A Bit of Color

A Bit of Color

In my industry, when we are looking for information, we ask for "color", as in, "can I get some color on that sale at Nordstrom?" And the person would say, "it's tomorrow from 8 - 5." 

Here's a "bit of color" about me: 

I am reading two books (one for the bus on my Kindle, one hardback for home) and they are The Architects Apprentice and The Beekeepers Apprentice. It's a coincidence that both of them have the word Apprentice in them!! Both are good so far! The Architect is about Istanbul in the 1500s; the Beekeeper is about Sherlock Holmes. I hope to finish both by the end of the year, which will bring my total books read this year to 77 books. 

I am looking forward to this weekend, when we will have our group holiday dinner for work, next week, which is a short week where I will go and visit family and friends, and a good night's sleep, which I may not get for another week or so, but whenever I get it, it will be great. 

I am eating a lot of "comfort" foods lately. Soups, stews and desserts have been on the menu a lot lately, and I need to get back into the habit of eating more healthy. 

I am planning my running schedule for next year with hopefully a couple of vacation trips sprinkled in. It's hard to plan around 5 other people's schedules (only one of us can have a day off at a time at work), summer plans, family things and races!!! I know, it's a hard problem to have... 

I am putting off buying the last of my gifts. I have to buy a gift for a coworker's wife for our holiday party and I don't really know her well and I have no idea what to get her! 

What are you reading? What should I get my coworker's wife? 
Random Ramblings

Random Ramblings

- The other day I was walking to the bus stop and my bus cruised right past me, about two minutes early. This bus goes from Oakland, where I live, to San Francisco. I hopped on the next bus, which goes to downtown Oakland where I would have to transfer in order to get into the city. As I got on, the driver asked if I had missed my regular bus. I told him that the bus had been early and had passed me up. He said, "I'll catch it for you!" and proceeded to slam on the gas and do a high speed bus chase through Oakland. If there were people waiting at stops, he would open the door before he even got to them and would rush them onto the bus. It was hilarious! We ended up catching my bus, and the driver flagged it down and made the other driver wait so I could get on. I have never had so much excitement at 5 in the morning! It was fun!

- I am having issues finishing books lately. I started one I thought I would really like about the strife between the Hutu and the Tootsies in Rwanda, but it just didn't catch my attention and I ended up putting it down after about 20 pages. Then I started another about traveling in Chile that looked really great, and I am still working on it, but it's slow going. I just started a third book (at the same time) and am about 7 pages in and so far, it's so-so. I am not sure if my attention span has changed or what, but it's really frustrating because when I am not enjoying a book, I tend to procrastinate reading, which is something I normally enjoy!

- My boss asked me the other day if I could define "extravagant". I told him what I thought it was and then he asked me what the last extravagant thing was that I have done. I had a hard time thinking of anything! I have traveled, but usually I stay in cheaper hotels and often eat picnic foods. I don't really buy myself clothes or jewelry. I sometimes go out for an expensive meal, which is extravagant to me. What would you say if someone asked you that? What "wasteful" things do you spend your money on?

- I think there is something in the air these days. Three people I know are making huge job changes (and several others are thinking about it)! It is hard to change jobs after years in one industry (trust me, I know), but I am of the camp that it is worth it, even if it means a pay cut or a move to a different city. It is hard at first, and it sucks having to relearn a bunch of new things, but in the end, it often works out. A friend of mine worked for YEARS for the government, and all of a sudden up and decided to move from the Midwest to San Francisco to go to culinary school. This was 10 years ago, and now she is a successful restaurant owner and she is 100% happier than she was before. Sometimes the sacrifice is totally worth it!

What is on your mind today? What are you reading? Have you ever made an extreme career move (or thought about it)?
Coffee Talk

Coffee Talk

I am having a hard time forming more than a list these days... but there are a few things we would talk about if we were having coffee today. First I would ask you:  

How is your week going? What's the weather like where you are? What big things are going on in your life lately?

I am not really one for small talk, but I may start the conversation off by saying that it's finally raining here! We have been needing it so badly. Of course, this is literally just a drop in the bucket, but I will take it. The other good thing is that this hopefully means that it is snowing in the Sierras and I can soon do some skiing and other winter sports.

Next I would delve more into my week by saying how I sometimes really love working with all men (not as many emotions running wild, no line in the ladies room EVER) but sometimes men can be as bad or worse than women when it comes to being catty and/or talking about each other behind the other person's back! They sometimes whine so much I want to just smack them. That and one of them keeps stealing my supplies.... As much as they are a pain, I do like the group I work with. In fact, last night we all went to all-you-can -eat Korean BBQ and I  gorged myself on spicy pork and little side dishes!

I need a quick and effective fitness routine that I can do at home. Do you have any suggestions? My criteria is that I want it to be less than half an hour and I do not want to have to pay for it. This month, and even more so in December, is filling up with week day activities and I need something quick I can do in the gaps of the day.

I have not done any Christmas shopping, and I am behind on starting my Christmas cards. This year I am having trouble getting motivated to do projects. This also bleeds into my running life. I just can't muster up the energy to go running on the week days lately! With the holidays around the corner, this is not going to get any easier. I need to make a list/schedule and start checking it off.

