (investment) is in the toilet, and you're in a huge trade deficit (X-M). The only variable that can be changed is G (government spending)! Any 1st year Econ student can tell you that government investment in the economy has A LOT more bang for its buck than redistribution of wealth via tax cuts. And when no one is buying, the spender of last resort is guess who...Uncle Sam.

Buck up Gen Y, it's not over yet.

2009-02-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

A while ago I commented on an article regarding the need for interview-ready clothing especially in the state of the economy. It seems that the outlook is even grimmer in this New York Times' blog entry about what to wear on the day you think you're going to get the axe.

I haven't really heard personally of anyone getting the axe at their job, but I've definitely heard a lot about layoffs and closures in the news. Macy's, Home Depot, Target...the list just keeps growing longer and longer. I am lucky to be employed, as is my bearded friend, in industries that are continuing to survive (even if on a day-to-day basis.) Politics and education do not rely on the fickle consumer to keep them afloat, but foundations/corporations and the taxpayers may not be able to maintain their support in the coming years. All the pundits and economists are saying if you think 2009 is bad, wait until 2010.

And yet this happens for my generation at a unique period in our adult lives. As we barrel towards thirty, we're saving up for down payments on starter houses, paying off student loans and embarking on our "real" careers. Where does this leave us? Our generation has already sent thousands to Iraq and Afghanistan to fight a war that started at the beginning of our 20s. We elected the first Black President at the end of our 20s. Now it seems that the course of history has a few more curveballs it wants to throw before we see 35. I've yet to lose my sense of optimism, but all the doom and gloom makes it difficult to have much faith in being able to achieve our personal version of the American Dream.

What has this world come to?

2009-01-28T13:57:00.000-08:00

Now the recession has officially started to hit me where it hurts. The U.S. Postal Service is considering reducing mail delivery to only 5 days a week! There is less mail being sent, while the cost of delivering mail continues to increase. I try and do my part by sending out lots of cards, ordering from Amazon.com and even mailing a few of my bills the old fashioned way (I don't trust the utilities to do online billing right). Out of all my daily errands, the Post Office is my favorite. I think it goes back to watching Mister Rogers every morning and waiting for Mr. McFeely to deliver the mail. Recently, the randomest piece of mail I received was a letter from #43 thanking me for my service to his administration. I had no idea that interns were even considered worthy of a letter! I really hope we can avoid this travesty. The mail is one of the coolest things we have, because for 42 cents you can send something clear across the country. So get out there and write some letters, the USPS and I thank you. :)

Hail to the Chief!

2009-01-23T13:17:00.000-08:00

So I'm sure we've all had our fill of Inauguration related news and excitement this week, but there were a few things I thought might be worth a look.

First, from the creators of Nope.com, Kevin & Bean produced a nice audio montage to #43 (George II). For those of us, who remember Boys II Men End of the Road being played at our junior high and high school graduations it will bring back fond memories of having to say goodbye.

Second, I personally thought Obama's speech was definitely more practical than I had expected, but that was not at all felt by my favorite economist Paul Krugman. After thinking about it a bit I wonder if tightening our belts, greater government oversight, and making tough choices about how we spend money is really the answer. I guess it didn't work out for Hoover. :(

Finally, for those of you who are Californians, I think we should all take a moment to recognize the fact that our state's credit rating may be downgraded again by Moody's. We are now tied for last with hurricane damaged Louisiana. Pretty sad when one of the world's largest economies can't borrow money, because it's considered a bad investment. I'm afraid to wonder how much farther we can sink this state in budget woes.

In sports news, Manny is almost definitely headed to the Angels, and Jeff Kent says goodbye for good. I'll miss you Kent, especially when you'd run your mouth at the umps over strikes and balls.

Hamachi vs. Winston

2009-01-07T11:16:00.001-08:00

Being a SoCal native my relationship with my cars have been a decade-long love-hate relationship. My first vehicle, a Toyota Corolla, was named the Love Bus by one of my high school friends (for reason unbeknown to me) and survived a little over 2 years under my helm. Unfortunately, it was totaled on the way to school when another driver decided to place her car squarely in the middle of the two oncoming lanes of traffic. After that it was a variety of vehicles including the Volvo and Love Bus No. 2 which was a Chevy Prizm (but for all intents and purposes a Corolla).

In December of 2004, I bought my first car, Winston or Winnie the Mini. He was a beaut, in classic black and I loved him more than anyone should probably love a vehicle. I had such a good time driving him for those 60k plus miles, even though I know most of my passengers were not sorry to see him go. Unfortunately, Winston came with many manufacturer problems (don't ever buy a car the 2nd year it is made). I had so much replaced on him, from the window motors, steering wheel, steering fuel pump, batteries, tires, struts, etc., that by the time he decided his transmission wasn't going to be functioning for much longer I realized it was time to say goodbye. After four years of motoring across L.A., I kissed Winston goodbye and said hello to Hamachi.
Now, Hamachi is Japanese and practical, being a Subaru Impreza with All-Wheel Drive and has excellent safety ratings. He doesn't often turn heads, and I don't get a million questions about how fun is it to drive, but he's a good piece of gear. I've learned slowly to love Hamachi (very similar to how I learned to love sushi) and am now proud to say that I bought a car from a company that has managed to brave the economic turmoil of the past year. (Note: Mini also did very well last year.)

I may not fit the description of the average Scooby Doo driver, and definitely miss my greatest fashion accessory Winston, but at least I won't have to worry about Hamachi going kamikaze on me.

Madness All Day

2009-01-05T14:51:00.000-08:00

I have found a new tv obsession- Mad Men. I waded through the 2nd season, without watching the first and was pleasantly amused. But for those of you who haven't discovered it, I do recommend starting at the beginning with Season 1. You'll appreciate the characters so much more. But here's a quick breakdown of why I love this show.

1. There are 3 main activities- drinking, smoking and sex. Not necessarily in that order, and all take place at the office. I can't imagine that the 60s were really that risque, but who knows. Either way, it makes going to the office look like a soap opera, but of course with a little bit more style.

2. The clothes are awesome. All the women wear tight, yet flattering dresses to work, accentuating their most sought after assets. The men with their suits and skinny ties, don't look so bad. And Don Draper looks good in just about anything.

3. Everyone on the show is just a little crazy. From the perfect housewife Betty, who decides to use a shotgun on the neighbor's pets, to the very proper Pete Campbell having a rendezvous the night before his wedding; all the characters seem about one episode away from a mental hospital.

4. It is also a history lesson. Although Sterling Cooper is a made-up ad agency, the businesses they represent are real including Dr. Scholl's, Nixon's campaign versus Kennedy and my favorite, Heineken. I've learned a lot more about what was going on in this decade then in most of my American history classes.

5. You'll look at ads differently forever. This was the beginning of the ad-crazed world we know today. TV was still a luxury item and the ads were a lot more straightforward, but the ways they get you to buy things are amazing.

So next time you head to Netflix, add Mad Men to the queue. And not just because I say so, but because Don does...

Cell Phone Companies are Jerks

2008-12-30T10:59:00.000-08:00

So it turns out in addition to locking you into two-year contracts with spotty service, and giving you the crappiest free phones, the cell phone companies are also screwing you on text messages. It turns out it costs them near to nothing to increase the number of text messages transmitted, it's one of those things that once the infrastructure is installed everything is just escalating profit. I've had all of the Big 3 cell phone services first with Verizon (which when I first had it was called AirTouch) then on to Sprint and finally now AT&T. And they are all just as evil as the other. Verizon had the worst customer service both in store and on the phone, plus despite their claims of excellent coverage had huge drop zones in Eagle Rock and charged for roaming. So I switched to Sprint, since it had the nationwide plan and because it allowed you to call for the number of minutes left in the month. I liked Sprint except for the fact that its drop zone was in Whittier. And finally, now with AT&T I've had less complaints about the service, and more about the crappy slider phone I have which has been replaced three times. Add to that, the fact that AT&T will not upgrade me to an iPhone even though they only make about $20/month off me now and that would increase to almost $100/month with the iPhone. The funny thing was that when the iPhone 3G was about to come out and everyone was scared it was going to be a flop, their website said I could upgrade as of October 2008.

Either way cell phone companies have joined the ranks of cable/satellite television as one of the last great legal rackets around. I just wish there was more the average consumer could do about it to really stick it to them. As of now my only option is going off the grid, something I plan on doing at some point, but for now I'll just suffer through.

Unions and the Unemployable

2008-12-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

The Senate did not pass a bailout plan for the Big 3 automakers. Senate Republicans who forced its failure are blaming the U.A.W. for its unwillingness to concede on wage agreements. The U.A.W. head stated that he didn't believe the Senate Republicans were serious in their offer to the union for a seat at the table. Apparently, the argument came down to 365 days. The Reps wanted the wages at the Big 3 to decrease to the level of other foreign plants located in the U.S. by 2009, the U.A.W. wanted to hold out until 2010 when their contract will be up for re-negotiation. I know that it's always difficult to come to a compromise, but when the Titanic is sinking, is it really the time to argue about whether we should put on life vests? I'm just saying, it doesn't sound like either side really wanted the bailout to succeed.

And apparently even little Richie Rich and Spending Sally are being hit hard by the economic downturn as their allowances get smaller. They're trying to join the workforce to keep up their take-out sushi and Louis Vuitton habits. Being someone who has worked since age 15, I don't feel very sympathetic for these whiny wimps. I feel that everyone should at least work at some point during high school and at the very least college. Believe it or not there are people who get to grad school and have never held down a regular job, and trust me folks it isn't pretty. My mom always said that she would buy whatever car I wanted if I just worked one summer picking strawberries. I took one look, and thought how hot it must be and back breaking the work, and said nahh...I'll take the Corolla. But at least I didn't complain when I was at work in the nice air-conditioned city library.

It's starting to get to that time of year when the number of parties exceed the number of hours in a day I have to sleep, eat, and blog. I apologize in advance if my postings aren't as frequent.

Mobsters need to school Politicians

2008-12-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

The latest in a series of arrests is Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich, who was taken into custody and charged with corruption along with his chief of staff. The political genius apparently didn't lean from the previous Illinois Governor who was charged with racketeering. This is just one in a string of recent convictions topped by former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens. All of these guys need some ethic training, or at the very least should invest in netflixing (is that a word?) the Sopranos. Tony Soprano would never make the mistake of using a phone to make illegal deals, especially when the heat is on. That's the best part of this story, Blagojevich knew he had been under investigation for quite sometime and he still had the nerve (stupidity?) to try and make himself a sweet deal in exchange for Obama's Senate seat. Hmm...maybe the Sopranos should've relocated from New Jersey to Illinois, I'm sure the Governor would have been willing to appoint anyone for the right price, even a suspected mobster!

At the same time, another sketchy politician finds himself out of a job. William Jefferson, the U.S. Representative from Louisiana, lost to Joe Cao, a Republican newcomer and Vietnamese immigrant. Representative-elect Cao will be the first Vietnamese member in Congress after taking down Jefferson, who was recently found to have $90,000 in unaccounted cash in his freezer. I like Cao's resume, as he was a Jesuit seminarian (the smartest of the Catholics) and only recently switched to the GOP after being registered as a independent. I think he's just what the doctor ordered for scandal ridden, hurricane beaten New Orleans. Here's to hoping!

December 5th- a day to celebrate!

2008-12-05T12:46:00.000-08:00

Happy Repeal Day! 75 years ago today the 21st amendment was ratified by the necessary 36 states (actually 38 said yes) to end nationwide prohibition. Although, some states kept up their dry status (like Kansas where you couldn't buy a drink at a bar until 1986) it was no longer a federal offense. I am very proud to live in a State/County with a very liberal alcohol sale policy. Although sales end at 2:00 am, I can purchase my booze of choice at the local CVS, Target (beer/wine only), and most importantly COSTCO! Not all Americans share this lucky status, for example when I lived in Virginia I had to purchase all hard alcohol at a Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control store, it was a very weird experience. Plus, in D.C. liquor stores that sell hard alcohol close on Sunday (hello ever heard of separation of church and state?).
In celebration, I will be toasting to the Constitution and the end of bootlegging, although I admit it must have been cool to go to a real speakeasy.

Also in the news is the original Juice, O.J. Simpson who was sentenced to at least 15 years in prison. He was actually found guilty on October 13th, 13 years to the date that he was found not-guilty in the murder trial of his wife and her friend. I guess the saying what goes around comes around really is true. He should have known better not to do anything crazy, now that his trusty lawyer Johnnie Cochran (may he RIP) is not around to defend him.

And this Saturday marks two awesome sporting events and rivalries. At noon you have the UCLA Bruins vs. the USC Trojans in what some are predicting will be a bloodbath. Although I believe in "Fight On!" I was also there in 2006, when the Trojans lost hard mainly because they let the Bruins win. I suggest avoiding Old Town Pasadena unless you enjoy risky behavior such as stabbings, shootings and bar fights. Then at 6pm the fight is on between DeLaHoya and Pacquiao or as some are bidding it Mexico vs. the Philippines. Again a word to the wise, avoid crowded bars in Whittier/Cerritos as there are bound to be some brawls. Boxing matches hold a distinct place in the memory of my childhood, as being the most fun events (other than the SuperBowl), but now with the disappearance of black boxes, my next question is who's paying the $64 to watch it?

I'll have a Caucasian

2008-12-04T15:29:00.001-08:00

Many of you may know that this request is not in reference to a person of European descent, but is a nickname for the Dude's favorite drink a White Russian. As to who is the Dude, well he's only one of the coolest semi-fictitious individuals of all times and the lead character in one of my all-time favorite movies the Big Lebowski.

He drinks White Russians throughout the whole movie and just today more than 10 years after the movie was released the drink has made a comeback according to an article in the NYTimes. It also mentions these Big Lebowski meetups that seem similar to Star Trek conventions, except with less nerds and more bowlers.

There are too many gems of wisdom to be gleaned from this movie but here are a few of my favorites:

1. Chinaman is not the proper nomenclature, its Asian-American.
2. You do not answer a phone on shabbos, do not work, get in a car and for sure do not roll on Shomar shobbas!
3. Being a nihilist, that must be exhausting.
4. You're out of your element, the world does not start and stop with you.
5. I can get you a toe by three o'clock with nail polish, amateurs.

A New Format

2008-12-03T11:13:00.000-08:00

I was thinking that maybe I should try and start a new format for blogging rather than the long, narrative format in paragraphs. So here we go, and please feel free to chime in with your comments/opinions.

