The tide pools at White Point Park in San Pedro, CA are simply amazing. Not only is the scenery beautiful but so are the creatures that call it home: starfish, sea anemones, and what seemed to be an endless supply of crabs. I swear, you took one step and you could literally see them scatter way from you. But before you even had a chance to get near the sea life below, check out the view from above.

There are two ways to get down there: you can find a parking spot on the street and walk down (our initial plan) or pay the $10 and drive down. While I would have had no problem walking back up, the family overruled me and made me pay. That decision turned out to be the right once as you will find out later in the post (and the reason for this post’s title).

One you make you way down, the view gets even better.

This is southern California, not Hawaii.

As you make your way into the tide pools, that’s when you start to discover nature in all of her beauty: irregular-shaped rocks and shells are only the beginning. Walking closer to the rocks, the creatures that call the sea their home start to appear and are they something else.

I have to admit that this thing sort of freaked me out but I went ahead and touched it anyway. It was definitely alive; its body trembled when I placed the tip of my finger on its back.

Despite seeing some wonderful animals in what is essentially Mother Nature’s Touch Tank, Ann wasn’t going to be satisfied until she saw a starfish. I told her she would but to get closer to the water and look closely under rocks since they like to hide.

And once she did that, she was not disappointed.

The starfish sightings were becoming about as frequent as the crab sightings, but much more serene. Those crabs are punks and like to run as if you are going to take their secret stash of food.

So this post’s title. Let me explain. As Ann was slowly navigating her way over the rocks, she came across one that was really slippery (as some are) and warned me about stepping on it.

Perhaps the excitement of finding yet another unique sea animal got the best of me and I had forgotten her words of advice because as I was making my way back to shore, I stepped on said rock and slipped on it and I fell — hard. My right leg took the brunt of the hit while my left foot lost its grip, throwing my left leg onto the surface of another rock. On top of all that, in the midst of breaking my fall, a corner of the camera slammed into the rock and my face nearly made contact with another. In short, asses and elbows everywhere.

I was very fortunate to not have my face slam into the rock because my legs were damaged enough. While my left wasn’t too bad, the area of impact on the right one swelled almost immediately and to golf-ball sized proportions. I’d never seen anything like it. I won’t post the images here but if you are interested in seeing the carnage, click here and scan through the next few images. It wasn’t pretty but in the end it was just a minor setback. Fortunately, a lifeguard showed up as we were going to the car and Ann asked him for a few bandages. I cleaned the wounds and covered them up. All was well.

Once we had our fill of ocean exploring, we figured it was time for lunch. And if you’re in San Pedro and hankering for a sandwich, Busy Bee is the only place to go. The sandwiches are huge, the selection is great, and the people are all friendly. A definitely small-town vibe going on here.

Sandwiches in hand, we then headed to a place I wrote about over a year ago: The Korean Bell of Friendship. It’s one of my favorite local places not only because of the scenery, but for its history and symbolism. Granted with the way things are in North Korea, the hopes of the two nations being buddy-buddy (as long as Korea remains divided) seems like a lost cause, but the bell remains a symbol that it may one day happen.

The hilltop view is stunning with views of the ocean in almost every direction. So fantastic are the views that this was what I saw as I decided to take five minutes away from the family and meditate.

With a slight breeze blowing, I closed my eyes and let everything drift away for five minutes. It was quite an experience and I must do it again.

It was a busy day but one that the family most certainly won’t forget. In fact, Anthony is already asking when we will go back. He collected quite a few shells and cool rocks during this little excursion and wants to add to it.

I have no problem in fulfilling his request.

If you are ever in the area, by all means stop by and check out the tide pools of White Point. Getting in touch with nature – literally and figuratively – is good for the soul.

To view all images, visit the Flickr set.

And just today I found out that the second portion of that childhood, Lakewood Batting Cages, was closing their doors forever – today. Like almost everything noteworthy, I saw the news on their Facebook page and that they would be open until 9pm today, allowing customers to use their facility free of charge.

Of course I had to be there for the last night.

As I wrote in the aforementioned post, the guys at the batting cages were always so good to me and everyone else who wandered in there. About the only thing that has changed from the last time I saw them was that one of the sons, Roy, had passed away. But like his dad and brother, he was super nice, always had a smile on his face, and always made time for everyone. He’ll be missed.

