Studly Day

Today, I did the following:

Had two root canals in the morning with three shots of anesthesia.

Went to school for 5 hours.

Then went rock-climbing in the evening. For the first time.

My arms felt numb where they do not feel like jelly.

Still, I feel like such a stud.









Above is the wall that I tried to do on all fours - vertically!

BBQ skewers Winter

It was cold outside, but we thought we need to kick the wintry blahs with some major grilled cow, and..

and piles of sushi (again!).

yummy bbq cow!

One of the twins - Ayen - showing us some card tricks.The other twin - Ara - showing off that she can win over any spaghetti anytime!

And for the night's entertainment? Dance, Dance Revolution! Not for me though - I get stressed out watching those arrows go up the screen - reminds me of Tetris except it requires that you use both feet.

Anything but Run

God knows, I am trying. I have been hitting the pavement lately - literally - to get act my running act together before the race in two weeks. I have not been good at all. I am yet to run 3 miles straight. I get so winded. I don't know how it is going to be like on race day, because I know I will not be outran by any old, pear-shaped, panting runner!

I am doing a lot of Pilates though. I really love my 10-minutes Pilates solution. It breaks the exercises down into 10 min sessions of abs, arms, legs, buns, flexibility and over-all burn. You don't have to do all the exercises - you can just do one 10-minuter and still feel like you have done something! And I like the girl in it - she is not steroidal. Anyway, I felt like I had to squeeze in a session of pilates even late this night especially after sitting on my butt all day at school today and then wolfing down plateful of salmon sushi. Yum.

A Must-Go to Girlfriend Day

Forget about homework, taxes, laundry, running, everything. I had to pay my friend Ann some much-overdue visit. The woman got married, bought a new, house, got pregnant, had a baby - all in a year's time. With our history together? Going to the wedding was simply not enough - did I mention she also just had her birthday? ARggghh - I owe her some major social call. So off I went to the bay - two hours drive, smoggy, gloomy weather, cold and dreary. But seeing her with the new baby was such a treat. The baby is so cute and cheeky - see picture--

ohhhh, don't they look lovely? I love brand-new families! Anyway, the photo was taken at glam Chinese eatery on the very upscalish Santana Row in Santa Clara. Check this: we saw a gleaming Bentley park along the Border's Book Store and an Asian couple went in it. But Vince (that's Ann's hubby) pointed out: if you have a Bentley, you should have a driver! Right, no?

Well, anyway, here is one of those trendy Sinoese dim sum item - spring roll (lumpia) with shrimp, mango and a mayo dip - avant garde and yummy.

Afterwards, we sent Vince home to tend to Emma (the baby), while Ann and I did a walk-about the Row. And as it usually happens with us, we found the best deals ever to commemorate our shopping day forever. I found a heavily discounted dress (although tad too big, but who cares? It was down to $20 from $189!!!!) at my fave store - Antropologie! I love this store!

Afterwards, we ended the day with shots of caffeine and gratuitous plate of four layer-chocolate mousse that I swear tasted like ice cream.
It was a good day.

random likes and dislikes

The book I am supposed to be reading. God knows, I have been trying to keep my eyes open for at least two sentences, but it knocks me out like nothing else. Maybe, I'll make it when Sunday night comes around and then it will be only hours away before I turn in the homework based on chapters from the book. Sigh! Woe to the procastinator!

This other kind of literature - on the other hand - move me all the time. I wonder if the people in these mags are for real though. $500 shoes? $100 face creams? Seriously! I am so appalled. (Yeah, jealous too - darn these lucky people!)

Well, anyway,here is my new love. We redid our living room floor. Got rid of the ever pretentious, never "us", never comfortably used, scary formal dining area and turned it into a mini Cost Plus oasis. Love it!

too sleepy

It is almost 11pm and I am soooo sleepy. I swore to read at least a chapter of my epi book but I just can't do it - the book is tedious! I am going to bed to read Lucky Magazine instead.

run, wimp, run.

I suck at all forms of competetive sports. I can critique-watch with the best of them though - even golf -yeah! Thing I can do is run. I am not a racer or sprinter or anything intense like that - but I did run a half-marathon once and did not pass out at the end - so.... Anyway, I decided that I will run a race a month this year. Will coerce me into some aerobic activity and I kind of like those marathon shirts. I will be doing this run next month : 4 miles - peanuts really, but - BUT, I have not ran two steps in months!I am so out of shape. I have been attempting to run on threadmill and outside (even though I am constantly stressing over stray dogs attacking me at the park!) and it is so hellaciously hard. This morning, it felt like I was running with a mountain on my back - I was panting after 3 laps! I blame the gym below - I could not run there for weeks. There were lines for everything at that place - it is packed everyday, everytime, 24 hours a day! They take everyone's money. I told them so at the desk.

They told me I should work out at midnight when it is slowwwww - ah, yeah! I just stopped my membership there - they can keep their tightly-packed, smelly gym. I am running outside with dogs on the loose and crazed skunks or any other rabid critters in the park where it is free!

Arctic Want

I covet this North Face jacket/coat right now. Weather here in Sacramento reminds everyone of Tahoe for weeks now. So of course, winter wimps that we all are, everyone's looking like New York commuter in the dead of the winter. It is really mostly in the 40's . But being used to 60's in January - our butts freezing!

Thoughts on The Thinker

This is for my friend Dianna who knows too well the constant "katrina" that goes on in this crazy mind of mine. It was hard to think about a name for this blog. I almost called it with something ..And the City at the end, but I think that we are so post Sex and the City already -- too used. Anyway, I have this book called "Words I Wish I Wrote" and one of the entries in it is entitled "Praxis" which means activity rather than theory, which I almost used, but it is too so trying to be cerebral so I dumped it. Then another phrase, Report to Greco, caught my eye, but I don't have the nerve to plagiarize it. For a moment, I was going to change it into to Report to Rodin - but I thought just in time, why? This last thought led me to, of course, Rodin's Thinker. I got a book on Rodin from his very museum in Paris and a caption written for Thinker goes:

"He sits, silently lost in contemplation,

heavy with thoughts and images;

he thinks with all his strength -

with the strength of a man who acts.

His whole body has become head and

the very blood of his veins has become brain."

Well, my brain was almost on the verge of exploding just thinking like that which convinced me that Thinker is really a woman to think so hard as he did - otherwise, he'd be asleep were he really was a man. Anway, I thought I would re-think the Thinker, hence the rethinkings as the name of this blog. And be warned, I will be doing a lot of that - rethinking. I think.