Last night I slept for 13 hours. I have been sleep deprived for two days.
So my friend A had a friend organize a mixed team to run the Ragnar Relay this weekend. Simply put, it's a race where teams for 12 (there were over 60 teams) in 2 vans run 189 continuous miles from Blaine (by the Canadian border) to Langley (on Whidbey Island)
It's hard to compress the last 40 hours in one entry, but suffice it to say that it was one of the coolest things I've ever done. Van 1 of our team (which started running at 8am) left Seattle on Thursday afternoon due north. We tried to sleep as much as we could on Thursday night at the luxurious Motel 8.
At 7:30 we checked in, and at 8, our first runner took off. Each of us was going to run 3 legs, and as runner #3, I was expected to run at 10am and 8pm on Friday and then again at 8am on Saturday.
By 11, our van was done, and van 2 took over. We got some lunch and relaxed for a couple of hours before we had to head out again to start our next legs. We were ahead of schedule and finished a bit before midnight. The next van got the short end of the stick, as all of their runners had to run in the middle of the night, many times on big country roads where cars and trucks go fast and the shoulder is only wide enough for one runner. It was them and their headlamps, running in the dark, while we in van 1 tried to get a few hours of sleep in one of the local high schools. We later heard that one of the runners on another team got hit by a car at 2am that night. I'm not sure how he was doing, but I hope he is ok.
We were not expected to start our runs until around 5am, so needless to say we were surprised to get a call from van 2 at 2:40 in the morning, informing us that their last runner had already started and we should start heading over to the next exchange point. We had only slept about 3 hours. At around 4, Adrienne, our first runner began her third and final leg. She and KT had to run with headlamps on, and I took over at around 6ish. Fortunately for me, it was bright out and I only had an easy 2.5 miler.
Our team finished 3rd to last in our division, which is, well, better than last. It was tons of fun though following our runners and others; cheering for them and spending for some 36+ hours stuck together, mostly in a stinky van. It was definitely a great experience, and I'd do it all over again.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Erasure Forever
Erasure was in town!
For those who don't know them, Erasure is like one of the best bands of the 80's, and they were on tour and playing at the Moore on Tuesday.
Ben, Lauren and I got tickets to see them. Andy Bell was fab and sounded great, very entertaining indeed. Even the bad ballerina moves he busted out were quite funny. The great thing about going to one of their concerts is that, because their fan base consists of a large contingency of gay men, the show is always a big, unrestrained party. There was a lot of dancing and singing along.
I hadn't really heard their new album, and along with our their classics like "Blue Savannah," "Little Respect," "Stop," etc, they had material from ther new album, which sounded great as well. Definitely a show that is worth paying more to get one of the floor seats.
For those who don't know them, Erasure is like one of the best bands of the 80's, and they were on tour and playing at the Moore on Tuesday.
Ben, Lauren and I got tickets to see them. Andy Bell was fab and sounded great, very entertaining indeed. Even the bad ballerina moves he busted out were quite funny. The great thing about going to one of their concerts is that, because their fan base consists of a large contingency of gay men, the show is always a big, unrestrained party. There was a lot of dancing and singing along.
I hadn't really heard their new album, and along with our their classics like "Blue Savannah," "Little Respect," "Stop," etc, they had material from ther new album, which sounded great as well. Definitely a show that is worth paying more to get one of the floor seats.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Je Suck Beaucoup
Back in April, I decided that I was going to take French classes. I've always loved the language, and some of the best friends I've made while living in Germany were French, so deep inside I've always had this itch to learn the language. So when Diesel got us tix to go to Paris, I felt it was the right time to sign up for a French course.
I even got work to pay for it, since we have a French site, and I claimed I would be able to cover for the French producer should he ever go on vacation.
Anyhow, I decided to go with Seattle Languages International. I had taken a 3-month intensive course some six years ago, but I was surprised at how much I didn't remember. However, my newfound motivation to learn French made the first two months very enjoyable. I felt like I was learning a lot, and I felt confident that if anything, I had acquired the survival skills necessary to order food, ask for directions, and understand some stuff by the time our trip came around.
But somewhere along the way, I kinda lost my motivation. I felt a bit burnt out with two classes a week, right in the middle of summer plus a few hours more doing homework throughout the week.
