31 March 2016 - Guam Adventures Part 1

I am working on the US Territory of Guam. This little island (about 20 miles long by 5-7 miles wide) is nestled in the Pacific Ocean about halfway between Australia and Japan.

My trip started off perfectly with a Delta Airlines OpUp (operational upgrade: it is a situation where they oversell coach seats and upgrade frequent flyers to first class to free up inventory) on the 11 hour flight between Seattle and Tokyo. In 6 years of frequent travel this is the second time this has ever happened for me on a long haul flight. I wish my employer would allow me to purchase such seats as I was in great shape for the work week after this flight.

 

I arrived late Sunday night to a humid 80 degrees. Felt like Florida in the late spring. With a work week pending, I checked into my hotel and crashed for the night. The next few days were mostly work and fighting jet lag. I did wake up to an island paradise (reminds me of Puerto Rico last month).

 

On Thursday, right before Sunset I made my way up to the Two Lovers Point monument and cliff. All week long I had been waking up to see this rock formation across the bay from my hotel and had been curious as to what it looked like. It felt kind of awkward being a solo traveler at a place dedicated to love and couples. Whatever, the sunset was worth it ($3 for access to the viewing platform).

The weekend is coming soon and I will have more time to explore and adventure...stay tuned...To wet your appetite, here is a great video of the Guam experience from YouTuber LISHEN

25 March 2016 - Sleeping in Seattle

I am on a long layover in Seattle. I call these positioning flights. The idea is when I am flying halfway around the world, I fly part of the way sleep in a real bed at a hotel, then continue onward. Sometimes, as is the case this trip, it is actually cheaper as it allows me to fly on better priced days.

It was great to see the mountains again. Can you ID the following?

The landing in Seattle was one of the prettiest I have seen in a while. It always feels weird to me to see the ground slowly moving towards me.

I am heading to Guam, another US territory. I've never been there before but I am told it is much like Hawaii (never been to Hawaii either).

There was one minor adventure this morning. My boarding pass printed up with "SSSS" printed on it which apparently means the TSA will be touching you in ways you never imagined. I've been pulled for random additional screening before, but never this level of thorough...it was very "touching"...

My Laptop Power brick triggered a false positive on the bomb detection machine and my 3oz energy supplement (1Above) caused another alarm on a chemical test. All in all I was not worried as I was 3 hours early for my flight and this took me an additional 20 minutes.

March 20th, LanOC - Van Wert, Ohio

I made a pilgrimage to one of my favorite LAN (local area network) Parties last weekend. There are usually 2 of these a year and my friends CrazyBillyBob and Trgtprctc tend to be in attendance.

Top items I enjoyed...

1. Getting some Gaming time in
2. Totally smashing CBB and TP at a game of Starcraft 2 (go ZERG)
3. Junk Food
4. Hanging out with LanOC volunteers

Here is my hastily made tourism video:

13 March 2016 - Puerto Rico Half Marathon

Here is a race I have wanted to participate in for a few years. It goes by the marketing phrase "run in paradise". This year I finally got my opportunity. I arrived the day before and enjoyed the usual awesome weather...I thought to myself that the next day would be equally as nice.

I stayed at a hotel about a mile away from the race start so at 4am I woke up, put on my running gear, and started towards the starting line. Before I left I snapped this photo which I shall lovingly call "What was I thinking?".

The race started at 5am. For the first 4 miles it was kind of nice. Then it started raining and didn't stop for the next 2 hours. Some people wiped out hard on the tile in old town San Juan because the rain made the running surface super slippery. I about ate it twice myself. Overall it was a nice tour of San Juan, though I felt bad for the marathon runners.

In the end I did cross the finish line. Here is my stolen finisher pix that I will not be paying $70 for. Dear race photographers, each photo is worth about $5 dollars to this consumer, when you start selling them at that price you will probably start making 15-20$ per race from me.

Someone's dog also got a finisher medal. Ha ha ha!

I am really happy with this race. I was trying a new pacing strategy. Many of you know I like to use the Jeff Galloway method. At Disney 2 months ago I ran 1 min and walked a minute. Over the last few months I have been training at a 2/1 ratio in an effort to get faster. My ultimate goal is to finish this distance sub 2 hours. My current PR was set in 2014 at the Dayton River Coridor Half at 2h 21m in which I ran that entire race.

