Rose Bowl Week and So Cal Weather

It's that time of year again--Rose Bowl Week. The tourists have already started arriving and the weather, as usual, has changed. It has become unseasonably warm. This is NOT normal. Everyone who is freezing in the rest of the country sits in front of the TV and watches the Rose Bowl Parade, the game, the sunshine and the t-shirts in January, and thinks "Let's move to LA!" DON'T DO IT!!! It's a trick! Don't be fooled! This warm weather and sunshine is an anomaly! Sure it's warm and sunny this week, but winter comes back when you aren't watching. No one who lives here actually wears a t-shirt in January--that's insane!! It's cold! My advice to you is to sit in your warm living room on your comfy couch, and watch our nice weather on TV--knowing that next week we'll be freezing and miserable. Happy New Year! And stay warm! ;-)

The Dogs on my Run

I run in the mornings at 6am before work each day. There is a lot of activity on the streets at that time, but my favorite part is the dogs I encounter along the way. The first one I meet, and Thank God he's not out very often, is a football-sized cotton ball: tiny, fluffy, curly white fur. He. Does. Not. Like. Runners. The thing goes absolutely APESHIT! The old lady who walks him holds onto the leash for dear life (mine). Fortunately, his mouth is too small to bite anywhere on my legs, and he is too little to jump high enough to bite my fingers. I assume it's a 'he' because I can't imagine a girl being such a vicious killer, which is my nickname for him. The second dog I see is a beautiful, well-behaved shepherd who runs and plays catch with his owner on the greenbelt at the college across the street from my house. I like this dog because he accepts runners and minds his own damn business. The third one is a gorgeous Golden Lab. He goes to work with his owner at the business complex near the end of my run. He is wide awake, rambunctious, and playing frisbee in the parking lot at 6:30 in the morning. He also lets me run in peace. The last dog I meet is Buffy. I heard her owner call her one day, so that's how I know her name. (I think Vicious Killer's name is "Stop It", as that is what his owner says to him all the time!) Anyhow, Buffy is an off-leash dog. I don't like meeting off-leash dogs as a runner because they usually don't like runners and you never know what they are going to do. Also, I think it's dangerous--we have a lot of coyotes near my house, who like to have pets for breakfast, so a leash is safer for both runner and dog. Buffy is not a smart dog. She is overly concerned with someone getting into a car on the other side of the street, completely oblivious to to a person quickly approaching on her side of the street. I could mug her owner and I don't think Buffy would notice. She is hell-bent on watching people across the street. And that makes me laugh on my final 100-yard stretch. So that's it: my four-legged morning gang. I love that they are out there--they keep me amused.

My Hometown

Yesterday, the Brookings Institute named my hometown, Youngstown, Ohio, number one in percentage of poverty concentration, the poorest of the poor among 100 larger cities in the United States. I didn't expect the article and the story on The Rachel Maddow Show to affect me so much, but it really made me want to cry. I admit, even as a little kid, I wanted to leave Youngstown. All I ever wanted was to live in a huge city by the ocean with football and hockey teams. I wanted it to be New York City but I ended up in Southern California. There's no football here, but I've got the beach, hockey and futbol (soccer), and I can play golf year-round. I'm happy here, but I'm so sad for Youngstown. It was fun growing up in the murder capital of the US, alongside the mafia. Although that looks like childs-play compared to the situation now. It was a far more innocent time then. Regardless of the fact that I wanted to leave, part of who I am is because of the place I'm from. Youngstown helped shape the person I am today. Every day, on the TV, in the papers and on the internet, we get news about the Occupy Movement in cities across the US. The place I'm from, and place I live, point out Occupy's premise of the extreme and growing disparity between the haves and the have-nots. There is a house for sale in a city near me on the market for $32 million, and Youngstown has nearly 50% of their poor living in extreme poverty: neighborhoods with no jobs, no stores, no hope, nothing but blight, and no way out. Where is parity, where is fairness, where is the middle ground? Where is the American Dream? Does it exist anymore for the dwindling middle class? I don't think I live as well as my parents, and my generations' children probably won't live as well as I do. How do we get back to where Youngstown is the place of my youth--a place with world-class medical facilities, a great university, a vibrant downtown, a place where you could skate at an ice rink, swim at a public pool, cruise through a beautiful park, live for Friday Night High School football, and eat the best Italian food ouside of Italy? How do we regain that ideal? I don't know the answer - I wish I did.

