Monday, December 21, 2009

The intimacy of walking

I am sans-automobile for a few days and decided to do my errands on foot. While walking towards my bank on Ventura Boulevard I noticed a lot of graffiti on walls, trash cans, mailboxes, and gates. I normally don't see this "urban art" when I drive past it at 30 mph in my car. I also don't see how much litter and dirt there is on the streets. I can't help thinking that if more people walked this area daily, they would make more of an effort to keep the area graffiti and litter free. Los Angeles would be a much cleaner city if more people walked instead of drove.

Once I got to Ventura Boulevard, I also noticed that the character of the street has changed in the past year. A few years ago the street was chock-full of upper-end boutiques, shops, and restaurants. Last year there were quite a few store closings and 'for lease' signs. Now these empty storefronts have been filled with discount and lower-end businesses. I would never have though it would be the case, but I guess Ventura Blvd is a reflection of the state of the economy.

On this walk I also noticed a lot of condos and houses for lease, but none for sale. Newly built condos are being leased instead of sold. I'm assuming this is because the builders can get much more money (and a higher occupancy) if they rent out the units instead of sell them.

I never notice this stuff when I drive. And I focus on other stuff when I run the streets. But walking the streets has made me wish more people walked so they could actually see the city they live in. The city feels more intimate and personal on foot, and neighbors more neighborly when we aren't separated by metal cages.

I wish more people walked around town but then again this is Los Angeles-- a city married to the automobile.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

A great way to start a Sunday morning

Today I ran my first 10K race. I've run 5K's, half-marathons, marathons, and ultra-marathons. And I've run a lot more than 10K in training. But I had never gotten around to running a 10K. In fact, I probably still wouldn't have if my sister hadn't insisted that she wanted to run the 10K instead of a 5K-- and I'm glad she did!

We ran the 'Say No To Drugs' Annual 5K/10K Classic. The course went through the backlot of Universal Studios and it was a wonderful race. We ran past 'Wisteria Lane' of Desperate Housewives fame, the Bates Motel, part of the 'Jaws' set, and several other interesting movie sets. With the mountain background and the cool temperatures, it was a beautiful race! Plus, with a relatively small number of participants (approx 2000) it wasn't as insane compared to almost every other race I've run in the past few years.

I wish that I had brought my camera and gotten pictures. It was just that kind of race. My sister had fun for her first 10K too.

For those of you thinking of running the race in the future, I say GO FOR IT. Just a little warning-- the course is VERY hilly. Someone had told me this before, but I wasn't prepared for the extreme slope. It wasn't the uphill, but the downhill on slick and wet slopes that gave me a moment of pause. Even worse were the sections of cobblestone ground. It was closer to a trail run than a regular race course. But it was still a lot of fun and I plan on running this race again next year!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

A 5-day L.A. itinerary

An old friend of mine visited this past week and it was a great chance to see some of the sights in L.A. that I haven't seen before. Luckily she wasn't that interested in seeing stuff like Hollywood Boulevard or Rodeo Drive so we got a chance to see some of the 'interesting' sights in and around L.A. Namely, we visited the following:

- The Queen Mary. This is an old sailing vessel that is now permanently docked in Long Beach. It was lots of fun to wander and explore, and it just *feels* haunted in places.

- The Fashion District in Downtown L.A. My friend is a sewer and quilter and we thought we would explore and look at the textiles. This multi-block area is AMAZING. There is store-upon-store of gorgeous fabric, beads, and trim for making clothes, drapes, jewelry, decorations, etc. And the best part are the deals that you can find here. There were complete bedding sets (gorgeous fabric) for $20-- the kind that I've seen at Macy's for $300!

- The Getty Villa. The grounds and the building are gorgeous and make for a very relaxing visit. I'm not knowledgeable in antiquities, but the explanation placards were very informative and relatively interesting.

- The Channel Islands National Park. The highlight of this has to be the hundreds of dolphins that we saw while on the boat returning back from the island.

- A taping of Jeopardy. We're not Jeopardy fans, but I think it was still interesting for my friend to see how shows are taped. The Jeopardy stage is larger than it looks like on t.v. which surprised me since every other set I've seen is smaller than it appears on t.v. Also, I never realized that there are Game Show Groupies akin to Star Trek Fans. The audience was primarily the groupies and relatives of the contestants. There were only a small handful of people who were there just to see the taping of a television show. Of course we saw Alex Trebek. He's just okay. Let's just say that he would not be anywhere near the top of my dinner-party invite list. He didn't seem to be that interesting, or smart, or nice ...

I don't usually get a chance to see what this city has to offer until somebody visits. It was a lot of fun taking a vacation in the city that I live in!

Thursday, November 05, 2009

I remember the '80s

I admit that I am old enough to remember the group 'Huey Lewis and the News'. Not only am I old enough to remember them, but I actually recognized 'Huey Lewis' at the grocery store yesterday. In my mind I see him in the black leather 80's style bomber jacket. But he was wearing regular street clothes at the grocery store, and it was a little bit of 'is that....?' His car was parked behind mine in the parking lot, and as I was putting my groceries into the back seat of my car, I saw him get into a red convertible Porsche. Then I knew it was him. He was easier to recognize because he fit into my impression of what a rock-and-roll star should look like.

