Have fork, will travel
I’m getting ready to head up to Seattle for the fun and adventures that lay ahead of us for Amalia and JoAl’s wedding and I cannot wait to get started on my second attempt to eat Seattle.
But I’ll be back to update you on my trip and my failure to keep my weekly Running on Asphalt series going [it's not like it's a lot of work, it's just enough work to discourage me from continuing on a weekly basis], the bf and my trip to IFly SF for some indoor skydiving [hopefully with video!] and possibly start to reveal my super top secret plans for my 30th birthday coming in August.
Yes, I’m going to be 30. In August. THIS AUGUST.
Until then, enjoy your Fourth of July weekend and I’ll see you next week!
I’m coming for you, Seattle. And I’m bringing my own fork
Crossing the finish line
My commencement ceremony from St. Mary’s was held at the end of May and I was geared up for it. I know several of my classmates opted out of participating in the ceremony but I don’t understand why you would. This is a day when you can bask in the glow of your achievement plus, do you know the loads of attention and well-wishes you get? It’s quite addicting to the attention whores, which I will admit I have a tendency of being. There was no way I was going to miss out on all of the pomp and circumstance.
There, I said it: I like being the center of attention.
Anywho, I was really excited to participate in my final academic commencement ceremony [because, let's face it: I'm REALLY done with school now], especially since I would be wearing the coveted Master’s hood along with my cap and gown. Extra ornamentation? Score! I had wanted one since I first laid eyes on them at my undergraduate commencement at Michigan. And now, I was finally getting my own. I worked hard for that hood and I was going to enjoy wearing it.
The day of my ceremony was a bit hectic since I headed up to the campus directly after church but once we got there, it was pretty smooth sailing. Until I thought my gown was broken.
What’s that you say? A broken gown? How is that possible? Well, when I went to put on my gown, I was confused when my arm wouldn’t go through what I thought was the sleeve. The bf made fun of me and my apparent lack of preparation [no, I didn't put on my gown when I received it. I was too busy running around with my Master's hood] and I slightly panicked before suggesting we hit up the library to see if they had a pair of scissors. Thankfully, as I studied the stitching to see where I could make a cut, it dawned on me that those were NOT the sleeves but just the part of extra fabric that hangs down for comedic effect [because seriously, what are those thingies and their purpose? A place for snacks?]. I will admit that I felt pretty foolish [especially since I was there...to get my Master's degree...that I apparently somehow managed to earn considering I couldn't get my stupid gown to work] until I saw several other people making the same mistake I did. Ahh, the comfort of stupidity in numbers.
We had arrived on campus about a couple hours before the ceremony was supposed to start so we took our time ambling around before meeting up with some friends of mine. I was really glad the bf was able to come watch me graduate because his support through my program was tremendous and it really wouldn’t have been the same without him. Plus, I love how I now have pictures from both of our graduations:
University of Michigan: Class of 2007
Saint Mary’s College of California, MBA: Class of 2011
We can be kind of silly
A partial group of my cohorts
Our class was the first time the school had produced one single commencement ceremony with all three graduate programs, so no one knew what to expect [we also found out that no one knew how we were supposed to wear those darn hoods either. I swear I saw a different way of wearing it on every person there. We assumed the staff would help us out but nope, they just let us do whatever]. The ceremony moved at a pretty nice pace. After failing to herd all of us into our lines in alphabetical order [as soon as our handlers got us in place, we'd wander off to chat with friends] before we began our processional into the stadium, we entered and found our seats [they had water bottles waiting for all of us!]. The keynote speaker wasn’t very good – her speech was disjointed and strange, but before we knew it, we were being led onto the stage.
The Business School was the first to graduate and because the two people before me did not attend, I was the very first person to walk across the stage. The combination of hearing my name being called, shaking the dean’s hand and seeing my family cheering for me may have went to my head a bit:
Excited much?
