Hold on to the good and let go of the bad

Lord knows I am no where near where I wanted to be at this juncture in my life. But I'm happy for EVERYTHING that has ever happened.

Without the let downs and failures, I would never know how to pick myself back up and start anew. I would never know that I had the strength to stand on my own two feet and try again. Without the heartbreak, I would never know how to let myself be open and free again. How to simply be more than content with MYSELF. Without making mistakes, I wouldn't know how to do it the right way. I've always said that I don't believe in regrets, rather I believe in learning from everything you encounter, good or bad, you can always take a lesson away from it.

I think like everyone does a spring cleaning of our homes, we need to do a cleansing of our lives. If that means cutting out bad habits or negative people in our lives, so be it. We all need to reevaluate ourselves time and time again.

I write this as I'm coming into that stage again where I'm simply at peace with myself. I haven't seen this "peace" in what seems to be a really long time, but I can see it coming and boy am I ready for it. It seems that recently, I often find myself surprising...well myself. I've come to conclusions, resolutions and revelations within the past year. And, I'm looking forward to what is to come.

So to all of you that are in a gray area of your life. Just look at how far you've already come. Learn to let go, and look forward to the good to come. I honestly believe that everything starts falling into place only when you are truly at peace with yourself.

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saturday night with the ladies

saturday night was reserved for dinner with 3 important people in my life, 2 of my closest friends and my goddaughter.

we chatted and giggled the night away at Cha Cha Cha's, one of our favorite restaurants. and then continued our tame evening at my house. these are the moments that keep me going. just enjoying each other's company while having meaningful conversations and laughing the night away. don't get me wrong i do love our nights out at club dancing the night away... we always seem to be laughing when we are dancing too! hahaha you have to be there with us to understand. (jill - "why you ain't dance like that with me!!!" lmao) but, having the moment to soak it all in while it's happening, just makes me thankful for all the moments i've been able to laugh it up.

here's a picture of me and my goddaughter, sydney. she was copying me b/c i was wearing an off the shoulder!




lipstick - wet n wild 906D - wine room

this was taken after a few glasses of sangria. great for more of a true red look.

gym appropriate attire update

In my "gym appropriate attire" blog, I write an anecdote about a person wearing dress shoes to the gym. And holy moly wouldn't you know it...I seen it again!

I went to my core exercise class on tuesday and as I was cooling down from my run on the treadmill (which was great btw, very rare b/c I hate treadmills runs), stretching and getting ready for class I noticed a couple of mats over there was a guy wearing dress shoes. I giggled to myself and also felt sorry for the guy at the same time. I mean doing plank exercises are hard enough as it is. Wearing slippery dress shoes must have made it extremely difficult.

After class, I was able to get a picture...I HAD to show you all...




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weekend fun

last weekend was a pretty tame weekend for me. i stayed indoors, but that doesn't mean that i didn't have fun. family time is ALWAYS a blast with our family. don't believe me, ask any of our friends? orrrr come on over and just TRY to keep up.

so saturday, my sister and i went out to finish up HER xmas shopping. i was already done and had no intention what so ever to buy ANYTHING, except for a few hair thingys for my goddaughter. first stop, stonestown. we checked out gymboree and i found the cutest shoes that i HAD to get them for my goddaughter. then we went to check out forever...mistake #1 i ended up buying a sweater. and of course we had to stop at h&m...mistake #2 i ended up buying a gold blazer.

then it was off to serramonkey, as we like to call it. the h&m in serramonkey has a kids section so janice finished off her xmas shopping there. i however, have been eyeing this grey blazer for quite some time now and finally gave in and bought it, mistake #3.

i haven't shopped for myself in some time so i guess it's ok. and the pieces i bought are classic and versatile, so i can always wear them. (that's me justifying my purchases...lol)

last stop target! it was crazy in there so we got what we needed and were off to go home and wrap presents. well...i was going to wrap presents. my sister hates it and i LOVEEEE it, so i do it every year.

change of plan...apparently we were having a get together at my grandparents house b/c they were going back to pi early. my aunt and uncle got my grandparents a laptop for xmas and we set them up with skype. no more calling cards needed. needless to say, explaining to my grandparents how to work skype, let alone the computer itself was hilarious. while showing them the capabilities of skype, with my grandpa on his new computer and another computer on the other side of the room, my uncle decides to moon my grandpa through the computer screen. LMAO!!! holy moly you HAD to be there. (see i told you we're a fun bunch!) we ended the night with the cousins at my house and we drank wine and TRIED to watch movies the rest of the night. (stupid redbox!)

sunday..."are you ready for some footballllll?" the niners played seattle and it was my cousin, jonathan's bday so we had a little celebration at our place. the cousins came over and we watched as the niners beat the seahawks!!! woo hoo!!! i wish they played like that every game.

funny pictures taken while we were shopping:

don't sleep on target

Target is almost everyone's weakness...or at least for a lot of people I know. I know that I can go into Target intending on only getting a couple of items and instead I come out with a bill of $100 or more easily!

And it's been a little harder now that they've come out with cute clothes too. I mean cute clothes at an affordable price, it's so hard not to just think "oh it's only 10 bucks!" and throw it in the cart.

Last season, my sister found some really cute boots. And I found some awesome galoshes. So, I always make sure to keep an eye out for any good deals.

Luckily for me I found these cute over the knee boots for about $25. I also found a pair of black leather over the knee boots for the same price. (I'll post a picture of the black ones later, as I had to get a bigger size.) Woo hoo for deals! The price has since gone up but they are still under $30, STILL a great deal!

