It's been two months since I've been on here. It's been a rough two months. My workplace has been torpedoed and my professional support systems removed one by painful one since December. Been doing a lot of thinking... and pouting... and thinking. The last week finally started to feel normal there somewhat... a new normal, I guess. I was actually busy for the first time in a long time. But still thinking. However, I don't want to dwell on that here. This blog is supposed to be my outlet from that, to focus on entertaining nonsense that means nothing in the grand scheme of things but still makes me smile. So, in keeping with that, here are some of the few bright spots of the last two months...
I discovered an amazing singer a lot of people cooler than I probably already know about... the awesome Adele. I bought her CD "21" on iTunes in March and have been listening to it non-stop at home as I cook and garden (yes, I've been cooking and am welcoming spring so I can get back to my beloved yard work ;) Here's her current video "Rolling in the Deep" -- amazing! (Have I said that already?)
Since January 12th, I've been sticking to my "Get Healthy" goal, and have been working out on my Wii Fit 4-5 days per week. I've also being eating healthier food (lots of salad, lean cuisine and yogurt) and less of it, with just one cheat day per week. I've lost 11 pounds and have four more to go by April 12th to hit my first 3-month goal on the Wii so my little animated Wii Balance Board won't yell at me :p Last week, I decided it's crunch time and I needed to kick it up a notch, so I went back to Runyon Canyon for the first time in more than a year, since my knee problems. I finished the stair-side loop in one hour exactly...just in time to save my car from the "No parking after sundown" ticket in the Mulholland Parking lot.
Finally, my LA Kings have been playing awesome, despite losing our top two leading scorers six days apart last week. They are one game away from securing a playoff spot. They could have secured it today had the Sucky Ducks of Anaheim beaten the Stars, but alas, the Sucky Ducks of Anaheim never do anything Kings fans want them to do. So now we wait till tomorrow night for a hopeful win against the Sharks (eek).
The Kings' magic number remains at two - latimes.com
That's all for now... I'll try to be back here before June ;)
Showing posts with label parks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parks. Show all posts
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Sunday, October 3, 2010
something to think about
Officials see Prop. 21 as key to future of California's state parks - latimes.com
$18 a year/car to keep beaches and parks open... and then California licensed drivers don't have to pay $8/visit to park.... Why is passing Prop 21 even a question?
Proponents (mainly a group called "Californians Against Car Taxes") say it's not fair to charge every person in California with a car -- many of whom may never use the state parks -- to keep the parks open and maintained. But doesn't every person in California who may not drive end up paying for roads via state taxes on employment or property? Doesn't every homeowner, whether they have children or not, pay taxes to keep our public schools (those that remain, and however crappy they are) running?
Others say it's not fair just to charge tourists to park when they visit. Hate to burst a bubble here, but $8 for a day on a hiking trail or at a beautiful beach is way cheaper than what tourists get charged for parking + admission at Disneyland, Sea World, Universal Studios or to park in Hollywood to look at stars and handprints on the sidewalk. So I really don't think there's going to be a major uproar or tourist exodus from the state.
If this passes, the $130 million the state currently spends on parks would go back into the state general fund to be spent on other things. (May I suggest hiring good teachers and filling in potholes as two possible expenditures?)
However, if this passes, proponents feel this would also set a really bad precedent. Don't like the way the legislature is spending the budget? Create a proposition to tax people and funnel funds to your initiative of choice. It's called "ballot box budgeting" and it's the one thing that's making me really think about how I'll vote on Prop 21. Although, right now I'm leaning towards the opinion that if voters vote to pay more money out of their pocket for an initiative, then the government should be more than happy to let them...
$18 a year/car to keep beaches and parks open... and then California licensed drivers don't have to pay $8/visit to park.... Why is passing Prop 21 even a question?
Proponents (mainly a group called "Californians Against Car Taxes") say it's not fair to charge every person in California with a car -- many of whom may never use the state parks -- to keep the parks open and maintained. But doesn't every person in California who may not drive end up paying for roads via state taxes on employment or property? Doesn't every homeowner, whether they have children or not, pay taxes to keep our public schools (those that remain, and however crappy they are) running?
Others say it's not fair just to charge tourists to park when they visit. Hate to burst a bubble here, but $8 for a day on a hiking trail or at a beautiful beach is way cheaper than what tourists get charged for parking + admission at Disneyland, Sea World, Universal Studios or to park in Hollywood to look at stars and handprints on the sidewalk. So I really don't think there's going to be a major uproar or tourist exodus from the state.
If this passes, the $130 million the state currently spends on parks would go back into the state general fund to be spent on other things. (May I suggest hiring good teachers and filling in potholes as two possible expenditures?)
However, if this passes, proponents feel this would also set a really bad precedent. Don't like the way the legislature is spending the budget? Create a proposition to tax people and funnel funds to your initiative of choice. It's called "ballot box budgeting" and it's the one thing that's making me really think about how I'll vote on Prop 21. Although, right now I'm leaning towards the opinion that if voters vote to pay more money out of their pocket for an initiative, then the government should be more than happy to let them...
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