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!

Working in a Male Office

I'm back to work at Claresco Corporation, my friend's computer company. It is an office of 4-5 programmers and developers (men). And then there is me. I must say, it is fun to be in an office where people are talking about tour du france, adventure sports, ab workouts, etc. The office goes beyond 'casual friday', as it pretty much encompasses the whole week. People cycle to work, so it's not uncommon for the whole crew to be in bike clothes throughout the day.

But then again, my job has a broad description. Office manager can include everything from accounting, running errands, and mail to restocking supplies, and keeping the office clean.

Yesterday, after returning to the office after almost a month away, I was a bit surprised by the state of the bathroom. Sure, it really needed some cleaning (the guys might disagree), but I was a bit worried when I noticed the toilet paper roll was empty and there were some paper towels from the dispenser sitting on the railing nearby. At first I felt a bit sorry for them and surprised that I didn't stock up enough toilet paper before I left. Then I took a look in the cabinet and found at least 7 fresh rolls of TP happily awaiting their turn to be used.

Only in a man's office would you turn to the industrial paper towels in place of soft double-ply that is hidden so far away in the cabinet right next to the toilet.

Love those guys!

You, Ms. Ballanti, have been selected...

for a once in a lifetime opportunity to push your body to the threshold of pain, challenge your sanity, and hurt like you've never hurt before!!!! For only $100 fee, hours of training time, and a small piece of your soul, you too, can ride in the California Death Ride ( or as I like to call it, the Laurel Have You Lost Your Mind Ride).

A few weeks ago I was in the office and the guys were talking about centuries that they were hoping to do during the season. Brett, my boss, turned to me and told me that I should apply for the Death Ride Tour of the California Alps, a horrendously difficult ride 139 miles long, covering 5 Sierra mountain passes and climbing over 15,000 ft. at high elevation. The ride is aptly named, in fact, a few years back some riders did not make it. http://www.deathride.com/

Anyway, back to the office. Brett said that with enough training, I could definitely do the ride (not all five passes, of course). I don't know if it my stubbornness or being around those competitive guys, but I when online right then and there and signed up to be put in the lottery.

Thousands of people try to get on this ride, but it is limited to 2,500. This week I checked the rider list of successful applicants and what do you know, there was my name.

Now I must decide what to do. I will need to spend practically all my waking hours training for this ride if I want to be in good enough shape to attempt this ride. Of course what better time than now. I am leaving for Italy for 3 weeks and will be unemployed, giving me quite a bit of free time to train when I return. I guess the big question is whether I am willing to take on the challenge and put in the time. I am not one to follow through on something when I'm doing it half-heartedly. The last thing I would want to have happen is for me to say I will do it, not train enough, and then struggle on the ride. I actually expect that I will struggle quite a bit on the ride, but the difference of a good struggle is knowing that I put in my time, tried my best, and have actually earned my spot on the ride.

We'll see how my time in Italy goes, but at this point I think I've decide it will just be time to TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN!!! Oh, and maybe look for a job : )

A Great Ride

I just got back from a wonderful bike ride over in Marin. The ride starts in San Rafael, takes Lucas Valley Road out to Pt. Reyes Station and returns back through the little town of Nicasio. The best thing about this ride is how you start near the freeway, weave up through farmland, cruising in the cool shade of Redwoods and end up near the ocean.

Today I started thinking about what makes a ride really great, and came up with a few things.

1. When you make it back to the car/home. It is always a great feeling to complete a ride, especially after some tough climbing or strong headwinds. On a day where I really have to push myself, I could care less about how quickly I got up the hill or my overall time. I'm just thankful I made it. On the other hand, nothing ruins a ride for me more than having to bail out early. Back when I was having knee trouble, nothing was more frustrating than stopping when I knew I should be able to finish.

2. The feeling of complete exhaustion at the end of a killer ride. Whether I'm riding, hiking or rafting, I love the feeling when I get home and barely have the energy to stand up. The fatigued muscles, sweat crystals caked on my face and knowledge that I've earned my sleep (and maybe even a sweet treat) is reward enough for me. I sometimes think I don't feel this way enough.. sure, I feel tired every now and then, but that is usually from inactivity, not from busting my butt.

3. Accomplishing something challenging, exploring a new place, or learning something new. Every time I ride I get a tad more daring, whether pushing myself to take a different road with a bigger hill, trying to break my downhill speed record or just seeing how many potholes I can jump. Heck, yesterday I changed my first flat tire on my own... next time I get a flat I'll really know what I'm doing.

4,5,6... There are just so many things that can make a ride great. The sights, sounds, and smells....the interesting things you find (like the time I found a 200lb dead pig tossed off the side of the road.. talk about smells) ... the places and people you see (I always lookout for George when I'm riding Lucas Valley Rd.) ... and of course the post-ride coffee all make a ride great.

Here are so photos from my ride today!

I Too Can Blog

In honor of finally getting internet, I've decided to join the blogging craze and start one of my own. Here are some pics from the last month.

CATERING
Brett (far left), my friend and boss, likes to take on catering gigs, so sometimes I help him out. Strangely enough, this lunch was at my old work for one of my former bosses (center).

We had a Mediterranean theme going. Here is some hummus glammed up with sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, toasted sesame seed and lemon!

84th Birthday Party!
My best friends (Katie and Erica) and I all have birthdays in February, so this year we had a collective 84th birthday party. The theme was 'Around the World'. Here I am with my cousin Rachel.

Here are some pics from a few hikes and random adventures I went on during the past few weeks. The first is a from a hike looking south from Mt. Tamalpais with San Francisco off in the distance. Next is sunset at the Sutro baths. Last is from a bike ride my dad and I did with river friends over in Tiburon.