I would love to do this multi day snowshoeing trip in Yosemite. Seeing the valley in the snow would be absolutely priceless! I have added it to my list of things I want to do, which is getting longer and longer each day!

source

Okay, your turn: Where do you want to travel to this winter?  Have you started your shopping yet? tell me what fitness routine you are doing for the winter!
Time is on Your Side

Time is on Your Side

I had a nice chat with my Dad on the phone yesterday (while running), which has been a long time coming. It's amazing how you can keep thinking that you will call someone "tomorrow" or do something "in a few minutes" and all of a sudden hours, days or weeks slip by. I always thought that people who stated that they were, "SO busy" were just bad at time management. I haven't changed my mind about that completely; I have only just gotten worse at managing my own time.

While studying, I made a list in my head of all the things I have been wanting to do or needing to do in the last few months but have put off in order to study. I have mentioned before, but I was never any good at studying. However, this time, it's my job (and my pride!) on the line, so I am buckling down and trying to get it done. In 10 days, I will have literally HOURS of my life back. I am really, really looking forward to that day.

So I thought I would quickly share my list with you and then get back to studying again (and do another load of laundry, and get my lunch ready for tomorrow, and go set the rat trap in the garage, etc).

- Costco trip
- Pickling veggies (almost out of pickles)
- Trip to REI (need a new headlamp)
- Baking/cooking for fun (not just one pot meals for necessity)
- Get a massage (1 hour of bliss)
- Plan a vacation (well deserved!!)
- Catch up/visit with friends/family (on the phone and in person)
- Go camping (summer is nearly over!)
- Start taking more photos
- Organize my room / files (bought containers; now I just need to use them)
- Go browsing at Barnes and Noble (for hours...)
- Buy a few new tops for work
- READ A BOOK!

When you get busy, what takes a back burner? Is there anything you are looking forward to doing soon?
Currently: July

Currently: July

I took my series 7 exam on Monday and it was not the most fun thing I have ever done. You know how, no matter how much you are prepared, you feel inadequate when the time comes to perform sometimes? Well, the exam was a two part exam and I took the first half and felt pretty good. I did not feel good about the second half and after I finished, you have to push a button that says, "if you push this, you cannot go back. Do you want to continue?" and I really did NOT want to continue. But I pushed it and 15 seconds later (which felt like hours, my heart was beating SO hard), it gave me my score. I passed! Phew. One down; one to go. 

Current Book - The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe. This book got good reviews from all my friends on Goodreads. I have to admit, maybe it's because I am studying at the same time, but I am finding it only so-so. It's about books, so of course that's a plus, but it's just not riveting. 

Current Running Path - The other day I took a run out to the Bay Bridge trail, where they built us a new bridge and are taking down the old one. It was pretty cool to see, and is kind of an end of an era. This bridge was damaged in the 1989 earthquake and it's been a long road replacing it, but it's finally done. Now they just have to get rid of the old one.



Current Drink - Sparkling water. It's my new treat to myself. I even got some mint the other day and have been drinking it with mint and lemon. It's so refreshing!

Current Excitement - See above regarding passing the Series 7. Phew! 

Current fashion trend - These are everywhere. In all different forms.


source

Current Favorite Blog/Website - I have to admit, I have not really been reading blogs/websites lately. The only one I have really visited lately has been the Oakland Library website, and maybe Goodreads.  

Current Garden Item - So far we have tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, radishes and peppers! Summer is here!




Current Love - Running with people. I still mostly run by myself, but have been doing maybe one run a week or every two weeks with friends, and it really makes the time of a long run go by faster!

Current Food - See above regarding garden items. I made the best salad yesterday with radish, cucumber, tomato, toasted pecans, feta, lemon and mint. It was so good and fresh!

Current Indulgence - Trail mix. I have been going to town on it. It's my study snack. Unfortunately, I find it hard to stop eating it! 

Currently Pondering - How long my current computer is going to last. Right now it only has a little bit of space left, and I've gotten the black (not blue) screen a couple of times. To be fair, it's about 5 years old, but I am really hoping it hangs on for a little while longer! Also, I am not sure if I want another laptop, or a tablet. I want it to be more portable, but I really like the big keyboard and operating system on my laptop!  

Current Mood - Great!  

Current New Find - I am probably way behind the times here, but I found these great noodles that are made from yam and I love them!! I don't eat a lot of pasta, but these are a good substitute when you are feeling like a pasta-like dish! I really like them sauteed up with mushrooms, a bit of ginger, some miso and any other veggie that I have in the fridge.  

Current Peeve - People who borrow something and don't put it back. Use what you want, but replace it! 

Current Song - This song has come up on my Pandora a few times recently and I find it very haunting.

 

Current Triumph - Getting through studying. It's been a lot of years since I have had to do that.  

Current TV Show - Greys Anatomy reruns. They are my "reward" for a long study session.

Current Wish-List - New running shoes.  

Currently Delaying - Starting study for the next exam. I don't want to. I want to take a break. However, the train is still moving, so I cannot get off now!

What is your current indulgence? Have you ever tried yam (or tofu) noodles? Have you jumped on the leopard pants band wagon?
A Day In The Life

A Day In The Life

It annoys me when people who have not posted in a while start of a post by saying, "I know I haven't posted in a while, but..." or "it's been so long since my last post". It should be obvious if people are paying attention, but most likely, not as many people noticed as you hoped/thought. So I am not going to do that.

Having said that, I feel like every time I think about writing a post, the enormity of what has happened since my last post makes me hesitant. What do I even talk about? A lot has happened. Do I recap it? Do I just skip it and jump to the present? Where do I even start? I feel like in the past few months, a lot of other things have taken over my life, and now posting does not seem as important. Don't get me wrong; I WANT to post. I want to have things to post about. To be honest though, although I am busy, I am not very interesting lately, and my brain is pretty much useless. Therefore, that is why I am going to do a quick "day in the life" post, so years later when I look back, I can remember what a busy/trying/exciting/crazy time this was.

