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November 30, 2007
A whole lotta photos of Spain
Just remember that this is less than 8% of the photos I took. Enjoy!
November 29, 2007
29 lessons, almost
I was hoping to get all my photos from Spain sorted and edited by today. But instead I spent the entire day dealing with a networking issue with the new computer -- not a problem, mind you, nothing that is technically wrong, but just me trying to do things the hard way as usual. Grumble. I didn't get out of the house for my run (which should have been preceded by a bike ride, but wasn't) until 4:15pm.
When I did finally put on my shoes and hit the road, I remembered why running is so important to me. Going for a run almost always makes a day better, even if that day was pretty great to begin with. If I go for a run after a few hours of trying to solve a problem, getting some distance from it gives me fresh perspective. If I run first thing in the morning, I start the day with a much brighter outlook. So why is it still such a challenge to get out the door? Because running is still hard, I suppose, no matter how much I enjoy it. I have to admit that the best part of a run is the final stretch, knowing that I'm almost home.
November 28, 2007
How about some giant squash?
Speaking of food, we are having some folks over for dinner later this week and I need ideas for what to cook. The lazy part of me is thinking of making paella, which would be good, but... lazy. Suggestions, please. It doesn't have to be Spanish.
Dave, by the way, was disappointed that I went with Ferdinand instead of Oscar, as Oscar Freire is among his favorite cyclists. I guess I'll let him name our next kid computer. He did name the last one. It's called Reina Beatrix, after the Dutch monarch whose name adorns the Aruba airport. In Aruba, all roads lead to Reina Beatrix, and we saw that name several times a day as we explored every wind-blown nook and cranny of the island.
November 27, 2007
I caved
Several names I considered for our new computer, which arrived today:
Boabdil. Sevilla. Juan Carlos. Oscar (Pereiro) or Miguel (Indurain). Santiago (Calatrava). Generalife. Waltheof. Washington Irving.
The name I decided to go with:
Ferdinand.
No, not that Ferdinand. This one.
I haven't told Dave yet. I hope he likes it.
November 26, 2007
Pining
We were told we wouldn't get many vegetables in Spain, and that just wasn't true. This was the lunch we got at a cafe in Sevilla after wandering around the Alcázar. Granted, half of that salad came from a jar, and the Spanish sure seem to have a liking for limp canned asparagus, but the gazpacho was fresh and tasty. Of course, the fried fritter-like things were ubiquitous (and delicious), quite possibly canceling out the positive vegetable forces.
This was one of our best meals, but the night before we had one of the worst. The tapas we had for dinner that night were neither great nor horrible, but the rodent-size cockroaches scuttling across the wood floor were a bit alarming. I know there are vermin in every restaurant, but I don't expect to see them playing Red Rover between the table legs while we're eating. Also, I noticed halfway through the meal that one wall of the restaurant was covered with pictures of dudes in red or white robes with pointy hoods -- attire we associate in this country with a certain hate group, but which I think means something different in Spain? Maybe a fraternal order? Although part of me wants to associate it with the Spanish Inquisition, which also is more than a little unsettling? Anyone know what that's about? Please enlighten me, because Google isn't helping and I'd really like to know.
I got some of the best pizza I have ever eaten in Spain: paper-thin and wood-fired, with just a light dusting of cheese, just the way I like it. We made pizza at home for dinner tonight. It was pretty good, but certainly thicker than paper and definitely not cooked in a wood-burning oven. A few stalks of canned asparagus and I might have convinced myself for just a moment that we were back in Sevilla.
November 25, 2007
Another day of cyclocross
Dave raced today at another big cyclocross race, this time in Golden Gate Park, and I went along because it's his last cross race of the season, and it's spitting distance from home. I also went along to help because Dave's team provides volunteers for course set-up and break-down and they can always use extra hands. And maybe I also went along because some part of me enjoys bundling up, spending an overcast day outside, and hovering over the barbecue to keep my hands warm. Maybe.