Post race, I waddled back to my hotel for a shower and breakfast. Funny thing: I was worried about missing out on the free breakfast at the hotel and didn't think about how my race would end around the time breakfast was starting. After an hour rest at the hotel, the Island of Puerto Rico returned to its normal state of beauty, just about the time I didn't have any more running to do.

I rewarded myself with a Mojito and some Fish Tacos!

Until next time (Hasta Luego)

10 March 2016 - When I'm Home in CA

I recently passed the 6 month mark of moving to California from Ohio. Psychologically, in terms of culture shock, I should be over the honeymoon phase, past the rage phase, and finally settled into my new routines.

The 6 Month Verdict:
I LOVE IT HERE!!!

So what is it like for an Eastern Ohio country boy from Carroll County?

First, after 33 years of Winter in Ohio, I really did not miss it. Any weeks I have been home over the past few months have seen me outside running, visiting the beach, and just generally enjoying lots of sunshine.

I left this (Photo Credit: Carissa Nettle - CP Half Marathon Dec 2013):

For this:

With every choice there are costs and benefits. So I will end this post with a list.

Costs of my move to CA-

• Dramatically increased cost of living (I went from $400/mo splitting a 2br apt to $1000/mo) - I am considering moving to a 1br which will gobble up about 1700$ of my paycheck
• We call it the Weather Tax
• Greatly increased risk of skin cancer from sun exposure
• Rush Hour (ever see an interstate, 8 lanes wide turn into a parking lot - that's every work day here)
• Generally everything is crowded (especially on the weekend at the beaches) unless you time it correctly
• the CA DMV....hahahahh hahahhaha (Crazy laughing continues...he probably needs a hug)
• Higher Taxes - thanks liberals (i'm an independent; I've lived in a very conservative part of Ohio too so I know the contrast)
• PS: I am a gun owner...

Benefits of my Move to CA-

• I've lost about 20lbs of body fat. I am constantly outside and active, a thing I used to only do for about 60% of the year comfortably. 

• Wednesday Run Group:
• Access to the Ocean, a very cold one, but the ocean none the less
• Awesome Sunsets nearly every day
• There are some really amazing places to explore such as the Big Sur, Death Valley, Golden Gate Bridge, Napa Valley, San Diego Old Town and the Redwoods

That's it for now folks...I'll let you know my opinion when I hit the 1 year anniversary.

4 March 2016 - Puerto Rico

I love the Caribbean. Why? Mostly because of Hollywood movies. My first taste of what was south east of the USA comes from the movie Weekend at Bernies' 2, a fictional comedy that takes place on the St. Thomas Virgin Islands. Realize this was a film that came out when I was 11 years old and man did it crack me up.

Ten years later, Disney would remake Pirates of the Caribbean.

Of course all of these are works of fiction, so what really exists if you fly south east from Florida towards Brazil? One of my favorite places, The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, but you can just call it Puerto Rico. This island is a unique mix of North American, Spanish, African, and South American. Most people speak Spanish first and English second.

This was, I believe, my 4th trip to PR. Every trip thus far has been for business. I keep telling myself that I need to come here for vacation. I think I will do just that next January after the new year!

This trip had me at the Hilton Caribe resort. I recently discovered that my employer has a work discount here for around 175$ a night vs the 300$ that is regular in this area. If you know me, you know I love the ocean, especially being able to go float on the waves. Puerto Rico is also known for it's Rum and the hotel bar had one of the best mojitos I have ever tasted.

 

 

Later on in the week I was able to meet up with a friend and spend a little time in historic Old Town San Juan. This place is a great spot to grab some food and do a pub crawl. You will find random musicians and bands playing right in the alleyways.

During my previous trips it was recommended to me that I visit a pizza restaurant called Piliros. It was good pizza indeed. We got there around 7:30pm and it was a 40 minute wait for a table. Worth it!

Overall it was a good work week. I have to head back to my office in CA for work then I will be back in PR next weekend for the Half Marathon. Stay tuned for that story!