I later found this picture had made the commencement slideshow featured on the school’s website. Would you believe I was the ONLY person who reacted this way? I didn’t mind; the professors who were on stage certainly got a kick out of my reaction, as many of them chuckled and cheered themselves, telling me that since I worked hard for that degree and I should definitely celebrate just like that. I think I did something similar when I got my Bachelor’s so this is just my character.
This was a very memorable day for me and I enjoyed every moment of it. I’m a little sad that there will be no more graduations for me but I will look back on this one with a lot of joy. I still can’t believe those two years are over. I really doesn’t feel like it was that long ago when I randomly decided to go back to school to get my MBA, struggled through studying for the GMAT, getting my butt handed to me by the GMAT, then studied some more and somehow managed to get one really good shove in, worried about getting in and finally getting my acceptance to St. Mary’s.
A lot has happened in those two years I was in school. I did a lot of work, made some good friends, learned way more than I ever thought I would about Genentech, experienced some life changes but in the end, I walked away with my MBA. All in all, it was the best way to spend those two years. What a way to close the Legally Blonde Chronicles and my academic career eh?
Fin.
Graduating on every level
The past few weeks have been a busy one in the family: all three of us have graduated from our respective degree programs. I started the commencement marathon at the end of last month when I happily crossed the stage at St. Mary’s [recap to come!], followed by Tammy with her Associates from Gavilan College and rounded out last weekend with Lindsey’s double trips for her Bachelor’s and minor at UCLA. We’ve been busy bouncing from ceremony to ceremony but I’ve enjoyed every moment.
Oddly enough, it wasn’t until I was looking back through the pictures we took at my ceremony that I stopped to think about my dad’s obvious absence. With the three of us graduating, this would have been the year he would have probably hurt himself strutting around like a peacock because he was incredibly proud of his daughters’ achievements. I know he took every possible opportunity to boast about whatever it was we were doing at the moment. He would have probably been beside himself if he were here.
I will admit that in the midst of the hustle and bustle of my ceremony [it was one long and busy day], I didn’t think about him not being there but we were more aware of his absence at Lindsey’s graduation. Her first ceremony was held in Wilson Plaza, right in front of Janss Steps and while we were waiting for it to begin, my mom remarked how she remembered my dad walking those steps when we moved Lindsey into her dorm four years prior and how he said he looked forward to coming back for her graduation. It was bittersweet, watching her graduate and knowing that our biggest fan wasn’t there to whoop and holler with the rest of us. Though, we made the best of the situation, cracking jokes about how things could have been had he been there. Let’s just say things always work out.
But in the end, while we missed him, we didn’t let that overshadow our special days. It wasn’t a time to be sad that he couldn’t be here but to celebrate what we earned: educations that no one would be able to take away from us. He was there in spirit and that was all that really matters. He would have been proud knowing that his daughters kept pushing through all the obstacles that came our way to accomplish our goals.
We didn’t give up, Dad. We made it.
Happy Father’s Day.
Eating…Oxbow Public Market
Lately the weather has been unseasonably cool and rainy, odd considering that it was late May/early June in California and it’s usually warmer around this time. The bf was actually a bit disappointed since he was looking forward to the warmer weather. In fact, my plans for a fun outing in Napa Valley with him was cancelled due to general un-picnic like weather. Boo rain. Because of the weird weather, I’ve spent the past few days hanging out at home so when the need to be outside to photosynthesize suddenly became overwhelming, I decided to pretend I was a tourist and hit up Oxbow Public Market near downtown Napa.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but it’s basically a large market hall with a bunch of small alcoves for shops, similar to the Ferry Building marketplace [apparently the guy behind the Ferry Building space is the genius behind Oxbow]. I wandered around for a bit checking everything out and getting a lay of the land. One shop in particular, Whole Spice, really grabbed my attention which had a ton of different spices, extracts and salts, including Himalayan Pink salt. I’m not quite sure how I would use the Himalayan Pink salt but I was tempted to buy a few ounces just because. I would like to go back to further discover what else they had in store. Since I didn’t really have a game plan when I came to the market, I ended up deciding to make it a day of eating. Of course I did.