4:21 am: The alarm goes off. Sometimes I hit snooze and am reminded again in 5 minutes how tired I am and how much I do not want to get out of bed.  Usually I just get up. Why prolong the inevitable?

4:22 am - 5:10 am: Shower, eat a bowl of cereal, down a cup of coffee, and put on a pair of black pants and some sort of top. Study for about 15 - 25 minutes. **FYI, I got a new job which requires me to be licensed and there is a lot of studying involved. More on that in a bit.

5:11 am - 5:59 am: Walk to the bus, commute, study some more, walk from the bus stop to work.

6:00 am - 3 (or 4) pm: Work. I started this new job about 5 weeks ago and it has been a lot of learning new things, new terms, new processes and procedures, new software and new rules. I am also the "new guy" again, the one who people wonder about when I am roaming the halls. A typical work day involves a lot of spreadsheets and computer work, some phones, some handwriting orders (I know; who does that anymore) and some operations/organization items.

4:00 pm - 5:30 pm: Go to the gym, work out for about an hour, walk to the bus. I injured myself (Achilles) a couple of months ago, so have been doing more elliptical, bike and weights instead of running as much. **However, I do have three races to recap, including Boston, a 100k race and a 50 mile race that kicked my butt in a big way.

5:30 pm - 6:15 pm: Commute, more studying, walk home.

6:15 pm - 7:30 pm: Shower, water the garden (the tomatoes are looking great!), make/eat dinner.

7:30 pm - 8:30 (or 9) pm: Study. Try not to fall asleep.

9 pm: Bedtime. Hopefully.


You can't really get much more boring than that, can you? In fact, as I read over this post, I am falling asleep... So, yeah. The days are pretty packed right now, and not really with very fun stuff. I average about 2 hours of studying a day plus about 6 - 12 hours on the weekends. My exam is on July 7th and then if when I pass the first one, I have to take another one, which is as of yet unscheduled. Basically my summer is shot.

Hopefully soon I will post a couple of race recaps, as well as some opinions on micromanaging, tips on how to achieve having a successful garden and a dirt loving dog at the same time and some funny stories about my roommate's dating life. Until then, happy June!

What have you been up to in the last month? What is your average day like? Do you remember what it was like to be the "new guy"?
Randoms and Peeves

Randoms and Peeves

There are a lot of things that annoy me; some of them are organizational, like the fact that I like certain things to have their place and when they are not there, it is annoying (car keys anyone?). Some just seem like common sense, like not leaving two drops of milk in the milk carton in the fridge or one square of toilet paper on the roll (obvious, right?). However, there are things out in the world and on the streets that I know I can't control (nor do they really affect me) but I get annoyed at them anyway. So, in no particular order, here is a (Friday Five?) list of some of my peeves.

People who use cell phones while walking. Just like driving, this should be illegal. They don't pay attention; they don't look up; they don't walk in a straight line OR walk fast enough. They need to pull over and use the phone while stopped in a place where they are not in other people's way.

Litter bugs. This is a really big one for me. I see littering as something that the lower class does. I am sorry if this is not true but it seems like the lower income neighborhoods have more trash. However, I've seen people throw their fast food wrappers down right in front of me in downtown San Francisco (and I didn't say anything)! Have you no pride? Also, in this case, the trash can was literally 10 feet from them! To make it worse, I ran a trail race last weekend and there was a bunch of race detritus (Gu wrappers mostly) on the trail! These are people who should be loving and respecting nature!

This one kind of goes along with the trash theme, but people who do not sort their trash annoy me. At work, we have a basket for compost, one for bottles and cans, one for all other recycling and one for trash. There are PICTURES that tell you which thing goes in which bin, but there is always someone who throws their plastic container in the compost bin.

People in the gym who take up the whole changing bench in the locker room with all of their stuff, or people who sit on the changing bench and text, Instagram, Facebook or talk on the phone, especially when the locker room is really crowded (like at 5 pm, as everyone is changing for Zumba).  There is an atrium in my gym where there is plenty of space to socially network.

People who walk really slow on the sidewalk, especially during rush hour. Don't they get it? It's "rush" hour! Also, when they don't walk straight, whether I am walking or running up behind them and am about to pass, if they are swerving/veering around, it's hard to figure out how to get around them without a collision! 

So, all of my peeves are regarding things that people do/don't do. Hm. By the way, Happy Friday everyone! If you do one of the above things, I will still be your friend, but I may complain a bit about it!

What are some of your peeves? Do you have recycling/composting where you live?
What I Learned: Etymology

What I Learned: Etymology

I have been listening to Don't Know Much About History while doing my long runs lately, and there have been a few interesting tidbits that I have learned from it. Actually, there have been a lot of different things I have learned, relearned or remembered, and of course they are all very interesting and very educational and I can just feel myself getting smarter by the day.

However, there were a few interesting factoids that I had no idea about, and actually never thought to question them! For example, do you know where the word "sideburns" comes from?

Sideburns were first called "Burnsides", after a civil war general named Ambrose Burnside, who, as you can see below, had a pretty nice display of facial hair.

source

I also found out why "booze" is so named. It's from the Dutch word būsen, which means "to drink to excess". However, DKMAH states that it was given it's name due to a man named E. C. Booz, who was a distiller in the United States in the 19th century.

