Walkie Talkie

I am participating in a health event at work called “Healthy You”. It’s a walking challenge our company is coordinating.

A team consisting of 5 people will record their daily steps on a pedometer for 8 weeks. It’s a nationwide campaign and I think there are 2000+ participants. Pedometers are provided to each person. The top 5 teams are awarded with $500/team.

At our office location we have 30 people or 6 teams signed up. It’s about 50% participation. We have more staff participating in the walking challenge than those who attended our office party last March. I think the cash prize is a huge incentive for joining the walking challenge.

The challenge started last Monday. I’ve logged the following steps so far:

~Mon: 7500
~Tues: 6500
~Wed: 6300

Not bad so far and I can do better. My team captain has logged in 18000 each day. He walks his dog twice a day so he has an advantage.

Our team name is called, "Walkie Talkie".

DH is going to work out with me after work today. I’ve cut down my sweets intake dramatically for the past 2 weeks. That means no ice cream or chocolates … my weaknesses.

Maintaining good health is the best thing I’ve done for myself this month.

Question of the day: What’s the best thing you’ve done for yourself this week?

Week in Review

We watched a Giants game last Wed. It was a pretty close game. We saw A Pujols hit one out of the park. In the 8th inning, Bonds hit a HR to tie the game at 2-2. Giants won in 12 innings.

This past week, I’ve been working out with DH when he lifts weights. We’ve been doing shoulder, chest, back presses and also squats. My goal is to tone and tighten. He’s been challenging me which is what I need. It’s brutal but I am having fun…. so far. I need to push myself more.

Our office moved over the weekend. I’m not to thrilled with my new cubicle. My previous cube was secluded which is what I prefer. My new cube is in the center and very visible. It wouldn’t be so bad if our partitions were higher. Sigh. My manager sits right behind me and our location is near the kitchen area so there’s a high volume of traffic. Very distracting.

I’ve spent the last 1.5 days trying to configure my workspace so that’s my monitor is less visible to passer bys. Oh well. I guess I shouldn’t complain, there are worse locations like those poor folks right by the microwave/fridge. Noisy and lots of people milling about.

Gigi and hubby are in town so we spent Sunday with them. They came over our house. Since it was such a gorgeous day, we decided to take a walk to the beach and back. It turned out to be a good 4 mile round trip hike. After we’ve worked up our appetites, we had an early dinner at a Thai restaurant. It was so yummy. We ordered chicken basil, bbq beef, pad thai and seafood curry. Our favorite is the chicken basil dish. Spicy... just the way I like my food.

Question of the day: What's the nicest thing you've done for someone lately?

5 Questions

Brandy interviewed me with 5 questions and here are my responses.

1. If you could recover one thing you've lost in your lifetime what would it be and why?

It will be time lost with loved ones who had passed away. My grandparents, my paternal grandfather who I never knew as he died when I was baby.

Most especially, my Uncle. He lived with us until I was 14 before we immigrated to the US. He spent a lot of time with my brother and I. We were his favorites and he treated us like we were his own kids. He was in his 60s and never married. He gave me the passion to read. He read a lot and his interests were varied from politics, mystery, science to art. I would see him in our study, reading a big thick novel. I would sit next to him and watch him read until he noticed me. I’d ask, “What page are you on?” It was our routine. His passion in books piqued my interest in reading and of course, I wanted to emulate him.

I started reading my brother’s Hardy Boys Mystery book series. When my uncles read, I would grab my book and sit next to him and we would read together. It was nice. Gradually, I moved up from Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew to Trixie Belden/Bobbsey Twins to mystery books and more adult novels. I love to read to this day and I always think of my uncle fondly, hoping he knew that my love for reading came from him.

He passed away back in the early 90s from a brain aneurysm. When they looked in his wallet after he passed away, the only thing in there besides money was an old picture of me. To this day, that makes me cry. My brother and I loved him dearly and we miss him terribly.

2. Which of Archie's girls are you more like: Betty or Veronica?

Betty! I’m just a regular down to earth girl. I'm definitely not rich like Veronica.

3. If you had to live alone for a year in a paid for apartment in a city you knew no one in, where would you go and why?

I would choose Prague because it is a city I’ve never been to and hope to visit sometime in my life. To immerse yourself in a new environment, learn a different culture, tradition and language would be an exciting experience.