I was really reluctant to post this blog b/c I kindda wanted to keep this secret to myself. Butttt, I decided not to be selfish and share my great deal with you all. Merry Christmas! lol






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905D Smokin Hot Pink

this morning i meant to grab 907C mauve outta here, but i grabbed 905D smokin hot pink, so since i've never worn this color i decided to go with it and of course write a review about it. if you are looking for a nice matte hot pink color, i definitely recommend you to try this one out.

i put this on at about 730am and i didn't have to reapply until after lunch at 130pm. it definitely lasts the 4 hours wet n wild promised.

these bottom two are closer to how the color really looks

and please excuse my messy cube...don't judge! haha!

gym appropriate attire

ok, so who am i to dictate what you find comfortable to workout in? no one actually. i just thought i would give you (whoever "you" are out there reading this, b/c i honestly don't know who reads my blog) a couple of funny stories and tips at what to workout in. and please feel free to comment with your anecdotes about what you've seen.

when i think of inappropriate gym attire, the first thing that comes to mind is when i used to work out at fitness usa. i worked at stonestown, and fitness usa was in the mall so it was convenient for me to workout there. everyday i went in, there used to be this older guy on the treadmill wearing jeans and dress shoes. i always thought it was sooo weird. but now, all i can think about is how uncomfortable that would be. and omg the chafing! OUCH!

then i see those out there that run around the lake in air force ones. i understand that you may just be getting into running and these are your old shoes and you don't want to mess any other sneakers you have up. but really? those shoes are hella heavy. do yourself a favor and get some good running shoes. and if you want to do yourself one better, figure out how your foot pronates when you walk/run and get the type of shoe you need. (if you want to know where to get tested for this, i'll add it to the bottom of this blog)

so what IS gym appropriate attire the, mel?! well really it's what's comfortable for you and does not hinder you from accomplishing your task.

i used to wear an old t-shirt and shorts or pants. it was comfortable and didn't hinder me from doing what i had to do. this is totally fine. but, if you sweat, and are wearing just a cotton shirt it gets sticky and if you sweat a lot it gets heavy, especially for boys.

i totally recommend getting drifit clothes. well nike calls it drifit, addidas calls it climacool, champion calls it duo dry, etc...i'm sure you get the hint. when i was training for Ironman and they talked about workout gear, they summed it up with one phrase, "COTTON IS ROTTEN!"

i usually wear a drifit tank top with built in sports bra and drifit shirt over that. or a sportsbra and drifit shirt. if i'm running outside and it's cold, i'll throw on a drifit jacket. if you are running or working out outside, the drifit will keep you warm and cool at the same time. you see if you are wearing a cotton t-shirt/sweatshirt, the sweat gets absorbed by the cotton, so if it's cold out, the water (aka sweat) on your shirt gets cold and you will be too. and like i said earlier it will stick to your body (yucky and uncomfortable) and weigh you down. if it's warm out, the drifit is a breathable material so you won't get overly warm.

drifit type clothes are fairly inexpensive now. you don't have to buy nike. target sells champion. and my favorite jacket to run in was a gift from mervyn's i don't even know the brand but it's drifit.

pants or shorts, i usually wear capri running pants. they are like second skin to me, so i barely even notice them. again, these are drifit type material. this is to prevent any chaffing and not be in my way when i'm running, or doing cardio, or just doing yoga.

now shoes...if you really want to get into running and want to find the type of shoe that is going to benefit you best, get tested. you can go to sports basement and ask for help. they'll tell you to take your shoes off and they'll watch you walk across the room. or find a place that has the rocket dog testing. i went to road runner sports. they have you walk across a mat that sees where you put the weight when you walk and then they have you do a light jog on a treadmill where your feet get filmed. you then watch the tape back with the worker and s/he slows down the footage to see exactly how you pronate your foot. then they'll tell you which type of shoe to buy. and what brands carry it. now don't feel obligated to buy there, b/c the shoes are wayyyy overpriced. but, if you do end up buying the shoes from roadrunner, you can test the shoes out for a little while and return them if you feel they aren't right for you.

if you aren't getting into running a good light weight shoe, perhaps a cross trainer, should be fine.

gym must haves

going to the gym used to be a ritual for me. in college when i was determined to lose weight and come home looking like my normal self and not with the extra 30lbs that i gained there, i would usually go twice a day.

when i came back home, i was pretty good about keeping up with the gym. i went almost everyday after work and went on morning runs on sunday. needless to say, i've gotten lazy and have since become consistently inconsistent. i gotta stop doing that.

but while getting back to the gym, i noticed that there have been a couple of things that i would usually have in my bag, but b/c of my inconsistency i haven't refilled it or i've taken it out and not put it back.

here's a list of things that are a gym bag must for me:

1) Makeup Wipes - why why why on earth would you wear make up to the gym? i mean if you are really there to workout, you are gonna sweat and makeup dripping into your eye is NOT going to feel good. makeup wipes are obviously more convenient that carrying both the liquid and the cotton rounds to apply with. I've found that the neutrogena ones work really well, not much scrubbing needed. But, if you need a cheaper version, the target brand up and up works fine. you'll need to scrub a little more but it still does the trick.

2) Baby Wipes - if you don't intend on taking a shower immediately after your workout, wiping the salt off your face after a good workout is quite refreshing.

3) Hair Ties (pungos for our family lmao!) - i have long hair and i don't like my hair in my face or in the way. i always have extra in my purse, car, or even on my wrist. i don't always tie my hair back, so i need to be prepared if i intend on going to the gym. i keep a couple in my gym bag, you never know when a fellow gym goer may need one.

4) Headbands and/or a couple of bobby pins - for girls with baby hair or bangs these are super duper helpful. it's distracting to have hair in your face. not to mention, if you are really working out and are sweating, the beads of sweat drop from your hair in your face sometimes get in your eyes. NOT FUN!

5) Deodorant - being stinky is NOT SEXY! and reapplying before your workout doesn't hurt

6) Extra Socks - i know i don't usually wear socks to work b/c i'm prolly wearing pumps, so having extra socks in there is a must. if you're feet really sweat, having one for after your workout is beneficial too.

7) Tampons - ladies you never know when this is gonna hit, it's good to be prepared.

Now if you're gonna shower at the gym, obviously you'll need your regular toiletries.

wet n wild 903C - Just Peachy

903C - Just Peachy is a nice nudish tone. the color is not too bright, but definitely not dull. just enough to add some color. great everyday color. and i can see myself using this for almost anything. it didn't last as long as 918D, but it did last a couple of hours and through my breakfast.

wet n wild 907C - Mauve Outta Here

yesterday i wore 907C Mauve Outta Here to work and i got so many compliments on my lipstick. my first application of the lipstick was at about 715am. i had breakfast and many many cups of tea, and i didn't have to reapply until after i ate lunch. and when i did reapply there was still pigment left on my lips.

this one's a keeper too. here's a picture. i feel like the color wasn't this bright or redish tone yesterday, but i think it's the flash that i used from my phone. i'll take another picture wearing this color to see if i'm wrong.

sorry, it's not my whole face, i felt kindda weird taking pictures of myself. but i guess it's for exemplary reasons, so i will on the next one.