For those of you who are avid listeners of Kevin & Bean on KROQ, what are your thoughts about the new format, with it ending an hour earlier and having a separate hour at 5pm? I personally hate it, because I enjoy getting to work and having K&B on until 10am, plus I'm not in the car at 5pm, so I often miss their afternoon session. I think this is a cheap ploy for KROQ to increase the number of afternoon listeners. I suggest they just get a better on-air personality than Jed the Fish and problem will be solved.

I recently took 1 1/2 hours out of my life to watch Redemption the 24 special. Was it me or was it horribly written? I could literally guess what was going to be said next. I had also hoped that Jack's do-gooder friend in Sengala would join him on a mission of sorts so we could have 2 Jack Bauers, but unfortunately they decided to kill him off. Finally, the special lacked any CTU info which is the best part of the entire show. I hope Fox gets its act together prior to January, especially after making me wait a whole another year (due to Kiefer's DUI and the writer's strike).

Tonight my all-time favorite Christmas movie will be on, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Although both the Abominable Snowman and the land of toy misfits scared me, I think I seriously gained much of my love for dentists from this movie.

The only movie I loved more was Alice in Wonderland live action film from 1985 that included such famous stars as Carol Channing, Linda Ronstadt, and Sammy Davis Jr. Not anyone a 4 year old should recognize, but that's how only children are. Check it out below:

Sorry for subjecting you to my two favorite movies that are both kind of scary, but at least I didn't love Willow like my bearded friend!

Another Touchy Subject

2008-12-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

It's rare that I read an article and feel even more perplexed than before I read it. This typically happens when the answer as to what is right or wrong does not immediately pop out, such as in this article published in the NY Times magazine called "Her Body, My Baby". After reading this woman's trials and tribulations in becoming a mother through a surrogate, I couldn't decide how I felt about the situation. Maybe it is not necessary for me to feel any one way, since it doesn't have to do with me, but I encourage others to read it and see how they feel. I especially recommend perusing the over 400 comments, that can be very harsh if you want a dose of what other opinionated folks think out there. At the very least, check out the pictures attached to the article, in which the surrogate mother is pictured very pregnant a week before giving birth on a porch with no shoes and her dog, contrasted with the author holding her child with a nurse maid standing behind her, arms behind her back. I thought it was particularly interesting that it was the surrogate's 2nd pregnancy for another couple and that her own daughter had donated eggs to pay for college, so the level of normalcy and acceptance was unusual. I published a previous post about the decision of motherhood that faces the majority of women, and my apprehension regarding the subject. I guess it's just one of those things that you never know how you'll feel until it is actually happening. That's all for now, folks, I promise to find a more juicy news piece for tomorrow.

They're here!

2008-12-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

The holidays and U.S. recession have both officially arrived. Both of these should come as no surprise seeing as Christmas decorations have been up at Macy’s since Halloween and the Dow looks like some scary roller coaster design from Six Flags. Believe it or not, I’m starting to feel like I’m ready for both of these events, but for different reasons.

The holidays are only as stressful as you allow them to be. I know that visiting the family can be trying at times, but remember this is the time when you get the 411 on all the juicy family gossip and are fed for free at the same. I’ve already managed to turn this past long weekend into money saved on groceries and time saved on cooking by making sure to eat at least 3 meals with the family. The majority of stress usually comes from having to decide what to buy everyone. Problem is inherently solved after a few clicks on Amazon, Overstock or Target. Just enter that person’s favorite movie, music, book, food, etc. and there will be matches galore. Plus, most of these sites are offering free shipping which will save you the headache of the mall. Next, instead of spending a lot of time and money decorating I suggest just picking one thing you want to put up whether it be the tree or the wreath or the lights or a poinsettia, all you really need is one of those to look festive. Finally, don’t forget to splurge on yourself and take the time you need to be in a good mood come the big day, because who wants to end 2008 tired and bitter? Remember after Christmas you have less than one week to start thinking about next year’s resolutions.

As for the recession, my generation has little to worry about, especially if you are currently employed. The recession will have little long term effect on our 401Ks and IRA accounts, plus it puts us in a unique position to be making decent returns when the upturn begins. Invest in solid companies now, and avoid loans/credit cards like the plague (with the exception of educational loans). The time to buy some real estate is almost upon us, so SAVE, SAVE, SAVE!

2008 is a year plagued by bad news from the economy to the world, with 2009 on the horizon it feels like we’ll need to trade in our fear for a good dose of hope and trust in a silver lining. Until then, I will enjoy my 24 hour Christmas carol radio station as I sit in my office watching the sun set on another 77 degree California winter day.

Cars, Suits & Salaries

2008-11-13T08:53:00.000-08:00

Now that the election is over it seems the news has returned with many things of interest, let's start with the Big 3.

I'm talking about America's long troubled car manufacturers and their need for a government bailout. Here's one place where I think EVERYONE should turn a cold shoulder to their pleas for help and here's why. First, it is a rare situation where both the company and their employees are to blame, but this is the case here. The companies have refused to innovate and change to accommodate the changing market of better fuel efficiency, smaller vehicles and hybrid technology. If you'd believe it some of the first mass produced electric cars were made by GM and systematically killed off by the company one by one. If you don't believe me rent "Who killed the electric car". Add on top of that their need to build bigger SUVs, trucks and just plain UGLY cars and there's no wonder why sales are down. As for the employees, the United Auto Workers and other automotive unions has basically made it impossible for these companies to change their employment practices to adapt to their losing market share. Auto workers pay no deductible or copay for their health plans, and even in the face of total market meltdown, union leaders refuse to budge.

The second piece of news is the fact that over a half a million people applied for unemployment LAST WEEK! And as a result, the need for the "interview suit" is on the rise. Check out the article in the NYtimes about what works in 2008 as you head to your interviews. I personally am not a fan of suits. I find them quite constricting, but I do believe it is one piece that should never be skimped on. No suits from Target! Outlets and sales are the best places to find designer brands at good prices, plus never underestimate the use of a good tailor!

Finally, one of my favorite subjects- public education- is back in the news. Washington D.C. public school's 38 year old chancellor has proposed giving huge bonuses and salary raises for teachers if they agree to giving up some of their hold on tenure. Salaries could more than double, giving teachers 6 figures! Believe it or not for all the complaints about not being paid enough and not being able to recruit good teachers because of pay, this plan is being rejected in favor of the assurance that they will not be fired. If you think that tenure isn't such a bad thing, ask students about their teachers in schools no one wants to work at- typically low-performing, extremely large (pop. over 3,000 students), structurally unsound, and in crime-ridden neighborhoods- about the quality of the education they receive on a daily basis. Many of these teachers exist because of tenure, they were discarded by other, better schools and since they cannot be fired they end up living out their days until retirement- meanwhile the graduation rate of LAUSD hovers at around 50%. Or just ask my bearded friend he knows all to well about the havoc tenure creates.

I heart Facebook

2008-11-06T17:27:00.000-08:00

I'm a frequent Facebook user, making the full shift from MySpace to Facebook after starting graduate school and realizing no one over 25 has a MySpace page. Plus, Facebook makes MySpace appearance-wise look like The Hilton vs. one of those Downtown by the hour hotels. There is just too much junk on it.

At first, my profile was so well hidden by privacy controls that it was almost impossible to find me unless you were in my graduate program. But after awhile I added some undergrad and high school friends and now it feels like a virtual reunion! It has started to make me think about all the things "social networking" sites has done away with:

1. Reunions: No need to go and suffer through a 3 hour meet-up with your old classmates, now you can make them your friend on Facebook and either just read their profiles to get the update or make plans one-on-one to hang out. I am really glad that I will no longer have to feel guilty about NOT planning my high school class 10 year reunion.

2. Blind dates: There is no need to ever go on a "true" blind date. As long as you have a first name and a city or a first and last name you can Google, LinkedIn or Facebook your way to knowing all the necessary information about this mystery date. Especially the important stuff like what kind of music they like and who has been giving them "gifts" lately.

3. Emails: Now this is the aspect I had not anticipated. Prior to Facebook, I used to actually take the time to write detailed emails to my faraway friends now you can just post something on their wall and you're done.

4. Belated Birthday cards/apologies: Everyone's birthday is plainly listed on their page and you even get a reminder a few days in advance.

5. Embarrassing conversation: Thanks to Facebook I can easily look someone's political or religious affiliation, check to see if they're still dating so and so, and make sure not to forget when they were at an event, because all the info is right there! Thankfully this will prevent me from congratulating a McCain supporter on Tuesday's win, stopping me from asking about someone's gf when they are now listed as "single" and never have to ask...You were there at the party, right?

Oh the internet, how I heart thee. Even more than when all you did was get me in trouble for being up late at night in chat rooms on AOL.

Wow!

2008-11-04T20:33:00.000-08:00

I don't know if there is anything other to say than that little 3 letter word. My emotions are on a roller coaster. Will I remember this moment forever? Or is it a passing thing? I almost feel like my political psyche was too damaged during the 2000 election to really "believe in the process." But I'm also happy that there are no questions about the outcome, it is done. Everyone will just have to wake up tomorrow and deal with it, in their own way.

So here are all the favors I've called in:

PA- Thank you for staying blue. Next year it is ON in the NL! Dodgers are coming back and fierce, but at least you came up in the clutch.

FL- Also thank you for deciding to go blue. I'm thinking that you should be able to come back strong with the Rays next year.

St. Jude (patron saint of the impossible)- Thanks, next time in Baltimore I'll stop by your patron church and say hi.

OH- I don't know if us beating you up in football could be considered a peace offering, but thanks for also coming up. Maybe we can play in the BCS?

Alright, that's all for now. I still have CA to worry about and I guess I'll either wake up to more good news or have to join the ACLU to contribute to fight two props I am very troubled by.

And I'm back.

2008-10-29T13:54:00.000-07:00

I apologize to my loyal readers for the brief pause in posting, my real life caught up with me. Needless to say there have been a ton of happenings that warrant some mention here so I will get underway.

First, the World Series has turned into a PR disaster. The MLB was already in trouble considering how few people cared to see the Tampa Bay Rays vs. the Phillies, but add on to that the horrible weather in Philly and the lack of oomph in hitting, and we can all admit it is a snoozer. I don’t understand what possessed them to continue with a game they knew was going to be inevitably rain delayed. Now we’ve waited two days to start a game tied in the 6th inning. What is even sadder is if the Phillies win this 3 inning game they will be crowned World Series champions in a very anti-climatic fashion. This is why only teams that can guarantee good weather (such as LA) should be allowed to play into October.

Second, the Presidential election is now in its final days and just in time for the death rattle we have a few new and fun stories. First, the cost of Palin’s wardrobe dominating the news has been fairly ridiculous. What did you want her to wear? Clothes she bought at the Wasilla Wal-Mart? Everyone should know by now that if you want to look good on TV it is going to cost money. The GOP is lucky Palin is already so attractive because with most female politicians there would be extensive re-work needed of hair and makeup. Second, the McCain aides vs. Palin aides throwing the mud back and forth behind the cover of anonymity. I think this was inevitable given the two personalities. McCain is old and likes to be revered. Palin is young and doesn’t apologize for her inadequacies. Her lack of deference was bound to cause some waves. But then again McCain doesn’t have much room for finger-pointing, he asked her to be on the ticket not the other way around. Finally, NPR has been doing a fascinating series on the importance of race in this election, if you have some time please listen. There is one woman who is concerned about being pushed off the sidewalk if Obama wins- no joke.

Third, for those of us in California we cannot turn on a radio/TV without hearing a commercial for one of the 12 propositions on the ballot. Add to that Measure R in LA County and you have up to 26 different versions of which side is the “Devil” and all the horrible things that will happen if you don’t vote one way or the other. Here are a few examples:
1. If we don’t pass Prop 8, pre-schoolers will not read The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar and instead be forced to read The Two Gay Princes who lived happily ever after.
2. If we don’t pass Prop. 4, you’re allowing statutory rape to go unpunished!
3. If you vote yes on Prop. 5, drug dealers will run rampant, and judges will be forced to hear multiple hearings on the same case rather than just sending everyone to prison.
4. If you vote yes on Prop. 10, we will live in a sunshine-filled, smog-free world, because we’ll have rebates to buy hybrids.
5. If you vote yes or no on Prop. 2, you’re somehow hurting animals and threatening California’s ability to produce eggs either way.

This is why I recommend everyone go to smartvoter.org and read about the Props and the candidates to make their own informed decision on 11/04. As for me I’m just trying to keep my head above water until this is all over.

And like that "Poof!". It was Over.

2008-10-16T15:05:00.001-07:00

So it’s over and to make a long story short, I’m a little bit glad. I don’t know if my liver/brain/heart could take another series, between the drinking/stress/rapid emotional swings. It is time to move on, focus on College Football and the NFL and watch what messes GM Ned Coletti makes in the offseason. The problem will be money of course and in the Dodgers’ case lack thereof. What I can’t believe is that the Dodgers have $61 million currently wrapped up in 4 players, only 2 of which even play. Schmidt and Jones have taken their payday and retired to sunnier places. Kuroda and Pierre are definitely still useful even though their best days may be behind them. As for who they should keep I think Furcal is not a bad idea as long as they don’t pay too much for him, considering the injuries over the past 2 years. As much as I hate to say it, I feel like my brother from Whittier has hit the time in his career to go home to Mia and the twins in Manhattan Beach and spend the next few years trying to figure out where he wants to be an assistant coach. As for Kent and Maddux, I’m sure both of them will be just as happy spending more time with their family and showing up for their Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.

Now looking forward. What do the Dodgers need?

1. Starting pitchers: Although Chad didn’t have his best days in the postseason, the kid can still pitch and his youth is definitely an advantage. Add to that the wunderkind, Kershaw, and the Dodgers have two. With Kuroda that makes 3, as long as he doesn’t have too many starts. But we need 2 more to round it out, since Penny is done and D. Lowe will probably go elsewhere.
2. Another closer: We need more than just Broxton to come in and shut it down. I don’t think Saito’s chances of coming back are very good. Maybe this McDonald kid can be the new Gagne.
3. A slugger: I don’t care what position he plays, but it is necessary. I don’t know if we should shell out all of our money for Manny. In the end I wouldn’t say it was the worst move, I’m just a bit worried given the Dodgers’ history of paying a lot of money for players in their sunshine years.
4. A decent pitch hitter: I CANNOT sit through another season with Mark Sweeney.

