I woke up at 7:30 today with intentions for my last run before the half marathon. Unfortunately, it was too cold to get out of bed. And I was too tired from sleeping so late. And because I couldn't get up to go run, I figured why bother getting up to go to work? I deserved a day off and have two more sick days to use before the end of the year.
Not seeing me online all morning, Wavy called me at about 11:30 to see if I was dead or alive, then invited me to lunch and a day of shopping. What perfect timing! It was like a mini vacation.
We marveled at how crowded the Century City shopping center was, and wondered who these people were who lunched at Bloomingdale's on a Thursday afternoon. Lots of retired folks, well-off housewives with their kids, perhaps grad school students, and people playing hooky from work like us? And why is the interior of my apartment even colder than the outdoors??!
The best part of the day happened when we were trying on clothes at the Banana Republic. Wavy tried on a lovely red holiday dress while I tried on jeans. Being the close friends that we are, and having the dressing rooms all to ourselves, we momentarily forgot that we weren't in the privacy of our homes.
As I noted the bad cut of the dress around her chest, she checked out my butt in the jeans (THIS is why you need great friends with you when trying on clothes, especially jeans.) Circling around me to thoroughly check out every angle, Wavy went above and beyond the call of duty. As she stared intently at my behind, the saleslady walked in and started laughing her head off, asking "Is there something to see over there?" and bent down to check me out too. "Luckily, no guys walked in on you two in the hallway, or else you would have made their day!" I'm sure we made her day though.
Such a fun day, but back to running, baking to stay warm and working tomorrow...
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Cold
As much as I love the cold and detest the heat, I'm a wimp. I have a temperature comfort range of about 10 degrees. And unfortunately, there are only about 2 good weeks a year, where my apartment isn't too cold or too hot. Sigh.
So until the Gas Company comes over next week to light the pilot light for the winter, I am 1) too cold to clean my apartment. 2) too cold to write most nights. Plus my brain is too sluggish and my fingers numb. 3) baking things in the oven to warm up the apartment. 4) in a sweater, a sweatshirt, under a blanket and a sporadic cat every evening, huddled in a corner of my sofa watching TV and eating warm apple pie. It's all I can handle.
So until the Gas Company comes over next week to light the pilot light for the winter, I am 1) too cold to clean my apartment. 2) too cold to write most nights. Plus my brain is too sluggish and my fingers numb. 3) baking things in the oven to warm up the apartment. 4) in a sweater, a sweatshirt, under a blanket and a sporadic cat every evening, huddled in a corner of my sofa watching TV and eating warm apple pie. It's all I can handle.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
The Fourth Long Run
Today, I didn't hate running. It was brutal to get up so early on a holiday weekend to run, but I didn't hate the running itself. AND we ran the same 12 mile course as last week in 2 hours and 33 minutes.
I'm so impressed and proud of our group. I'm really loving the people in this running group and think we may even keep it up for shorter runs after the race. I finally feel like we're going to be OK next week. Amazing what a 20 degree drop in the temperature will do to make everyone hustle along. 20 degrees colder = 20 minutes faster. If the weather is like this next Sunday, we'll be flying along to the finish line in no time!
P.S. Everything still aches.
I'm so impressed and proud of our group. I'm really loving the people in this running group and think we may even keep it up for shorter runs after the race. I finally feel like we're going to be OK next week. Amazing what a 20 degree drop in the temperature will do to make everyone hustle along. 20 degrees colder = 20 minutes faster. If the weather is like this next Sunday, we'll be flying along to the finish line in no time!
P.S. Everything still aches.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Turkey Day Traditions
My brother, his girlfriend, and my cousin put up our new Christmas tree already. It's the first new one we've bought in 2 decades. We've never had a real tree. Apparently, my parents paid a buck to chop down a tree in Phoenix when I was a little kid of 3 or 4, and I sneezed and complained about the smell in the house. To which, my brother says "Thanks a lot, dork."
Can't wait to fill up the bottom with gifts!