What apparently happened was that the owners of the property, Local Laborer’s Union 507, would not let them renew the lease (details here). But as I was there, negotiations were in progress with an interested party in China. And if a deal is struck the place could be saved, but it just won’t be the same without the Tyler family running it. They are what made the iconic place special, a place where players like Chase Utley used to hone their skills before making it to The Bigs.

Then there’s me, a 44-yard-old dufus who never remotely had the chance or skills to become a big leaguer – but who always found great enjoyment taking some hacks in the 80 MPH cage over the years. Here’s one of my last sessions (direct link since embedding was being funky).

Before I left for the last time, I had to get my picture with Kevin (middle) and his dad, Daryl. (They still own and operate another location.) I love these guys for being who they were and giving back to the community through sponsorship of local teams, donations, and for simply operating a place where kids of all ages could come and learn how to hit a round ball squarely, one of the most difficult feats in all of sports.

The sun has set on Lakewood Batting Cages, and the local baseball community is eternally grateful for having them be a part of their lives for the last 27 years.

Thanks for the memories and best of luck to The Tylers.

This post is no different.

For one, my little 75-day blogging marathon burned me out and I didn’t want to head back to it any time soon. That’s a simple explanation.

So what else have I been up to?

Flickr. Since Yahoo!’s acquisition of Tumblr, Flickr users had their accounts upgraded to a whopping 1TB of storage space. This trumps the old capacity of a mere 200 images for free users, who had to pay an annual fee for more storage. So what does any of that have to do with my time? I created another Yahoo!/Flickr account and started to store/archive a ton of images to share with family. It’s taking time to upload and tag everything but tagging the images makes things so much easier when searching. It’s like I’m starting over and while time consuming, I’m enjoying perusing images I haven’t seen in ages.

Coursera. I’m trying, yet again, to stick with an online course of a subject of interest (in my case, Nutrition). But no matter how hard I try, I’m not succeeding. I really want to learn about this stuff and although it’s a learn-at-your-own-pace platform, my pace seems to be stuck in Neutral. I’m beginning to think I’m unlearnable (or unteachable, as you see fit).

Job Hunting. Saving the best for last, I’m desperately looking for a new job. I’m tired of the line of work I’m doing and want need to get into something else. This really hit me today when, while proofreading yet another weird language with strange characters, the lines of text started to look as if they were highlighted with a green highlighter – and they weren’t. So not only to I need to do it for my own sanity, I just need to move on and far, far away from the Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Proofreading. I’m sick of it and everything about it. Actually, this job has broken my spirits tenfold not only for proofreading but on other levels as well. The new manager has been promising to transition more of the temps into permanent employees but as of now, only two people have been given the opportunity and one of them has only been there a fraction of the time I have. The job we do is tedious, boring, repetitive. We (the proofreaders) get no kind of word of thanks from anyone while others get the credit whenever we get their projects done. It’s totally disheartening, and that’s not even everything.

So does that justify things? Good. Because I have to go and start looking for another job.

Yes, I’m blogging. It’s because I feel the need tonight.

In short, Ann logged into our online banking account tonight and found a charge to the tune of $221.25 at Office Depot.

First of all, I can’t tell you the last time we went to Office Depot for anything. It’s rare when we have to go there and when we do, we don’t drop over $2oo because we can. It just doesn’t happen, let alone in Tennessee. I’m in California. (The bank transaction included the store’s number which I then looked up online, hence the Tennessee connection.)

On top of all that, I can tell you that I’ve never been to Tennessee let alone an Office Depot in Tennessee. I can’t even think of a situation in this lifetime or any other where that scenario would make any sense.

So after numerous calls to our financial institution, Visa (to report a stolen credit card) and the Office Depot in Tennessee, here’s what I learned:

• Ann’s card was the one that was compromised which is why Visa couldn’t find the transaction. But once I gave them her card number, the person at the other end gave a more-than-nervous chuckle when the charges appeared on her monitor.
• The charges were in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles and Madison, Tennessee (store #58).
• Retailers included JoAnn, FedEx, Rite-Aid and the aforementioned Office Depot.
• Charges exceeded $1,000 but all but one of them were blocked because of the activity on the card.
• The Office Depot charge may go through and then can be disputed. But when speaking with the manager, she said they can cancel the transaction once they find it and then everything will be back in place.

With all of that out of the way, I have a few things to say to some of those involved in this crime ring, both victims and criminals.

