Tuesday, May 13, 2008

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It really hasn't sunk in yet.


"This was the most humbling experience of my life..."


In 2003, I remember telling my dad that I'm considering pursing a Custom Broker's License. I had no idea he was sick at the time and it was just a passing thought. In fact, I had no clue how difficult this exam would be. Not a damn clue! Growing up, I remember him bringing his huge books home. One of which was one huge black binded book. I don't even remember him studying for the exam, but I know he took it. He must've been like one of those smug Asian business men wearing suits on test day without their books tabbed or highlighted. I saw many of those men in the exam rooms who thought their years of experience would help them out......but probably not.

That same year, my dad and my aunt decided to try and open their own custom brokerage business, but someone needed to have a CHB license. Although my aunt wasn't in the industry, she pursued the license and she passed on her third try. Sadly, my dad was diagnosed with a brain tumor and less than a year later, he passed away in 2004.

Fast forward to May 2005. I was internet surfing since I was stressed out at work. I was looking up Custom Broker info for some reason unknown to myself. I actually didn't know what the hell they did, other than clearing items through customs. It so happens that I stumbled across the leaphart.com website. They offer a Custom Broker license exam prep class. What a coincidence that the class is taught once a week for 3 hours in South San Francisco!! That is less than a mile away from my work! I found myself registering for the class with the help of my mom who fronted over a grand. "I'll pay for the class, but once you pass, you pay me back," she said. Classes started in July and I was one of about 15 people in the class. One of my classmates even came from Morgan Hill. I expected the class to be all lecture, but it was all round table and interactive. Most of the time, I had no clue what all these import export terms were. I sat there feeling embarrassed since I didn't know anything and couldn't really contribute to the discussions. It was too obvious I wasn't in the industry. During the approx 12 week course, most of my days were spent reading all the material, which were thousands of pages. I was reading the material, but wasn't absorbing anything. It felt like learning a different language.

October 2005. My mom told me to sit for the exam so I can get familiar, so I did. Tita Beibi (my aunt who passed the exam) told me "You probably won't pass it your first time, but you never know." I remember thinking, "Thanks for the vote of confidence." I took a few days off work to study then I went in for my first attempt. I shared a desk with my classmate John. That was the first and last time I ever shared a desk. I got 50% on that exam, I think.

I skipped the April 2006 test since I didn't crack out the books early enough.

July 2006 - I receive my new set of 2006 regulations and Tariff Schedule. This meant, that I had to transfer all my (color coded) highlights and written notes into my new books which are thousands of pages. This takes me a couple days to complete.

October 2006 - I find myself in the same hotel in the very front, right corner desk all to myself. Again, I took a week off of work to study. I got 65% that time.

April 2007. I really put my heart and soul into this particular test, but I came up short, missing passing by 4 questions at 70%. I even re-enrolled in the class so I can access all the internet quizzes and tutorials. There were over 100+ quizzes at 10 questions each. I took ALL of them. I think I went through 1 or 2 past exams. Looking back, 1 or 2 past exams wouldn't cut the mustard. It's just not enough prep. I even made myself a couple cheat sheets in case I get stuck. Again, I took a week off to study. I was devastated when I received the results. It took me a couple days to get back on my feet.

July 2007, I receive another set of new books. Again I find myself taking a couple days to transfer all my color coded highlights and notes from the old books the new ones. Thousands of pages of them.

October 2007. I "wisened" up for the October exam and concentrated my efforts on timing myself on previous exams. I took another week off of work just to study. During my "vacation" I spent time studying at my sister's school library. It was then I realized how valuable library study time was. I really thought I'd get it that time. I thought I was well prepared with several previous exams under my belt. I found the test extremely difficult and I found myself against the clock. The test was so hard that 4 questions were thrown out. I missed passing by 3 questions at 71.25%.

The October exam statistics: 1,300 people took the exam, 9.1% was the pass rate. 125 people passed. Despite the discouraging statistics, I still went forward.

April 2008. I sat for the exam again. This time, I redid my cheat sheets and I concentrated my efforts on the past exams. Even though I concentrated my efforts on past exams it is very rare that a question would be repeated. I probably went through all the exams in the past decade. I timed myself. I spent my study time at the library or at Panera even Friday nights. I took yet another week off of work to study. I even even spent over $100 to stay at a hotel relatively close to the test location.

Last week I get an email from my mentor. It reads,


"According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection sources, the April 2008 customs broker license exam had a pass rate of 20.5%, with over 1,600 people sitting for the exam................."

I still can't believe I'm one of the lucky ones.

April 2008: I got 80% and I better pay my mom back. :)


Hard work and sacrifice really pays off. It just takes a little of patience, too. Now I can live my life again...I finally did it!

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Wednesday, April 23, 2008

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WHOAH! I started blogging a super PMS blog, but thank god I didn't post it. LOL

It wasn't that bad I guess. It was about stoopid drivers and car problems - both of my cars. I keep forgetting they are getting old. Honda is 10, and A4 is 5. On Sunday, the Honda overheated on 101 and we had to tow him home. Thank god the dear bf had triple AAA and thank god we weren't that far. Tow service was free for the first 5 miles...$10 each additional mile thereafter. WTF! Highway robbery! Thank god we were only 8 miles away from home. I was supposed to start commuting with my civic. I guess that will be put on hold til I know he's safe to drive, whenever that is. On Monday, I ended up with a flat on my A4 on the way home 40 minutes into my commute. I'm so thankful for that guy in the Tacoma that waved me down telling me I had a flat. I'm also VERY thankful for Blair, the friendly tow truck driver who helped me with the A4. He pulled up behind me within a minute and thanks for the collaboration with the CHP, the service was free! WOOHOO! I'm also thankful I had an extra 19" tire that I stored here at work in my boss' closet. LOL Man twice in three days I found myself on the side of the freeway. That is the suck


A few weeks ago, I was in Phoenix for a meeting (oops that was my last post). my dbf met up with me then we to Sedona, Arizona for a mini vacation. Before heading to Sedona, we ate at a restaurant in Phoenix called Pizzeria Bianco. My bad that I didn't make ressies, but who would make reservation for a pizza place unless it's for a big party?! Well, we got there 15 minutes after it opened and the wait was 3 hours!!! We found the 3 hour wait intriguing and decided to wait and see what the hype was about. It's not like we were in a hurry to get to Sedona. It's a tiny place, but there's a bar next door called bar bianco where we had drinks and appetizers. It's very cute! A lot of people we were also waiting the 3 hours with us. What I found interesting was that there were no hot heads!! Amazing that no one harrassed the hostess asking if they should be next or whatever. No impatient people, imagine that? It was really laid back. I really liked the atmosphere and the 2.5 hour wait (we took first available) went by quickly. Let's just say, it was worth the wait.I believe the hype. I overheard the family who sat next to us saying they came 2000 miles to try this pizza out.



After that we headed to Sedona and got there around 11P, so we weren't able to see anything until the morning. Let's just say the views are amazing! The weather was picture perfect - I never saw a cloud the whole time we were there. Weather was mild until the day we left. It's just so breathtaking to see all the red rock. I went on my very first real hike the first day up Cathedral Rock. It's a short hike, but it's quite high and I kept wondering how the hell I was going to get up there since had to "spiderman it" part of the way up. I was pretty scared! Actually, I was even more scared going down. BUT, when we reached the top, I saw 2 senior citizens??!? WTH?!?



The rest of the day was spent galavanting around Sedona. We saw Tlaquepaque Village (I hope I spelled that right) which is a cute little shopping area built exactly like some building in Mexico. After that we saw the Chapel of the Holy Cross which is built up on the rock. It's no denomination but the builder was Catholic by faith, so I lit a candle for my grandma and my dad. They don't hold services there though.

Saturday we took a day trip to the Grand Canyon since it's less than 2.5 hours away. On the way up, we stopped at a rest stop to check out the views, but we noticed there were Native American vendors setting up. My dbf and I grabbed a Kokopelli ornament as our souvenir. It was really cold and windy up there. I started to worry since dbf and I only wore shorts. We realized we forgot to check the weather for the Grand Canyon. OOPS. At least we had our jackets. Suffice to say, I was really wary at the Grand Canyon, everyone seemed bundled up wearing wool coats and scarves and beanies, whereas we were wearing shorts and marmot jackets. It helped a little but I wanted to be warmer. Still a gorgeous day without a cloud in the sky, but it was a chilly with the breeze. We ate lunch at the El Tovar Lodge on the recommendation of the kind gentleman at the visitor's center (the one by the Sedona Hilton). I got the Kobe burger. It was pretty good. We ate there just to experience it. I hear you really need reservations if you plan to eat there for dinner. We were lucky to be seated right away for lunch. We were very lucky that the Grand Canyon wasn't crowded. In fact, we saw most of the all the view points so we covered a lot in one day.




The following day we rented mountain bikes and rode around Bell rock, which is close to our motel. In hindsite, we should've rented our bikes from a bike specific store (like Bike o Bean or something) but we went on a suggestion from dbf's rei coworker to rent from Sedona Sports. Actually, the service was top notch, but the bikes could've been better. They were just so heavy. They were GTs with disc brakes though and my bike was a bit too big for me. Then again, I will probably encounter that each time I rent. Made me appreciate my mountain bike even more. That was a lot of fun. I thought it would be easier breezier than it was, but I really got my heart rate up on spots.



We ended our trip in Sedona by watching the Sunset from the airport. It was very beautiful though I thought the sky would turn red or something. Guess not. LOL. We didn't find any Vortexes though. Oh wells. Sure was good low budget trip though.

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Tuesday, April 08, 2008

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:Point Hilton Squaw Peak resort, Phoenix, AZ:

Finally, I get my life back. I better get start exercising.

I might as well write an "aftermath" type of post as I always do after my exam. In fact, I didn't sleep much the past two nights. Last night I've been stressing about this meeting here in Phoenix so I couldn't fall asleep. I thought I'd be out cold since the night before last, I hardly slept. Who could blame me though? It was the night before my _ attempt at passing the Customs Broker License exam. I thought it would be wise to stay in SSF than at home in San Jose so I booked a room at the Holiday Inn (db also stayed with me). I didn't want to wake up late and be shit out of luck, so better safe than sorry. I remember one exam, a girl came late and she was turned away. Anyways, long story short, I woke up bright and early and drove to the Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf, I was in the parking lot by 7AM. I would've stayed in the actual hotel but not feeling the $189 room rate.