This has been quite the week for spotting celebrities at the grocery store!

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

A really good idea

One thing that most people know about L.A.-- it is a driver city. It is normal to spend hours in a car driving from place to place. With all the driving is the increased chance for car accidents. There are certain parts of the city that I avoid because they tend to be overpopulated with wealthy people in big SUVs who don't care about the traffic laws or anybody else on the road. I have been rear-ended several times since moving to this city and feel like a seasoned veteran at dealing with fender benders.

When I dropped my car off at the car mechanic today, we got to talking about car insurance and dealing with car accidents. He has had a lot of frustration dealing with the car insurance companies. As a result, he has developed a simple form that can be used for 'In case of accident'. The form contains space for the date/time/location, then information on the other car including the car's VIN number, year, make/model, car license, and license state. It then has space for the standard information of driver license number, state, name, insurance company, policy number, etc. Basically, he compiled all the information that an insurance company would need to complete a claim. If any of you are interested in a copy of the form just let me know and I can send it or post it online.

The genius of this ready-made accident form is the obviousness of the need for it. It's hard to think clearly after an accident sometimes. And sometimes it is even hard to find a sheet of paper to take down the other person's information. Having this form makes getting peoples' info a standardized process. I plan on keeping a copy of the form in my glove compartment so that I will be prepared when there is an accident.

BTW, the one item he stressed was to get the other car's VIN number. People sometimes get fake licenses or give the wrong telephone number, but police can usually trace a car's VIN number to the owner. If nothing else, get the other car's VIN number.

Happy motoring!

Monday, November 02, 2009

Top Ten List

It has been a while since I've seen a recognizable celebrity, but yesterday I saw someone who is in the current news media: David Letterman. I saw him at the grocery store parking lot yesterday. I had just parked my car and was walking to the corner and he was driving and waited for me to cross in front of his car. No, he wasn't wearing a hat. Yes, he was here in L.A. I know his show is filmed in NYC so I have no idea what he was doing here. Maybe he went to a Halloween party?

Anyways, in honor of David Letterman, this is my Top Ten List of favorite places to see a celebrity in this town:

1. Running (usually along the ocean between Venice and the Palisades).
2. While shopping at Fry's Electronics (section with the really big screen TVs).
3. At a restaurant.
4. On a plane (flying into/out of LAX or Burbank).
5. Driving on the streets.
6. At Starbucks (in Brentwood off of San Vicente or in Bel Air off of Mulholland).
7. While hiking past their house.
8. At the theater.
9. Local grocery store and farmers market (Studio City and Sherman Oaks).
10. Shopping at Target.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Halloween Disneyland

Disneyland and California Adventure at Halloween-time:





Unfortunately it was very windy that day so there were no special Halloween fireworks. But the cooler temperature made for a pleasant day with no-wait lines (until school let-out). Disney Halloween is definitely fun! Plus, the little kids are in costumes for the special Disney trick-or-treating!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Nike Womens Half Marathon

I wasn't expecting much after attending the race expo, but the Nike Womens Half Marathon ended up being a really gorgeous and fun race. And the Finishers necklace from Tiffanys isn't too shabby either (see photo below).

My friends agreed with me that the Nike Womens Marathon race expo is the 'lamest' race expo that we have ever attended. It was a large tent in the center of a block in downtown San Francisco that contained race packet pick-up, one smoothie booth, one 'manicure' station, one 'wall of shoes' (all Nike of course), a booth for the race's charity, and some song/power-station/iPod syncing booth. That's it. There were no other vendors. With space at a premium I understand not wanting to allow too much miscellaneous stuff. But really. What was supposed to be 'cool and hip' was actually disappointing.

So I started the race a little skeptical. Was it just a bunch of hype?

I was wrong to be skeptical. This race was outstanding. The scenery was gorgeous and challenging, and the race itself was well organized for the runners. The aid stations were well stocked and the volunteers were fabulous, there were motivational signs placed along the route, and the amount of cheering and bands along the route was just about right.

I had a great time! My one tip for runners of this race in the future is to take it easy on the uphill. We saw people powering themselves up the first hill and a lot of them were probably ridiculously spent at the end. There are LOTS of steep hills on this course since it is San Francisco. But the reward for the hills are the amazing views of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate, and the bay itself.

The one thing that should be fixed at the race is that there is a literal wall of people on the other side of the finish line. There were so many people stopping to get their pictures taken with a fireman handing out a Tiffany's necklace that it was actually a hazard for runners. I had to weave through them one step after I crossed the finish line. They should probably move the firemen several yards behind the finish line so runners don't have to come to an abrupt stop.

I ended up getting my necklace from a really young fireman who was standing way in the back. He seemed shy and stood back from the crowd. It was my pleasure to get a necklace from him, and when I opened up the box I was very happy with the shiny and pretty reward inside!