It was a fun day, if a bit chilly. We were out there for nine hours and I'm exhausted and feeling sunburned even though I'm not (SPF 36 even when it's overcast, you betcha)... I just feel a little overexposed. I managed to sneak in a longish run between Dave's two races, and I also managed to drink three or four beers late in the afternoon before we started pulling up stakes, collecting cones, wrapping up course-marking tape, etc. I am totally exhausted.
I realized I omitted a major item from my surely-you-can't-be-serious wish list: this cyclocross bike. Very few of this model exist, they're handmade, and as far as I can tell they're no longer in production. That makes them even more desirable, of course. Gorgeous.
November 24, 2007
Shivering
I rode my bike today for the first time in five! weeks!!! The ride was nice, but I had a bit of a rude awakening when I realized that I'm signed up for an Ironman which is in about 4.5 months and I had gone a really long time without riding my bike. Like an idiot. Jeez. Everything will be OK. I'll remember how to ride my bike. Right?
It has been really cold here. For San Francisco, that is. You easterners and midwesterners and mountain staters will laugh your heads off when I tell you that 43 degrees F is cold. I bundled up in my leg warmers and toe warmers and fleece cycling jersey and vest and the little cycling earmuffs that once earned me the nickname "Muffy." And I was a little too warm. Better too warm than shivering, I say. You can always subtract extra layers, but you can't add layers you don't have.
And I rode a whopping 30 miles, which really isn't that far, but it is far when the longest you have ridden outdoors all month is 0 miles. And my butt is a little tender. And then I had to run. I think I have mentioned that I am sick of... not so much of running, but of the obligation to run. But I did it anyway.
And then we topped off the day with Mexican food. It's hard to go wrong with chips and salsa and margaritas.
And now I am sitting at home in a hooded sweatshirt, puffy down vest, fuzzy scarf and hat, waiting for the bed to pre-heat so I can go to sleep -- because we refuse to turn on the heat (it's only November!) and it's about 58 degrees inside. Brrrrrr.
November 23, 2007
23 days
I have run 23 days in a row.
I have run through all the little aches and pains I was afraid would crop up. I have stopped worrying about injuring myself at this point, with just seven days to go. I've run just over 100 miles so far this month, averaging about 4.4 miles per run.
But suddenly I'm sick of it. Strangely, I wasn't sick of it when getting in my run meant 30 minutes on the booooring hotel treadmill before sunrise. But now, even though I have the park and daylight and great weather, I am done. And I'm ready to do something else.
I suppose it's better that this hit me at day 23 and not day 3. But as long as I am able, I'll finish those last 7 days of running. Dammit.
Wait, was I talking about running every day or blogging every day? I can't remember. Same same, but different.
November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving
Things I saw during my run in the park this morning:
one man running in blue jeans and dress shoes
one woman running in bunny costume (?)
one man running in Santa costume
two adults running in turkey costumes
zero adults running in pilgrim costumes
November 21, 2007
A list for you
One of these days I'll finish sifting through the 1,100 or so photos I took in Spain and post a bunch of them here. And when that happens, you may find yourself wishing you had some lovely background music to listen to as you flick through them. I've posted an iMix to the iTunes Music Store for your enlightenment and entertainment. Of course, you'll only get to hear 30 seconds of each song, unless you shell out 99 cents per track. And oh yeah, iTunes understandably ignored all the tracks on my playlist that aren't available for sale there. Sorry about that. So here it is: the official, Steve Jobs-approved, very much abbreviated soundtrack to our Spanish vacation.
Please ignore any completely arbitrary genre labeling these tracks may contain.
November 20, 2007
An unbearably long, vaguely geeky post about music
This is the old Moorish town in Granada, as I saw it from atop an ancient tower at the Alhambra. Standing on a street corner in the center of the photo are two musicians, wee specks, playing guitar and violin. We could hear their lively tunes from where we were standing -- it felt like we were miles away -- and I wished I could capture the music to take home with me.