Turkey day also consisted of the usual copious amounts of food and desserts, a rousing game of speed Uno, video games, and extreme ping pong with the cousins, and laughing till our sides hurt. Some traditions I hope, never change.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Pavlovian Effect
Yet another post about music. I loved the movie Flushed Away so much that I actually paid to see it twice. One of the songs they have in there, always brings me back to such a happy time in my life.
A few years ago, I joined Contiki tours with two good friends to see Eastern Europe. One of the gimmicks that each tour conducts is to choose a theme song for the group. Once it's chosen, they will blast that song EVERY morning on the bus to kick off the day, whether we want it or not. "Bohemian Like You" was our song. Appropriate since we were kind of touring Bohemia.
When I hear it, I think back to a time when I was happily unemployed for two months, reading books from the library everyday, meeting up with friends, about to start a new job (the one that I have now), and embarking on a new adventure in life, brimming with so much hope, that it was bursting at the seams. My other two friends were at similar places in life and we still look back to that time as one of the best memories we have. Amazing how much one song can conjure up.
A few years ago, I joined Contiki tours with two good friends to see Eastern Europe. One of the gimmicks that each tour conducts is to choose a theme song for the group. Once it's chosen, they will blast that song EVERY morning on the bus to kick off the day, whether we want it or not. "Bohemian Like You" was our song. Appropriate since we were kind of touring Bohemia.
When I hear it, I think back to a time when I was happily unemployed for two months, reading books from the library everyday, meeting up with friends, about to start a new job (the one that I have now), and embarking on a new adventure in life, brimming with so much hope, that it was bursting at the seams. My other two friends were at similar places in life and we still look back to that time as one of the best memories we have. Amazing how much one song can conjure up.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
The Power of Music
I heard this old Madonna song on the radio the other day and it's been stuck in my head since.
(It's not the best recording but the only one I could find.)
It's from the show Felicity, a show that chronicled a girl's angsty travails through college just as I and all my friends graduated. It was like reliving college all over again and a bunch of us followed the show religiously.
It's a beautiful song that reminds me of how much you can grow by letting go and moving on with your life. Surprisingly, it hasn't made me sad all week as many songs are apt to do. A new friend recently told me she can't handle listening to much music anymore because it affects her too much. Even if she was in a good mood, a sad song can bring her down so badly, she'll be depressed for the rest of the day.
This is exactly why I love music so much. It can influence your mood or you can choose it to suit your mood. The Ipod has enabled everyone to walk around with their personal soundtracks and I am definitely one of those people. I can also attribute a song or two (or ten) to every friend I have and most people I know. Tons of songs can bring me back to an exact place, a time period in my life, or a feeling I had. This week, I'm in a optimistic mood, sad music be damned.
(It's not the best recording but the only one I could find.)
It's from the show Felicity, a show that chronicled a girl's angsty travails through college just as I and all my friends graduated. It was like reliving college all over again and a bunch of us followed the show religiously.
It's a beautiful song that reminds me of how much you can grow by letting go and moving on with your life. Surprisingly, it hasn't made me sad all week as many songs are apt to do. A new friend recently told me she can't handle listening to much music anymore because it affects her too much. Even if she was in a good mood, a sad song can bring her down so badly, she'll be depressed for the rest of the day.
This is exactly why I love music so much. It can influence your mood or you can choose it to suit your mood. The Ipod has enabled everyone to walk around with their personal soundtracks and I am definitely one of those people. I can also attribute a song or two (or ten) to every friend I have and most people I know. Tons of songs can bring me back to an exact place, a time period in my life, or a feeling I had. This week, I'm in a optimistic mood, sad music be damned.
Monday, November 20, 2006
A Cocktail and Some Emo Rock
It's Monday night and I've already hit a bar and had my drink for the week. At the Temple Bar, the Ken Oak band had their belated CD release party and sang most of the songs from their latest album. Clancy, Me@Co, and a couple others came out with me, adding to what seemed like Asian night at the Temple Bar.
These boys were cute and pretty talented. Seems that all the girl groupies in the crowd thought so too, especially one particular loudmouthed, not quite drunk girl who kept bellowing rude and annoying comments. I first saw them over a year ago performing at 3rd Street Promenade for free and have seen them several times since when I happen to go shopping around there. How far those little emo rockers have come.
