Friday Fun Day

Happy Friday everyone! I am glad this one has rolled around, as I feel as if this week has been a bit of a whirlwind. Here's to a calm Friday and a great weekend to boot!

The high of my week was installing a ceiling fan in my bedroom without electrocuting myself! I pretty much did it by myself with the help of a friend for the "brawn" portion of the task. I could not have held it up and installed it at the same time.

The low of my week was when tub decided to not drain. This has not been fixed yet and taking a shower has become of the ship variety (as short as possible!) as I try to avoid flooding the bathroom.

The past week's workouts consisted of two rainy 12 mile runs in the Marin headlands, one great long run in Point Reyes and a wet and wild and dark street run last night at the last minute (one that I wanted to flake out on). All my runs last week were with someone else, which is a new thing for me, and is one that is keeping me honest!

This week I am reading A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin. It satisfies my "collection of essays" category for the Read Harder challenge. I am not a huge fan of short stories and/or essay collections, but it is entertaining. However, I am getting through it a lot slower than I normally do.

This week I am listening to this Freakonomics podcast about what it would be like if restaurants went to the "no tipping" policy. They have actually implemented this in some San Francisco restaurants already.

The best money I spent was on a beer and a meal out on Tuesday night. If you have never tried this beer, you should, and if you are ever in Santa Rosa, you should check out the brewery too! They make excellent IPAs and sours!

Plans for the weekend include fixing my tub draining issue, working in the backyard to get everything ready for planting, spending time with my family (I have dragged them into the yard work duties), running and probably making a nice meal to celebrate the fact that the tub has been fixed (biggggg fingers crossed here).

How do you feel about the No Tipping policy? What are your weekend plans? What was the high of your week? 

Currently: June

Current Book - Lucy Sullivan's Getting Married -- Marian Keyes (it's a total chick flick book but it's a fast easy read, which is what I need)

Current Running Path - Okay well this was on June first, but I am counting it as "current".

 

Beach running in West Bay

Current Drink - Iced tea with lots of lemon 

Current Excitement - Weekends! The next few are full of friends, running,  hiking, travel and fun! 

Current fashion trend - I see a lot of these chain earrings around lately. 

Current Favorite Blog/Website - I did a history search and some of my top visited pages are...Gmail, Yelp and Reader. I guess I should buy stock in Google!  

Current Garden Item - Green beans and radishes! Not enough to really do much with but they are still good! We also have some green tomatoes! I can't wait for their ripeness! 

Current Love - Long days! I sometimes don't realize it but it's already past 9, which is officially my bed time, but lately I have not even been feeling as tired! 

Current Food - Avocados, cherries, melons

Current Indulgence - I had pizza and coke for lunch yesterday! It's not often I have that but it was brought in for us since we are doing training. They were both pretty good but the coke leaves a weird taste in my mouth that I don't love.  

Currently Pondering - Why no matter how often I scrub the (white tile) floor, it always looks like nobody ever cleans it. Note to self: NEVER use white grout. It becomes grey/brown grout in no time flat. 

Current Mood - Good. Really good. I'm about to burst into, "the hills are alive..." in a minute.

Current New Find - Probar chews and bars. I got them as a free sample, which sometimes doesn't work out that great, but these are really good! 

Current Outfit - Just kidding! This isn't me, but I had to post it. When I went to the Bottlerock music festival, a lot of people were wearing these shorts. A LOT! With the butt cheeks and everything! And if you look close enough (if you dare) you can also see her leopard undies. If you want more pics, I have more. My brother and I had a good time playing "spot the butt cheek shorts" or the "who can take the most inappropriate photos at the festival" game (yes we are weird. Whatever).

 

Current Peeve - Bus drivers who speed, switch lanes a lot and make comments (or swear) at the other drivers. Chill out, yo. You have dozens of lives in your hands. 

 

Current Song - ...Put your hands up...turn around...


 

Current Triumph - A new PR! More about that later! 

 

Current TV Show -  North America on Discovery Channel

Current Wish-List - crampons and an ice axe

Currently Delaying - (this is a long list...) writing thank you notes, fixing the sprinkler system, taking a load to Goodwill, doing a tune up on the bike... there are more; I am embarrassed to admit...

What are you currently delaying (is it as many things as I am)? Do you play embarrassing fun games with your friends/family when you are in good people watching areas or on long trips? 

Currently: November

Current Book - Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton (it's not what I thought it would be, as in, it's not as good as I thought it would be).

Current Favorite Celebrity - Paul from Top Chef (my Mom and I just watched the finale)

 

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Current Drink - Water. I have been drinking a ton of it! 

