Five minute rule?

The scene: An outdoor, backyard birthday party. There's day drinking, flippy cup, cheap beer, catered snacks and good wine. Mid 20s-mid 30s crowd. There are plenty of couples, but also some single folks hanging out. Also, a lot of smokers (yuck).


I eventually find myself talking music with two cuties. Great. One was controlling the music via a sweet iPhone app that connected to his computer's iTunes up in his apartment, one was one of the few people who did not need to take a smoke break during flippy cup (and also was sporting a cute cowboy hat). Flirting ensues and I'm a happy girl. Music boy agrees to download a Janelle Monae song (you should listen and download too - I recommend the entire album, actually) that I found earlier that day and patted our collective backs for bringing the party up and dancing.


Anyway, I found out through the hostess that Music boy (who lives in the same building as the hostess) has a girlfriend - and he eventually went back to his place. Cowboy hat, though, she said was single. Sweet.


We eventually all went back inside and there was a joint that was about to get passed around. I grabbed Cowboy hat's arm and took him to the hallway so I could "talk" to him before he had his puff. Turns out he's "got a thing with his roommate." Awesome. I pretty much wanted to run and hide. (turns out that there was either an identity mix-up with the hostess and this is a relatively new "thing") 


I stuck around for a bit and walked everyone over to a bar, then hopped on my bike and rode home. Waking up at 5:30 is a good excuse to leave a party by 10pm and I needed to sober up a little in preparation for a two mile swim race the next morning.


Couple of days later, I'm proud of myself for (with a nice buzz-induced sense of confidence) at least trying... but really, we need some sort of tagging system for this stuff. I mean, I would have kept chatting with both of them, I just wouldn't have tried to make out with either of them.


Or, as this woman suggests, a Five Minute Rule.

since craigslist is in trouble for various services, i thought i'd try the drive thru...

apparently, today's the day for unintentional/intentional somewhat-dirty-but-not-really-at-all one liners.

swiped from a friend of a friend's facebook wall, we bring you...

Horniest dinosaur ever discovered

Horniest dinosaur ever discovered – Kosmoceratops – found in Utah

The newly unearthed dinosaur Kosmoceratops, which lived in the swamps of what is now southern Utah, sported 15 horns

• Ian Sample, science correspondent
• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 22 September 2010 17.00 BST

Fossil hunters have uncovered the remains of an ancient beast that can lay claim to the dubious title of the horniest animal ever to walk the Earth.

The creature lived 76 million years ago in the warm, wet swamps of what is now southern Utah and was remarkable in bearing 15 full-sized horns on its head.

The animal, named Kosmoceratops, had an enormous two metre-long skull, was five metres from snout to tail and weighed an estimated 2.5 tonnes.

"These animals are basically oversized rhinos with a whole lot more horns on their heads. They had huge heads relative to their body size," said Scott Sampson a researcher at the Utah Museum of Natural History.

For more on this crazy awesome dinosaur, go here.

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If we're keeping score...

Went on a date last night, kind of maybe leaning towards friend territory. Could be because the three dates have been kind of spaced out. Date #1 - drinks, Date #2 - lunch, Date #3 - dinner.

Anyway, the scene.
9pm, after a long day for me... Swim, work, spin. So I'm tired. Ethiopian restaurant, near my house. Very chill, kind of random vibe - bar in the front, homey restaurant in the back with a pool table. We're ordering and I ended up asking for a Bud Light. I wanted a beer, but really knew that I'd pass out immediately if I had something more substantial. I expressed my embarrassment. We laughed at my choice and discussed appropriate times for such beers*.  Ultimately, he said,

"That's okay. You've got cool points to burn."

Nicest thing a guy has said to me in a long time. 

Oh, and I still ended up finishing dinner by saying that, despite the fact that I was enjoying talking with him, I needed to go home and go to sleep.

*San Francisco is so not a Bud Light town, which sometimes sucks. I like a Coors/Miller/Bud Light now and then.

This just in.

Saw a friend was tagged in a photo album posted to Facebook. The album title? 

FALL 2010

Is there some sort of future photo feature on Facebook that I don't know about? Because I'd love to do a search for "My Ridiculously Awesome Wedding to my Brilliant, Hilarious, Caring and Hot New Husband" if that's the case.

Over and out.

I wish they all could be...

