Pause - a post of brilliance is before you

I always seem to get my best ideas while running ... or shopping ... or running to shop. Today Matt and I went to Borders to stock up on books. When we got home I did a quick Amazon search and found all of the books, including shipping, for less than 1/3 the price. We went to return the books and I embarrassidly told the guy at the counter that I had succumb to online shopping for deals instead of in-store. At first I felt bad - recession aside, online business continues to push every mom 'n pop and now big box store out of business. Then I remembered when Borders first hit the scene - I don't remember them helping the mom 'n pops much ... OK, maybe I'm buying into the message from "You've Got Mail" here but I don't see big stores helping the little ones much.

When I went out for a quick run (quick because the heat in SD is a shock to the system and my feet now have blisters from toe to heal) my mind wandered to shopping. First I thought about the Amazon business model - very smart. Then I thought of Netflix who seem to be pushing all the video stores out with their video rental memberships. Of course my mind moved to fashion - Beg Borrow or Steal, an online designer purse membership store.

Then my mind jumped (as it often does on runs) to all the events I have for the season - the ballet, Black and White ball, parties, NYE festivities, etc. When thinking of events I thought of what to wear - I'd like Gucci with Jimmy but I don't think that's in the cards this year. Can't afford those goods new and don't want to pay retail or used and then have to go through the burden of reselling.

In a flash (a painful one - the blister popped) it came to me - "My Best Friends Closet" - a store where people can get "memberships" to borrow designer clothes.

Do you think this would work?

An online eStore - let's call it FaaS (Fashion as a Service for all those techies out this with a yearning for style like myself) - where people could get memberships for $30-75/month. The membership would cover rental of up to 2 items of clothes (or shoes) at a time - similar to Netflix. When you return the goods, you can rent more.

Eventually if the eStore took off, there could be "Closet" presences in big cities like San Francisco (where I happen to live), Vail (where Lisa happens to live), etc. People could go to the "Closet" to check out clothes OR browse online and goods they like from other "Closets" could be shipped to their local one.

How would this work? Well of course in this downturn stores like Saks, Niemens, Barney's, etc. are looking for new sales venues - they may just want to put their overstock goods in the virtual community for checking out. And of course Amazon would want a piece as they're always innovating - they could manage the shipping logistics and insurance. Oh, and don't forget all the small boutiques - something doesn't sell, no worries! Rent it.

Now, I'm throwing this idea to the world but I am indeed thinking of pursuing it. One of my thousand thoughts. If someone does rip off the idea and run, well then I'll be the first member. For free of course ;o)

Pain in the ... foot

We're down in San Diego for the weekend enjoying the warm November weather and celebrating Matt's grandparent's 65th wedding anniversary (!!) After a giant Mexican lunch (as if last night wasn't enough) we made it home and I decided to set off on a short run.

Donning my Nike 1/2 Marathon T (by the way, nicest race shirt EVER) and Lulu sweats (I forgot shorts - always something) I made it out the door. This was my first run with orthodics and the first few steps felt like I was walking on clouds. A mile into the run was another story, though Cresting the top of a hill (really a speed bump by SF standards) my feet starting feeling tingly. Another half mile and my feet were warming up. Another half and I was holding in tears and yells of pain - oh my goodness my feet were on fire! Apparently I hadn't broken the orthodics in enough and I was paying the consequences -still am. 2+miles should not render this much pain - this was worse than 15 miles up a 3,000 foot climb. I tried slowing to a walk and the burn only got fiercer. Finally I made it home limping in pain and only clocked 2.55 miles.
Oofa.

Oh Turkey Day Oh Turkey Day

My tummy grew more because of yooooooooooouuuu!

What a great Thanksgiving. This morning Matt and I got up, cleaned the house, and then made our way to Grassroots Shelters. I dropped the ball bringing the gift boxes we made at LAC to the church last week, so I found this shelter and it was a perfect fit. The purpose of the shelter is to keep low income mothers and their children off the street. When I walked in, everyone was very friendly and so grateful for the gifts. I have to admit, this is one of those selfish times when it feels so good to help out - I'm glad our art project brought these kids gifts and hope they can be safe in homes of their own soon.

After the gift drop, I went to the gym for a good long workout (I got hooked on the movie playing) and then it was cooking time.

Again, Matt and I made brussel sprouts with bacon and again we took BART to Walnut Creek. Boarding BART it smelled like urine everywhere - it was disgusting. Then I looked down and noticed the smell was following me. The sprouts. Nasty. So I was the one who stunk up BART (with cooking) and I'm the one always complaining - what an hypocratism.