I also had some delicious champagne/juice concoction at the bar. I haven't craved a drink in over a year, after getting miserably sick and hungover last August. All of a sudden, I wanted a glass of Riesling Friday night and some fruity cocktail tonight. Odd indeed. We'll see how I hold up when the holiday parties come rolling around...
These boys were cute and pretty talented. Seems that all the girl groupies in the crowd thought so too, especially one particular loudmouthed, not quite drunk girl who kept bellowing rude and annoying comments. I first saw them over a year ago performing at 3rd Street Promenade for free and have seen them several times since when I happen to go shopping around there. How far those little emo rockers have come.
I also had some delicious champagne/juice concoction at the bar. I haven't craved a drink in over a year, after getting miserably sick and hungover last August. All of a sudden, I wanted a glass of Riesling Friday night and some fruity cocktail tonight. Odd indeed. We'll see how I hold up when the holiday parties come rolling around...
Sunday, November 19, 2006
The Third Long Run
We finally managed to run 12 miles. In 2 hours and 53 minutes. That means we'll have to run/walk a bit faster to finish 13.1 within 3 hours. Everything aches as much as it did for the first run. Probably because of the extra 4 miles. And probably because it was hot as hell.
My hands were completely swollen at the end of the run. I've never seen them swell up like that. Maybe it was from all the meat I inhaled the night before. Heh heh...
On another note, I caved and spent good money on more running clothes and gear. What a difference that makes! If anything, I'll at least look decent huffing and puffing my way to the finish line.
My hands were completely swollen at the end of the run. I've never seen them swell up like that. Maybe it was from all the meat I inhaled the night before. Heh heh...
On another note, I caved and spent good money on more running clothes and gear. What a difference that makes! If anything, I'll at least look decent huffing and puffing my way to the finish line.
The Smell of Ice, Violence, and Beef
As of Friday morning, I had absolutely no plans for Friday night or all day Saturday. Except to maybe clean my apartment or start Christmas shopping. By the afternoon, thanks to my Spelling Friend with the great hookups at Staples Center, a chain reaction was created and suddenly I had plans.
She gave me her company tickets to the LA Kings game, but the catch was I needed to actually find someone to go with. Otherwise, she'd give them to someone else. Within 10 minutes, I had called up everyone I thought who would remotely be interested and left messages all across town. Erm, fortunately and unfortunately, three of my friends called back and said they could go.
I ended up meeting with one of those guys, my Chai Tea Specialist friend and a couple others for a Friday night flick "Happy Feet." Not my first choice for a movie (Super cute penguins and a good message, but a bit too much singing for my tastes), but he worked on it.
Took Vaj with me to the afternoon hockey game, and he treated me to a delicious McDonald's lunch as we watched players shove each other into the side panels. It was refreshingly cold in there in contrast to this freakishly hot weekend. It was also the closest I've been to the ice for a hockey game - so close that some poor kid one section over got beaned by a flying puck. Luckily all was well, and he came back one period later with a ice pack on his head.
I have to say, hockey is right up there as one of my favorite sports to watch live. Purely because the people are no frills and these guys are so talented, they are ice skating AND wielding large sticks, trying to play a game of hockey. What other sport are they doing TWO different activities at once? I can barely ice skate (I just grip on the railing and go in circles on the outer perimeter of the rink) or play hockey (played once in a gym. We wore shoes and used a small rubber ball.)
After the game, I went home briefly and then met up with Bizarro Twin for dinner in Koreatown. She had also said yes to the game but she decided to treat me to a belated birthday dinner of pure meat instead. She took me to her favorite spot - Soot Bul Jeep.
When she described it to me over a year ago, I thought she was exaggerating. But I kid you not, you can smell the meat before you get near the restaurant. It is also so filled with smoke, everything is hazy inside. I'm not sure what all those fans are for, but the restaurant certainly has some ventilation issues. In the end, WHO CARES, because it is the BEST kalbi I've ever had. BT and I ate three plates full. The waitress gave us a strange look when we ordered but then again, the two of us always get strange looks when we eat together because of how much we pack away. It might be that good because they use a charcoal grill instead of the usual gas grill. I'm sure I've inhaled enough carcinogens to take a few months off my life, but it was so worth it.