4. What quality do you most like about yourself?

Tough one -- I’m a very caring person.

5. What has been the most terrifying moment of your life? I’ll mention 2:

2+ yrs ago –
I had to report DH as a missing person. DH & I went on a ski trip with some friends a couple of years ago. On the last ski run, DH went 1 more time while we hung out at the lodge. We were going to meet back at the lodge after his last ski run and head back together to the room. The ski runs closed at 4:00p and still no sign of DH. I thought he probably is coming down the mountain soon. We waited and waited, I kept looking at the tiny figures coming down the mountain willing it to be DH. 45 minutes passed and still no sign of him. This was not like DH. He has skied alone before but he wasn’t stupid as to go off to a beaten track or to go on any daredevil runs. He is very responsible and level headed guy.

After the mountain closed and still no sign of him, I thought the only reason why he hasn’t come down is something happened or he was injured. The thought of either didn’t sit well with me and I could feel a knot in my stomach grow and panic rise within me. My friends tried not to panic me so they asked me what I wanted to do. It was already an hour or so past the mountain close time and everyone was off the mountain. I decided that it was time to report him as missing to the ski lodge.

We went to the appropriate counter. The lady asked me to describe DH and what he was wearing. I started to cry as it is really hitting me that he is missing! The lady asked if we called the hotel room. I had called his cell phone prior but he did not pick up. I did not think to call the hotel room as our agreement was to meet at the lodge. He wouldn’t go back to the room without me or telling me. The lady calls the room and lo and behold he picks up! He has been in the room all this time. I spoke to him angry and relieved at the same time and asked him what he was doing there as we’ve been worried sick about him.

Apparently we had a miscommunication. He thought since we weren’t going to ski, we would return back to the room after we finished our drinks. I said, no we were supposed to meet at the lodge after your last run and go back. I did not want to argue who was right/wrong as I was just thankful and relieved he was safe and unharmed.

10+ yrs ago –

I had to call 911 when my dad was having a hard time breathing. He was home sick from the flu. He was resting when suddenly he called my mom and said he couldn’t breathe. My dad instructed me to call 911. I thought he was having a heart attack. I was so terrified that I was in tears when I spoke to the 911 operator.

The ambulance arrived in 3 minutes and gave my dad a respirator. His breathing stabilized but they took him to the hospital to be looked at. Turned out he had pneumonia. He was hospitalized for a week.

It was a blessing in disguise as this incident forced him to quit smoking cold turkey. He hasn't smoked since.

If you are interested in participating, here are the rules:

• Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me!”
• I will respond by e-mailing you five questions.
• I get to pick them, and you have to answer them all.
• You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
• You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Check, please!

DH and team won their Friday night softball game. :)

We had a lowkey weekend, pretty much just relaxed and lounged at home. We only went out to eat and visit Costco.

On Sat nite, we had dinner at a Japanese restaurant which we frequent. We had an early dinner at 5p as we were starving and the last meal we had was brunch at 10-ish.

We were seated at a corner table. It's a small restaurant and nearly empty except for a couple of tables. One of the occupied tables was next to us. The 2 women sitting next to us were talking loudly. They were not screaming but their voices were loud. DH & I could not even concentrate on reading the menu. We found it disruptive and not to mention very annoying. We've been in noisy restaurants but this was just annoying as the restaurant was very quiet and all you could hear was these 2 patrons yacking loudly.

When we ordered our dinner, we requested the waitperson if she could move us a little farther away as we told her, it was very loud sitting to the 2 women. The waitress seemed a bit put off at our request as that would mean we would occupy a 4 person table, instead of a 2 person table. Hey, it's 5p, the place is empty. You're not going to get a rush hour crowd at this time. Wth? If the place was packed and busy then I can understand the reluctance.

She relunctantly moved us to a farther table. We sat down and even though we could still hear them talk, it wasn't as loud and annoying as if were sitting right next to them. DH & I enjoyed our sushis peacefully.

We wondered at some point if DH & I should have said something to them but then that would also infringe on their right to eat/talk, etc... it wasn't worth it, it was easier to move to another table.

Question of the day: At what point do you find next table chatter annoying?