Monday, October 12, 2009

Long Beach Half Marathon

While running the Long Beach Half Marathon yesterday, I realized that my motivation to run races has completely changed.

When I first started doing races, it was for the adventure and (somewhat) the comeraderie. Now it feels like racing has become more of a personal check-list of 'races to do'. The Long Beach Half Marathon was exactly that kind of race.

I was told by several people to arrive early because traffic is bad for this race. So I pre-programmed my GPS the night before, took my friends' suggestion to avoid the 710 highway and use surface streets, and arrived at the pre-paid parking with plenty of time to spare. (Note for those planning on doing the race: take the 405 and get off at Long Beach Boulevard. Some of my racing buddies took the 710 and were stuck in a virtual highway parking lot. Also, the pre-paid parking is a nightmare. You are better off parking at the convention center and/or parking for free at a meter on Long Beach Boulevard.)

The weather was cool and ideal for running. But when I started the race, I really didn't feel "it"-- that enjoyment and flow that sometimes comes with running. The race was incredibly crowded and went along a narrow bike path which could barely hold all the people. It was like Disneyland only without the huge costumes. Though the pace would have been okay normally, the pace that my friend set that day was just a little too fast for me. At mile 6 I dropped behind and slowed down. But then the ball of my left foot started to hurt like there was not enough cushioning in the shoe. I re-adjusted the shoe but nothing helped. I kept on running running running until mile 11 when I cramped in my right calf. I stretched and walked a little, then ran for a while again before my left calf cramped. Those blasted cramps!!!

The finish line was ridiculously crowded. We had to wait in line through a crowd of people just to leave the finish line area. Maybe the race has grown big quickly and the organizers didn't realize that it would be this crowded? Or more like I was finishing with the mass bulk of the half-marathoners (and elite marathoners) so everybody was there at one time.

I felt as spent on this half as I sometimes do on a full marathon. I can't explain it. You just can't predict how things will turn out on race day!

Would I recommend this race even though I personally didn't really enjoy it? Yes, I would recommend it. The race is relatively flat and the temperatures are mild. There is a lot of race support (though I didn't even notice the Hooters girls at the mile 3 waterstation) and the locals are friendly. If you don't like crowds, it probably isn't for you. But if you feed off of their energy, it is definitely a pleasant race.

Plus, it's another race to check-off on the Southern California Race 'to-do' list.

Sunday, October 04, 2009

Remember him?

Do you remember the television miniseries 'North and South' from back in the 1980's? It starred several people who you may remember (e.g. Patrick Swayze and Kirstie Alley). It also starred this guy named James Read. Remember him? The good looking George Hazard? Northern counterpoint to Patrick Swayze's Southern character? According to Wikipedia he has done a few other recognizable television roles since.

I saw him at the theater the other day (at Parade the musical). He sat a row in front of me just a few seats over. He looks almost exactly like he did on North and South-- only better. Though the miniseries was over 20 years ago, he looks like he could be in his early 40's. Apparently he is 56 years old and one of the best looking and sexiest celebrities that I have seen in person (and I've seen Dennis Quaid and Aaron Eckhart). I want to know James Reads' secret to staying so young looking!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Professors on strike

Thursday, September 24, 2009 is the scheduled date of the University of California Professors Strike.

College professors on strike? If you look at the list, they are calling for a strike on all of the UC campuses-- Berkeley, LA, Riverside, Irvine, San Diego, San Francisco, Davis, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Merced. I was also told that certain staff will be participating in this strike as well.

Their list of demands is relatively simple: 1. People paid under $40K/year should not have to experience a paycut 2. Re-address the furlough issue 3. Make UC spending more transparent.

It will be interesting to see the results. How many professors will actually follow through on the strike? The list is primarily humanities and liberal arts professors.

Truthfully, the loss of a single day of classes (especially the first day) is minor for most undergraduate college students. I assume most professors will compensate by creating a heavier homework load for a few days and/or spending less time on less important material. In practical terms, one day less of classes has as much impact on learning/teaching as expecting professors to take furloughs.

When I was an undergrad, there was a really bad snowstorm one year that actually shut down the University of Wisconsin campus for one day. Vehicles weren't moving on the street because there was too much snow. All classes were cancelled EXCEPT for my physical chemistry class. My professor, knowing that it would snow heavily the night before, spent the night in the dorms with his college aged son. He showed up to class and presented his lecture to a handful of us (who didn't listen to the radio or check the t.v. before we trudged through the snow to class). I don't remember the topic covered in that lecture. I just remember the dedication the professor showed to his students that day. What do you think this strike is REALLY teaching students?

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Packaging matters

Like a lot of people, I try to be relatively careful about the types of food that I eat and often buy organic and hormone-free foods. Though I suspect that the foods that I buy aren't always as organic/hormone-free as I would like, I figure a little improvement is better than nothing.

But then I read an article in Chemical and Engineering News about the leaching of chemicals from packaging into food and drugs.