I like to make soundtracks. That sounds cheesy, but I do. Music is an important part of any experience to me and just as I take zillions of photos (1,098 on this last trip), I like to capture the atmosphere of a trip or a race or a special occasion with a lovingly planned playlist.
We had already arrived in Spain when I realized our collection of Spanish music was pitiful. All I had was some Andres Segovia classical guitar and a few Middle Eastern tracks that could pass for North African. I didn't even have any flamenco. Not nearly enough music for a nice collection of Spanish stuff to listen to in our hotel room or on the plane coming home.
But it was hard for me to figure that out, because anything in my iTunes library that might have been Spanish would have been lumped into the "World" genre. Unless it had been stuck into Classical or Folk. Or Rock or Electronica, if it were fairly contemporary. This too-broad genre classification becomes a problem when you have approximately 22,000 tracks to navigate in iTunes.
I download a lot of music from both the iTunes Music Store (when necessary) and eMusic (which I prefer, because the tracks are MP3 format and DRM-free and cheaper and it has way more indie cred). As I searched for flamenco, Spanish, Moroccan and Roma (gypsy) music, the limitations of both services became painfully obvious to me.
iTunes sucks if you're looking for anything specific within a genre. If you browse into the World music section, there is a subgenre for France, and for four different types of Celtic music, but the rest falls into a catch-all "Europe" subgenre. Not helpful at all. And if you search for Spain, you get only tracks with "Spain" in the artist, album, or track name. Again, practically useless. If you're lucky, there will be an iTunes Essentials playlist with Spain in the title, and it will showcase a few artists, and that will give you a head start.
eMusic is much better. If you browse into their International section, they have subcategories for both genre and region (and many more regions than iTunes has). There's "Spain" and there's also "Flamenco/Tango." (How and why a piece of music's country of origin is used as its genre is a whole separate frustrating discussion.)
But what I want to do on both sites is to be able to search for Spanish Roma music. Or Jewish music from Spain. Or Moroccan pop. I want to search for combined genres, and genres combined with countries. And I'd like to search my own iTunes library this way, too. I want to tag my music far beyond what the basic ID3 tags currently allow.
My own collection of international music is categorized badly. It's all lumped into "World" (with exceptions noted above) except for the Celtic. I have a lot of Celtic music, so I label it that way. But it would be nice to be able to note the Scottish, Irish, American and Spanish music separately so I can browse those subdivisions easily. Like when I need a playlist for my next Burns Night. And along the same lines, I'd like to be able to search for all of my rock, classical guitar, flamenco and Celtic music from Spain.
If anyone has any ideas on how to do this, please chime in. And cramming this data into the comments field is a kludge, so don't even suggest it.
I used to think that having a single subgenre field would fix this problem. But that's not nearly enough. It would be helpful if iTunes (or, more specifically, the ID3 standard) allowed for one-to-many track-to-genre relationships. Essentially, I'd like to be able to select multiple genres for a single track. I suppose having a country tag in addition to the genre would solve a few of these problems. But I don't think I'm going to see any of these changes any time soon, and it's a constant source of frustration.
In my search for Spanish music I discovered the delightful National Geographic World Music site. It's not flawless, but it's a very well-designed archive of traditional and contemporary music spanning regions and styles. If you're into international music, or if you'd like to take some music along on your next multicultural adventure, check it out.
November 19, 2007
Holiday wish list, within-the-realm-of-reality edition
I will be doing some lonnng swims this winter as I train for Ironman Arizona. Having done this race distance three times before, I know how mind-numbingly boring those long swims can be (especially alone). I am very, very tempted to get the H2OMan waterproof MP3 player to keep me company through those 5,000m slogs. Although the thought of swimming with earphones is kinda weird.
Don't these gourmet marshmallows look good? The correct answer is YES.
I have a KitchenAid stand mixer, which I love, and I would get lots of use out of an Ice Cream Maker Attachment and a Pasta Roller set. Pasta and ice cream are two things that I think are worth the extra work of making at home. (I do already have an ice cream maker, but this one is way better.)