I think our infield is fine, considering DeWitt, Loney and Berroa are all good defensive players, with J. Lo being the only one who came through consistently in the postseason. I’ll cut DeWitt some slack given its his first Major League season. But Ethier and Kemp both better step it up. Get it together boys! Oh and I forgot to mention Martin, I suggest Torre forcing him to dump Alyssa Milano (eww Penny’s sloppy seconds) and work on his anger management skills.

Well that’s all for Dodger baseball this year, time to start counting down to Spring Training. Anyone up for a road trip to Arizona in March?

Salt in an Open Wound

2008-10-15T17:25:00.000-07:00

Even though I should probably save myself the heartache of watching the Dodgers try to win tonight, it will pain me as much not to see this group of guys play once more together at Dodger Stadium. The majority of my head knows there is almost no chance that the Dodgers will be able to overcome the 3-1 game deficit, but there's also a small part of my heart that believes the magic that was Kirk Gibson's homer in Game 1 of the World Series exactly 20 years ago to the day might lead the Dodgers to another miracle tonight.

Either way, its been a good run considering and I really shouldn't be as bummed out as I feel. I'm just hoping that tonight Torre takes it easy on the pitching staff, limiting changes to absolute necessities, that Chad can pull out one of his 2 hit winners, and the rest of the boys aren't too demoralized not to hit a few out of the park for old times sake.

If this is the end, then I must say Go Rays!, because who wants the Red Sox (aka the New Yankees) to win? I will offer this one trade to those Phillies' fan out there: 1 NLCS championship for electoral votes in November? I think the candidates should consider it, especially since I'm pretty sure their last debate will be a snoozer.

Two Things To Celebrate

2008-10-13T16:38:00.000-07:00

In case some of you were too busy yesterday doing Sunday chores/errands and missed the grand game that was the Dodgers vs. the Phillies in Game 3 of the NLCS. Here's a brief recap: 1st inning: Dodgers make 5 runs primarily as a result of Rookie Blake DeWitt's triple, Philly Pitcher Jamie Moyer manages to hit Martin in the knee. 2nd inning: New pitcher for the Phillies barely misses hitting Martin again. 3rd inning: Hiro Kuroda of the Dodgers throws a high fast one sailing over Shane Victorino's head, who then grounds out and starts mouthing off after the 1st base out resulting in both benches being cleared and Manny running all the way from left field and having to be restrained by 3 players and a few coaches.

End result: Dodgers win 7-2. And we're ready to fight for the next 3 wins, and willing to take on any cheap shots from those no good Phillies. Now I know people from the East Coast think they're tougher than their West Coast counterparts. They think of us as spending our time doing yoga, drinking tea, and worrying about our tans. And that may be somewhat true, but we're brutal when put up to a fight, especially at Chavez Ravine with all the Raider fans who have nowhere to release their aggression on losing AGAIN this week.

I agree that Kuroda's pitch was dangerous, but the ball slipped (wink, wink) and it was about time the Phillies realize we're not about to take anymore cheap shots at Martin or Manny. There are too many good columns about yesterday's game, but my favorite is T.J. Simer's from the L.A. Times, check it out here.

My other celebration is for my favorite economist, Paul Krugman, who received the Nobel Prize in economics. He is such a great writer, making it easy for everyone to understand the inner workings of politics, public policy and economics. And his theory on international trade has real effects on how the global market is thought of throughout the field. Check out the article talking about why he received this award here and his fabulous column here.

And on a post note, congrats to the Rays with the 11th inning win on Saturday and today's butt kicking in Boston. Take that Red Sox. I wonder if they wished they had Manny being Manny right about now, but he's got our back NOW!

Maybe Direct Isn't Such a Good Idea

2008-10-09T14:29:00.001-07:00

Most elections in California require voters not only to choose candidates, but to take positions on a number of propositions ranging in topics from farm animals to abortion. This November is no different, with 12 statewide measures on the ballot. I’ve always been curious as to how and why this form of direct democracy was chosen to be the most beneficial way to create public policy. The ballot proposition has been around since the late 20th century during the Progressive era of government with a goal of allowing citizens to act when the Government was unable to do so. The problem is who actually has the time/patience to sit through and read each of the 12 cumbersome propositions?

I know I don’t and I love public policy. What ends up happening is that these campaigns are decided upon by voters with little to no information taken mainly from the millions of dollars poured into paid advertising from either side of the campaign, taking their cue from newspaper editors, or as what has happened recently just voting No on all of them. Because then we’ll at least be right back where we started.

The problem I have with the initiative process is the vast amounts of money/time wasted fighting for or against these measures. If that same amount of cash was donated to worthy non-profit organizations working in the area that we’re trying to affect change in, its hard to imagine how much legislation and progress could be made towards some of these goals of: reducing teenage abortion (access to birth control and quality sex education), reducing gang participation (improving local schools, after-school programs, improved access to extracurricular activities) or increasing the amount of renewable energy (better rebates on solar panels or investment in research to make these technologies more affordable).

The average citizen barely has enough time to make sure he/she is registered, figure out where their polling place is and show up on Election Day. How can they really be expected to research an additional 12 issues with opinions on either side that make the other look like the devil incarnate? I feel that the Progressive leaders of our past had good intentions, but the initiative process needs to be reformed if we want it to continue to provide an outlet for true direct democracy and not just those with a few million dollars and nothing better to do.

Reveling in Saturday

2008-10-07T10:38:00.000-07:00

Well the boys in blue did what many didn’t think was possible, they swept the team with the best record in the NL. They went from losing to the Giants in the final week of the regular season, to becoming an unbeatable team in the postseason. There really never was much home for the Cubs seeing as they trailed for 93% of the series. Now it is on to Philly, a match up I was hoping for, because the Dodgers have experience against them and hopefully won’t get psyched out by Hamels. It has been 20 years since the Dodgers had a postseason series win, and since 1963 since they’ve swept. Unfortunately this may mean Ned Coletti gets to keep his job, despite the Andruw Jones debacle. Hopefully, all of this will payoff next year in not only improving the level of play in the NL West, but encouraging players to re-sign with the Dodgers. Although it might have been fun to have a World “Freeway” Series, the Angels may have been a bigger threat than either the Rays or the Red Sox for the opposite reason. We play them too often.

Now there are just a few key things the Dodgers must keep in check in order to win the next 4:

1. The bullpen cannot be overused. This means the Dodgers must be able to win these games within 9 innings, extra innings will just tire everyone out and we don’t have that luxury in the postseason.
2. Fielding errors must be controlled. The Dodgers have some of the best infielders, but they have only played 3 games together as a team. There hasn’t been a lot of time to get used to how everyone else plays. Luckily, vets Blake and Furcal can help calm down Loney, and DeWitt.
3. We cannot only rely on Manny for the big hit. Martin, Loney, Ethier, Kemp, Blake and Furcal all need to be getting on base relatively consistently.
4. Patience is key at the plate. Everyone needs to draw as many balls as possible and tire out the Phillies’ bullpen. It worked against the Cubs and is directly related to our ability to put up 10 runs in one game.
5. Finally, they need to relax, have a good time and don’t psyche themselves out. This is a team that was behind the D’backs for most of the season and then morphed in September to become Los Doyers Deluxe. Torre will definitely contribute a lot to making sure everyone stays focused and doesn’t get ahead of themselves.

If we make it to the big game, I’m buying a big, new TV. Party at my house, but only if you’re willing to be VERY quiet when things are not going well and bring Santo Candles to light in between innings.

It might not last forever, but it sure feels good

2008-10-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

I woke up today in a state of euphoria. No, not because the Senate passed the bailout bill. No, not because tonight Gov. Palin might hammer the last few nails left in the McCain campaign’s coffin. The reason I woke up happy is very simple: The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in October. And, not just a simple win, a straight-up beat down including a GRAND SLAM by J. Lo, a beautiful golf swing homer by Manny, and a excellent insurance homer by Russell (aka Turtle). Wahoo! I think for the first time since the four run homer night in September 2 years ago, was I THIS excited to bleed Dodger blue. That’s the best thing about being a Dodger fan you never have to really believe you’ll win, and even if they don’t you know you’ll be back next April ready to start it all over again.

I know a lot of people who think baseball is boring to watch and the season is too long, but if you’re a fan its really the shortest 6 months you’ll ever spend (7 months if you’re lucky). April 1st seems like a blink of an eye ago when I took the day off to go watch my boys in their home opener at the start of their 50th season in L.A. Name one other pro-team we have here in L.A. that is as storied and respectable as the Dodgers. Name one other pro sporting event you can still go to for $10 a ticket and if you’re willing to make the trek, park for free. I know the beer is ridiculously expensive, the Dodger Dogs are not as good as they used to be and there are a ton of Raider fans, but I love those 9 innings even as I spend the majority of them cursing under my breath.

Give me Vin Scully, who’s been broadcasting the Dodgers since they were in Brooklyn. Give me Manny Ramirez, I made sure to read a book before I judged him (direct quote from a press conference given right after he was traded). Give me Joe Torre, the man who orchestrated this team from a bunch of battling vets vs. rookies to a team who can beat the club with the best record in the National League.

And, even though we have 10 more games to win before the World Series, there’s really (finally) a part of me that believes it might happen. Even if it doesn’t, I’m going to call up today to buy my 15 game package just so I’m there next year cheering “Let’s go Dodgers” and “Charge!”, booing bad calls and waiting to stand for the Wave when it hits Section 27 in Reserve.

For those of you who love baseball and/or sports in general, take some time to read this gem of an essay by Bill Simmons on Manny.

Warning: Major Rant Ahead

2008-09-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

Rarely is Congress asked to make a decision as important as the one it voted on yesterday. And the House’s inability to come together to pass a bailout plan is evidence of it being the less deliberative body. Several current House members are in the middle of tough election races, mainly because Congress has a current approval rating lower than even President Bush. In the House, votes are often made along party lines, or for other very selfish and partisan reasons, such as 1) my constituency won’t understand why I voted for this and I can’t risk my neck this November, 2) the Democrats don’t want the bill to look like it was overwhelmingly supported by the Party, in case the bailout goes belly-up we can blame it on Bush and the Republicans.

Hello, McFly! We’re in the middle of a financial crisis and if this does not work we’ll be in even bigger trouble than we are right now. Why not work on legislation that is well thought out and responsible so that there is no hedging of bets on it failing?

I am thoroughly disgusted by the inaction taking place on the Hill. The biggest drop in Wall Street in one day and instead of taking action, we have Representatives on the news finger pointing at the other side as to why this isn’t fixed yet. From the New York Times here are some of the reasons as to why some Representatives voted No:

1. Nancy Pelosi gave a partisan speech right before the vote.- An inappropriate move, but who cares what she says? No one watches C-SPAN!
2. The Republicans voting against cited their opposition to government intervention.- Isn’t the lack of regulation and intervention during the unfolding mortgage crisis the reason we’re at this point now?
3. The Democrats voting against didn’t want taxpayer money bailing out Wall Street fat cats.- How about the $1 trillion lost yesterday in the market and how that affects people’s retirement?

Again there’s a reason this year’s Presidential election will yield unprecedented voter turnout and why several long-standing House members may not be re-elected, it has to do with the American people waking up from their long slumber and wondering “What the heck happened?” The days of wine and roses are over, its time for everyone to pay a little more attention to what’s happening in Washington D.C.

It's the Economy Stupid Part 2

2008-09-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

I have not been purposely neglecting writing a new post, but I have had a bit of a writer’s block this past week. I just didn’t see much humor in the Government preparing to give $700 billion to Wall Street without any idea of whether this would actually work or just turn into another very large “Oops!” moment for the Bush administration.

Then there’s the response from the Presidential nominees. McCain calls for a time out, as if his presence in Washington is so crucial for brokering the deal. Obama was caught between a rock and a hard place, not wanting McCain to have the upper hand, but also not wanting to look like he doesn’t care. Either way there is no reason why the debates shouldn’t go on as planned.

Economists have weighed on what they feel might be the best solution to the problem at hand, and it seems like most of them are hinging their hat on different theories as to what the outcome will be. The majority feel that handing over a blank check to Paulson and the succeeding Treasury secretary is a bad idea. And that buying debt at the value the banks have listed is a bad deal for taxpayers. If the assets are purchased for less than what they’re listed as, it will probably not help the banks at all. My favorite economist Paul Krugman suggests using the $700 billion to add capital and allow taxpayers a share of the market. When the market recovers (as it should given this plan) profits might actually be made on the public money loaned.

Either way I feel the complexity of this crisis and the public policy solutions necessary to alleviate it are at a level that requires the skill, expertise and willingness to learn that has been at times wholly thrown out of the Presidential race. One example again comes from Governor Palin’s most recent interview with Katie Couric, here’s a brief transcript of her response when asked how the bailout will help out the average American.

COURIC: Why isn’t it better, Governor Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle-class families struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries? … Instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess?

PALIN: Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up the economy– Oh, it’s got to be about job creation too. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions.

Huh?! How does this have anything to do with health care reform or job creation. Maybe she thought this was a different question or maybe like the Bush Doctrine no one has prepped her on why Wall Street needs a $700 billion bailout. If this does not work everyone is in serious trouble, not just "fat cats" and CEOs, but anyone who would like to continue to live and earn money in the U.S. and even abroad. If we are sent back to a bartering economy, at least Alaska might be in some good shape with all those beaver pelts. I'm going to start hoarding copper and other scrap metal to bring down to the trading post.

Add on top of that Washington Mutual failing and having to be purchased by J.P. Morgan Chase, and I am really starting to believe the sky might just be cracking a bit. The minute WaMu decided to move away from its customer service model to a money hungry banking institution like BofA and WeFa this was bound to happen. This is why I suggest Credit Unions or maybe international banks like HSBC.

All of this is made a little better by the Dodgers clinching the N.L. West Division, but then again made a little worse by the Trojans losing to Oregon State. Oh woe is America right now, which is why I suggest everyone head to your nearest watering hole and have a strong drink. Wake me up on November 5th.

I guess I'm an Elitist

2008-09-18T16:56:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of mudslinging back and forth between the two campaigns about experience and lack thereof. For most of the election, the McCain camp wailed on about the inexperienced Obama who did not have the foreign policy credentials to be Commander in Chief. Then Obama went on EuroTrip: Presidential Style and met with rave reviews from Europeans and their leaders. He added Biden to the ticket in what most felt was an effort to quell this fear of inexperience. Then two weeks later, McCain picked Palin, or what one friend of mine called "The Hail Mary Pass of Politics, that turned into a touchdown." All of a sudden, Dems were staring around at each other wondering, "I thought we were the inexperienced ticket." Since then anyone who mentions Palin's lack of foreign policy, military or legislative experience is rebuffed by a variety of retorts. Some of my favorites are: 1) She's more experienced than Obama, because she is in charge of an entire state government. 2) She has foreign policy experience, because Alaska is closer to Russia. 3) She has military experience, because she is in charge of the Alaska National Guard. 4) The liberal media is slandering her with accusations of inexperience, because they're anti-feminists and "elitists".

