The Dish is The Master

Boy, there's nothing like the Dish to let you know who's boss. I was feeling pretty good about my running until Monday when we ventured back to the Dish trail after almost a month away from it. Between the fire that broke out there and caused a three week closure and my vacation, the hilly run had become somewhat of a fond memory. Running on the flat lands had given me this false sense of accomplishment that led me to believe that getting up the incline would not be a problem.

WRONG!

I huffed, and I puffed, and I had to stop and walk. Gravity wins yet again.

So, we battle again, my worthy adversary.

Hill Time

Just enough time for a short run today so I decided to make the most of it by running some hills. To call it a hill would be generous, I guess, it was really just the road by my house that runs over an interstate so there's a slight incline that rises over about 250 yards. Ran from my house to there, up and down four times. On the fourth time down, I spotted a woman on a bicycle pedaling very slowly up the hill. I thought to myself, I wonder if I could beat her up the hill? So I decided to try and ran up one more time - and I did pass her! She gave me kind of a wry smile as I passed her again on the way down.

Granted, she wasn't on a road bike and she wasn't really putting her whole heart into getting up the hill, just looked like she was out for a little ride. Nonetheless, it gave me a little confidence boost. Oh, it's so easy to make me happy. I coasted back home and my half hour workout was over.

Snapshots from a Vacation

Flowers in our backyard, July 14th.



Drakes' Beach, July 21st.




P chasing the waves, July 21st.




The guys on a deserted Drakes' Beach, July 21st.




Flowers for my Mama on her birthday, July 27th.

A Vacation at Home

My vacation is almost over. My parents leave tomorrow to go and visit my brother and his family. It's back to work on Monday. The kids go back to summer day camp and day care. Back to our old routines. Aside from our three day trip to Pt. Reyes, we've stayed home and had a grand old time of it. I finally got to do some of the things that have been bugging me for months, if not years. Cleaning out the garage, sorting through the boys' old toys, getting rid of or donating baby stuff, and alphabetizing the books in the bookshelves (KIDDING!). But seriously, it felt good to just be home, not having to worry about any agenda or driving or sitting in traffic, a chance to hang out with the folks and share our daily lives together - kiddie tantrums and all. Sure I exercised less and ate more than usual, but that is definitely part of the holiday spirit.

I like to dream of a Hawaiian vacation or a ski trip or a journey to some place I haven't yet seen, but this time, the comforts of home were just the thing. There's something to be said for enjoying what you have.

And, yes, I have finished the book. Thursday morning, 12:22 am.

Gone Reading

I was tempted to title this 'Gone Potty' but I figure that those types of headings are a dime a dozen this week. I just picked up the last Harry Potter book this afternoon and have gotten stuck into it. I want to blog about our great weekend in Pt. Reyes, I want to blog about the time with my parents, even about the latest run and swim and my obsession with finding the perfect road bike for me but all this pales next to my desire to read.

So, till then, much less web surfing, much less blogging, more reading.

You Know You're Living in the Bay Area When

...you think a 45 minute commute is not that bad.

...your house has gained more value in the last three years than your combined family income AND you'd never be able to afford buying it now so you're eternally grateful that you were able to buy back then.

...you start feeling chilly when the temperature drops to 50 degrees F.

...you start up your laptop to connect to your wireless network and there are at least 10 to choose from AND none of them are unsecured.

...you know at least one person who is (or are yourself) training for a half-marathon/marathon/triathlon.

...your seven year old has a favorite kind of sushi and chooses a sushi place as a restaurant instead of McDonald's.

Kaeshi-Waza

Today's class was all about reversals, switching roles from attacker to defender and then back to attacker. Pretty neat. Usually, we have the two distinct roles of uke and nage, the one who attacks and the one who applies the technique. In this set-up, nage always 'wins.' In kaeshi-waza, uke comes out on top. It's a bit confusing because the result is so out of the ordinary. What stuck with me was this (paraphrased) cue from Doran Sensei:

The key to a successful reversal is to offer no resistance to the initial defensive move. Accept it completely, give in to the technique, create a false sense of success and then reverse direction and apply the lock.

Very cool. Also, very hard. But since these techniques are not required material till sandan (third degree black belt), I'm not too worried about not getting it all the first time.

Another Trip Around the Sun

'Twas a fine day indeed, made more memorable by the following:

1. Celebrating with my parents for the first time in I can't remember when.

2. Three, count 'em, three cakes. A chocolate marble cake with chocolate frosting, a banana cream pie and a fruit tart. Next year, no more candles - too much of a fire hazard!

3. Spending the afternoon with my cousin Todd and his lovely wife Elaine, in addition to my immediate family. That included walking to the park and playing with the kids there.

4. Getting phone calls, cards and text messages from friends and family near and far.

5. Cool new running gadget: a heart rate watch! Programmable and everything.

6. Homemade birthday cards from the boys.

7. Sushi dinner!

8. 2.5 miles in 23 minutes. I've finally broken that dreaded 10 min mile barrier. My heart rate was through the roof when I was done but it was worth it!

I am one happy (and tired) camper.

Just A Bike

I've owned a mountain bike for the past 12 years. Perfectly happy. Then I signed up for my first triathlon. Suddenly, the temptation to get a road bike has hit. 'Cause of course I've got the money to spare (yeah, right). But who knew that there were so many options: there are race bikes (fairly clear), pilot bikes (for flying??), triathlon bikes (also clear, I think, something about fancy handlebars), touring bikes (for Italy?), commuting bikes (with room for FastPass), cyclocross bikes (??), and track bikes (I'm assuming not for a running track). Then there are all the different materials: carbon, titanium, aluminum, steel, gold, silver (OK, I'm kidding about the last two). Did I mention the price range on these guys? Perhaps it's best that I just not go there.