The bis-phenol issue in plastic water bottles has been well publicized recently to the point that metal water bottles are a fad (of which stainless steel are the premium non-plastic option). And I've been aware of issues with storing and cooking with plastics and aluminum for a while.

But it never occurred to me that the inks and dyes used on the outside packaging of foods and medicines could actually get into the food or medicine and contaminate it to a point that the food would be recalled or the medicine would become ineffective. I was also not aware at how often this contamination occurs. In the article, they cite recalls of cereal in Germany when ink from the outside of the cardboard box got into the cereal, BPA being banned in baby bottles, infant formula with packaging ink contamination, IV bags with packaging ink leaching inside, contamination from glue used to attach a syringe, and carcinogens coming from processed rubber lids.

Thinking about it scientifically, the possibility of contamination makes sense. A lot of inks and dyes are toxic and/or carcinogenic. I just assumed the FDA rules were adequate for food packaging. Surprisingly the rules don't cover the entire packaging. As it is now, manufacturers can use toxic ink on the outside sticker label if it doesn't touch the food. But as all of the recalls suggest, this rule needs to change.

In the big picture, what does this really mean for us? It means that highly packaged organic food is potentially not as 'organic' as people like to believe. And this gives me another reason to eat fresh 'simple' foods.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

The thrill of a bargain...

Years ago (like over 10 years ago) I tried on a Versace dress and was amazed at how beautiful it looked... on ME! I had never worn anything that nice before. It was at a Factory Outlet Center and the dress was marked down 90%, but it was still over $100, I was living in Iowa, and I couldn't see myself ever wearing it.

I saw an ad in Thursday's paper for the Barneys New York warehouse sale this weekend. A friend had gone a few years ago and got a great deal on a (originally) very expensive bag that she used to haul around her school papers. Having the time, and being a little curious about the bargains, I went to the sale.

I'm not sure if it's the economy or that fact that the sale was moved downtown (instead of in Santa Monica) this year, but it wasn't as crazy as I had heard it could be. There was no fighting and grabbing stuff away from other people at all. The main craziness was in the 'dressing area' which is basically a big curtain. About 100 women were there fighting for mirror space, undressing down to just their underwear, and some walking around bra-less looking for their friend/daughter/sister to try on the next blouse/dress/sweater/etc.

Looking through the racks, I told myself that I was only going to look at practical things-- things that I could wear to a job interview or in the work world. The mark-downs were pretty good. 60-75% off the lowest price on the tag for designer clothes and 25% off the lowest price for ready-to-wear clothes. A lot of the designer stuff was originally over $1000 and was marked-down to $300, with the final price being around $120. I ended up finding (and buying) a blue jean dress that was originally $810 with the final price being $40 after all the mark-downs. Yup I paid $40 for a $800 dress. It is a nice dress and *somebody* in this world probably paid full price for it. Though I can't imagine having so much money that I would actually pay that much money for a dress made of blue jean material. In fact, there are probably people in the Midwest that think I'm a sucker paying $40 for a blue jean dress.

The best part of the sale in L.A. is that there were a lot of clothes in my size on the racks. One girl commented that all the clothes were "soooo big". She was looking through the racks for sizes 6 and 8. Size 0 and 2 were picked clean. Hooray! One time when normal sized women win in Los Angeles!!! :)

Thursday, June 25, 2009

When a celebrity dies at your workplace

Earlier this week when Ed McMahon passed away, there was one news truck in front of the UCLA hospital early in the morning.

This afternoon a co-worker came into the lab and announced that Michael Jackson was at the UCLA hospital. Then a little while later somebody else said that traffic was getting crazy in front of the hospital because of the media and paparazzi. Then somebody else announced that he passed away. Around that time we started to hear helicopters overhead, and got multiple e-mails notifying us about street closures and heavy traffic. When I checked the online news, thousands of people were swarming in front of the hospital. It was amazing to see.

It also made traffic crazy today. Some of the streets around the hospital were closed, and I wouldn't be surprised if ER traffic was directed to another hospital. I left work at 7 p.m. hoping it had died down a bit-- and it had, but traffic was still heavier than a normal workweek evening.

Just watching the news crews and crowds at various places in L.A. on t.v. is crazy.

I feel horrible for his kids...

Update: The next day a co-worker described her ordeal trying to get home. She takes the bus and had to walk through that throng of people. She said that it took her about 15 minutes to walk through the crowd because there were people everywhere-- not just on the sidewalk, but on the street, on the steps and walls of the buildings next door and across the street, everywhere. This is a walk that normally should take 5 minutes or less. Considering the craziness of the subsequent media coverage, I don't think the Michael Jackson mania is going to calm down any time soon. I can't imagine what it is like to grow-up and live with this kind of paparazzi/media swarming every day of your life.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Everyday life...

I wouldn't have noticed if someone hadn't pointed her out--Catherine Keener, an actress in 'Being John Malkovich' and '40 Year Old Virgin', was at the park while our lab had its picnic.

One of my co-workers got pictures with her in the background. Truthfully, she looked very 'hippy' and the picture my co-worker got was very clear and not at all flattering. Once she noticed that we noticed her, she quickly vamoosed from the park.