Dejavu! It was the same scenario once again at the test site (tons of rookies, smug first timers, old school business men who think they know it all and didn't need books or had books with no tabs - how can you find something in 4000 pages without tabs?)and the same exact feelings came back - my heart was racing, my tummy felt uneasy. I recognized a few test takers from October. I chose a table behind Devin (another test taker who I met studying at Panera) and his coworker. I sprawled my books across the table, hoping no one sits next to me (there are 2 to a table) and thankfully I was one of the few who didn't have to share a table......I found myself doing the sign of the cross when the exam started.

In the end, I feel pretty confident with this one. I knew where to find most of the answers and their specific cites save for a few. Thankfully, I wasn't "down to the wire." I actually had enough time to go back and check my answers on my scantron (Last time I didn't and saw some booboos. i.e. left blank or two answers on one row and some really careless answers). I seriously think this test would've been in the bag, if it wasn't for one section of Trade Agreements (NAFTA, US Carribean Basin, US - African Growth Act, etc). I heard a lot of people feel same way about that stinky section of the test. That section comprised of 6 questions that screwed with my head. I should type out an example. Oh wells, I just hope I at least got 3 of those torturous questions. I answered as best as I can. As I was breaking down my books, I heard a girl asking Devin "Did you finish?" That's right, there's a lot of people who don't finish the exam. Like last time, I almost ran out of time.

As I waited in line to pay for my parking, I overhead other people talking about how difficult and how torturous that exam was, but I feel it wasn't that bad (Oct 07 was definitely a more difficult exam). I also heard one guy say that there were so many dates and he couldn't get them all even if he memorized them. HELLO! Unless you have a photographic memory, there is no way you can remember all the dates, there are just way too many. Not to mention there are calendar vs work day dates.

I'm feeling very hopefull this time. I might actually have passed it. Hoping I'm one of the lucky 9% (I wonder what the statistics are, but they usually are in the single digits) to pass this exam that has been consuming my life the last 2+ years. I'll just have to pray. If not, heck, what's another crack at it? I've gone this far already and 6 months goes by sooooooooo fast...I hope I don't have to sit for it in October.

I'm beat, time to sleep!

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Tuesday, March 11, 2008

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::San Bruno Library::

I should be studying but I'm not feeling it. Although I've been pretty good studying at the library the last two or so weeks. So much has gone on since I last posted. I'm going to try to post right quick and start studying in 17 minutes. Let's see what I crank out.

I moved to San Jose a few weeks ago. Yeah, I have a dayam commute. It's about 90 miles round trip. My commute starts at 640AM and I take 880 to 280 to 380 to 101. I hang out after work (usually at a library like this one or Panera). I'm back to studying again for the April 7 exam. I study til about 8P and take 101 home. So far it's ok. I don't mind studying after work, it's good for the soul. I'm going to start exercising after work as well.

I've been interviewing (reason I'm not feeling like studying) just to see what's out there and just to see what's available in San Jose. I kind of had a meltdown earlier today when I didn't get hired at Cisco, which is 5 miles from our place. Had to put a call to my sister to make me feel better (which was after lots of chatting/venting with berniebutt, christine and charding). All in all, I think my job isn't so bad. I only have two negatives, my commute and a cranky coworker. I had another job interview with another company but after 2 phone interviews, a couple hours of in person interviews and 3 online quizzes, well, I didn't get that one either. Thankfully I didn't.

May be it's fate. I have a good thing going and I just have to remember that. One of my characteristics I don't like about myself is that I tend to compare myself with others. I'm always complaining that I see everyone moving forward with their lives (everyone seems married off, having kids or engaged or doing good on their careers) and I've just been so stagnant. Actually I'm not stagnant, I try to do something about it, but seems things never come easy for me. Just like my test, it will be my 5th attempt April 08. I hope I get it this time.

Oh man, time is up!!! I really will study, but I don't like this table. The chair is way too short for the table and booty feels like it's sticking out.

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Thursday, January 17, 2008

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My goodness, what happened?? Is it mid January already? Holy Moly! Where did the time go?!?!

I really wanted to blog before the end of the year to reflect on my 2007 and my goals for 2008. I thought 2007 was a good year - one of my best so far. Thankfully, more ups than downs. Full of accomplishments and only a few failures. Goodness, I did a few things I thought I'd never ever do. I swam almost a mile in a lake (granted very slow) and I ran 3 half marathons and one sprint triathlon, and a couple organized bike rides. But as it stands right now, I've reverted to a coach potato. I wonder when I'll snap out of it. May be I should sign up for something. Despite all those events, I was never at the weight I wanted to be or rather, I didn't get my body to where I want it to be. I was always a little pudgy/soft in 2007 relying on my fake spanx to hold in the love handles. Whereas in 2006, I didn't lose much weight, but was able to tone down and a fit size 4...a size I wasn't able to fit in 2007.


In terms of shopping, 2007 opened my eyes to other brand names. For several years, the only brands I'd buy are Banana, Gap and Anne Taylor. I've now learned Macy's is my friend and I can buy tons of clothes super cheap. I ended up donating 3/4ths of my wardrobe since I've decided there's no way I'll get back into those size 4s or 2s. I've started buying Medium tops instead of Smalls. I also started buying accessories. WIERD. I never looked at necklaces, earrings and bracelets before. Whoah I must be growing up. Thankfully, I still don't have a purse fetish so I guess that leaves my wallet intact.

Speaking of growing up, I found myself saying "I don't want my 19s anymore." Imagine that? I really want to get rid of my 19 inch rims. Yeah, they look cool and all, but I'm just tired of looking for potholes and the harsh ride. I want comfort and stress free driving experience. I've also decided that it's highly likey that I will sell my babyhatch this year. YEAH, I said it. SELLING THE BABYHATCH. Is that insane or what? I figure my a4 is turning 5 years old next month and I need to put more mileage on that car before it gets older. Babyhatch is turning 10 with only 82,400 miles on him. Yes, it's time to let go. May be I am growing up. I have to admit though, the civic is SO easy to drive. It's a shame my sis doesn't feel confident to drive a stick although I know she can.

In 2007, I've tried on taking a positive outlook on life (this is one of my new year's resolutions again). Things have been getting better like my relationship with my sister and my mom. In fact, I'm not lucky to have a BFF, so my sister is pretty much my BFF (or would she be a BSF). We talk often and a lot. I'm so glad I have my sister! (Oh no! I'm getting sappy) I also tried not to take things personally or compare myself to others like I used to. That stuff really wore me down. I realize that I'm just on my own pace. Things are going well between me and my db (that's dear boyfriend by the way). I couldn't ask for more. I really think he brings out the better person in me. I really don't get riled up about stupid things anymore, I think it's his influence on me. Basically, I try not get "small potatoes" get to me anymore. No more drama please. No more negativity either. ick!

I don't know exactly where I am going with this post. I'm just blabbering away. 2008 seems like a good year already! I have a few weddings to attend (Congrats to Kentot and Jenith and to Chris and Vangie on your engagements). So exciting!!!!

That's it for now!

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Tuesday, November 20, 2007

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So Not So Good News in the Mail Today......I got a small envelope saying that said I scored 71.5%. I missed it by 3 questions.


I expected it, so it wasn't so hard this time around. Although I'm a little off with my prediction since I thought I missed it by 2. Oh wells. I wasn't bawling like I was with the last notice. This time, tears welled in my eyes a little bit, but didn't come down my cheek. I didn't lose my faith either. May be I'm just getting used to all the bad news in my life. OK, there is way worse news than that. Not passing an exam with a 9.1% passing rate, isn't so bad. I wonder who the 4 lucky people who passed in my exam room of 50. LOL I'm just trying to make myself feel better.


The first person I called was my db. Then, I called my Mom. I made sure to emphasize the statistics. Her first question was "What are you going to do now?" I told her I've come so far and invested so much time and money into studying, I'm going to keep going forward. I'll be appealing 3 questions as best I can, but hope that the April exam isn't hard as this one. Hopefully my appeal goes through and I won't have to take it. She had to remind me that the CHB license is FOR LIFE that I'll never take it again. She said "That's why it's so difficult." She mentioned how she has to renew her real estate broker license every so often.

Perhaps it's a way for the Government to make a quick buck. Let's see, 1,380 people took the exam paid $200 each. Only 125 people passed. HA! That's a quick a buck for sures!

Again I'm just trying to make myself feel better. I got an email today from of an ex who's trying to pass some exam as well. He was trippin about a 40% Worldwide pass rate. He mentioned that 4 out of 10 people pass and that he was going to fail. Pshaw! PULHLEEZE, talk to my hand!

I'll tell you about a difficult test. I'm beginning to think winning Lotto is easier than passing this test.


On a better note, Congratulations to Frank and Carol on their engagement! I'm so excited for them!!!!



I used to say how this is such a humbling experience, but now I'm a little embarrassed. May be I shouldn't have told people I'm trying to pass this exam. Because telling people how many times I've tried is getting humiliating.

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Monday, November 19, 2007

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Nothing in the mail today......

BUT, I did grow some steel balls and actually grade my exam. I have my exam booklet where I wrote my answers and the cites where I found each answer. Of the 80 questions, I can only miss 20 (24 if I include the 4 "gimme" questions that everyone got credit for). My heart was beating so fast (way faster than it did when I read the email regrading the statistics). I don't think I was even breathing when I was grading my exam. At first I was only going to correct only up to number 20, then it became 50, then I just couldn't stop. So I finished it and tallied up my wrong answers.

Sadly, I came up a bit short missing 22 questions which is 73%. Of course, this is all preliminary. There were some questions that I didn't write an answer for and left blank, so I'm still hoping (and praying) that I got those few right. If so, I might have passed the exam. My friends say to think of the glass half full, have faith, and that there is still hope until I receive that letter from the Custom Broker Compliance HQ. For now, I'm mentally preparing myself for an appeal since there are a few questions I can't believe I got wrong. I mean, I thought the answers I chose were so right. We'll see.

