A few months ago I left Santa Cruz driving towards Arizona with no real plan except not to come back until I got some things figured out.
Well today, after figuring out almost nothing, I’m flying back.
Looking forward to seeing you all.
Since two of us (not me) were toast from skiing the day before (I helped my roommate polish off his liquor cabinet before moving to London) we decided a lazy Sunday hike would be the way to go.
Shots are as follows
• Snow? Trail? Hell just pull over and go
• The three of us trying to get close enough for a self shot portrait
• What it looks like from the view of an ant
• The payoff (Indian Peaks Wilderness)
• Just enjoying a great day together (Right before Elisabeth fell through the ice…)
A younger girl at the table next to me talking with her mom explaining why she got in a fight the day before.
“So I was driving a little too fast and wasn’t paying attention and rear-ended this guy. Well he gets out and starts walking towards me. It is then I realize he is a little person. So he looks all pissed, and I figure, dude, it’s not that bad, and he walks right up and gets in my face and says, ‘I’m not happy,’ so then I say, ’so which one are you?’ and then he hit me.”
I almost spit out my drink.
A few months ago, I wrote a post about social capital and why college is a perfect place to build your network.
In the post I referenced a very smart blog I had been reading on the subject of social capital and interconnectedness.
Now that blog has spun off into another blog, and even though I truly hope it can survive, I’m still a bit skeptical about the business model of a blog and if it can make money to support its writers.
Penelope Trunk, the “it lady” of modern Gen-Y blogging, left a great comment on Ben Casnocha’s blog regarding book deals, questioning why more people don’t write blogs instead of pursuing a book.
I agree with Penelope, but only to a point. My blog helped me get my current job as an Intern at a national magazine, but editors still want hard clips that have been printed on someone else’s dime.
Not just digital content that lacks an editor and submission process.
So then why do I continue to write a blog you might ask?
For starters, it allows me to voice my opinion on a wide range of topics in an open forum which can accessed anywhere there is an Internet connection.
Secondly, a potential employer who spends more than five minutes on my blog will see I can discuss several high-level issues regarding journalism, technology, economics, photography and others.
Thirdly, it has allowed me to make connections and build relationships with professionals who were not accessible beforehand.
For The Little Red Suit, that is exactly what building social capital is all about.
So as Tiffany Monhollon breaks away and starts another blog, I can only hope her decision to go digital will pay off .
Which is exactly why I think you should take a second and check it out.
SpenT Sunday afternoon at my buddies cyclocross race. It was a bit cold (9 degrees) and after a heavy snow, but whisky, cowbells and coffee are an amazing combination.
“Sad fate for a man to die known to everyone else, but unknown to himself.” ~ Amazing Grace
660—the magic number you should carve into every inch of your brain. Not because it’s 6 less than 666, or 40 away from 700, but because 660 is the cutoff for homeowners credit scores who will be helped by the new rate freeze being considered by Washington.
In a lengthy article today, the Wall Street Journal lays out Washington’s plan to help struggling homeowners. According to the plan, “homeowners who secured subprime mortgages, those offered typically to high-risk borrowers, will have their introductory rates frozen.”
Those introductory rates are expected to begin going up during the next two years, forcing millions of struggling homeowners into forclosure. The plan however, states that homeowners with a credit score above 660 are not able to be considered high-risk and therefore should be able to pay off their rising mortgage costs.
For people like me, a 25-yar-old college graduate and struggling professional the message is loud and clear.
“If you are sub-average the Government will help you out.”
KGO radio yesterday dedicated an hour to the rising Interest rates on credit cards. New laws are allowing credit card companies to raise your interest rates even if you have paid all your bills on time and never gone over your limit.
My credit rate went from 12 percent, to 32 percent in the matter of a month. When I approached Wells Fargo, they said it was due to rising business costs, and my credit limit not being fully utilized.
I argued that I’m not about to rack up $10,000 plus in debt anytime soon, and since I had been with the company since Freshman year of college, I should be considered a valuable customer with 50 plus years of potential.
They knocked off 15 percent—still 5 percent higher than it originally was.
So as America enters another Christmas season, and iPods are becoming stocking stuffers, I’m wondering if it’s still okay to just get by, or if it’s absolutely necessary.
Read this last night and quickly made the metaphor to my current situation. Enjoy.
“The secret of this kind of climbing is like Zen. Don’t think. Just dance along. It’s the easiest thing in the world, actually easier than walking on flat ground which is monotonous. The cute little problems present themselves at each step and you find yourself on some other boulder you picked out for no special reason at all, just like Zen.”
~ Jack Kerouac
Pics are from the past few days of hiking. First three are from a 15 mile walk in the woods on Sunday, with the last one being the staircase that greats me as I begin to run up Mount Sanitas. (see Running up a Mountain for more info) 