12.13.10 UPDATE!!!
ok so i WISH this color really looked like the picture above b/c that is actually a really nice red. perhaps, i used a different liner which gave it that effect. i'll have to try some things. but today i tried the color again using MAC's Soar and Half-Red as my liner and the color is really closer to a "mauve."

45threads

i've talked to a few people about this already...i'm trying to network and pick people's brains where and when i can. graphic designers, artists, those already in the tshirt business (big ups to randy owner of thefword for letting us pick your brain to pieces), etc..

so, one my really good friends is starting a children's tshirt line. i won't spill the beans on the concept. to be honest with you, it's transformed so many times that i can hardly explain it myself. to me, b/c i know her so well, it's more of the feeling that i connect with. but, originally she was going to have several lines with different personalities, one line dedicated to me. the music line. (side note: i never thanked you for doing this. i was so honored i didn't know what to say. so instead, i'm lending you a hand whenever needed. i'm promoting for you where i can and stepping with you in your journey...this is my thank you!") well woo hoo for me b/c that line is still moving forward.

what i fell in love with the most and got me excited was the final decision on the name...45threads.

when something comes to fruition and you have to name it...you always want there to be substance behind the name. there has to be a meaning or some sort of connection or else why name it that? right?

so here are all the meanings behind the 45 in 45threads... (some of the meanings i added)
1) she grew up on 45th & balboa - gotta love the nostalgia of it...and hellooo you have have to rep the city when you can
2) her daughter has a favorite rag doll that has "45" on the cheek b/c it was $.45
3) we're both filipino and the colt 45 was made during the Philipine-American War b/c the colt 38 wasn't strong enough to kill the filipino warriors. here's a quote i found, "The .38 Colt was not powerful enough to stop them (Filipino warriors). Some were drugged, some were just determined to kill. Military members would shoot them multiple times, yet the warriors would continue to advance and, despite being wounded, get close enough to cut their throats anyway. The .45 was needed to produce adequate stopping power."
4) musically, a 45 is an old school vinyl record that our mom's and dad's played. it was named 45 b/c it spun at 45 rotations per minute

i can't wait for this line to launch! i hope this got you as excited as i am or at least wondering about the line.

my first make up blog

who would've ever thought the girl who barely wears any makeup would do a blog about makeup? hahaha!! although, i hardly get made up, i do own a little collection and thankfully know how to put it on. it used to crack me up when my boyfriend at the time would tell me, "damn, can you please help that girl!" b/c i rarely put make up on. to be honest with you, it flattered me that he or anyone thought i put make up on well...when i did. and if you seen me at work, you probably would think that all i owned was mascara and lipgloss, if that.

honestly, i put make up on so rarely, that i've owned the same bronzer since i was in college in santa barbara (i'm starting to see the bottom of the tin just now), i've never finished a lipstick, and i've only bought 1 refill color for my palette and i think it's only b/c it broke (but it was running low).

so what on earth would inspire ME, of all people, to write a blog about makeup? A GOOD ASS DEAL ON LIPSTICK!

i really like the way red, FIERY RED, lipsticks look on girls. gwen stefani's infamous, classic red lips always come to mind when i think of look i'm going for. but i always had a hard time finding a red that worked for me. i'm a little darker, olive tone i guess, so finding a red that worked for me was a little bit of a task. what looked red on others, tended to look a little orange on me. NO BUENO!

so i gave up my search on reds for awhile and ventured into pinks. and i'm sooo glad i did. i found a lot of pink tones that i thought worked will with my skin and it added so much more pop to a look. what i was looking for in reds...i accomplished in pinks. but i still had that longing for a nice red look.

then my cousin, Charrie aka BeBellaArtisty, my favorite make up artist (ok i know i'm biased, but she knows what she's doing and i always get compliments when she does it for me), and now make up artist to the stars came out with this review:



and i thought to myself, "why not try those colors out, it's wet n wild and only about 2 bucks, if i don't like it, at least i didn't waste $12" so on a trip to walgreens, i ventured over to the wet n wild section and found the matte line she was talking about. SCORREEEEE!!! they were 50% off which came out to $1.62 annnnddd one of them had a manufacturer's coupon for $1.00 off, so i got that one for a whopping 62 CENTS! (i looked for others with the coupons, but couldn't find anymore...boo hoo!)

so here's what really inspired to write this blog...THE TEST! saturday night, mae and i went out for her bday. at her request, i dressed it up a little and figured why not try out one of the new colors i got. so of course, i wanted to try out the red. woo hoo for me, the red looked red and i loved the way it looked. $1.62 and it looks great! YEESSSSS! i had a couple of drinks and of course had to make a trip to the ladies room. but when i looked in the mirror as i washed my hands, my lipstick was still on and as bright as it was when i first applied it. DEFINITELY IMPRESSED. i had more drinks and chopped it up with my friends and then hauled ass to another party, where i had more drinks. when i finally made my way to the bano and peaked in the mirror, my lipstick was still there. all those drinks the whole night, and i never had to reapply. I'M SOLD!!!

the color i used was 918D - Cherry Bomb

you can find Charrie on youtube as "bebellaartistry" or follow her on twitter @BeBELLZartistry here's her blog: http://bebellaartistry.wordpress.com/

here's a picture of THE RED for me (oh and yes that is mayer hawthorne):

way to end the weekend

today is sunday which is normally my running day. i didn't get to workout in the week prior, and yesterday i spent the day just laying around...so today i was determined to get a run in. as i watched the niner game, i mustered up the energy to cook a light breakfast and then go out for a run.

i walked outside and noticed that it was wet out, and as i sat in my car and started the engine, it began to sprinkle. then, as i drove over to the parking lot it was starting to sprinkle a little harder. but a little water didn't deter me from getting my run on.

while on my run, it rained a little on and off. but i've swam, biked, and ran in wayyyy worse. and the cool drops were actually welcomed. and lucky for me, when it started to really rain, i was covered by the trees, but that subsided quickly anyway. i felt like i had a great run today, and i was excited to see my time...there are just those days that you feel like you had a great workout. soooo, as i came upon the finish, i took my phone out to check the stopwatch only to see all zeros! OMG SUPER DUPER FAIL!!! my dumbass forgot to press start.

