Rainy Day Blues, not quite

This morning awake to rustling outside my window that sounded something like cars driving on wet pavement and drops hitting the gravel driveway... the sound of rain. I turned to look outside, and was surprised by how light it was. In fact, it was that crisp and winter angled morning sunlight against blue sky. And the sound I heard was dried leaves being blown around by the wind whipping around. I new it would be a cold, wintry day, perfect for an adventure.

I got up this morning with the goal of exploring a new area of San Francisco. I often go to SF because of the unique neighborhoods and mix of urban areas and parks within a small 7 mile square. I started to think about why I am drawn to the city and think I've come up with an explanation ( it may also explain my love of maps and geography). Here it is in a nutshell (I'll try my best to explain).

I value so many aspects of memories... I think they remind me of who I am and who I want to strive to be. The smells (diesel fuel= London; cold rain on plants= Salem), the sights/places, who I'm with, weather (see "rafting weather" from previous blogs), and the emotions I feel from all of these outside stimuli, all influence my perspective on the world and how I see myself fitting in that world. All of those experiences and memories have contributed to making me who I am. By looking at a map (let's say of SF) I don't just see lines and points, but I see places I've been and am reminded of those memories, smells, feelings, and people. To me a map doesn't just show me how to get from point A to point B, rather it is a network of plotted memories and experiences. Rather than thinking of my life chronologically, it makes more sense to think of it spatially. Now when I look at a map of SF and I see the intersection of Columbus and Union St. , I don't just see lines, I am brought back to watching Il Postino on a giant screen in Washington Square Park on a summer evening with friends, or going across the street to Mara's, our favorite Italian bakery, or going on a walking tour of North Beach with my mom, and even getting my picture in the paper when my boss and I were sitting at a sidewalk cafe on a random trip to pick up his car from the mechanic. All of that from just one point on a map!

I think this way of thinking helps account for my passion for maps and geography, and it certainly helps that I have a good sense of direction. I was trying to think of places in SF to go where I haven't been, but often my attempts fail because my default trips are to places I have been. I created this map on Google Maps to help me with this problem. I decided to plot points where I have been (lines represent walks or places I have driven when walking wasn't so convenient) in order to see areas that I haven't really explored. On the map linked to below, the shaded areas are places lacking points, thus, places I haven't really been to. Right now the points don't have descriptions, but I will try to fill them in with restaurant names, or fun stories about my visits. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&msa=0&msid=112124917024774758311.00045ddce7beb4fe8f46d&ll=37.7737,-122.392502&spn=0.254549,0.615234&z=11

Anyway, long story short, this blog was going to be about how it started pouring and I couldn't decided if I wanted to go to SF to walk in the rain. Instead, I sit here now, bundled up on the couch, writing about how I can see my life through a map.

Fun in SF

On Friday night my office had a Tree Trimming party, and as office go-to girl, I ran errands, cleaned and best of all, tried to make treats for 35 people look yummy! Below are pics of the fruit plate, desserts, and cheese plate with other appetizers. It's fun to have a boss with good taste in food.. it gives you a lot to work with!

Yesterday after cleaning up the office, Erica and I decided to head to the city on a whim and see where the day would take us. We started over in the Marina district, eating at a cool spot called The Grove, then headed out to the Presidio for some quiet trails and great views.

The winter sun was at a great angle giving lovely shadow in the Presidio cemetery. We then walked through Crissy field to Fort Point, the only Civil War Fort that was West of the Mississippi (we learned fun facts like this.. in addition to getting great shots of the Golden Gate Bridge)!

We have some great views of the bridge at many different angles. A couple of hours later we walked back through Crissy Field and the Palace of Fine Arts.

Later that evening, a bunch of us headed back to the city to go ice skating in Union Square. It turned out the skating session was sold out, so we booked it down the hill to Yerba Buena Gardens to check out the full size indoor rink. Turns out a session was about to start and we were about 15th in line. It wasn't skating outside under the twinkling Christmas lights, but we had much more room to skate around. Someone then had a hankering for chocolate so we hopped the cable car, hung on tight and wove our across town to Ghiradelli Square for some ice cream!

