You See LA

Whatup homies? It's been a couple of weeks, so here goes. I am officially in the freakin' state of California. I'll be in LA until Friday afternoon, then off to San Diego where I do that whole marathon thing. Now is the time to send the good thoughts, encouraging emails, awesome text messages, funny notes, etc etc. Although I feel confident and ready to do this, I must admit I am somewhat nervous. It's been ten days since my longest run ever of over 20 miles in the trails of southern Jersey. I ran 6 on Sunday in the gross heat in Central Park and now it's just "chillin time." Very little running, lots of resting. Lots of pasta and carbs, little to no booze, sleep and water, lots of it. I will try to hit up Santa Monica tomorrow and hopefully work on my tan. One thing I definitely need to work off is the In N Out I had for dinner! My god, that place is amazing! First time too.

So kids, to reiterate, I'm in Cali and I'm feeling good. By about 10:30 Sunday morning PST, yours truly will be able to call himself a "marathoner." I like the sound of that - you?

Love,
John

ps: My proof's above - I visited UCLA today. What a beautiful campus, almost bucolic. I'm guessing...lots'o rich kids. Like Cali's NYU perhaps?
pps: The problems with the environment I now officially claim begin and end here. You don't even want to know how many single person occupancy cars I saw today. That's not American, just simply pathetic. Freakin' car pool, people!

Gratitude & Stuff

I want to thank all of you who came out to my party fundraiser last week. I was touched by all of the support both monetary and moral. I really cannot say enough about it. A very special shoutout goes to Adrien Gallo, owner of Double Happiness on Mott Street. Adrien donated all of the alcohol, thereby making 100% of the $20 cover go straight to the charity. Big Ups to AG and don't forget to go back there, or Palais Royale which is just upstairs - two dope spots.

Because of your support, I was able to raise over $1,000 for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and am happy to report that I will be surpassing my goal very soon. This is not to say that contributions aren't still welcome; of course they are, even up to a week or so after the marathon.

Speaking of which, the marathon is just about two weeks away. I'm getting a little nervous which is expected, but I feel confident. I had had this ridiculous idea of breaking four hours, but this being my first ever marathon and having issues with my right foot, I will be happy to just finish. Obviously, if I'm feeling good on race day, I'll toy with the idea of a goal time.

Saturday at 7am (God!), I'm off to boondocks Jersey to some state park for what will be my last long run before the big one in San Diego. I'm aiming for 20 miles. If that sounds terrible, it's because it kind of is. Only nice part is that it'll be on grass which is kind on the knees. Oh yeah, and we have a picnic following. I plan on retiring to my apartment that afternoon where I will cry and shudder whilst popping Aleve like pez - my only comfort will be watching my Mets take care of those Bronx guys - it's on!

I'm off to Cali on the 29th spending three days in la la land because that's how I role and then training it down to San Diego. 2 days of chilling and worrying in SD and then on Sunday, June 3rd I do what 3 months ago I never thought possible. I run a marathon and you'll all be there with me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

ps: Anyone know anything about Saint Diego? He must have done something pretty awesome to get a gorgeous city named after him. In Argentina, San Diego would be none other than Diego Maradona, el 10.

A Simple Analogy courtesy of Family Guy

Pretend I'm Stewie and the money you owe me is going to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

THIS THURSDAY - DOUBLE HAPPINESS @ 7pm!!! (you better f' show)

I'll get back to blogging in the not so distant future, but for now, let's get drunk, have some fun and support a very worthy cause at the same time.

This Thursday night, May 10th will be my Happy Hour Extravaganza at Double Happiness in downtown Manhattan, located at 173 Mott Street just south of Grand. Closest subways are the J,M,Z to Bowery or B,D to Grand. There's others, but those are close. Just Google Map it already!

The deal is as follows: Starting at 7pm, $20 bones at the door gets you at least 2 hours of free drinking. Could be longer depending on supply, but we have a lot so we should be good for longer - I just don't want to overpromise. I say free drinking bc the $20 goes straight to my charity, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The free drinking includes Svedka vodka, Sky 90 vodka, Cuervo 1800 (good) Tequila, and wine. There is no word yet on beer, but I'm working on it. Regardless, you can't complain. Why? Because, first, it's for charity and second, what the hell does $20 in NYC get you anymore - maybe 2 drinks. It's very fitting to do this at a bar named Double Happiness, you'll get drunk and happy and you'll make people dealing with cancer happy.

I'm running a freakin marathon for the love of God! The least you can do is come get wasted with me to show your "support"/love of cheap booze. If I don't see you on Thursday night, it's over...like for serious.

Love,
John