Kure Beach weekend

We had a nice time down in Kure Beach this weekend. I did the race but am pretty well out of shape at this point, just didn't have much Oomph! on the bike or run. I don't mind racing when I'm not fit these days, Bri said this is because I no longer assign my self-worth based off of race performance, results, etc.

Had a great time hanging out with the gang prior to the event and on the beach afterwards. We're staying around town for the next few weekends which will be nice as well.

investments

I'm not a finance whiz, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.


The Dow appears to be headed to the significant psychological barrier of 11,000 and is off nearly 20% from the peak in October of last year. Now would be the time to start piling some dough back in. When everyone else is selling is usually the time you will find value. If I had a lot of cash I'd put a lot of cash in. But I don't, so instead I'll tell you to do it. Just throw it into the market.

Lake house, anyone?

Somebody has had to vacate the premises on this nice little cottage on Crystal Lake near downtown Orlando:
check it out

Looks like it was bought near the peak for $160k. You could probably offer $110 and get it.

I occasionally browse real estate for entertainment.

Taco hell

Today I had an urge to make a run for the border. Now I have angina. Happy Monday.

Big purchases

I've taken step one in my summer project to produce a swim instruction DVD with the purchase of a fairly expensive video camera.


I have a script in my head but need to put pen to paper for that.

Next step is picking up an Apple Mac with their high powered video and DVD editing software. And an underwater extension or an underwater housing for the camera.

Next step is capturing video.

Next is editing.

Then marketing, packaging, fulfillment.

Then praying.

Bodysurfing

A couple pics of me bodysurfing in Costa Rica:

Costa Rica

We are back safe and sound from Costa Rica, after about 18 hours of travel with a short pitstop in Orlando. I'd like to tell you that I was massively impressed with the surf, the friendly people, and the tranquility of a jungle setting, but I wasn't. I'm getting crotchety in my old age, and creature comforts are higher on my list. Here's my pros and cons of Mal Pais (where we stayed) and Montezuma (which we visited for a day):

Pros:
numerous surf spots
just chilling with your buds
removal / unplugged from 'the grind'
2 dollar Imperials (la Cerveza de Costa Rica)
Affordable hotel/room rentals
Canopy tour

Cons:
Pissy smelling water. Everytime you went in the ocean, you smelled like piss until you showered. That's because there are three rivers running into the ocean at Mal Pais. The rivers happen to double as open sewers.
Food prices in line with US prices. Our cheapest location had $3 breakfasts and $5 lunches. The nicer locations cost as much as a standard US restaurant.
2 dollar beers. And 6 dollar six packs at the package store. I can find those in the US. Any college town has cheaper drinks.
Inconvenience. It is a journey of significant undertaking to essentially get to the beach.
Random dirty smelly hippy bums.

Next time, Bri and I will just head over to the Outer Banks of NC for a roughly equivalent experience.

Edit: I had fun, the relaxation was great! But you can do the same thing 2 hours away.

costa rica

still here in malpais, very relaxing. surfing a bit each day, lots of
beers at night. hot! my internet time is up. check bri´s blog for more
info.

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Bri wants me to update

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Costa Rica

This post will be a little long so bear with me. This evening we're flying to Orlando to meet up with my college chum Bill Payne, of Bill Payne Design (the OSB website designer). On Thursday morning we'll all take an American Airlines flight to San Jose, Costa Rica.

From San Jose we're catching a twin prop over to a town called Tambor, on the Pacific coast. From Tambor we take a shuttle to the town of Malpais. This is essentially a semi-developed surf resort. Down in Malpais we're meeting up with our buddies Jamie and Judy, who we know from Orlando but who originally hail from the Jersey shore.

We'll be there from Thursday to the following Wednesday for what will amount to a surf vacation. Bri plans to take some surf lessons and will go out if the waves aren't too big. As of yesterday they were overhead or bigger.

If you want to be a stalker you can find us at the Hotel Oasis. We'll either be on the beach, here, or at a bar somewhere.

I am not bringing a computer and will be completely unplugged. Might check email a couple times, but I might not. It's been a while since we did that.

Ok, part 2. The results of the weekly survey!

1. Did you miss the weekly surveys?
81% - Yes
14% - No
3% - New here

2. When I'm bored I like to:
76% - Roam the internet
10% - Eavesdrop on co-workers

3. If you the reader could go to the beach every summer and be a lifeguard/beachbum, at the cost of maximizing your earning potential, would you?
54% - Do what you love
5% - Yes, no, the world will end, life is what you make of it

4. On Iraq, I (the reader) think:
39% - Boondoggle
29% - We can't win this one
19% - Stay the course
10% - We're winning and we can win

5. My favorite summertime activity is:
29% - The mountains
19% - The beach/shore
24% - A big trip of some sort
19% - Triathlon races
5% - Vegas, booze, women, and gambling

See you in a few days.

weekend

It was a pleasant, quick trip up the coast to watch everyone at Eagleman. It was a hot one out there, which is reflected in the much slower times than last year.

