Posts filed under 'One Of The Guys'
This will be my third year participating in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Pacific Coast Chapter’s MS-150 Bay-to-Bay Bike Tour. The purpose of this event is to raise money to support those living with this debilitating disease, and to fund research to find a cure for MS. If your life, or that of someone you know and love, has been touched by this disease, you’ll know why events like this are such a help.
October 11th and 12th, the Ninja and I will ride our bikes from Irvine all the way down to Mission Bay in San Diego… That’s just over 100 miles! We’ll be pedaling our tails off to support the cause, and you can help without breaking a sweat - Simply sponsor my ride! I have committed to raise $400 by October 10th but haven’t made a dent in that goal yet. Please give what you can and know every bit helps!
Click here to send your tax-deductible gift. Thank you. 
September 12th, 2008
Heaven knows I can’t be without a bike for two seconds before I start jonesing for a spin, so I began rebuilding immediately after the crash. Coincidentally, cycling legend Eddy Merckx was coming to town, and since I’d had my eye on one of his frames, that’s where I began.
My new CHM arrived in the same package as the bike Eddy would ride, and Stan and his crew filmed me unwrapping both frames. Although I wasn’t able to ride with Mr. Merckx on December 1st, Jordan took part in a four-man breakaway that proved Eddy still has what it takes to turn the screws. Then, before he left, the Cannibal signed my frame.
Not a bad start for a new bike. The frame isn’t top of the line, but it’s a good value for European carbon at around 2 pounds. So far I’ve built it with Campagnolo Record, Salsa Poco carbon bars, flashy white pedals, those new Fulcrum RS cranks, and Nokon cables for extra bling.
Replacement of the red hot Fulcrum Racing Zero wheels I received for my birthday may need to wait until the property damage settlement, but they’re gonna look pretty flippin’ sweet. Not sure if I’ll need to swap out the Deda carbon stem and seatpost for better fitting items from Thomson, but I’ll post pictures when it’s all done… Almost there!
December 10th, 2007
Listen up, all you Blogasm gals: Originally, I picked up the Nike Plus kit as a way of keeping me motivated to keep up my cardio once cycling season ended, but after reading post after post about how so many of you are hoping to shed a few pounds before Vegas next spring, and after having so much fun with the system over the last month, I feel it’s my personal duty to invite you to enjoy the magic of Nike Plus with me…
Continue Reading November 7th, 2007
Crashed the Star Wars 30th anniversary Celebration IV at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Memorial Day. Second only to the spectacle of seeing fans of all ages decked out in costume, I was most curious to see the Vader Project: a bunch of my favorite pop artists were invited to use a Darth helmet as a canvas. It was everything I’d hoped. Took some pictures with the crappy camera on my mobile phone, but you’re better off viewing everyone else’s pics on Flickr.
May the force be with you!
May 30th, 2007
Over three years ago I proposed that we change our corporate name. After presenting my rationale, the board agreed. What came after was a needlessly long and painful process, because our management team severely lacks trigger-pullers. Over the course of that excruciating wait, all of our print collateral ran out or became outdated.
Though I tried hard to keep things moving where fiscal sense allowed, churning out promotions and miscellaneous stuff, it was an uphill battle to grow the business without the essentials in place. The “hurry up and wait” of the name change project wore not only on my nerves, but on my ability to take pride in my work.
After two and a half years poised on the starting block waiting for the gun to fire, they finally selected a name last August, and since then I’ve been off and running. To say I was busy over the last eight months would be an understatement. Logo, tagline, branding, website, mailers, booklets, brochures, signs, merchandise, posters, badges… Oh my!
I’m a one-person marketing department, so it was up to me to get everything ready for the April launch. Now that’s behind me, but my work life still doesn’t show any signs of slowing. In fact, with a more solid foundation in place, the frontier now seems wide open. After a long period of waiting, it feels good to make a positive impact again.
The labor of marketing is strikingly similar to bearing a child: conception, gestation, delivery. Each phase has a proper duration and things must happen in a certain order. The final output depends upon the quality of what was accomplished in those formative stages, however, if you drag any of it out too long you’ll endanger the mother.