Sadly, I didn't get any shots of the delicious ice cream, but here we have Doug and Amanda on the front of the cable car, and Warren and Ben hanging on behind! After our rich treats at Ghiradelli we walked down to Fisherman's Wharf, jumped on the Embarcadero Streetcar, took BART back to the East Bay, and headed to the Kona Club, the local tiki bar by my house.

It ended up being an amazing day full of adventures discovering new places and spending great time with great friends. Every time I visit San Francisco there is something new and beautiful!

The Joy's of Bike Commuting

I like the idea of bike commuting. I can just imagine a perfect world where everyone pedals along smooth and winding paths that weave next to flowing crystal-water streams. Think ‘Sound of Music’ and ‘Life is Beautiful’(before the tragedies of war parts). After greeting other riders with a ‘Howdy’ or ‘Mornin’, we’d all arrive at the office, school, or shop and step inside with an energized and renewed outlook on life, our neighbors, and ourselves.
Instead my bike commute is more like the Bowser’s Castle in Super Mario Bros. You know, a gauntlet of fiery lava pits, spiky hunks of rock trying to smash you, turtles throwing nun-chuks… Actually, it isn’t that bad, but between dodging the massive potholes in Oakland , buses that constantly stop in front of you, pass, and stop again, and drivers who apparently think bikes shouldn’t be on roads. Then depending on the route I take, I can either end up on the bike path where joggers run unaware as they blast their ipods, or go through the mostly empty park where the more unsavory characters hang.

On today’s ride I went near 4th St., a popular high-end area of shops and restaurants, as well as a common place for day laborers to wait in the morning to find work. I had one of those moments like when you show up at a costume party, only to find out by the surprised faces of everyone else that it wasn’t actually a costume party. Then the guy controlling traffic at the road construction said to me, “You be careful on that bike”. What was that supposed to mean?? That streets are too dangerous for bikes? That the giant pothole they had made was something to watch out for? That I personally might not have the skills to navigate around the pothole? I rode past, turned the corner and just had to laugh. Now I was home free! A few more blocks to the office on quiet, traffic free streets. I rolled inside, fee energized, happy, and with a renewed outlook on life! I beat level 1 at Bowser's Castle and freed the princess. I must admit, a ride through town is never boring. The adrenaline gets going, especially on rides home when traffic requires some tricky maneuvering and being on high alert. I still don't think it is quite as fun as riding for fun, but it is still an adventure. Now only if I didn't arrive at work so sweaty.

Mission Murals

Today my roommate Erica and I went over to SF and decided to take a free walking tour of the Mission District murals. A non-profit called SF Cityguides runs walking tours throughout the city and with the wonderful weather and free time, what better way to spend an afternoon!

I hadn't been to this part of the Mission in a long, long time. In fact, my only memories there are from middle school when my spanish class went for Dia De Los Muertos. I remember walking past bakery windows with pan ducles, altars, and decorated sugar skulls. Our class had some assignment to do with the murals and after we had finished our walk around, we went to a Cuban restaurant where I had platanos con frijoles. Amazing what stays in our memories! This trip we didn't stop for pan ducles or platanos... Erica and I are doing South Beach (getting our butts in gear for her wedding) and are currently in Phase 1 which means the Mission's authentic and tasty food was no doubt off limits.

Below are some photos of the murals and a bit of info on each. The colors were just so brilliant, even the photos don't do them justice! I recommend clicking on the pictures to see all of the detail.

The ocean scene was done on the wall of the local community pool. Each of the swimmers worked at the pool at one point in time!

The mural two up was dedicated to the Dali Lama.

Above- Many of the murals represent contrast. Loss on the left panel, life on the right.

The mural above is dedicated to Aids victims.

Brilliant golds and reds show a wife and child in El Salvador during the civil war. Faces of those who died are seen in the green mountains in the back.

Amazing what a simple garage door can show. Can you see the "army" skeleton with a gun?

This is suppose to represent struggles of war in Nicaragua. On the left there is a girl in fear of a soldier pointing a gun at her( out of frame), while the right side shows a new and hopeful Nicaragua

This one was done by an artist who was unhappy about the gentrification of SF neighborhoods. Notice the condo "transformer" in the middle.