A Great Day Off

I took a day of vacation today to volunteer at the Bolsa Chica Wetlands first kayak clean-up of the season. I used to do the clean-ups and the educational tours when I was unemployed, and I really miss everyone there. It is a great group of people who both work at the conservancy and volunteer there. So today was a good excuse to get out of the office, see everybody, get some exercise, and do good for the environment. And it was a flawlessly perfect Southern California morning: clear blue skies, high tide on glassy waters, and temperatures in the high 50s. We had eight volunteers who had never kayaked before, so I taught them the basics and set them on their way with plenty of trash bags -- and life jackets! I got to take off by myself in a 2-person kayak. That gave me a lot of extra room in the boat to load up trash. I gave myself the prize for the best thing fished out of the water: a 4-foot long traffic pylon thingy (technical term) probably used to mark a race route or block traffic from tree-cutting, along with the yellow caution tape that was wrapped around it. It was full of water and really heavy, and after a few tries, I finally hauled it into my kayak, without tipping over! WooHoo!! The really weird thing was tennis balls--tons of them! I must have picked up at least thirty balls. I'd see one floating in the middle of the bay, and I was hell-bent on getting it. I was kayaking in circles chasing after these damn balls. Another kayaker told me he picked up at least 25 tennis balls. I wondered where the tennis tourney was--and who dumped all the balls. Other than the trash, it was beautiful out there. There were lots of ducks, a great egret who made a sliding water landing right in front of me, and a bunch of jumping fish. I love being out there on these clean-up days--the only time humans can be in the restricted waters of these protected nesting grounds. It was so much better than being in the office!!

An Evening in Minneapolis

I arrived in Minneapolis with zero airline issues—which is a miracle for me! And both my flights were arrived early. My $17 shared-shuttle ride into the city only took 20 minutes and I was ready to explore a new destination. Minneapolis is a great city, friendly, walkable, international, and small enough to easily get around. I strolled down Nicollett Mall from my hotel—basically to get some exercise after sitting on a plane all day. Love the art and sculptures in this city—took a picture of the Mary Tyler Moore statue and figured out the route to the sculpture garden for tomorrow morning. Didn’t find the Brownsbackers bar, but that was because I didn’t take the name of it with me on my stroll, although I did find the street, so it should be easy to find after my river cruise tomorrow afternoon. After my walk, I stopped into a British Pub and got a Guinness. The best way to make friends when you are alone in an Irish or British Pub is to drink a Guinness. I’d only taken one sip when a gentleman came up to me and said “Are you drinking a Guinness?” I said “I am—it’s good for you”. He said “It’s the drink of champions!” I agreed. Then I met another ‘on a business trip’ person and chatted with him for a while. My Guinness was finished and the bartenders steered me toward the French restaurant next door for dinner. Steak au Poivre was the special, and I even ate the roasted brussel sprouts! The entertaining part was that my window seat afforded me a view of the Rolls Royce parked on the street, and the guy who was checking it out. He peered into the window, walked to the corner, then came back and circled the car. At first I thought he was casing it, then I came to realize, he was guarding it. He stayed within 20 feet of that car the entire time I was eating my dinner. Nice work if you can get it, I guess!! More to follow later on the rest of my time in the city.