Do you know the game "rock, paper, scissors"? Do you ever call it Ro-Sham-Bo? We do. However, I never knew that there was a man named Rochambeau who was a French nobleman who participated in the revolutionary war. 

Do you ever wonder where certain words came from? Or why some things are called different words, even throughout the US? My mom's family is from Back East and they have some weird words for things, as well as pronounciations.

For instance:

Bubbler / drinking fountain
Pocketbook / purse
Cabinets / cupboard

Or there is always the coke, pop, soda debate. 



Why is that? And what do YOU call it?

What information have you learned lately that made you say "hmm"? What weird words do your friends and relatives say that make you giggle? Did you know where the word sideburns originated?
Don't Know Much About

Don't Know Much About

I am stealing this idea from Lisa, who did a post about things that people may not know about her last week, because it is fun to hear weird quirks of other people, plus I am about to get on a plane right now and to go and hang out with her this weekend! Here go, a few things you may not know about me.
- I grew up on the Pacific Crest Trail. It actually comes down a mountain and you have to walk along a road and cross the river and then go back up another mountain. I lived on the road that the hikers have to walk on. Aside from that, my mom was the Postmaster for the post office on the road, and post offices are the life blood of the PCT. We had hikers for dinner at least once a week in the summertime. PS. they smell REALLY bad and are quite hairy, but they are very nice people.

Home sweet home

- I hate presenting in front of people. I used to go all pink and shaky and my heart would be beating a mile a minute and I would stutter a little bit. I have gotten a little better. I presented at work this week and I didn't flub it too much. I still have a ways to go, but I am learning to control my fears, or to fake it! It's a lot easier when I know when I am talking about and don't really have to read from the cards/power point. Also, I have gotten better at saying, "I don't know" or "I will look into that". I used to really fear getting a question I couldn't answer.

- I love going barefoot. I used to run around barefoot as a kid all the time and my parents would make me put on shoes because there may be gross things on the ground, but I still snuck out without shoes as often as I could. Now I take off my shoes as soon as I get home. A caveat: since the roommate got a dog, I wear socks because the floors are filthy! Then I take them off before getting into bed. I don't want to put dirty feet in my bed.

- I drink a lot of tap water. I have a reusable bottle that I drink from and I fill it up from the tap. Even when I travel or fly, I bring one in my bag and fill it inside the airport. Disposable water bottles are such a huge part of our trash problem. Have you heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

source


- I've eaten ants. Not on purpose, but we used to have a bad ant problem in our house when I was a kid and once they got into the Raisin Bran. The little black ones taste slightly of peppermint. Not in a good way.

- I have to make my bed every day. Coming home to a mussed up bed would make me a tiny bit antsy. I really love coming home to a calm, serene space. It only takes 2 seconds, because I don't tuck everything all the way in and I don't thrash around a lot when I sleep; I just flop it back into place in the morning and I am good to go.

- A couple of gym peeves of mine: (1) people who crank up the speed or incline really high and then hold onto the treadmill while they are running/walking. I feel like it just creates back/neck problems and they would get a more beneficial workout if they just turned it down a bit and let go. (2) People who sweat all over and then hop off and you are waiting for them to come back and wipe off the machine but they never do.

- I almost never wear skirts. I will put on a dress for a nice occasion, and I own several skirts/dresses. I just don't really feel that comfortable with my legs hanging out. I don't really wear shorts very often either.

- I wear my hair up 90% of the time.

- I eat approximately 8 salads a week and drink roughly 3 cups of coffee a day.

- I am trying to improve my Spanish by getting Spanish books from the library, and by using a flashcard app. Now I just need to buck up and start working on talking to people! That's the hard part for me (see: public speaking, above).

Do you wear skirts/shorts a lot? Do you speak a second language? What can you tell me that I don't know about you?

I almost forgot to mention: Happy Valentines Day!
Coffee Talk

Coffee Talk

Thanks for meeting me for a virtual coffee! I'm glad you're here!






If we were meeting for coffee today, I would get a large french roast with milk and splenda and you would get your favorite coffee and we would catch up on what we have been up to lately.

- I had a great time at New Years with friends. It was a very small group, which is the way I like it. I wore my comfy pants and ate a ton of crab and listened to Michael Jackson. At the end of the night though, two of my friends had an argument about whether or not one of their photos should be put on Facebook and one of them left in a huff. It was a strange beginning to the new year.

- I have started learning how to pickle things. Do you know how easy it is? It is so easy! All you need is some vinegar, salt , sugar , jars, dill seeds and peppercorns and whatever you want to pickle! Put the raw item in the jar, heat up the vinegar, salt, sugar and the spices to a boil, pour in the jar and voila! You have pickles. I didn't really use a recipe, but you could use this one if you want to give it a try. I made pickled cucumbers, picked green beans (dilly beans), green tomatoes, pickled jalapenos and pickled beets. So far, they have all been pretty good!

- I signed up for the Boston Marathon again (back in September). I looked into airline tickets the other day and they are Expensive! It may be because it is also Easter weekend, or maybe just that it's also the Boston Marathon, Patriots day and the Red Sox game...whatever it is, I can't decide whether I should buy them now because they may go up more, or if I should wait and hope they go down. I always do the same thing, wonder if I should buy now or wait.

- I started using the library again. For a while, I have been using the Kindle, especially since it if often lighter than the books I get from the library and it was giving me a backache to carry around the darn things! However, I am tired of reading the bargain books from Amazon and want some more recent ones, so back to the library I go! Of course, when it rains it pours, so I have about 10 books to pick up tonight after work!