I'm surprised I'm taking this better than expected. Perhaps it's cuz I don't have the actual letter yet? Perhaps it's the statistics? They make me feel much better. I'm so close to be in that 9.1% I can practically taste it. Coming so close to passing (or who knows may be I did) is an accomplishment in itself. This test was way more difficult than the April 07 exam. Perhaps I'm just in better spirits than usual. May be hanging out with my girl Nat wasn't as toxic as I thought. Being exposed to her negativity made me see everything in a more positive light. I don't know if I'm making any sense.

Still hoping and praying that the postman has some good news for me.

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Sunday, November 18, 2007

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I received an email today that made my heart beat so hard, I felt it was going to go through my throat.



"CBP Broker Compliance HQ is mailing the Oct 2007 Exam Results letters on
Friday, Nov 16th. Participants should receive their letters during Thanksgiving week
(Local Broker Compliance officials have their port results)

An additional question was added to the Question "Give Away" list-
all exam participants are given a point no matter how the question
wasanswered:

Oct 2007 Give Away questions
# 9 # 35 # 46 # 80
National Pass Rate- 9.1%
Number of people sitting for exam - approx 1380
People Passing- approx 125 - 130


Oct Exam now posted on www.cbp.gov
Answer key will appear shortly

Best Regards,
Renata Pearson
CBFANC Exam Prep Instructor"

It's going to be extremely difficult to come home and open that mailbox this week. I hope I get a "USPS sorry we missed you" sticky note on my door instead of that dreaded small envelope.

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Been back from So cal for a week now and I'm such a couch potato. So much for hitting the gym 4-5x a week when I got back. I have not worked out at all this week. Db and I were supposed to run yesterday but our laziness overcame us. I gotta get back into it so I will stop complaining about how much I weigh and how I don't fit a lot of my clothes......I just want to have a waist back and get rid of the bilbil. I really dont want to be a muffin top anymore.

So Cal was OK - I had some good times and some so-so times. I was glad to see my friend Darren and his gf Mary. I actually saw them twice that week. They took me to an upscale sushi place called Ikko. It was so yum yum!! On another day, we went to happy hour at Kimera. The Friday after all my meetings were done, I headed over to Brea to visit my cousin Binky, her baby Carina and her hubby Edsel. It was so cool to hang out with them and do some catching up! I hardly see Binky, but when we see each other, it's like we totally just start where we left off. Kinda like how I am with my buddy Darren. Those two are high on my peeps to call when I'm in so cal. Binky and her family took me out to dinner for sushi in Placentia. It was really delicious! Then I headed to Sherman Oaks to visit my friend Nat.

I had fun with her since we went to the Camarillo outlets, went to Korean bbq at the Corner, went to a bar called Golden Gopher, then more shopping at the Alley and then met up with two of her other girlfriends for sake and lunch. But, I can't help but think I could've had more fun with her. Let me preface this by saying how a few years back, I was a very bitter person. I had just lost my dad and I was in an unhealthy relationship. I also had to take care of my sis while my mom spent time in the Philippines months at a time. Basically, I couldn't stand anyone who was in a happy relationship, successful at their job, had a set or living parents, or/and who have purchased a home. Thankfully, I snapped out of that funk (I think!). But I'm sure I've chased away a lot of friends cuz of that. I can't help but think that the friends that stuck around are my true friends. Whereas, the ones who didn't see past that awful person were just fair weather friends.

OK....now that I went through that story. I came home reflecting on my weekend with Nat and I can't help but think she is now the bitter person I used to be. She just takes it to a whole other level. It amazes me how much negativity comes from that woman. She's always been so critical of others (i.e. "What the hell is she wearing?" mind you, the gal is standing next to me of earshot). May be I'm partly to blame for not saying anything all these years. BUT now I have the balls to speak up. I found myself saying stuff like "Girl, whatever floats HER boat. If she thinks she looks hot in it, so be it!" or "Patience is a virtue!" or "Just let them have their fun. Sheeze!" I have pretty high tolerance, but I can only take so much of "I hate this and I hate that" or "That pisses me off!" I should've told her to "not sweat the small stuff." I can't believe I have a friend that can be so shallow and holds grudges from 10 years ago, but everyone has their faults, right? Sadly, I knew not to bring up my db and how happy I am with him since she's so bitter (and I can totally relate), but I did bring him up a very few times. The last time I did, I got a disappointing response. All I did was say "I can't wait for you to meet db!" Her response, "Let's not go there." That response made me x her off my potential bridesmaid list (not that I'm getting married or anything).

I can't help but think that I should help her to bring positivity back into her life. I've polled some friends about what to do. Some peeps say to talk to her, some peeps say she has to figure that out for herself. She keeps complaining about being single but I can't help but think she'd attract more men if she was bit more pleasant. She'd be able to keep her friends as well.

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Tuesday, November 06, 2007

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::Fairmont Hotel, Newport Beach::

For once I'm actually using the dresser drawers of a hotel room, which is kinda wierd since I usually just use the closet. I'm here for 5 nights with 5 days of meetings. Then I head over to Brea to visit my cousin Binky and her baby Carina. I don't think I've seen Binky since her wedding back in December 2005, so I'm pretty excited to see her. After that, I'm heading to Sherman Oaks to visit my girl Natalie. I'm staying with her for the weekend. I really can't wait to see her!! I think the last time we hung out was 2004. That's way too long. So after this string of boring meetings, seeing them is incentive. Tonight I'm going out with my friend Darren and his gf Mary. They've been together 7 years and this is the first time I'll get to meet her.

So I got here kinda late Sunday night and I got a Prius to drive around. You don't know how excited I am to drive it!! It's so wierd not to be able to hear your car. They actually offered me a convertible PT cruiser, but even though it's a convertible, I am not cool with the PT cruiser. YUCK. I'm so happy with the Prius!

This past weekend seemed to go by so fast. I wanted to do an EASY BREEZY quick mountain bike ride since I had plans to use clipless pedals with my new cute Sidi shoes for the first time. I figured Arniepot's 8 mile MTB trail at Redwood Regional would be great, (Andre, if you are reading, I figured it wouldn't be worth the drive from Stockton)and would take us probably an hour and 15 minutes tops. We'd then have to split to make it to Big Sib's birthday party at 2P....probably have no time for the usual lunch hit after a ride.....Plans for riding finally materialized late Friday night...

At the staging area the morning of the ride, I closed the trunk which locked and I said "Babe, the trail map is in my purse in the trunk......." He said, "We don't need it."

To think I printed it on legal paper, too.


Well, let's just say, our intended 1.15 minute ride ran about 2 hours longer. Yeah, 3 hour mountain bike ride. We got lost in Redwood Regional. LOL. Instead of easy breezy, we had to climb "walls" and descent down "stairs" full of rocks and steep drops! UURGH. I don't think I have ever walked my mountain bike so much during a ride since I first started mountain biking. I was sooooooo glad I had my old running shoes on. There is no way I would've survived in clipless pedals!!!! The only one who made it through those "wall" climbs and stairs was my db and he was so far ahead of us that I didn't get to watch him in awe. It was fun the nonetheless. It was only the 4 of us, superjenaynay, superfry, jonjon (he actually came out!) and myself. We ended up pigging out at Oriental Tea Ketel House Kitchen whatevers in San Leandro after. We missed the early part of big sib pat's birtday party (i.e scavanger hunt) but made it over for dinner.

here's a pic of the lost mountain bikers


Sunday.........I spent finishing up packing and hitting up the mall looking for a baby gift and wedding gift.

I am so sad, the 2 Lucky Jeans I recently bought do not fit. I am too fat. I couldn't pack them for my trip. Can't say it's cuz they shrank in the dryer, cuz I hang dry my jeans...and I even tried wearing them around while I was packing, hoping they would loosen up or breathe. NOPES. No dice. I will definitely hit up the gym when I get back. It sucks not being able to fit the clothes in my closet. So depressing!

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Monday, October 22, 2007

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Uhoh, a long blog.....this is way too long, I must edit....

I don't know what to do with myself...

No test to study for...
No half marathon(s) to train for...

Finally done with the 2 half marathons (a week apart) and my exam (October 1). I seriously don't know what to do with myself right now.....

Seems like yesterday I couldn't even run a mile. Not to mention, I was smoking over a pack a day. 5 miles seemed impossible..... Fast forward 2+ years later and I find myself signing up for two half marathons a week apart. What the hell was I thinking? I'm not hard core like Big sib Pat, Jen, Ev, Patra, and Jenaynay who have several half marathons/marathons under their belt. Well,I have one half marathon under my belt at least...but still.. anyways, we all signed up for the San Jose Rock N roll and the Nike Women's marathon a week apart in October....

San Jose Rock N Roll Half Marathon
(that's 13.1 miles for the non runners) October 14, 2007
I slept around 12ish and woke up at 2:30AM and I couldn't go back to sleep. SUCKS!!! I guess I was concerned that db and I didn't get as much training in. We didn't take our training very seriously. Well, it was a mixture of everything...I had to concentrate on my test and I got new road bike, so running took a back seat. I got up at 5AM and showered, ate some oatmeal and hung out with db's cousin Mario who stayed overnight. It was his first half marathon so he was very anxious.

I'm a slow runner with a pace of 11:30/mile on longer runs. I used to be faster, but I guess I'm just heavier or just out of shape. I ran the first 5 miles with Jenaynay, but her pace got faster (how'd you get that fast girl?) so db and I told her not to worry about us and go on her own pace and break her maui half record, which she did. We saw db's cousin Kristi and her family on the side at HP pavillion cheering us on, that was so sweet of them to come out! All I remember is that miles 8 to 11 went by really fast, but the last 2 miles were tough....especially the last half mile. I asked db "Can we walk a lil?" He said "No, keep running..just run slow." So we did....but we didn't sprint to the finish. We finished in 2:30 which is totally our pace on a flat course and better than I expected. Db said that's his last half marathon. I'm sure I can convince him to run more. After the event, we headed to Joshua's first birthday party in Todai. Man, I ate a lot.

