We camped in Julian this weekend. It was phenomenal, a great time. But it's hard to be glad about the trip when the weekend has ended so tragically for so many. As of the writing of this blog, there are 8 fires raging throughout San Diego County. This link has several pictures, including some from a hiker on Volcan Mountain - a hike that we did on Saturday morning, just 24 hours before the photo was taken.

Honestly, it's becoming a little scary. Several people I know now are affected, one of the people in our company may have lost her home. My friend Ben, who gave me a place to live when I first moved down here, was evacuated from his home in Rancho Bernardo 20 minutes north of downtown where the fires have consumed several houses. He saw it creeping over the hills as he was leaving. Fortunately he made it down here safely, but how many homes are going to be lost before this thing is over.

Not that I didn't already, but now more than ever I have a great appreciation and respect for the men & women who volunteer to fight these flames. Have you hugged a firefighter today?

It's time to celebrate Rob's existence. To do so, I am posting the only picture of him I have on my work computer. Love those curly golden locks.

Today is Blog Action Day.

Bloggers all over are highlighting the need for green living, environmental awareness, and the role each us plays in building a sustainable future.

Facebook users: did you know you can make your page "green"? Simply by adding the "Greenbook" application, you can help generate advertising revenue that goes toward reducing the amount of CO2 emissions that come from the energy it requires to run Facebook.com. Check it out here.

Thanks & I hope you'll recycle today! :)

We've got a good thing going and so we've got to protect it
Because there's nothing better, baby - don't you forget it
I don't worry 'bout us
-Carolyn Arends

Today was crazy good.

It started with a whim. I'm car-less at the moment, so alot of things that I had been doing on a regular basis, I'm not doing anymore. Chick-fil-A is one of those things. I've biked there before, and it's a pretty easy ride. But this morning I had sudden urge to really beat my body into shape. One of those empowering moments when you really believe you can take your health in your own two hands and resuscitate it by sheer will. So I decided to run to Chick-fil-A. (Not even going to broach the irony of that statement.)

I made it 4.83 miles. Chick-fil-A was an approximate 2 miles further. I stopped at my friends' house and he had to drive me back. Still - 4.83 miles after not having run a lick about a year ain't bad. So despite my now-aching legs, I was pleased with how I spent the morning.

Then it was on to the Adams Avenue Street Fair, a big annual music event here in San Diego with tons and tons of vendors lining the road. It was there I re-discovered the joy of Mentos (the Freshmaker). They were handing them out for free. I went back for seconds. Also, I recommend a band from here in town called "The Drowning Men" (their MySpace here).

Then it was onto the Stone Brewery in Escondido with my new friends Damian & Tim. Tim was the only beer aficionado amongst us, but we all had a great time on the free tour this brewery gives. Hearing about the passion that goes into good beer-brewing was well worth the trip. Not the mention the 4 free glasses they gave us at the end of the tour!

Then it was off to La Mesa, a city just east of San Diego that I had never visited before, to play a gig at Cosmo's Cafe. We had a great turnout, I sold a few CDs, connected with a few musician friends, and got to talk with Jason Turtle of the Turtle Project (whose music I HIGHLY recommend - though they don't have a CD yet... MySpace here - I'm stoked about getting him down to Java Jones and hopefully playing a show with him myself sometime. It's always great to get a compliment from another artist you really like & respect. Jason's the man.

Finally, it was back to San Diego, to the House of Blues on the block where I live where I had a ticket to a great show: Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers (MySpace here). I saw these guys back in the spring when I was volunteering for the Mocha Club at a concert they happened to be playing. They put on an impressive show then, and so it was a no-brainer for me when I found out they were playing next door for a mere $12. I wasn't disappointed - such a great band. What's awesome about them is that they're 4 guys who are clearly best friends, love each other, and having the time of their lives. There's nothing more fun to watch than great music coming from friends like that.

It was a hell of day. Now to rest my aching body - and dread getting out of bed tomorrow morning...