I've already converted plenty of vinyl to MP3 using our Ion USB Turntable. Ion now makes the Tape 2 PC for ripping tracks off of cassettes. And boy, do I have a lot of music on tape, and some of it has proven hard to find elsewhere without getting into a heated ebay bidding war. (Anyone own the Sisterhood's Gift CD? I didn't think so.) But I admit I don't really understand why anyone would want to commit tape hiss to digital format.
I can never have enough running socks. Size L, please.
Our hotel room in Spain's Costa del Sol had a fully equipped kitchen. Pretty much everything you'd need for a week of basic cooking was provided. Well... there were no solid measuring cups, spatula, baking pans, or vegetable peeler. But it did have, as part of the complete china set, eight egg cups. Egg cups! They assume you're more likely to eat a soft-boiled egg than fresh veggies. Hmmm. But really, I had never used one and never realized how useful they could be. They're great for holding a generous spoonful of chutney or a pile of olives (aceitunas) about an inch above a plate of delicious assorted quesos. Which, when you're on vacation in a Spanish resort, you might enjoy every single night with a bottle of Rioja and some nice crackers. Suddenly egg cups are a necessity in my life. These are pretty cute. And cheap!
November 18, 2007
Holiday wish list, surely-you-can't-be-serious edition
You may be thinking, Holiday wish list? Already? My neighbor's Halloween pumpkin is still rotting on the doorstep! But liven up, my friends, because Hanukkah, the winter holiday of choice around here, is just around the corner. It starts December 4th this year. And don't call me Shirley.
My endurance-junkie friends will understand why this gorgeous endorphin necklace appeals to me. I think my geek friends will, too.
This Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G lens would be the ultimate glass for my Nikon SLR camera. It takes fan-freaking-tastic photos. I mean, look at this and this and this. I do need a telephoto lens for taking better race photos. This one's a little bit out of my price range, though.
A CompuTrainer would let me ride a computerized simulation of the Ironman Arizona bike course (or any other race) from the comfort of my living room. Plus they claim "the regular use of CompuTrainer will increase your bike speed by 2 to 4 mph." It costs about the same as a new bike. But I'd feel guilty riding it when it's nice outside. Which, in San Francisco, is most of the time, even in winter. Compared to, say, Minnesota.
I feel like I've spent the last ten years looking for the right piece of furniture that will Hide The Television. Most TV cabinets are just too gigantic, especially since flat-panel TVs these days are so thin. This cabinet does not just cover up a flat-panel TV; it swallows it whole. It has a motorized lift that lowers the boob tube down behind fake cabinets. Pretty nifty.
I need to replace my 3.5-year-old Powerbook. A fully tricked-out 17" MacBook Pro (2.6ghz processor, 4gb of RAM, 250gb hard drive) would certainly be a nice little upgrade. Sure, it costs more than three regular white MacBooks or a new carbon-fiber racing bike, and would be worth more than our car. But I spend way more time with my computer than with my bike or my car. Makes perfect sense, no?
November 17, 2007
Happy ten
We are on our way home.
Our hotel stay for the majority of this trip was a gift for our tenth wedding anniversary, which was a couple of months ago. We have been married for ten years and two-plus months! That blows my mind.
It has been a fantastic ten years, and it keeps getting better. In the photo above we're running through early-morning Sevilla. (I was literally running as I took the photo, if it's not obvious.) My grin is goofy, but I was having the time of my life out for a run in a still-asleep foreign city with my best friend in the world.
And now we're heading back to real life, and we can't wait to plan our next adventure.
November 16, 2007
The Mediterranean
After this morning's beach run I took a chilly plunge in the Mediterranean Sea. How could I not? I had never swum in the Mediterranean. The water was cold and clear. It felt great. I tried to savor it because I probably won't be swimming in the ocean or the bay back home for a long, long, long time.