This past week I went to the city 3x in a row
1. Wednesday was for a Nike Club Run SF and free Pasta Party and wine too. Also 20% off entire store. I bought 3 items, I think I'll return 2.
2. Thursday was for the Nike Women's packet pick up. I was actually expecting better food than cheese and crackers. Nothing much for me at the event since I don't have a nano and I wasn't interested in the pedis or manis.
3. Friday: I went to Sportsbasement on Portero for a Nike Women's Volunteer meeting on behalf of my sis (she ended up not volunteering since her ride flaked, so she couldn't come down from Sac). I picked up a pair ofSidi Mountain bike shoes and a new fuel belt since I outgrew my current one. LOL

Nike Women's (half) Marathon October 21, 2007
Saturday night, I found myself in bed at 11P after a carbo loading dinner at West Coast Cafe in San Bruno and dropping off db's car near the finish. I found myself praying for a good run day. At first,I couldn't sleep because I thought about how my training pretty much sucked (I was lucky to get out to do a weekly long run). I was really worried about the hills and how I only had 1 double digit training run aside from the San Jose Half. I woke up bright and early at 430AM. I probably had 3 hours of sleep. I woke up with a frickin stomach cramp!!! SHIT! This is going to suck!

I told db, "As long as I make it to mile 9.5 I should be OK"

Euigi and Jenaynay picked us up at 530AM and we parked at the 5th and Mission garage. There were about 21,000 runners + all the supporters all around Union square....

Anyways, this is getting long and boring....

The adrenaline must've kicked in because my stomach cramp went away. First few miles went by so fast since Jenaynay and I were running at a faster pace than I'm used to and there were so many distractions. I can read all the purple TnT Shirts. They are so motivating! Then came the first hill that I FINALLY conquered. I was ecstatic because I usually give up and walk up the last 1/4 of it. On the way down, I was all smiles while trying to catch my breath. We found db and Euigi along chrissy field. They were ringing their cowbells. So cute! LOL. Then 2nd hill came - a longer steeper one. Jenaynay told me to keep looking down, pump those arms and take smaller steps. "Don't look up!" She said. I was successful up til a lil past the 10K mark which was past the bend. It was all over after that. I just couldn't hang and needed to walk. I told her to go on and continue, I'll be fine with my friend mini ipod. :) I ran walked that hill, but so did my big sib Pat who caught up to me and we walked together for a little. On the descent there was beautiful view of the ocean!! It's too beautiful to describe. It was a GORGEOUS day out, no wind and hardly any clouds in the sky. The course then takes a right turn on Clement St, which was the third and final climb for the half marathoners. It wasn't too steep, but it was just long. I probably walked more than I ran. Looking back, I probably had more juice in my legs that I thought. My db has been riding along side me on his mountain bike most of the way. But then, I saw our other friend Eugene also on his bike now riding with db! He came to cheer us on! How sweet of him to come out! At the top of the hill, I heard DB yell "Babe, you made it to mile 9.5!!" I yelled back "I made it!!" From there, the course took us down towards Ocean Beach past Cliff House which was mile 10. WOW, another beautiful view! Amazing. You can hear all the runners say what a beautiful view it was!. Since it was downhill from here, I sped up the pace to make up for lost time on the damn hills! At the bottom near the windmill I wanted to walk a little but there were so many spectators that I kept on running.

At mile 11, I saw a familiar hot chick walking. It was Patra! I was sooooooooo happy to find a running buddy. I walked with her for a lil until she said she wanted to beat Ev. That was my cue! We need to keep running! Helping Patra beat Ev was my motivation. "Let's go beat Ev!" I said. We ran the final 2 miles together, I grabbed her hand like a lesbo lovah and crossed the finish line together! :)

Since I finished San Jose Rock N Roll in 2:30 and it was a flat course, I gave myself 2:50 to finish the Nike Womens because of the hills. BUT, I finished in 2:32 with the hills! How'd I do that?? I'm surprised I didn't experience the same pains I did during the San Jose RnR on the last half mile. It felt good down to the finish!

Thank god for a good run day! PHEW!! DONE DONE DONE! Now back on my bikes!! :)

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Tuesday, October 09, 2007

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Oh Deer!

Last night I took 280N up from San Jose since I was at Valley Fair. I figured, I might as well take 280 since its right there. It was kinda weird cuz it was nighttime, and I usually drive 280N during the morning commute (I usually get on 280 from 880 at 7AM) when I leave from DB's. During my drive last night, I kept thinking about deers on the freeway. I thought about how Lil Mike hit a deer on 280 several years ago. I thought about what would I do if I saw an animal in the middle of the freeway? I also wondered if I would put my new skills of avoidance and braking that I learned from Audi driving school to use. Not to mention that I've also heard that if you see a deer and you can't stop, you might as well go full throttle. Not sure if that is true or not. I though perhaps that would be something good for that Myth Busters show if they haven't already.

As I approached the Trousdale Drive Exit, what do you know, but a DEER was right there!! Right there in that section between the exit lanes and the freeway. He stopped and stared at me giving me the whole "deer in the headlights" shit. I saw the reflection of his eyes. I thought "OH SHT! If he goes towards his left/me I'm in SHIT!" And there was a car behind me exiting as well. Anyways, the deer ran towards his right/the freeway. I wonder if anyone hit the deer. I sure hope not. If so, I hope the deer and the driver are ok.

Next time I'll take 101N back from Valley Fair...at night. J

Other than that, there isn't much excitement in my life, but a lot of events. It feels really strange to wake up on Sunday morning with nothing to study. This past weekend we hit 3 of db's family functions 2 weddings, 1 kid birthday so I ate a lot of cake. Congratulations Tami and Steph! They were married at Wente Vineyards in Livermore. First time I ever been and it sure was a beautiful place. For an outdoor wedding in October, it was pretty hot. However, when the sun went down, I was dancing in my wool coat. Saturday we went to db's Uncle Ted and Auntie Nancy's small wedding reception dinner at HK Flower lounge. Gosh, I swore off of HK FL from the bad dim sum experiences I had, but man, when it's a dinner banquet, it's quite impressive. The food was so good. The bad downfall with HK FL is parking sucks! Friday night we spent at db's cousin's house in Daly City for Dylan's birthday. She had it catered by La Tapatia for $6.95 a person including chips and salsa! There was choice of chicken or beef. She thought there wasn't enough food, but everyone brought home a lot of leftovers. That was sooooooooooo GOOD.

Running.....I'm going to run the two half marathons to finish. I'm hoping to finish around 2:45, preferably 2:30 but that's pushing it. My DB and I finally got in a double digit run last Sat. I know we're supposed to taper and stuff, but mentally I need to know I can actually run 13 miles and doing a double digit would help with that. My legs are usually ok, mentally I'm just not that strong.

I really need to sign up for mental tweaking or something.

Weight wise....I was supposed to try to lose 3.5 pounds for Tami's wedding, but that didn't happen. I've actually gained 2 pounds from my original weight. So now I have 5.5 pounds to lose. AACK. No wonder everything is fitting tight!

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Tuesday, October 02, 2007

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The Aftermath:

A day after my _ try at the Custom Broker exam and I'm still recovering. Customs changed the hotel from the Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf to the Grand Hyatt. You would think it's a better hotel, but it really wasn't. First, Grand Hyatt doesn't provide validated parking while the Holiday Inn did. I got to the hotel at 715AM thinking I had more than enough time before the test started at 830AM. I really thought I'd be an early bird, but once inside the exam room, MAN was it crowded!!! The last exams I've taken I had first pickings on where to sit and I never had to share a table.....This time we were literally elbow to elbow.

It was a horrible exam room, totally not what I'm used to. The first thing I noticed were the steps as the rows were auditorium style, definitely not handicap access friendly and definitely not friendly for the CHB exam takers who mostly use wheeled crates for their heavy books (some even used wheeled coolers - I have never seen that before). The tables were long and ran across to the other side of the room and the aisles were very narrow. Not to mention that the table was very narrow, barely fitting my big books. I wondered if I had enough space to write on the test and scantron. The thought of using the restroom mid test was out of the question - once in your seat, your basically trapped. The lighting was so bad, it was so dim! I found myself saying out loud how awful these conditions were and that the other hotel was better. There were a lot rookies (although I saw some repeat offenders even 2 peeps from my class that I took in 2005 - one lady was from the 2004 class and sat in a few of our classes), so they had nothing to compare it to. I kept saying, "This is insane, definitely not the right conditions to take this test...." I had to text my db and tell him how awful it was. I couldn't believe the two male proctors didn't do anything about it. No balls I suppose. These were obviously HORRID conditions to take an exam I paid $200 to take.

Thank god for the main proctor, this African American lady (that I remember from the last test)who complained to the hotel. She made an announcement apologizing on behalf of customs and that the conditions were definitely inadequate. She said we need the proper space and lightning for a test of such importance and of this caliber. *phew* They moved us to another room, which took a while. Thank god the Grand Hyatt had an available room. It seemed all the tables were shared by two people except for me..... I wonder if I smelled or something (although I showered that morning). LOL! Do I look that scary? Well, it worked out for me cuz I was able to sprawl out. Considering all the craziness, we started the exam around 845.

How did I do?
Well, considering I did several practice timed exams, each one I'd finish in about 3 hours with 1 hour of reviewing my answers. I thought I'd have it in the bag if this exam was anything like that last 5. Well, it wasnt. It was down to the wire and I knew I was in a time crunch when I was till in my little book 2 hours and 30 minutes into the exam. I still had to get to my big big book with an hour and half to go. It was a more difficult exam and I got stuck on a few questions. Thankfully I only guessed on 2 of the 80 questions. I guess 2 isn't so bad. There was a section I have never seen - basically analyzing a Power of Attorney. There were 4 questions - 2 of them I'm sure I got right. Of the hundreds of quizzes I took or the all the practice exams I've taken, I have NEVER had one analyzing a Power of Attorney so that really threw me curve ball. The other section I think I did OK on. I got stuck on a classification question (finding an item in Harmonized Tariff - basically, my big big book that has everything in existence under the sun in it) regarding a steel turkey fryer which uses propane gas. I still don't know the answer to that although I narrowed it to 2. Damn f*cking turkey fryer! UUURGH! LOL! I made last minute changes to two questions regarding Trade agreements with Israel and another one with Australia..I think I got those right.

So although I may feel the most prepared of all the exams I've taken, this was far the most difficult one.

I just hope I missed less than 20 questions. I hope taking vacation days off of work to prepare for this exam was worthwhile and that the fruits of my labor come to fruition with this exam. Basically, I'm tired of putting my life on hold.

I started my 9 day novena prayers yesterday. God willing, I passed this exam this time around and god knows how humbling this has experience has been for me.

6 to 8 weeks til I hear anything....I hope I get a big envelope this time.

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Sunday, September 30, 2007

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Gosh, where did the frickin time go?