Now to sleep so we can rise for an early flight to SD.

Shakey face

Taking the bus is always an event for me - it seems I have a tendency to board the smelly, packed, loony buses. Friday was no different - after an appointment, I jumped on the 1 to get from California and Mason to work. Nast. When I got on a smell of dirty hair and bad breath overwhelmed me. Smells aside, the characters on the bus were ... something else. Trying to nudge my way into a standing spot, I looked down and my heart nearly stopped - I thought two passengers had passed away. The woman sat with her head bobbing over her chest. She had taken her teeth out - maybe to be more comfortable on the ride? Her companion, an older man, sat with his head teetered on the side of his shoulder, eyes closed, mouth open (I wish he'd have closed that too ...) All of a sudden the woman start saying something and immediately the old man started howling and cackling. Weird and kind of creepy really.

Ah the bus - good motivation to walk more.

A season to give

The 80 degree heat has finally turned to cool reminding us city dwellers Winter is almost upon us. And, as we all know, Winter is equivalent to fat men in red suits, over spending on gifts for others and ourselves, and, of course thinking of others.

Last night Emily and I hosted an LAC (ladies activity club - a rotating gatheringEmily thought of years ago) party to build gift boxes for low income children. We filled boxes with toothpaste, stickers, Pez, and more. We also packed each box with personal notes ("I realize I don't know you, but I'm confident you can do everything you want to do. You just need to put your mind to it, put your heart into it, and try ... blah blah blah").

I miss doing stuff like this. I don't think I've truly given back in years. I mean, I've given to the economy, but that was to put shoes on my feet. I'm glad there's a season to remind us to give/help/share/teach. I'm going to make an effort to remind myself to do this more often.

Thanks Em for the LAC party idea.

Lollupop Run!

It's my favorite time of year - the weather is cooling so Burberry scarfs (the kind from eBay) can come out, turkeys are being bought for Thanksgiving, trees are already going up for Christmas, and the Lollipop run is nearing!

I'm thrilled to be volunteering with Girls on the Run Bay Area this year because it means I get to volunteer and get involved in the Lollipop Run.

The Lollipop run is a 1 mile and 5k run in Golden Gate Park, put on by Girls on the Run of the Bay Area. Children, adults, and strollers (with the adults) come from all over the Bay Area to make their way around Golden Gate Park. I have to say, I haven't done the Lollipop run before, but I have seen children finish their first race and it truly makes the heart smile - there is always such a look of happiness and success (and exhaustion) on the race finisher's face.

The event is on December 6 and it will be Girls on the Run Bay Area's 10th semi-annual season-ending celebration. The event has established itself as a morning of fun that gets the whole family excited about fitness and healthy living.

Find out more, donate, or apply to volunteer online!

I forgot my pants when I went to work today!

No - I'm not going to write about Sponge Bob No Pants - the (half) costumed man who ran Bay to Breakers next to Linz and I last year...

Lately I've been riding my bike to work. It's great! I get there in 10-15-minutes (whereas walking takes 45-minutes), I'm learning a new culture (aka, bike culture), and I get to give my knees a break. The downside is I can't ride in my work clothes dress or skirt + heels + bike doesn't work.

Today I left the house in bike pants and my sweatshirt with my dress neatly packed away ... as soon as I was within a block from work, though, I realized I forgot my tights/ 3/4 spandex to wear under the dress (way too short for the dress alone). Ugh.

Although it's a joy to ride to work, riding to work, then home, then work again is just not fun. So I went off on an adventure trying to find tights at 8am - sadly, most everything was closed. I went to every gym in the area, and finally made it to Walgreens - my morning savior. At Walgreens the only tights I could get were size L - oofa. I bought the tights and made my way to work to change, then, endured a day of way-too-low-in-the-in-between-the-leg-zone tights that kept getting stuck on my chair (I'm not kidding, the L made these things hang way too low).

Tonight I'm packing my clothes before I leave for work.

Stinson Beach 20k: 80 degrees, hurdles, a quick fall, and so much fun!

This weekend I got back into the trail racing circuit with the Stinson Beach PCTR 20k. The race was awesome! There was a great turnout from GGRC including our very pregnant president (and I have to say, she’s the cutest pregnant woman ever). We started down by the beach and ran up (up up up up) many sets of stairs and even a ladder and then down into Muir Woods.