The elitist aspect has been the one excuse I've been unable to reconcile. I don't quite understand why Americans should not want the leaders of our country to be well-educated, experienced leaders and visionaries. Ronald Reagan may have been a famous actor at one time, but by the time he ran for President he had already cut his teeth as Governor of one the 3 largest states in the Nation. This is far different from a 2-year stint at the 47th largest state. America has some of the best higher-ed institutions in the World, and every year thousands come to the U.S. from other countries to study. Is it elitist that I worry that Governor Palin went to 6 colleges in 6 years and has no advanced degree? Even for the most entry level job I would assume 6 different transcripts and that many transfers would cause employers to worry about the individual's ability for follow-through.

Interestingly enough, David Brooks, the New York Times conservative opinion writer had a great take on why he believes experiences matters, check it out here.

Not So Golden Right Now

2008-09-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

For those of my readers not in California, I would like to say “Congratulations!”. At least you don’t live in a state that is in crisis on top of already living in a country in crisis. I am still trying to believe that the sky isn’t falling, but its becoming harder and harder with what is going on. Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and AIG are all in trouble. I know that a lot of it has to do with poor choices in lending, but what happens to all the people who have their money or 401K invested with these institutions? I don’t really know but I will attempt to learn more. But back to Cali and why living here is no bueno right now. The State is over 77 days (that is more than 2 ½ months) late in passing a budget bill. This entire time the State Senate and the Assembly have been fighting along party lines with the Republicans sticking it to the Dems, in return for the Dems sticking it to the Reps all year long. It is not until they need 2/3 vote to pass the budget that compromise becomes necessary. Throw in the Governator and you have one political mess.

After much back and forth, the legislature passed a budget around 2:30 a.m. and was promptly threatened with a veto from the Governor, because it did not include all 3 of his budget reform initiatives he demanded. The “rainy day fund” which is to be created to save money when the economy is doing well for year’s when there is a budget shortfall did not come with the restriction Ah-nold proposed. I understand to some extent why he is digging in his heels on this point, because without restrictions on when the money can be pulled from this fund, it could turn into just another pot of money for the State to pull out of at its whim. At the same time, it took this long to pass any budget legislation, I don’t know if 77 days in is really the point at which we want to go back to the drawing board.

When I was in graduate school studying public policy, I assumed that legislation was crafted from research, common sense and thoughtfulness. But after spending sometime in D.C. actually reading legislation, I learned what a hodgepodge of ideas and solutions a successful bill includes. Why? Because every legislator wants to be able to point to how they personally assisted their constituency or prove that they are not just in Sacramento or D.C. saying Yay or Nay. The result is often a very long, impossibly confusing bill that very few people ever read from start to finish.

If Ah-nold sticks to his guns and vetoes the budget, it will be up to the legislature to override him. If they do, he promises to veto every other bill waiting for his approval. In the end, it’s a game of chicken being played with the administration of one of the largest economies in the World, and I’m scared to see who will veer first.

I'm scared for my couch

2008-09-15T12:54:00.001-07:00

For those of you who don’t have television or read the Sports section, you missed what was supposed to be the “best match-up of the NCAA football season” between #1 USC and Ohio State. The result was of course far below what you might expect from such a hyped-up game, with the Trojans dominating the scoreboard 35-3. The poor Buckeyes’ tired from all their trash talking, managed to control the ball for the majority of the game, yet could not put anymore points on the board except for their 1st quarter field goal. The real turning point in the game came when Ohio State’s only touchdown was reversed, because of a penalty. What followed were interceptions, fumbles, sacks and just a very sad game to watch (even for Trojans, because boredom isn’t fun).

I’m still not sure if UCLA’s first string made it to Provo, or if they got stuck somewhere and the club team had to don their jerseys; either way mad shoutout to my two readers who are BYU alums, the Cougars were amazing! They kept the Bruins from scoring while managing to chalk up 59 points of their own, well done!

Apart from college football there is plenty of other great things to watch on TV and I have thrown myself full-fledged into the fall season of shows. So far here’s my list for this year:
1. The Office: my favorite show is back! And I can’t wait to see what happens with a certain pregnant character! I really hope Rainn Wilson wins an Emmy.
2. Lost: I’m trying to keep this on my radar, because I really want to know what’s up with that island. I know the writing has gone downhill, but I have faith and at least we know there is an end in sight.
3. Mad Men: I am so glad I chose to add this to my list and delete Ugly Betty. I need a good old fashioned serial drama that isn’t too cheesy, plus I love retro interior decorating.
4. House: I am going to miss Kumar as a regular, but I wonder what they will do with Chase and the other girl. Hopefully they dye her hair back to brunette, she looks AWFUL blonde.
5. 24: I really hope this show can revive interest after being off for a year. I also hope that Fox doesn’t make us wait until January to watch this awesome show. At the same time I don’t even remember where we left off so I hope there’s some type of prep for the re-release.
6. Grey’s Anatomy & Private Practice: Both of these shows get one more season and if they don’t improve they’re off the list. Note: both are more interesting and funny if watched after a bottle of wine.
7. Brothers & Sisters: I initially watched this show, because it had some big names. Overall, its relatively interesting, but not a nail biter.

Where will I find the time to watch all of these? Answer: 3 little letters: D.V.R., which cuts most of these shows by 25% in time. But I’m deathly afraid at the same time, because the evil cable company just gave me HBO, Starz and Encore for free for a year, are they trying to kill me on purpose?

The Dirty Laundry of D.O.I.

2008-09-11T16:24:00.000-07:00

Most people assume working for a government bureaucracy is boring, and usually that’s true. It can be at times seem to move at a snail’s pace, doing things backwards, using technology and processes from centuries ago, but every once in awhile those bureaucrats decide to party it up, such as the Department of Interior. A recent scandal was exposed yesterday at said DOI, in the Minerals Management department, whose function is to sell off American oil and gas reserves to the private companies. Although the majority of the wrongdoing went on in the satellite office in Denver, it did extend its reach to Washington D.C. Apparently, for sometime now; employees had been receiving perks from Chevron and other oil companies such as sporting event tickets, free booze, and invitations to fancy events. Two federal employees went to a golf tournament, and were so intoxicated they had to stay at the resort rather than go home. Additionally, one manager was buying cocaine and sleeping with 2 of his secretaries. The woman in D.C. responsible for the satellite office helped steer a contract to a former employee, who before leaving federal service wrote the contract so that it basically detailed exactly his roles and responsibilities with the agency. Probably the worse part was that the Feds in charge of negotiating the contracts would allow the oil companies to renegotiate prices down after awarding the contract to a loss of over $4 million.

I love a good federal scandal, but this also proves another point which I feel is not often mentioned: regardless of who is in office, or who wins the election, the bureaucracy keeps chugging along doing what its always done with very little outside oversight. In most of the agencies, the inspector general’s office is responsible for auditing and investigating thousands with an office of dozens. And, when the wrongdoing is widespread enough too many people become involved for whistleblowers to feel comfortable in telling their story. Even in the DOI situation complaints were filed as far back as 2 ½ years ago. Most people do not want to risk retaliation, especially when it will take so long for an investigation to finish. The federal government is not unique in its size, and unmanageability, it is seen in many large states, counties, cities, and school districts. The amazing part is that when politicians talk about government waste they rarely point their fingers at the bureaucrats, probably because they know they’re voters too.

The Laughingstock of L.A.

2008-09-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

A lot of people talk trash about the Los Angeles Times and rightfully so. The level of journalism has fallen short recently as Sam Zell, the owner of Tribune Broadcasting, has laid off reporters and put profits over everything else in the paper. Prior to his takeover of the Tribune his real estate companies were the largest owner of both residential and office space in the U.S. It’s a bit sad for me as a native Angeleno to not have interesting and informative news reports about my city, but I still attempt to glean some local news on a regular basis. Today though there were two awesome articles that one must check out, if only because they are almost unreal.

First, goats have taken over a brush patch in Downtown L.A. The Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency decided it would be cheaper and more eco-conscious if they hired goats. The goats chomp on the brush day and night well being watched by their 71 year-old owner. Even better is that the males are fixed to prevent any hanky panky and keep their eye on the prize, that is eating brush.

Second, in the automotive section there is an awesome rundown of the top 5 redneck cars Levi Johnston (Bristol’s Baby Daddy) should consider purchasing. My favorite is the Trans-Am with the screaming chicken on the hood it is truly breathtaking.

It’s bad enough that I have to watch horrible local newscasters on KTLA (also owned by Zell) i.e. Elizabeth Espinosa and Allie McKay, now I get to read about goats. And its not like we’re in the middle of a slow news season, the state budget is overdue by more than 70 days with no sign of being passed in the near future. The SacBee runs a blog updating what’s going in CowTown, but it reads mostly like a political version of Pink is the New Blog. Yesterday’s top headline: “Sen. Maldonado was chewing gum during speech at the RNC.” Are you serious?!

I guess Chicago has it worse than us, Zell has put up the Cubs and Wrigley Field for the highest bidder. I suggest Chicagoans use some of that community organizing honed on the South Side and drum up some funds to purchase it themselves. Hey, its worked for Green Bay.

Are you ready for some football?!

2008-09-08T11:48:00.000-07:00

Brett has done it again, at least during the first game of the season. The football icon started in his 254th consecutive regular game and proved why he shouldn’t retire with his 54 yard touchdown throw for the first score against the Dolphins. I feel a bit sad for Chad Pennington as he was booted and then embarrassed by his middle aged replacement, but that’s what happens when you play against an icon. Suffice it to say, my love for Favre has outweighed my affection for the Packers. That being said I will be rooting for the first time in history for the Vikings to beat the Pack and show the front office why they should have just left Aaron Rodgers on the bench to collect his $25 million.

On a sad note, Tom Brady’s injured and potentially out for the season! Luckily he has Giselle to nurse him in the hospital as long as it doesn’t interfere with the Spring fashion shows and I’m sure Bridget Moynahan will bring Baby Brady for a visit too. I felt bad for Petyon Manning who couldn’t get a break in his season opener against the Bears (Go Bears!- I heart Fargo), but I wouldn’t count the Colts out just yet. But in the end “Who cares?” what really matters in football is that today is jury selection in the O.J. Simpson kidnapping/robbery trial. He should’ve worn Isotoners this time or at least got some balloons to block the security cameras a la Ocean’s 11.

In tennis, Serena kicked Jancovic’s butt on the Court to win the U.S. Open, and although I’m not a huge Williams’ sister fan its nice to see an American win on the home turf. A friend of mine suggested we force all those other foreign tennis stars to become citizens if they want to live here. It would definitely ensure we kick butt in the Olympics. At least our former cousin, Andy Murray, from Scotland, managed to knock down Nadal from his oh so pretty Spanish pedestal. I think it might have been the hair tie, or the tape below his knees being not even or the fact that his feet had lost circulation from wearing shoes 1 ½ sizes too small. That guy has dedication, probably as a result of his slightly OCD tendencies and his need to maintain Rockstar status in the home country.

Last but not least my wayward Dodgers got back on track (for now) by sweeping the D’backs this weekend. Yesterday’s game was practically handed to us by the sloppy playing Arizonians. Maybe they’re preoccupied with their Senator running for President, or wondering why they have jerseys saying “Los D’backs”, or they have just realized as the Dodgers will soon (if they make it to the postseason) is that being 1st in the N.L. West is a lot like being Runner-Up in the Miss Alaska pageant; it doesn’t get you far, oh wait I take that back there’s a 1 in a million chance it will get you a World Series ring or the Vice Presidency.

Babies, Blowouts and Bevery Hills

2008-09-02T12:36:00.000-07:00

This was such an exciting 3-day weekend I barely know where to start. So let me begin with the beguine…Bristol Palin is preggers. Now I know that this has happened to many a young female, but to the offspring of a conservative, abstinence only sex education, VP Candidate from the frozen tundra, feels like some bad joke repeated on the nightly comedy shows. But its true and the GOP convention has to now figure out which is worse Gustav stealing their thunder or all the attention placed on Bristol’s 5-month baby bump. I must give 10 points to the McCain camp for artful placement of a baby at a VP candidacy announcement. No one could see the bump with Trig plastered all over her. I thought it was a bit odd that the way she was holding him, but it was just smoke and mirrors, genius. As exciting as this news maybe, I’m even more shocked by reports that state McCain vetted his VP candidate through a Google search. I love internet sleuthing, and recommend it to all my friends who are going out on a first date or finding a roommate, but 2^nd in command of the U.S. is definitely something worthy of a more thorough search than a Wikipedia article.

On Saturday I reaffirmed my devotion to the Trojans, and reminded me about how I need them to remain a Dodger fan. If I was a Bruin football fan and a Dodgers fan, I’d be in a constant state of stress and frustration. At least this way I can take a break and enjoy a game where there are no surprises, except for how attractive Mark Sanchez looks without his football helmet on. Finally USC has someone cute to put up on the big screen. John David Booty lacked a lot in the looks department (and QB department as well). I can’t wait for Ohio State in two weeks, bring it on Buckeyes!

And finally, all this excitement is almost eclipsed by the return of Beverly Hills 90210 tonight! I was a major fan of this show back in the day when I was about 10. I have no idea why my parents let me watch that show, but all I could dream about was Dylan and Brandon and try to decide who was hotter. I hated Brenda and Kelly because neither of them realized how lucky they were to hang out with such hotties. Today the LA times interviewed Shannen Doherty and asked her about the “We hate Shannen Doherty” magazine. There was only one issue, but it made a big splash. And believe it or not, I owned a copy!!! My godfather bought it for me, knowing my love/hate relationship with Brenda/Shannen. I am going home tonight to search through my box of memories from elementary school and if I find it, I’m going to frame it. Who knew I had such priceless memorabilia lying around the house?

On second thought, I must actually be getting old, because shows/bands from when I was young are starting to have reunions. Check out NKOTB’s new promo pic. Maybe they’ll have to change their name this time around.

Who says Beauty Pageants are silly?