~o~

On a side note, I stumbled upon this inn: Cottage Inn at Pismo Beach. It looks very quaint and cozy with ocean views. Another idea for our road trip. :)

Friday the 13th

I just remembered today is Friday the 13th.

Not that it matters because I don't do anything differently on this superstitious day.

DH has a game tonight. He did not play last week as we went to our first baseball game of the season: SF Giants vs LA Dodgers.

It's a huge rivalry here in this neck of the woods. Whenever LA Dodger Jeff Kent comes up to the plate, he gets booed, very loudly, every single time. Jeff Kent was a former SF Giant before he left for LA. The fans don't like their boys leaving for the rival team, and the fans remind Jeff K. each time he is at the plate.

The game was cold (mid 50s), foggy and misty. This is typical SF at night games. We wear our ski clothes when we watch a night game (ski jacket, hat, scarf, gloves). Despite the frigid temp and the Giants loss, we had a blast! We brought sandwiches and some munchies. I bought cotton candy at the game.

I always have to buy cotton candy at sports events/theme parks. I think it's an emotional thing from childhood. I remember when I was younger - 9 or 10 yrs old, my Mom would take my cousin and I out on weekends. She would often buy a cotton candy to share with each other while we sit and talk. The sight, smell and taste of the cotton candy always brings me back to my childhood. I think that's why I'm drawn to it - it fondly reminds me of those special childhood moments.

When I'm in my senior years, cotton candy will bring me to these memories of watching baseball with DH.

Question of the day: What particular food(s) brings you back to your childhood days or remind you of a special memory?

Vote for Our Road Trip

Our anniversary is coming up soon. We are trying to plan a weekend getaway to celebrate it. :)

We went to Yosemite National Park on our 1st year. For our 2nd, we went to Las Vegas. We've visited the Monterey, Carmel, Napa/Sonoma areas as well so we are trying to come up with something new/fun/adventurous. We both like to hike so an outdoorsy venue is high on our list.

On the list is Big Sur -- a very pretty rugged scenic coastal area. Boasting an abundance of outdoor and recreational activities such as hiking, camping, horseback riding and hot springs. There are also nearby spas and wineries for those looking for a little pampering and luxury.

Also on the list is a trip to LA. Maybe stay overnight in Santa Barbara as we've never been. We would also visit Magic Mountain (the best/scariest roller coasters) and also visit either Disneyland or Universal Studios. Maybe it's the kid in us, but we still like to visit the theme parks. Of course, an LA trip would not be complete without a visit to The Grove's shops and farmer's market, our favorite outdoor mall in LA.

I also stumbled upon this historic little lodge called Lake Quinault which is exactly what we are looking for in terms of setting and activities. Only caveat is it's in Washington state and we were looking for something local. This will need to be for a longer vacation.

Possible Weekend Getway Ideas:

1. Tree Bones Resort, Big Sur
2. Lake Quinault Lodge, Washington
3. Rafting trip in Breckenridge, Colorado
4. Bay Back Inn, Morro Bay
5. Los Angeles

Notable mentions (Outrageously pricey - $$$$$$$)

• Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur
• Ventana Inn and Spa, Big Sur

Right this second, we like Bay Back Inn as it's looks relaxing and local. We can either kayak or horseback within the area. Both are activities I want to do. I've never rode on a horse so that's sound fun. I like Big Sur too but I have not been successful in finding accomodations.

Decisions, decisions!

Question of the day: Vote for our getaway!

Close to You

I just received my netflix dvds. One of them is a foreign chick flick, called "Close to You":

"Mick and Marian have always been best friends. They are so close that they know each other's secrets...well, almost. After all these years, Mick never had the courage to tell Marian how much he loves her.

When Marian's first love, Lance, returns home, she is intent on seeing him again. She brings along Mick on a chase that brings them abroad. Mick now has to decide - will he let his best friend be happy with her "Mr Right", or will he fight for the love that has kept him alive all these years?"

I've had crushes on guy friends and have asked them out on dates in hopes of elevating the friendship. However, I've never fallen for best friend of the opposite sex. Have you ever been in this situation?

Question of the day: Are you willing to lose the love for the friendship? Or are you willing to lose the friendship for love??

Workout

… is my current favorite reality TV show on Bravo.