It feels like just yesterday I was a wreck after receiving my results from the April Exam back in July. 70% doesn't it cut for this test. I can't believe I missed it by 4 questions! 2 of the questions were from a document I didn't know I needed! Shet! This time I read through the required references so many times to make sure I covered everything, cuz I can't afford to miss more than 20 questions. Then again even if I got those two questions right, I still wouldn't have passed anyways.

What a way to spend a vacation? I took a week off work only to study (as I have with the April exam). Sunday and Monday I just reviewed, the rest of the week I've been giving myself timed practice exams. I've been doing pretty good, missing about 12 to 15 questions of 80. Then I'd go over what I missed and why. I also been updating my "If I Get Stuck Spreadsheet" one side for my small book (the one that sits on a 6 inch catalog rack) and one side for my big book (12" catalog rack). Unfortunately, I was too chicken to brave this one practice exam, the top read, "The National pass rate for this exam is 2%." I should've braved it, suffered through it and learned from it. My reasoning for not taking that particular exam: I didn't want to get discouraged so close to my test date.

One thing I did learn this week is how valuable studying at a library can be! I was in Sac visiting my mom and sis Monday through Wednesday night and I spent my days at the Sierra College library. I was amazed how much I got done, studying straight through with no distractions of a laptop, a couch or a growling belly. I just sat there taking my practice exams, timing myself. I had no idea I was capable of staying in the library for 6 hours of productive studying. *pats herself on back* BUT, I did find out that college libraries were much conducive to studying than your typical community library. I mean that 100 fold. I woke up one morning this week at 630AM thinking I would hit up Burlingame library at 8am, only to find out it opened at 10AM. Thank god I checked the internet first. I knew from the get go it wasn't meant to be. Metered parking at a quarter every 20 minutes was the first red flag, "What the hell, this library doesn't have a lot? Hello! I'm not in the city!". So I parked in the residential with 2 hour parking but free, and lugged my heavy books into to library, only to find out 1. the single desks were too small and couldn't accomodate my huge books 2. the big desks were too big with like 8 chairs. I didn't want to share a table. 3. It was noisy! All the little toddlers were so loud that I had leave. Minutes spent at Bgame library: 10 minutes tops. I headed to the Millbrae one and found a good size table but it was loud too. Little kids again! Screaming and being so loud..Not to mention these little kids had moms who were talking normal as if they weren't in a library. Uurgh! Thankfully they left at 11:30. It was peace and quiet til about 3P when the elementary kids starting flooding in. I put my 4 hours in there, and ran out and studied here at home...

I would've studied in libraries more often, but my books are so dayam heavy and it takes me two trips to my car just to load them and two trips up my stairs. It's such a hassel to transport my books.

Oh gosh, it's getting late. Last day of studying before the big day.

As for running, gosh, it's really sad, but priority for me right now is my test, running can wait. I'm gonna suck at both half marathons, but I'll make the most of it. I'm gonna run to finish, not for time.

As for hitting my goal weight for Tammy's weddingLOL... let's just say, I find myself stress snacking. I need to find a new dress cuz I sure won't fit the one I had planned to wear.

Time to hit my heavy books!

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Sunday, September 23, 2007

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Another day of studying........but a quick post....

Lately, I have had the cooking bug. I've cooked a few times the last few weeks, trying to make the most use of the ingredients I have on hand. I think I've perfected my japanese style chicken curry to the way I want it using chicken thighs, red potatoes, carrots, onions and of course easy breezy curry mix from the packet. Perfect meaning, the vegetables and potatoes aren't mushy and the curry sauce at a consistency that I want. :) One time I bought the curry mix from Albertsons and it cost me almost 5 bucks! Never again! I'm only buying that stuff from Asian markets! The following week left me trying to figure out what to make so I decided to give chicken nilaga a try. Ingredients I used were potatoes, onions, chicken thighs, carrots - all I had to buy from Lucky's was cabbage. Thank god for patis cuz that made my chicken nilaga so much better. I think I was rather stingy on adding patis last time. Whoah, my cooking is getting better, which isn't really saying much considering I am not a cook.

Last night I decided to cook AND bake!! What has come over me?! I wanted to reTRY Rachel Ray's garlic rosemary lemon roasted chicken breast. Since I only had thighs (and I actually prefer them) I used thighs instead. I used dry wine (thanks to Nico for helping figure out what that was) and fresh Rosemary this time around (last time I used dried rosemary and chicken stock).
It actually came out pretty good! *pats herself on back*

I even baked banana bread last night from a recipe I got from db's mom who got it from my aunt. LOL It came out pretty good BUT kinda dry. Although the directions said bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes and I set it for 50 minutes, it still came out over cooked. Next time I know to try 45 minutes instead. I have to try that recipe AGAIN - now I have to wait for my current bananas to become "over ripe"

I even cooked lunch today, if you can call boiling water, throwing chicken boullion, a dash of soy sauce, baby bok choy, green onions and egg noodles in. Wow, didn't realize soup was so easy!! I have to do that more often.

As for training for the half marathon. LOL the rain sabotaged db and i's planned 10 mile run yesterday. I still haven't had a 10 mile run under my belt. AARGH.

I miss my bike. I only rode it once the last two weeks. I brought my bike to work last Wed but the wind "sabotaged" my ride. It was WAY to windy to ride after work. BOOOOO.

Time to shower!

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Sunday, September 16, 2007

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Too Much Eating and Not Enough Training was the theme this past week.

I usually try to at least run twice and bike twice a week. This past week, I did one of each. I really wanted to run during lunch on Thursday, but being the day before a day off, I was slammed! I didn't make it out of there to do a quick run. SAD! To think I took Wednesday as a rest day since I planned to run the following day/Thursday. Not to mention, that Dave and I didn't make it out to Marina for the Nike Club Run on Sat cuz db forgot his running shorts (which I didn't mind. I actually enjoyed sleeping in yesterday morning. We had such a long day on Friday).

I've decided to run at a good pace for the San Jose Rock n Roll Half Marathon and take it easy for the Nike Womens Half, which is what Super Jenaynay suggested that I do. I'm just gonna soak it all in that day. It's gonna be a fun half! I tend to listen to Jenaynay when she gives me training tips, as I do when Christine suggests a restaurant.....

Dave and I, Christine and Kev took Friday off to attend The Audi Driving Experience at Infineon Raceway and make a day out of it. I deliberately signed up for the 10AM spot, so we can hang out in Sonoma and Napa afterwards. I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew it takes 2 hours and we get to drive a TT on the track at the end and that I should wear my pumas. I'm going to bite off of Dave's post on Audizine describing the event (and I'll add my comments as well):

In our 10AM session, we were a class of 16. We had about 20 minutes of classroom time. Then they took us outside to learn seat positioning and steering wheel hand positioning..

Then we got into the cars for 3 exercises - 2 people per car:
1. Avoidance: Full acceleration straight-ahead before lifting off throttle and making a quick left-hand lane change marked by cones. No braking allowed. We drove the A6 4.2.
2. Braking: Full acceleration straight-ahead before full-braking into a coned section similar to above. They want you to get the ABS to kick in while having to steer the car left (another left-hand lane change) without letting up on the brakes. We drove the A4 3.2.
3. Slalom (aka mini auto-x): Just as it sounds, a small auto-x style course marked by cones. We drove the A8 and the A6 Avant 3.2.
4. Track time in the new TT. We were in a red convertible with manual transmission. The object is to stay between 2-5 car lengths of the car in front of you, led by an instructor in an RS4. I was a little nervous being the car RIGHT behind the instructor (didn't want to mess up the car behind me).
5. A ride in the new R8 (as a passenger) if you're selected as the "most improved". I actually was "the chosen one" in our group and I got 2 laps of smiles. I was totally being thrown around in that car. What an experience!! I was all giddy when the instructor said "I chose you as the most improved! You really did really good keeping the line and staying tight!" YEAH BABY! WOOHOO! *does dance* To think I was going to deliberately sand bag and do crappy in the beginning..but I didn't have to. LOL. I'm always nervous in the beginning of any driving event.

To think this was all FREE!!! THANKS AUDI!!!!

Time for me to study. I think the restaurants we ate at deserve a seperate blog! I'll blog about Sunflower Cafe, Bouchon, and Ad Hoc soon enough! (oh and Domaine Chandon as well!)

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Sunday, September 09, 2007

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I had a feeling I wouldn't make it to my training run this morning.

It's 10:06A right now, I should be wrapping up a 10 mile run in Danville, but instead I'm sitting here blogging with a cup of coffee. I woke up a little over an hour ago. I had quite a long day yesterday. I had to met DB's cousin in Daly City at 8AM to carpool to Napa for Tami's Bachelorette day at Napa Valley Spa. It was DB's cousins, sil, and myself as well Tami's friends. I scheduled myself for 50 minute Swedish massage which wasn't until 11:30AM, but I made sure to hit up the lap pool to get some meters in. We got there close to 10AM. I put my swimsuit, swim cap, put on sunscreen and jumped in. The pool tasted a little salty, so I'm not used to that. I thought it was my sweat or something. LOL. I donated 1250 meters to the pool. I haven't swam that long in a long time. Unfortunately, all my sets were mostly in increments of 100 meters. I used to be able to swim longer sets. When I pulled myself out of the pool, I must've pulled something in my thigh - cuz it was painful. It's still not the same. I think I need some ben gay. Anywyas, my massage was just OK, I wish my masseuse put more muscle in it, then again, it's my bad for not speaking up. I have to ask my DB what he thinks if I get a male masseuse next time. After the massage, I hit up the sauna, which was cut short cuz food was ready! We ate pool side, which was nice, but our table wasn't long enough to fit us all. Long story short, we hit up A&W for some rootbeer floats after then hit the outlets. I didn't get home til almost 10P, I didn't get to San Jose til almost 11P. I practically crashed out on DB's couch.

So yeah, long day, pulled muscle in thigh, and tired as hell = overslept/flaked on run. There is no way I could've woke up at 630 this morning. I'm just too pooped. I might run later this afternoon though. We'll see.