We went to an outdoor cafe for tea and dessert afterwards, partly so we could keep chatting but also to air ourselves out from eau de BBQ beef. I told her that I'd probably be oozing the smell of beef as I ran with the running group the next day - which might make a strange impression since I've only just met these people. And she replied "Oh come on, what man doesn't want to meet a women who smells like meat?" All in all, an unplanned and unexpectedly great Saturday with friends.
She gave me her company tickets to the LA Kings game, but the catch was I needed to actually find someone to go with. Otherwise, she'd give them to someone else. Within 10 minutes, I had called up everyone I thought who would remotely be interested and left messages all across town. Erm, fortunately and unfortunately, three of my friends called back and said they could go.
I ended up meeting with one of those guys, my Chai Tea Specialist friend and a couple others for a Friday night flick "Happy Feet." Not my first choice for a movie (Super cute penguins and a good message, but a bit too much singing for my tastes), but he worked on it.
Took Vaj with me to the afternoon hockey game, and he treated me to a delicious McDonald's lunch as we watched players shove each other into the side panels. It was refreshingly cold in there in contrast to this freakishly hot weekend. It was also the closest I've been to the ice for a hockey game - so close that some poor kid one section over got beaned by a flying puck. Luckily all was well, and he came back one period later with a ice pack on his head.
I have to say, hockey is right up there as one of my favorite sports to watch live. Purely because the people are no frills and these guys are so talented, they are ice skating AND wielding large sticks, trying to play a game of hockey. What other sport are they doing TWO different activities at once? I can barely ice skate (I just grip on the railing and go in circles on the outer perimeter of the rink) or play hockey (played once in a gym. We wore shoes and used a small rubber ball.)
After the game, I went home briefly and then met up with Bizarro Twin for dinner in Koreatown. She had also said yes to the game but she decided to treat me to a belated birthday dinner of pure meat instead. She took me to her favorite spot - Soot Bul Jeep.
When she described it to me over a year ago, I thought she was exaggerating. But I kid you not, you can smell the meat before you get near the restaurant. It is also so filled with smoke, everything is hazy inside. I'm not sure what all those fans are for, but the restaurant certainly has some ventilation issues. In the end, WHO CARES, because it is the BEST kalbi I've ever had. BT and I ate three plates full. The waitress gave us a strange look when we ordered but then again, the two of us always get strange looks when we eat together because of how much we pack away. It might be that good because they use a charcoal grill instead of the usual gas grill. I'm sure I've inhaled enough carcinogens to take a few months off my life, but it was so worth it.
We went to an outdoor cafe for tea and dessert afterwards, partly so we could keep chatting but also to air ourselves out from eau de BBQ beef. I told her that I'd probably be oozing the smell of beef as I ran with the running group the next day - which might make a strange impression since I've only just met these people. And she replied "Oh come on, what man doesn't want to meet a women who smells like meat?" All in all, an unplanned and unexpectedly great Saturday with friends.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Game Mania
On my way home from dinner and trying to air myself out from smelling like Korean BBQ beef (certainly not a horrible thing by any means), I heard lots of loud chatter as I drove by the Best Buy. There is a long line of people around the block from the store, people with tents and sleeping bags huddled alongside the building, looking miserably cold and missing their beds. All for what, you wonder? Apparently, the Sony Playstation 3 comes out on Friday.
IT IS WEDNESDAY EVENING. Do these people not work? Not have school to attend? Lives to live? I like video games as much as your next nerdy girl, but spending $500-$600 on this and having to camp out for days to get it? That console better be able to make French toast and vacuum my floors too.
IT IS WEDNESDAY EVENING. Do these people not work? Not have school to attend? Lives to live? I like video games as much as your next nerdy girl, but spending $500-$600 on this and having to camp out for days to get it? That console better be able to make French toast and vacuum my floors too.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Tis the Season For The Ubiquitous Holiday Work Party
The annual Christmas Party invitation went out today. And as usual, as with every work function, I am filled with anxiety and dread. An opportunity to get dressed up and kick off the holidays, but also forced socialization with work people outside of work and work people's plus ones. The problem with being the only girl in a social group at work is having to adjust for the dynamics of mingling with all of their wives and girlfriends outside of work. Continue to be one of the guys or ingratiate myself to their significant others by being one of the girls? Feels like junior high all over again. Except with more drunkenness and regret.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
The Second Long Run
I love this running group. Last week, we were supposed to run 9 miles. We ran 8. This week we were supposed to run 12 miles. We said "screw it" and ran 8 miles again, although incorporating a very steep hill and finishing 15 minutes faster than last week. I call it success!
