Author: Runnergirl

Here’s your Chai, now quit your whining

When Hubby and I finished up our grubbin’ lunch at the Folsom branch of La Fiesta on Sunday, we noticed a business in the same strip mall that was called “Tea and Sympathy.” Wait..what? SYMPATHY? Did I read that correctly?

“Yes, I’d like an iced Mighty Leaf Green Tea Tropical, and my diabetic hamster who needs insulin shots just ran away.”

“That will be $3.40, and I’m sorry.”
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100% SNARK FREE

Here’s hoping you’ll never need this service:

If you’re like me, you take every opportunity to enjoy the best that our region has to offer in outdoor recreation. There are countless beautiful views that can be accessed only by running or hiking through the woods and up and down some mountains.

While every precaution is taken for a safe adventure, we all know of someone — even if it’s just reading about it in the paper — who needed to be taken out on horseback or by a helicopter to get much needed medical attention, whether it’s from a bad fall, allergic reaction, heart attack, or a variety of other reasons.
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Embrace your fellow man

In many posts, we’ve shared our own experiences with people becoming more distant with each other — whether it’s not making eye contact; not returning a “hello”; or failing to say basic phrases such as “I’m sorry,” “excuse me,” “thank you,” and “yes, please.” I know this is not limited to Sacramento, but is there anything we can do about it?
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Who are the people in your neighborhood?

As a nine-year Pocket area dweller, I grew accustomed to having my 95831 brethren say “hello” or give a smile and a wave as our paths crossed while I was out running and they were running, walking dogs, or pushing kids in strollers. One of my Pocket “friends” sits in a folding chair in his garage and watches the activities at Garcia Bend Park as his American and USMC flags billow in the Delta Breeze. I’d worry when I didn’t see him out there, and we always exchanged pleasantries as I trotted by. I have no idea what his name is, nor he mine, but it feels like we’ve known each other forever just from our ever-so-brief exchanges.

I feel the same way about the people who work at Bel Air on Rush River Drive — it was sad to leave, as many of them have worked there the entire time I’d lived there. Everyday was like the “It’s a Small World” ride at Disneyland, complete with the line of, “There is just one moon and one shining sun, and a smile means friendship to everyone.”

Now that I’m living and running in a new ‘hood, I’m disenchanted that the people aren’t nearly as friendly.
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Kaiser: On a roll!

When I found myself in need of urgent care after a household accident yesterday (click link at your own risk), my hubby drove me to a local fire station to be checked out by the paramedics. The first station we tried was the one at Havenside and Florin in the Pocket area, and there was nobody around at all (which begs the question of its being a “safe haven” for people to drop off newborns, but that’s a different issue altogether.) The second fire station we tried was the one on 43rd near South Land Park Drive. The paramedics told me to get to the ER, and I knew the closest one under my coverage was Kaiser South on Mack Road.

Keeping my mind off the disgusting nature of my injury, we chatted about what was in store for us once we arrived at Kaiser. We were delightfully surprised.
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Getting informed

Sac Rag contributors and commenters certainly have a variety of opinions, and it seems most have fairly strong feelings regarding how local government should be run. My stance has always been to encourage people to learn as much as they can, to get in touch with their decision-makers to voice their opinions, write letters to the editor of newspapers, or possibly run for office themselves.

There are also courses offered through local jurisdictions and organizations that give citizens an up-close look at how things are run, why they’re run that way, and what it would take to make improvements. Here are three such programs for which you may consider applying:
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Break-up of the year

After more than a decade together, declining Arbitron ratings has caused the break-up of my favorite morning show duo, Shawn and Jeff. A loyal listener since they first started on KWOD in 1993, I made the switch to The Zone with them in 2002, despite my much stronger preference of KWOD’s playlist. For those of you who haven’t listened to The Zone, they’re about three months behind the curve as far as songs go. Before it got sold to a broadcasting corporation, the then-independently-owned KWOD would play a song for months, then The Zone would pick it up and tout it as “brand new!” and play the heck out of it when you were already so sick of it.

For years, Shawn and Jeff provided me with the ideal start to my day — they kept things light, didn’t cause much controversy, and let listeners into their personal lives as they each got married and started their own families. There are morning radio shows on the air whose programming is more cerebral, but I really don’t want to think too hard when making the sleep-wake transition since I have the rest of the day to concern myself with reality.
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Joncich is Cleveland-bound

As reported in today’s Bee, the crowd favorite Paul Joncich is Cleveland-bound to take the helm of anchorman at a local news station.

One of my favorite jokes, “Did you hear that there was an earthquake in Cleveland?” “No, really?” “Yeah, it did $10 million in improvements!”

Actually, I’m sure it’s a fine fine city and probably gets more snark than it deserves. We’ll have to alert our ClevelandRag.com brethren that Paul is on his way.