2008-08-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

Wow. I guess that’s all I can say about the past week in politics. The DNC was quite the show. It did not seem surrounded in the typical “We’re the best, because we’re not them” and almost turned a corner towards what the political system might look in the future: A motivated electorate, engaged in the issues and making a point to participate not only at the ballot box, but in the streets and in their homes. I was especially excited to see the number of young people as the apathy of youth has been replaced by a debate over which candidate will serve my generation best. I have to admit the “Bush-McCain” routine had become so ubiquitous that by the end of the 4 days I had almost forgotten that Bush was not running for reelection. But I have to admit, to an extent McCain ran himself into that trap when he started vouching for off-shore drilling and ditching his own vision for immigration reform.

And then like that Poof! Less than 12 hours later I’m watching the 44 year-old governor of ALASKA be introduced as the VP candidate for the GOP party. Okay so let’s first deal with the “important” stuff. Congrats on being the first woman on the GOP national ticket, this is historical. Also, Palin is one of the few statewide Alaskan politicians not currently being investigated or indicted. I know there was some drama about her sister’s baby’s daddy, but I guess that’s been resolved for now. And, most importantly going from Mayor of a town of 5,000 to VP Candidate in less than a decade is a true accomplishment. But after all of that there begs the question, Why her?

Well if McCain followed my 3 rules for picking a VP nomination she satisfies 2.5 out of the 3. First, she is not as tall as him, and looks like she’s had no run-ins with skin cancer. Second, she’s young and adds a bit of pizzazz and 21^st century to the ticket. I give her a half for the name because McCain-Palin rhymes a little bit too much for me. Now if only we knew more about her and her experience. So far here are the details I’ve picked up: She was runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant, grew up in the Duct-Tape capital of Wasilla (where the Iditarod starts from), has 5 kids, is a life long member of the NRA and her husband is a ¼ Eskimo. I’m sure John and Sarah will have lots to talk about on their upcoming campaign trips, starting with rethinking that beehive on the back of her head.

I have decided maybe I should run for city council for Ye Olde Friendly Towne and maybe I too can be the VP candidate in a mere 8 years. First order of business will be bringing more liquor licenses to Uptown, which may cause me some grief in years to come, but at least I can count on Cindy McCain as a donor.

American President: Season 44

2008-08-26T15:03:00.000-07:00

I’m sad to see the Olympics end, and frustrated that I will have to wait 4 more years until more international name-calling ensues. I guess there’s always the Winter Olympics, but other than Russia most of those countries are so darn nice and peaceful like Sweden, Canada and the Netherlands. At the same time I am overjoyed by the fact that I will not have to see Bob “I look like a Camel” Costas on TV for four hours a night. Instead he’s been replaced by all the anchors reporting from the Democratic National Convention. Too bad the DNC is only aired for an hour a night on the main channels, and to get full coverage I’m forced to watch C-SPAN!

Unfortunately with less than 2 months before the Election my free time has been eaten up by all the comings and goings of politicians and the like. I guess I admit to being a junkie, but who knows if my psyche can handle much more of the commentary I heard last night.

Here’s a brief list of things I’ve heard commentators say that only make the American voter sound dumb:

Americans vote for candidates based on their character not on their policy. If that is really the case, (and maybe it is) why even bother with a campaign platform and the endless number of policy documents on the campaign sites? Instead the candidates should focus on selling themselves to the American public much like people on dating sites such as Match.com.
Biden was chosen as a running mate to prove that Barack Obama cares about national security. And if he had chosen someone else, does that mean he doesn’t care about national security?
Michelle Obama’s speech is looking to prove that Barack and her stories’ are typical American and not exotic. Last I checked Hawaii is one of the 50 states, so I don’t really know how being raised there is “exotic”. I almost feel like its more “exotic” to be raised on a farm in the middle of Idaho, considering there are less people with that experience than living in a tourist centered economy in a mid-size city.
Hillary Clinton supporters need to be validated otherwise they might not vote at all. Its too bad Hillary didn’t win, and understandable to be disappointed after such a long hard fight. At the same time I don’t think Nastia Liukin is swearing off Chinese food for the rest of her life because of what happened in the parallel bars, and they were tied for the Gold! Barack won fair and square. Hillary’s loss was improbable, but it happened, no more whining please!
The next President will be able to “fix” all of the problems that exist today. I understand it’s important to set lofty goals that are impossible to reach, but this goes above and beyond what is reality. First, Presidents do not make or break an economy. Yes, more could have been done about the mortgage subprime situation, but in the end prices rising out of control could not have been controlled by anyone. The Iraq situation will continue to linger on regardless of who is elected, because we’re not going to just cut and run no matter what. And, education needs a lot more help than any one individual can offer, with the majority of the decision making and change occurring at the district level.

So please commentators, in an effort to educate rather than placate the public, try and act like this is more than what this election has become: a decision as to who the American public would prefer to see on their TV for the next 4 years.

And the Runner-Up for President Is...

2008-08-20T10:45:00.001-07:00

This is a great week for degenerate gamblers. You have more Olympic events in normally played sports such as Soccer (Futbol), Baseball, and Basketball, as opposed to those random ones we watch for pure voyeurism such as women’s discus and pole vault. I can’t imagine how one determines the point spread on the parallel bars in gymnastics. And in my other favorite topic area, politics, Obama is on the verge of announcing his VP nomination. Now it is kind of surprising to me that the American public has very little direct influence in choosing the 2^nd in command. I mean if something happens to the President we’re stuck with this person for better or worse. I can’t believe that didn’t play out as a scarier scenario when Bush picked Cheney. It also surprises me that most people don’t think that the other person on the ticket matters very much. I guess that is true, but there is always a risk that he/she may do more damage than they’re worth, stick their foot in their mouth or have some very deeply buried oddities.

If I was going to pick a running mate I would consider a few things first:

Does he/she make me look more or less powerful? For Obama that would be a no on Senator Biden, seeing as he’s been around A LOT longer and has A LOT more experience. Who wants to look like the little kid with the old uncle? Then again, this didn’t seem to hold true for our current administration.
Does our name combo sound nice? Obama/Biden- okay. Obama/Sibelius-what a mouthful! Obama/Kaine- very nice. McCain/Pawlenty- kind of yuck. McCain/Lieberman- too long.
Finally, does he/she complement me in photos? This is probably much more important than it used to be given our access to massive amounts of media. I would prefer someone that doesn’t make me look too short, but who I could also still wear heels around. I think this might be harder for McCain than Obama. He’s so pasty already, he should really think about someone who can look at the crowd with the sun in his eyes without a baseball cap.

The VP choice is the last thing to be excited about until the actual election, because it is one of the few things in politics that reminds me of sports. I feel just like I did a few weeks ago at the end of the trading deadline in baseball. And even though I don’t think either candidate have a Manny Ramirez up their sleeve, I can’t wait to see if my predictions are right. If I was a betting person, I’d pick Kaine for Obama and Pawlenty for McCain, but the U.S. will lose to Cuba in Olympic baseball.

It's as Simple as A-B-C, right?

2008-08-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

For a year and a half, myself and my bearded friend were substitutes in the Los Angeles Unified School District. I was lucky enough to make friends with the staff and faculty of a neighborhood school, loved and cared for by its students and families. The kids were pretty typical, slightly less sophisticated than you might find in a private school, but overall eager to learn and excited to hear what you had to offer. I taught every grade from Pre-K to 5^th while I was there including 3 special education classrooms. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and if it had not been for the fact that I was about to graduate with my Master’s in a completely different field, I could have imagined myself getting a Special Ed credential and staying.

My bearded friend has had quite a different experience teaching middle and high school. He also happened to get assigned to a few of the District’s biggest eyesores. Schools where fights and lockdowns are a common occurrence, students still attend year-round and the physical state of the buildings and equipment are in disrepair. As a result, this made for many long discussions about what could be done to even begin to help the nation’s 2^nd largest school district. We couldn’t come up with a lot of real solutions, but did believe there were a few things that HAD to change.

Better Administration at the School Level: Schools that were pleasant to sub at always seemed to have administrators (Principals/Assistant Principals) who seemed in control, and hands-on. These were the type of people who took the time to get to know your name and remembered it when you showed up on campus a week later. LAUSD seems to have a dearth of good administrators, because it’s a very different thing to manage versus teach. One does not necessarily translate into another.
Better Oversight and Administration at the District Level: There is no place scarier in the world than 333 Beaudry St. Things literally go there to die. Every person I’ve ever talked to there told me and other subs I knew a different story. At LAUSD, there is always at least two unnecessary steps that must be taken in person or over the phone. Here’s a prime example, the State of CA renews your credential online, its simple and fast, and takes about 3 minutes. Anyone can go on the site and search for a person by first and last name to determine if they currently hold a valid credential. LAUSD requires you call them to tell your “credential assistant” that you have renewed online and then prints out a copy. There must be thousands of jobs at that building that are unnecessary, but continue because no one has any clue about how money is being spent/wasted.
The union: Unfortunately it is a necessary evil, because of the disastrous management of the District at the top. If it hadn’t been for them threatening to walk out, who knows how long the District would have taken to fix the paycheck debacle. At the same time, the union creates a safety net for a lot of mediocre and straight-up bad teachers to stay employed at relatively decent salaries. Subs can usually tell a good teacher from a bad one based on the state of their classroom (complete disarray vs. relatively organized), to the level of detail left on the Lesson Plan (watch a movie all day vs. several different options with distinct time limits for each). There really are teachers that come in everyday and read the newspaper, while giving their kids mindless assignments, and kicking out the kids that give them a hassle thus interrupting their morning coffee.

I really hope that one day I will get the nerve and the strength to go back to work in the education field. Often I feel that it’s too big of a mess, that there’s no good place to start, and too emotionally charged for most people to have an honest opinion about it. Which is why for now I’ll stick to buses, people can be a lot more level-headed about transit.

For further reading, check out the Times Magazine article on what people are doing in New Orleans to transform public ed.

I Still Don't Like Bob Costas but...

2008-08-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

I have become obsessed with the Olympics over the past few days to the point where I even forgot to see how my L.A. Dodgers are doing. Luckily, we're still chugging along, 1 game back from the D'backs, and in the usual constant shift of our lineup. The Olympics on the other hand have had in their short 6 days of life proved to be full of fun and random stories.

First, the little girl who sang China's national anthem was actually just a cute face, while the real singer was placed behind the Wizard of Oz curtain, due to some unsightly teeth. Maybe the director of the Opening Ceremonies, Mr. Zhang is just a big fan of Milli Vanelli and C&C Music Factory. Either way I'm a bit surprised by everyone's shock and horror of this bait and switch on the Olympic viewer. If anything we here in the U.S. value looks above all, just look at recent finalists on American Idol, I'm sure that Chicago would do the same thing in 2016 if it came down to it.

Then there was the faux pas by the Spanish basketball team posing for a picture while trying to make their eyes look slanted. I spent some time in that country and they definitely have a different definition of politically correct. I think for most Spaniards any non-Spanish individual is so abnormal to them that other races and nationalities suffer from the most inexcusable stereotypes. The big deal in Spain is whether you're still a good practicing Catholic, had family connected to the Franco regime and if you sympathize with the Basque separatist movement. There is little discussion about the discrimination suffered by immigrants, primarily from Morocco and Africa, and I don't know if that will change soon. It is definitely a case of something that is a big deal to the U.S., but still an evolving phenomenon for other countries.

And finally, Michael Phelps. There is no star bigger than him this year. I love watching how quickly he goes from 3rd to 1st and puts more than entire body lengths between him and his closest opponent. Overall, he just seems like a young kid that channeled all his energy and focus into one thing that he is amazingly good at. His popularity has also made me realize how based on what sport the U.S. is best at in that particular Olympics, the news media and attention quickly shift to highlight it. In the past, it seemed we were all about track and field with Jackie Joyner and gymnastics with Dominique Dawes and Shannon Miller. I remember boxing being big when De La Hoya fought. But I couldn't remember many of the big swimmer names until this year. Now I feel like Piersol, Coughlin, Lesak and of course Phelps are household names and have launched swimming back into the American public eye.

Hey, we're America we like to watch sports where we're guaranteed to win. Which is my soccer loving friends, Professional Soccer leagues will never take off to NBA and MLB levels. The U.S. team just got booted out by Nigeria, geez now that's embarrassing.

A Little Known Phenomenon Called Supply & Demand

2008-08-11T11:21:00.001-07:00

Although I shouldn’t be surprised, it never ceases to amaze me how little the general public and now most politicians know about the economy. Even if you haven’t taken a single course, the idea of supply and demand is pretty basic. They tend to have an inverse relationship, i.e. when one goes up the other goes down. If its that simple, than why have two solutions for two very pressing problems completely ignored this obvious market fact.

First, illegal immigration. The number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. has fallen 11% over the past year according to a new report by the Center for Immigration Studies, an anti-immigration leaning institute. The CIS attributes this decrease to increased enforcement, and offers ICE a great big pat on the back for a job well done. Never in its report does it consider the economy as a factor. With the housing market collapsed, new construction has come almost to a halt. Many of those coming to America find temporary work in industries such as construction. At the same time, unemployment overall has gone up, food and fuel prices are skyrocketing and the dollar is falling abroad. Maybe there are less immigrants, because the U.S. is becoming a less attractive destination due to our weakened economy. Hmm…maybe they never thought about that, or maybe they just want ICE to continue their workplace raids.

Second, gas prices. About a dozen of the Republican house members have been staged out over the last week pontificating on the need for Congress to lift the ban on off-shore oil drilling. They claim that this increased production of oil domestically will soften prices now, even though the first fruits of this drilling is years ahead in the future, if ever. One politician even claimed that the reason oil prices have recently fallen is because of their threats to expand U.S. oil production. Maybe, the reason oil prices are falling is because demand has decreased as less people drive, and purchase less goods, requiring fewer deliveries. Overall, Paul my favorite economist sums it up nicely in his piece last week, please read here.

In other news, major congrats to the U.S. Men’s 4 x 100m relay team. We kicked the Frenchies’ butt. That’s what happens when you trash talk the U.S.A.!

When You're a Jet

2008-08-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

All morning long I couldn’t help but sing the famous West Side Story song in my head “When you’re a jet, you’re a jet all the way, from your first cigarette, to your last dying day.” I know Brett Favre will probably not be remembered for his years playing in New York, but I’m looking forward to watching him don the green and white uniform. It seems that in a moment, Green Bay did away with their biggest distraction and at the same time, favored son for an undisclosed draft pick. I feel most sorry for Aaron Rodgers, considering Favre got the Pack within one game of the Super Bowl last year, he does have some very big shoes to fill. Maybe this will be a “rebuilding year” for Green Bay. While the Jets may finally have a guy at the helm that can take them farther than they’ve gone in the past 8 years with Chad Pennington. I still really had hoped Favre would have stuck it to Green Bay execs by going to play for the Vikings, but that uniform doesn’t look good on anyone and I’m sure he’s tired of playing on a frozen tundra. In the end, it leaves me wondering whether my love for the team is bigger than #4. I felt I could go forward rooting for the Pack with Favre retired, but now I have an inclination to still want this guy to win. Despite all the drama and confusion, he’s just one of those people that you want to succeed.