Current Excitement - A good friend is coming to visit the Bay Area for the first time and I can't wait to show her around my city, to do some running and to catch up!  We have both been busy lately and haven't had as much time to do so. 

Current fashion trend - Leggings. Are. Not. Pants. 

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Current Favorite Blog/Website - My Life as a Foreigner -- her last post was about some of the things that may make her crazy. And let me tell you, one of them involves a pet snail.
 

Current Garden Item - tomatoes / lemons

Current Love -  Seeing my family not one, not two, NOT three, but five times over the last five weeks! 

Current Food - This Philippine dried coconut from Costco (ps. It's only 8.99 at Costco!). They also have mangos by the same brand. They are equally as good.

Currently Pondering -What my #12 race for 12 in 2012 is going to be!

Current Indulgence - NOT running, although it just feels wrong. The darkness is facilitating it though. 

Current Mood - Happy but a bit tired out. 

Current New Find - Samsung Galaxy S3. Yup, I got a new phone!

Current Outfit - I've spent a lot of time in running clothes lately. Plus I wanted to post this photo. Look at Broski. He is concentrating on getting over that finish line! Grrrr. 

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Current Peeve - People who walk and text. Pay attention or get out of my way! Or learn to walk straight and fast and pay attention while you are doing it! 

 

Current Song - 

 

Current Triumph - I still have not bought a book this year. In fact, I haven't even missed it! Its funny how you really don't NEED many things and how there are usually easy alternatives to certain things you thought you wanted! (Next up: A no pantry buying spree!) 

 

Current TV Show - I have been tuning the TV to the local radio station. They just put out a new CD called Live From the Archives, which is all live music that was recorded in the studio or at a KFOG concert. It is a pretty good line up. You should check it out if you are looking for some good new music! (Especially if you like the song above, there will be lots on the CD that you will love!)

Current Wish-List - An apron, a new Garmin (Mine JUST stopped uploading to my computer). 

Currently Delaying - Calling DMV. What I need will probably take 4 seconds but I keep putting it off! I don't know what my problem is. 

What things do you put off a lot? Any new music you are loving lately? What's your biggest pet peeve right now? 

Finish This: October

I hope everyone is having a great week and is ready for a Giants win today!!! Fingers crossed! Also, today, 10.11.12, is my cousin's wedding day! Congrats to Bean and his new wife!! Today's fill in the blank idea was stolen from Lisa.

My friends Buster and Timmy

I wish I could get up earlier and run, but I really like that extra sleep in the morning!

I want an apron for Christmas.

I always eat the same breakfast every day. Oatmeal with fruit and nuts.

I need to find a costume for Halloween. 

I feel tired. I don't have a free weekend until....um....

I think that as much as I like the farm box idea, I can buy my own veggies for a cheaper price.

I ask lots of questions about logistics. It sometimes annoys people.

I hear rain. It's starting to rain! Maybe I need some of these?

I smell greens and vinegar. It's because I tried to make it so my greens wouldn't be so bitter, but all it did was stink up the house.  

I ponder the disappearance of socks, and time, and that bag of dried coconut (that I just scarfed down).  

I seek new pumpkin recipes. (here is one good one)  

I play Ms Pacman like a 12 year old boy. Bring it on!  

I prefer mountains over pretty much anything else. The ocean is not far behind though! 

I wonder where I will be in 10 years, mentally and physically (and literally). 

I mean to travel again soon. The question is not if, but when and where!?  

I never have watched a lot of movies that everyone else has seen.  

I plan on having a house on the beach someday. 

I hope to get a new phone soon, but I am not sure if I want to switch from the iPhone to something else or to just get a new iPhone. These are difficult decisions, folks.  

I worry about not spending enough time with people before they are gone.  

I dislike fakers/posers. Be yourself. People may not like it, but at least it's honest. 

I struggle with feeling guilty when I have to say no to something that I really would like to say yes to.

What do you struggle with? What are your hopes and your worries?

Finish This: July

This is San's idea, and I love it. Maybe you should join in too!