To the criminals: Fuck you. Honestly, fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you to Hell and back and then fuck you again – twice and without lubricant. This is not the first time this has happened to me so I’m doubly pissed about this. It must be nice to sit there at home and with your dirty little criminal mind, figure out how to steal the identities of hard-working and honest people just trying to make ends meet. I wish nothing but the worst for you bastards who find it okay to steal from others. Karma, fate, whatever you call it. I want shit to turn on you so bad that you won’t know what hit you, you fucking assholes. Oh, and guess what? If you were a dumbass enough to use an Office Depot Worklife Rewards card when you bought your stuff, the transaction will be tied to that account which contains all of your personal information for authorities. Wouldn’t that be a goddamned hoot, ya little shit?

To the retailers: While I’m pleased as punch that only one transaction of many went through, WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO CHECKING FOR AN ID for large transactions? Seriously, each charge was well over $200! Holy fucking shit, I can’t even buy a fucking Carl’s Jr. hamburger without being asked for my driver’s license. How’s about a little added safety for the consumer? Am I asking for too much here? You could have captured a criminal who is now free to roam the streets and defraud others.

To my financial institution: I can’t believe what a pain in the ass it was to get the ball rolling on this. I moved from a big bank to a credit union in the hopes of having things run a lot smoother and get that so-called “attention” that I never got from BofA. Well, I didn’t. Each call was a royal pain and led to dead ends until the final call. And every time I call for something you make me jump through hoops of fire and because of that, it’s not likely we’ll stay with you very much longer. At this point it seems that keeping our money under the proverbial mattress might be a better idea.

We spent at least an hour on the phone speaking with Office Depot managers, the credit union, Visa, etc. While I’m glad that most of the situation has been remedied, I’m still pissed at the thought of having a criminal asshole out there with a copy of Ann’s debit card even if it has been cancelled. All they have to do is look up someone else and make a card with their info on it.

And in the end, it’s us honest people who pay for the actions of the criminals in the form of personal time invested trying to get things sorted out and price increases due to shrinkage (retail lingo for stolen merchandise).

Mean people suck.

Now let’s get to the heart of things and why I chose today to write, and it’s something I guarantee you didn’t know about me.

Do you know what I have in common (at least according to Wikipedia) with Phil Collins, Vincent van Gogh and Adolph Hitler? I know, it’s an odd combination but I sort of wanted it that way.

Tinnitus.

Tinnitus, which I believe to be  Latin for “pain in my ass,” is a condition in which a person hears constant (read: it CANNOT be turned off) ringing in their ears. While generally described as “ringing” the sound is more of a never-ending tone that is nowhere near the sound of a ringing bell.

So how would I describe it? Not easy. It’s kind of like asking a color-blind person to describe the color they cannot detect.

But to put it succinctly, it’s extremely annoying and at times downright painful.

And that’s why I’m writing: to get my mind off of it for a bit. While the ringing in my ears is constant and oftentimes very loud, I’ve learned to tolerate it and keep it in check so that it doesn’t drive me nuts. And it will if you let it: while trying to sleep or just enjoying some quite time to yourself, that ringing is relentless and aggravating.

Yesterday things started to get worse. I had a rumbling inside my right ear which only got louder as the day went on and by today, it was ridiculous. But this noise is one that I think most can associate with: it felt and sounded like when you get water in your ear with the notable exception being that, if the condition is flat-out at its worse/intolerable, certain noises at certain pitches will bring you to your knees.

Take this example. Years ago, Ann’s grandfather (may he rest in peace) took us out for her birthday. In what I still consider the worst case of ear rumbling I can ever recall, I had to excuse myself from the celebration because the sound of the utensils hitting the plates was bringing tears to my eyes. My ear ringing and rumbling, accompanied by a headache, was just too much to handle. Yes, it hurt that bad and I spent the entire time in the car.

Fortunately, today’s case isn’t that bad but I am still suffering a little: equilibrium slightly off, loud noises bringing a little pain, moderately watery eyes. It’s no fun but I’m getting by.

Now it’s time for some Q&A.

How long have you had tinnitus?
For as long as I can remember or at least from age 10. It’s much easier to ignore when you’re a kid because, well, you’re a kid. Time moves fast and you haven’t a concern for much else besides Hot Wheels and coloring books*.

How did you get tinnitus?
I don’t know. Licking too many frogs**? Maybe I’m just lucky. I hadn’t attended any concerts at the time I first noticed it so I can’t blame it on that. But I’m quite sure attending many shows in my teens, accompanied by constantly being plugged into my Sony Walkman cassette player with Dolby Noise Reduction didn’t help. But I can still hear fine.