November 15, 2007
Fifteen days
I'm halfway through the month of November and I've managed to run for a minimum of 20 minutes every single day so far. I haven't been breaking any speed or distance records -- only one of those runs has been over an hour. But considering that I've been on vacation for the last eight days, I think I've done great.
If not for this stunt, I certainly would not have hauled my jet-lagged and dehydrated tuckus out of bed to run the day after we arrived in Spain, or gotten up at 4:40am to squeeze in 30 minutes before our Tangier trip. I probably wouldn't even have run today, but I got in another treadmill run before we headed to Granada for a very full 12-hour day of seeing the Alhambra, the old Moorish town and the tomb of Ferdinand and Isabella.
Granada, which was the last Moorish stronghold in Spain until it fell to the Catholics in 1492, reminded me of the best parts of Tangier without the men constantly trying to sell us stuff. We spent most of today walking up and down steep cobbled streets much like the hills back home. My legs are very, very tired. (I'm too tired to look at my photos... so you get a 700-year-old floor drain from Ronda. Those Moorish architects were into details.) I think I might hit the hotel jacuzzi before I fall asleep. Because I get to wake up tomorrow and run again!
November 14, 2007
Rocking the casbah, and also the giant tourist bus
At 0-dark-thirty today we hopped onto a bus with a bunch of mostly other Americans mostly from our resort to take a tour of Tangier, Morocco. I wanted to step foot on African soil and get a taste of something really far away from home, and we had been told that taking a guided tour was the best way to avoid harassment while in Tangier.
Many parts of Tangier are beautiful, spectacular even. The casbah takes the quaint medieval European old-town atmosphere and ratchets it up a few dozen notches in sensory stimulation. And it is exotic, and we had wonderful food. But the guys selling crap in the streets are spectacularly oppressive. And the tour was cheesy. We expected it to be cheesy, but still I chuckled when it followed the exact script described in our guidebook, down to the "informative presentation in a sales-starved rug shop."
When the rug shop salesman I had chatted with about buying a ceramic bowl -- with whom I disagreed heartily about the appropriate price for said bowl, to whom I had told a final "no" and whose store I left empty-handed because I was about to be left behind by my tour group -- wrapped up the bowl and followed me down the street to our next tour stop (informative presentation in a spice shop) to haggle with me further about it, I felt like I had had enough bartering.
You know what? Coca-Cola in Europe has no high-fructose corn syrup. Just plain sugar. Which makes sense, of course, because corn is not subsidized and overproduced here like it is in America. I'm not sure about the Coke I had in Tangier, as I don't read Arabic.
November 13, 2007
Much, much better
It's amazing what a little bathroom surgery followed by 9 hours of sleep will do for some really nasty blisters. My toes are so much better now. I was able to run for close to an hour on the beach -- yes, with proper shoes and socks -- pain-free and with only a little oozing. Good thing I always travel with band-aids, antibiotic ointment, rubbing alcohol and a nail clipper. That's almost enough gear to perform an emergency appendectomy. Just add a bottle of whiskey.
Tomorrow we go on a little adventure that will require me to get up long before sunrise if I want to run. Lucky for me, the fitness center here is open 24 hours a day. I'm not looking forward to it.
November 12, 2007
A minor setback that should heal quickly, please please please let it heal quickly
Today's run could have disastrous consequences for my plans to run every day this month. Our hotel is right on the shore of the Mediterranean, and this morning we went for a run along the sandy beach -- in bare feet.
Running experts go on and on about how running barefoot on sand or grass is a good workout for all the little muscles in your feet and lower legs, and how soft sand is very low-impact. I had never done it before, so I really only planned to run 30 minutes or so; I didn't want to overwork all those foot muscles, unadapted as they are to running on sand.