An older women in Nepal(left) breaking a chain to free the group of women on the right.

Each piece has so much symbolism, but most of all community is a central theme throughout. I think my favorite one was the one with the eyes!

My First Triathlon (with Mono?)

It feels like ages since I did my triathlon (only about 2 weeks ago), but so much has happened to distract me from it. Despite having to stay in bed the few days before heading to L.A. for the tri, I really felt healthy the day before and day of the triathlon. I would attribute it mostly to the excitement of all five of us getting ready for the big race and seeing the hundreds of other women at the expo who would be competing. The race was great, I certainly felt like I could have done much better, including preparing better for the open water swim and run, but I felt like I gave all I could. It became clear to me when I arrive back in Oakland that despite feeling better, I hadn't magically healed. Once home after the 6 hour drive from L.A. I found a box waiting for me on the front porch. It was my new pair of running shoes! On any normal day in my life this would be a wonderful day... a chance to test drive the new shoes, but instead I threw the box inside the house and collapsed onto my bed. That was one clue something was wrong.
From then on it was sleep, doctors visits, blood tests, swollen icky tonsils, and temporarily moving back to the parents' to be cared for. After a week of constant throat pain, inability to swallow, and extreme fatigue, I am finally back at my house attempting to get rest (although this has proven tricky with voting, blood tests, constant urge to clean my messy place). Luckily, whenever I think of doing something too active, my body puts me in my place, usually by sending a wave of exhaustion over me. Now that my brain is allowing me to focus on something other than the pain, I am getting a chance to reflect on my race.
I'm proud that I was able to finish, and who knows how much the mono affected my race, but I can't wait until my next tri! I feel like I have a base ( a mono base?) and I can only improve from here. There really is no way to know how many weeks or months it will take before I have my normal energy back, but I just hope I still have the same enthusiasm. Once I'm no longer at risk for rupturing my spleen (glad that didn't happen on the race) I'd like to start swimming, maybe join a masters team.
To sum it all up, I may not be able to do much now, but I haven't forgotten the energy, fun, and excitement of the race and I can't wait to train for the next one!

Update!

So I went to vote today! I was worried about having enough energy to stand in line for up to an hour, but to my surprise there was only one person in line in front of me.

A few hours later I walked on over to the hospital to get my 3rd blood test of the week. The lab that I had become so familiar with from previous visits was a sight to see. Only one other person was in the waiting area and he had already been helped. Instead of waiting in a crowd of 20 like my earlier visits.

Since it has been a while since updating the blog, here are a few photos of what I've been up to this summer!

Here are some of my friends in SF celebrating Bronwyn's (pink dress) Birthday

At a wedding with old friends from high school

Playing with M-Bear at Jackson Plaza in Portland

Rogue River

Sorry I haven't posted in a long time.... Things have been busy, but fun! Since I don't have time to post about my rafting trip right now, I'll at least send you to my photo album link. Sorry, there are a lot of random pictures (of course, non of me). I realized that rowing your own boat takes a lot of work- packing gear, loading the boat, rowing, scouting rapids, unloading.... doesn't leave much time for picture taking.

Here are my Rogue Photos

Where am I?

Sprint distance____________ Where am I now?

Swim= .75k/33 lengths/.46 miles________ 1/2 length without lifting my head or stopping

Bike= 6.2k /12.4 miles________________ I can actually do this, Must work on time.

Run= 5k/ 3 miles ____________________ 2 minutes- tomorrow I aim for 3.5 min!

Tri Training: Swimming Part 1- What did I get myself into?

I'm planning on doing a Sprint Triathlon in San Diego with my cousin Erica and sister Jess. I don't know how they convinced me to do it. Actually, I love these ladies so much, they could convince to do almost anything! I wish you could all hear my inner voice during all of my attempts to be athletic... I really find me quite humorous, but since you can't, I figure I'll give you the jest of it in this blog.

Swimming, Part I:

I have a very real, but very irrational fear of jumping into water. Recently I have realized (within this last week, and confirmed tonight) that I associate the pain of water up my nose to putting my head underwater. Similarly, I do not swim with my head in the water, that was, until today.