On the trail I:

• Saw a HUGE snake – I’ve never jumped so high
• Fell, but thankfully stayed on the mountain
• Got lost – but it was a pretty detour
  

I wound up getting 2nd in my age group and 4th woman overall. And now, I have the trail race bug again …

Sunsets and beaches, skies with no ending, bright shiney faces with unemployment pending

(read the title to the tune of "My Favorite Things" from Sound of Mucis).


I love my bike ride home.

There’s more glass on the ground and a full moon over the bridge

There’s something weird going on – the weather in San Francisco continues to sporadically toggle between rain and 80 degree Summer heat (somewhat similar to the Fed’s bail out plan(s)). People seem to be angrier and more insecure than ever (likely because of the economy gloom looming). Riding my bike to work this morning I noticed more glass on the road than ever before. There’s usually the loan broken into car but today there was a series of 10 broken glass windows on the street. I think as people freak out more about the economy, jobs, being able to pay the rent, etc. they justify anger, hate, and frantic behavior (i.e. stealing).

Despite all the gloom, I was shocked this morning at how beautiful the city was. I woke early and went for a 6am run. I was the only one on the street at the time and ran down to the water around Aquatic Park and out towards Chrissy Field. At the Park, I had to stop, though – not from exhaustion but from the view in front of me. The full moon sat perched just over the bridge, a freight boat was coasting under the bridge, birds were settling onto the cement railing to take in the view, and the water rippled reflecting everything. Funny that in a time of such economy chaos we can be confronted with the most amazing bits of nature. Yet another reason to keep looking up I guess!

Ridin' in the Rain! Just Ridin' in the Rain

This morning we made our way out into the gloom of SF to enjoy a rainy ride to Marin. We rode from Lombard to the Presidio where we met up with Rob, Emily, and some of their co-workers and then took off. The ride was great! My knee has been hurting from running so coasting on a bike was a great break. Also, I love riding in the rain.



The total ride was roughly 20+/- and was fantastic. Can't wait until it starts raining again to take off on another Bay Area adventure.

Are you the running teacher?

Today I went to Lululemon to pick up my new pants (the Groove reverse - I LOVE them) and at the register I received the biggest compliment ever:
"Are you Amber? Are you the running teacher?"
Me: "Yes, I'm Amber - I facilitate the running program"
"That is so cool - I really really want to go but I'm scared."
Me: "You'll be great! There are lots of new runners."

Then I fumbled trying to find my license to pick up the pants and another person walked up:
"Don't worry Amber Taylor, we know who you are."

Happy happy happy!

Teacher + running = smiles.

Flash walking

This morning walking to work I was juggling Peet’s with my iPod and Blackberry. Through the hum of “The Be Good Tanyas” (not so much a hum as rad singing) I thought I heard:

“Nice boob”

Odd. Then I heard a muffled:

“Get fresh”

Geez! I thought – what’s going on with the city today.

I looked up and saw a guy handing out samples of Dentyne Ice telling people to start their day off fresh. I looked down and saw the top 3 buttons of my shirt were open. Great.

It's Voting Day!

This morning I made it to the polls early(ish - around 7:30am) and was faced with a 45-minute line. It was freezing, but fun - everyone in line was so happy to be voting (I think we were all a bit happy to have an end to the ceaseless calls, emails, and snail mails around the election, too).



I must say, I had the best view while waiting to vote. Can't wait to see the results!

I heart the rain!

It's finally raining in the city and we needed it. I love the rain - I love running in the rain, riding in the rain, vegging in the rain - not so much singing in the rain (my voice is awful).

San Francisco is a funny city when it rains - no one seems to know what to do which is tough because everyone in SF is always right. The roads jam up with people honking and shaking fists and the overhangs under shops are always filled with SFites who forgot umbrellas.



Despite the rain, this was an event packed weekend.

Saturday we enjoyed Tracy and Alex's wedding. They got married at The City Club which was a beautiful venue adorned with Diego Rivera art and phenomenal city views.










The crowd was a great mix of Australian's, Chinese American's, and muts (I put myself in that category). One of my favorite moments was seeing Alex's aunt get down to "So I come from a land down under" - as she shook and turned, her perm shook and turned a second or so after her.










After the wedding we all went to the Cigar Bar for Cuban music and, you guessed it, cigars.










Sunday my mom and I drove up to Calestoga to get spa'd. The spa was OK, but the drive, lunch, and views were my favorite.









Yet another handful of reasons why I love this city - when it rains, I get the streets to myself. We get to enjoy events in art adorned historic buildings. The wine country is an easy escape from the rain. The list could go on and on ...