My first stop was to C Casa. There were a lot of things on the menu that I wanted to try but since I had plans on sampling a few other bites, I had to pick only one. Instead of leaning on my go to [steak], I inched outside my comfort zone and ordered the spicy lamb taco (with goat cheese, avocado crema, mint, jalapeños, garlic aioli & micro greens) and the hibiscus orange iced tea.
I really enjoyed this taco. The lamb was nicely seasoned and really tender and there was a slight heat from the jalapeno peppers. The lamb was so good I would have eaten it by itself. I was disappointed that I couldn’t really taste the mint and I ended up taking out almost half of the micro greens because it was just too much. They really overwhelmed the rest of the taco.
Next, I stopped by Gott’s Roadside in hopes of getting an order of their crazily delicious calamari, however my plans were thwarted when I found out there was, in fact, NO CALAMARI. How rude!
I sulked for a second as I slowly made my way back to the marketplace before realizing the bakery I wanted to try was just around the corner. The Model Bakery has tons of different breads, cakes, cookies and other yummy looking pastries available all day long. I stopped in to try one of their famous English Muffins that was featured on Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate…“
This was no ordinary English Muffin; it was large, fluffy, and crispy. The dough is actually a ciabatta bread so it lends its unique texture to the muffin, plus they griddle them to give it a nice outside crust. I had mine toasted and slathered it with butter and apricot jam and I instantly fell in love with it on the first bite. The bread itself is really chewy, the good kind of chewy, and my mouth is watering just thinking about it right now. I want more and I know I won’t ever be able to enjoy a Thomas English Muffin ever again. I have effectively been ruined and I’m not mad about it in the slightest.
Thomas would be jealous of these nooks and crannies.
After feasting on the world’s best English Muffins, I made one last stop at Pica Pica Bar to see if anything on the menu could entice me. Originally I was going to order some tajadas [sweet plantains] but I ended up being swayed by a display of patacones. I’m not exactly sure what I got [I let the cashier pick the fillings for me] but they’re like twice baked potatoes with meat fillings instead of more potato. Also, instead of potato, it’s actually a plantain. I ended up with a trio of pork, chicken and steak with a spicy cream dipping sauce [which was sour cream with smoked chile].
Of the three, the chicken was actually my favorite. It’s rare when I prefer chicken over steak but the chicken had a smoky almost barbequed taste to it that I really liked. The pork was good too, it was just salty enough for me, though the tomato and avocado slice made it a little messy to eat. I could have done without the steak; it was just meh. It didn’t really taste like they had done anything to it. I would have rather have a second chicken patacone.
In all, I’m really glad I made the trip up to Oxbow and loved everything I nommed on during the two hours I was there. It was the perfect distraction from my day and I’d definitely come back to eat everything again. Especially that English Muffin.
Read MoreIt’s not the end and I still feel fine
Believe it…or not?
I’m sure you have seen the billboards and heard all the chatter about some guy’s prediction that THE Judgement Day will happen on Saturday. Yeah, THIS Saturday. As in, the day after Friday. Now, if the world didn’t end after the release of that song, what makes you think it’s going to end this Saturday? Besides, I graduate on SUNDAY. How incredibly inconvenient would that be?
Sidebar: while I have only watched maybe 30 seconds of the original Rebecca Black version of the song, I’ve watched the Fallon/Colbert/Roots version a lot of times. They made it so enjoyable.
But on a serious note, as a Christian, I do believe there will be a final Judgement Day; it just won’t be this Saturday.
I know that doomsday predictions are nothing new [and so far have all been obviously false] but there are serious repercussions to these seemingly constant false alarms. First, those who do not believe take this opportunity to point and make fun of the “religious sheeple” for believing in “fairy tales” and makes it even harder to possibly engage in some intelligent conversation about God. Why would they listen to a bunch of wackos whose God has, up to this point, haven’t shown up yet? Plus, this will just be more fodder for them to make light of the situation [ though, this attitude was also predicted in the Bible].