It's too bad that she didn't stay and enjoy her friends' picnic. We wouldn't have bothered her if she had stayed... but maybe she's skittish because she has had bad experiences with paparazzi.

Anyways, it just made the picnic more fun and let us talk about the 'famous' people we've all seen.

Just last week some of my friends saw the Governator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) during a Saturday morning run (which I skipped) and they all shook his hand. Being star-struck, one of my friends told the Governor that he was doing a good job--to which Schwarzenegger gave him a sort of funny look. Afterwards, my friend beat himself up about it since he is a school teacher! And education is just one of the many services that is losing funding during this horrible California budget debacle.

Yah, California is sort of imploding on itself right now. But we can still see movie stars at the park or on a early morning run. I guess that's our consolation prize (wah wah wah wahhhhhh).

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Very Pretty

I saw Halle Berry at the theater last week. I went to see Oleanna at the Mark Taper Forum (where my sister works) and Halle Berry was there to see the play (starring Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles). She knew several other people in the audience and waved 'hi' to them. And she is just as beautiful looking casually as she is in the movies.

As for the play, the content was interesting but the execution left a little to be desired. I realize that the dialogue in this play is probably difficult to read and act out, however, the play was really slow in the beginning and the acting was annoying to watch at times. On the plus side, the set was nice to look at-- lots of pretty woodwork. To be fair, this was a preview show so I'm sure they'll work out some of the kinks by opening night.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Latest Famous

I just got back from my neighborhood Whole Foods where I saw George Wendt, the actor known for the character Norm on 'Cheers'.

I first saw him in the deli section waiting for somebody to serve him. I had to do a second take and look a little more closely because he is much greyer now than he was 20 years ago!

Then I was two people in line behind him at the check-out. The cashier was very nice to him. What did George buy? Basically food that I would expect someone from Chicago to buy. Several bags of potato chips, beer, wine, and potatoes.

The guy behind George (in front of me) was a fawning idiot who told him how much he loved him and all of that. Once George accepted the compliment and started to ignore the guy, the guy talked to the guy behind me about knowing Springsteen, being backstage at some other concert, and very loudly announced to everybody in the checkout area that he knew people. He looked at me and sort of pointed to George like I should say something to him. Truthfully, writing about him on my blog is enough for me :)

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Living with famous architecture

Having seen a few Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in Wisconsin, I thought it would be fun to see some of the buildings he built here in Los Angeles. The only building that is available for public viewing is the Hollyhock House. Everything else he built here in L.A. is either a private residence, or damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake and not safe for public viewing.

They would not let us take pictures of the house on the inside so here are a few pictures of the house from the outside:








The house is in a location with beautiful views. I can only imagine how wonderful it was when it was originally built before the urban sprawl surrounded it on all sides. It was built before the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatories-- two prominent icons you can see from inside of the house.

Does the house represent So. Cal. living like Wright intended? Not even close. The woman who had the house built, Aline Barnsdall, disliked the house so much that she didn't live in it and had a second home built. Though there is some wonderful craftsmanship and detailing inside the house, it feels very heavy. Plus, like every other Wright house that I have seen, it leaks bucketloads of water when it rains. And for true impracticality, the master bedroom was intentionally built where you were supposed to sleep on a fold-away futon in the corner of the room (in a multi-million dollar home in the early 1900's ?!?!). It's definitely a house for looks not for living.

The ego of architecture trumping the function of a building makes me think of my current workspace at the California Nanosystems Institute building at UCLA. It was profiled by the LA Times (read here) as innovative architecture. I have to say that some of it is beautiful to look at, but it lacks some basic function. The building is epitomized by the 'signature' cross-the-building ramping staircases that require you to cross the building while going between floors:


The staircases are great for art, but not so great for living. Not only do we have to go outside the building to use the staircases (which hang over the parking garage), but the metal stairs are shallow and already rusting in some places. The stairs aren't so bad when there are other simple stairwells available to move between floors. But unfortunately this isn't always the case and we're stuck with those 'iconic' stairs.

Truthfully, in the case of a fire or earthquake, the outdoor stairs in the building are its death trap. I would rather have a simple house with the gorgeous views than the Wright designed concrete block. And I'd rather have a simple ugly laboratory building with properly functioning A/C than the architectural icon that I work in.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Amazing!

I'm at that point in life where, unless I know the people well, I see faces that I recognize but I can't always remember where I recognize them from. Most of the time I let it go because it takes a lot of effort to remember where I know a person from in passing.

In the weekly Leggers Running Club e-mail this week, they mentioned that one of the winners (Victor) of 'The Amazing Race' is a Legger. It makes sense that a marathon runner would do well in the race since it is essentially a physical endurance race with some brain games thrown in for audience delight. When I saw the e-mail a little light went off in my head--I have seen him before on Saturday morning runs (and some races) but I never put 2 and 2 together.

Victor showed up for a run this morning and as he walked towards the group, people gave him a nice little applause and congratulations. It was really nice... or should I say, it was AMAZING!