If you look at the footprints I leave when I run on sand, there is a slight indentation for my entire foot, then a deep crater where my big toe digs in. Maybe I'm a forefoot runner? Who knows. But within ten minutes, the bottoms of my big toes began to feel like they had been scuffed with sandpaper. At 25 minutes, I stopped to rinse off the sand and examine them closely. I found giant blood-tinged blisters on the bottoms of both big toes (and one middle toe).
Ouch. I spent the day walking around a very hillly mountain village. The blisters really hurt. Like a needle jab in the toe with every single step. Ouch.
The one great thing about running on the sand was that my knees didn't hurt at all.
Tomorrow, if I can run at all, it will be on the beach, WITH SHOES ON.
November 11, 2007
A pressing question
This has bothered me since I first visited Europe at age 8 or maybe 9.
How exactly is one supposed to use a bidet?
November 10, 2007
Two mornings, two runs
My run on Friday morning was hilarious. Both for me and for all the residents of Osuna. This tiny Spanish town has one main thoroughfare -- it is a one-way street wide enough for one car and one vehicle parked halfway on the sidewalk. Barely. By the time I got out of bed Friday, seriously jet-lagged and a bit hungover from our first night of tapas-hopping, it was late even by Spanish standards. I knew I'd get lost running the labyrinthine side streets, so I ran back up the main drag, the way we drove into town the night before.
I had two options: I could run on the sidewalk and dodge the little old Spanish ladies and the younger women pushing prams and the older men smoking cigarillos. Or I could risk my life and run in the street. So I did a little of both, doing as much sideways leaping as forward running. I got quite a few funny glances, and I was certainly the only person wearing Lycra in Osuna that morning. I ran a grand total of 25 minutes, and it was hot and dry and smoggy as a massive chimney belched brown smoke down the valley.
That afternoon we arrived in Sevilla... and Sevilla was another run completely. Dave and I got up at 8am Saturday morning and went out for 40 minutes. Our hotel was close to the river so we found the riverfont path and ran up to and across the absolutely stunning Puente del Alamillo. This bridge is a jaw-dropping work of art. To run across it in the middle of the two traffic lanes was spectacular. It was 8am on a Saturday and it felt like 6am -- just past sunrise, fishermen out along the river, hardly any other people out on the path. We saw a total of six other runners on this beautiful, traffic-free trail.
It was the beginning of a wonderful day. I am completely in love with Sevilla. We have already arrived at our next stop, but I can't wait to go back.
November 9, 2007
The airport run
We landed at the Frankfurt airport around 10am local time Thursday morning. The place is colossal. The journey from our arrival gate to our European departure gate was a 20-minute walk that included stairways, an underground tunnel, and as many twists and turns as a Robert Ludlum novel.
Once we figured out where we needed to be, I had a couple of hours left to get my run in. If I didn't do my Thursday run at the airport, I'd have to do it after dark in the tiny Spanish town where we spent our first night. So I changed into the running clothes I had brought in my carry-on and packed my passport, boarding pass, and a few euros into a ziploc to take with me.
I had done some research ahead of time, and also asked around at the airport, so I knew there was a forest with trails nearby. I found my way outside and started running on a sidewalk that led from the arrivals area to a nearby freeway. By the time I got to the freeway underpass and found the entrance to the forest, I didn't have much time left, as I had told Dave I'd be back in an hour. That included all the walking to get out of the airport and also getting back through security.
But still, I got about 10 minutes of solitary running time in this beautiful forest in addition to the time it took me to run there and back. It was a pretty cool way to spend a layover.
I had to spend a good 20 minutes waiting to get through security, of course -- and even though I put my passport baggie and my camera and even my running watch into an X-ray bin, I managed to set off the metal detector. The woman controlling traffic there gave me and my running outfit a very puzzled look and then directed me to the woman with the hand scanner.
Only later, as I cleaned up and changed, did I realize I had forgotten to take my heart rate monitor strap off before walking through. Oops.
I really liked the little bit I saw of Germany. Everyone we encountered at the airport was very cool and friendly. I'd like to go back some day. And not just on the way back to the U.S. from Spain.