If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy, and this little momma is only happy when she’s being effective. Knowing it wasn’t right to print short collateral runs with the name change looming didn’t help me feel any better about being less productive. Certainly it wasn’t my fault, but I couldn’t work at one-third capacity and call it a job well done.
Once I read that procrastination was a major cause of depression, but since I’ve learned that being forced to put things off is even worse. Creative people need to run with ideas instead of waiting to be cleared for launch. Though I now have tons to add to my resume, I’m slightly more impressed by the personal trial I endured to get there.
Wheew… Time to get back to work!
April 17th, 2007
Last Sunday I completed the 56-mile cycling leg of the Challenged Athletes Triathlon. It was inspiring to see so many amazing people competing with and without artificial limbs, showing us all who the “lame” ones really are.
While in their midst, I felt like such a loser in comparison, spinning my two healthy legs along the course. Though I have been struggling with my own health problems over recent years, it was put into far better perspective after seeing what these challenged athletes overcome on a daily basis.
Robin Williams, a consistent supporter of this event, is pictured at right.
November 9th, 2006
When was the last time you strolled through your local drug store? Recently some friends and I ducked into a Rite-Aid to escape the heat and humidity, and as we looked around we discovered some items that had us literally rolling in the aisles.
May I present to you Exhibit A to your left: Bald Guyz Head Shampoo and Conditioner.
First off, if you’re bald why even shampoo, much less condition? You should just buff and go, which makes another item in their brand line-up, Head Wipes, a more sensible choice… Though every bit as funny.
Continuing down the nutritional supplement aisle, we came upon a row of something called “Lioness” which just due to name alone caused us to pause and consider. Upon further investigation, the description for its use only caused raucous laughter… “Women’s Sexual Libido Booster”
Now, I’m sure low sex drive among women is a very serious problem, and you have my sympathy… But LIONESS?! …If they’re too uptight to hop in the sack as often as you’d like, chances are they won’t be too eager to yank that embarassing purple and yellow box off the shelf either - You lose!
August 23rd, 2006
Would you rather:
- Own the world’s ugliest or most valuable dog?
I’d sell that expensive dog and buy something fun.
- Eat squirrel meat or deep fried crickets?
Squirrel… Perhaps I can pretend it’s chicken.
- Never have to sleep or never have to eat?
I’m a wreck on less than eight hours and lately my life has been so busy that I rarely get a full forty winks. Sharing meals can be a fun social event, so I’d much prefer not to need the rest.
- Always smell like you need to shower or like you just woke up?
Following a few weekends of sweaty nastyness, I’ll have to pass on smelling funky. Especially since I have a highly functioning sniffer. Besides, I don’t look so bad when I first wake up in the morning.
August 8th, 2006
This past Father’s Day was an automotive extravaganza. Dad and I kicked off the day at the LA Roadster Show at Fairplex in Pomona. We saw hundreds of road rods and it was really neat, even for someone like me, who knows little about classic cars.
Dad is building a “rot rod” in the garage, so after the show he took me for a spin, where he really opened up the engine for the first time. Particularly fun since there’s no windshield on it yet… Bug splatter on my cheek was sheer delight.
After that, we got some lunch and then headed over to Paseo Colorado where there just happened to be another car show. We looked over the gloss-covered beauties while waiting to see the latest movie from Pixar, which so perfectly matched the theme of the day: Cars.
From my dad’s perspective it was probably the best Father’s Day ever… Mission accomplished!
June 21st, 2006
Maybe this topic is too much on the urban fringe for the blogging world, but I feel compelled to share my enjoyment of the XM radio station called “The Rhyme” …It’s like a flashback to some of the simpler moments of my youth.
On the playlist: Public Enemy, De La Soul, Doug E. Fresh, L.L. Cool J, A Tribe Called Quest, Kool Moe Dee, Roxanne Shante, 2 Live Crew, KRS One, Run DMC, Grandmaster Flash, Beastie Boys, Erik B & Rakim, Afrika Bambaataa, Sugar Hill Gang, Big Daddy Kane, Queen Latifa, Biz Markie, and Kurtis Blow, to name a few.
Now, excuse me while I tie on a pair of shell-top Adidas with fat laces, bust out a piece of linoleum, and start popping and locking.
June 16th, 2006
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