Moving Again

The thing about our marriage is that there's equal giving and taking.  J does all the cooking and I do all the packing.  J decided that a 90-minute commute (one way) is insane, which I wholeheartedly agree, but Californians don't seem to mind.  So he's found a one bedroom rental in a gated community of multi-million dollar homes in Laguna Beach.  Moving there brings his commute time down to 10 minutes.  I have since packed up all his belongings for the third time in 2 weeks, and would love nothing more than to never have to see another cardboard box or a roll of packing tape...

Thanksgiving In LA

J and I have not spent Thanksgiving at home since 2006, so our last turkey meal was probably around then.  We generally like to take our overseas trip around this time of year because you have less of the American crowd, and you don't get the outrageous prices or site closures around Christmas time.  We spent Thanksgiving in Moorea in '07, Singapore in '08, and Cafayate in '09.  This year, however, we decided to postpone our trip 'til the end of the year because I didn't want anything to get in the way of my marathon training.  Yes, THE marathon that I ended up having to sit out thanks to my injured aging body.  So we were going to spend Thanksgiving at home this year, but then J got this position in CA, and here we are again, a turkey-less Thanksgiving (not that anyone's complaining as J doesn't like turkey, and I end up eating turkey leftovers for 2 weeks).
While T was toiling away in her kitchen helping her Italian friend prepare an American Thanksgiving meal, we spent Thanksgiving like 'Jews spend Christmas', as she put it, Chinese food and a movie.

A Taiwanese breakfast at Huge Tree Pastry located in Monterey Park.

Salty soy bean milk, a little bland.  J did not like it at all.

Gua Bao 掛包, which I've never heard of before but is actually quite tasty with fatty pork, cilantro, and preserved sour cabbage in between fluffy white 包子.

A peek inside...

Beef with preserved sour cabbage in 燒餅

燒餅油條.  The best 油條 I've had outside Taiwan.  J's verdict on Taiwanese breakfast: Nothing exciting.  I, unfortunately, have to agree that Cantonese breakfast is indeed tastier (this is what happens after 9 years of 'brainwashing').

After walking around in the neighborhood, we headed to Montebello to watch Megamind.  We both thought it was OK.  Nothing spectacular like The Incredibles.

Late lunch was at Sin Bala in Arcadia.  You know the place is good when there's constant flow of customers throughout the afternoon.

麻辣牛肉麵.  The BEST ever!

Their sausage with basil.  Finally something managed to impress J.

J's pork chop noodles.  One would think the pork chop would be in the noodles.  Puzzling...

Of course a Taiwanese meal would not be complete without 鹽疎雞.  These were better than the ones I had at 快可立 in northern CA.

As we were walking around the neighboring plaza we came across JJ Bakery.  There was a long line in the store, so we assumed it had to be good.  So far I haven't been impressed.

Watermelon rolls...cute.

While in the store I overheard a conversation.  A guy wanted 'Happy Thanksgiving' written on the cake he had ordered, but the staff quickly countered, "How about 'Happy Holidays'?" and the man obliged.  I'm thinking to myself, "Why?  Do you not know how to spell 'Thanksgiving'?"  I would have insisted that she write 'Happy Thanksgiving' and personally double check the spelling, just because...

The day was wrapped up with shaved ice at Class 302 in Rowland.

The decor inside was like a typical Taiwanese classroom with the wooden desks, chairs, and blackboard.  Brought back memories...

J and I shared a huge serving of shaved ice topped with strawberries and mango.  He saw something else he wanted to try (J has a bad habit of eating his food but checking out what everyone else is eating), so we're going back again tonight.  

Newport Beach

Here are some pictures J took of Newport Beach.  Looks better than NYC beaches, but far from the white sands in the Caribbean or Asia Pacific.  Hey, sure beats no beach here in AZ.  However, the sad part is whether we live close to the beach or not, I probably won't be dipping my toes in for fear of infectious microorganisms such as E. coli and V. vulnificus (oh and don't forget trichloroethylene).  This is the curse of knowing too much.  Sometimes ignorance is truly bliss. Which is better, to be knowledgeable but fearful or oblivious but happy?

Photo sent via J's phone.  Don't you just love technology?  In my opinion, I think technology is dumbing us down, but that's really neither here nor there.

Surprisingly enough J actually took a decent picture.  Must be the phone...