I was watching a marathon of the show last Thursday while home sick from work. Nothing else was on except for Dawson’s Creek and I could not stomach another hour of Joey Potter aka Katie Holmes commiserating about her life and Dawson.

I like the Bravo TV reality shows most notably Project Runway and Top Chef. Workout will have to tide me over until those 2 shows resume in the next season.

Workout is a reality show following the professional and personal life of a personal trainer, who owns Sky Sport & Spa in Beverly Hills. If I had the bucks, I’d want to hire her or one of her trainers at her very nice sport club. She has a very nice lean body, not too muscular but very toned and lean.

Watching the show motivated me to start doing push ups again, I’ve slacked off as of late and haven’t ran since I’ve been sick since Thurs of last week and took 2 days off work to recuperate.

Anyway, the show itself shouldn’t motivate me to work out but wanting to be healthy should be my motivation. Yeah, that’s it.

Jonesy and I met up a couple of weeks ago. We both want to try out cardio kick boxing. I want to try it for fun and toning while Jonesy is doing it to lose her pregnancy weight. I love Jonesy as she is always open and gung ho on trying new things/outdoor activities, even with 3 kids; where as some friends of mine will start whining.

Case in point, AS forwards me an upcoming United Way charity walk. It’s a 3-4 mile walk in the city/Golden Gate Bridge. I immediately say hey, let’s all sign up and do it. It’ll be fun, healthy and for a good cause. Since Gigi is in town that weekend, it’ll be a fun girl bonding activity. The walk will be on a Sunday and start at 8am. AS tells me oh I’d do it but it’s too early. I told her, but you can sleep after the walk, it’s only for a few hours besides you were just diagnosed with high blood and didn’t you say you want to work out more?

She said she will see…. rolling my eyes. Honestly, if waking up early is your excuse, it’s pretty lame. This will only take up a few hours of her morning and it’s close to where we both live.

When Jonesy and Gigi come back from their trips, I am going to ask to see if they want to join. I think it will be fun. The event includes the walk, goodie bags and free entertainment and live music after the walk.

Question of the day: What does your regular workout routine consist of?

Friday Night Lights

Friday night lights became ... Friday night fights.

Last Friday night was DH's first softball game of the Spring season!

The game was going extremely well with DH's team up 8-1 in the 2nd inning. A few wives and kids were watching the game from both teams during this warm Friday evening. b

AC, one of the wives, and I were enjoying the game when we noticed the secondbaseman (2B) from the other team and another guy talking animatedly to each other and almost bumping face to face. It looked liked a heated exchange with the 2B trying to calm the visiting guy down. Suddenly, arms were raised and punches were thrown!

I stood up from where I was sitting ready to move ... or run. 2B raced to the bleacher and picked up his bat. I don't know what his intention was but it did not look good at that point. I motioned to AC, who was still sitting, and told her it may be a good idea to move away and further down from the commotion.

Both men were screaming and still arguing. There were wives and kids on the other side of the bleachers near where the fight was. One of the wives told the visiting guy and his "gang" to calm down and leave 2B alone. There were kids around.

The game at this point has halted and everyone's attention was on the fight. The park is usually very family oriented and I've never seen any trouble at the park. 2B's enemy didn't look like a player... he and his gang of friends looked like they came to the park looking for him. They looked they were part of a gang as they all wore the same white shirt/black pants.

In any case, someone intervened and stopped the fight. The visiting troublemakers left the field without any further incident. It was quite a sight and pretty scary. This is the first time I've seen a fight in front of me where punches were thrown. I was getting alarmed as the visiting men looked liked a gang and you never know what will happen... I feared gunshots.

2B returned to the game and a few policemen arrived a few minutes later. The visiting gang had already left so the policemen hung around for awhile to make their presence known.

I mainted alertness throughout the game and watched for any suspicious activity. I was pretty scared that a drive by shooting or something worse would happen during the game. Thankfully, no further incident transpired.

Despite the distraction, DH's team did very well and they won the 1st game of the season 18-9!

I had fun at the game, despite the fight, as it's always exciting to watch DH play, who is clearly the best player on the team. Of course, I'm NOT biased about that. :)

Question of the day: Have you been in a situation where you feared for your or other's safety?