Reflections on The Moving Wall

The Moving Wall, the half-size replica of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC, was in Orange County this weekend. Having only been in DC before the monument was built, it was a great opportunity for me to see it so close to home. Set up in a quiet corner of a large park, it had the somber reverence appropriate for a memorial. I appreciate the double meaning of the name itself, The Moving Wall: not only is it a traveling exhibit, but is also a touching, emotional work of art. The wall itself is an architectural beauty. The shiny black facade, which completely resists fingerprints (I tried), is as clear as a mirror. As you are reading the names of those lost at war, you can see yourself reflected there. There were many personal tributes left at the base of the wall: flowers, pictures, flags, a teddy bear wearing a military uniform, and a few red, white and blue cans of Budweiser.

Volunteers manned computers to assist visitors in finding their loved ones amongst the 58,267 names etched on the wall. Volunteers also roamed around the memorial ready to answer any questions about it. One gentleman explained to me how it starts at the center, the apex, with those killed starting in 1959, and expands out to the right from there until 1968. Then, it starts again at the opposite side, with those killed from 1968 on, and ends back at the apex, in 1975, so everything returns to the center. There are 74 panels, some listing only a handful of names, and some listing thousands, grouped by the dates they died, showing the ebb and flow of war. The symbolism of it is amazing.

There was also an exhibit of items donated by veterans and their families. It included a few jeeps, lots of uniforms, and tons of pictures, medals, and letters. A poem, written by a soldier who came home alone as most of his friends died there, was especially heartbreaking. The city, which has a large Vietnamese population, created a committee in 2009 to build a permanent Vietnam War Museum. With everything on display this past weekend, they are on their way to creating a great museum. I hope they are successful. It is something people need to see. We should never forget how horrible war is, and never stop working to make it something we only read about in history books.

Football and the office

I work in a small office with all guys. Not only am I the only female, I'm the only Browns fan among a bunch of football fanatics. The season is still a week away and there has already been a lot of trash talking, always done in my presence and always directed at my Browns. I keep telling them they'll be sorry once the season starts and McCoy, Hillis, Cribbs and company start kicking ass and taking names. Today, I thought my boss was working hard and printing out a document on my printer. Nope. He was printing out the top 300 fantasy football rankings. And quizzing us on where the first Browns player falls on the list. It's Peyton Hillis at #25. Four of us are in a fantasy league together--and I can't wait to take their money at the end of the season! The trash talking is only going to get worse come next weekend. I can't wait for football!

USS Abraham Lincoln

I was sooooooo excited when I read that the USS Abraham Lincoln would be stopping at the Port of LA for Navy Week--and giving free public tours. Not only is it 3 football fields long, 20 stories high, weighs 97,500 tons when fully loaded for combat, but it would be the first time in 20 years that an aircraft carrier docked in our harbor. I knew I had to see it. Tours were from 10am - 4pm. A friend and I left my house around 9:15 for the half hour drive to San Pedro. We made it over the Vincent Thomas Bridge and into the port area. Traffic was pretty backed up, but I wasn't worried about it yet, since we were right there. And I was still so hyped up to see that boat--waiting a little while was a small price to pay. After inching forward about 20 yards in 40 minutes, we decided to forego the parking lot and drive up the hill into the neighborhood and park there. A mile and half walk donwhill was fine. We get into the port and can finally see the MILLIONS of people who had the same idea. Everyone from LA and Orange Counties, and every single tourist in Southern California must have been there! The Navy was overwhelmed by the crowds. Tours were closed for the day by 11am, as those in line then would make it by 4pm. I wasn't going to get on the ship! It was hard not to cry! But my friend talked to the cops who said we could get a good view from Cabrillo Beach. So, we walked a mile and half back UPHILL to get to the car (great exercise), and took off for Cabrillo. We rounded the curve on the hill above the beach and OH MY GOD!! It was spectacular! To see that giant ship just off our shore, it was amazing! It was beautiful! We were very jealous of the people who live in the oceanfront homes who got that view for a whole week. It was breathtaking. And we never would have had this view of it had we made the tour. It was definitely the silver-lining! Hopefully, Navy Week will return to LA very soon--and we'll be in line at 6am for the tour!