My friend Amy (a swimmer) took me to the pool at her condo complex tonight to give me pointers, general breathing advise, etc.

Within the first 5 minutes in the pool-
-Oh look, I can put my head underwater and not drown or feel like my nose, lungs, and throat are burning!
-I made it across the pool!!! It only took me 2 minutes and 3 breaks!
-Now I just have to do this 40 more times, in open water, in a big crowd, in the ocean

Yeah, it was pretty bad for the first 30 minutes. I'd make it halfway across and would take in some water, freak out and stop. It definitely had one of those, 'What the Crap was I thinking' moments. After a while I moved to a different part of the pool where it was shallower and half a pool length. I figured it gave me an easier goal. Get to the other side without stopping using 2-3 breaths. Soon I moved onto taking a breath every other stroke, getting used to where my head should be and making fishy lips to avoid getting water in my mouth.

I finally took it as a success when I could go a half length of the pool without stopping. Not much, but I figure its the most I've every done considering I've really never been swimming with my head under. Learning breathing I guess is like riding a bike. If I can keep building on it, I might have a chance.

Other successes- swimming down along the bottom of the pool for extended amounts of time.

Swimming is quite a workout- different than biking or hiking... I was getting tired by the time I was done!

Well, I've rambled way more than I wanted. A few quick things though- If I can keep building on this start, I think it might be possible to be ready in Oct. Amy said I had good form, just need to work on the breathing. Next issue to tackle... running??? AHHH, that's worth it's own blog. I'll let you know how that goes... still building up from a 2 minute jog.

If you didn't notice, this is pretty much my brain spewing out random thoughts. Feel no obligation to read all of this Tri stuff. I figure it is a good way of seeing my progress, keeping my thoughts in one spot, and working to verbalize any challenges I might come across.

Booyah!

Hot, Passion and Motivation <---catchy title

It's hot. Plain and simple. Not the just the "nice weather, got to go run around outside" kinda hot, but the "blah, I don't want to do anything" kind of hot. In about 4 hours it will be perfect for a walk by the water or in the city, but til then I'm hunkering down inside. This will not protect me from the heat (this old wooden house seems to retain heat like no one's business), but at least it will shade me from the burning rays of the sun.

Anyway, my point of this entry was to avoid any real work that I had hoped to accomplish. This 'real work' is actually applying for jobs and internships that I am interested in. It is so easy for me to float along, working part time for my friend, lazying away the mornings or taking a few days off to go to theme parks, play tourist in SF, or go rafting. While there is nothing wrong with having fun, I have noticed that a limited income sometimes makes it tricky to have all of this fun.

That got me thinking on two things today. Passion and Motivation. I'm the kind of person who wants to be doing something worthwhile. I want to be passionate about my work, and therefore I want to work in an area I am passionate about. For the past few months I've noticed I've lost that passion, and it is about time to get it back. Strange as it may be, I am passionate about Geography and learning about the earth. That leads me to motivation.

I have realized that if I want to work in geography, I need to start somewhere. Having spent the last 3 years working in an unrelated field, I sort of feel like I am starting from scratch as far as experience. The interesting thing though, is that the thought of an unpaid internship working with geography sounds great to me (of course, paid would be nice).

My second burst of motivation came in a surprising way today. I had to run into the City for work this morning and later found myself on craigslist looking at apartment prices for SF. Now don't get me wrong, I love where I live, but the temptation of moving to the big city is out there. My rent in Oakland is a bargain, and yet I am barely making ends meet. What if I had a real income, though? Think of what I could save... or what I could splurge on? I'm not a person driven by money (as seen by my frugal budget on a 20 hr/week job), but it is motivating to think of what I could do if I wasn't "just scraping by".

Here is my list:
-get a personal trainer
-sponsor a child in India
-fly to Oregon to visit Chris, Jess, and the girls; Fly to Arizona to visit my close friend Suzie who just moved away.
-new bike (I'm a dreamer)
-Grad school (this will probably happen anyway, but saving sounds better than student loans)

Well, not much of a list... I guess it's my realistic list- my dreamer list would include: going back to Ukraine, travel, explore, travel, etc.

