Happy Dog
Sad Dog
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Noguchi - Eat Your Heart Out
Low and behold - the Urquhart's finally have a coffee table, and it's not like every other coffee table... this is a genuine, custom made Noguchi inspired rip-off made by the legendary Tom McPhee (aka my dad). Check it out... amazing!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Emoticon
One thing I always hated about New York and Brooklyn was that no one smiled at you in passing. I understand that this activity would become completely exhausting when passing by the millions of commuters and daily pedestrians but one place where I never understood it was while running around the park in Prospect Park or Central Park.
Smiling, for me, is the life force of my running habit... it keeps me going and energized to finish, reminds me that we are in this together, brings out some friendly competition and all in all renews my belief that deep down everyone is genuine and decent. As a frequent runner in Prospect Park for 3 years I can tell you there are exactly two people that smile at you in that park, one woman I nicknamed "Smilie" because she was nothing but smiles and another guy called "ball guy" who used to kick two huge rubber balls around the park, like the ones you used to play handball with in elementary school, while saying "go ahead, kick 'em! you can kick my balls!" whilst chuckling and laughing until his heart was content. I was never able to fully deduce if we should have changed his name to "crazy homeless ball guy". Anyways, crazy or not, I loved them. I would come home after a below freezing run and report back to Ben, "Saw Smilie out there today, she is so nice" and "Ball guy was out there laughing away, one of these days I may just kick one of his balls".
Which leads me to my run today in Griffith Park... in which EVERYONE smiled at me, except 2 people. Literally everyone acknowledged my existence, gave me a nod or a brief smile... it was like my running utopia. I have been running out there for a couple of weeks and people have their own friendly styles, one hippie looking guy throws a low peace sign, some of the super fast elite runners do a nod in unison, the other women my age give me a sweet and enduring smile (rather than sizing me up and comparing strides) and some of the older gentleman give me winks and lick there lips (OK, I made that up, even the old guys are sweet).
I had a painful run today as I have been experiencing some rough blisters of late... but i didn't stop, not even once. I was so energized by the spirit out there. I know I sound all preachy and weird, but I live for the kindness of strangers, its just the most humble and honest thing someone can do...
Anyways, after I finished my run, I looked down to stop my watch and some random guy, whose name is Sergio (that's right, I don't have to make up a name for him, we actually exchanged names) said "How'd you do" and I told him my mileage and time and then we just talked about what races we were training for... it was just really genuine. After which he said "I'm Sergio" and I said "I'm Nancy... (OK I didn't... jeez I have a prepencity for cruel humor)". So he gave me a high five and said... "has anyone showed you the runner's high 5?" So what can I say, I am in the club... finally.
Smiling, for me, is the life force of my running habit... it keeps me going and energized to finish, reminds me that we are in this together, brings out some friendly competition and all in all renews my belief that deep down everyone is genuine and decent. As a frequent runner in Prospect Park for 3 years I can tell you there are exactly two people that smile at you in that park, one woman I nicknamed "Smilie" because she was nothing but smiles and another guy called "ball guy" who used to kick two huge rubber balls around the park, like the ones you used to play handball with in elementary school, while saying "go ahead, kick 'em! you can kick my balls!" whilst chuckling and laughing until his heart was content. I was never able to fully deduce if we should have changed his name to "crazy homeless ball guy". Anyways, crazy or not, I loved them. I would come home after a below freezing run and report back to Ben, "Saw Smilie out there today, she is so nice" and "Ball guy was out there laughing away, one of these days I may just kick one of his balls".
Which leads me to my run today in Griffith Park... in which EVERYONE smiled at me, except 2 people. Literally everyone acknowledged my existence, gave me a nod or a brief smile... it was like my running utopia. I have been running out there for a couple of weeks and people have their own friendly styles, one hippie looking guy throws a low peace sign, some of the super fast elite runners do a nod in unison, the other women my age give me a sweet and enduring smile (rather than sizing me up and comparing strides) and some of the older gentleman give me winks and lick there lips (OK, I made that up, even the old guys are sweet).
I had a painful run today as I have been experiencing some rough blisters of late... but i didn't stop, not even once. I was so energized by the spirit out there. I know I sound all preachy and weird, but I live for the kindness of strangers, its just the most humble and honest thing someone can do...
Anyways, after I finished my run, I looked down to stop my watch and some random guy, whose name is Sergio (that's right, I don't have to make up a name for him, we actually exchanged names) said "How'd you do" and I told him my mileage and time and then we just talked about what races we were training for... it was just really genuine. After which he said "I'm Sergio" and I said "I'm Nancy... (OK I didn't... jeez I have a prepencity for cruel humor)". So he gave me a high five and said... "has anyone showed you the runner's high 5?" So what can I say, I am in the club... finally.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Not So Hyper
So this weekend we were driving to the west side... something we do rather sporadically and usually when lost but during this particular jaunt I noticed that Ben was driving really slowly and cautiously. For the most part the west side is safe and no one's gonna lynch you, unless its pride weekend or you have the vanity license plate "SMPLESALE". So I put up with it for like 5 minutes (ok 5 seconds - let's be realistic) and Ben announced that he was "hypermiling". That's right... hypermiling, the smug term for going slow and getting high gas mileage in a Prius, not dissimilar to Mexican cruise control (coasting in neutral on a hill).
So what was the grand total of our snails pace to the west side... 52.4 miles per gallon, that's right 52.4 miles! With current gas prices that's 8.75 cents per mile... at this point, there is probably something remarkable that I could tie this into, perhaps something about the lifting of the ban on off shore drilling or even Obama's Manhattan project on Energy Technology... but instead I will just say, Ben's a geek and our Prius is saving this great country.
So what was the grand total of our snails pace to the west side... 52.4 miles per gallon, that's right 52.4 miles! With current gas prices that's 8.75 cents per mile... at this point, there is probably something remarkable that I could tie this into, perhaps something about the lifting of the ban on off shore drilling or even Obama's Manhattan project on Energy Technology... but instead I will just say, Ben's a geek and our Prius is saving this great country.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Take the 5
So Ben and I learned a couple of things this weekend:
- San Diego is far away and just because family is in town does not mean we should drive down on both Saturday and Sunday
- The San Diego military is always on duty even when the Rock & Roll marathon is finishing on their base
- I need to wear sunscreen at all times and even in places that I cannot reach or see... namely my back.
- the toll road that destroyed Laguna canyon may have been an issue 13 years ago, but boy does it make for a smooth commute to Southern OC and who knew it would pave the way for a Mormon church and a bazillion McMansions
- I still remember where all the 7-11's are located in my home town and I think I may have shoplifted from each one
- Diesel is $5.11 and the Prius got 49 miles per gallon
- San Diego is far away and just because family is in town does not mean we should drive down on both Saturday and Sunday
- The San Diego military is always on duty even when the Rock & Roll marathon is finishing on their base
- I need to wear sunscreen at all times and even in places that I cannot reach or see... namely my back.
- the toll road that destroyed Laguna canyon may have been an issue 13 years ago, but boy does it make for a smooth commute to Southern OC and who knew it would pave the way for a Mormon church and a bazillion McMansions
- I still remember where all the 7-11's are located in my home town and I think I may have shoplifted from each one
- Diesel is $5.11 and the Prius got 49 miles per gallon
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