I don't ache as much as I did last week, nor are my fingers tingly. I also refused to nap so that I can hopefully sleep even more like a baby than usual.
Instead of running out in the streets, we stayed inside Griffith Park this time, where they were already stringing up holiday decorations and lights for the Light Festival. As much as I love this park, this is the most I've ever explored it, especially on foot.
I'm still not fully confident we can finish 13.1 miles within 3 hours yet. But it's been nice to chat with new friends and have something that is my own and completely separate from work and work people. A few others in the group actually hate running like me and had various reasons for starting up. One girl told me she doesn't hate running anymore but doesn't quite LIKE it yet. I think that will be my new goal. Learning to not hate running.
I don't ache as much as I did last week, nor are my fingers tingly. I also refused to nap so that I can hopefully sleep even more like a baby than usual.
Instead of running out in the streets, we stayed inside Griffith Park this time, where they were already stringing up holiday decorations and lights for the Light Festival. As much as I love this park, this is the most I've ever explored it, especially on foot.
I'm still not fully confident we can finish 13.1 miles within 3 hours yet. But it's been nice to chat with new friends and have something that is my own and completely separate from work and work people. A few others in the group actually hate running like me and had various reasons for starting up. One girl told me she doesn't hate running anymore but doesn't quite LIKE it yet. I think that will be my new goal. Learning to not hate running.
Friday, November 10, 2006
VIP
I have the coolest friends. On Wednesday, my Spelling Bee friend, treated me to a Clippers game at the Staples Center. Usually, I'm a Lakers fan and I've been to a few games years ago, but watching any sports game live is pretty fun. (Well, except football and golf. Bleh.)
The difference with this game was the fact that the tickets belonged to her company's general counsel - season tickets in the premiere/suites level. I may sound like a country bumpkin, but on that level, waitresses come to take your order and bring you food while you watch the game. There is a restaurant on that level where you can actually dine at a table while watching the game. There are secret passageways that lead you to the different levels and the exits quickly without having to mingle with the masses. All you have to do is flash your golden ticket. It amazes me that from the get-go, the architects of the Staples Center clearly had a "haves" and "have-nots" mentality when it came to the arena's design.
I couldn't stop gushing about how great this experience was to my Spelling Bee friend. Though she usually left before the end of every game to beat the crowds, I even managed to get her to stay until two minutes to the end, when I knew the Dallas Mavericks would not be able to make up a 12 point deficit against the Clippers. For a night, thanks to my dear friend, I felt like a VIP - a "have" if you will. Just another atypical Wednesday night in a day of my life.
The difference with this game was the fact that the tickets belonged to her company's general counsel - season tickets in the premiere/suites level. I may sound like a country bumpkin, but on that level, waitresses come to take your order and bring you food while you watch the game. There is a restaurant on that level where you can actually dine at a table while watching the game. There are secret passageways that lead you to the different levels and the exits quickly without having to mingle with the masses. All you have to do is flash your golden ticket. It amazes me that from the get-go, the architects of the Staples Center clearly had a "haves" and "have-nots" mentality when it came to the arena's design.
I couldn't stop gushing about how great this experience was to my Spelling Bee friend. Though she usually left before the end of every game to beat the crowds, I even managed to get her to stay until two minutes to the end, when I knew the Dallas Mavericks would not be able to make up a 12 point deficit against the Clippers. For a night, thanks to my dear friend, I felt like a VIP - a "have" if you will. Just another atypical Wednesday night in a day of my life.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
I Voted!