Anyway, it's still hot. I still haven't gotten those job apps. out. One of these days ; )

Miss Fit Beauty Pagaent and Scholarship Program

Warning! The Content Below Contains People Being Silly!

Yes, I am Miss Fit 2008. I'd like to say that it was worth the countless hours of preparation and intense training, but I actually was pretty close to dropping out of the event day of since I had no talent or outfit planned. Some of you may be wondering what Miss Fit is, and is it something I should actually be proud of. Indeed, it is a great honor that has been bestowed upon me.

Miss Fit- The beginning

Almost two years ago, my friend Katie came up with a great costume/character idea for Halloween. Why not be a beauty pageant contestant like Miss North Carolina, Miss America, etc. but make it a play-on-words and dress up as "Miss ...." (Misunderstood, Misplace). Of course, taking any opportunity to dress up in costume and throw a party, we decided we couldn't wait 5 months until Halloween and that is how The Miss Fit Beauty Pageant and Scholarship Program came about.

Miss Fit - The Details

Our friend Stephen graciously allowed us to use his house (the entryway makes a perfect stage) and he has also done a smash-up job as MC both years! While contestants get ready, guests mingle, munch, and write down questions for the interview portion of the competition. These people are the most important part since they also do the judging!

Miss Fit- The Competition

Evening Wear and Introductions
The judges finally meet the contestants and get to know some interesting facts!

From Left to Right (2008): Singing our opening song Amanda- Miss Fit 2007, Katie- Miss Guided, Suzy- Miss Understand, Erica -Miss Conduct, me - Miss Ing, Liz - Miss Information, Leah- Miss Creant.









This was my introduction as Miss Demeanor last year.


Bathrobe and Slipper
In place of the normal bathing suit competition, we decided that everyone might have a better time with a good old bathrobe portion.

From 2007 unless noted: Left- Erica is Miss Behave.... hmm.. let me reiterate that we really like to exaggerate our characters. Right-Katie is Miss Laid.




















Talent
A lot of people have real talents.... but most of us just fake it!


Miss Issippi breaking a board, Miss Laid making balloon animals out of condoms, and Miss Diagnosis sings a song.

Miss Demeanor (ack!! that's me!) tying a cherry stem in a knot, Miss Creant (2008) blowing smoke rings, and Miss Pronounced multi-tasking. What a talented crew!

Interview
Perhaps one of the most challenging parts of the competition. The audience makes up the questions and they have varied from 'Prove that you have a solid understanding of math' to 'Create a Poem (Haiku or limerick) about your mother'. Actually neither of those were real questions.... hmm...

Results
The judges vote, tallies are counted and the contestants return to the stage.

Before the winner is announced, the contestants vote on for one of them to win the honor of 'Miss Bitch'. Suzy (Miss Diagnosis) won last year!


The winner is then announced. Miss Issippi (Amanda) won last year. Nothing like Southern Charm and Tai Kwon Do!


Thanks to Brett for all of these awesome photos. He always sets up his fancy lights and gives us great shots!

I realize I didn't really have much of this year's event. Well, now you know the format, so when I get the pictures from this year you'll know what's going on!

Hot Weather

For the majority of my life I have despised hot weather. Who knew that this intense heatwave would bring on a new found joy for me. I was never good in the heat... I would shut down, flock to the shade and often breakout in hives. Why I am I now loving this weather? I love how the heat rises up off the sidewalk, lifting scents off of gardens and flowers.

Yesterday, while running around town getting ready for my friends fancy graduation party (I think event planning and catering has become my full-time volunteer job) I would think to myself every now and then, "this is perfect rafting weather". A hot gusty wind would blow down the street and I would be taken back to a river's edge where the afternoon heat would be picked up off of the baking rocks and turn into an upriver sauna breeze. This of course was usually quite hellish, especially when you had 6 miles of flat water to row in a head wind and not a shade tree in sight.

Why does this weather bring me so much joy? It must be all of the "fond" river memories associated with it. Somehow all of the fun times spent rafting has beat out all of those not so fun heat moments (112 degree heat on the Salmon a few years back might top them all).