The Demise of Borders Bookstores

I don't have a Kindle, an eReader, or a Nook, and I have zero desire to own one. I love to read and I like real books. Maybe I'm behind the times, but I'm OK with that. As everyone knows, Borders, once a retail giant, is closing their remaining 399 stores. We still have a few brave independent booksellers and, of course, Barnes & Noble, but they are in trouble, too. It's sad. Who hasn't walked into a bookstore and found a random book that you loved? That you never would have found if not for the cool cover, or interesting title. You can't do that online--you have to do a search for title or author, or something that you already know. You can't walk down an aisle and have a great book jump out at you. I feel cheated of everything I'm going to miss in the future. For what it's worth, I felt the same way about record stores. I spent most of my teenage years, and 20s, in record shops. But I guess time and technology marches on, and we are left with only the sweet memories of yesterday. See you at the Borders liquidation sale.

Santa Ynez Valley

I am not usually a weekend getaway kind of person--I prefer long vacations across oceans, but I did a road trip over July 4th weekend. And it was great! I went to the Santa Ynez Valley, just above Santa Barbara. Golden, rolling hills, orchards, and vineyards. If you saw the movie "Sideways", that's the place. I stayed at the same hotel they did in the movie, and drank wine at the same restaurant bar. It is a very agricultural area: 60 wineries are located there, along with apples, pears, apricots, blueberries, strawberries, farms, ranches, and a casino! My highlights were Ostrichland, Quicksilver Ranch, and Nojoqui Falls. Ostrichland was just what you'd guess, hundreds of Ostriches--that you can feed! My favorite sign said "Yes, we like to bite". These birds are huge (250 - 350 pounds) and very messy eaters. They violently attack the food pan that you hold out to them--and you have to hang on very tight to that dish! Small children aren't allowed to feed them. It was horrifying at first, but once I got used to it, it was kind of funny. I went from giant birds to tiny horses. Quicksilver Ranch is a miniature horse farm. Miniature horses, not miniature farm! They were beyond cute. The adults grow no more than 34 inches, and the newest babies were maybe a foot and a half high--the size of an average German Shepherd. I really wanted to take one home! You can buy them, but I didn't think they would like my small apartment. I love waterfalls, love, love, love them! Thanks to a friend who used to live in the area and told me about the place, I went to Nojoqui Falls. Pronounced no-ho-we. After a long drive down a winding road in the middle of nowhere, it's half mile hike into the woods. Very pretty, very peaceful--which basically, sums up the whole weekend! I might turn into a weekend getaway convert!

The Weiner Affair

Oh, what tangled webs we weave when first we practice to deceive. Love that poem. It's something everyone should read, and heed. Congressman Weiner takes pictures of his bony, naked body and sends them to women who are not his wife. The wife to whom he's only been married less than a year. So much for that 'honeymoon phase'. Then, he lies about it, over and over and over. Lets' face it--he's not the first, not in taking the photos or in lying about it. There have been a rash of men doing the 'post picture and lie about it' routine lately. Let's not forget Brett Favre texted a pic of his junk, unsolicited, to a female employee of his former team. Not smart. What makes these rich, famous and powerful men think that taking, posting and sending these kinds of pictures is a good idea? What makes them think we want to see it? OK, I admit I'd be willing to take a gander at Brett Favre, but that's just me. But in all seriousness, why??? Why do they do it? It's just plain stupid! Do I think Weiner should resign? Yes, but not simply because of the pictures themselves. Do I care that he violated the trust of his new bride? Not really. I don't know her and it's not my business. I don't have time to be concerned about the millions of people who pick scumbag spouses. I do care that he violated the trust of the people who sent him to congress. I feel sorry for the people of his district--and for all of us, since as a congressman, his votes affect the entire nation. He made a very poor decision. He should be smart enough to know better. Poor decision-making is not a good quality for an elected official. I want him to resign because of the pure idiocy of the act and the blatant lying about it. I question what other stupid things he's doing, and then lying about. It makes him untrustworthy and unfit to make decisions on any level, much less a national one.