November 8, 2007
The Swimsuit Issue
I spent a lot of time in a swimsuit as a kid. There is plenty of photographic evidence of this. And I was tan! (As tan as this redhead will ever get, anyway.)
When I decided I wanted to race in a triathlon, I had to learn how to swim all over again. I was perfectly comfortable in the water, but I would swim to the end of the pool, then stop and cling to the edge to catch my breath. I took to it quickly, though, and I'd like to think that's because I spent so much time splashing around as a kid.
You're unlikely ever to see photos of me so skimpily clad as an adult. I was a pretty cute little freckle monster though, huh?
(Thanks to my aunt Lauren for these photos. When Dave and I got married, Lauren gave Dave an album full of childhood photos of me. Most of the photos do not have me in swimwear, I swear, but that's where these pictures came from.)
November 7, 2007
Quiet places
After seven days in a row of running, my knees are feeling it. They're just a little creaky. The downhills especially hurt. The first mile after leaving my house is mostly steep downhill. Kinda painful.
This photo is of my high school chapel. Yeah, I was very lucky. The chapel was built by hand, one adobe block at a time, by students in the 1920s.
This spot was my quiet place. Not the chapel itself, which was lovely and peaceful but also a bit dark and dank, but this covered walkway. (I know there is an architectural term for this but I can't remember what it is. I have a feeling one of you will remind me.) It was quiet and usually sunny, and elevated above the hubbub of the rest of campus. It's even nicer now with the addition of some new landscaping. The smoke-tinted lighting doesn't hurt.
What are or were your places to escape life's noise?
November 6, 2007
Why my iPod needed surgery
When I decided to participate in NaBloPoMo, I conveniently forgot that Dave and I will be out of the country for ten days this month. I'm taking a computer on our trip, but I don't plan to spend more time than necessary huddled over it when I could be exploring Moorish architecture.
You will be getting lots of photos, old and new, and some other... stuff. I will do my absolute best to get a post up every day, even if that means pre-scheduling some while I'm traveling.
Today's photo is the guts of my four-year-old iPod. I'm not quite ready to replace it, but it's definitely showing its age. The original battery had aged to the point that when fully charged, it would only play for about 30 minutes before dying. So I replaced the battery -- $36 seemed a worthwhile expense to give it another few months of life (knowing me, probably another year). Now it should get me at least halfway across the Atlantic, and by that time I sure hope I'm asleep.
November 5, 2007
Still getting the hang of it
I started this quilt many months ago, finished just the top, and put it away. I like the overall effect, but the assembly is very sloppy. As I cleaned up the big mess from the baby quilt I completed last month, I decided to haul the sewing machine back out and finish this one for good.
Quilting it turned out to be even more of a disaster than getting the corners of all the squares to match. This one really looks best when squinted at from a distance.
When I was visiting my parents last weekend, I found the first quilt I ever made, which was nine squares sewn together, backed with a sheet, and tacked with a few badly placed stitches to hold the front and back together. Ug-lee. I made it in high school, and the squares were old print-shop rags from Independent Project Records. Basically, ink-dyed cotton squares with record covers printed on them. The shop rags are really cool, but the quilt is pathetic.
Luckily, I also found a cache of unused shop rags. I may have another project on my hands.
November 4, 2007
Running through November
Over the last couple of weeks I have been thinking a lot about my plan for Ironman Arizona. The race is in just over five months. I think I will start on a regular training program in December. I did my last half-ironman in September and I've sort of been taking a break for the last month or so. I didn't really plan it that way -- my hand is much better, but still tender riding a spin bike -- but it has been a good mental break.
The toughest part of taking time off, for me, is that if I don't have a training schedule, I have a very hard time motivating myself to work out. Writing down yesterday's run in my workout log, I realized that I had run three days in a row. It occurred to me that November would be a great month for a run focus. Running is my strongest leg in triathlon, so I really should be focusing on my cycling or swimming in this semi-down time. But I will be traveling for a good chunk of this month, which will make regular swim and bike workouts difficult.
