No Mo' Rain, PLEASE

Global warming, El Niño, La Niña, little butterfly in China, whatever the reason it is, Los Angeles has been experiencing some freak weather for the last few weeks. Last week's rain reminded me of living in Oregon, and it did NOT make me feel nostalgic. In fact, the rain is what drove me out of the state to begin with. Earthquakes might not bring Los Angeles down, but unfortunately water falling from the skies counts as a natural disaster. Freeways flooded, SUV's actually had to wade through water, and people did not walk the streets. On second thought, Los Angelinos rarely walk anyway, so ignore the last thought.

One thing that supremely annoyed me was that people do not know how to drive here in the rain. They either drive way too slow, or way too fast. Another thing that annoyed me was that I couldn't bike to work the entire week. The lack of exercise and the gloomy weather did wonders for my mood, which probably showed. If you happened to be exposed to my bitchiness during the week, I truly apologize. I blame it on the weather.

Sunday's forecast: rain. Shit.

Serial Volunteers

At first glance at my Google calendar, I didn't have much hope for the orientation of Heal the Bay to be very interesting. I wasn't terribly jazzed about attending it after a whole day at work, but I was more or less committed to attending it. Jane and I were joking that the attendees will mostly consist of high school students and overly optimistic do-gooders. The crowd did not disappoint our expectations, as we were dead-on.

The leader of the orientation asked what our motivation was and why we were interested in Heal the Bay. Most people gave such generic answers like "I wanted to volunteer." I was very proud of Jane when she responded in her usual cheery manner: "because I like aquariums!" Since she raised the bar on an original answer, I had to one-up it. So I said, "I'm here to see if I can get my company involved." Not humorous, but it sure caught the attention of the organizers. I wanted to turn around to the vegan do-gooders and tell them "take that bitches!" I'm sure they were not amused that a corporate whore was basking in the limelight.

The meeting turned out to be more amusing and educational than I thought. The volunteer coordinator was a little bit too honest at times, saying that the volunteers didn't really need to know that much, and that a "warm body" was all that was needed for some functions. The vegan uber-volunteer showed off his knowledge about local Santa Monica businesses using corn-based plates and plastic utensils. Then there were the overly attentive volunteers who madly took notes on everything the coordinator said. And of course, the high school students who were there for a class project seemed to be more interested in getting a signature from the coordinator than actually listening to the presentation.

I was half-expecting to see pictures of dead fishes or a post-mortem photo of a bird with its stomach's contents laid out (bottle caps, lighters, balloons, etc.). Or maybe even a video of a dying dolphin, hell why not an algae bloom? But the video was optimistic and surprisingly cheerful.

They do their beach clean-ups once a month on the third Saturday. Perhaps Jane and I will participate in these clean-ups one of these days. Preferably when I'm not hung over and ready to keel over. If anybody else is interested, you're more than welcome to join.

Bailey Canyon Wilderness Park

After the torrential downpour from last weekend, the sunny weather made a triumphant return to Southern California this weekend. Except I spent much of it indoors yesterday recovering from a night out in West Hollywood on Friday night. Bright light is never a friend of hung-over souls. To make up for the lost time to spend outdoors, I went hiking with Kathy to Sierra Madre.

The views were pretty decent and there is a small waterfall near the Bailey Canyon trail. I highly recommend going after a good rainfall, as the waterfall is reduced to a trickle otherwise. The trail is also busy, so there is a chance that you might get stuck behind a hiking group, which is modern-day-speak for "dating service." Even though I didn't appreciate the group we were caught behind, I appreciated the group of 3 half-naked men that were descending the trail as we were heading up. For that reason alone, this hike trail was worth it.

If decent-looking men is all it takes to encourage my workouts, I should be able to achieve much of my fitness goals. Why do you think I go to the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center for swimming? The facility is decent, but it is made even better when the water polo team comes out. It is a feast for the eyes, and I'm here to tell you that I gorge at every opportunity.

Damn Hipsters

Silverlake and Los Feliz is typically crawling with hipsters, and I have a general disdain for them because of their self-righteousness and their claim to superiority through utter laziness. Which is why I found the following video particularly amusing. The part about these idiots fumbling with the ATM to check the status of their parents' check got the most chuckle. I personally realized that I could never be a hipster because those jeans are awfully uncomfortable, not to mention that hipsters are enamored with their fixed-gear bikes and I could never ride a fixie.

Hipster Olympics

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A Belated End of Year Recap, Part 1

Dear Reader(s),

I'm humbly apologetic about my laziness to feed you with some Granola goodness. I know I have disappointed my nonexistent readers, and I will try to make amends. In contrary to the lack of new posts on this blog, the time since the past post has been very eventful.

Back in mid-December, I attended my first holiday party at the new company. As opposed to the dowdy place that I formerly called home-away-from-home, this company is a bit more of a lush. This is a bad thing for someone like myself, giving me many opportunities to create embarrassing photo opportunities. Little did I realize in my drunken haze that the flashes I kept on seeing throughout the night was a camera aimed at me and my peeps.

The party was at Union Station, and yes, it is that one with trains and all. To go with the art deco architecture, the company came up with the Speakeasy theme, which called for a dress code that harks back to 1920's. Except nobody on my team dressed up, and neither did I. Laziness aside, our group still had plenty of things to talk about at the office the next business day. For one thing, if there was any question about some of our sexual identities, it was made pretty clear when me and the mo's started dancing together. We made the group proud, as we were the first on the dance floor and the last to leave.

Even though there are many risks of office parties going awry, there were no mortifying incidents to report of. Just lots of things we are sheepishly embarrassed about, with the photos to prove it.

Animal Cruelty?

I just moved to a new place, and my new housemates have a few family members (cats and birds) that have their quirks. The finches usually wake up around 6:30 and starts chirping. It works during the weekdays when I have to be up at that hour, but on the weekends like today, it's not the most convenient. This morning, they were chirping a little bit more than usual, so I got up to see what the ruckus was about. Here is what I witnessed.

Hybrid vs. No Hybrid

I've been mulling over replacing my car for quite a while now. Serving for many years since 1997, my Honda Civic is still chugging forward despite showing some signs of aging. For a 10-year old car, it has held up pretty well. But I do think every now and then about getting something shinier and prettier.

Which is how I have come to eye the Toyota Prius. Yes, it makes a case for greenwashing the product to the point where it hides its environmental impact. At the end of its useful life, I doubt that the batteries can be recycled as well as metal can be. Then again, will the reduced consumption of gas over its lifetime offset the impact at the end? And will the product enjoy the longevity of a car that is far less complex? One of my coworkers had the 2000 Toyota Prius, and it died on her this past week. The repair cost: $8,000. A normal gas-powered vehicle would not go kaput after only 7 years in service, and even then the repair bill should not exceed the residual value of the car. Granted, the hybrid technology was still in its nascency back in 2000, and it is unfair to compare a brand new technology to an older one that has been improved upon for decades. Nonetheless, I wonder if I should just lease a hybrid for the sake of longevity.

Without a doubt, I'll be tossing and turning over this issue for another year. I may go and put myself on the waiting list for a new Honda Fit, slated to debut Stateside in fall 2008. Until then, my 1997 Honda Civic will still be moving along, albeit at a snail's pace.