Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Motherhood
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Burgers and Shakes
Stan and I went to Good Stuff Eatery today, the gourmet burger place owned by Spike Mendelsohn (from Top Chef). I had chatted with him briefly on the phone Sunday and he suggested the "5-Napkin" burger and the Toasted Marshmallow shake. We saw him at the restaurant and talked with him for a couple minutes, very nice guy. Anyway, the burgers were pretty tasty, and he's not kidding about needing 5 napkins, they were very juicy and have his own sauce on them which makes the brioche buns pretty wet. I totally loved the shakes, I haven't had a milkshake that good in years. I want to try the other burgers on the menu, they all look really good. The restaurant is on Capitol Hill along a nice walking street with a stretch of restaurants and bars. He's surrounded by competition but based on how busy they were i think he'll do all right.
I felt justified in having a burger and shake because I ran 13 miles this morning, at a 10 minute, 45 second pace. Considering that's half the length of the marathon (in just 5 weeks!) I think that's a good sign. I felt good when I was finished, not totally wasted like I was last weekend after only 7 miles, so I feel better about my fitness.
Getting home today I checked the mail and what do you know, I had a paper accepted for the Association for Asian Studies conference next spring in Chicago (yay, I get to go study Asians!!). The paper is the one I was working on this year, the one that took me to Thailand and Singapore and Malaysia and Hong Kong. I was writing it for the government but it's nice to know it'll get some academic exposure, too. The conference is in Chicago, just a couple weeks after I return from Singapore, and there's a chance the office won't pay to send me since I'll have just been gone for 4 months, but if that's the case i'll just pay for it myself.
Good day so far, and there's still tonight yet to come!!!
I felt justified in having a burger and shake because I ran 13 miles this morning, at a 10 minute, 45 second pace. Considering that's half the length of the marathon (in just 5 weeks!) I think that's a good sign. I felt good when I was finished, not totally wasted like I was last weekend after only 7 miles, so I feel better about my fitness.
Getting home today I checked the mail and what do you know, I had a paper accepted for the Association for Asian Studies conference next spring in Chicago (yay, I get to go study Asians!!). The paper is the one I was working on this year, the one that took me to Thailand and Singapore and Malaysia and Hong Kong. I was writing it for the government but it's nice to know it'll get some academic exposure, too. The conference is in Chicago, just a couple weeks after I return from Singapore, and there's a chance the office won't pay to send me since I'll have just been gone for 4 months, but if that's the case i'll just pay for it myself.
Good day so far, and there's still tonight yet to come!!!
Labels: Friends, Life, Running, Work
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
You Know...
...I just saw that the Bangkok Marathon is November 23rd...
Hahahahaha NO, don't worry, I'm not going to sign up for it (though I may be in BKK that weekend anyway). I discovered last Saturday that 6 days was not nearly enough time to recover from a 23-mile run and try to do a 15-miler. Lesson learned. No point in trying to do the BKK run only 4 weeks after the race here, especially since I'm signed up for the Singapore marathon 2 weeks later.
But there's always next year...
Also, I saw Get Smart last night with Stan and Adrian at a theater that is also a restaurant/bar (I like those). It was a little different this time, since the last time I saw it, it had Malay and Chinese subtitles.
Hahahahaha NO, don't worry, I'm not going to sign up for it (though I may be in BKK that weekend anyway). I discovered last Saturday that 6 days was not nearly enough time to recover from a 23-mile run and try to do a 15-miler. Lesson learned. No point in trying to do the BKK run only 4 weeks after the race here, especially since I'm signed up for the Singapore marathon 2 weeks later.
But there's always next year...
Also, I saw Get Smart last night with Stan and Adrian at a theater that is also a restaurant/bar (I like those). It was a little different this time, since the last time I saw it, it had Malay and Chinese subtitles.
Labels: Running
Thursday, September 11, 2008
A Bad Anniversary
Driving home from a photo shoot last night (Vu is doing another calendar this year, and this time I'm in it) I went past the Pentagon, where the new 9/11 memorial was all lit up as it was being made ready for the dedication ceremony today. It's going to be a huge event and many people who work near there, like me, will spend the day working at home instead.
I lived here in DC during the 9/11 attacks and that day totally sucked. The days immediately afterward weren't so great either. And many parts of the seven years since haven't been really good. Stupid terrorists. When the stuff was going down that day it didn't occur to me that a few years later I'd end up in Iraq, and a couple years after that I'd find myself in Afghanistan. Someone kills a bunch of people, and I get to see the world. Weird.
Rather than recount all the stuff from that day, I'll just point you toward my September 2001 archives.
I lived here in DC during the 9/11 attacks and that day totally sucked. The days immediately afterward weren't so great either. And many parts of the seven years since haven't been really good. Stupid terrorists. When the stuff was going down that day it didn't occur to me that a few years later I'd end up in Iraq, and a couple years after that I'd find myself in Afghanistan. Someone kills a bunch of people, and I get to see the world. Weird.