although, i won't know exactly how it did, i'm certain that i beat my time from the last time i ran this trail. and my run felt great! i'm just happy i got myself out there.

oh and another high note of the day...as i made my way out the door for my run, the sister said i was losing weight...HOLLLERRRRRR!

thanksgiving 2010

this past weekend everyone celebrated thanksgiving...yeay for family fun times and food!



this year we had to switch it up a bit. ususally, thanksgiving brunch is spent with my dad's side of the family at my aunt's house in hayward, but my grandparents didn't come back home until friday, so we postponed this until saturday.



dinner, was spent like always with my mom's side, at my grandma's house, in south city. there was of course, turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes and another type of gravy, steak, crab, tambo-tambo (ginataan to others), and for the first time ever stuffing. check out this conversation:



grandma: "what's that?" *looking at the stuffing

auntie p: "stuffing"

grandma: "stuffing for WHAT!"



we all laughed so hard. no one every brings stuffing on my mom's side, and i don't know if it will ever make an appearance again.



the cousin's chatted on the couch laughing. and afterward, my sister, jason, jonboy, mae and i ventured over to cream of beat. as always the music never fails me. we had a blast dancing the night away and even contemplated on making it over to kohl's since it opened at 3am. mae and janice had work, so we called it a night.



thanksgiving round 2 was on saturday in newark. i don't even remember seeing any turkey. lol. but there was ham, crab, gumbo, pinapaitan (sp?)...idk what else. i kept eating the crab and gumbo. (side note: i'm noticing just how much i LOVE seafood...i never really get sick of it)



after eating ... and eating ... and eating ... the cousins started playing taboo. if you've never played this...go buy and box and play. this has got to be a game that i never get sick of. this and catch phrase. so the object of the game is to make your team say the word on the top of the card, but you can't say the 5 related words on the bottom...you have to think out of the box. definitley a crowd pleaser every time. by the end of the night, we got through the EVERY card.



and in the middle of playing all our rounds of taboo, we played NINJA! this game was new to me...but it is sooo much fun. basically everyone is in a circle and you try to chop of the another person's hand, but you only have one move. apparently, we were getting a little excited and were too loud for the parents, so we took the game outside in the dark for a couple of rounds. and then we brought it back in and played some more. this was one of the most fun physical games i've played in so long. every cousin played except for janice who had to go to work. this will be a must at xmas time.



here's a picture that jackie took. i think she was out already. and monica took some video so hopefully i can post that soon.

Joel Orille

i find myslef thinking more and more about joel this time of year every year. with his birthday in october and the anniversary of his passing just after thanksgiving, i guess it's understandable.

tonight i just finished the book LOVELY BONES, by alice sebold. and after reading it, i can't help but think that there was a reason that HE recommended the book to me. if you read it, you might guess what i'm eluding to.

in the time that i got to spend with jo, we bonded. we bonded so much that he didn't call me by name, he called me sis. when i got off of work, it was he and i who spent the most time together. i would walk up the stairs to his house, and knowing the sound of my heels, he would yell out "SISSS!!" with his arms already out to greet me with a hug. i loved how he came to me for advice or help regardless of how big or small the dilemma. whether it be about love or school, it was an honor to help this guy. he would call or text me at night needing help with a paper that he was finishing or just starting but was due the next day. and taking the "big sis" role, i would take over the computer and fix the syntax errors and lengthen sentances where i could. and i even helped him write a paper on Lovely Bones, even though i had yet to read the book. this was when he told me that i should read it. when his class was over, he was supposed to lend it to me for a good read. unfortunately, he was never given the chance to finish his class or any of the classes that enrolled in that year.

i finally got my hands on a copy of the book a couple of months ago, but i was still reading the alchemist, so this was next in my que. it's funny how i would start reading the book as this time of year has come upon us. but to me it just makes it so much more special. maybe he was willing for me to read it and i can feel him even more b/c he wants me to. you'd have to read the book to understand that last comment.

ok so if you don't know...i do have ghost/spirit encounters...i know you may think i'm weird or crazy but whatever they happen. when seeing the book, i would always think of Joel. but when reading it, i felt so much more. i felt like his spirit was there with me and after reading the book, i don't think i'm wrong.

he was sooo excited when i threw him what would be his last birthday party, his 18th. he was so thankful and happy in his new birthday shirt (a present he was reluctant to accept b/c he was a person that didn't want to intrude on anyone in any way, but i wouldn't take no for an answer and he seen that i made me happy buying it for him), he didn't even have to say a word, his demeanor and the smile in his eyes, said it all. but i sit here now as the thankful one. i'm grateful for having him bless my life, for me to know such a pure soul. he never wanted to dissappoint anyone and was never hateful. and although dissappointed at times, he was NEVER resentful. he has to be one of the most gentle and caring people i have ever met in my life. and i'm glad that i had a chance for him to bless my life. i am so thankful that he and i spent every day that we could together, and trust me it was almost everyday. his meer presence with his smile and laughter were enough to make my long and daunting day dissappear so much so i was energized when i seen him.

he is a person that left his mark with everyone that he met and will always be missed. Your big sis loves you brah!

today i run...

i haven't been out on a run in a long time. and today was the day that i actually had enough will to get my lazy ass out and hit the pavement. and today was a great day to be out there. it was HOTTT about 2 weeks ago and then like our typical bipolar weather, it was rained. but, today, it was perfect. the sun was out, but there was still a cool breeze in the air. perfect running weather for me. and, btw, it rained last night...i love running after a fresh rain. the air just seems so much cleaner after it rains.

i decided to run what i thought was called the "crystal springs trail" and thought i was going out for a easy 3 mile run. i have never run this trail and was told that it was a 1.5 mile trail, 3 miles out and back. as i was running, i thought to myself, "when am i going to hit the turn around, this seems kindda long?" but, i never really like to look at my clock as i run. i just like to see the time when i finish. so, i just kept one going.

as i coming up on my last couple of steps to the trail, i watched my phone's stopwatch come to 54:18. all i could think was this trail HAS to be longer than 3 miles, i wasn't running that slow. even at 15 minute miles i would be done in 45 mins. so i took a look at the sign that was posted and realized that i just ran a trail called "san andreas" that's actually 2.6 miles, 5.2 miles out and back. i did the math and i avergaed about 10:38 minute/mile!

after not having run since the nike marathon and having one of the worst runs that day, i was quite pleased with myself. and i have to say i was and still am impressed with my time.

while on my run, i got to take in some scenery that i didn't even notice on the way out to the turn around point and that i would have never seen without taking this trail. it was so still, so beautiful, so serene. it's runs like these where i can take in the my surroundings and clear my mind that make me glad that i willed myself out to the trail. and like i always tell myself, the hardest part is showing up. today...i am ever so glad that i showed up.

