Jimmy John's and Subway

It takes a whole lot to change this loyal foodie from one restaurant to another. I am one that relates faraway cities to the restaurants they have. Frequent trips result in frequent visits to the familiar, trusted venues. For example, on a recent 3 day trip to southern California I went to El Torito three times. If a Panda Express were nearby that would have seen more business, too.

So it's worth noting that I'm now sharing the love between Subway and Jimmy John's.
This took a long time to even get started. I passed JJs dozens of times and just noted the 'free smells' signs in the windows. I don't care for the black and red color scheme either. It reminds me of slackers with goatees and weak attempts at being hip. I guess what finally broke through was the 'extremely fast delivery' sign. I don't even remember the first occasion but I wandered into the Eastown (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastown) location and am slowly getting hooked.

There are a few reasons. 1)I've grown tired of Subway. I've been eating it since they upgraded the breads and remember it before Jared Fogle who has been around too long. 2)I get tired of standing behind slow or indecisive people at Subway and also the back and forth with the sandwich artist. Too many questions and answers (bread, cheese, toppings, make that a meal, just one cookie?, etc... 3)Jimmy John's makes it simple a la hamburger joints. Just order the sandwich and customize it my holding certain toppings.
4)Quality, taste, and price are close enough.
5)Jimmy John's is FAST. They have more than one cashier to take orders. By the time you pay and stoop for the chips the sandwich is typically ready. What a concept!

If you're impatient, interested in straying from the usual food stops, and you like sub sandwiches, give Jimmy John's a try.

running a half marathon

As I write this I'm icing my calves because Saturday I ran a 13.1 mile half-marathon. I undertook this masochistic activity as a means to the end of finishing a 15.5 mile race on May 8th. I've been doing this race for about 12 years and my feet and legs are still holding up fairly well.

The rewards of running a long race is an inward and outward experience that can obviously only be achieved by throwing yourself into it. Some inward rewards are the illusion of prolonging youth and being able to do something others can't or don't care to do. External rewards are the kinship with other struggling runners, the cheering crowds, helpful aid station workers, and all the odd things you see and think about in a normal race.

I'll write more about this in the next two weeks and will share more of those oddities.

stuck in traffic

Over the last few weeks I have been in some monumental traffic jams. I still feel a little numb but I'm sure I'll come back for more.
First was Mexico City. I'd say this was the most difficult because it was the most time to cover the least distance and also had the worst air quality. The upside to Mexico City is that there's always something to look at. Worst drive - a 90 minute drive from the south of the city to the zoo in the center.
Seoond was Chicago. I arrived to the city on 94 west at 5 PM on Friday, admittedly not the best time. It took two hours to get from Comiskey Park (where the White Sox play) to the hotel near the airport. No upside to traffic in Chicago.
Finally now I am in Orange County. Today it took me over two hours to get from Burbank to Santa Ana, a distance of about 42 miles. I usually don't mind driving around So. Cal. because I try to pick off-peak times and there the highway can have up to 6 lanes and all the drivers are fast and alert like me. The upside to So. Cal. is the talk radio.
I'm not complaining. The first was part of a vacation and the latter two work-related. I don't have sympathy when people complain about traffic or when I see the periodic story in USA Today about long commutes. People choose to live and work in these cities and really no amount of incentives or urban planning will lessen the traffic. There are just too many people in too small of an area.

stop and think

Sometimes I have an epiphany on how I can make life easier. Unfortunately I didn't invent the Internet (like Al Gore) or Facebook or Twitter. and I probably won't be in on The Next Big Thing.

No, I think of really simple things that could never be patented. Tonight I became irritable when my wonderful wife asked me to go to the basement to get toilet paper. And I thought and said something to the effect of "Why in the bleep is the T.P. down there? We don't have a bathroom down there. ALL the T.P. should be stored near the bleeping toilets!!! I didn't actually use the salty language, but you get the point.

Another idea is to only do one thing at a time. Or to put it even simpler, finish one thing before taking on another. One scenario is during the trip from the basement to the upstairs, I'll carry multiple rolls and then try to pour myself a glass of water when passing through the kitchen while holding onto the rolls. Inevitably I'd spill water or drop the rolls, yell an obsenity, and have to clean up. Why not just set the T.P. down first? Or skip the water?

I hope you can find a way to incorporate this advice into your life and lower your stress and anger levels. Occasionally I'll think first and am almost always grateful.

La Marquesa

Yesterday I returned from an 11 day family vacation to Mexico City and Acapulco, along with a day trip to a national park called La Marquesa, just west of Mexico City. La Marquesa is in a temperate valley surrounded by rolling mountains of pine trees and the day there was one of the highlights of the vacation. There are a multitude of activities there: soccer, hiking, kite flying, frisbee, football games, fishing, 4 wheelers, horseback riding, and more.
After throwing a football around for awhile we sat down outside a restaurant and ate tacos, quesadillas, tlacoyos, and huaraches. I chose to wash it down with a michelada, a beer with salt on the rim of the bottle and lemon juice and hot sauce added to the beer. After that we rode four wheelers and then played a game of touch football with about 15 kids and adults. Finally we went back to the picnic tables and took about another 90 minutes to finally pick up and leave.
It was one of those long, sunny days where you forget about time and stress and just have fun. As a youth I spent summer days like that in the towns of Alaska and Holland State Park, MI. Now that the weather has turned for the better I hope you'll plan a day trip somewhere near you and enjoy some leisure time in the great outdoors.

Down Mexico way

Having a great time in Mexico and will have lots to share next week.