So I'm planning to run every day in November, 30 days straight. I have put in some high-mileage months in the last few years, but I've never run every day for a month. Putting myself up to this challenge will provide terrific motivation, especially since I know that you will all be keeping an eye on my sidebar over there to track how I'm doing. (Humor me.) I'm aiming for a 20-minute-per-day minimum, since there will be days that I'm biking as well. There will be a couple of days when even 20 minutes will be a challenge; I may have to find an airport gym or go for a nighttime run in a strange foreign city. It'll be interesting.
Come on, join me, even if you have to start a few days late. And feel free to substitute swimming, walking, or biking if you choose. Any ideas for a name? NaWoStreaMo?
(That's National Workout Streak Month. Although calling it "National" seems pretty assuming.)
November 3, 2007
Lucky turtle brownies
No, they're not "special" brownies. But they were photographed with expired Lucky film.
Will someone please confiscate my oven? I need to stop baking, and more specifically, eating stuff like this. I mean, damn, these brownies are good. But I'm supposed to be getting lean and mean for my race coming up in April. Not eating crap.
The recipe is here. I sprinkled a wee bit of sea salt over the caramel before squiggling the chocolate over it. To die for.
Those of you with 35mm film cameras, if you are interested in shooting your own roll of expired Lucky film, now is your chance. Heather Champ, the mastermind behind the project, has just announced she's sending out 50 more rolls of film.
November 2, 2007
Ode to hosiery
Last year I started the month of November with a really disgusting photo, so I think I may have some expectations to live up to. I'm doing my best not to let anyone down. You can thank me in the comments.
I am pretty particular about my running socks. I wear double-layer WrightSocks exclusively. They contain a blend of silky-soft space-age fibers that suck the sweat right away from my delicate toes. They are great socks. They cost $3 per sock and are worth every penny.
Believe it or not, the socks in this photo are clean. Well, they're as clean as they're ever going to get. Running is a dirty habit. I run on trails and sidewalks in Golden Gate Park, through sprinklers and mud puddles that never dry up. I run at Ocean Beach and on the trails of Mt. Tam, which leaves the orange dirt stains. I have run through snow and in oppressive heat. I finished an Ironman triathlon in a rainstorm in these socks. I've skidded through the famous red mud of Kauai. I ran a trail marathon with lots of squishy black mud that threatened to suck my shoes off. All things considered, these socks look pretty clean.
I just bought eight new pairs of socks so it's time to throw out the grubbiest of the bunch. I sorted them in order from just-slightly-stained to nearly-solid-brown, and when I was done, of course I had to take a picture.
The photo is of 13.5 pairs of socks. I was going to try to pick the dirtiest eight pairs to discard, but I think I may just chuck the lot of them and buy a few more new pairs next time I'm at Sports Basement. So I guess this is a farewell to 27 socks that have served me well. Happy trails, my friends.
No, there will not be an underwear post.
November 1, 2007
I love paper
In honor of my wee web site redesign, here is a smattering of print samples from one of my favorite designers. Bruce Licher of Independent Project Press was running a letterpress in his industrial L.A. shop long before the medium became trendy for wedding invitations and baby announcements. While digging through a closet yesterday, I came across a big envelope of odds and ends Bruce sent me years ago. I love the feel of this stuff, the sheen of the ink and the careful layering of colors. It's just gorgeous.
Bruce may be better known for his work with Independent Project Records, a small label that put out works by Savage Republic, Camper Van Beethoven, For Against, Half String, Indian Bingo, Scenic, and many others. Creating a record or CD cover that is not only beautiful but also a wonderful thing to hold is truly a lost art. Especially since most of the music we buy these days lacks packaging of any sort.
This image is appropriately old-tech, as this is a film photo shot with my old Nikon FA on expired Lucky film from China. Check out the "Are you feeling lucky?" flickr group for more. The magenta splotches are just some of the charm of this film.