I have a sticker that says just that. Like I did for all my homework assignments and exams in the days of yore, I somehow managed to wait till the last minute and crammed all the reading in an hour before the polls closed at 8pm on Tuesday. Made it to the neighborhood voting garage (so weird that a voting place can be out of someone's garage at their home…) with 10 minutes to spare and got in my semi-educated votes in, undeniably proud that I made some sort of effort to exercise my right as an American.
It may not sound like much, but this is coming from a girl who always lived her life blissfully ignorant of politics, current events, and hot buttons issues. My favorite story to point out my ignorance is from nearly two decades ago, when my intellectually superior junior high best friend railed about the Iran-Contra scandals. I looked at her and asked "Are those the annoying debates on TV that are bumping all my TV shows at night? I hate them too!" I think I stunned her speechless and why she chose to continue to be my friend, I'll never know.
Fast forward to the present, and it seems somewhere along the way in the past few years, awareness has crept into my head. I find myself suddenly very passionate about certain issues (though by no means am I joining any protests or grassroots campaigns yet) and asking people if they're voting too.
The proudest moment I have is of my parents signing up to vote around the same time I did years ago. The fact that my dad, a relatively conservative kind of guy, chose to vote against Bush and told my mom they were doing so because we had to protect abortion rights, blew me away on so many levels. For that alone, I would respect my dad for eternity.
It may not sound like much, but this is coming from a girl who always lived her life blissfully ignorant of politics, current events, and hot buttons issues. My favorite story to point out my ignorance is from nearly two decades ago, when my intellectually superior junior high best friend railed about the Iran-Contra scandals. I looked at her and asked "Are those the annoying debates on TV that are bumping all my TV shows at night? I hate them too!" I think I stunned her speechless and why she chose to continue to be my friend, I'll never know.
Fast forward to the present, and it seems somewhere along the way in the past few years, awareness has crept into my head. I find myself suddenly very passionate about certain issues (though by no means am I joining any protests or grassroots campaigns yet) and asking people if they're voting too.
The proudest moment I have is of my parents signing up to vote around the same time I did years ago. The fact that my dad, a relatively conservative kind of guy, chose to vote against Bush and told my mom they were doing so because we had to protect abortion rights, blew me away on so many levels. For that alone, I would respect my dad for eternity.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Rats, Slugs, Undercover Agents, and Magicians
In between all the running, the anti-pining, and the disinterest in work, I managed to see a couple of good movies lately.
The Departed, which is a remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs is ultra violent, dark, lengthy and classic Scorsese. I actually like it more than the original and though his character didn't even exist in the original film, I think Mark Wahlberg (of Marky Mark fame) stole the show.
I think I may have laughed the loudest in the theater for Flushed Away. I love Wallace and Gromit, Creature Comforts and all things Aardman. Though this film was CG mimicking claymation, I swear the slugs looked just as smudgy as the original clay models. The French frogs were hilarious. Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet are excellent voice actors. And the film was less schmaltzy than the usual studio animated features.
Finally, The Prestige, which has two fine pieces of eye candy, Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman. Ah, but the movie isn't just about eye candy, it's about an intriguing story that twists and turns and does upside down loops. The director, Christopher Nolan, excels at the whole nonlinear timeline storytelling technique. I was captivated throughout the entire movie, not once looking around me to see what other people were doing, as I'm apt to do during slow moments of a movie. You don't know who to root for and you'll be talking about it with your friends, trying to dissect the movie and figure out what really happened for an hour after it ends.
I love the holiday movie season! So many good movies dumped in the theaters the last 3 months of the year to qualify for the Academy Awards. I'm going to watch as much as I can.
The Departed, which is a remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs is ultra violent, dark, lengthy and classic Scorsese. I actually like it more than the original and though his character didn't even exist in the original film, I think Mark Wahlberg (of Marky Mark fame) stole the show.
I think I may have laughed the loudest in the theater for Flushed Away. I love Wallace and Gromit, Creature Comforts and all things Aardman. Though this film was CG mimicking claymation, I swear the slugs looked just as smudgy as the original clay models. The French frogs were hilarious. Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet are excellent voice actors. And the film was less schmaltzy than the usual studio animated features.
