Amerivespa Chattanooga

This past weekend, Chattanooga was host of the largest scooter show in the country! Sponsored by the Vespa Club of America since 1993, Amerivespa showcases and promotes all motorscooters. It was well attended by scooter enthusiasts with many of the scooters uniquely personalized to each individual's taste...

Pooped but good.

Today was my first time trying Crossfit. If you've never heard of it, "CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide. The CrossFit program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience." -Crossfit.com.

The workout today consisted of less than 2 miles total of running, with 4 different stops which consisted of 250 jump-rope skips, 100 push ups, 100 step-ups, 50 jumping lunges. At the end, you had to run backwards up a steep hill. It lasted for about 35 minutes and was definitely tough. Boy, what a sweat. I took a power nap at 6pm today and I know I'm going to sleep like a rock tonight. Crossfit Chattanooga hosts free Saturday workouts every weekend at 9am. I probably won't join (I'm pretty happy with my weekday workout regimen) but an occasional get-my-ass-outta-bed beating on Saturday may be beneficial...

Scooters again

Stephen and I visited the scooter retailer yesterday and checked out their stuff. I think we are closer to getting one! We are most interested in the ones by Genuine Scooter Company - they are based in Chicago and their most popular models are The Buddy ($2,699, 125cc) and a really cool vintage/modern bike called Stella ($3,499, 150cc). Of course, I would love to get a Stella for obvious reasons but price-wise, it will probably be a Buddy. Also, the Buddy is 125ccs and doesn't require a motorcycle permit. If I were to get a Stella, I would have to take the course, though from what I've heard, it's not that bad and would be helpful in learning motorcycle safety. We had the opportunity to test ride a Buddy last night, as the people who were hosting the party we attended had one. It was fun.

Chattanooga has it

Chattanooga just landed the new VW plant.

This is big news and pretty historic for our city. Construction will begin immediately and the plant will be producing vehicles by 2011, but money and jobs will start to come to the area over the coming year, as people move to the area and collateral developments begin. It is a good day for Chattanooga, Chattanoogans, and even Smart Furniture-- Over the next 4 years, over $1 billion will be invested in the city and collateral development (and of course, interior design, furniture and fixtures). It a bright day to be a Chattanoogan, as this is a watershed day in our city's economic development.

And importantly, VW has committed to environmentally-responsible construction and manufacturing...

More details here...

kitty condo-ing

So the latest project that I'm working out in my head is to figure out a new kitty condo for my cats. The typical carpeted kitty condo just isn't going to cut it in my new modern home. I stumbled across an innovative concept, called "The Climber". This is an interesting option if it will fit my taller than normal doors. "The Climber is remarkable! It is a patented spring-loaded, door-mounted cat tree. It attaches safely to any door and provides a perfect perch for your feline. But more than just a perch — your cat can scratch, exercise and play on The Climber. Not only does it look great while packing in a ton of functionality, it is perfect for small space living. It mounts to a door so no floor space is used and very little room is occupied. It is also very easy to move so you can change locations in your home and you can take it with you if you move." www.smallspaceliving.net. Another interesting concept which is more design centric rather than fuzzy and soft for my babies is creating a tall staircase system using floating shelves. This seems a bit precarious though for my precious pets, and also requires drilling holes in my walls. After we figure out the kitty condo issue, the next task will be finding an inconspicuous place for the Cat Genie...