I felt so very Californian for a lot of this weekend. Some of this is "any big city" sort of stuff, but whatever. Exhibits:

• Delicious Peruvian dinner on Friday night
• Trail run in the cool fog in Golden Gate Park out to the ocean
• BART ride across to Oakland for a vegetarian ChineseVietnamese* on Saturday night, complete with vegan homemade ice cream cookie sandwiches for dessert
• Swim in the Bay on Sunday morning in the warm California sun
• Feel jealous of all the outdoor brunchers as I'm riding my bike home from the Bay
• Meeting LRM for an outdoor brunch in Pacific Heights
• Walking around SF in a somewhat scandalously short sundress
• Enjoying a soy frozen yogurt with ollialaberry sauce
• Hours of girl talk with a friend who happens to be within walking distance
• A slightly sunburnt nose
• 40 mile bike ride with a fellow triathlete, again in the warm sunshine, but with arm warmers - because you never know
• Margaritas on a friend's sunny porch. Again, rocking a sundress.
• A $51, full hour, shiatsu massage (so $61 - including a 20% tip) in Japantown. From Mr. Miagi's slightly-younger brother. Legit.
• Coloring my hair, at home, on a whim. It's not that different, just a little lighter and warmer.

*Thanks, MW. I was just going off of the fact that it's in Chinatown in Oakland. Ha.

I am a geek. I love geeks. And this photo.

Happy Friday, all. I'm off to go label some office equipment.

Just show up.

Just as much as I like a solo bike ride, swim or run (lately, I can't say the same for just going to the gym)... I also really enjoy coached track workouts, spin classes and Crossfit (starting back up again in a month!). You just show up and do whatever you're told to do... and, provided you put in your 100%, you get better. Of course, that's not to say that sometimes it's challenging to pick yourself up and GO, especially if you know it's going to be a tough workout.

From RoadBikeReview's newsletter -

Wicked Wednesdays

Every Wednesday evening, my bike club hosts an interval workout on a hill at the local university. The climb takes 5-6 minutes and we do it 6 times. Rain or shine. Darkness or daylight. Forest fire or student protest.

Our coach refers to these sessions as Level 5 or anaerobic threshold workouts. Even if you pace it perfectly -- negative splits, each interval faster than the last -- it hurts. I'm talking root-canal, tax-audit, "I-think-we-should-start-seeing-other-people" pain.

I begin dreading Wednesday evenings around bedtime Tuesday. By Wednesday lunchtime, I'm feeling nausea that has nothing to do with my midday meal of organic yam and raw kale from my Biggest Loser lunchbox.

Then I show up at the workout and scan the group to see what fresh dose of humiliation awaits. Last week it was the 65-year-old guy who dropped me like a tub of Grecian Formula. It was inspiring. Really.

A few weeks ago it was the one-armed dude. OK, he had 2 arms, but one was in a sling. He flew past me like a, um, person with fully functioning body parts.

Did I mention the 50-something mom? The 15-year-old lad who I swear was on training wheels last month? Both quicker than me. A fellow could choke on all this inspiration.

Why keep at it? Like most cyclists, I'm stubborn, masochistic and a little delusional. All this toil and trouble have to make us stronger, right?

Plus, I do eventually finish ahead of some people -- the ones who come to one Wednesday and never return.

I may not be fast, but I'm pretty good at one thing: showing up.

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(If you enjoy reading Scott Martin, the eBook Spin Again contains 181 of his witty, sometimes wacky, and occasionally heart-felt observations on road cycling. Click here to enjoy 3 classic Spins again and place your order for instant delivery by download.)

Extra stuff be gone!!!

I need to do some massive de-cluttering/getting rid of stuff/organizing . My apartment is tiny, which means I don't really have that much extra stuff, but I would to prefer to get rid of things I don't use and live more simply and with less clutter. 

Unfortunately, I am feeling tons of guilt about throwing things away! There are environmental reasons, sentimental, and tons of other excuses for holding on to unnecessary stuff. Reading the post linked below helped me out with some of that... honestly, the "finding a new home" sounds like the best solution, but also the most involved. And I want this to be as quick and painless as possible. Yes, I am lazy. (Which is why I'm totally rewarding myself with a cleaning service post-declutter.)

Also, starting this project is daunting. I'm hoping to go with the one-drawer-at-a-time approach, but if anyone thinks that just making a weekend of it would be better, please comment! I need help!

The Wastefulness of Decluttering; or How to Make Less Count for More