Yada, yada, yada
Second, I honestly believe this is detrimental to the believers who are later disheartened when Jesus doesn’t return, which could cause them to lose faith in God and turn away from Him. They leave thinking God has let them down when they were misguided by man. The thing is, I don’t understand why religious organizations continue to persist in Judgement Day predictions. Are they trying to shock the public into believing? Obviously that is not going to work. They just make it harder for other people to believe, or at least, listen.
The funny thing is, some people have erroneously used the Bible to create many different equations to support their predictions despite the fact that in their main source, the Bible, plainly says that
But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. – Matthew 24:36
So, if the Bible says that no one but God himself knows when the Second Coming will happen, then why should I [or anyone, for that matter] believe someone who says they have figured it out? Not even Jesus know! And I would think if someone would know, it would possibly be Jesus. Conversely, if man will not know when this would happen, can we honestly believe that God will show up when we said he would? If Judgement Day does happen this Saturday, then we would have proven God to be a liar and not worth believing in. I know for a fact that God would not prove himself to be such a thing. Therefore, we can be absolutely certain that God will not return on Saturday simply because we said he would.
But in His infinite wisdom, God has warned us that there will be people who will deceive others:
Then the LORD said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds – Jeremiah 14:14
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many – Matthew 24:4-5
And because of this, we as believers have been charged with knowing the word of God so that we won’t be misled. If we know what it says in the Bible, then we can better detect when someone has twisted the truth to fit whatever narrative they want you to believe. As a side note, if someone comes at you saying what they believe is biblical truth, always ask them to show you exactly where it is in the Bible and read it in the correct context. Everything a believer believes is based upon Biblical truth; if you can’t find the corresponding scripture in context then it is wrong. It’s time for saner voices to be heard over the cries of Harold Camping’s crazy prediction.
There are simply some things that we are not meant to know, though in our eternal quest for knowledge, we will continue to try to figure things out [we are often wrong because we apply what we know to any given situation when God does not deal with the same constraints that we do]. The End Time will come like a “thief in the night,” so until then, all we can do is live like Judgement Day is tomorrow but plan for that to not happen for 100 years. My true hope is that people would begin to consider the true message behind Christianity. It is so much more than just some organized religion that restricts what you can do. It is about having a true relationship with God and accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, one that is based on love for everyone.
God wants nothing more than to have everyone believe in Him and be saved; however, this is ultimately left up to each and every person to decide whether they want to believe or not. No one can force you to choose but I would honestly hope that people would make the effort to learn more about it before simply dismissing it as some fairy tale that won’t come true. There is no other way except through Jesus Christ.
In the end, there will be a Judgement Day. We won’t know when it will happen; maybe this generation will still be alive, maybe it will happen after I am laid to rest. Whenever it happens, we can be sure it won’t be on Saturday [the other, non-predicted days are fair game though!]. Either way, my advice for you as we head into this weekend:
I’ll see you next week.
Read MoreWhen a run turns into a hike
You know that quote about golf? How it’s a “good walk spoiled”? Yeah, that’s how I felt about this last 5k race I ran. What was a beautiful course was spoiled by hills. Oh the hills!
So last weekend I took to the park for my first trail run ever. This one was organized by the Brazen Racing group, who organizes a few races throughout the year that, from what I can tell, are well-attended, and held at Wildcat Canyon Regional Park in El Sobrante. Have you done a trail run? They are a completely different animal with all the unpaved and uneven walking trails and hils. While I have ran a handful of hills on my weekly runs, I was still worried about translating my paved road running experience into trail running. Plus, I was running completely blind in that I did not go before the race to check out the course. I pretty much showed up hoping for the best but prepared for the worst.