Hyatt Regency SFO

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Traffic Mess

I would have never thought I'd say this, but 'It's nice to be back in AZ'.  After having driven in CA for the last few days, I've declared coastal CA to be a giant traffic jam.  From San Francisco all the way down to San Diego.  LA's the worst!  I can't understand why people are willing to spend their precious time sitting in traffic, twice a day no less.  I'm getting a headache just thinking that I'll have to do the same when I move.  J's already looking to move across the street from the office because he can't take the 1+ hour commute anymore.  No wonder CA claims the top spots for the dirtiest cities in the US.  Just look at all the cars and smog.  With the toxic plume and the traffic jams we're at a loss as to where we can live in CA.  Maybe it really isn't too late to tell J to turn around and come back to AZ.

I'm Growing A Third Head As I'm Typing This...

J & I were excited to have the opportunity to move to CA.  Before accepting the job, he had read something about Irvine sitting atop a plume of toxic chemicals, but we didn't think too much about it until we saw signs at our extended stay hotel warning that the facility contains chemicals known in CA to cause birth defects.  WHAT!?!  

I really started to get concerned as I was having stomach problems for 2 days in a row.  If you know me, you know I have a stomach made out of steel.  I can eat anything under the sun and not get sick (aside from contaminated oysters in Mexico).  So I started researching on TCE and found that it can cause gastrointestinal problems.  As I'm reading further, I'm getting more paranoid.  Apparently the now defunct El Toro marine base in Irvine had buried tons of highly toxic trichloroethelyne (TCE), a chlorine-based degreaser, underneath the base.  Now that chemical has seeped into the water table beneath all of Irvine, and some suggest that a huge swath of OC could be contaminated once the TCE reaches the San Diego Creek.  If you know anything about OC, you'll know that this area contains the highest concentration of million-dollar homes in the US.  Now, these will soon be toxic million-dollar homes.  

So I am packing things up today for J so that we can move to a different facility in Yorba Linda which is NE of Irvine.  We have now completely ruled out living in all of OC, and are considering only Huntington Beach at this point.  And as awesome as the asian food is here, J & I will not be eating in Irvine at all.  We'd rather drive further away up north to LA for food.  

How millions of people in OC don't seem to be bothered by this problem is beyond me, and Oro Valley is really starting to look like a bed of roses in comparison.

The Island Hotel Newport Beach

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San Francisco Day 2.5

OK, this was a short trip as we didn't even get to spend 3 whole days in SF.  We took the 8 AM ferry from Sausalito to catch our 1PM flight back to Tucson.  Since we had 2 hours to kill in SF we made a bee-line to Chinatown again, as Boccalone wasn't open that time of day.  J was looking for some Vietnamese beef stew (yes, for breakfast), but none were open until 10AM.  So we settled for the first decent place we came across, which we found out later was a huge mistake.

Washington Bakery & Restaurant - a bakery in the front and a restaurant in the back.

J had the 皮蛋瘦肉粥 with 油條

and some tasty 牛暔車仔麵 for me.  

Since I didn't know what kind of noodles 車仔麵 were, I asked the lady:

Me: What kind of noodles are these?

Lady {looking at me indignantly}: They're noodles.

Me: But what kind?

Lady {with a deadpan look}: Noodles.

Me: {OK, you win}

-------------------

After breakfast, J wanted to sit around because he was carrying the pack, but I wanted to check out the city.

J: You want to sit in the park?

Me: Why?

J: There are Chinese people in the park?

Me: What's the big deal about Chinese people?  I see your Chinese face everyday.  I want Chinese food.

As we walked on, we started to realize our mistake for settling for the first restaurant we stumbled upon.  Should have had this...

And this...

The place was crowded and got us wondering why.  We had actually walked on after debating whether to bring some back with us to Tucson.  After crossing the street, I had this nagging feeling that we were missing something good, so we doubled back, and were we glad we did.  

By the time J got the goods, the line was out the door...

(can you find Waldo?)

We somehow missed this little 'accolade' during our first pass.

We didn't actually get to taste anything until we landed in Phoenix.  The 鹹水角(2), 叉燒飽(2), and 糯米雞(1) were ginormous and absolutely delicious, and only costed $4.20 for all five.  This place is even better than Hop Sing in NYC Chinatown which has since closed, thanks to greedy landlords.  Wish we had gotten more, and we'll definitely hit the place again if we're ever back visiting SF or have some time in between flight transfers in SF.

