Under the guise of a, “Team Building Activity,” my boss took us all over to the F1 Race Factory in Phoenix. It’s sort of a glorified Go-Kart race track, but in adult form. Faster cars, tighter tracks, no kids. It’s pretty serious racing.

The first race was a little timid. It took me a while to get comfortable with the kart and the track… even etiquette was a bit complex. The closest equivalent I’ve tried is Project Gotham Racing on X-Box Live… and I’m the first to admit that I consider it a valid tactic to ram myself into the rear end of a leading car to slow myself down. Not allowed at this place.

The second race got a little out of hand- a series of unfortunate events led to one of my coworkers getting a kart almost thrown on top of him. He got out with no serious injuries, just some scrapes and cuts.

It’s not quite Fiddlesticks, but it’s a lot of fun if you don’t mind coughing up a bit of cash. Or signing a liability waiver.

F1 Race Factory
317 S. 48th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85034

I know it’s only October, but if you’ve already planned your Halloween party, bought the Thanksgiving turkey, and finished your Christmas shopping, there’s still one thing left to do: get your house on AzCentral’s holiday lights map.

Not only will you be on the map so people can stop by and admire your hard work, you’ll help out charity too. So sign up today.

…less than a mile from my house. Two people tried to rob a Payday Loans store less than a mile from my house today, one was shot dead. First of all I’m a bit peeved that a Payday Loans opened up in my neighborhood and I didn’t even know about it. These places generally cater to less than desirable folks. Secondly, it happened in one of the nicest parts in Mesa. Go figure. Things like this generally don’t freak me out, especially since the person doing the shooting was either a store employee or customer, not the perpetrators. Good for someone exercising their right to keep & bear arms. Another thing I’ve learned from this incident, is that AZ Central’s news reporting is CRAP! Their writeup on the event is vague and confusing. I generally try to shun all mainstream news outlets, but AZ Central was the only place I could (try) to find out what happened. Well, back to reading this week’s copy of The Onion.

On an aside, isn’t it funny how these payday loan companies that advertise on TV show all these respectable folks using their service? The Check Into Cash commercial makes me laugh everytime. Like a 60 year old retired lady is really going to get a payday loan. Ha.

Please note that this entry has to do with adult entertainment, so if you a) are not an adult or b) are offended by adult entertainment, please stop reading here.

Ok… My roommate turned 23 today, and we have been planning a celebration for her for the last few weeks. Initially, we thought it would be really fun to get her a male stripper, but since we live in the dorms, that was ruled out. Instead, we thought we’d go to a club that featured an all male revue or something of that nature. But then the guys objected, saying that they didn’t want to go anywhere with “naked dudes”, so that was shot down. So then, we thought, what about a place where they have both male and female strippers? That way the guys could watch the ladies, and we girls could watch the men. Simple solution! Here’s the catch - not only are there almost no male strip clubs, there are no clubs with both. That’s not fair. In my quest for exotic dancers, I came across dozens of gentlemen’s clubs, but very few for male dancers. Those that I did come across were for the dancers to come to your house. Why isn’t there equal representation for us ladies?

Dear friend Siel (a los angelino but what can you do) has organized a challenge. Starbucks corporate has asked each of its stores to french press a cup of Fair Trade coffee at any of its stores upon request. The challenge tests this out.

Presh and Ichallenged the Chandler Fashion Center Starbucks and I am proud to say that they passed. There are what, a million more of these things throughout the valley? Help me challenge them all. The super double bonus is that you get a fresh cup of pressed coffee (which I prefer) and a nice warm feeling inside.

I wonder if my local cabana will do the same?

After college graduation and before I got a job, I spent a lot of time traveling and relaxing and pretending to be an annoying 13 year old girl who corrected everyone’s spelling and grammar in MSN chatrooms late at night.

But also late at night, I became obsessed with The Shadowlands, this kooky site about ghosts and hauntings. It’s got photos, noises and a bajillion stories that people have submitted with their personal haunting stories. Some of them are really creepy, most of them very longwinded and bizarre, and some of them are pretty laughable.

They’ve got an index of haunted places and you can check out what Arizona has to offer in the way of haunted spots. My personal favorite is a spot in Casa Grande that’s haunted by a 7-11 clerk.

Then become an instructor at Sunrise Park Resort! I’ve taught there a few years in a row and it’s much fun. As a part time instructor you need to commit to working 4 days per month (typically 2 weekends) and a few extra days during the holidays. In return you get paid meagerly, get to ski/board for free, get cheap lodging, make alot of friends, and improve your skills! Typically your day will consist of teaching in either the AM or PM (morning or afternoon class) and you’ll get at least a few hours each day to ski/board for free.

If you’re interested you can do one of the following to get more information: Contact Sunrise Ski School, show up around 6PM @ Ski Pro in Mesa on Nov. 16th for the Phoenix Recruitment Meeting, or contact yours truly. All new hires must go to Sunrise the weekend of December 3rd and 4th for training. You don’t have to be awesome to be an instructor, it’s more about being able to clearly explain and demonstrate the basic concepts of skiing or boarding. A friend of mine became an instructor after only 1 season of snowboarding!

From Phoenix, it’s about 4.5hrs drive time to Sunrise. What I usually do is pack on Thu. night and head up straight from work on Fri. evening returning home Sun. evening. It’s a great way to get out of the valley on a regular basis and enjoy the cold & snow!

I rarely read the Phoenix New Times, but the cover story of this past week’s issue grabbed my attention. It’s an article about an ongoing problem with toxic mold that plagued Mesquite Junior High in the Gilbert school district, and how the school district has continually swept the issue under the rug. Sickening stuff, literally and figuratively speaking.

Every city I’ve lived in prior to Phoenix has been blessed/scourged year round with thunderstorms and flashfloods and deafening, booming, crashing, thunder noises and lightening that could near blind you if you looked at it directly. The storms usually caused the electricity to go out at times when you needed reading light or a hair dryer. The flooding typically kept you from running important errands like Fedex’ing packages, depositing checks or picking up milk due to low water crossings blocking your every maneuver. In school, you had tornado/thunderstorm drills where you’d have to use the ‘duck and cover’ technique and mash your head up against a wall in a hallway with no glass or windows. It all pretty much becomes routine when you live in cities like that.

Of course, it’s all taken to the extreme when you live in the Gulf or in coastal areas with the potential for massive destruction, as we’ve all witnessed this year, and that’s heartbreaking. But living in Arizona, with its near perfect weather for at least 9 months of the year, I appreciate a little weather and a little water.

The past few days here, with the intermittent light rain and slight wind, has nearly made me turn my car around on my morning commute to work so I can relish the gray light and ozone smell and curl up with a good book and a blanket at home. I’ll take what little I can get out here. Even if the rain dries up almost immediately and the only evidence is in the low lying flooded baseball fields and there’s no thunder that could rattle your pants off or lightening to turn night into daylight, I’ll take it.

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