Maybe I should go running instead of doing this.
I love the smell of pine trees.
People would say that I’m more of a text person than an phone caller. 
I don’t understand the complexities of physics.
When I wake up in the morning I have breakfast right away. 
I lost my wallet in Ireland and almost missed my plane home.
Life is full of interesting people.
My past is full of days spent outdoors.
I get annoyed when that screechy bird sits outside my window and squeaks.
Parties are good when they are smaller.
I wish I had more creativity.
Dogs are cute but they smell.
Birds are a strange thing to have as a pet.
Tomorrow I’m running a half marathon.
I have low tolerance for people who feel entitled for things they don't work for.
I’m totally terrified of getting injured.
I wonder why I sometimes don't feel like running.
Never in my life have I watched the Godfather series.
High school was a time for fun and friends.
When I’m nervous my voice warbles. I hate public speaking!
One time at a family gathering my cousin beat me at ping pong.
Take my advice: Don't underestimate yourself.
Making my bed makes me feel more in control of my day.
I’m almost always dressed in a t-shirt, jeans and flip flops.
I’m addicted to baking, but then I have nobody to eat the stuff, so I eat it all, which can be bad.
I want someone to buy me a house on a cliff in San Francisco. Do you have a few million dollars?

What do you get annoyed at? What have you never done? What is your past full of?

Even though today I am not talking about fitness, head over to Jills to meet people who are!

Finish This: June

A couple of great blogger friends did this, and I think it's fun (plus I am a copycat), so here goes!

Maybe I should go to the conversational Spanish meetup at the local library.
I love living near the ocean.
People would say that I’m brutally honest.
I don’t understand people who are late, flaky or don't follow through with things.
When I wake up in the morning the first thing I do is start a pot of coffee.
I lost my way when I tried running on a new trail (and do almost every time)!
Life is full of difficult decisions.
My past is full of carefree days at the beach, good memories and great experiences!
I get annoyed when things don't go my way.
Parties are something I don't really go to/have very much anymore.
I wish I had more patience.
Dogs are slobbery and stinky and hairy.
Cats are snide and snooty.
Tomorrow I’m going back to CA (I'm in OR)!
I have low tolerance for people who try to strike up random conversations in public places.
I’m totally terrified of failing.
I wonder why I have such high expectations (of others and myself!)
Never in my life have I been to Yellowstone.
High school was a fun and easy time of my life.
When I’m nervous my sweat is really stinky. (**and I put my fingers in my armpits and I smell them like this. That's gross**)
One time at a family gathering we had a food fight. My uncle started it. Or maybe it was my Dad. Bad!
Take my advice:
Making my bed is a must every day as soon as I get out of bed.
I’m almost always on time or early to meetings, parties and events.
I’m addicted to coffee, the internet and running.
I want someone to take care of any and all car issues for me. I hate dealing with them. I would rather do dishes every day for the rest of my life.

What do you wish you had more of? What are you terrified of? Finish a few yourself in the comments below!

Eleven * 3

Thanks to Lucy, I have something to talk about today. Otherwise, the brain is functioning very slowly these days!

11 things about me

1. Right now I am in a sorting mode. You probably already read about my sorting through my storage and throwing things away? Well I am also trying to sort through my computer and name all my photos and organize them and print some out etc. I need to do it more often, but traveling around a lot often causes me to just put them in a folder by month and date and then forget about them for a while. 

2. I signed up for my first 12 in 2012. But you will have to wait to hear more about it. I am excited! Finally got the ball rolling! 

3. I have a chapstick everywhere. One in my purse; one in my toiletry bag; one in my pocket; one in my running bag. I have to have it everywhere I go. I need some right now actually!

4. I don't like dogs. Sorry dog lovers. They smell and are hairy and slobbery and they pee and poop and you have to feed them and walk them and stuff. Just not my cup of tea. 

5. I love playing games. Cards. Board games. Wii. Word games. Quizzes. Whatever! Bring it on! I challenge you to a game of charades!

6. I have only read one book this year. See #1 above. Due to this, I have NOT been reading. At all. Also, I have 3 magazine subscriptions that I am way behind on, like 3 months. So I have several books and about a 8 magazines that I need to read. AFTER I sort all my photos. 

7. I barely ever wear socks except when I go running. When I lived in San Francisco (or Florida, or NOLA) I wore flip flops 90% of the time. Except when I was working. But then I often wore open toed shoes or flats, with no socks. And sometimes even at work, I wore "nice" flip flops, even though I am not sure I was allowed. Nobody said anything. :)

8. I have one brother. He makes wine. And beer. He is a very nice brother. VERY NICE.

9. I rarely wear makeup. When I need to, I put on mascara. And chapstick!

10. I haven't gotten my hair cut in about 8 months. The time before that was when I chopped it all off in Thailand. I need a haircut but I am TRYING to grow it out. Also, the last time I went to the local hairdresser, and she took about 7 minutes and didn't cut it any better than my Dad could have! What a waste of money!