Other than that, it's work, running and life in general. What have YOU been up to? What did you do for New Years Eve? Have you ever tried canning? What's your take on buying airline tickets? Do you use the library?
Randoms and Fixed

Randoms and Fixed

Remember the broken items of July? We are well on our way to getting those fixed! However, there have been some snags (and lags). I sent the Garmin back and I received a new one in the mail and guess what? It was the wrong model!! The one I sent them is a new one (the 410) and they sent me back an 8 year old 305! So now I have to send IT back and wait for another new one!

Speaking of that, I was really hoping to get it back before the Squamish 50k! I can't run an entire 50k in a new, cool place, with lots of ups and downs without my Garmin! What will I do!?

I also figured out the car situation. I decided to donate it to the American Cancer society. However, the process has taken longer than I thought. You have to fill out the online form, then they send you a confirmation, then you send in your pink slip and once they receive it, they come and get the car, which they then sell for cash. I lagged on sending in the pink slip, as for some reason I was worried I would do it wrong. Well I finally sent it on Thursday and will hopefully hear from them soon about coming to get the car!

The bike is fixed as well! I took it out for a test ride after I picked it up from the shop and it shifts perfectly. Plus they only charged me $30 instead of the $60 they quoted! In fact, I liked them so much that I told my friend about the shop and he asked if I could take his bike in, so on Saturday I rode his bike over there and left it with them! We are getting things fixed over here! I would like to incorporate a once a week or every two weeks bike ride into my schedule but am not sure I will be able to until after the 50 mile race in October. Luckily in the Bay Area, we can run and ride year round!

manifesto
Manifesto -- Bike Shop

It feels really good to check things off the list, especially ones that have been on there for a while, or ones that are kind of a big deal. It's often easier to do the "fun" things on the list and to pass over the more tedious ones. I am glad to get these done!

What fun things have you checked off your list this summer? What tedious ones have you checked off?
Let Me Ask You Something

Let Me Ask You Something

I ask a lot of questions. Some people don't really like that. For instance, one person, let's call them X, asked me if I wanted to go for dinner. It went kind of like this.

X: Do you want to go for dinner when I get off work?

Me: What time do you get off?

X: I am not sure. I am supposed to get off at 6 but I may stay later.

Me: Where do you want to go?

X: I don't know. Wherever.

Me: Are we going to walk or drive?

X: Grrr...why are you asking so many questions? I just wanted to go for dinner.

Okay. Let's stop for a minute. I have a good reason for asking all of these questions. For example. I get off at 5 and I want to take a run after work. Will I have time to go before we eat? If we are going at 6, I may try to get off early; if we are going at 8, I will probably stay until 5 and run before dinner. If we are going to walk, I may do a shorter run. If we are going for a large dinner as opposed to a light dinner, I might do a longer run.

But, I realize it may get a little annoying when I don't just say YES sometimes. But I want to be sure about what I am agreeing to before I agree! Otherwise sometimes plans end up not working out the right way.

For example, the other day my friend asked me if I wanted to go for a hike the next morning. I did want to go for a hike, but I also wanted to go for a run, and my original plan was to go for a run in the morning. I had friends coming over for drinks and food at 4 and I wanted to start getting the food and the house ready around 1 pm. So I asked her what time she wanted to hike. She said 9:00 am.

Normally I would ask: Does this mean leaving the house at nine, arriving at the trail head at nine, or starting the hike at nine? Where are we going? How long will we be hiking? But I have been scolded, so I didn't ask anything. In fact, I ASS-umed that the hike would be a couple of hours, which would leave me with enough time to go running, shower and start getting ready for my guests. 

The next day I got up around 7 but decided to wait for my run until after the hike, since if we were supposed to start hiking at 9 we would have to leave the house around 8:30. 8:30 rolled around and we weren't leaving. Was I allowed to ask questions now? I wasn't sure. I finally asked when we were leaving and was told that the person we were meeting was going to let us know when they were leaving the house and then we were going to leave the house. I don't really do well with these kind of time definitions.

We ended up leaving at 9:45, then waiting at the trail head and then to top it all off, the place we went for our "hike" was a paved, flat path with a ton of slow mo families with bikes and dogs. The pace was leisurely at best.

Then we went to brunch and the person we were with had a dog so we had to sit outside so we couldn't just take the first available table and I carpooled so I couldn't just leave and the whole time I am picturing my run getting shorter and shorter and then just withering away.

I got back home at 3. Did I mention that I had people coming over at 4?

I guess the moral of this story is...annoying or not, I am going to ask a million questions before saying yes to anything.

So, let me ask you something: do you care about the little details or are you more of a go with the flow kind of person?
If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix it*

If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix it*

*This post is alternately named: Procrastination Breeds Productivity.


I have had several things in my life break lately. Okay, to be honest, a couple of them broke months weeks ago and I have been procrastinating doing anything about them. In fact, am just getting around to figuring out what I am going to do about them. And there is no better way to start getting a lot of things done than a day where you are procrastinating something else.

Case in point. On Sunday, I was going to run. But first, breakfast. Then another cup of coffee. Then laundry, gardening, cleaning the bathroom (you know I am really avoiding something when the bathroom is clean!) and even getting my (2 month late) thank you notes/birthday cards written! And then I really started to tackle the To Do list. This is the list that each week I wipe clean the things I accomplished and add new things onto. Often there are things that I keep avoiding and therefore are on there for months weeks.