Saturday, May 02, 2009

Some people just look better in person

I was standing around waiting for my running buddies this morning when Bob Greene, Oprah's trainer who helped her complete the marathon, ran past me. He looked straight at me like he knew me and I waved like I knew him. He wasn't one of those focused runners who ignores the scenery. He was running by and taking it all in. He seemed like the type of guy who would say 'hi' to fellow runners as he passed them.

He was also REALLY good looking. I don't really watch Oprah, but I have seen him on the show a few times. Honestly he looks okay on the show. But he is 100 times better looking in real life. Maybe it's the fact that he was running which brings out his natural color, or the fact that studio make-up flattens peoples' skin tones. All I know is that he is one of the few people that I've seen who looks super-hot in real life and just average on t.v.

I guess he's living testimony of what good healthy living can do for you!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

L.A. County Fair Commercial come to life

There is a L.A. County Fair commercial where a mother and her daughters are shopping in a boutique and discussing whether wool comes from a boy cow or a girl cow (see it here.) Ridiculous, isn't it?

But then I heard about the following conversation between a friend's co-workers:
Girl 1: Veal is a bird right?
Girl 2: Veal isn't a bird, it's a type of fish.

And then I had the following conversation at the farmers market last weekend:
Husband: Look at that rhubarb
Wife: Wow is that a vegetable?
Me to couple: This is swiss chard
Husband: Yup it's rhubarb (pointing to the yellow swiss chard next to the red swiss chard).

Granted, mistaking swiss chard for rhubarb is less of a misnomer than believing wool comes from a cow. But the L.A. County Fair tagline is so true. If there was ever a place that needed a county fair, it's L.A.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Dinner with Dennis

When the movie 'The Right Stuff' came out years ago, I just loved it. And I had a mini-crush on Dennis Quaid. That crooked smile was just quirky enough to make my insides feel like jelly.

Tonight I saw Dennis Quaid and (I believe) his wife at the restaurant where my friend was having her birthday dinner. He was sitting at the bar next to us while we were waiting for our table, and I would never have recognized him if somebody hadn't said something. He is much thinner and taller than he looks in the movies. A lot of heads turned when he left the bar and walked towards his table. I tried to look without looking and he noticed my friends and I trying to glance towards him non-chalantly. I even made eye contact a couple of times, but I felt sort of shy and he seemed nervous about being noticed.

Wouldn't you know it, his dinner table was right next to ours! So I got a great view of him while eating, and we made eye contact a few times again. Yes, I was too shy to even smile. Instead I had a great dinner with really good conversation. And Dennis Quaid in the background just added to the fun.

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Celebrity at the grocery store

I just saw Eric McCormack at the grocery store. He's the guy who played Will from 'Will and Grace'. I wouldn't have noticed him except his son (around 6 years old) was touching all the loaves of bread as I was picking out a loaf. He came over and grabbed his son telling him to 'come over here' in that parent's 'stop doing that' sort of voice. What surprised me is how normal he looks. He always seems like this spiffy shiny person on t.v. and in the magazines. At the grocery store, he wore a t-shirt and jeans and looked non-glamorous. He didn't stand out from the other dads around him at all. I'm not even sure if anybody else noticed him besides me.

A couple of aisles over, there was this guy who wore a police-like uniform only they guy looked like he belonged on the show 'Reno 911'. He was too short and wimpy to be a real police officer or security guard (in a fight I probably could have taken him). He wore dark sunglasses and was looking around like he was somebody that we should be noticing. He stood out because he was just weird. And if he is somebody famous, I have no clue who he is. If somebody told me he was at the grocery store to film an episode of Punk'd or Hidden Camera, I wouldn't be surprised.

All in all, it was a fun Sunday afternoon trip to the grocery store!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Pasadena Marathon Inaugural Redux

Last weekend I ran the Second First Pasadena Marathon.

Some of you may know or remember that I had been training for the Inaugural Pasadena Marathon to be run last November. It was to be my 2008 marathon but that plan ended up in smoke (literally-- they canceled the race due to wildfires). I was dead-set on running a Pasadena Marathon so I was one of the first to sign-up when they rescheduled the Second First Pasadena Marathon (a.k.a. Inaugural Redux) for last weekend.

In the week leading up to the marathon, the forecasters had predicted temperatures in the 60's and possible scattered showers on marathon day. By the Thursday before the race the forecast was for a 70% chance of showers with potential thunderstorms.

It started to sprinkle while we were lining up at the race start. It was light misty rain that is typical of Seattle-- the kind that actually makes for fun running. But as the race start time got closer and closer, the rain started to get heavier and heavier, and I was getting wetter and wetter. At 6:30a.m. the race officially started and the skies opened up and dumped water everywhere.

After about 20 minutes, the rain stopped and we all started to enjoy the race. People started to discard their improvised raingear (garbage bags and plastic ponchos) as we ran past Cal Tech. I picked up one of these plastic ponchos off the sidewalk because it was still early. I'm sooooo glad that I did this. At about mile 5 the sky started to dump water again and the gutters in the streets started to flood. The plastic poncho didn't really keep me dry, it just made it harder to get completely soaked. I thank whomever threw it away and hope they didn't regret throwing it away too much.