Rather than recount all the stuff from that day, I'll just point you toward my September 2001 archives.
Labels: Life
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Running Hard
Yesterday I ran 23 miles. That was kinda dumb. But necessary, if I'm going to run the Marine Corps Marathon in 7 weeks.
It occurred to me that, back in April, I had an injury toward the end of the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler that kept me from running for a few weeks. Then I went to Asia for 3 weeks, where road running wasn't much of an option. So I didn't really start running again until I got back in July.
Which means that, in the last 2 months, I've gone from running 3 miles, to running 23.
Not bad.
Later, Stan and I had Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner. I got Extra Crispy. Because I'd earned it.
It occurred to me that, back in April, I had an injury toward the end of the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler that kept me from running for a few weeks. Then I went to Asia for 3 weeks, where road running wasn't much of an option. So I didn't really start running again until I got back in July.
Which means that, in the last 2 months, I've gone from running 3 miles, to running 23.
Not bad.
Later, Stan and I had Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner. I got Extra Crispy. Because I'd earned it.
Labels: Running
Friday, September 05, 2008
Arigato, Stan
Thanks to Stan, I am now watching Ninja Warrior.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
What a Great Summer It Was
Hanging out with Stan Monday (we visited the Newseum) I realized just how much had happened over the summer. Sure, according to the calendar we still have some summertime left, but really, the 101 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day are what really count. Thinking back to where I was, where we were, back on Memorial Day, it's wild to think about how much has happened.
In terms of trips alone, it's been busy:
- two beach trips, one to start off the summer and one in July
- Gay Disney
- a New York City weekend with Stan
- and of course, the three weeks running around Asia back in June and July (when, I should add, I finally visited the fabled Babylon in Bangkok for the first time...but only to look around!).
So, overall, about a month was spent somewhere else. But still, some good stuff happened while I was home, like enjoying the Olympics. And I finally got to compete in the dragon boat race. Oh, and before Memorial Day the farthest I'd run was 10 miles, but even after dealing with an injury and not running seriously for about 6 weeks, I'm up to 21 miles as my farthest so far (and 23 miles are scheduled for this weekend, if the hurricane stays away!).
Some scary stuff happened too, like the three weeks of my cancer scare. But that turned out OK, and I've been medically cleared to head off to Singapore in November, so yay that. And I sold my Bug, which was not scary, but felt a little weird.
Obviously, the most important thing for me is time with friends. Some of my local friends were gone for the summer (but I managed to see Linh during my 2 days in Bangkok). But during my travels I got to see my KL friends, and my Singapore friends (and meet some new people, too!), and see Tony in Hong Kong and finally meet his wonderful boyfriend Max. I got to reconnect with Eddie, get to know David better, and meet up with some Fridae friends I hadn't met before. Here at home, of course, Stan and I have seen our friendship grow into something very cool (and it's only getting better!).
So it's been a good summer, and a full one. It still surprises me a bit when I think about all that's happened in only 3 months.
The scary thing is...the next 3 months seem even busier!!
In terms of trips alone, it's been busy:
- two beach trips, one to start off the summer and one in July
- Gay Disney
- a New York City weekend with Stan
- and of course, the three weeks running around Asia back in June and July (when, I should add, I finally visited the fabled Babylon in Bangkok for the first time...but only to look around!).
So, overall, about a month was spent somewhere else. But still, some good stuff happened while I was home, like enjoying the Olympics. And I finally got to compete in the dragon boat race. Oh, and before Memorial Day the farthest I'd run was 10 miles, but even after dealing with an injury and not running seriously for about 6 weeks, I'm up to 21 miles as my farthest so far (and 23 miles are scheduled for this weekend, if the hurricane stays away!).
Some scary stuff happened too, like the three weeks of my cancer scare. But that turned out OK, and I've been medically cleared to head off to Singapore in November, so yay that. And I sold my Bug, which was not scary, but felt a little weird.
Obviously, the most important thing for me is time with friends. Some of my local friends were gone for the summer (but I managed to see Linh during my 2 days in Bangkok). But during my travels I got to see my KL friends, and my Singapore friends (and meet some new people, too!), and see Tony in Hong Kong and finally meet his wonderful boyfriend Max. I got to reconnect with Eddie, get to know David better, and meet up with some Fridae friends I hadn't met before. Here at home, of course, Stan and I have seen our friendship grow into something very cool (and it's only getting better!).
So it's been a good summer, and a full one. It still surprises me a bit when I think about all that's happened in only 3 months.
The scary thing is...the next 3 months seem even busier!!
Labels: Friends, Health, Life, Olympics, Relationships, Running, Travel