So, I started finally figuring out what to do about some of my broken things. I also recently acquired several new broken things, so July is going to be the month of fixing things.

What broke?

New tent. I JUST used it for the first time and then I glissaded down the mountain with it on my back and I ripped it! Luckily (?) it's on the bottom, so I should be able to fix it with just a patch or a piece of duct tape.

Sleeping bag. There is a tiny tear in it. It is not an expensive or great bag, but it has done the trick for a few years. I will probably just keep it until the tear gets too big to bear while simultaneously searching for a good deal on bags. I have actually been looking for a new one for a while, but the combo of lightweight, compact + low temperature = expensive, and I haven't found one in the right price range just yet. I hope my old one holds up until I do.

Garmin. Yup. The NEW Garmin. The strap broke! This is like losing a leg. I have been carrying it around on runs and I will probably send it back to Garmin since it is within the limited warranty (1 year). However, that will mean doing without it for a couple of weeks and I really don't have time for that! I will of course be running a lot, but I also have race weekends two times in July and two times in August so I definitely want it for these. I am not sure how to make this work exactly.

Phone. I dropped my phone in the toilet a few weeks ago. I snatched it RIGHT out (seriously folks; it was only in there for about 1.6 seconds) and turned it off and took it apart (and cleaned it!!) and put it in a bowl of rice. Later I turned it back on and it worked! However, there have been a few glitches since then. The camera makes a strange noise and the photo gallery keeps freezing up. I did not buy insurance and this phone is only about 8 months old, so I will have to just bear it / keep my fingers crossed for another year or so!

to do

Shoes. Have you ever found the perfect pair of black flats and then tried to replace them and it just doesn't work? I had the perfect pair but they wore out so I tossed them and since then, I have bought probably half a dozen pairs in an attempt to replace them. Two of those pairs have already fallen apart! I have searched high and low and spent anywhere from $15 - $60 dollars each and still no luck! I threw the broken two away; there is no use keeping broken shoes.

Car. Remember this? I put a lot of money into this car and it still doesn't work. Now the question is...do I put more money in or do I give up while I am "ahead"? I am on the fence.

Bike. Remember this? I haven't been riding the bike because the chain falls off the chain-ring every time I shift gears. The only gear that really works is a high (difficult) gear. So on Sunday I took a ride to the bike repair shop! Now I just have to go and pick it back up and I am good to go!

Okay, so maybe the only thing I have actually done on this list is the bike (and the shoes), but at least I have gotten the gears rolling, so to speak. This month I hope to figure out solutions for the rest of the things on this list as well! Wish me luck!

What things do you put off doing? Do you have any broken items in your life that need fixing? Do you have any tips for fixing any of these items?
Randoms, Questions, and a Giveaway!

Randoms, Questions, and a Giveaway!

Happy Monday. Today is a random sort of day, so bear with me.

* I am sure you heard about the BART strike. Luckily I was on vacation last week and I missed the entire fiasco, which, I have been assured, WAS a fiasco. I normally take the casual carpool, which means I wouldn't be affected by the BART directly, BUT...all the extra people on the road instead of on the BART means that I would have been affected. So, hurray for accidental beautifully timed vacations.

* You probably also heard about the flight at SFO. Crazy, right? Did you see the photos? I know that people were killed, but I am really surprised it wasn't worse, to be honest. That plane was really badly burned!

* I have a lot of things going on in my life but absolutely no brain power to explain anything. Hence the bullet points. Do you think there is a direct or inverse relationship between the two?


* I went to Oregon for a week. It's just like where I grew up; there are mountains, trees, lakes and rivers. There is hiking, swimming, biking and fishing. I had to drive ten hours to get there. Why is it we drive a long way to go to a place to enjoy ourselves when we have the same thing in our very own backyard?

* Chobani has NEW FLAVORS! They sent me a complimentary pack of their new flavors to taste and I am allowed to give one lucky reader a case of their very own! This is a one day giveaway and it will end tonight, July 8th at midnight Pacific Time. All you have to do to win is:

1. Leave a comment guessing what you think the new flavors are. If any of your guesses are right, +1
2. Leave a comment answering one of the above questions (re: inverse relationships / backyards). +1

A random drawing will be held tomorrow and a winner will be announced sometime this week. 

I hope you all had a great 4th of July and are not experiencing too much of a holiday hangover today!
Wheels on Fire

Wheels on Fire

I got a bike. It is not a new bike. In fact, from what I can tell from the interwebs, it is a circa 1980 road bike. It looks like this:


That is not the actual bike. I found that on the Google. So you can't really see, but the shifters are on the frame, rather than on the handles.



Weird right? Okay, so I have to admit, I don't know anything much about bicycles. I think the last bike I had was the kind with the tassels on the handlebars that you pushed the pedals backwards in order to brake. It may have even had a banana seat. But I have rented or borrowed a few grown up bikes and have ridden a bit, even in the city. I know, I am a big girl now. However, I have never had a bike with the shifters on the frame.

Since I have a bike now, I decided to get prepared. I have a helmet and a bike lock of course. I also got a patch kit, a tube and a really cool 19-in-1 tool that I have absolutely no idea how to use. It looks really fun though. I also got a red blinky light for the back,  another blinky light for the front AND just for fun, some LED lights you put in the tire valve and it makes fun colors or shapes when you ride.

bike kit

I bet you are wondering if I am planning to ride the bike or just buy ridiculous accessories for it. I am strongly considering the latter. No, I am kidding. I actually rode it once. A whole mile and a half, in the dark, to go and drop off my library book. I didn't fall or get run over, so that's a start. However, there is a very big hill between my house and the library and I had to walk the bike up it because (a) I couldn't lean down to shift the gears, pedal AND hold the handlebars at the same time very well, and (b) My legs were like jello.