San Francisco Nike Women's Marathon 2010

10.17.10

Last Sunday, I ran the Nike Women's Marathon again. This was my second time. Although when signing up I had all the dreams and aspirations in the world to beat my time, I knew that wasn't going to happen.

Having my wisdom teeth taken out 2 weeks before definitely did NOT work in my favor. That meant 2 weeks of no training at all...no cardio...NOTHING.

So, with no training and my gums not being 100% healed, I knew this run was going to be tough and I knew that beating my time was just not going to happen. But, I was still excited and wanted to do this run.

And since everyone keeps asking me about the race, here's a miniature race report for you:

My time was slow coming into the 5k (3.5 mile) marker, but that's always expected, being that it's always crowded at the beginning of any race. By about mile 6.5, I was catching up to what my normal time would be, butttt running up the first significant hill, my gums started throbbing. At about mile 7.5 I was making good time, still at about my normal running pace, but my gums were screaming now. I thought of taking some Advil, but decided not to. I should've just taken it. At about 8.5, my legs were starting to talk to me, but I figured I would just push through like I always do, but this was also about the time that my stomach started to get mad at me. At about 9.5, I had to slow it down, my gums, hips, calves, and stomach were screaming at me at the same time now. And then what do you know...it starts raining.

I walked much more than I wanted to. But, I pushed through everything and finished. Not very happy about my time. I'm even embarrassed to post it. I had the worst run ever, but I never gave up and pushed through and finished. And yes, I sure am rocking my Tiffany's necklace with pride.

Oh yeah...I seen a girl running with a shirt that made me chuckle. It said, "I'm a half marathon kind of girl, I don't go all the way." I got a kick out of it, thought you might too.

my finisher shirt and new necklace

instead of medals, we get this!

Susan G Komen 5K

On September 26th, I ran the Susan G Komen 5K. I know I usually do events that are longer, like my triathlons and half marathons, but this one had a bit more significance to me. The Susan G Komen foundation is dedicated to Breast Cancer. And, I ran in memory of my Auntie Jeanette who passed away from breast cancer and my mom who is a survivor.

The weather was beautiful and the trail was a great. The downfall...non-experienced runners. Usually, this doesn't bother me, but I was running all the way on the left of the street with just one other guy to my left hand side on the sidewalk. A girl who wanted to pass, simply shoved her way through on my left hand side and passed a nonchalant "sorry," that really sounded like it meant "oh well." So my advice to you newbies...learn the phrase "ON YOUR LEFT!" The person you want to pass will move over, even if they haven't heard it before.

On a brighter note, even with hardly any training beforehand and an exhausting week of Oracle OpenWorld, I was extremely happy with my time.

Oh and I drug my cousin, Mae along with me again. She beat me by a couple of seconds. My excuse: I got stuck behind a group of people that took up the whole street. There was no way of getting around them. Trust me I tried.

Mae Pulido - Bib # 1106 Chip Time: 34:22 Pace: 11:05/min
Melanie Lopez - Bib# 1106 Chip Time: 34:28 Pace: 11:07/min

Black Star

these pictures are from their concert held on July 31st, so this post is wayyyyy over due. but i'm not gonna say too much, i just want to keep this simple and say that i'm sooo appreciative of artists like mos def and talib kweli who still make music with substance, music that stands for something and speaks to the soul.

please excuse the picture quality, these were taken from my phone. yes, it's an iphone, but i have the VERY FIRST version...enough said, i already know i'm due for an update.

DJ MR.E (Miguel opened up for them)

i know it's blurry but for some reason i like this picture

07.25 San Francisco Half Marathon (2nd half)

The San Francisco Half Marathon is the first marathon that participated in this year. I was really excited for it and I was doing pretty well with my training schedule, but thennnn I got caught up in my MOH duties and I basically just fell off. I think the last run I got in before the actual event was 3WEEKS PRIOR...oopsy! Needless to say, I was not properly prepared for this race.

But, I did it anyway. I knew I wasn't going to make any personal records, but I did my best and forged my way through...annnndddd I RAN THE ENTIRE RACE. Yeay!!! Definitely, proud of myself!

all the runners

some running divas Marie, Marlene, and me

Che's Bachelorette Weekend 7/16 - 19 (my much needed mini-vacation)

I wasn't going to do this post, but I had such an AWESOME time that I'm still talking about, so I decided I should.

Che's Bachelorette Weekend started Friday evening when we all met at the airport. We had some time before our flight and it was her cousin, Aimee's bday, so we started with a few drinks before we headed to through security to our terminal. As we were walking to our terminal, we noticed that our flight was delayed, so we had another drink.

We knew we were arriving to San Diego late, so we headed to our rooms for a quick change and out to Onyx. As always, a made a friend and he was offering me free Hennessy. Unfortunately, I don't drink that, so of course I offered it to the 12 other girls. He eventually started pouring it in their mouths. hahaha! It's so good to make friends.

Janice also met up with her friends that were already at the club. Sway, you may remember him from American Idol and Marlino aka DJ Marlino.

When the party ended, Janice and I chatted it up with Sway, and the rest of the girls disappeared. Our feet hurt, so she and I decided to take a pedicab. This is basically a rickshaw with a person biking instead.

We had a good laugh with our driver Akin (pronounced a-khun) having him teach us some Turkish phrases. I don't remember anything he taught us, good thing Janice has it on video. While going home we even got to see a fight in the middle of the street. One guy got slammed onto a windsheild of a car and the poor girl's windsheild was messed up. Hahahaa...you guys must think we are pretty sadistic, b/c this was like disneyland to us. We even told Akin to slow down and turn around so we could watch. Good times indeed. (HEY DON'T JUDGE!)

Saturday, we ventured over to PB (Pacific Beach) ate and laid out on the beach. Janice, Mae and I ate and PB Ale House. Yummy!!! We enjoy some ceviche, fish tacos, and lobster bisque (mmmm) of and of course a few drinks! As we laid out, we stopped a few times to dip our feet in the water...it felt sooo good.