Finally, The Prestige, which has two fine pieces of eye candy, Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman. Ah, but the movie isn't just about eye candy, it's about an intriguing story that twists and turns and does upside down loops. The director, Christopher Nolan, excels at the whole nonlinear timeline storytelling technique. I was captivated throughout the entire movie, not once looking around me to see what other people were doing, as I'm apt to do during slow moments of a movie. You don't know who to root for and you'll be talking about it with your friends, trying to dissect the movie and figure out what really happened for an hour after it ends.
I love the holiday movie season! So many good movies dumped in the theaters the last 3 months of the year to qualify for the Academy Awards. I'm going to watch as much as I can.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Putting That Sociology Degree To Use
On Friday, I was asked to sit in on a meeting amongst the IT guys, the programming and pipeline development guys, and a couple of supervisors to discuss the creation of software tools to better the efficiency of the studio. It seemed likely to be a yawnfest, but my role was to take notes, organize their schedule and just lend an overall official production presence to these noncommunicative folks.
Instead, I got to witness a prime example of how NOT to run a meeting and conduct a productive discussion. From a sociological perspective, it was fascinating to note how many things these boys did wrong. They stepped all over each other's sentences, constantly interrupting each other. They raised their voices to be heard and drown out the others, pointing at each other when talking (a very aggressive gesture). Some tried to put words in other people's mouths, consistently and wrongly summarizing someone else's thought for them, purely out of impatience. It was such a tense environment.
I was appalled. Yet thankful that I wasn't personally involved in this discussion. If I were being talked to that way, surely I would have hurled my notebook at someone's face. Lucky for them, I was just an observer. It'll be interesting to see how that goes when we reconvene tomorrow.
Instead, I got to witness a prime example of how NOT to run a meeting and conduct a productive discussion. From a sociological perspective, it was fascinating to note how many things these boys did wrong. They stepped all over each other's sentences, constantly interrupting each other. They raised their voices to be heard and drown out the others, pointing at each other when talking (a very aggressive gesture). Some tried to put words in other people's mouths, consistently and wrongly summarizing someone else's thought for them, purely out of impatience. It was such a tense environment.
I was appalled. Yet thankful that I wasn't personally involved in this discussion. If I were being talked to that way, surely I would have hurled my notebook at someone's face. Lucky for them, I was just an observer. It'll be interesting to see how that goes when we reconvene tomorrow.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
The First Long Run
I survived it. We ran/walked 8 miles through Griffith Park, past the Warner Brothers Lot in part of Toluca Lake, past the Disney lot in Burbank, past an Equestrian Center with smelly horse poop, and through Glendale back into Griffith Park.
Everything below my waist aches. And for some strange reason, my hands have been tingly all day.
BUT, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Despite the little bouts of panic attacks this week including one yesterday morning, when the power went out and the smoke alarm started beeping at 7 in the morning. I woke up freaking out that I had to wake up that early this morning and train for a 13 mile run.
The pace group was great, the scenery was nice, and there seems to be a peculiar population of people who run. In the mornings. On a Sunday morning. In packs. All around Griffith park. AND they're so encouraging! They cheer and clap when our groups run by each other, like we're all bonded in this masochistic activity we've all committed to doing together. I'm definitely experiencing a different slice of life. One that also includes me downing a couple of Motrin now before I pass out on my bed for the night.
Everything below my waist aches. And for some strange reason, my hands have been tingly all day.
BUT, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Despite the little bouts of panic attacks this week including one yesterday morning, when the power went out and the smoke alarm started beeping at 7 in the morning. I woke up freaking out that I had to wake up that early this morning and train for a 13 mile run.
The pace group was great, the scenery was nice, and there seems to be a peculiar population of people who run. In the mornings. On a Sunday morning. In packs. All around Griffith park. AND they're so encouraging! They cheer and clap when our groups run by each other, like we're all bonded in this masochistic activity we've all committed to doing together. I'm definitely experiencing a different slice of life. One that also includes me downing a couple of Motrin now before I pass out on my bed for the night.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Weddings and Childhood Friends
One of my first friends ever, Miss Flip Flops, got married this weekend. It's the end of an era. I imagine that she won't be coming out to stay with me for a random weekend nor be able to travel with me anymore. At least not till 2008, she told me. IF they don't have kids.