Work, TV and Blogging

I feel so bad that I haven't blogged for such a long time. Since I got a job, I haven't had the time to do any fun things to blog about! Actually, that's not true. I've been having fun, I just haven't been writing about anything. The main culprit for not blogging is television. I only watch three shows--House, Glee and American Idol--but they take up four evenings. Way too much time to be spending in front of the boob tube. Fortunately, they all had their season finales last week, and since I don't do reruns, I can get my life back. I feel free again!! I'm looking forward to cool summer nights, more tennis, longer happy hours, sunset walks on the beach, and of course, more blogging! Stay tuned.

Work is for the Birds

I'm sitting at work and I keep hearing this tap, tap, tapping sound. Every time it happens I think "What is that damn noise?" I look around but I don't see anything. Finally, I look up. There is a skylight above my desk. Let's in lots of light--I love it. So, apparently, do the crows and pigeons. These birds eat seeds, but instead of dropping them on the ground to open the pods, they take their find to my skylight and peck at the seeds to get at the inside. The skylight is frosted glass and dome-shaped. I can see the critters up there. The stupid birds don't fly to the flatter part of the glass, they attempt to walk up the slope. Glass on an incline must be slippery to bird feet because I watch as they slide back down. Up they go again. Up and down. Up and down. When they make it to the top, they drop the seed, which I can see through the glass, and frantically peck at it. Tap. Tap. Tap. Over and over and over. Of course, in their zeal to open the pod, they slip on the glass, and slide back down. God, it's entertaining! Fortunately it doesn't happen daily, but every so often that glass must hold special appeal for the birds. And obviously, special appeal for me, too!

A year and a half

Well, as most of you know, I start a new job tomorrow. After a year and half being unemployed, it'll be nice getting a paycheck again. But, I must admit I had a good run this past year. My life didn't change too much, although I did give up my addiction to shoes and Perrier. I got to do and see things that I couldn't have done with a full-time job. I learned where to find deals, discounts and freebies. Day trips to the Grammy Museum, Olvera Street, a Buddhist Temple, Koreatown, a National Cemetery and San Diego were great ways to spend my time. I got to ride the Goodyear Blimp--definitely a major highlight! I volunteered as a tour guide for grade-school field trips at the wetlands, worked food drives with the Fire Department, and got to play tennis when the courts are empty during the weekdays. As a sports fan, it was a good time to be off work. I saw all of the Olympic curling matches, and learned to love the biathlon. I only missed a few of the 4:30am World Cup soccer games, and I caught all the action of the Masters and Wimbledon, in addition to all the golf and tennis majors. I got to attend town hall meetings, a city memorial service, and be available to friends who needed rides to the doctor or when their car was in the shop. I ate shrimp and crab because I started reading grocery store ads and only bought what was on sale. I learned that Pantene works as well or better than Paul Mitchell, at one-fifth the price. And I can read a ton of books for free from the library instead of wasting money at Barnes and Noble. So, being laid off was a good learning experience--and there is no other way to take that long of a break mid-career. So, I'm looking forward to my new chapter of life, starting tomorrow.