Saturday night, we had bottle service at Stingaree. We started our night with a bottle of Dom Perignon, and when they brought it out, they brought out sparklers for our bachelorette. Yeayyyy! The rest is history. Janice, Gizelle, and I killed the bottle of Patron, but Janice and I didn't feel anything, even with us pouring humongoid shots every 2 mins. This turned out to be fine, b/c I had to carry our celebrant out the club. WOO HOOO! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. And apparently, mission accomplished for the other girls too! (enough said)

And while going back to our room, we found out that MIKE JONES, was in the suite next to ours. Of course we made friends.

Sunday, the girls that had too much fun at Stingaree couldn't get up to enjoy Intervention (San Diego's version of Rehab in Vegas), so it was only Jessica, Mae, Che, Janice and I. We seen Mike Jones again and he invited us up to his VIP cabana. And I made friends with the bartender who was giving us shots that were half the cup. And, every time I would come to the bar, he would come straight to me and not make me wait in the line! See, it's good to make friends. By the end of the day, the bartender showed me the two bottles of Parton that he said we drank. lol! And, needless to say, I was feeling gooooodddd!!!

The fun continued in our room as us ladies showered and got ready for our night. If you weren't there...just know that "Fun Che Che" definitely came out. hahahaha!!! Gizelle made some friends too and invited them over to the room to help kill the rest of the Jameson.

We ate at Spaghetti Factory, and then went to 207 in our Hotel. We had some of our friends from Intervention meet up with us and hung out with them the rest of the night.

Definitely, a good weekend and a much needed break!

fun times in northridge

as you all should know by now, my cousin cherylle is getting married to her long time boyfriend, now fiancee ron!! and yes, i am a maid of honor...which means that i will be there for anything and everything she does for the wedding.

gizelle, her sister and other maid of honor, and i planned her first bridal shower. it was a total success. we planned game after game and were a little leery of some b/c we didn't know how her aunts and our grandmas would react. LITTLE DID WE KNOW!!! the aunts and grandmas were the funniest ones.

Pin the Junk on the Hunk (obviously a naughty version of pin the tail on the donkey) definitely brought out the laughs when the aunties grumbled "awww i want a big one" or a grandma yelled "finally a big one!" that laughs went on and on.

this past weekend was bridal shower #2. this time in northridge. ron has a lot of family in northridge that wasn't able to come up for the first, so they decided to throw them another party.

definitely a weekend to remember. i totally needed that mini vacation. we got to their house late thursday night and chatted it up with all the cousins. some stayed up through the morning drinking and having fun.

friday - we ventured to the mall and then ate dinner with ron's family. they have a lot of birthdays around the same time, so we celebrated all of them at a resturant. lucky for me, there was a classic car show going on in the parking lot. i couldn't contain myself. i took one of the cousin's with me to walk around while we waited for our food. i had to remember to keep my mouth closed and the drool contained while we looked at everything.

after dinner it was back to the house to have more fun. i was introduced to 2 new drinking games, flip cup and down the river something something...i don't remember. and then we all went DRUNK SWIMMING! praise the lord for homes with pools. totally a night to remember.

highlights of the evening:
"kharlena put some clothes on!"
me slipping and sliding all the way to the door b/c i wanted to get che in the pool
"expo executive decision"
ron and jour exchanging underwear in the pool and che yelling at ron to put his underwear back on

satuday - i woke up and went for a 4 mile run and then got ready for bridal shower #2. totally had fun playing the games with ron's family. and then boys went "bowling." we don't actually know where they went but they insist that they went bowling. while us ladies, got pretty and enjoyed the night out. we ended up going to some club in hollywood and while the music was whack for the most part, we definitely made the best of our night. we got free drinks from the mc/host. and i made friends with devon, dee and another d name that i forgot. got more free drinks from them and they brought us to vip on stage. so we spent the rest of the night on stage in our booth and dancing on stage with the air conditioning.

turns out that devon was baron davis' bodyguard while he played for the warriors! good friend to make right!!

then it was off for some late night eats at sanamluang. good thai food but they didn't have yellow curry. =(

and it must have been a good night b/c che was DRRRUNK!!! and sleeping in my lap while i was eating.

highlights
eugene's tp bridal dress
free drinks...always
kharlene falling on stage
and then the table next to us laugh b/c they seen her trip again outside the restaurant
jeanie catching all the girls lined up in front of the mirror ... lol you had to be there

sunday - we made sunday our lazy day and we spent the day in the sun by the pool bbqing and drinking. we even made homemade carne asada fries. YUMMMMMYYY!

thank you miranda/parungao family for always showing us a good time!!!

Happy Father's Day!

Yesterday was Father's Day, so I'm sending out a big Happy Father's Day hug to all the REAL daddy's out there. Sorry sperm donors that does not include you. And, a special hug to all the single mommy's that play the role as mommy and daddy on a daily.

My dad's birthday is the the 15th of June, so we tend to celebrate my dad's birthday on Father's Day and have a duel celebration for him. This year we celebrated Mr. Roy Lopez at Roy's in the city. I got an email with the Father's Day special and it's one of our family favorites. We hadn't been there in awhile so why not! While we ate and chatted over our delicious meals, we decided that we would all watch Kung Fu Kid. (I refuse to call it Karate Kid.) Our family has martial arts running through our veins and a lot of that is thanks to my dad...so this movie was definitely a great fit for celebrating our dad.

The movie was great! It mirrored a lot of original movie, including the dialogue. I've been watching Karate Kid on HBO recently, so I can point out everything. Within the past month I'd say, I've watched it more than 10 times...lol I'm definitely nostalgic. Other than the title, I really liked the movie.

Father's day was a success!!! Happy Father's/Birthday to my dad!

WARNING!! TANGENT COMING....

Although I did enjoy the content of the movie...The people on a Sunday evening are not pleasant to watch with AT ALL!!!

I haven't watched a movie on a weekend in a really long time...and I must say I will have to stick with movies on a week night when only a few people are there. On my right, my sister sat next to a couple that insisted on talking LOUDLY to the screen the WHOLE TIME. To my left, were kids who would not shut up, describing everything going on in the movie and behind me were 2 babies that would cry throughout the movie. If one would start than the other would start. HOLY MOLY!