In other news, I plan on writing to Favre to warn him about the dangerous New York Manhattan clubs. A 24 year-old airline ticket agent was found dead in a closet yesterday after attending Lil’ Kim’s birthday party. This story should be turned into an urban tale to warn young girls of over drinking and trying to return to clubs once kicked out. The clubgoer was thrown out of the club after trying to enter a men’s restroom. Now for the lady readers of the blog, honestly how many of you have done this in a pinch or seen someone do this? The line for the women’s restroom can be interminable at times and as the saying goes, “When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go.” Either way, the whole story sounds like it has yet to be told as a worker at the club was recently charged for the murder after he admitted to hitting her with a blunt object.

Side note: I can’t believe people are still coming out to celebrate Lil Kim’s birthday after the prison stint and the unforgivable purple outfit at the MTV awards. How long ago was it that “How many licks?” was heard on the radio.

Okay enough East Coast news for one day. Early congratulations to all you superstitious couples getting married on 08-08-08 and I can’t wait to see what goes on tomorrow in Beijing!

Don't Hate on JetBlue

2008-08-05T16:16:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, JetBlue the cool cousin of Southwest, announced it would begin charging $7 for a blanket and pillow. As usual, local newscasters made their requisite trip to LAX to raise their fist in ire over these new fees. Earlier in this blog I talked about how unfair I thought the checked baggage fee was, and how I felt it could be put to better use as an incentive fee. JetBlue has seemed to take on this advice.

First, not everyone needs a blanket and pillow. I don't even believe it has much to do with gender since I know a lot of women who suffer from hot flashes. Also, I don't even know if it has to do with age, since my Grandmother always travels with an extra sweater. I think this new fee from JetBlue really has to do with those who choose to sleep rather than read, watch the free TV or bother their neighbor with mindless chitchat. I am one of those people who can sleep anywhere, so $7 for a blanket and pillow which I can use AGAIN (hello, the environment) and is of better quality than the free one doesn't seem to me like such a big deal. I feel like this is in line with JetBlue's already genius idea to charge a few bucks for a nicer set of headphones.

US Airways on the other hand is running itself into a potential lawsuit with its new policy on charging for non-alcoholic beverages. I hope this doesn't extend itself to water, considering travelers' need to stay hydrated on flights. Not to mention what will happen if you're stuck in the airplane for longer than expected, and you forgot to get some cash out of the ATM. I know these small charges add up to large amounts for the industry, but maybe they should consider revamping their management? I'm starting to feel like the airline industry is becoming eerily similar to the already disastrous American car industry. Just like how GM killed its electric car so it could make Suburbans in the late 1990s, airline industries might want to bank its future on more than a Coke or two.

Manny Mania

2008-08-04T16:27:00.000-07:00

I know my last few posts have been sports-centered, but its hard to focus on much else with Manny Mania taking over L.A. In less than 12 hours after news of the trade was made public, the Dodgers sold over 11,000 tickets, more than compensating for the $1 million relocation bonus they have to pay Mr. Ramirez. I watched all four games of this weekend's Arizona series and came away feeling confident that Manny will be a positive influence for the team's prospects in the post-season and help reinvigorate a city to its hometown team. My favorite part of his interview was when he described how people should judge him in L.A. based on his checkered past in Boston. Manny responded with "You have to read a book, before you judge a person. ", which I think was supposed to be the idiom "Don't judge a book, by its cover".

L.A. loves celebrities and our athletes are included in that bunch, which is why showboats like Kobe Bryant and Reggie Bush are always followed with large groups of fans. But think of the Dodgers team this year and there's been little in the way of a superstar. What we had was a well-rounded roster, helped out by an amazing bullpen, but no big bat or big name to really bring people to the park. That's the weird thing about L.A. fans whether we're in 1st place or 3rd, the amount of people at the park on any given day has more to do with what else is going on in the City and if there's a promo involved like on Friday's game (Free Cooler Night). You'd be amazed how fast tickets sell out to Dodger Blanket night.

I watched Manny hit a homer on Sunday afternoon and cheered with the other 55,000 fans "Manny, Manny, Manny" until he came out to tip his hat to the crowd. And even though we didn't sweep the D'backs, splitting the series was a gift and puts us in a great position as we head into the homestretch of the season. I don't doubt that the Dodgers will make it to the post season, I just hope that in all of the Manny hoopla we don't forget about the core team that made this possible prior to last Thursday. I tip my hat to Martin, Kemp, J. Lo, Pierre, Kent, Ethier, Billingsley, Saito & Kuo. The best part is whether or not the Dodgers can afford Manny next year, a large percentage of these guys will still be wearing Dodger Blue come next April.

Just in the Nick of Time

2008-07-31T16:57:00.000-07:00

For you baseball fans out there today's trading deadline at 1pm had us all on pins and needles. Even made worse if you are a Dodger fan, for fear that the not-so bright Ned Coletti was actually going to think of trading someone or something for Greg Maddux. Yes, I agree his spot in the Hall of Fame is secure, but there are few things worse than an aging starting pitcher. Plus, the Dodgers already have an over the hill 2nd baseman and former shortstop. I believe in ageism when it comes to baseball.

But to the shock of many, it turns out by some chance of fate, Manny Ramirez will be wearing Dodger Blue for the rest of this season. I'm so excited about Manny. Who cares if he's a jerk? I think Torre can keep him in line for the 2 months we need him to play. Plus, if he hits a few homers while he's at it, perfect! We gave away very little for him. Boston is even paying the remaining $7 million on his contract. Andy LaRoche was a good prospect, but ever since he broke his thumb, Blake DeWitt has been fine at 3rd. Plus now we have Casey Blake until the end of the season.

I am worried about our outfield though. Ramirez can't run very well, and Pierre has a weak arm. Kemp and Ethier are good, but Ethier doesn't have the big bat. It will be interesting what Torre decides to do with the lineup. In my opinion he should just bench Andruw Jones for the rest of the season.

I cannot utter the words about where I hope the Dodgers end up at the end of the season. But I am happy that I'm a season ticket holder, first dibs on you know what. Yay!

Side note: My advice to Favre is show up for training camp and turn into a circus. I really hope he goes and plays for the Vikings.

Don't Worry...Just Be

2008-07-29T10:56:00.001-07:00

For those of us who read/watch the news daily, it can sometime be too much for us to handle or even begin to worry about. This is precisely why I love today's article in the NYTimes about 10 things that we can rest assured about, check it out here.

I was inspired and decided to write my own list of things I am no longer going to worry about.

1. Ill-Fitting Clothes. Rather than stress out every time I put on a pair of pants that don't quite fit like they used to, I am going to toss them into my Goodwill bag and congratulate myself on my charitable giving. I will then put on an outfit I know fits and go on my merry way.

2. The "Big One". Its only fitting that today there was a 5.4 earthquake in Southern California, hopefully relieving some of the seismic pressure and therefore reducing the likelihood of a major earthquake. I do plan on putting together an emergency kit for my car and call it a day.

3. USC Football Season 2008. Seeing as we have been the #1 favorite in Vegas to win the BCS championship since the end of the last season, and the fact that there's no way we could lose to Stanford two times in a row, I am officially not worrying about Trojan football. Of course I might feel differently the day we play Ohio.

4. Nomar Garciaparra's playing career. My love affair with my fellow Whittierian(?) has ended. He's on the DL again, just like he's been for most of the season. I will miss Low Rider as his entrance song when he bats, but I just can't take the yo-yo anymore. I'm officially only rooting for guys under 35 without kids. Thanks a lot Mia Hamm!

5. Brett Favre's Future. This goes for you too #4. I lived in agony through that Giants game, and I couldn't even watch your retirement press conference. I hope you kick butt wherever you end up, but I'm done worrying about your injuries, falling off the wagon or your family in Louisiana.

6. Gas prices. They're here to stay and even if they've gone down a few dimes, it is time to stop worrying and just be proactive. My suggestion- do not buy a brand new car that runs on gasoline like I did. Everyday I feel more and more like I bought a laserdisc machine 2 weeks before the DVD player was unveiled.

7. The Presidential election. Wake me up when its November 5th. Enough said.

8. Cell Phone Cancer and All Other Random Diseases from Random Use of Objects. Who has time to calculate all the different things that can be killing us little by little? This week there was evidence that even the marble countertop in many kitchens give off large amounts of radon. Doesn't all of our clocks just start ticking away the minute we're born anyway?

9. Madonna & A-Rod. Okay I admit I don't really worry about either of them, but I'm really tired of having to hear all about celebrity woes day in and day out. Do people really care if K-Fed gets more money a month or if Brit Brit has extra access to her children? If only we worried as much about our own kids/relationships.

Skin Stories

2008-07-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

Since I started this blog a little over a month ago, I have realized how difficult it is to come up with original posts and to avoid using this little medium as my list of complaints and rants. So I apologize to those of you who had hoped for more consistent posting, if anyone has suggestions please forward them along.

Today I read/heard about at least three different articles related to dermatology issues. As someone who has suffered through her fair share of these specialists, I have been to the worst and the best of dermatologists. I suffered from really bad acne starting at around 12 and peaking at about 15. During that time the majority of my doctors recommended the same routine, creams, stringent face washing, and random antibiotics. Luckily for me, I also had a mother in the medical field to supplement my treatment with facials at Georgette Klinger in Beverly Hills & birth control to help balance out my hormones and reduce breakouts. The facials were so awful that my mom would have to bribe me to go with lunches and new outfits. I just remember women with European accents digging into my pores and removing all of the dirt and grime accumulated in them at various levels of pain.

Finally my Dad, who has also had his fair share of dermatologists, found one doctor in all of Kaiser who was willing to think outside of the box. She put me on the very controversial medicine Accutane. This medicine was a classic case of gender discrimination, doctors would hesitate giving it to young women, because of the birth defects it caused, rather than assuming that women were smart enough not to get pregnant while taking this medication. I took it the summer between sophomore and junior year and watched as the extreme Vitamin A levels in my body caused the layers of skin to fall off. It was a bad summer since the medicine makes you very dry and peel and just horribly red.

Then in college, I found a dermatologist to the stars that a friend of the family had recommended. She was phenomenal, and rather than prescribing random antibiotics actually found out what kind I needed and told me to throw away all the fancy soap/masques/lotions and just use Cetaphil. This really revolutionized my idea of skincare and to this day I owe her the relatively few breakouts I have today. (Too bad she ended up on house arrest, because of unpaid taxes. And her husband committed suicide the day he was to be sentenced in court.)

There's an article in the New York Times today about how the medical side of dermatology is being overshadowed by the cosmetic side. No wonder this has happened as doctors can make 3 to 6 times more shoving middle-aged women with botox than dealing with acne or abnormal moles. At the same time the more doctors learn about melanoma and skin cancer in general, the more preventable it has become. And surprisingly at the same time we have a Presidential candidate who suffered from the disease, we might also find it being pushed aside in favor of cosmetic peels and lifts. What's happened to the Hippocratic oath?

Debt: The American Way of Life?

2008-07-23T12:12:00.000-07:00

The New York Times has recently started a series entitled The Debt Trap. It highlights stories of average Americans and their long and sad trip down the path of bankruptcy, ruined credit, foreclosure, unemployment, etc. and examines how America's fascination with material things and the banking industry has contributed to this expanding phenomenon. I found the article about Ms. McLeod heartfelt and emotional, and happy to see her take responsibility for the majority of her poor economic decisions. The question remains how is this situation prevented in the future, and I'm particularly concerned with my generation. How much does the average mid to late 20 year old know about interest rates (variable vs. fixed), what the APR stands for at the bottom of their credit card statement or how much of their salary they should invest in their employer's 401k? I'm afraid the answer might be a lot less than they should and only slightly more than their parents.

As home prices spiraled out of control over the past 5 years, the idea of owning a home seemed to be a very distant possibility, only compounded by my unwillingness to leave L.A. and its expensive real estate. I remember at my previous job doing economic research, my boss was shunned by many in the field for suggesting in 2005 that the balloon would bust and it would be bad. Three years later his predictions are held to be more than accurate, as foreclosures increased in the L.A. County 261% this quarter in comparison to 2007 figures. Although prices are decreasing my favorite economist Paul Krugman believes they have a long way to go before they stop. And as this may sound like my opportunity to begin my foray into real estate, the credit crunch may prove securing a home loan near to impossible.

In the past, families' wealth laid mainly in their home and other real estate purchases they made. The equity was used to finance education for their children, improvements to the property and even pay for unexpected events such as medical crises. With home equity eroding and the prospect of owning a home for renters becoming a distant goal, I wonder if my generation will be able to accrue true wealth. At the same time, my need for new clothes, shoes, dinners with friends, drinks after work, and trips abroad never seem to subside. I can only hope my reading of the economic tea leaves will bear fruit in the long run and I too will be able to climb out of the Debt Trap once and for all.

Stay-Cation #1

2008-07-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

Last week I headed to the Bay for what seemed like a vacation, but was inevitably a whirlwind of activities. As a result, I slothed through the entire week at work and made it to this past weekend, firmly deciding to have what my local news channel calls a "Stay-Cation". What this involves is what other people call staying home and vegging out, but this funky little hybrid word makes me feel cool when I stay home. Here's a short breakdown of what I did on my first stay-cation.

Friday evening after work, I headed out of the office to eat at a new eatery in the middle of Downtown L.A., by the name of Rocket Pizza. It was good pizza, thin-crust, and the Amstel Light was crisp and refreshing. The only thing I wasn't too happy about was the large Caesar that had about 10 pieces of lettuce in it. After, it was off to Bar 107, a rare drinking hole in LA, where you can order Colt 45 and Schlitz Malt Liquor (not that you would want to). My bearded friend ordered a Guinness and after finishing it found a lemon seed at the bottom of the glass. Seeing as he had already downed his drink, he was forced to deal with the bacteria he might have imbibed. But he wanted to ensure this didn't happen to someone else so he showed the bartender who responded with "That's awesome!". 'Nuf said. (Cheap parking note: Free at all meters after 6pm, but if you get there before, try parking on Los Angeles St, there are usually open spots, but be careful after dark.)