Kids and dead things

I led another educational tour at the wetlands this week, a group of 7th graders. I generally like that age as they are old enough to talk to you on an intelligent level, and young enough not to have attitudes yet. And this particular group was from a very wealthy area of Southern California. So, we head out onto the trails, and I talk about the wetlands habitat, pointing out herons and egrets, showing them the difference between ground squirrel holes and gopher holes, smelling coastal sage--the usual stuff. There are are a few overlooks on the path at Bolsa Chica where we stop to talk about the mud flats, good bacteria, and the Pacific Flyway. Well, we've just been through quite a few big storms in this area. Do you know what happens in wetlands when storms come through? Lots of trash, gunk, and pollution wash down the storm drains and end up at the wetlands. Even dead dogs. Of course the dead dog ends up right smack in front of my lookout point--in clear view of everyone. God knows where it came from--it likely died somewhere else and was washed down the storm drains. It sure wasn't fresh--its fur was gone, and its skin was hard and red from exposure to the sun and water. I wanted to talk about mud flats and egrets. All the kids wanted to do was look at and discuss the dead thing. I tried telling them it was a coyote because I didn't want them to think it was someone's pet, but they didn't care what it was. They were thrilled to see something dead! They wanted to know how it died: did it get in a fight, did it fall off the cliff, did it drown? One kid said "That's the biggest dead thing I've ever seen." It made his day! They were all fascinated! They completely ignored the beautiful egret that was feeding on the mud flats. I had to practically drag them away to finish the rest of the hike. On the way back they wanted to stop and look at it again. I said NO. A few of the little punks lagged behind me and ran to the lookout point when I wasn't watching them. I know they all went home to their estates in the hills and told their parents about the dead animal, the highlight of their day! I hope the wildlife care center personnel get out there and pick it up before my next tour!

Goodyear Blimp ride

After I saw the movie The Bucket List, I actually made my own list, even wrote it all down. Some of the things I'd already done, like run a marathon, and stand in Red Square in Moscow. Some things are still in the future like attending Wimbledon and owning a pair of Manolo Blahniks. But, this week, I got to cross off an item. I rode the Goodyear Blimp! It was a totally amazing experience! You can't buy a ride on the blimp. It's free but you can only go via an invitation. It's all about who you know. Fortunately, my friend Dan knows the right people and he invited five friends as the blimp seats six, plus the pilot. We arrived about 45 minutes early, we were all so excited! We had to sign our names and watch a safety video--that's it. Easy. Guess what? There are no seatbelts!! You can get up, switch seats, open the window. Once you board the blimp, the ground crew tosses off the weighted bags that keep the blimp from floating away, then they push you up and you're off. The pilot told us that, at takeoff, we are 200 pounds LIGHTER than air. That's wild--especially when you've got 7 people whose combined weight is over 1000 pounds! It took no time to reach 1500 feet above the earth. The view is incredible--very different from being in an airplane. Because the blimp is so much slower, you can really study everything below. We headed south and floated over Long Beach, the LA Port, the Queen Mary, the Vincent Thomas Bridge, and the Home Depot Center. We all took turns sitting in the front seat, and the pilot had fun "body-surfing" on the wind. Our pilot, Nathan, was awesome. He's a tour guide pointing out the landmarks below. He's an historian filling us in on local history. He's a meteorologist explaining weather phenomena and how it affects blimps. He's one of only 70 blimp pilots in the United States, about half of whom actively fly. And he was fun--we tried to buzz an oil tanker in the harbor, but at blimp speed, I think they saw us coming! We learned that blimps react differently when underneath a cloud. You can actually feel it being pushed downward, and you can tell when you get out from under the cloud--it's like the blimp goes "whew, made it!" The winds really determine when you can land--and we had to stay up an extra 20 minutes because of it. And the landing! WOW!! It's a lot of physical work for the pilot. Then the ground crew, about 16 people, run toward the blimp and grab these long ropes that hang from the nose. They assist the pilot in guiding the blimp into a tiny little pole that connects to the nose. The landing was a work of art and choreography, absolutely beautiful. It was a once in a lifetime experience and we are all so grateful to have had the opportunity. It's a great feeling to check another item off my bucket list!

Reflections on my Run

Global warming is alive and well in southern California! I made the mistake of waiting until 10am to go for my run today. My apartment is always freezing in the morning since I only get afternoon sun, so I'm always trying to figure out exactly how warm or cold it will be once I get out into the sunshine. Gees, it was hot! I debated wearing a short-sleeve shirt or a singlet. I opted for the singlet--Thank God! I know I shouldn't complain. I do genuinely feel for my family and friends who are dealing with the crappiest winter in years back east. And I am truly grateful that I can do my winter runs in shorts and singlets. But it's human nature to whine, so I gotta find something to complain about here in paradise. But, something happened today to make me forget about the heat and make this run one of my favorites. As I was nearing the corner to make the home stretch, there was a guy walking his dog. A BIG guy with a LITTLE chihuahua! That always makes me laugh! But the piece de resistance was that little Fifi was dressed in a frilly, ruffled, bright hot-pink dress! How classic is that?? I think it takes balls for a man to walk a dog dressed like that! I ran the rest of the way with a huge smile on my face--it made my day! I can't wait to see them again!