Lil bikey boo (temporary name for my road bike) hit 100 miles on Thursday. Man, I still haven't had a long ride on my bike. Longest ride so far has been 19 miles and that was boring and flat on the Bay Trail. I take that back, I always wanted to ride under the San Mateo bridge, so it wasn't too boring. I also didn't know there were wake boarders and that there were people swimming in the bay at Coyote point - so it wasn't too boring. On Thursday, I wanted to ride up Crystal Springs to Canada Road, but as I approached the Sawyer Camp trail head, it was so cloudy and windy, that I just did boring Sawyer camp trail again. I just wanted to ride 14 miles so I can get to 100. Funny, when I got to Bacio cafe to meet Berniebutt, Chris was eating with his cycling clothes on - he did almost the same loop except he went up to Canada Rd as I had originally planned. Coincidentally, we both did 14 miles that day.


Shet, I forgot my sportsbra!May be it was fate that on Thursday I forgot my sportsbra when I pulled out my running clothes at work. I was very sad cuz all I wanted to do was run on the Bay Trail for a quick 3 miler around my office, now I had to go home and grab a sportsbra and run at boring ol Sawyer camp AGAIN (as you can tell, I am bored of that trail). I was thinking of running from the Millbrae side as the day before we left for Vegas.

I don't know what got into me as I was driving home on Friday but I decided to drive up Trousdale and use my odometer to figure out how far up a mile is. I had this crazy idea of running up Trousdale for a quick 3 miler. Anyways, I did end up running to that stop sign ...then I thought hmm "may be I'll keep running to that pole", then I said, "may be I'll keep running to that car",then finally I thought, "I'll run to that last stop sign before the top."

I can't believe I ran up Trousdale Drive(to the last stop sign before the freeway entrance to 280). What an Amazing view!!! What a feeling of accomplishment. I really never thought I'd run up there ever. Granted I probably ran a little over 3.5 miles RT (as I took some side streets at the bottom) but it sure felt good!

I better start studying, it's getting late and I'm thinking of squeezing in a long run today.

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Tuesday, September 04, 2007

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Vegas!

My DB and I have been talking about a vacation for a quite sometime. Unfortunately, due to my intense test prep and lack of fundage, we couldn't really go anywhere far or for too long a time. Afterall, I'm taking a week off just to study (as I have in the past) for my 4th attempt at my CHB exam October 1. Looking back, I should've taken the test every 6 months instead of taking that year long break (October 05 to October 06). I'm thinking of it this way, my first attempt October 2005 was just to sit in on the test and get "familiar" knowing I wasn't going to pass it. So, I'd like to say that this upcoming test October 07 is my "third" attempt.

Back to the point. My DB stashed away money to take us on a trip and since we heard Southwest was offering $44 one way tix from SFO to LAS, we just jumped on it. Our tix cost about $107 each total. Our hotel room was pretty cheap, too. We stayed at Bally's for $215 total for two nights. Granted we got in EARLY Thursday morning and flew back Saturday early evening. Not the best hotel out there, but very convenient since it's in the middle of the strip. Plus, it's a Harrah's property, so our total rewards points works at several hotels (Paris, Cesars, Rio, etc.)

After much debating on whether or not to watch Cirque du Soleil "O", we finally decided on watching it. At first I was a little worried because DB accidentally booked the wrong night! OOPS! But it all worked out in the end because Bellagio (which was right across the street from our hotel) worked with him and rebooked the tickets. We got worse seats. However, DB called late the night before the show and asked if there's anyway we can upgrade and since there were cancellations, we got awesome seats! PHEW! Way better than the original seats we had. Phew! Did I mention DB's parents insisted on paying for our O tickets? After politely declining several times, they got the upper hand, since they knew we couldn't refuse a red envelope, so we just had to take it. It brings me warm fuzzies thinking about how generous they are (because in my past 2 relationships, I never met my bfs' parents).

This is my first trip to Vegas minus the clubbing or bar hopping. May be it was the weather (approx 106 degrees), but I really didn't feel like doing anything much. This is also my first trip to Vegas where I didn't rent a car AND that we walked the whole strip - in 105+ degree weather and all. Let's just say, my calves were really tight at the end of each day. I did however, get my margarita fix. But, it wasn't that good.

So basically our trip was mainly planned around "O" and eating. Our first stop in Vegas was Le Village Buffet in Paris for breakfast. YUM YUM YUM! Our second meal that day was Mon Ami Gabi, a French Bistro Steakhouse also in Paris. I booked it cuz I wanted patio seating across from the Bellagio water show, but it was so windy Thursday since there was some type of storm. So, I didn't mind eating inside. I was a little disappointed that my filet mignon was a little overcooked, but they had awesome frites! I guess it was a good thing, cuz I didn't want to be so stuffed and not able to stay awake for "O" We've been up since 4AM and our O show was at 1030P. I made sure I downed a Redbull after dinner. The following day we just ate at the food court of Venetian (not so good paninis) and stopped by Bouchon Bakery for some coffee, chocolate bouchon and a chocolate chip cookie - YUMMMY! Later that night, we ate at Le Burger Brasserie. We were intrigued with having burgers at a fancy looking place that served their burgers with frites. It was good. We over did it on the frites though. Our last hurrah was at the Bellagio buffet (at $29.99 a person for their Labor day special). Can I just say, I was VERY impressed with their prime rib!?!?!? YUM YUM YUM to my TUM TUM! *drool* I definitely got seconds and they were VERY generous with the portion!

Hmmm What else did we do? Well, we went to the top of the Eiffel tower. Played slots and keno. DB actually hit 2 quarter slot machines at 300 coins each - this is AFTER I played on them! Lucky bum!

So that about wraps it up with our trip to Vegas. Short and sweet and early enough where it doesn't impact my study time, which is something I should be doing right now. I should study a little bit.



p.s. Did I mention I missed my bike during my trip? LOL. Rode her today though...only 86 measly miles on her. I need a LONG road ride soon! If only I wasn't training for two half marathons, I can go on long rides on the weekends.

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Monday, August 27, 2007

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I haven't been writing since I've been so uninspired...my blog skin has been irritating me so I finally changed it. Not sure if I really like this one. Definitely have to do A LOT more tweakin..

Short post before I study for a couple hours...

So I bought my bike! YAY! A lil 43cm Trek 1600 with 650c wheels. I'm so glad I bought it! I try to go riding as much as I can, but I'm training for two half marathons in October...and let me just say, my running legs aren't back just yet. I'd rather be on my bike. In fact, I'll go riding tomorrow even if I have to ride during lunch. I'm glad I bought the bike when I did, I peaked at the Trek website for 2008 WSD bikes and the 1000s, 1600s, 2100s, 5000s are all gone! All they have was the Pilots and the Madones. In fact, Trek downgraded the components of the Pilot 2.1 - the 2007 (approx $1400)was a 105/Ultegra mix, but the 2008 2.1 has Tiagra/105 mix for over $1200. OUCH. Quite expensive for those components, me thinks! I'd like to think that Trek just hasn't finished their line and that we'll see the 1000s, 1600s...and such back in their line up.

So much to write, but so little time...

Heading to Vegas on Thursday with my db. I can't wait!

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Friday, July 27, 2007

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I'm at crossroads on buying a bike. I am soooooooo close to biting the bullet, yet I have a slower wallet than normal. I used to be so impulsive and here I am debating over a buying a bike for the last several days.

My MUST haves were the following:
At least Shimano 105 components
Carbon Fiber fork
Carbon Fiber Seat Stays
Triple crank


During the last ride, I had a realization. Do I really need Carbon Fiber seat stays? Probably not. My friend Wallace is quite the avid cyclist and he rides a Trek 1500 which does not have CF seat stays. I'm way below his level his cycling. In fact, of all my friends, I am the slowest rider. In fact, none of my close friends have CF seat stays. Hmmm. So I threw that "must have" out and now eyeing the Trek 1600 WSD. It has all my must haves except for the CF Seat Stays.

Now I'm looking at a bike that retails for about $1300. I found it on sale for $1080. Test rode the bike at a local bike store on Tuesday and found Love at First Bike. Unfortunately, Chain Reaction sells the bike for $1249. I called today to price match to $1080, but the price is too low.

If I decide to buy a bike, I have to do it by Sunday as the Trek bike sale ends.

Do I really need it?
Well I know I will put good use to it. I have to give back my borrowed Trek eventually and it doesn't fit me well.

Am I just buying it cuz it's on sale?
Not really, but that is good price. Not sure if I will come across this bike for this cheap. Not to mention if my LBS can't price match cuz it's too low and it's in my size!
I was sad to hear that there are no more 2007 Trek 2100s in 43cm in North America. Boooo. That sucks. Well, not like I'd buy that bike, it's over my price range anyways.

I'll sleep on it. May be tomorrow during my run, I'll decide whether or not to buy.

Time to watch Tour de France!

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Sunday, July 22, 2007

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Procrastinating equals blogging.

I'm supposed to be working on my appeal, but I'm procrastinating. I just checked the balances on a jamba card and starbucks card I have sitting around my apartment. I even made lunch for myself and had some dreyer's slow churned ice cream for dessert. If the Tour De France was on, I'd be watching that instead of blogging.

Road bike Saga continues.....Still haven't bought a bike, but I really think I've narrowed it down...We'll see. If I see a Trek Pilot 2.1 in a 43cm or a Specialized Dolce Comp 44cm at a great price, I will pick it up. Yesterday, myself, Dave, Berniebutt, Nico, Chris and Wallace went on mini Tour de Peninsula, RT was 21 miles. I wanted to see how bad this "Mt Neverest" really is (i.e Ralston hill). It wasn't too bad except there were lots of cars and they were driving really fast and really close to the bike lane. I think I will buy a heart rate monitor so I know if I can push myself a little harder. I tend to reserve my energy for the last 1/3 of the bike ride and I'm afraid of overexerting myself on the way back. I figure I want to be climbing with a smile on my face. :)

Speaking of road biking, Dave finally put my clipless pedals on yesterday. YAHOOEY!! He took me out to Mill's high school to practice on the baseball field. I pell during the first 15 seconds - my bad for going towards the red sandy section. OOPS! The red sandy section was kinda deep so my front wheel just got stuck I just fell over. haha. Oh wells. I fell only one other time after that, even if I avoided the red sandy section.... So may be I will be more of a slow poke than I ready am.