Saturday was not terribly interesting either, but I did go see the same movie half of America saw...Space Chimps. I'm only kidding, the Dark Knight, lived up to its hype, it was dark and it was sad to watch Heath on screen for the last time, but I did have a few issues with the film. First, Batman's voice is very odd, a friend of mine thinks it might be strep, I'm worried it might be more serious like a growth on his vocal chords. Maybe he should have Alfred book him an appointment with an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. Also, did anyone else notice that it seemed like the movie was over, just to have it restart for the last 30 minutes? I was getting ready to head out of the theater, when I realized there was another story arc just beginning. All in all, two thumbs up, but I prefer my comic book movies with slightly more humor.

Sunday though was by far the best, because I visited my favorite summertime spot in all of L.A., the Hollywood Bowl! It was great to see all of the urban hipsters out of Silver Lake, and WeHo to watch the Feist and eat their organically grown food from Whole Paycheck. I particularly enjoyed the opening act Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, she rocked it out! For those of you who haven't partaken in the Bowl I suggest you buy some tickets (they're cheap!) , pack up some dinner and a few bottles of wine and enjoy one of L.A.'s true gems. One piece of advice is to park at Hollywood & Highland to avoid stacked $20 parking. Take the shuttle ($3 roundtrip) or walk (1/2 mile) to the Bowl and on your way back buy a Starbucks for the road, validate your parking and pay $2 (for the first 4 hours).

I can't wait until Stay-Cation #2- I think this will include a trip to the Griffith Park Observatory and maybe a beach...but the unplanned nature is what is important so I'll leave it up in the air.

Side note: For those of you (like me) who love Starbuck's holiday menu and wait for the drinks to show up in November, most of them will make you a Peppermint Mocha (or whatever else you desire) if they still have the syrup on hand! Who knew? It only added to my perfect evening!

Christmas in July

2008-07-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

It is my 2nd favorite time of the year tomorrow...any guesses? Nordstrom Anniversary Sale of course! The best sale, because rather than things being on clearance like in most sales, this is the stuff for fall that is hot now and will go up in price after the sale is over. I haven't missed one Anniversary since 2002 and I'm not about to start now. I will be with the crazy masses at 7:00am tomorrow when the doors open at the Grove. Now let's take a look at what's hot this season and what I think should be left behind (in my humble opinion).

Straight/skinny jeans are back again! For the past few seasons its been these on one side of the spectrum and wide leg on the other. Seeing as I believe I'm wayyy too short to rock the wide leg pants I will be purchasing one more pair of straight jeans this season, hopefully not as low-rise as the ones I currently own. I think maybe a grey pair like these will work just fine. The one thing I have to owe to skinny jeans is they enabled me to wear flats. I never was one to think flats were cute, until I became a substitute teacher and that was literally all I wore. Which brings me to my next must-have for fall...

The pointy-toe flat! This flat is fun and functional and although can look a little witch like depending on how pointy and what color you get, its an all around winner for pants. I have never been one to rock the skirt with the flat (again height issues), but I think it could be pulled off especially if tights or leggings are involved!

I have been trying for the past few season to find the perfect slouch boot to pair with tights and skinny jeans. It is a mission not for the faint of heart, but I think this year might be the one I finally get my hands on a fabulous cognac colored pair similar to these on the left, but with maybe a shorter heel so I can last in them all night. This may just be me, but whenever I wear high boots over my jeans I feel like Trinity from the Matrix and I just want to kick some butt!

And now for my least favorite trends I'm sad to see are still popular for this fall.

1. The open-toed boot. Doesn't this defy the very nature of the boot to keep your foot warm when its cold? To me it looks like a boot that once had a front, but you broke your toe and had to cut an opening while it healed.

2. The ugg. I love wearing my uggs in the winter as much as the next person, but uggs are not cute no matter how many pairs Jessica Simpson has. I will never forgive Oprah for the day she put them on her favorite things for Christmas. It was the only holiday season I worked at Nordstroms and the entire 2 months these shoes were the bane of my existence. Plus, they're a slipper meant to be warm either for surfers after they get out of the ocean or in cold places, not on the Promenade in the middle of September.

3. Anything by Juicy Couture. Hands down my least favorite designer and the one I've never been able to explain or understand. First, the majority of their line is velour sweatsuits with Juicy written on the butt in jewels. A) those jewels have to be uncomfortable when you sit down B) these sweatsuits aren't made for working out, just shopping. Finally, every woman who I've ever helped wearing this outfit is for the most part evil, with several plastic surgery issues and has bad taste in shoes (can we say really high cork wedges with one leopard print strap across?) Now they're starting on the kids young with Juicy for girls (awesome tweens with hot pink velour sweatsuits with juicy across their butt...classy).

Not to worry my male friends out there, the Anniversary Sale is for men as well. Not that I know what's hip for you guys, isn't it basically still a pair of Seven Jeans with a RVCA shirt? Boys clothing sooo boring. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight with dreams of Nordy's flying through my head, but that will be even better as I won't miss my 5:30 am wake up call.

The Sky is Falling or Is it?

2008-07-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to feel like I'm living in some sort of strange alternate universe. First, the news lately has just been out of control. Freddie and Fannie are in trouble, but Paul assured me yesterday that they'll be okay. And at least they're doing what they're supposed to and as a result we, as taxpayers, must also do our part to help them out. The one good thing about all of this chaos in the mortage/banking industries is that I feel I'm finally learning the ins and outs, because of the sheer amount of news coverage.

Next, over the weekend Brett Favre started rumors he might want to play again next year or un-retiring. I'm starting to feel like my relationship with my #1 favorite quarterback is like a ex-boyfriend who I loved and mourned over, who keeps coming back only to crush me all over again. Last season it was so rough to watch the Packers get thisclose to the Big Game to lose to the Giants at Lambeau. I couldn't even watch the Super Bowl this year and had to escape to Disneyland to forget that day. I love Favre and want only the best for him, but I don't know if my fragile football psyche can handle it.

Then, of course there's IndyMac and this morning on local news they showed the people in line at the Encino branch waiting to withdraw their funds. Some of the individuals they interviewed really scared me. There was one lady screaming about how this is the Depression all over again. Another was convinced that this was a political plot by the Democrats spearheaded by Schumer to scare everyone and create even further animosity for the current administration. All of it just made me a little uneasy, because I know how few people actually read respectable news outlets and how heresy passes for most as the truth.

Finally, the New Yorker magazine cover and the back and forth that has ensued over it for the past 24 hours has really made the wheels start turning in my head. I still have yet to decide personally how I feel about it. I do see how its satire but also how its offensive, and feel its more of a question about how smart/analytical the masses are. But if that's the case, aren't I being a bit presumptuous that Americans won't get it? Maybe everyone should be held to a higher standard, rather than accept the dumbing down of ideas for mass consumption.

In one happy section of my post, I would like to wish Brian Austin Green Happy 35th Birthday! He played my 2nd least favorite character (after Andrea Zuckerman) on my favorite childhood show, BH 90210. I can't believe he's only 35, especially considering everything his character went through on the show you would expect him to be at least 45. After watching your best friend kill himself, graduating early from high school, cheating on Donna, starting a club above the Peach Pit, becoming a drug addict and finally getting married, that was a lifetime worth of experiences! I am going to rent Season 1 of B.H. this weekend and entertain myself while I wait for Chicken Little to stop worrying about the Sky.

Not as smart as I thought I was

2008-07-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

There are a few things I pride myself on. One is that I've done my taxes every year since I turned 16 and that I actually learned how to fill out a tax form in the 4th grade. As an economics major, I like to be able to understand the basics of supply and demand, and since I went to school prior to the obsession with computers (i.e. Excel) I did all of my problem sets by hand. In graduate school, statistics became my pride and joy, just ask me to do some linear programming or queuing analysis and I will smile and wink. But for all of that I still can barely figure out how to get my loans repaid under the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007.

This little gem of legislation passed last year and grudgingly signed by the President wrote off loan debt for people working in public service after 10 years. It also allowed them to pay no more than 15% of their adjusted gross income on loan payments. Sounds great, right? But since it is a government program there are inevitably a million loopholes and forms one needs to fill out to qualify. Let me break down what I've learned so far:

1. Your loans have to be in the Direct Loan program. Most people don't know this, but there are two programs for federally backed student loans. One is $$$ straight from the Feds (Direct Loans) and the other is $$$ from banks the FFEL program. Schools would prefer to use banks, because often they receive kickbacks in exchange for shuttling their students to their preferred lenders. Most of us as undergrads and even graduate students check off whatever lender is listed on the form and don't think twice about it. But as it turns out having loans directly from the Feds has its benefits, for one its the only way to get them paid off by the government if you decide to dedicate yourself to public service.

2. You can consolidate into the Direct Loan program from the FFEL program, but only if you've tried other FFEL options and they weren't up to par. Fortunately, the fact that FFEL doesn't offer the public service payoff is good enough reason for you to reject them.

3. If you consolidate while you're still in the grace period for your loan, you lose your grace period! Luckily I read this right before I submitted my application. Instead of being able to wait 6 months after graduation I would have to start paying in 60 days!

4. Getting married is not a good idea. The amount you pay on your loan increases if you get married, because they add-in the spouse's income. This means you'll probably end up getting a lot less forgiven by the Feds, depending on how much you make and how much you owe in loans.

5. Congress has not figured out what will happen when the government has to make good on its promise to pay off the loans in 10 years. It may turn out you have to pay taxes on the amount that was forgiven, but experts are saying right now they will probably fix this before 2017 and for the most part you'll pay less in taxes than what the govt. forgives.

Now here's the sad part. I was working for a federal budgeting agency (who shall remain nameless) when this piece of legislation came up for a vote. Even in the middle of it all, I still did not understand all the nuances of what the program was about or what it entailed to become a part of it. And now even after reading a breakdown of it by a legal scholar, I'm still barely keeping my head above water. Good news for Sallie Mae, bad news for the rest of us out to change the world one non-profit/government agency at a time.

Traveling in the 21st Century

2008-07-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

I never really analyzed how much more difficult traveling by air has become since 2001. But everytime I see a pre-2001 movie I'm reminded of the ease by which we once traveled. Sure we always had to go through the metal detector. But anyone could go through, even those without tickets. You could pick people up at the gates rather than waiting for them at the baggage claim. And although parking in the white zone was still a no-no, there was metered parking and a lack of voraciousness displayed by current Airport Police. Actually the first time I think I was ever racially profiled was at the airport not too long ago, when I was pulled over twice for no reason! The first time it had mostly to do with a long haired and bearded passenger in my passenger seat. The policeman didn't even look at me, he pointed at said passenger and we pulled over. The second time had more to do with the fact that I didn't have plates on my 1-month old Subaru. This was the guy that really got under my skin, the conversation went along these lines.

Police Officer: I pulled you over, because you don't have plates and you tried to merge into the next lane.

Me: Yes, officer I didn't want to park so I moved over a lane. And I bought my car 2 weeks ago, so I still don't have plates. (Not to mention, the DMV has 90 days to send the plates!).

Police Officer: What nationality are you? (As he peruses my license)

Me: Officer, why is information necessary?

Police Officer: Uhhhhh.....Well....I just wanted to be able to pronounce your name. (Clearly backtracking from previous line of questioning)

Me: Its pronounced Moan-Heh.

Police Officer: Well Ms. Moan-Heh, be careful and have a nice day.

Well now they've added another pain to air travel. Paying for checking in your luggage. I still don't understand why the airlines chose this rather than encouraging people not to check by giving them a rebate or free drinks for carrying on their luggage. Plus at barely 5 feet I find it discriminating to force short people to pay just because they can't physically put their carry on in the bin. Not to mention it is also gender discrimination, because us females tend to have makeup, hair products and the like that are over the 2 oz. limit and wouldn't all fit in a quart size bag forcing us to check bags (lest we rather look like a Yeti on our trip). How about age discrimination? Old people can't be expected to carry their bags with them everywhere, think about how many times they go to the bathrooom! There has to be better ways to cut costs/increase revenues than prey on elderly, short, females.

This weekend I'm headed to the Bay and I will attempt to carry on in preparation for what will now become my future (I'm way too cheap to pay if I don't have to). I wonder what they're going to do when everyone shows up with carry-on baggage and the room in the overhead compartments are full. I'm sure that will do wonders for on-time flights and the amount of lost luggage.

Back in the Saddle Again

2008-07-07T10:28:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the recent break in blog posts, but my new job gave us a fabulous 4-day weekend to enjoy. I had lots of fun with my friends, ate way too many burgers/hot dogs, and tried to stay cool in my oven of an apartment. A slight recap on some interesting stuff I noticed over the past few days.

First, how about them Dodgers? After winning their 3rd series in a row (Angels, Astros & Giants) we're back at home. At only 2 games below .500, my boys in blue seem to have turned a corner. Not to mention, my #1 favorite player Nomar has returned from the DL. Here's to hoping he'll play on Thursday when I go to see them battle the Florida Marlins. I don't know if its Joe Torre finally making a difference, but I'm looking forward to the second half of the season. It was great to see them beat those good for nothing GIANTS yesterday!!! (BTW- What's with the Giants and chubby players, Bengie Molina needs to work on his gut.)

As for politics, it seemed like a pretty mellow weekend. John McCain's trip to Mexico and Columbia was completely overshadowed by the rescue of the hostages from the FARC. I can't wait until the made-for-tv-movie on Lifetime about Ingrid Betancourt comes out! I'm sure Angelina Jolie will play the lead in the Hollywood version, considering she's our most "ethnic" looking actress these days. This morning my heart jumped into my throat when I heard Obama's plane had to make an emergency landing in St. Louis, but it seems that it was just normal mechanical problems. Finally, my favorite economist Paul Krugman has another excellent take on why the economy has tanked recently and whether its fair to blame President Bush, check it out here.

And finally on a sad note, is what Bean calls the Summer of Death. He has been keeping a running tab on how many people (mostly famous) have already died this summer. I've been shocked to see the number of shootings that have taken place all over the Southland. Even in my very own Ye Olde Friendly Town a woman was shot in her home yesterday. Plus, the Amber Alert was after a guy shot his ex-wife in the face and took off with the kid to Mexico. I feel like everyone is trigger happy these days. Good thing we have the genius Supremes to read the Constitution and interpret it from the point of view, of slave-owning Aristrocrats 230 years ago, surely they knew what's best for us in the 21st century.

Hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July! I'm already counting down the days until my next 3-day weekend for Labor Day. 56 days to go!

