New Year's To-Do List - Hike Cowles Mountain

Hey There:

I took a peek at my New Year's Resolutions and taking into consideration it's already August, I'm not doing that well with them. In some cases it is the old conundrum of not having the money when I have the time and vice versa. One thing I did accomplish last month was hiking up Cowles Mountain!

What got me out on a Sunday morning  when I should be in bed was the enticement that I was going to do the hike with a very handsome guy. I met him through an online dating site and this was to be our 2nd date. It was my idea to do the hike, he enjoys doing them and is experienced and I figured I would tough it out so I wouldn't look like a wuss in front of him.

He picked me up early and took me to where he said was the "easy" hike. This is the path located opposite to the main entrance. To get to this path we had to park on residential streets and get in to the grounds crossing a locked gate.

Very quickly I realized how big of a mistake I made, I got winded within the first 10 minutes and I just wanted to go back. I'm not going to mention how horrible it was, nor the vertigo I got, the desire to throw up from the exertion, the sweating and cursing. All the time, my companion had the patience of a saint and just kept pushing me to the next curve, the next rock, the next bush. It took me two hours what other people do in 45 - 60 minutes.

Of course, I wore black, which was another mistake on my part, but I don't have colors in my wardrobe. Although I will admit it's starting to get annoying trying to find a particular black top amongst a sea of black tops.

And then when I finally made it to the top and could be proud of my accomplishment, I realized how overrated the whole conquering-the-mountain thing is! I've seen better views at night from the top of a high rise with a beer on my hand. The air smells better when I'm lying on the beach. This is officially off my list and not something I will ever do again!

As for the guy, I doubt I'll ever see him again and I'm not too worried about that. We may have a lot of things in common, but our idea of entertainment is very different.

New Year's Geek List - 2013

Hey There:

I am a Geek and not only do I refuse to grow out of it, I will continue learning and obsessing about geekier things, but I will continue to avoid MMORPG even though they look so awesome. Some of the things in this list will be hard to accomplish, but will do it!

Read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series

I haven't even seen the movie, how dare I call myself a Geek and not have a clue about that series? I hope the library has them in audiobook!

Win at least one Magic The Gathering draft

I started playing Magic last summer and so far I'm not the best, but I'm no longer the worst. The premise of this goal will be to go to Friday Night Magic, play Booster Draft and win at least one time. And do you know what this means? I will now have to start reading Magic strategy blogs, play more than once a week and get lucky when I draft. The guys who play every Friday at my local gaming place are hard core and the one I'm more concerned with is a tough-as-nails 13 year old.....Dear God why am I doing this to myself??

Two of my buddies playing MTG

Re-watch all Star Trek episodes

Except for Enterprise. I've already seen all the episodes at least one time, I want to see them all again and refresh my Trekkie memory. Fortunately Hulu Plus now has them and Original series is already on my queue!

Star Trek Original Series

Star Trek The Next Generation

Star Trek Deep Space Nine

Star Trek Voyager

Collect all Lucifer graphic novels

Lucifer is an offshoot from Vertigo's The Sandman by Neil Gaiman series, it is awesome and just went out of print. If I want to get them before the price explodes I need to do it now. As the name of the comic says, this is about Lucifer Morningstar, the devil, Satan, or whatever you want to call him. On The Sandman series Lucifer basically says "screw this, I quit" he gives the keys to Lord Morpheus and moves to L.A. where he opens a nightclub. Superb writing and amazing artwork... so far I only own Books 1 and 2, need the other 8.

Write and self-publish at least one book

This has been a dream of mine for ever and ever until I discovered I don't particularly enjoy writing, I usually put it off to make time to read. This time it's different, I've found a non-fiction niche in which I know what I'm talking about. I'm on it!

Watch Firefly

So many geeks are super obsessed about this series and recently I heard rumors that Netflix might pick it up and produce it. I have to watch the series and see what all the fuss is about. Good thing it's also on Hulu Plus!

There you go, after I finish these list I will have even more Geek street cred!

New Year's To-Do List - 2013

Hey There:

My New Year's resolution each year is not to make New Year's resolutions; I know I won't keep them, so why bother? This year I decided to have a To-Do List and make it public so I could be accountable at the end of the year. My list consists of things I want to do in San Diego, which I haven't done in spite of the fact that I've lived here for 13 1/2 years.

I already have a few friends interested in doing these things with me and I might make them as Meetup event to make it even better. In no particular order, here is my list:

Whale Watching

I vaguely remember doing this when I was in elementary school in Orange County and I've had glimpses of the whales looking down from hills in Ensenada, Mexico. But I want to have the experience of the boat ride, possible sea sickness and taking lots of pics. This will be my first item of the year since now through April is whale watching season.

Hike Cowles Mountain

A mountain in the middle of San Diego! I can go, climb, pass out, climb some more, reach the top, take pics, take a nap, come down and eat fast food in order to replenish all the calories I burned in the climb. So far have no clue how to get there or where to park my car, but lovely Internet will tell me. And no worries, I'm not in that bad of a shape...I hope.

Visit the USS Midway

I've been to most of the museums in San Diego, how come I've never been to this one? This year I'm doing it and I already have a friend signed up to go with me!

Have a meal at Hotel Del Coronado

This one will be tricky, Hotel Del has always been a source of wonder for me. It's so iconic, Marilyn Monroe made a movie there and it's haunted. I want to go there, have a nice meal and walk around the Hotel. The tricky part is that I looked at the menu online, and it's really expensive! I might just have to be OK with a nice coffee.

Haunted San Diego tour

I've read several books regarding the haunted legends in San Diego, and I tell those legends to couch surfers or friends visiting me, but I've never taken the 2-hour fully narrated tour that starts in Old Town with the people dressed in spooky Gothic costumes. I have to do it at least once!

My list will make me a tourist in my own city, and that's fine, every day I marvel that I live in San Diego and it's always a treat to see it through the eyes of visitors.