I got so lazy that I started making up words to expedite homework completion. No dictionary needed. I would just take a word in English, add a French-sounding ending and precede it with a "le, la or les" depending on the gender and number of the said newly-created word. The problem with making up words is that it only works about 50% of the time, if not less. It can work for "Je faire DU CAMPING" (I go camping), but it does not work for "J'ai PLANEJE un voyage" (I planned a trip). And this practice's less than favorable odds amount to a lot of embarrassment when you're in a class of three students and get called on all the time. Embarrassment that was, nevertheless, eased by the fact that the other two girls started taking the same tragic learning path that I was taking.
I should have known better. Made up languages do not survive. Take Esperanto, for example, an artificially-created language with no social history that died in the academia circle before it even made it out. Wikipedia will rebuff my previous statement--it says there are up to 2 million Esperanto speakers in the world, but seriously, have you EVER met anybody that speaks it???
But I digress...anyhow, the point is, I need a break. My class ends next Monday, so I'll take a break, review what I've learned so far and go full-on again next fall.
I even got work to pay for it, since we have a French site, and I claimed I would be able to cover for the French producer should he ever go on vacation.
Anyhow, I decided to go with Seattle Languages International. I had taken a 3-month intensive course some six years ago, but I was surprised at how much I didn't remember. However, my newfound motivation to learn French made the first two months very enjoyable. I felt like I was learning a lot, and I felt confident that if anything, I had acquired the survival skills necessary to order food, ask for directions, and understand some stuff by the time our trip came around.
But somewhere along the way, I kinda lost my motivation. I felt a bit burnt out with two classes a week, right in the middle of summer plus a few hours more doing homework throughout the week.
I got so lazy that I started making up words to expedite homework completion. No dictionary needed. I would just take a word in English, add a French-sounding ending and precede it with a "le, la or les" depending on the gender and number of the said newly-created word. The problem with making up words is that it only works about 50% of the time, if not less. It can work for "Je faire DU CAMPING" (I go camping), but it does not work for "J'ai PLANEJE un voyage" (I planned a trip). And this practice's less than favorable odds amount to a lot of embarrassment when you're in a class of three students and get called on all the time. Embarrassment that was, nevertheless, eased by the fact that the other two girls started taking the same tragic learning path that I was taking.
I should have known better. Made up languages do not survive. Take Esperanto, for example, an artificially-created language with no social history that died in the academia circle before it even made it out. Wikipedia will rebuff my previous statement--it says there are up to 2 million Esperanto speakers in the world, but seriously, have you EVER met anybody that speaks it???
But I digress...anyhow, the point is, I need a break. My class ends next Monday, so I'll take a break, review what I've learned so far and go full-on again next fall.
SUMMERy
I haven't had time to blog much the last couple of months. The excuses vary, so I will try to redeem myself by giving you a SUMMERy of this summer's events.
June: Yurt Trip - Emy, Charlie, Tim and I did a family trip. We drove down to Deception Pass, where we had rented a yurt. Now, I was thinking that this would be a flimsy structure with no luxuries, but the yurt had a bunk bed, a futon, electricity AND a heater! And to make our "camping" experience even more luxurious, the bathrooms were cleaned every day! This was a relaxing weekend with walks on the beach and lots of fun!
6/22 - 6/24: Emy's Camping/Rafting Bday Weekend - My sister, Charlie, his sister and a couple of other friends met up in Oregon for a weekend of camping. The site was gorgeous, and the weather was very very cold. On Saturday we rafted down the White Salmon, one of the only rivers in Oregon that has a class 5 rapid!
6/29 - 7/1: Zillah Bike/Wine Trip - We started doing this trip three years ago, and it's my absolute favorite trip of the summer. We drive down to the Yakima wine country region and ride our bikes from winery to winery. We had 15 people come this year and finished up the weekend by going on a floating/drinking trip down the Yakima river.
7/3: Diesel's 30th Bday - It was as semi-surprise party ("semi" because my NOSY husband came across an email on my computer titled "Diesel's 30th bday"). The big occasion deserved good food (skirt steak with chimichurri sauce, fried polenta, summer tomato/corn salad and carrot cake), and was celebrated in the great Asian tradition of karaoke, provided by Seattle's Best Karaoke. I rented a karaoke machine and it was well worth it!
7/8: Seafair Half-Marathon - Sad. Once again I failed to meet my sub 2:00 goal! After doing it in 2:00:10 in Vancouver, my time at this event was actually one second slower :( Next time.