Did I mention I went to Northstar on July 7th for some down hill mountain biking? I can't remember and I'm too lazy to reread my blog. So Dave and I, Jenaynay and Euigi headed up to Northstar for some mountain biking. I was really kinda scared at first to the point where I was so quiet during the first run. haha I finally got the hang of it and thankfully didn't bail that day. PHEW!! I mean, everyone else riding Northstar seems to be wearing padding and full face helmets. Did I mention the bling bling bikes everywhere?

I'm so tired of blog skin. My blog needs a makeover bad. :)

Gonna try not to eat out this week. I spent so much on food the last couple weeks. It's not even funny. I'm going to try to cook whatever is in my fridge (hmmm I know I have some tocino in the freezer). I'll also try to eat pb&j sandwiches every day for lunch.

We'll see how I do.

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Wednesday, July 11, 2007

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Laughter is the best medicine! (is that the saying? I cant remember)

What a night! One of those nights were I wasn't feeling like going, but decided to go anyways and boy am I glad I went!

Headed out to Hooters Dublin to celebrate Curtis' bday. It was supposed to be Hooters Fremont, but then they moved it to Hooters Dublin and man, that just felt so far. All for the better cuz it wasn't crowded. It was me, dave, bennyboo,jonjon, jenith, kentot, edong, curtis, johnny, eugene (came late) and jenny (came even later). After dinner we headed to Bennybooboot's house for dessert and some Wii action. I have never played Wii, but I had so much fun watching the guys play Super Mario. Watching them play was so stressful! ahah Not to mention Curtis with his full on crazy chinese accent. I couldn't stop laughing! I haven't laughed like that in SO long! He talked like that all night!

Dongu killyou!!!


LOL

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Tuesday, July 10, 2007

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I've been meaning to blog, but I've got too much on my mind. Not to mention, I don't want to write a depressing blog. I wouldn't say this is depressing, but I've come to terms with myself.

What's been going on with me in a nutshell? Well, I've been road bike shopping for a couple months now. It's more frustrating than shopping for a car. I've hit at least a dozen bike stores, most of whom do not stock small bikes (I ride a 43 or 44cm bike) so most of the time, I don't have a bike to try. I've tried everything I can get my hands on. Specialized, Trek, Bianchi, Felt, Novarra, Giant....I can't remember what else I've tried, but I do know what I want, so I won't settle for anything less. I want at least a full Shimano 105 for the components, a triple crank and a carbon fiber seat stay. The carbon fiber seat stay will probably be the first to go. I figure if I buy a bike, I won't plan on upgrading or buying another one in about 10 years, so I better make it good. I've already come to terms that I will buy a bike with smaller 650c wheels, which I was having issues with at first. I've even up my budget a few hundred dollars.

Currently I'm borrowing Dave's cousin's bike and I've gotten pretty comfortable on it, except it's a little big for me at 47cm. I guess I'm stretched out, but I am so used to it, that on the smaller bikes that I supposedly fit, I feel a bit cramped. I'm a bit frustrated cuz everyone is giving me different suggestions - go for a smaller bike, go for the bigger bike, don't do 650c wheels, do 650c wheels. AARGH. I've decided I'm going to put this bike shopping on hold until I figure something out. May be I'll even considering a Terry bike or a custom bike. In the meantime, I'm completely happy with my borrowed Trek.

Other than that, I received some bad news in the mail a few weeks ago. Yeah, I'm going to hit the books again. I came up very close with a score of 70%. I missed passing by 4 questions. I'm going to submit an appeal, but I have to decide which 4 questions I will argue. I started that last night. MAN, there's some questions I can't believe I got wrong - well, 2 of them, still wouldn't have passed if I got those 2 questions right anyways. I was pretty depressed the week I received my "small envelope." I don't think I've ever seen myself like that before. I didn't want to see anyone or talk to anyone. I really didn't feel like socializing. I felt like such a big failure, which in all honesty is so hard when I'm a part of group of friends who are so successful (there are 3 fancy new cars in our group). Money seems never an issue for them, and here I am trying to save up for a bicycle. I have never felt so stoopid before in my life. "Am I really such a f*cking bonehead? UC Davis education and all? I can't seem to pass this f*cking test!" For a moment there, I lost my faith. All this praying, including a few novenas and 3 wishes at several churches I've never been to(geeze, I wonder what my 3 wishes were). I kept wondering "Why does god keep making my life a struggle? Why does he keep telling me no??" A friend of mine told me yesterday "God helps us in mysterious ways." Another friend said, "God just says that it's not the right time." Well, when will it be my time? My patience is wearing thin. My life is so stagnant and I just want to improve it. It really doesn't take much to make me happy.

Thank god for my friends who picked me up, dusted me off and put me back together. Some slapped the silliness out of me, so to speak. Not to mention, hearing the tales of persistance - i.e. a friend took the bar exam 4 times before he passed, another friend passed her gov't issued exam for civil engineering after 4 or 5 attemps. She was in my shoes, probably the same size. She fought through feeling hopeless and passed it.

So anyways, I'd be lying if I said I'm over it. Am still a bit bitter that I didn't get it after the third f*cking time (may be I shouldn't have waited a year between the 1st and 2nd attempts, but oh wells). I've come this far already, I might as well keep going. Afterall, I only need another 5 percent and there are far worse burdens in life this one setback.

This better be the last $200 bucks I give the US Govt to take this frickin test. SHIT!:)

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Monday, June 04, 2007

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Not feeling like writing about the Mermaid Sprint Tri....as I was 85% capacity due that cold. It really hit me during the running part where I had to blow my nose a few times on the course. Oh wells. I had fun and we did good.

Anyways, not feeling like writing..looking at the pics, I've been hit with a realty check. Last year I noticed I looked wide at Mike's birthday pics, so started to diet. This year, I looked at the pics from Mermaid and I need to lose some weight. All this training and I'm really wide in the mid section. Time to start running and watch my diet. I have to stop overcompensating. No more "I ran XX miles or I biked XX miles so I can eat this and this and that" I gotta stop with the sweets!

*sigh*

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Wednesday, May 30, 2007

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Man, this sucks.

3 more days til Mermaid Tri and I caught a stoopid cold. UUURGH. My lame ass noticed the sore throat coming on Sunday but I didn't run to Long's to buy some Airbourne. BLEH. I tried to "will it away," but obviously that didn't work. I stayed home from work today but I think my cold is now in the congestion stage. I searched beginnertriathlete.com for threads on people who race with colds. I found many threads about training with a cold, but just one thread about racing with a cold. Great. Basically, it's "race while feeling miserable vs stay home feeling miserable." Another person said "Don't race, you already know you won't do well."

Hmmm. That's a lot to think about. I don't want to lose the $100 bucks I spent on registration.

As for tomorrow, I plan on running/biking - if I can breathe. I plan on going thru with Mermaid, if I can breathe....

Gosh, I hope I get better! I think I'll sleep early tonight.

Anyways, nothing much going on here, ran Bay to Breakers and man, was I slow. Definitely not enough training. *sigh*

Time to put some Vick's vapor rub on my chest and down some Nyquil in 30 minutes.

More to blog later!

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Tuesday, May 15, 2007

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I've been meaning to post about the Wildflower Triathlonso here we go...

Not sure who would read this since this is quite a novel.

We (Team PB&J - aka Piaa, Berniebutt, and Jenaynay) signed up around Christmas time. We thought 4 months was ample time to train. I guess. hahahah Originally, I was going to do the road bike, but considering I had to study for my custom broker exam in April, I was a little worried I couldn't devote enough road time. Afterall, the swim would probably take about 40 to 45 minutes (or so I thought) and the road bike portion a good 2 hours. I guess it worked out that Jenaynay and I traded. So I spent time training directly after work at Brisbane pool. I would be in the water 30 - 45 minutes each session. Then I'd go home, relax and study a few hours. Totally worked out the last few months.

Seems like yesterday when 50 meters would leave me gasping for air. I finally got my rhythm by slowing things up a bit - which was probably somewhere in March. It wasn't until it was down to the wire (2 weeks before the event) when my friend Martin came out to watch me swim. He gave me a few pointers and corrected some problem areas. I learned that my breathing and reach were good. However, my legs were dragging and I was windmilling my arms. Martin promised me I would have a more efficient stroke after our session, which I got! Now, I swim with my butt up and my toes gently touching the surface of the water. I'm grabbing and pulling the water close to my body. BUT, I still have this retarded left arm, which kinda drops each time I take a breath (I breathe to the right), creating more drag. I'm still trying to fix that to this day. It's getting there though...

Fast forward to May 5, 2007....

Team PB&J and our "support crew" of husbands and boyfriend met up for lunch at ABC in Milpitas for dimsum before we headed down to Lake San Antonio. We rolled with 2 cars, the Team PB&J in my car and the supportboys in the Gomez' Montero. It was really windy that day and I was getting worried about my swim. If it's windy, my swim will be even more difficult with waves and stronger current. UURGH. When we arrived, we ended up at the Overflow section like last year(no showers, just portapotties). Seems all the spots were taken! The one time I didn't bring my tables, we might actually need them. OOPS. Thankfully, Dave found a site where the peeps were leaving and it had a picnic table. We set up camp with the wind totally blowing. We almost didn't have enough stakes (my bad, I thought I didn't have any - OOPS number 2). We set up camp and headed for the pasta party. While we ate, we thought of all the good food we had back at our campsite. Then again, it was so windy, it might have been more a pain in the ass to cook and eat....

Nervous Wreck
I didn't sleep at all Saturday night. I was so nervous and so worried about my swim. I tried to motivate myself, tried to think of strategy "I will just swim buoy to buoy or boat to boat."

Our alarms didn't go off, but I was already awake anyways. I got everyone up at 615, I think. We had to be at the transition area by 830. I was so nervous I couldn't really enjoy my breakfast of oatmeal and pan de sal, but I ate them anyways. Eugene drove as close as he could to the transition area and dropped us off. While we were at the transition area, I ate my banana to ward off cramps...I guess it worked. I was thankful it wasn't windy anymore.

10:45- I worked my way towards the start area with Dave. My wave started at 11 and I knew I can warm up in the water 5 minutes before. At 10:55 I was in the water warming up, did a few strokes. Water was cold at first, but wasn't too bad after that. I heard the water was 65 degrees.

