Sunday, July 29, 2007

Aging and not liking it

Things that occurred this week that made me realize I am getting older:

1. I lied about my age. To a telemarketer who was flirting over the phone. He was 19.
2. I did not get carded at Ralphs while buying Vermouth and dirty martini mix. (Maybe it was the choice of alcohol that gave me away.)
3. I did not get carded at Albertson's while buying a six-pack of Dos Equis. (No mollifying explanation here.)
4. My friend Cheryl, who is a doctor, was giving me a bit of therapy yesterday on my pulled IT band and pointed out a crinkly sound in my kneecaps that she said is a symptom of arthritis and probably caused by my running. If there's anything that could have made me feel older this week, arthritis would be it.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Nice argument, Mr. Genius

NPR had a report today on illegal dogfighting rings in the U.S. and efforts to curb them. Check out the very logical argument by one pro-life congressman about why he decided to help defeat a bill against dogfighting:

Most of the bill's opponents say they aren't fans of dogfighting but are conservative, pro-life Republicans. Iowa Rep. Steve King says it's wrong for the federal government to criminalize pit bull trafficking while allowing legal abortion.
"My vote says that human life needs to be elevated and stay above animal life. And I think it devalues all human life, when you set the life of an animal up above that of a human," King says.


All right, lemme see if I follow the logic: Until abortion is prohibited, people out of principle should be free to maim, kill, and otherwise be cruel to animals. In that case, is there any better way to celebrate the sanctity of human life than the routine harming and punishing of animals? Heck, until the evildoers among us stop this abortion nonsense, the little critters are just gonna have to pay.


Tuesday, July 17, 2007

The burden of rotting fruit

In my fridge right now, getting overripe, are:

2 pounds large globe grapes
3 peaches
1 striped melon
1 big artichoke
1/2 avocado
1/2 tomato

I brought one of the peaches to work today, and it was mealy. The other day, I had two bananas that were getting abominably brown so I peeled them and put them in the freezer.

I am always attracted to nice-looking fruit in the market and end up buying a lot of it. But it's like this weight on my shoulders to have fruit in the house that's not getting eaten. A person can only eat so much of it.

Which brings me to another thought. One of my big rants is about how a lot of low-income people tend to stock up on food that is very processed and unhealthy, just because it's cheaper and lasts longer. Hot dogs vs. fresh meat. Frito chips vs. corn on the cob. A frozen pizza vs. bread/cheese/tomatoes. Which can lead to fat or frail kids, higher medical bills, and a tradition of junk-food eating (or at least, not-really-fresh cooking) that gets passed down from generation to generation.

How very fortunate I am to be able to buy and cook and eat, and even waste, perishable foods.

Monday, July 02, 2007

Downtown digs

I'm quite a fan of my new workplace. It's in this industrial part of downtown LA, home to companies dealing in produce, pallets or scrap materials, or that manufacture or import different goods. Driving around this jumble of streets takes some vigilance because trucks come flying down the road. If I don't get into an accident (knock on wood), I should become a pretty badass driver in short order.

Today, we opened for business in the new warehouse and office. This is the view from my desk (left). The inventory in the yard belongs to Arnold, a 59-year-old Mexican guy who buys and sells pallets. I quite like having this view; there is always something interesting to look at. If you have ever seen a forklift in action, I think you would agree that forklifts and pallets are the product of a genius mind.

This is not the type of work environment that most MBAs end up in, I'll grant. We have no cubicles or morning meetings here, and you do have to get your hands dirty some of the time. But I like it, because it's real and tangible. It makes me feel alive.

Besides Arnold the pallet man, the cast of characters in our building consists of:

  • Simon, our landlord. A 40ish Hong Kong guy who runs a toy import business that he is phasing out. A bit of a control freak, and sometimes talks too much. After seeing me all of three times, he commented that he thought I was "soft" and needed to toughen up. We'll see about that.
  • Aroldo, 22-year-old Guatemalan who manages Simon's warehouse. Nice kid, pretty sharp, works hard, keeps a lot of fruit in his fridge.
  • Three HK ladies in Simon's office, which looks like a bank because it used to be a bank. I probably won't see them much, except when I go in there to get our mail and stash my lunch in the fridge.
  • A very large, tan Chinese woman who apparently used to do martial arts competitively. She runs a wholesale operations for some kinda trinkets. Glass figurines? Her warehouse guys are pretty tough-looking pair, with lots of tattoos and such.
  • An Indian guy, also a wholesaler of some kind.
At first, I was not looking forward to sharing a building with other tenants. But I think it'll turn out to be muy divertido.