I DO know however, I will always be able to stay at her place in Phoenix, always be able to stuff ourselves silly with good food, and that she'll always be one of the first people to offer to run over and beat anyone who hurts me.
Our birthdays are a day apart and yet we've only celebrated together once. We became friends when I was about 5 and she was 7 though it turned out we lived in the same neighborhoods as babies. We were each other's first pen pals (remember when people wrote handwritten letters to each other?) when I moved away at age 8 and stayed in touch to this day - me going back for the summers to visit my grandparents, and she driving out here as soon as she got a car and a license.
The wedding and preparations reflected the low key nature and down to earth personality of Miss Flip Flops. The night before the wedding, we busted open her new Bissell Spot bot to try it out on the carpet, (thanks to her excitable dog) and proceeded to hook up her Tivo.
The day of her wedding, her mom came over and fried dumplings and eggs for us, while I ran out to get coffee for everybody, bought more cables for the Tivo, and finished setting up the DVR so that she wouldn't miss her shows while on her honeymoon. I even had to call the Tivo customer support line at one point, explaining that I NEEDED to do this for my friend, she's getting married today, and it's my gift to her! The guy laughed and luckily was able to talk me through it
The wedding took place at a golf course, far far away from central Phoenix. The Arizonians joked that we were halfway to Los Angeles, it was that far west. At one point, we worried that some errant golfer could knock the bride unconscious with a golf ball and a shout of "Fore!" during the ceremony. She really would have that kind of luck. That's why we're such kindred spirits.
Other than the gigantic bug bites I came back with and the fact that the DJ had the bright idea to make each table sing a song with the word "love" in it in order to line up at the buffet, the wedding was lovely, filled with old childhood friends, family (including mine), and more kiddies than ever. For the first time, I felt neither young nor old, as I sat out from the festivities from aching feet, watching three different generations on the fance floor. I thought of how we used to be the kiddies laughing and dancing on the floor, while our parents and grandparents watched, waiting for us to grow up while hoping time would stand still.
I DO know however, I will always be able to stay at her place in Phoenix, always be able to stuff ourselves silly with good food, and that she'll always be one of the first people to offer to run over and beat anyone who hurts me.
Our birthdays are a day apart and yet we've only celebrated together once. We became friends when I was about 5 and she was 7 though it turned out we lived in the same neighborhoods as babies. We were each other's first pen pals (remember when people wrote handwritten letters to each other?) when I moved away at age 8 and stayed in touch to this day - me going back for the summers to visit my grandparents, and she driving out here as soon as she got a car and a license.
The wedding and preparations reflected the low key nature and down to earth personality of Miss Flip Flops. The night before the wedding, we busted open her new Bissell Spot bot to try it out on the carpet, (thanks to her excitable dog) and proceeded to hook up her Tivo.
The day of her wedding, her mom came over and fried dumplings and eggs for us, while I ran out to get coffee for everybody, bought more cables for the Tivo, and finished setting up the DVR so that she wouldn't miss her shows while on her honeymoon. I even had to call the Tivo customer support line at one point, explaining that I NEEDED to do this for my friend, she's getting married today, and it's my gift to her! The guy laughed and luckily was able to talk me through it
The wedding took place at a golf course, far far away from central Phoenix. The Arizonians joked that we were halfway to Los Angeles, it was that far west. At one point, we worried that some errant golfer could knock the bride unconscious with a golf ball and a shout of "Fore!" during the ceremony. She really would have that kind of luck. That's why we're such kindred spirits.
Other than the gigantic bug bites I came back with and the fact that the DJ had the bright idea to make each table sing a song with the word "love" in it in order to line up at the buffet, the wedding was lovely, filled with old childhood friends, family (including mine), and more kiddies than ever. For the first time, I felt neither young nor old, as I sat out from the festivities from aching feet, watching three different generations on the fance floor. I thought of how we used to be the kiddies laughing and dancing on the floor, while our parents and grandparents watched, waiting for us to grow up while hoping time would stand still.
Still Aching...
Another huffing and puffing filled 2.7 miles in 35 minutes. And shin splints to boot! Ack!!!!!
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