On a side note, I'm feeling very.... well... Berkeley.. right now. See, I've been cooking dessert for 60 people this week and the house and my room are somewhat in disarray. Sadly, my deodorant has gotten lost in my room. I'm known for my love of long showers, but in an effort to conserve water, I've been waiting to take my shower this afternoon so I'll be all nice for the party. Needless to say, my pits are a bit sticky... Luckily, 2 spritz of perfume later, I must say it's not half bad. I'm sure you all were dying to know that!

Marin Today!

As I write this, I am sitting on my front porch sipping a latte, enjoying the warm evening, and watching the people and cars in my quiet but busy neighborhood. Isn't technology great! Speaking of technology, I still get a kick that only an hour after my hike today, I am able to download and share my photos while sitting at a lovely place (I really appreciate that we have wireless internet now). And guess what, not only can you read about me writing this blog, but you can see me too.



Gosh, while I'm at it, here's a picture of where I live for those of you who haven't seen it.

The house from the 1920's is split into 3 apartments. My roommate, Erica, and I share the bottom level!

Anyway, about my hike! I drove over to Marin today, not knowing exactly where I wanted to hike. There are many hikes in many different places on Mt. Tam, Point Reyes, Pt. Bonita, and Muir Woods. As I drove over I started to consider the price of gas (I had just filled up the tank and it might have been the most money I've ever paid for gas). This helped me choose a closer hike, and remembering a lovely hike I went on with my parents, I chose the Tennessee Valley hike down to the beach. But of course I can go with the crowd. Instead of keeping to the busy main trail, I decided to hike up a steep path to the top of the hills that surround the valley. After a while down the path I realized it wouldn't go where I had hoped, but I did find myself at a secluded and shady campground where they had a much needed porto potty (inside was the only place I could get cell reception). Funny how a wrong turn can be a good thing. I also saw a hawk grab a snake and fly across the valley will the tail dangling down 2 feet out of his talons.. pretty cool show, just for me. Long story short, I headed back to the main trail, found the correct path, hauled my booty up the hill and kept wandering down to a tiny beach called Pirates Cove.


After a lunch overlooking the beach, I continued back to the main beach and simply fell asleep, waking every now and then when a random wave would come a tad to close.

I finished my excursion with a traditional Latte from Peet's (sadly, I'm done with mochas, too much sugar). There was no line, so I was waited on right away. I usually think people who work at Peet's are quite nice, but I noticed that woman serving me was more friendly than most. When she gave me my latte she said, "Have a good day, sister (more like sista)." I didn't mind at all, but I found it a bit odd. Then I realized that I was wearing my Delta Gamma shirt... she probably was a sister. And to think I was ready to toss out all of my DG garb since 1- I am no longer in school, 2- I quit my senior year and probably shouldn't keep advertising for them. Now I'm not quite sure...

Back to the whole technology thing.

Italy - The Untold Story

So I finally decided that I should blog about Italy, but I didn't want it to be the same old picture of a pretty church or lovely view. If you would like to see the hand-picked cream of the crop photos, go to my Webshots page

Now you should know that I only had my camera for the second leg of the trip. Photos from the first half will be coming later... we must first sift through thousands of photos that our group took.

So here it is... the not so glamorous, maybe out of focus, day to day pictures from Italy.
Someone at some advertising firm should get a raise. These columns near the Colosseum immediately made me think of bars on a cell phone. Know the ads I'm talking about?

Artsy Pic in our Rome hotel the last night.

Space Shower in our Rome apartment.

Above: You'd think we were boozing it up. Wine, gorgonzola, proscuitto, bread..the perfect lunch overlooking Monterosso and the ocean.


Here is a cool night shot in Lucca.

















The photo below is the infamous "Flasher" photo. The man exposing himself is about 2 feet out of frame to my left. My face says it all... concern that this man is behind me, and a smirk that my mom, who was so determined to get this picture (unaware of the man), is seconds away from discovering why I thought we should keep moving and didn't want to stop for a photo.





















Making our way through the map room of the Vatican Museum. I felt a bit like livestock being herded.
















Desert! Warm Chocolate cake and a light vanilla cream. YUM!