Wetlands Tours

I volunteer at the wetlands near my house as an educational tour guide. When schools send kids on field trips, I teach them about the wetlands, their purpose, and the plants and animals that make that area their home. I've toured kids from 3-year olds through high school seniors. Most of the kids are pretty cool. I've wanted to adopt a few of them, and I've wanted to push a few over the cliffs. Actually, I've probably wanted to push more of their teachers over the cliffs. A few act like it's their day off and they want nothing to do with their unruly classes. That annoys me. Anyhow, I took a group of high-schoolers out today. They were good and they managed to complete their plant research project, do some restoration weeding, and go on my hike. The hikes are the best part, getting out into nature. And we are entering into the best time of the year--all the plants are coming back to life after being dormant during the late summer, fall and early winter. Everything is green, the wildflowers are starting to bloom, the fragrant purple sage is coming back to life, and lots of animals are out and about. Today we saw tons of rabbits and ground squirrels, lizards and cormorants, great blue herons and snowy white egrets (my personal favorite!) But best of all, the highlight of the day, holy crap, we saw a coyote!!! It was a treat because coyotes are not usually out during the middle of the day. He watched us, and even followed us for a while--fortunately he was on the other side of a fence. One of the girls asked "Can he climb that fence?" And while I know he can, I said "Let's hope not!" No need to induce mass hysteria among high school girls! But we were safe and everyone was happy that we got to see him. That coyote, while keeping an eye on us, was doing exactly what we were doing--enjoying another flawless, sunny, 75-degree winter day in Southern California!

My New Year's Resolution

I flew across the country last week for Christmas. Those of you who have read my blog, or know me, are aware of my bad luck with air travel. After losing my luggage 11 times, I only do carry-on whenever I fly now. I like to sit in the front of planes, on the aisle, so I was boarding zone #4 when I left home. Because of that seat assignment, I was the first person forced to check my bags at the gate, checked though to my destination--not to pick them up in the jetway. I was teary and close to hysteria. All of the Christmas presents I bought for my family were in that bag--and, with my luck, I never expected to see it at my destination. To make matters worse, when I got on the plane, there was enough overhead space above my seat. And, I spied the boarding pass of the guy next to me--he had zone #3. What's up with that?? Hes' right next to me. Why am I #4 and he's #3? I was not happy. Well, I made it to Columbus and, like a miracle, my bag actually arrived with me! I almost started crying again! It's been years since I've seen my suitcase on the baggage carousel. A few days pass, my vacation is over and I'm happy to be heading home. This time I was boarding zone #5. The same crap happened! I was forced to check my bag at the gate again. For the record, my luggage has ALWAYS been lost on my way home after Xmas. Always! It's one of the main reasons I started doing carry-on only. This time the guy next to me had boarding zone #2. Zone #2!! I was zone #5--and sitting right next to him! Seriously, what's up with that?? And there were 3 huge, empty overhead bins. They could have loaded at least a dozen more roller bags. This time I wasn't just not happy, I was livid! Miraculously, once gain, I got my bag. At this point, you may be wondering why I titled this blog "My New Year's Resolution." Here's why: I am OBSESSED with beating the airlines at this game. How do they load a plane? You would think back to front. But no, on my way home, the entire front of the plane was full, the back was full, and the middle, where I was sitting, was the last to be loaded. What kind of sense does that make??? None! I must figure out this game, I HAVE to win! So, I'm busy strategizing and coming up with some plans. My New Years Resolution is to beat the airlines at this game. It's my new goal for 2011!