11. I am dreaming of lying on the beach in Mexico. Anybody want to join me?

11 questions for me

1. If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be? 

I guess Abe Lincoln would be an interesting fellow to have a little chat with over coffee. 

2. What's your favorite smell? 

Cinnamon, the first smell of rain, a nice clean soapy man smell

3. If you had to choose 3 bands to listen to for the rest of your life, who would they be? 

Pearl Jam, Led Zeppelin, Kings of Leon

4. Chocolate Frosty or Vanilla Frosty? 

Neither

5. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A Vet

6. Ice or no ice in your drink? 

Depends on the drink, but probably ICE. 

7. If they were to make a movie of your life, who would play you? 

Gweneth Paltrow

8. Guilty pleasure food? 

Cheeze-itz

9. If you had to choose between having perfect health for the rest of your life or having an unlimited supply of money, which would you choose?

Health BY FAR! 

10. How would you describe yourself in 3 words. 

Reliable

Organized

Stubborn 

11. Most important accomplishment you have done thus far in life. 

Wow, this is a hard one. I guess graduating from college was a very proud moment. Also traveling the world, but that is more fun than responsible! 

11 Questions for You: 

1. What kind of toothpaste do you use?

2. Name your dream vacation.

3. How many siblings do you have?

4. What blog do you read (almost) every day?

5. What would you do if you won 1 million dollars?

6. Do you like animals?

7. What's your favorite book?

8. What's better: having a housekeeper or having a chef?

9. What's worse: snakes or spiders?

10. Where is the farthest you have been from home?

11. Who is the most inspirational person in your life?

I tag

You

The Rules

1. Post the rules.

2. Post 11 things about you.

3. Answer the questions the tagger asked you.

4. Write 11 new questions for those you tag.

You can do this on your own blog or answer some of the questions in the comments!

Where My Heart Is

The most beautiful city I've ever been to is San Francisco. I have traveled the world and seen many different cities which are also great, but San Francisco has a beauty that cannot be rivaled. I know I am bias and partial to the city that is not only in my state, but is where I lived for several years. I remember first trying to find an apartment in the city. I had been living in Sacramento and working for Nordstrom when I got a promotion to manager in downtown San Francisco. For a while I drove back and forth every day. On a good day, that could be under two hours; on a bad day the drive was sometimes almost 4. Each way.

Getting an apartment was not easy. This was at the tail end of the dot com era. Young, smart kids with money were lined up, and I mean LINED UP to pay cash on the spot for an apartment. Not only would they pay the asking price; they would pay more, lots more. There were bidding wars for rentals. You had to fill out your application, print out your credit score, have your deposit in hand and then BID extraordinary amounts of money in order to get a 300 SF room in this wonderful city.

I got lucky. A friend of a friend of a friend was moving out and I could take over her lease. It would be easy and cheap ("city" cheap, that is). I didn't know the new roommate. I didn't know if he was messy or clean, nice or mean, taken or single. I didn't care. He could have been an axe murderer; at least the rent was cheap.

I spent the next several years exploring. All the different nooks and crannies, each with a different world, were there for my pleasure. You could walk from Mexico to China within minutes. You could taste all the food, experience the culture, all within steps of your own back door. You could see the water from many different vantage points. You could take a walk along the ocean and stare at the Golden Gate bridge. It was never hot and never cold. It was perfect.

I don't need to tell you that San Francisco is pleasing to the eye, with it's hills and it's skyline, it's water and it's bridges and it's buildings like this and this. But I need to tell you that it is much more than just physical beauty that draws me to the city. It's the mish mosh of cultures and neighborhoods and languages and people. It's the traveling the world without even leaving one city. It's the cool, crisp fall weather (in summertime).

It's the life. And the life is beautiful.

(PS Some close second place cities: Seattle, Sydney, Shanghai, Paris, Venice, Istanbul)

What do you think the "Most Beautiful" city is? And why?

Message Received

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Communicating is sometimes hard for me. I don't always like to talk on the phone; I am not very good at expressing myself vocally; I prefer to write things in a letter or a journal or on a post it note. When I was young, my mother used to yell at me and I would just glare at her wordlessly. I am not good with words. If there is a "wrong thing" to say, I may accidentally say it. I take that back, I will probably say it. So I sometimes keep quiet instead.

When I went to college, I received my very first email address from CSU, Sacramento. I had no idea what to do with it. The only people I knew with email addresses were the other students in my classes, and I could just talk to them. Why would I go all the way to the computer lab to email someone that lived right next door to me in the dorms? However, I did go over there to sometimes play solitaire on the computer between classes. Other than that, I didn’t see what all the fuss was about, maybe because there was no fuss.