View towards the water from Nob Hill

Casa Madrona

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San Francisco Day 2

Woke up Sunday morning for my progression run.  Since I knew heading south from the hotel would bring me up against some steep hills, we headed north not knowing what to expect, but hoped for the best.  Luckily, the course wasn't as punishing, and I was pleasantly surprised by the Bay Trail dedicated to runners and cyclists.  

One interesting thing I noticed about the runners in Sausalito is that they don't make eye contact with you, much less say 'Good morning'.  Here in Oro Valley, we acknowledge one another and offer a 'good morning' or 'have a nice day' no matter how out of breath one is.  Another sign I've been in Tucson for too long - I've actually become accustomed to courteousness, and find big city folks awkwardly self-absorbed like how I used to be back in NYC.


Later we all headed out to brunch with the wedding party.  Unfortunately, M&D had already left earlier that morning due to some 'interesting planning' (long story).  Afterwards, we dropped F off in the city, then J and I headed out to San Ramon to see aunt Lily, who was in surprisingly good spirits considering the circumstances.  It was something she said during the visit that made J and me realize we needed to change our diet, eat less meat and more fresh foods.  That said, we had hotpot with P&D in San Mateo for dinner for the last harrah.

小肥羊, 'The Little Fat Sheep'.  J thought it was 小飛羊, 'The Little Flying Sheep' thanks to his unparalleled Mandarin.  We had this once in Hong Kong a few years ago, and thanks to a cold, everything tasted bland to me at the time.

The soup base with the non spicy and spicy halves.  Yummy!

The goodies.  We later decided that we had ordered too much, and I had had too much meat.  No worries, my new diet starts after the trip.

San Francisco Day 1

Just got back from SF yesterday evening, hence the gap between posts.  We got in to SF Saturday morning, and the first thing that hit me was "Where are all the white people?"  The whole airport was teeming with asians.  That's when I knew I've been in Tucson for too long, when I'm no longer used to seeing a 'sea of yellow'.  However, I quickly got over the initial shock and was determined to get some breakfast.  

You know the subway system is outdated when you can't punch in the exact amount you want charged to your card.  Instead you have to manually 'add/subtract' from a preset amount.  One would think with all the engineers in Silicon Valley, someone would come up with a more sophisticated system.  Go figure...

While waiting for the first ferry out to Sausalito, we decided to search for some eats in Chinatown.

First bakery shop didn't look promising.  I couldn't imagine what "yellow bean sweet paste preserved egg and ginger" must taste like and didn't dare to try.

In time for Autumn Moon Festival.

Found some moon cakes at the second bakery, but we opted not to get any since neither one of us likes moon cakes.  They're just nice to look at.  We ended up settling for some mediocre buns, which were still 10 times better than what we can get in Tucson.

After some futile search for good food, we arrived at the the ferry terminal.

The 10:40 am ferry got us to Sausalito just in time for a short run along the bay before the wedding ceremony at 2PM.

Unfortunately, no one warned us about the steep hills we were going to run up.  However, the view of the bay and the Golden Gate bridge more than made up for that minor problem.

Our very first Catholic wedding ceremony.  A lot of rising, sitting, and some kneeling during the 45-minute ceremony.

After the ceremony, the reception was at Spinnaker on the bay.  Here's the view from the reception area.

Looking across the water.

The best part of the day was getting the chance to spend time with old friends, and having a crazy night.  J got a little carried away with the dancing, with the bride might I add, whom he'd met for the first time.  As soon as I get the video footage from F, I'll be sure to send it out (while you're watching it, keep in mind 'Mr. Bruce Lee-Travolta' was as sober as he was while in church).

Se San Diego

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San Diego Marathon Race Report

First things first.  I failed to qualify for Boston again, but this time I was off by 6 minutes, not 6 seconds like last time.  For some strange reason I'm not totally beaten up by fail #2.  Maybe because I've reset my goals so many times during the run that I've managed to do much better than what I had finally decided was my goal.  Along the run, my goal went from BQ to 'just finish' to 'must beat NYC times' to 'under 4 hours'.  I finally came in at 3:52:22 (much better than under 4), so I'm pretty satisfied.  So what happened?  We'll get to that, but let's rewind to the day before.