My New Job Goal

2008-07-02T11:13:00.001-07:00

So I used to think it might be cool to play for the Dodgers making millions. I mean I don't really need to play, look at our one game wonder, Jason Schmidt, who is getting paid $47 million to recuperate. (Check out this harsh, but true critique of my boys in blue.) But seeing as I quit softball in 9th grade, that isn't much of an option.

Well how about actress? They seem to make quite a lot of money despite horrible movies. Reese Witherspoon makes $15-20 million per movie. I'm sure I could pull off ditzy blonde in law school for at least Legally Blonde 3, 4 and 5. But then again, I don't know how qualified I am to do that either.

I've got it, I will become a talk show radio host! Rush Limbaugh is being paid $400 million over the next 8 years. Far more than Schmidt or Witherspoon. The exertion level is pretty low, all one needs to have is a mic, a really annoying voice, and a point of view to champion while making several baseless accusations about the other side. It can't be that hard right? No research needs to be done on the facts, and you can even take some time off to get addicted to drugs and come right back. As long as you have a top law firm retained for slander lawsuits, you're set.

I have to admit prior to starting my career I will have to actually try and sit through some talk radio. I tend to listen mostly to NPR in my car and as far as print news/information rely on the NYTimes and the WSJ. I attempted the other day to make it through an entire segment of a popular libertarian/conservative radio talk show, but was forced to turn it off for fear of instant migraine. I find it amazing how popular these shows are. Why waste your precious time listening to one or two persons very slanted, and narrow view of the world? Wouldn't your time be better served listening to both sides and making your own decisions? I have difficulty dealing with any extreme point of view, because neither of those sides really want anything to change or get better, what they want to do is complain.

I must look for an extreme position to start sending out to radio stations here. How about vegans should be force-fed eggs, because its un-American or homeless people should be sent to Europe to deal with the loss of population there? Any other suggestions?

Cable=EVIL

2008-07-01T14:45:00.000-07:00

I was going to write about something a bit more intelligent, but seeing as I spent more than a few hours of my life dealing with the evilness that is Charter I must vent now. Cable TV is one of the great monopolies and evils left in modern day life. I wish I could do without them, but the idea of watching only channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 (yikes UPN!) just doesn't seem like a doable option.

First, they really don't want you to pay them. I have tried paying Charter for 2 months, but my online account will not log on. I've tried resetting the password and user id twice to no avail. And since I was trying to save a tree I no longer receive paper bills. Every time I speak with one of their customer service reps, they ask me the most ridiculous questions e.g. "Was the person you spoke with in technical service?" I don't know! All I know is they said they reset my information. Don't they have logs of when you called last and who you spoke to? Next time I'll ask for their position description and resume.

Second, they don't care if their service works. A little over 3 months ago I signed up for internet from Charter. Its faster than DSL and the only company I hate more than Charter is Verizon (they didn't send me a bill for over 6 months!). The internet was at snail speed for the first 6 weeks and after a total of 4 service calls, no one could tell me why it wasn't working. Each of the guys would come out and look at the wires and call the guy who had come out before. The conversation would go like this:

Service Guy: "Heyyyy. Did you come to Acacia last week? What's wrong with it? Yeah it looks like everything is cool. I don't know why they f****ing called me out here. Aight, I'll put in for further maintenance.

Finally, I found one customer service guy who for whatever reason actually wants to do his job well to figure out how to get it fixed.

But the worst is probably there blatant lies. The prices quoted on their website are totally different than the ones online, and unless you ask for the package they won't automatically give it to you. I was also told I would get OnDemand only to find out that it wasn't available in my area.

I guess I could switch to Satellite, but that seems like a lot more work, plus who wants all of their tv on East coast time? I really hope that technology catches up with cable soon, and we can all say goodbye to their monopoly on bad service and high prices.

To Baby or not to Baby...That is the Question

2008-06-30T14:33:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, I'm an only child and to an extent have spent a significant amount of time deciding whether I would have preferred siblings or if its better to have all the attention. I think as you get older there is a definite shift in preference. When I was little I didn't seem to mind not having a brother or sister very much. My friends with siblings seemed to always want them out of their room and away from their stuff. I didn't have to share my toys, room, clothes, etc. and my parents let me spend the night at my friends' house fairly liberally. Even in high school it seemed like a good deal I got a car when I turned 16, mainly so my parents would be relieved of having to shuttle me around, something that probably wouldn't have happened if I had older siblings.

But post-high school I think being the only child has started to have more costs than benefits. First of all you're the only one to help out with family events, crises, situations, etc. No one else to share the load and as I think about my parents getting older and becoming seniors citizens the thought of taking care of everyone by myself really begins to stress me out. Another thing is since I'm so used to having them there all the time I find it very difficult to be away from my family. I've attempted to live other places, but found it lonely and depressing at times (although very freeing at other times).

Now that I'm getting older and thinking about having kids of my own, I've come to believe that it wouldn't be fair for me to only have one kid. I mean it already doesn't have aunts/uncles or cousins and without a sibling it would really be all by itself. Its hard to imagine that there are parts of the world with what is being termed "extreme low birth rates", to the point where if things don't turn around countries will be at less than 1/2 of their current population in the next 3 decades. The NY Times Magazine has a great (but very long article), about this phenomenon. At the same time I don't know if I can blame the Euros for having fewer kids, children are extremely expensive these days and when gas is $4.60 a gallon its hard enough to make ends meet. But also as a woman its a big decision to make, having to process changes to career goals, travel plans or whatever else I imagined my life to be like, that now won't be possible (or will be at least that much harder). Luckily for me at least, it will be a while before I cross that bridge.

Its a Double Dutch Bus Going Down the Street...

2008-06-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

Growing up in L.A., I rarely had the opportunity to take the bus. I lived more than 15 miles from my high school and started driving at 16. There was a brief period when I did take the bus from school to Downtown L.A., but even that required a dry run with my Mom following me in the car just to ensure I didn't get lost. That's the problem with L.A.'s public transit system there are a myriad of different operators, and Metro, the largest of them all, operates over 200 lines.

I had the opportunity to intern at Metro during graduate school, and although I didn't get to contribute too much to improve the situation there, I did get one cool assignment. I renamed all of the more than 200 bus lines. Why did they need to be renamed, you might ask? Well many of them had the same name as the original line operated by the Regional Transit District (RTD) more than 3 decades ago, regardless of whether the line name continued to make any sense. My favorite was a bus that went to the West L.A. Transit Center. If you were standing on the street waiting for this bus, you might wonder where is this mysterious transit center? Well if you can believe it is not in West L.A. more like West Adams and the transit center was a bus bench under a freeway overpass. Another one of my favorites was the bus line which number changed in the middle of the line. This was a result of combining 2 lines to deal with budgetary issues and rather than rename the line entirely, the bus operator would arbitrarily change the bus number downtown. Yes you could actually get on Line #42 and get off on Line #76...go figure!

Now why has this been allowed to continue for so long? I think the bus rider in this recent L.A. times article says it best "what would help more is more money spent on the bus system". That makes sense, we already take 2% of all sales tax and put it towards public transit, not to mention the gas taxes we pay at the pump, why don't we just pay more to make it better? The answer is buses are not sexy and Congress long ago past a prohibition on paying for the operating costs of metropolitan bus systems. They still subsidize the bus carrying one person in Juno, AK, but the tens of thousands who depend on the system here in L.A. to get around can't get a dime. All federal funding going towards L.A. is for capital expenses only. Which means we need to buy more and build more. Almost the entire Metro fleet now runs on CNG or even less pollutant energy methods, its one of the cleanest in the nation. So what to do with all that federal money, I know build light rail! Even though that makes little sense for a city as sprawled out and suburbanized as L.A. Local money tends to go where the federal money is offered since it is typically only given as part of matching funds.

My one suggestion besides spending more is shortening the lines. How can we expect any bus line to be more than 63% on time if we have lines traveling across Counties, literally cris-crossing the entire region. One example is the Express Line #460 going from Downtown L.A. to Disneyland!!! How many people are making that entire trip? The average bus ride lasts less than 10 miles and makes less than 2 transfers to be practical, making it unnecessary for any line to travel over 30 miles.

I really hope at one point in my career I get a chance to run the buses. According to this article they're hiring supervisors...maybe I should apply. :)

Before I forget them all...a primer on grad school

2008-06-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

So as most of you know I just finished graduating with my Master's from a very prestigious Southern California University (well that's the line they feed the donors at least), hence the picture of me in cap and gown. During my brief period of time there (a little less than 2 years) I was able to meet some fabulous people who I will continue to keep in touch with and who I'm sure will be able to give me a great job in the future. Unfortunately, I also found some aspects of grad school troubling, I will detail them below and for those of you who have gone through the same situation please feel free to add to the list.

Pet Peeve #1: People who over exaggerate their work experience and academic achievements, particularly if it has been less than 2 years since you graduated from undergrad. One example, are people who double majored who feel the need to either say this at every opportunity given and/or claim to have two bachelor degrees. A) Why would anyone want two bachelor degrees? B) The majority of people who didn't play NCAA sports Division 1 double-majored, get over it. Also, are people who talk about unpaid internships as life changing work experience; coming from someone who has been an intern TOO many times to count, I know first hand that being an intern is low-man on the totem pole, even below the Temps.

Pet Peeve #2: Some students transferred from the Master's program to the PhD program. Which is great, congratulations! But, please don't spend the next year and a half correcting everyone about how you're a PhD student now. For the most part we take the same classes, you just spend the next few years trying to figure out what to write a really long paper about.

Pet Peeve #3: People not from L.A., who like to compare everything in L.A. to places they are from. I admit I love L.A. more than most people, but I don't go to New York, Italy, Denver, etc. and walk around talking about how much better and well ran L.A. is than these places. We have our own problems here and if you'd like to attempt to fix them please by all means, but whining about the traffic, smog, stuck-up people, lack of public trans, etc. is just being A) plain lazy B) very small-minded.

Pet Peeve #4: Students who once they learn the jargon in the field, only use jargon for the remaining 3 semesters. I have had actual conversations with people and have not one clue what they were saying. It becomes all about the methodology, the meta-analysis, slack variables and primary source documents instead of our work plan, compare/contrast, the stuff left over and talking to the person in charge.

Pet Peeve #5: Anyone that is too busy to do anything other than school ALL of the time. I'm sure that your coursework is challenging, but give me a break on Friday night at 11pm are you going to be reading or writing that paper due in 2 months? No, you're going to be watching TV or drinking two-buck-chuck, and everyone understands this. Don't pretend that you spent the entire weekend doing work, it won't win you many points with either professors or students.

Okay enough of my lists and rants, I will work hard tomorrow on putting something a bit more informative and a little less personal.

Excuse me while I remove my foot from my mouth

2008-06-24T15:12:00.000-07:00

Has anyone else noticed how easy it is to stick your foot in your mouth these days? Its only been made easier by the level of political correctness that modern day America requires. Lately, I feel the news has been bombarded with examples of famous people having to apologize for saying relatively innocuous things. And even if it is offensive to you why not just ignore it and move on?

Now I'm not in Dick's fan club or anything, but I did feel bad for the guy when he joked that he had Cheneys on both sides of his family and he wasn't even from West Virginia. All of a sudden West Virginians were outraged about this slight to people from their state. If it it isn't true why care, I think one could say they object too much (because its true?).

Today I noticed there were at least two main stories both about people not being as politically correct as some would prefer. First, there was Don Imus who apparently insulted a black NFL player on his show. I read the entire excerpt from the show as opposed to the section conveniently clipped by most news orgs and it didn't seem to be in bad form, except for maybe using the word "color" to describe a person. Then again other people are offended by race, some by ethnicity and even others by nationality, so go figure what is the appropriate term for talking about anything of this nature. Check out what the Lede blog from NYT said here.

The other was about Michelle Obama and her image problem. Ever since her infamous "Today is the first day I feel proud about my country" bit everyone has been hammering into her. I for the record loved the fist pump she gave the night of the announcement of his official candidacy, I only wish she had blown it up like my friend Betsey taught me to do. Now lately she's been accused of being an angry black woman and now needs a full-time staff just to fend off all the flack from her non-political correctness. Luckily she went on the View and chatted it up about kids' clothes and Target so we can all sleep safely at night knowing that one of our Presidential candidates' wives is not a terrorist.

Given the recent passing of George Carlin who said the truth and loved political incorrectness it made me realize how much I enjoy getting away from watching my Ps and Qs and saying whatever I feel like. Its partially why I love the Office: no censorship. "If it's Stanley's car, call my lawyer and find out if he does hate crimes." Classic and funny and no one was hurt during the making of that episode, except a few watermelons.

What to do when no one is at work

2008-06-23T14:47:00.000-07:00

The entire office has left me here by lonesome. Well I take that back, I have a few fellow comrades here to make sure I don't mysteriously die in my office/get stuck in the elevator. Apparently, at the Long Beach Court House a judge was stuck over the weekend in the lift (I love British versions of words!). The phone didn't work and her cell phone didn't have service. It was after everyone had left so nobody heard her yelling and they didn't find her until Monday morning! She survived, but I think I would take the stairs after that kind of experience. But I digress, what is everyone's favorite pastimes at work?

A group of my friends who spend their days glued to their computer screens have a habit of sending each other links to articles they find interesting. What ensues is 20 emails back and forth that always digress into topics very far from where they started.

The other day I looked at my sent box and realized I rarely send very much email, I usually just read a lot of it. So besides the typical news sites, I also like to visit Daily Candy to keep up to date on what's hip and happening and LA.com so I know where is the newest place to go out. Funny enough I rarely go anywhere these 2 sites recommend, but I hate not knowing about a place and then having to hear from others about it.

Fake online shopping is also something I enjoy very much. What this involves is going on my favorite online stores like Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, Gap, Old Navy, Sephora etc. and putting a bunch of things in my cart, which I almost NEVER buy. But it satisfies my urge to spend some cash (well temporarily).

But most recently, my favorite thing to do has been to go on to Wikipedia and read random articles about people's lives that have been made into movies or are infamous. Recently, I've been on a spate of serial killers (dark I know), but I also enjoy reading about famous people from Whittier (Kathy Hilton, mother of Paris, was born in Whittier) and in history such as Darwin (his writings on evolution recently had an anniversary, plus he wasn't the only one who came up with this theory, there were 2 others!).

I hope everyone who's at work on this Monday morning is enjoying themselves. And for those of you who live in LA make sure to read the latest of mistakes by our friends over on Beaudry street. Pure genius!