The first time I went abroad, I lived and worked in France for three months. Every couple of weeks, I would buy a phone card and go and stand on the street at a pay phone and call my parents to let them know that I was okay, where I had been and what I was doing. I sent post cards and letters and beer labels home to my friends. I wrote in my journal and kept a box of scrapbook worthy items (mostly beer labels). There were internet cafes, but they were mostly full of people smoking and drinking coffee in front of empty computer stations. I did have an email address, but I still did not know a lot of people who had emails themselves, nor was using email as a means of communication yet a habit.

I am learning to communicate. I am still not very good at doing it vocally. However, through the means of email, I have learned to ask questions and to ask for help; I have asked people out on lunch dates that I may not have asked before; I have learned things about people that I would not have asked them about. I have made friends that I probably would not have made if I had to pick up the phone and talk to them, not only around the world, but even on a smaller scale such as around the office at work.

Both the internet and I have come very far since the 90s. I did not have that first email address until I was 18. I didn’t really use it until I was 22. And then that was ALL I used the internet for. I didn’t even own my own computer until I was 26. I didn’t need it! I went to the computer lab to study and to write papers and to do research on the internet. Now I use it to find knowledge and different worlds and great people.

The communication lines are now open.

I always wonder if I would be different if I had been a child in a world full of Internet. Would I know more or less? Would I be more outgoing or less? Would I still hand-write Thank You cards or not?

This post is part of the Write on Edge RemembeRED prompt. Today's assignment was:

Many of us remember life before the internet. We wrote letters instead of emails, used encyclopedias instead of Google, and went to parties that weren’t of the Twitter variety. For this week’s prompt, we want you to recall those early memories of being online. Tell us how it impacted your life and what it meant for you. Write about your experience in 600 words or less.



Now tell me -- do YOU remember the days before the internet? When did you get your first email address? When did you actually start to use the internet regularly?

My Seven Links

I know everyone has already done this and I am way behind on the times. That is okay. The town I grew up in just stopped pegging their pants last year.

This is hard, since I have a lot of posts and some of them were written 5 years ago! Also, I know that over the years, this blog, and I with it, have changed. So, some of the ones I wrote in the beginning had a good idea but bad delivery, or they were good but nobody read them.  Also, many of them were more like journal entries than crowd pleasers. However, it was kind of fun to go back and re-read some of my older posts, trying to find a good post to link to. This idea originated here. I am not following the rules. I have not been nominated. I will not nominate anyone. If you want to do this, do it. I give you my nomination now. Do it.

This challenge asks you to identify these 7 links:

Your most beautiful post: This one is hard. Is it referring to a photo, wise words or some deep insight from within? I love taking photos and I love Where I Live so that is probably the most beautiful post(s) I have for you.

Your most popular post: I guess this one is easier because it is quantifiable. If it goes by page hits, it’s Chopped (see below for link). However, if it is down to the number of comments, it is. It’s a Wrap tied with Why I Blog.

Your most controversial post: None of mine are really controversial (ie. sparked a huge debate between followers and me or followers themselves.) However, some happened during controversial times in my life, and during controversial times in my mind (sometimes different times, funnily enough) On Being in Limbo was about a controversy within.  

Your most helpful post; Essential Travel Items or Why Weight? which is a tutorial on calories and eating.

A post whose success surprised you:  Chopped, which is the one I wrote when I decided to go from over a foot of hair to basically none, in the name of Locks of Love. I think this one gets a lot of hits because it comes up the most on search engines, because for some reason people search things like “cut my hair”, “chop my hair” and “locks of love” more often than anything else. (side note of interest: I also “chopped” my hair in 2008 and wrote about it. This post was not popular at all. This goes to show that sometimes it depends on which words and phrases you use).

A post you feel didn’t get the attention it deserved:  I am Not a Plastic Bag. I wrote this when I was just writing to write and nobody read it and I didn’t care. But I had a lot of fun writing it and I thought it was well thought out and researched. I just didn’t have an audience then. C’est la vie!

The post that you are most proud of: I really like writing about Travel. I enjoy seeing new things and remarking upon them. The post called Kung Fu Fighting that I wrote about braving the trains in China got comments from my mom, who almost never comments. So I was proud that day. (I am also proud of Racing For Your Life because I entered it into a blog contest and won 3^rd place!)

What is YOUR favorite post of yours? Or if you want to answer any other categories and put the link in the comments, I would love to see what you think your 7 links are. If you have already done this meme, tell me what your second place links w