Parentals, I understand that you would like to enjoy some family fun time, but if you can't get your baby to stop crying...don't you think it's a good idea to take them out of the theater until you can calm them down.

And to the other parent that had the kids that would not stop describing the screen. How about we teach them a little bit of manners, and you take the initiative to tell them to be quiet instead of others having to "shhhsh" them. And if you know that other people or "shhhing" them, I don't think a good response is "Ain't nobody gonna shhhsh my kid. It's ok mama, you can talk all you want." Really!? What is acting "hard" going to do? How about you give your kid something to look up to. How about you be a role model for your kid, and teach them a little bit of respect and manners (and maybe even proper English). And teach your kid how to be a decent human being. When your kid grows up to talk back to you, or maybe even worse ends up in jail, remember the lessons that you instilled in them as a child by your actions.

PB2

Saturday was a really nice day and I didn't want to waste it by just staying in. In the afternoon, I decided to finally get dressed and out the door for a run. Coincidentally, my sister was headed out the door for the gym. So, she just joined me at the lake.

She's faster than me, so I knew that she would be in front of me in no time. But to my surprise, I had her in my sights most of the time.

She finished the lake at 49min 47 sec, I was close behind at 50min 29sec, another PB made! WOO HOO! They say, it's always better to run with someone faster than you...even if it was a measly 18 seconds better, it still brought a smile to my face.

Nas & Damian Marley

Tuesday afternoon, I had all intentions to go to the gym...that is until I got a text from one of my favorite people in the world (ahem...THANKS TONE!) that I was going to the Nas & Damian Marley concert. Can you say super duper excited?!

I hadn't been to a concert in so long and this is exactly what I needed. The energy and the music was all I needed to put me in euphoria. As always I was lost in my little musical world. Needless to say, this is one the bests concerts I've been to in awhile!

I can't say much more to describe it. If you were there you know what I'm talking about.

PB = Personal Best

my tattoo has finally healed and I've been working on getting back on track with my workout schedule. i couldn't even wear sneakers for the longest, so it was only flats and heels for me for about the past 3 weeks. we all know how happy i was to finally put on some kicks...and regular socks for that matter.

two sundays ago (may 16), i got to finally run the lake. i took it easy on my first day in forever out again. i did a moderate slow paced jog about half way around and did about 3 pick ups around the last half. (pick up = intervals of a higher pace/intensity)

then last thrusday, i decided to pick it up a little. i didn't want to go full out since it was only my second day back out, but i did want to challenge myself a little. it was already a feat to get to the lake, i was feeling so lazy after work. so i took it easy on the first half and decided to run a bit harder on the second half and i still included a couple of pick ups. it was super duper windy, so i caught a headwind like 65% of the time, i cramped up about half way through and then again later on, and kept getting dirt in my mouth and eyes...but, when i finished i did a PB (personal best). i ran the lake in 51 min and 30 sec. i know it's still a bit slow, but it's still an accomplishment for me and after that tough run, i felt even better.

yesterday, i forced myself to get to the lake again. after talking to a friend on friday, i challenged myself to run the whole lake at a higher intensity. after a couple of minutes into it at a light jog for a warm up, i picked up the pace the whole way around the lake. i was even inspired by a couple of girls who were there training for a Team in Training event. I was wearing a TNT shirt, so of course they yelled "GO TEAM!" as i passed them. if you ever were a part of TNT, you know that cheer can get your through your toughest times. i ended up making a personal best again. this time i finished in 50 min 47 sec. woo hoo for me.

weird/funny/irritating story coming:

so i finished my hard run and decided to do a cool down jog. i'm running the lake merced stretch toward skyline, and some guy in a car yells out to me while i'm running, "heeyyyy beautiful!" of course i'm still doing a good paced jogged, so i'm not paying him any mind. he drives a little further and stops again, as i pass he yells, "hey beautiful, can i at least get your name?" content with my running speed i still keep running by, he makes a u-turn and stops right in front of me and asks again. of course i keep running. he makes another u-turn and tries one more time. really?! can you not catch a hint!!

first of all, if you've ever seen me work out or run, you know that i look atrocious when i do. i don't care what the hell i look like, i'm not there for you, i'm working out. and indeed, i did. when i got to the car and seen my reflection, i looked like a damn lion. my hair was all over the place and sticking straight up in some parts. lol

secondly, really! does it look like i'm simply taking a stroll around the block? unlike the girls that saunter around the lake while smoking or on the phone, insisting that they actually did a workout, i am actually red in the face from a RUN. what makes you think i'm gonna stop my workout to talk to you! and helloooo...what if i was still timing myself, he didn't know that, but i was at a good pace i could've been. any person in a real workout is not going to stop for non-sense, and you couldn't catch that from the first time i ignored you...

hahaha! ok sorry for the tangent. i had to tell my little story. all in all running has been great and hopefully i can be in the high 40s before the end of the month.

YEAYY!!! look what i FINALLY did!

once, i'm completely healed, i'll post a better picture. the dark outline in red is so much more vibrant right now and the shading in the middle that can barely be seen in this picture has so much more detail. I'M IN LOVE!!!

oh and if you don't know what it is you're looking at, it's a treble clef in a heart. i actually got it from musiq soulchild. if you read my blog, you know how passionate i am about music, this is my little pictoral image of that.

On to the next one...

Focusing on me...

Just came back from Japan with another world experience under my belt. I can't explain the joy I from everything I saw, ate, touched, felt...ATE! lol. Soaking up the culture past and present was so fulfilling for me. Everything was so beautiful even the atmosphere. No tension in the air, no feeling of being uncomfortable, even in a foreign land. I LOVED EVERY MINUTE!

Now it's on to my next one...My next goal/big expense is for my next tattoo. Yeay!!! I have an artist in mind, so I'm going to call when he's available next.

DAY 7 - Wednesday: Kit-Kats

Wednesday it rained again! As I waited for Auntie Christine to get off work, I read some, ate some, watched some tv and napped on the couch. Yesss...vacation at its best. =)

When she got home we went out and about town, I think we were still in Yokosuka but we could've been just outside. We went to the Japanese version of Sports Authority and across the street there was a grocery store called Livin. We decided on a whim to check there for the kit-kats once again. WOO HOO! SCORREEEE!!! We found 5 different types. Creme brulee, raspberry & passion fruit, framboise (raspberry pastry), banana, anddddd green tea & sakura. We cleared the shelves of everything they had. hee hee! Mission accomplished.

