What I Learned Today…

What I Learned Today… green light means go green

Sara Leave a comment

San Diego has a green transportation company, of the car variety.

Bikes have been all the green rage. Pedal power to the max still can’t always get you where you need to be (unless combined with some unwieldly public transportation). TerraMoto offers another solution to move you with an environmentally conscious mind. They accomplish their goal by using hybrid vehicles, specifically Toyota Prius sedans and hybrid Toyota Highlanders.

After reading a bit about their company and the purpose behind it, I decided to give them a call to get a quote to find out how much TerraMoto actually charges for a trip to the airport, knowing a ride in a yellow cab costs about $25 plus tip. My quote for that 15 minute (max) car trip is $50 from my house in North Park to the airport. Yep, even the non-math geeks know this is double the cost… but they did offer a $5 off for first time users and $10 off if I book round trip. The sweet, enthusiastic girl also shared they would match any “competitors” price. I didn’t go much into this, but surely they are talking about town cars specifically… not the dingy shuttles or taxis they claim on their website as competition.

It is cool to know this exists, but I wish they were true to their roots. There was a need and they filled it but at what expense. Well, not their pockets… that is for sure.

Today’s learnings bore from San Diego GreenDrinks, a group of individuals interested in and/or working on improving the environment, thinking green, and who like to network and socialize once a month. Invited almost 3 years ago by some of my camp industry friends, I am sad to say, I have not made it a priority to attend any of these gatherings… although, I still would love to even though I left camping years ago. The next Green Drinks event is this Thursday, July 15th, 6-9PM at the Chula Vista Nature Center.

Oh yeah, TerraMoto is offering $10-$20 rides (depending on where you live) from the event to discourage drunk driving. Moved me to call. Nice work.

What I Learned Today… black and tan

Sara Leave a comment

A story from my grandmother that I had never heard before.

 Every week I try to make it over to my grandmother’s house to visit and perhaps partake in a bite to eat. The usual grub requested is a Whopper Jr with cheese, while I opt for a Veggie Burger or if I have time to swing by, a Turkey sandwich at Subway.

Every visit seems to repeat itself going something like this…

  1. I arrive through the garage door since I still have the remote from living there almost 4 years ago.
  2. “Hi Grandma” I say as the door closed behind me. I hear the TV hushed as she presses mute for her program
  3. I set up tray tables while exchanging more hellos and banter on the weather.
  4. Usually I have to head back to the kitchen since I often forget to grab her a coke (Diet Pepsi) on the way in.
  5. After we get settled to dig into our grub, topics of conversation proceed as follows
    • How Thomas is doing?
    • When was the last time you talked you sister/mother?
    • What exciting things did you do this week?
    • The movie I saw this weekend was horrible, but your sister liked it. They just don’t make movies like they used to.
    • My knee hurts… My comments range from how great she is doing so soon after surgery to today’s comment of how all of the exercise the physical therapist does helps make it better, but working out sometimes hurts. Which then leads to how “I’m not as young as I used to be.” 
  6. The conversation is intermittently hushed as the TV is brought back to life seconds after “something good” happened on her program, The Young and the Restless. “You know, your mother got me into this program…”
  7. After about a half hour, I have to head back to work. I clean up, she hands me a five for the food, I give her a hug and trot off the direction I came in.

Although the conversations remain consistent, I try to throw a wrench in every now and again… and she sometimes throws back. Like today, we ended up talking about skin and how my mother had my grandfather’s skin color (this was after talking about who Thomas looked like). I totally disagreed as my grandfather was pretty pasty, never able to hold much of a tan. A few hours in the sun only made him look more like a large crustacean in a sailor suit. However, my grandmother (and my mother… and me) was just the opposite. Tans seemed to stick to her olive skin.

Agreeing with my sentiments, my grandmother progressed into an unfamiliar story about when my grandfather left to Cuba while she stayed home in Norfolk for the summer. My grandmother took to the beach, sunbathing for entertainment. When my grandfather returned, his mouth dropped exclaiming that she looked like a black person. They both returned to their hometown of Anderson, Indiana where she remembers people staring and whispering to each other as they gazed on the ginger haired boy with his dark skinned, dark locked girl. My grandfather requested that she never sunbathe to that degree again… She never did… to that degree.

What I Learned Today… lemons

Sara Leave a comment

A lemon can also be an apple.

Sometimes there is no convincing otherwise. At today’s BBQ, Pampered Chef style, Thomas played catch throw with a lemon, but he will continue to tell you otherwise. To him, there was no denying the yellow, citrus reeking ball was other than a shiny apple. With every throw, he shouted “apple!” As I rolled the object back, I countered with “lemon!”  This went on for the half hour before we needed to leave. I’m not sure if lemons will ever exist in his world. Perhaps he is more of a glass is half-full, life-is-made-of-lemonade kind of guy. Or is it apple-ade?

What I Learned Today… Bird Park

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Bird Park is actually shaped like a bird.

Heading home from a neighborhood filled day…

The morning was spent at the Miller’s house on 32nd and Redwood for their 5th annual fundraiser, Alex’s Lemonade Stand with FM94.9 broadcasting, live music, silent auctions and Storm Troopers. After a much-needed family nap, we took the wagon over to Bird Park on 28th and Pershing for their annual summer concert series to see Billy Lee and the Swamp Critters.  

… we stumbled across this painting on the side of one of the utility boxes. Roger was the one who actually identified it as being a map or an early concept of the park. We have been to Bird Park many times to watch friends play football, let the kid run and watch concerts, but we never noticed this painting before.  

The park always seemed oddly shaped to me with a winding pathway, plants in seemingly strange places and a random sitting area in the shape of a circle (which I now understand is the eye). So in addition to the names of the various birds spotted in North Park stamped in the concrete along the walkway, here is an additional reason the park is  for the birds.

You can see for yourself from this google map photo or by taking a walk in the park, that the plan didn’t completely shake out in terms of landscaping, but what project ever does? If you are ever feeling in the mood for some guerilla gardening, finishing the feet would be an awesome surprise.

What I Learned Today… high tea

Sara Leave a comment

Only tourists call it high tea, it’s just afternoon tea to the locals.

I’m glad I didn’t learn this one the hard way.

In less than three weeks I will be heading on a plane bound for the UK, spending a week camping on the grounds of the fancy, historical Harewood House for the 100th anniversary of girl guiding/scouting worldwide with about a day and a half to spare exploring London all with 12 girls between the ages 14-18. Since the schedule for the week camping is set (although I haven’t had a chance to see it yet), I have been spending time trying to organize the girls, who live across the country, to determine what we will be doing for the day and a half in London. Remember, this is their trip and I am just along for the ride so they don’t kill each other or manage the situation if they do.

Anyhow, in the process of learning the various activities and the must-sees of London, the girls requested high tea at Harrods. I don’t drink caffeine nor do I like gaudy, over-priced department stores, but I will do my duty and research what I must do to satisfy their need of doing something “very traditional English.” In the process, I found my learning moment of the day but at least from the virtual world. We all know as locals of our respective places the annoying things tourists say, that become pet peeves of the entire town. Like calling San Francisco, San Fran or Frisco. Or when people call California, Cali. I get it and of course I will share my new-found knowledge with the girls because no matter how touristy we really are, we don’t want to be one of those stupid Americans that can never get anything right.