It continued to rain heavily off-and-on until about mile 15. I saw people huddling under the bathroom structures at the Rose Bowl just to get a break from the rain and wind. About that time (mile 14), a Japanese man looked me in the eyes and said, "This is miserable." The funny thing is, I didn't feel miserable until he said that. Then I thought, "yeah, this IS miserable and I am only half-way done." I was cold, wet, hungry, and tired. Then a few miles later, as I pushed myself uphill, my left calf started to cramp. So I walked. Every now and then I would try to run, but then I would cramp even worse somewhere else. So I walked some more. By the end, I started to cramp in my upper back so I could barely move my arms without cramping. But I kept walking. And I finally walked across the finish line and received my medal.



In retrospect, it wasn't that bad of a race. I now know what it is like to run a marathon in the rain and will be better prepared next time. Plus the scenery is gorgeous and the non-ideal conditions created a sense of unity of spirit based on common suffering.

Since this was Pasadena's first marathon, I expect the race organizers will work out some of the kinks by next year. It was suggested that I write the following section in case somebody involved with the marathon wants to know things that should be improved. It would be nice if in next years race they would do the following: 1)Tell the police officers NOT to stop the runners to let traffic through. Nothing makes runners more angry than messing with their race times because they have to stop for traffic during a race. 2) Tell the volunteers there IS a difference between water and sports drink. It is not nice to be told they are being given water only to be given icky tasting sports drink by a surly teenager. 3)Get more portable restrooms and put them throughout the course! Luckily there are a lot of bushes around the Rose Bowl, but come on! I had to wait until the Rose Bowl for a bush because there weren't enough restrooms. And I'm a girl! 4) Tell the volunteers NOT to make disparaging remarks about how bad the runners look or how slow they are. I heard several comments about this throughout the course. And I easily made the time cut-off. I can't imagine what it was like for the people behind me. 5) Make sure all the bike riders are past the startline before you start the runners. Really. It's just common sense.

All in all, I'm glad that I did the race. But I'm not sure they will get a lot of repeat business. I heard a lot of complaints during and after the race. It is going to take a couple of months and a little bit of marathon amnesia before a lot of people sign up for this race again.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Celebrity ghosts?

Last weekend I attended a dinner party with some people who had worked the front desk at several celebrity hotels in NY and LA in the late '80s/ early '90s. The conversation got really interesting when they described their experiences at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.

Chateau Marmont was and is a favorite place for celebrities to stay while in Los Angeles. It sounded like the people working there almost had a bed-and-breakfast relationship with the guests in the early 90's-- the guests knew the service people by name, they had conversations over lunch, and the service people helped the guests like they were family.

There were LOTS of stories of drug abuse, wild behavior, celebrity secrets, and who's nice/who's a jerk. Most of them are things that probably shouldn't be written about by me in this blog because they aren't my secrets or stories to tell. However, there were a couple of stories that were fascinating and (I'm pretty sure) won't get me sued for slander-- they are the ghost stories at the Chateau Marmont.

Several people have died in the hotel (including John Belushi), and several of the rooms are reportedly haunted.

One guest (she was a well known celebrity, maybe RuPaul (correction from previously Angela Bassett)?) came down to the desk one morning and asked if the maids cleaned up in the middle of the night. The desk clerk told her that the housekeeping staff hadn't shown up for the day yet. She then said that she had come back late the previous evening and taken off her clothes and jewelry and sort of left them as piles on the floor because she was tired. The next morning she woke up and found them neatly folded and placed on the bureau. She couldn't explain it. The desk clerk's explanation was that she had a very 'neat' ghost :)

Another story involved a man who was researching a book on The Doors. He happened to stay in the suite that the group used to stay in back in the 60's. He was awoken in the middle of the night by what sounded like loud partying so he went to the window to see if there was a party in the garden below. When he got up, he realized the sound wasn't coming from outside, but from inside the room around him. He checked out of the hotel in the middle of the night.

Another woman had come down to the desk in the middle of the night and reported that she had been sleeping when she heard the window slide open and an intruder walk over to the bed where she was sleeping. Thinking the intruder might potentially harm her, she laid still in the bed. She then felt the intruder sit on the bed and lay down next to her. She lay there for a while waiting for something to happen, but nothing happened. She then turned in the bed to see her intruder and when she turned she saw nothing. And then she noticed that there were bars on the window to prevent someone from breaking in from outside and that the window had indeed been opened.

The most haunted room? 79. We were told not to stay in room 79 because it is the most haunted room. Even the hotel staff don't like to go in there. Apparently somebody died in that room? And several hotel guests have reported hearing knocks on the door, and seeing lines of ghosts pushing on the door trying to get into the the room. Furniture in that room gets moved into odd positions. One woman reported a head floating outside of that window. And even a straight-laced accountant reported hearing things in that room.