Jeepers, what happened to the days when choices were simple? Now I feel like I need to navigate my way through reviews and test rides and side-by-side comparisons and shop visits. It's just about enough to make me say "Fuggedaboutit!"

Oh Mountain Bike, all is forgiven.

In Between Guests

Tonight it is just the four of us. Melanie has gone to visit my brother and his family. My parents arrive tomorrow night for a two week visit and I'm taking the time off. I'm so very much looking forward to seeing them since we haven't been together in a year. But it's nice to have this little break, a chance to catch our breath, a chance to blog!

Time to wash sheets and towels, rearrange furniture. Time to plan what to do - all those things that I've put off for vacation time are coming around. Then it will be time to chat, time to show off the kids, time to show Mama and Papa the places and routines of our daily lives, time to just sit and enjoy each other's company and conversation. My mom and I will cook together and shop together and talk about what good books we've read lately. My dad and I will drive and he'll comment on how nice the roads are and how little traffic there is. M will talk politics with them and we'll all get all riled up together. We'll drink many bottles of wine. Papa will take lots and lots of photos of the boys and the pictures will capture their naughtiness perfectly. We'll take the kids swimming, probably head up to Napa or Sonoma. We'll celebrate my birthday and Mama's birthday. There will be lots of laughter and smiles.

I can't wait.

Red

True story.

I looked out the window at a blood-red moon as the airplane landed in Chicago O'Hare. I looked away and back again. Still red. I thought to myself: "Red??? I've never seen a red moon. Yellow, yes. White, yes. But red? What's up with that?" I got out of the airport and into a cab and looked up again. It was the same lightly yellow American cheese color that it usually is. Had my eyes been deceived? Was there some special filter in the airplane's windows?

Or was it an omen and, if so, of what?

Snacks from Days Gone By

I'm just back from dinner at a Thai place in Chicago where we had some excellent food: basil rice noodles with beef, stir fried seafood with crispy flat noodles, green chicken curry and some awesome smoothies with tapioca balls. Gosh, I haven't had these in ages. The dinner conversation turned to fishballs and that just reminded me of the snack food vendors that would set up shop outside my elementary school in the Philippines. Here's the delicious assortment that awaited us once we stepped outside the gates:

1. Fishball vendor with wok filled in hot oil, two jars of dipping sauces (one hot and spicy, the other sweet and sour).

2. Man hawking green mangoes and bagoong (fish/shrimp paste) or just plain rock salt. Sometimes, he also had singkamas (jicama).

3. "Dirty" ice cream vendor with the following flavors: mango, ube (purple yam), macapuno (young coconut), and the all time favorite: cheese (with real cheese bits).

Heaven help you if your parents found out that you actually bought and consumed something from these people. But did that stop any of of us? Of course not.

Weapons Week

This week's menu included: knife thrusts and overhead stabs, sword slashes and jo partner practice. Very fun. I love the sound of the staffs clicking against each other and the swoosh of the jo as one swings it through the air. There's a certain feeling of strength and confidence in being able to handle a weapon correctly. Not that I'm saying that I can handle one correctly yet, but I do like the way they feel. Does that make me bloodthirsty? I don't think so. I hope never to have to use any of these techniques but it's good to know them.

As I'm writing this, I'm sitting at the airport, waiting for my flight to Chicago. The first one was canceled and I've been rebooked on a later one. Good time to blog. This trip may see a spike in posts.

Splish, Splash

Parade in the morning.

Burgers and corn on the grill for lunch.

The pool is out and filled with water. Melanie and the boys are in the water and it looks really very nice.

What am I doing blogging?????

Going to change...

Chicks with Sticks

It's outdoor weapons training time in aikido. A chance to work out with a jo - that's a four-foot staff. Last Thursday was my first jo class in a long time. It felt a little strange. I have my own bo, a six-foot staff, from my time training in karate, but I hadn't swung that around in something like five years!

Back to square one. After practicing - erm - copying - a series of strikes, blocks and sweeps, it was time to work through the 31 jo kata. Brain overload! All I remember is this: reverse thrust, block, reverse thrust, overhead strike, reverse overhead strike and ..... gone.

Need more practice, lots more practice. The best part of the class was that there were three women and two men. We don't usually outnumber the men.

Girl power :).

Thanksgiving in June

Yesterday, we had a Thanksgiving dinner in June so that my cousin who is visiting from Germany could experience a traditional American meal. Because the smallest turkey I could find was a twenty-pounder, I invited some friends over to share the meal with us. There's no way three adults and two children could begin to do justice to that much food!

We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, salad and a nice California Riesling followed by homemade apple pie and vanilla ice cream. Yummy! We were stuffed. The only thing missing was the football game on TV (which we never watch anyway but, it's part of the tradition, isn't it?). As we sat at the table after the meal, unable to move, someone suggested a walk to the park. Good idea, if we could just extricate ourselves from our chairs.

Somehow, we pried ourselves away and wandered over to the playground, seven adults with two enthusiastic little boys in tow. Who would have thought we'd have just as much fun as they did? Something got into us, maybe it was the turkey, maybe it was just the memories of childhood that being on a playground awoke. Down the tube slides, across the monkey bars, up and around the play structure, swinging as high as possible. I'm talking about the adults here! D even got us going in a heart-pounding game of tag. Wheeeeeeeeee! I don't know who had a better time, the kids or us. I do know that I haven't had that much fun on a playground in a long time. Usually, we're too busy watching out for the boys. This time, I had many pairs of extra eyes and hands and I could join in. It was great and I think it was a wonderful experience for Melanie as well.

The inner child is alive, well and kicking and she got to come out and play. I like Thanksgiving in June. Maybe I should make it a tradition.