My Plan B was pretty simple: walk up the hills and run down them. Things were going well until I realized that I couldn’t really run down the hills for the most part because they were uneven, it was difficult to gain a solid footing, and one of the inclines was pretty steep [here's the elevation profile]. I almost rolled my ankle a few times so I had to slow down and fast walk down instead. It was a bit frustrating to my competitive nature but I had to constantly remind myself that it was okay to take my time; it was the smart thing to do to avoid injury and potentially jeopardizing my training for the 10k in the short term, and my overall ability to run well into the future.
So how was it? Here is the Wildcat Canyon 5k in 3 acts:
Act 1: Survived the first hill and I’m FINALLY running!
Act 2: OMG. I’m going to die. Are they serious with these hills?!
Act 3: I DID IT!!
In all actuality, I did have fun on this race. Yes it was an incredible challenge and I probably was only able to run a mile of it TOTAL but I was able to enjoy some amazing views of the bay, views like this:
Total bonus: they had It’s-It ice cream sandwiches as part of their post-run refreshments. So what if I just suffered through a 3.1 mile hike disguised as a run that had me digging my hands into my waist while huffing and puffing my way up the inclines as if that would make it any easier to push my way up the hill while simultaneously cursing myself for thinking I could do this [even though I did], I was excited that I got to reward myself with ice cream. At 9:30 in the morning.
Hells yeah!
*All photos courtesy of Brazen Racing volunteer photographers
Read MoreI wish I knew how to quit you
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem – once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971
I developed my love of baseball from my dad. I learned very early on that sports was at the core of his heart and if I wanted to spend more time with him, liking sports was the way to do it. And so I started watching sports with him. I remember spending a lot of time cheering and yelling along with him while watching baseball, football, basketball and yes, even professional wrestling. But baseball was his first love and it became mine. I had a blast collecting baseball cards and helping my dad catalog his. We even took ever opportunity to give each other the “Bash Bros.” forearm.
photo by: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images
Admittedly it’s been a long while since I have been fanatical about sports in general and baseball in particular. When I once was a repository for random stats for just about every player on the Yankees, I slowly saw that blind, rabid fanaticism fade as I began working in sports. While I thoroughly enjoyed the game while I was working, the last thing I wanted to do was come home and watch SportsCenter and be reminded of work. Maybe there are some doctors that like to watch Grey’s Anatomy but I didn’t really like the idea of being at the stadium for 12 plus hours to come home and watch listen to the talking heads spout about whatever else was going on in some other stadium. Every one else got to come home and leave their jobs at the office and the only way for me to do that was to turn off ESPN.
And so I stopped actively watching baseball and ESPN. It was just too much for me and was a necessary move to keep me from getting burned out. I needed that break from the game even though it did cause me to basically become clueless about all sports. I used to be able to name the starting five for every basketball team in the league and hold court in just about any sports debate but now all I can really do is shrug my shoulders. I didn’t really care but I did feel that burning shame when people instinctively asked me for my opinion not knowing that I was no longer as attuned to the sports world has I used to be. I wanted to be that person but my information was just so old that I had to fake it by being vague. Because the more vague you are, the more accurate you can be.
But now that I’m no longer working in sports for the time being, I’m starting to renew my love affair with it. In the past year I’ve been finding myself actually listening to the games on the radio and tuning in to them a lot more than I had in the previous five years and it feels great. While I probably won’t be watching SportsCenter anymore [it's now like E! News with sports than anything else] it feels good to get back to the game I love. So much has changed; I need to reacquaint myself with my Yankees and learn who’s who among the pinstripes. I can’t believe Derek Jeter is 36! Wasn’t he just 30 and incredibly productive and effective? Now he’s arguably getting close to the twilight of his career. We all can’t be Ozzie you know.
Will I regain the extreme fanaticism I once had? No, I won’t. That was me before I peered behind the curtain. I can still appreciate the game for what it is and get swept up in those moments as a fan because, no matter how jaded you are, you can’t help but enjoy the feeling of excitement and/or agony that surges through your body when you’re watching your team compete.
And that is what keeps me a fan.
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