What do you when to combat it when it acts up?
Well, not a lot. For the most part I just let it run its course and in a few days I’m all better. But one of the things I’ve noticed is that when it does act up (the pain and rumbling at least), is that I speak at a lower volume. I do this for two reasons: 1) it’s hard to tell how loud I’m speaking with one ear not functioning right, and 2) the vibration inside the cranial cavity will aggravate my ear and cause the pain/ringing to act up again. The best thing I can do is avoid loud noises and try to block it out by listening to white noise apps on my iPod. The noise works to a point but despite it all, if I concentrate hard enough, I can still hear the constant ringing.

No, having tinnitus is definitely not a lot of fun. But you know what is?

Sitting on a brass turtle outside a Chipotle restaurant.

*Hey, I grew up in the 70s.
**And no, I never licked a frog.

As seen at work.

Not only that, it’s get-up-and-go is subpar and there isn’t much room in it for anything. But alas, it’s still bigger than one of those stupid Smart cars.

You definitely give up a lot when you sign the paperwork and make a commitment to drive a Yaris, most of which is your pride.

Which leads me to the Yaris I saw on the freeway this morning on my way to work. When I saw it, I couldn’t believe it. I tried to get a picture of it but being it was still dark and the screen on my phone was blinding in such conditions, I took one shot and just got one giant blur. Besides, I didn’t want to risk my life any more than I had to while behind the wheel of…a Yaris.

And no matter how I tried, my description would not do it justice.

Once I got to work, I decided to Google what I had seen and lo and behold, there was proof of its existence on the Intertubes.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Toyota Yaris Batmobile. (See more pictures here.)

I…I don’t even know where to go with this. But what I can tell you is the “HEROES FOR CHRIST” is now gone and so are the Bat-Chutes on the bumper. Because, you know, those Yarises (or is it Yarii?) are so fast that they need the assistance of parachutes when stopping from break-neck speeds.

Look, if you’re going to make your care a rolling homage to something then go nuts and make it worth your while. And for Christ’s sake, don’t do it to a Yaris.

Because driving one of these things sans decorations is embarrassing enough.

But on this, the 75th consecutive day of blog entries (with 290 days left), I’m reconsidering my decision.

There are more than a few reasons why I’m leaning in that direction, the first of which is time. I’m spending my evenings typing away and sacrificing time I could be spending with the family.

That time also has impeded on my reading time. Since starting my blog-o-thon, I put down whichever books I was reading at the time and they have remained untouched since. I kind of want to get back into it – a big deal since I don’t like to read books in the first place.

Working out has also suffered. I’m managing to squeeze in some here and there but I’m always mindful of the blog and what I’m going to write about that night. I feel sort of rushed to workout when there’s a blog post must be written.

Then there’s the topic of traffic which is something I never really had much of here anyhow and since starting at the beginning of the year, I can’t say that traffic has increased with the constant posting. Additionally, comments are few and far between.

So in short, it’s taking up more than time that I had previously thought it would and the expected results just aren’t there. There are nights when I just want to do nothing but no, it doesn’t happen. I have to blog. I have to keep it going.

What it all adds up to is me putting this crazy idea of blogging every day on the shelf and learning from my experience. If anything, it lasted twice as long as the annual NaNoWriMo blogging challenge plus 15 days so I guess that’s something to be proud of.

This doesn’t mean the end of blogging, though. Not at all. But I’d rather spend a day or two collecting thoughts for one good blog post rather than rush myself into writing some half-assed thought of the day.

Thanks for sticking with me and my lousy posts and I hope you return when I have something of quality to write about.

Just a shot of Anthony using the ball washer before tonight’s round of golf at Heartwell Golf Course, the place where that Tiger Woods guy got his start. Doesn’t he look so serious?

I got a text from Ann before our group started asking me if we were cold. Yes, we were.

By the time we reached Hole 2, I see Ann sitting in a golf cart and being driven right to us with two jackets in hand. It definitely got quite chilly tonight and I’m thankful that we live so close to the course.

Cold weather aside it was a good night for golf and I walked with three other kids besides Anthony. They were all well-behaved and I had no issues with any of them; the youngest boy’s sister was also in the group so she kept him in line.

That’s all I got for tonight. Walking nine holes with a group of kids can take a lot out of you.