From the skeptics point of view, there was a lot of drug use in the hotel and some of these ghost sightings could easily be explained as hallucinations, or other brain processing anomalies in the middle of the night.

But there were so many reports of the same things from a wide variety of people that it makes the ghost stories seem very real. And sort of fun. Just as long as I'm not the one experiencing them.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

And now for a brief commercial message...

My sister gave me the following item. It was a promo freebee from work:







It's a can of Spam promoting 'Spam-a-lot', the theatrical musical version of Monty Python's The Holy Grail. I guess it is a collectors item. And I don't really like Spam that much. Any ideas what to do with it? E-bay or frying pan?

Monday, January 26, 2009

Running in Southern California

It is really really cold in most of the country, and I definitely feel lucky to be in Southern California for the winter! Even when it is 'cold and rainy', we can still go outside and enjoy being outdoors because it is almost never really that cold or that rainy (in comparison to other parts of the USA). Wintertime here is ideal running weather.

Last Sunday I ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon and besides being partially sunny and in the 60's, the race course was one of those beautiful Southern California Coastline runs. It reminded me of the Palos Verdes Half Marathon. They are both out-and-back courses that wind through a few neighborhoods, but mainly run along the Southern California Coastline.

Here is a little description of these race courses (for those of you interested):

The Carlsbad Half started at the Westfield Mall, wound west towards the Pacific Ocean and through cute little Downtown Carlsbad, ran south for a few miles along Highway 1 past the power stations, then turned around and came back the same route back towards the mall. They advertise it as a flat and fast course. It is definitely flatter than some races out there, but it does have a few hills. Being by the ocean, I got the chance to distract myself by looking at the boats on the water and the pelicans flying (very closely) overhead. Other nice distractions were the multimillion dollar oceanfront houses in Carlsbad that I (and almost everybody else) oogled and fantasized about living in.

The Palos Verdes Half Marathon, which I ran last Spring, has even more multimillion dollar oceanfront houses and big hills. It started at a park that overlooks the Pacific, winds up and down a road that follows the coast, runs through several neighborhoods and oceanside golf courses, then turns around and comes back to the park. The great thing about this race is that the course had some spectacular California Coastal views. And since the race is sponsored by the local Kiwanis Club, it is relatively small and has a very hometown race feel-- they served watermelon to the runners post-race.

I have to say, honestly, that I am enjoying these races a lot more describing them after-the-fact than while I was running them.

The heat at the Palos Verdes race was scorching, there was very little ground cover, and the race organizers ran out of water. People were giving runners water from their garden hoses, and I'm not sure if she was a volunteer or a good samaritan neighbor, but one woman went to the local grocery store and was handing out full bottles of water because the race ran out.

In the Carlsbad race I just wasn't feeling it and ended up with bad cramps at the end. I tried to control my pace in the beginning, but every time I checked I was going too fast in the first half. I paid for it in the second half of the race. I slowed down, but was running fine, until after the mile 12 sign when I started to cramp in my calves and hamstrings. I walked the rest of the way and must have looked pretty bad because people were trying to direct me towards the marathon finish corral instead of the half-marathon corral. Yup, I ran it slow enough that there were marathon runners finishing at the same time as I was finishing the half marathon. To my credit, the marathon started 90 minutes earlier than the half marathon-- but still, it was sort of disheartening.

Would I recommend these races to other people? Definitely! Would I run them again myself? Considering how I felt at the end of these races we'll have to wait and see on that.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Insomnia

Staying true to being an insomniac, it is 2:45 a.m. and I can't sleep. I've been wide awake for about an hour now and am just waiting to fall asleep. If the past is any indicator, I'll probably fall asleep around 6 a.m. and have to wake up around 7 a.m. to get ready for work.

I had a stretch of time in November, when I took a break from running, when I felt like I could get a gold medal in sleeping. It felt good and I had lots of energy too!

I'm ramping up my mileage to prepare for the new inaugural Pasadena Marathon in March, and my insomnia is ramping up with it. I know this is a sign of overtraining. But I told myself that I would do this one marathon this year and take a break from marathons for a while.

But I've had this problem with insomnia for a long time and it's not just related to running. I remember asking my parents for a digital clock when I was about 7 years old because I wanted to be able to see what time it was when I woke up in the middle of the night. This was back when most people had bedroom clocks with clock faces, and digital clocks were relatively expensive. I got a digital clock for my birthday that year and discovered that I almost always wake up between 2 and 3 a.m.

I've had a lot of practice at being an insomniac. Imagine what I could have done in that sleepless time if I would have been a more productive insomniac...

Saturday, January 03, 2009

Happy New Year!

I celebrated the New Year in the Channel Islands off the California Coast. We spent the night camping on Santa Cruz Island and saw foxes, whales, and dolphins in addition to the beautiful hill and coastal views.

Here is a sampling (mind you that I am not a professional photographer):









And our boat passed through a huge school of hundreds of dolphins (the video is better in high definition if youtube gives you that option):



In high quality video, you can also see a whale near the horizon:



I hope you enjoy the pictures and videos and have a Happy New Year!