It seems we have our work cut out for us.

*title inspired by this song

What have you had to learn/relearn as an adult? Was it hard? Do you ride a bike?
Cream or Sugar?

Cream or Sugar?

A few days ago, I kind eavesdropped on Amber's virtual coffee date. She did most of the talking, but I really enjoyed it, so I thought I would invite you to have coffee with me and I would do some of the talking this time.

What are you having? I am buying. A latte? I am drinking a non-fat peppermint mocha, light on the mint, light on the chocolate. Double the whipped cream.

Things have been going well over here. The weather has been great and I have been enjoying it and getting outside and doing things. People talk about how San Francisco is the foggy city, but lately, it's been clear as a bell. Going to work, as ironic as it seems, has been great, since I have to go over the bay bridge and I get a view of the city each morning. It is like a little two minute pep talk each morning. It gets my day started right.



Speaking of work, it never gets old. About three months after I started, just as I was starting to understand what I was doing and to finally feel like I was doing things right, they switched me into a different department. Since then I have been slowly learning the ropes in the new position, but I have a long way to go. Every day I feel like I am behind. However, I have talked to others in the office and have been told you never DO feel caught up. The name of the game is prioritizing. I am learning how to do it better, but it's a game I am not quite used to playing yet.

Speaking of playing games, I have been having a great time meeting up with old friends from the Bay Area. I went running with one of them who was about to run her first marathon, I met up with another at First Friday and I had a great time going to the Muse concert with Broski last week. We bought tall beer cans at the corner market and put them in paper bags and pretended we were 17 years old, sneaking around behind the woodshed, drinking stolen beers from our parent's basement refrigerator. Not that I ever did that, but I heard that some people did.

Speaking of beers, this weekend was part of the SF Beer Week (which is still going on through next weekend) where you get a taster sized glass and you get to try a bunch of different kinds of beers in the same place. Also, many of them are beers you would not normally get. They are from smaller, lesser known breweries and are often from out of town. Saturday, I went to the Double IPA Fest with Broski and friends, where the beers and the beards were flowing. Yes, there were a lot of bearded dudes there. I found a new favorite beer Societe Brewing Co's Double IPA and I met the brewer, Doug, who was a nice guy on top of making a great beer. On Sunday, we went to the Sour Beer Fest and found another great beer: the Upright Brewery "Four". 

Let me summarize: Ladies, if you are single and you are looking for a bearded brewer who likes drinking beer, you should go to beer week. It was probably 80% men. Of those, 73% of them were bearded.

Although I haven't been talking about it much, I am also still running a lot. There are a couple of recaps in the works, but let me tell you that Broski was involved again! He is really on a roll folks! Other than that, there has been much training for Boston, running up and down hills, applying sunscreen, doing multiple loads of stinky laundry and plenty of listening to Pandora. My new favorite running station is the Rap Strength Training station. It really gets my feet moving!

So, now that you have had your latte and I have unloaded on you, tell me:

What's new in your life? What did you do over the weekend? What do have planned for the next week?
Failure to Communicate

Failure to Communicate

I work with a lot of recent college grads. On the other hand, there are quite a few people who are closer to retirement than college. It's interesting when you are sitting around talking with them; sometimes it's me staring at one of them with a blank look when what they say makes no sense to me; sometimes it's the other way around.

For instance, do you guys know what YOLO means? Yeah, I didn't either. It means, "you only live once".

There are so many other things where I have no idea what people are talking about. I don't watch TV, so I already have a gap when it comes to that kind of stuff, no matter what the era, but if it's in the past few years especially, I am so out of the loop. I was informed of several shows that were "so good" that I just "had to watch" so I went and watched one of them and was baffled by what was going on.

One of my coworkers keeps talking about Roadhouse. Have you seen it? Yeah, me neither. Apparently it's about Patrick Swayze and a bar and a bouncer and there are a couple of one liners that these guys keep throwing out. Like this one: I want you to be nice until it's time to not be nice. Apparently that works for my line of work as well as being a bouncer. So I am just like a bouncer.

I was talking to some different coworkers the other day and they were talking about how the reason something wasn't working was because there was bad communication and I threw out this line: What we've got here is failure to communicate. Do you know where it comes from? Neither did any of my coworkers. It was first coined in Cool Hand Luke and was later put into the G&R song Civil War, which is what I was quoting.

It's funny how people have different phrases, movies or music that were popular when they were growing up, as well as different things that they are interested in now. These things can separate us sometimes, but they can also bring us together. I mean, now I know a couple of lines from a bad Swayze movie and a very useful phrase in acronym form.

What topic, phrases or lines have people said to you lately that went over your head? or What have you said to them that they didn't understand?
Randoms

Randoms

The holidays were good, there was running to be had, and plenty of stuffing. I am not going to go on about it. Instead, here are a few other random things that have been happening around these parts.

- I found all the seasons of Greys Anatomy on the DVR. The past weekend was full of McDreamy, Christmas card making and pajama wearing. Life is good.