It seems like Diesel and I haven't really spent any weekends at home, so I'm looking forward to doing some of that before the sun disappears again. Hope you're all having a great summer!
June: Yurt Trip - Emy, Charlie, Tim and I did a family trip. We drove down to Deception Pass, where we had rented a yurt. Now, I was thinking that this would be a flimsy structure with no luxuries, but the yurt had a bunk bed, a futon, electricity AND a heater! And to make our "camping" experience even more luxurious, the bathrooms were cleaned every day! This was a relaxing weekend with walks on the beach and lots of fun!
6/22 - 6/24: Emy's Camping/Rafting Bday Weekend - My sister, Charlie, his sister and a couple of other friends met up in Oregon for a weekend of camping. The site was gorgeous, and the weather was very very cold. On Saturday we rafted down the White Salmon, one of the only rivers in Oregon that has a class 5 rapid!
6/29 - 7/1: Zillah Bike/Wine Trip - We started doing this trip three years ago, and it's my absolute favorite trip of the summer. We drive down to the Yakima wine country region and ride our bikes from winery to winery. We had 15 people come this year and finished up the weekend by going on a floating/drinking trip down the Yakima river.
7/3: Diesel's 30th Bday - It was as semi-surprise party ("semi" because my NOSY husband came across an email on my computer titled "Diesel's 30th bday"). The big occasion deserved good food (skirt steak with chimichurri sauce, fried polenta, summer tomato/corn salad and carrot cake), and was celebrated in the great Asian tradition of karaoke, provided by Seattle's Best Karaoke. I rented a karaoke machine and it was well worth it!
7/8: Seafair Half-Marathon - Sad. Once again I failed to meet my sub 2:00 goal! After doing it in 2:00:10 in Vancouver, my time at this event was actually one second slower :( Next time.
It seems like Diesel and I haven't really spent any weekends at home, so I'm looking forward to doing some of that before the sun disappears again. Hope you're all having a great summer!
Vive la France!
To celebrate Bastille Day, my good friend Ben and I decided to celebrate all things French on Saturday.Ben is a self-proclaimed francophile. And if you count watching "Nouvelle Star" (the French version of "American Idol") on YouTube and having completed three months of French class (as of today), I guess you can count me in as one of those people as well.
Anyhow, our soirée started with dinner at Maximilien, which is coincidentally the French restaurant where Tim proposed after a private cooking class with Chef Willy. Chef Willy, now the manager, is also a friend of Ben's, a noteworthy fact, since it got us one of the best tables on the deck as well as complimentary champagne!
We ordered from the Bastille Day menu special. I had the endive/frisee salad, but Ben preferred to order the gaspacho (not very French, I know). The endives in my salad could have been a bit crispier, but overall I enjoyed the light dish, which went well with the warm summer evening. For our plat principal we both had the lamb with roasted veggies. Not exactly sure what part of the lamb it was, but it was a bit overdone. The rich sauce and the veggies were very good though. And to wrap it up, we both had the tarte aux pommes, which was delicious. I ate mine and half of Ben's. We also got the wine course, which consisted of a wine pairing with each of the courses. For somebody who can't even finish a glass, the 3 glasses + champagne were a bit much, and I was a bit drunk by the time dessert was served. Oh well, vive la France!
All of the diners were serenaded by a quartet playing nice old-school French music.
We talked to the chef/manager some more and then I met Axel, the restaurant owner. It was a very exciting moment indeed. It's too bad Diesel couldn't come (he's been is Australia since last Monday). He would have loved it.
After dessert we had to rush to the movie theater to watch Paris, Je T'Aime, a collection of vignettes about love and life in the City of Lights. Each segment was directed by a different director. Some bigshots such as the Coen Brothers and other high-profile international directors such as Walter Salles leave their mark. I highly recommend this charming movie, even if you're not a francophile. That was the perfect end to the perfect evening. Next year there'll be even more wine and more fun in celebration of Bastille Day! This all made me even more excited about our trip to Paris at the end of August.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Favorite Flowers Ever!
...peonies.
Diesel planted some for me last month in his pea patch, but so far, NOTHING. : (
I guess I'll just get some at the Pike Place Market.
Also, I stole this beautiful pic from this blog, from a mom/crafter. She's AMAZING, and I've been obsessed with her blog. She's like the Asian Martha Steward, sans the bitchiness.
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