Monday, May 26, 2008

3 Days in San Diego

It's my third day in San Diego, and so far the trip has been pretty fun. I'm glad I have my work laptop here - I don't think I could relax as much if I weren't able to keep up with work a bit. Internet wasn't included in the package, so I'm going to try and expense the $40 connection charge for the week. It really is a legitimate expense, though, since I wouldn't have gotten it except for work.

Anyway, Saturday was spent flying to San Diego via Chicago (seems out of the way to me, too). Sunday was a relaxing day at the beach. We walked a few miles along a boardwalk spanning Mission Beach and Pacific Beach. We ate lunch at a nice pizzeria, then picked up hamburgers to cook on the grill outside our building at the resort (which we've agreed to call "The Compound" even though it doesn't resemble a compound). We didn't spend all that much time on the beach, though, because it was chilly enough that the water was uncomfortable cold. I had fun kicking sand around, so it wasn't a total loss.

Today was spent at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. I'm not a big fan of zoos, but it was pretty enjoyable. I learned first-hand that lions have round pupils as opposed to the slits my cats have. I haven't looked it up yet, but I have a couple theories as to why they might have evolved differently. There were plenty of cute baby animals, and the petting area was nice enough.

The best part of the trip so far would probably be the Vietnamese restaurant we ate dinner at today (Royal Pho Vietnamese Restaurant). I was thoroughly impressed. After some order confusion, they brought out our spring roll orders. They were large, had whole shrimp, some beef, and were accompanied by my favorite: peanut sauce. My rice noodles, shrimp, charbroiled pork, egg rolls, and other miscellaneous things were comparably excellent. I'd be happy to go back again this trip, and if there was a place like it in Kansas City, I would patronize it frequently.

Tomorrow, I have plans to attend a free golf lesson. This will be my first introduction to golf outside of putt-putt-style places. Wish me luck!

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Youtube

So, I've been contemplating submitting some youtube videos for a year or two. Now, I don't have a video camera with which to create said videos. If I did have one, I still don't think I could subject the world to that kind of horrible content, even if it is optional viewing.

I guess I like the idea of being loved and adored by thens of thousands of people like some of the vloggers out there. But, then I realize that I'm not nearly as creative as most of the loved and adored vloggers. I'm happy to talk at length about many topics, but I don't ever do so in a unique and/or funny way. I list facts, build arguments, and forget what I want to say. At least with that last one, I might have an endearing quality, if done right.

The lovable and adorable Natalie from Australia is the one who deserves the most credit for inspiring me to join the ranks of youtube vloggers. The problem is that she also deserves the most credit for intimidating me away from that course of action. I could never hope to be so lovable/loved nor adorable/adored. Ah well. Because my vacation next week keeps me from viewing the early-round action of The French Open, I decided to share Natalie's tennis video to show what I aspire to. Well, I might also aspire to this.

One year

I've been in my house for a full year now. I officially bought my house on April 30, 2007. The anniversary went by only vaguely recognized until today. I don't have any deep thoughts regarding homeownership, but I figured I might as well recap what I've learned about it in roughly 366 days (leap year!).
  • Maintenance expenses can be higher that you think. There is insurance, lawn care, pest control, utility bills, and property taxes.
  • Furnishing a house can be expensive. After a year of payments, even, I'm still ~$5000 in debt to Nebraska Furniture Mart (thankfully at 0% interest).
  • When you opt not to escrow your insurance and property tax payments, they can catch you by surprise.
  • Living in a house is more fun when someone else is around, too.
  • Mowing the lawn sucks, even when it's your own lawn.

I had more, but I forgot about this post until now. Add to it in comments!

Vacation(s)

I'm leaving for San Diego on a week-long family vacation. After that, I'm headed to Orlando for most of a week for Microsoft's TechEd. You can blame TechEd for my recent lack of posting. I've been crazy-busy at work getting ready for that. But, if I have internet access in San Diego, I will do my best to do a couple posts from the road, if for no other reason than to say I've blogged from San Diego.

Have a good week, all!