- I finally did that thing I have been putting off forever, calling the DMV. Did you know they have a thing where instead of sitting on hold, they will call you back? So I put myself in line and carried my phone around in my pocket so I wouldn't miss their call. Somehow I missed it. Two of them. So now it is STILL on my To Do list. Drat.

- My blogger is telling me that I can't post any more photos until I pay a monthly fee for more space. Has anyone else ever had this problem? What do I do? I don't want to pay for space, but I do like posting photos. Poop.

- I can't stop eating. This is a bad problem to have during the holidays when the food is plentiful and full of sugar and starch! But it is so, so good. What kind of cookies should I make next? What about these?


- Karen, who is a Grammy, Emmy, Oscar loving fool, is having a 2012 Blog Award. Go over and check out the nominees, find some new fun blogs, and vote for your favorite! (also, I notice some familiar faces on the list: Laura, Jess, Nilsa and more!)

I hope everyone is getting back into the swing of things after the holidays!

What is your favorite cookie? Do you know the fix to the photo storage issue?
Creature of Habit

Creature of Habit

I am a creature of habit. I find that it makes things easier. Rather than scrambling around in the morning or forgetting something, I feel like if I always do it the same way, it is less likely to go wrong. There are a few things I always do.

Keys: The keys always go in the same place. It a nice empty place where they can't get piled in with a bunch of other things. They have their own place of honor and they always go there. When I am on the move, they always go in the same pocket of my purse, every time.

Coffee: I almost always set up the coffee the night before if I am working the next day. That way I can get up, turn on the pot and then start getting ready for my day while it's brewing. However, I am not really a coffee snob. I have been known to make a whole pot and just nuke it the next day if there is some left over.

White Board: I have a white board where I write my weekly schedule: to do, running, shopping and evening activities all go on the board. Each Sunday, I wipe away all the things I got done and rewrite my coming week's items. It makes me feel like I have accomplished something, even when it's minor (I also leave the finished things up on the board until Sunday so I can revel is the joy of getting them done).


Black Pants: I own several pairs of black slacks. I find it's much easier to just grab a random pair of pants and snatch up a shirt and voila, I have an "outfit". It's not super exciting, but it's efficient.

Water Plants: I have this little ritual when I get home where I water the veggies and pick anything that's ripe. It feels good and seeing food that I have grown (not killed!) is very satisfying and I find it's a great way to wind down after a long day.

Alarm: I like to get up early and have a bit of extra time to get a few things done. Sometimes its something online, or maybe it's updating my planner or organizing a little bit. Either way, it makes me feel more productive during the day to not have rushed around in the morning.

Lunch: I always pack my lunch the night before. I suppose it's all the same, since it takes the same amount of time whether you do it at night or in the morning, but by doing it at night I have that little bit of extra time to do my organizing or whatever in the morning.

Shower: The routine is always the same. Get in, wet everything, shampoo, shave, rinse, condition, soap, rinse, done. I do not dawdle.

Read on Bus: I have a half an hour bus ride to get home and lately this has been the only (sigh, I know) time I have been reading. So, no matter how much I feel like I need to reply to that email or google this or that, I always take that half an hour to read my book.

As you can see from this list, it could probably be summed up by saying (1) I like to prep in the evening to save time in the morning and (2) I like routine. True. So true.

What habits do you have? Are there any weird ones? What is your shower routine?
Random Rambles

Random Rambles

Lately it's pretty much all Giants all the time around here. Sorry. In a week, we will have won and you won't have to hear about them for...5 more months. Actually there are a few other things going on in my six minute mind these days.

- (Spoiler Alert: Mom, don't read this part) Last night after work I went running out on the trails and it got dark a little earlier than I thought it would. I think it was partly due to the cloud cover and also due to the tree cover. So I was just finishing up my run up the last hill when I saw two pairs of eyes. You know how they reflect in the dark? Two pairs, maybe a foot or two off the ground, but it was hard to tell, as I was going up a hill. I clapped and shouted and made a fool of myself and at first I thought they were coming toward me (and I had a moment of "huh, what the heck am I going to do now?") but then they retreated. Up the hill. Where I needed to go. To go back around the other way, I would have had to go about 5 miles. To go up the hill, I would be back at the parking lot in about .2 miles. So I flapped my arms and clapped my hands some more and they finally went into the bushes. I took advantage of that to get the heck out of there! I could hear them in the bushes and for the entire rest of the way I kept checking behind me to make sure they weren't chasing me.

It was probably just a couple of deer.

Lesson learned. Maybe trail runs should be done a little bit earlier in the day. 

Mountain lion in Tilden Park. Photo by Jim Hale (source)

- My friend's cat died on Tuesday. I went to the animal emergency room with her and we were there until late at night. I don't really know how to deal with with grief or with emotions. I can deal with death, but I have a hard time dealing with the people who are dealing with death. I am the person who is reliable and durable and good at things that are black and white like math, but I am not really good at the grey things, the emotional things and the feelings. What do you say or do? Do you just BE there? Because that I can do, but I am not sure if it's better to talk about other things to take her mind off of it or to talk about it or to let her talk about it or...what!! I feel so inadequate. It's a problem I don't know how to fix.


- Okay I have to throw one Giants thing in here. It is just me, or does Timmy look like that kid from Dazed and Confused?

Timmy (source)
Mitch Kramer (source)

Do you think they look alike? Or not?  It'd be a lot cooler if you did (if you can name who said that you get a golden star!)

Have you ever had to frighten off a wild deer animal in the dark? How are you with grieving friends? Has anyone ever said that you look just like someone else?