Burping Queen
Then the horn blew and off we went! I kept to the back left, but was really slow to start. I mean really slow to start. I tried a few strokes and would end up doing the water polo (head above) free style and the breast stroke. By the time I got to the first buoy, there was only a few people around me. I kept telling myself to keep moving forward. I started to do the backstroke to catch my breath (that and I had to burp so badly), but I dont know how to backstroke well. I would turn around and attempt my freestyle again, only to swallow so much water! UURGH, DAMN WAVES!!!! Repeat that several times. Luckily I had this cool surfer life guard named Patricia who would let me hold on to her board so I can burp. My burps were so HUGE!!! I swear the people at the shore can hear my burps. Patricia was so nice and she totally motivated me!

Man, those stoopid waves!! I wasn't able to train with waves since Shadow cliffs was pretty calm. I mean, there was a current, but not Waves!! UURGH.

The second buoy looked doable, but the third buoy looked soooooo far (I had 5 buoys to pass)!! At this point, I started to doubt myself. "Can I really do this?" The DNF (did not finish) boat that plucks the swimmers looked really tempting. I even thought how it would be OK to jump on the boat because the biker can still bike and runnner can still run. However, I managed to pass the dude in front of me. Whoah, I actually passed someone. I would turn around and yell, "We can do this!!" Not sure if he heard me though.


A sea-doo would come by now and then and ask how we're doing and Patricia would answer "We're doing great!" All I can think of was, "Go away sea-doo!! You are making more waves" making me drink more of the lake!

I started to do some freestyle and Patricia would tell me "Good pace! Keep going, smooth long strokes! You're doing great!" I was almost at the third buoy when I caught up to the lady in front of me - she was actually from an earlier wave wearing a pink cap. WHOAH, I caught up to someone else?? Actually, the DNF boat (which was creating MORE waves - stoopid boat!!!!!) was talking to her and was giving her a choice She can either DNF and they'll take her to shore and she can go on her bike or she can complete the course. I swam by them and the boat gave me the same choice. I yelled back "I just got my rhythm, I can do this!!!!" under my breath I was thinking "Go away boat, you are making more WAVES!" The pressure just made me swim faster.


Suffice to say, I probably swam the last half of the course 3x faster than I did the first half.


As I approached the finish, I can hear people saying "You're not supposed to drink the lake, you're supposed to swim in it" and I would yell "I need to BURP!!" haha
The finish was so close but that last burp stuck in my throat really hurt!!! But everyone was cheering me on...so I just sucked it up.I kept swimming and swimming and by the time I stood up, the water was like calf high! LOL! I turned back to say thank you to Patricia and ran up to the transition area.


I was out of sorts coming out of the water that jenny just grabbed the timing chip, grabbed her bike and off she went. Berniebutt hugged me even though I made her all wet. (oopsy, so sorry!) I felt really bad for jenny and bern cuz it was SO HOT (mid 80s I think) and there was hardly any wind. I can see how bern was so anxious to run. The wait was killing her! Imagine, she's been in the transition area since 830..only to run around 2:15!!

I can't believe I finished and I wasn't dead last and didn't DNF!!!!! btw, the guy behind me got plucked by the dnf boat.

Thank god for my teammates, cuz they made up for the time I spent in the lake. LOL. Jenny shaved 10 minutes off her time and Berniebutt finished with all smiles in an hour an 9 minutes in the HEAT and with hills!! Props to my team!!!!!

Here are the pics!
Pics from Wildflower

Anyways, I want to do that again!! I want to improve my time!!!

I'm so thankful the following didn't happen on my swim:
Goggles fogging up
Legs cramping up (thanks banana)
Initial panic first 2 minutes in the water
Freaking out in the middle of the lake

Phew!!

That course felt longer than 1500 meters. I read a few reports and lot of people swam close to 1700 meters. I might have swam more than that, cuz I veered off course so many times. LOL

Let me just say, STOOPID WAVES!!! If it wasn't for the waves, I'm sure I would've finished earlier! Oh wells, next time!

I'm so proud of my girls! We did it!!! (and we have cute sweatshirts too!!)

Now on to Mermaid Tri, June 3rd. :) I have a lot of work to do. It's going to come up fast!

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Monday, May 07, 2007

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Wildflower post will come later..but right now, what's on my mind is.................................

MY BABYHATCH IS NO LONGER A GHETTO RICER!!!!!!!

I took the day off today to recover from the Wildflower (I'm not as hard core as my teammates who went to work today) and took care of my stuff! One big errand to run today was to get my babyhatch back to QUIET! I'm soooooooo sick and tired of my Magnaflow muffler with RS*R exhaust (I totally miss my RS*R muffler).
The car is loud and obnoxious that it is so embarassing to drive around.

Anyways, with the suggestion of my friend Mike to bring my car to Golden Auto (actually, Dave brought his audi there in the past as well) on Mission in Daly City, I decided to give them a try. Right when I got there, I didn't have to say anything, the nice lady already knew "Oh yo cah soun so bah! I change fo you!" I told her I want my car back to quiet. She quoted me $150 to change everything after the cat to 2" piping and a regular muffler (removing my 2.5" piping and yucky magnaflow).

What a relief! The car feels like a brand new car! WOOHOO!!! I was actually driving around without any music just to listen to my OH SO QUIET BABYHATCH.

"Whoah, I can hear my air condition working"

"Whoah, my tires ARE loud"


I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT!!! Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to drive my cute little honda hatch thats QUIET and uses 87 gasoline!!!

Geeze, I wonder which car I'll be driving around!?? Besides, easier to put a bike on top the honda since it's lower...and I'll have to do a few bricks (bike and run or swim and run or swim and bike)after work to prepare for the Mermaid Triathlon June 3rd (right jenaynay and berniebutt? hehehe)

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Thursday, May 03, 2007

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It surprises me that I've been sleeping like a baby the last few nights considering the Wildflower is ONLY 3 days away. I think I might jinxed myself.

I guess that's the good thing about swimming.......it makes me sleepy.

Not my best swim night:
Last night, I hit the Brisbane pool directly after work with a pair of brand new goggles. I bought the same goggles I'm currently using (Femme Petite TYR to fit my small face), but in a different color. I chose pink goggles cuz they are cute and girlie (i must a be a changed woman). I didn't realize until I got home after I bought them, that the lenses were tinted in pink as well. OOPS! I wanted clear ones and I dont have time to return these. I gave them a try yesterday and although I could see crystal clear at times, they leaked! I sprayed anti-fog on them the night before, so I had no problems with the lenses fogging up. They kept leaking! Every 50 meters, I had to stop and adjust my googles. UURGH. Not to mention, I didn't really get my rhythm til the last 400 meters of my swim. All my bad though, I tried to up the tempo a bit, it just made me tired.

I did do my distance (1500 meters) in the pool Tuesday night. That felt OK, wasn't my strongest night at the pool, but it was alright. I didn't feel disappointed, nor was I happy about it.

Today, I'm heading out to Shadow cliffs for my final dip in the lake before the event. I hope the water isn't too cold today and I hope it doesn't rain! Bionic Mike couldn't make it out and I REALLY freaked out yesterday when he told me. I really didn't want to go out to the lake by myself with no life guard, but thank goodness Jenaynay can meet me! Phew!

Uhoh! Now my heart is beating faster. haha.


Back to reading beginnertriathlete.com and open water swims!

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Sunday, April 29, 2007

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7 days and counting....

Open water swim (attempt) part IV

My plan today was to go back to Shadow Cliffs and do my 4th open water swim. I did just that. My other plan was to swim 10 lengths (140 meters times 10) or is it 120 meters or yards. Oh Sh*t, I can't remember! Whatevers, I wanted to swim 5 laps (out and back). I did just that. However, after every length, I stopped/rested and thought about what am I doing wrong. Why am I out of breath? Am I going too fast? Why do I swim like a drunk driver?

Each length I tried something different, but my constant was keeping a steady pace...not to rush and try to be one with the water.

A nice gentleman by the name of Steve was there as well (I met him last Thursday when Jenaynay and I were there). He's the one who's doing the Long Course. He told me he came back at least twice since he last saw me on Thursday and boy, did it show...He just kept swimming and swimming....Wow, if only I can do the same. 2 more tries for me, may be I'll get to where he is. (doubt it haahah) Thing is - I see chances of rain in our forecast towards to end of the week. SHIT! I'm sure Steve is probably worried about how I will do come Wildflower considering how slow and how many times I stopped.

Although Jenaynay offered to come with me, I decided to head out by myself, that way I wouldn't have to worry about her getting bored. I thought, may be it's like gambling. You know that feeling when you are at the tables and someone is waiting for you to finish? Well, chances are you will lose. I wouldn't want that anxious feeling, so I thought I better just go out on my own. Besides, there are lifeguards on the weekends.

I was out in the water for an hour. The weather was HOT and there were so many people having picnics. Not to mention, there were tons of kids in the lake!! Yes, the lake was a little murkier today - no matter, I liked it better. I cant see what would probably distract me. ha ha! The water was warm (is it cuz the kids were peeing in the lake? haha). I had no problem sticking my head in the water this time around and I totally forgot about the pee in the lake.

So yeah, I completed 10 lengths. Looks like my average time is about 4.30 (5 being my longest 3.45 being my shortest) minutes per length. Sounds like I'm where I should be, now if only I dont stop between lengths...I know I can swim faster than that. That 4.30 has probably a few bouts of treading...I wouldn't want that come event day.

My last two laps felt really good though..or rather, I'm getting there! Considering I kept bumping into the rope, I decided to use the buoys as my target. "Swim to the buoy!" I would tell myself, but my sighting still sucks. I better get my sighting down by the next time II'm out at Shadow cliffs - which is hopefully Wednesday or Thursday.

So now I'm finally feeling more confident in the water...I'm SLOWLY getting there.

I think I will sign up for that Mermaid Triathlon. I'd be glad to trade my 1500 meter swim for that easy breezey 400 meter swim!!! Hope it's not full yet! :)


Oh! Yesterday morning, I did an easy breazy 1100 meter swim at Burlingame yesterday. Man, I came out DARK as kentot. mwuahahaah (I know he doesn't read this). HAHAHAHA

Yesterday,we (my mom, sis, dave and i) went to my cousin Joanne's wedding. It was pretty fun actually and my cousin Janet looked so hawt. She dropped some weight, grew her hair long and straight and had her makeup done. She looked so hawt that my sis and I kept looking at her. ahahahah When we first arrived at the church, I didn't recognize Janet at all. Anyways...so that's it for me. I'm