J and I got to San Diego at around noon Saturday, and headed straight for the expo before grabbing lunch.  The Rock n' Roll marathon is an entire league of its own.  Compared to the miniscule Tucson marathon, this one is huge.  If you include both the marathon and 1/2 marathon runners at SD (there were more 1/2 marathon runners), the field is about the size of the NYC marathon.  

Packet pick-up.  They required a photo ID and a printed signed confirmation sheet.  No other races in the past required a photo ID.  I guess they're trying to prevent people from selling their bibs, or having other people run for you.

Scenes at the expo

Way too commercialized...

Porta potty fitting rooms...

I had wanted to sign up with the 3:45 pace group, but they ended up not having one.  They had a pace team for 3:40 and 4:00 and nothing in between.  That was a sign.  Next to their table, I saw that they had pace bands for each race time, so I figured I'd use that instead.  I was under the impression that they were giving it away for free so I asked for the 3:45 pace band, then they asked me for $2.  What was I going to do?  Fling the band back at them?

I ended up coughing up $2 for a band that I used wisely up until mile 19, at which point I gave up tracking my time since I was starting to lag.

Everything about this marathon is better than Tucson: the expo, organization, volunteers, water & gel stations, and medical aid stations.  With that said, I would not run it again because of its size.

The morning of the race (nice and overcast, but HUMID): on the way to the starting line.  It was a mile and half from our hotel.

I'm the 'short little thing' in the white cap futzing around with my garmin, and finally concluding that my garmin refused to be 'customized', so I turned the 'pace alert' to OFF.

Scene at the start line, with marathoners (blue bibs), 1/2 marathoners (yellow bibs), and relay runners (black bib) all grouped together.

And off we go...

I was running a bit under pace, but made sure I slowed down when I was going too fast.  Things were going great even up that hill between miles 7 and 10.5 that I was fretting about pre-race.  I thought to myself, "This is it?"  Apparently, my hill training had paid off.  However, things started to turn for the worse at mile 13 when I felt the first twinge of a calf cramp.  Alarms were going off in my head, "What's going on?  It's starting too soon.  I didn't get my first calf cramp until mile 19 during the Tucson race."  So I slowed down a bit more to work out the cramps, and it did release a bit from time to time but stuck around till the very end of the race.  This was about the same time the sun came out, and was in full force at mile 16 as I was about to scale a 'mountain'.  

I saw this little blip (between 16 and 16.5) on the chart, but it never concerned me as much as the earlier hill.  Oh, was I wrong...

Finally, at mile 19 I started to fall behind, and that's when I started resetting my goal.  I had felt terrible and entertained the thought of dropping out of the race.  As I approached the water stations I decided to do my walk breaks through the stations and then run on.  So it was: run a mile, walk 50 feet for the rest of the race with intermittent stops to stretch out the calves and quads.  The best thing I got from the medical station was a bag of ice, which I ran with for a mile using it to cool me down (putting it on my head, face, chest, and arms).  It was HOT!  From mile 18 on, it was 2 cups of Cytomax, one cup of water, and one cup of water used to pour over my head.  I was soaked from head to toe.  It looked as if I had peed all over myself, but the strategy helped ease the discomfort, and I began to reset my goals 'up'.  Between miles 21 and 22, I saw an ambulance with a guy in the back and another one being tended to by the paramedics, and I was so tempted to join them and ride the ambulance back, but then I remembered J was waiting for me at the finish.  For the last 1/2 mile, I started to work up to a sprint and actually felt OK sprinting, and questioned myself whether I should have started sprinting earlier.

Finish line

So what did I learn from this experience?
1) Running marathons is akin to going through labor pains.  You're hating it at the time and swearing that it'll be the last, but as soon as the race is over, you're reminiscing and planning your next race.
2) Never run summer races.  Stick to fall and winter races.
3) Run smaller races.  Large crowds mean energy wasted on running around people.
4) Never wear new running shoes for the race, because it gets really dirty with all the water poured down on it.  Luckily, I wore the ones that are about to be 'retired'.
5) If I want to qualify for boston, I should start running flat courses.
6) I need to change my training plan to include long runs that are longer than 18 miles.
7) I need to figure out what's causing these cursed leg cramps.
8) And last, but not least, I have the most wonderful and supportive husband in the world.  He followed me along the course, and was exposed to the 'element' (we all know how much he hates the sun) for 4 hours to cheer me on.  Later I apologized that he didn't get to do anything for himself on this trip and you know what he said? "I got to spend time with you."  What more can a girl ask for...