After the race Bri and I headed over to Ocean City, Maryland to check out the town and scene there. It is a nice enough beach and boardwalk, but definitely a bit rough around the edges. It's been crossed off the short list of possible places we may wind up for a summer(s).

I drove home so Bri could relax and get a bit of shut-eye. We calculated that the Fit got 39.1 mpg on the way back. A fill-up costs about $32, since it seems to have a 2 gallon reserve (10.7 full tank). Our PT was costing $45, and the Xterra weighed in a couple weeks ago at $67.

So buy buying the Fit we have saved one billion dollars.

Cambridge MD

We're here in Cambridge getting ready for the Eagleman 70.3 Triathlon. Just had a nice dinner at the Canvasback restaurant on Race Street. Stopped at the local beer and wine store to see the local selection. Picked up an India Pale Ale called Hop-Ocalypse, brewed by the Clay Pipe Brewing Company in Frederick, Maryland. It is pretty good!

Bri didn't want me to test out any more beers tonight, but I sensed greatness and had to pursue it.

Tomorrow after the race we're going to go check out Ocean City, MD for a bit. The season there runs from May 15 to Sep 15, and they pay their beach patrol a good salary.

Eagleman and the Taxman

Bri and I are off tomorrow afternoon for Cambridge, Maryland and the Eagleman 70.3. Bri was originally signed up for the race but had to transfer to the Aquabike due to her foot issues, which is a bummer but has happened to all of us. It is going to be a bit hot out there but that goes with the territory. I am strictly on coach patrol. We'll take the beach route and enjoy the more scenic driving conditions that going up the coast of Virginia and Maryland allow. The Chesapeake Bay-Bridge tunnel is pretty neat if you've never seen it.

In other news, we're soon getting our tax rebate or whatever it's called, to the tune of $1,200. We get to turn around and send that back to The Man as part of our June quarterly estimated tax payment. Our economic stimulus package in action.

Next week we're off to Costa Rica for a few days of surf and relaxation. I'll probably have to bring a computer but plan to work as little as possible during that time.

Buying a car

Ooh ooh buying a car right now and also updating my blog - I am so 2009.
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Hedonistic treadmill

There is a strange dichotomy involved in having one computer window open to an online checkout service invoicing someone for hundreds of dollars, while another window is open to a ten cent poker tournament. There's no good or bad about it - it just is. I have been working quite a bit lately and for entertainment I sometimes keep a poker game up. Don't worry, I am not losing any money. In fact, I'm still up for the year. $2.20. Big numbers.

I've been thinking lately about the hedonistic treadmill. This is the idea that as we go through life, we adjust to our new comforts and then keep looking upwards at what the next level up has. If you get a pay increase or a new house, you eventually come to accept that as normal, and then want more.

Example: in college a pizza and a twelve pack of Milwaukee Best light was good enough for a Friday night. Now, a few beers of some microbrew and a nice dinner are the social norm. The cost differential is enormous. Another example: living in a smallish 2 bedroom condo was a luxury when we first moved in; now we're debating getting a bigger house because we desperately need the office space or a bonus room.

What do we really need in life? At one point I thought I could manage with nothing but a knapsack and a bagful of hope and dreams. Eventually reality set in, as it usually does. The money to live in this particular society doesn't come from nowhere, and I'm not such a nut that I want to wander off to live in the forest eating berries and squirrels.

Anyway, we're buying a new car tomorrow.

Weekly survey is back

I know you've been all a-twitter waiting for it: Weekly Survey is Back!

Kerr Lake Triathlon

I enjoyed myself at the race today. Got there with enough time to spare and set up the OSB sponsor table, which consists of a folding table, a 2x6 banner, a Seminoles beach chair, and a variety of our propaganda. Warmed up a couple minutes on the swim and then it was go time.

Felt pretty good on the swim and came out first in 20.00 or so. I can move well in a wetsuit without a whole bunch of training, but I'm sure that won't last forever. Bike was not bad but can definitely tell the difference between 60 mile weeks and 150 mile weeks. Came off the bike in fourth with a ~1:03 split.

A 10k run is tough enough when you're in good running shape. Doing it at the end of a triathlon when you're not in very good running shape is just plain wrong. I trudged along as best I could, grimacing and trying not to walk, finishing in 45:30 or thereabouts. Got pretty hot towards the end as well. I'd predicted a 2:10 finishing time and finished in 2:10.20. 7th overall, 2nd in the AG. I'll take it, gonna start back with the weekend 10 mile runs before I crash out.

OSB athletes and OSB Cary masters swimmers turned in a bunch of solid races, congrats to everyone! We had:

Kerry Troester 2nd OA female
Heather Honnold 3rd OA female
Dan Care 1st AG
Karen Crews 25 minute PR
Heidi Staub 1st AG

I'm forgetting a couple but it's been a long day already.

Below is Kerry receiving her award. You can see I'm still working on my banner placement & hanging abilities.



We also got to cheer on Deanna Babcock, a triathlete from NC State who had a near-death experience last year. Her heart stoppped during a routine swim workout, and she was in a coma for 4 weeks and lost her leg due to poor circulation. She competed in and finished the triathlon this morning, her first since the incident.



Not a bad day!