DAY 8 - Thursday: Asakusa

Thursday, Auntie Christine took the day off and we ventured over to Asakusa for another shrine. As the others this one was huge and beautiful. Unfortunately, this one is under construction, so I wasn't able to get a full view from the outside. But, inside, I was able to see a monk in prayer. What a humble and sadating experience. And the ceilings had huge colorful but dim paintings.

We shopped around there for awhile and then made it back to Yokosuka for a dinner of yummy Ramen. Authentic Japanese food is THE BEST!!!

DAY 9: Friday: Bye-Bye

Auntie Christine made me my last breakfast in Japan. Yummy, as always. We chatted and waited for the driver to get me. I was sooo sad to go, but I'm sooo happy for the experience. I definitely have to go back next year. Next year, I'm shooting for October. I would love to see the pretty colors of the trees in Autumn.

Japan - Day 3 - 6

DAY 3 - Saturday: Taiko Drum Festival

We went to the Taiko Drum festival out in Narita. They had several stages, 8 to be exact, all up and down a street where there were different acts performing and the local stores and restaurants were open. The main stage was actually a temple...beautiful! Beside the temple was a 3 tiered pagoda with brilliant colors. (pictures to come)

We spent the entire day taking in different acts and walking in the local stores and sites. At night, the stores and restaurantes, put out candles to light the path and I think it had to do with the Taiko Drum Festival. Some spelled things out in Japanese characters and other did designs. (pictures to come).

We were in what Reiko would say is "country" and I enjoyed myself. I felt like I got to take in a part of traditional culture. We, our tour bus, were the only tourists, meaning non-japanese, there, 95% of the other people at the festival were Japanese.

DAY 4 - Sunday: Tokyo

Reiko, pronounced Lay-co, another friend of Auntie Christine's, took us to Tokyo. She's lived in Japan her whole life and went to school and works at the university in Tokyo, so she I'm glad she was there to show us around. We ventured through Harajuku St, went to Shibuya 109, and mall filled with all girls clothes...I did some major damage here...and then we shopped around Shibuya. Then we traveled by the Harajuku train station to see the Harajuku people in action. Being that it was Sunday morning there weren't too many out there. But there were different kinds..the first group of people we seen were goth like and a little scary. The one I did take a picture with was more on the sweeter side, but didn't have as elaborate a get up as others I've seen from pictures or TV. I'm told the Harajuku are usually out on Wednesday mornings.

After our day of shopping, Auntie Christine and I decided to have a low key dinner. We ate at the Chilli's on base across from her place. We laughed over dinner and dinner and drinks and called it a night.

DAY 5 -Monday: Rain

After all the food I've been eating I decided I would run while Auntie Christine was at work. So I ate some breakfast and watched some tv. Got dressed, stretched and even went out the front door only to see that it was RAINING! wth! There goes that idea...so I went back upstairs and did some laundry instead. I watched more tv, read a little, and took a nap on the couch. When Auntie Christine came home we went on a hunt for the kitkats. Everyone at home asked me for green tea and other flavored kitkats. And we went to every grocery store and every place that we could think of. We had no luck. But, I'm still on the hunt so don't worry folks.

DAY 6 - Tuesday: Yokohama

I woke up and it was sunny again! The weather here is totally like San Francisco...bi-polar. So, I ate some breakfast, watched some tv and went for my run. I was hoping to run 7 miles, but the sun was beating down and I was out of gatorade, so I decided to cut my run short. I didn't want to get dehydrated, I was already feeling some of the effects. But I ran hard and had a good run, I could feel the tightness as I stretched.

When Auntie Christine came home we took the train to Yokohama. We went to the new mall there, I don't recall the name, but it's a really nice mall. And it smelled good too. Each floor had a different scent. We were wondering if it had some type of timed release. And on the bottom floor we found a spot that made differnt types of mochi. OMG these mochi balls are sooooooooo good fresh. These mochi were in little balls of bread. We tried the sakura, custard, purple yam (ube) and she had the chocolate. HOLY MOLY those were the best mochi I've ever had. And then we also bought one green tea, this has the normal powder on the outside that we are used to. But the custard was the besttt!

Then we went went to the Landmark Tower and Queens Court malls. I also did some damage at these malls. But...this was mostly for gifts, not myself. I'm not that selfish! lol

Japan - Day 1 & 2

DAY 1 - Thursday: Yokosuka (yo-kos-ka)

Thursday morning Auntie Christine and I chatted over a great American style breakfast. She cooked me toast, eggs - over easy, and bacon, served with a glass of oj.

She went into work for a couple of hours, so I watched some tv and went on a run. Tv here on base is limited to a couple of channels and a lot of the commercials are about the military, it's pretty funny when you're watching "Ace of Cakes" and the commercial all of a sudden has someone in camo talking to you about the military happenings of the world. hahaha! Anyway...the "track" is about a mile away from our housing, so I ventured over and found it. It's not necessarily a track, like a college or high school track, it's more like a paved path around a football feild, tennis walls and courts, a skate park, a street hockey rink and I don't know what else in between. I tried to ask someone standing around what the distance was around but he seemed to have no clue. He said maybe 1/4 mile, but with all that stuff in between, I knew it HAD to be longer. So, I decided to do 4 laps around and time myself. I know I usually run at about 12 min miles, so 4 laps around was equivalent to about 2.5 miles. I knew I wanted to do 5 miles, so it was perfect...I did another 4 laps and walked back home. I got in a total of about 7 miles.

When Auntie Christine got home, I got ready and we ventured about town. We walked along the streets and went to More's, a shopping center. I bought a couple things here and there, of course some Hello Kitty items for myself. And, we ate at a Ramen spot in the mall. THE BEST ramen I've ever had in my life. But, I think I was most amused with the system for ordering/purchasing the food. Right in front of the hostess stand, there's a machine, where you choose what you want. (Thankfully, there's buttons below the pictures, b/c I'm told other places simply have the charaters and neither of us reads Japanese.) So, you press the button with the food you want and put your money in the machine. A ticket comes out and you give that the hostess who then seats you. Talk about efficient and clean (no one handles the money)!

DAY 2 Friday: Kamakura

Friday morning, Auntie Christine and I chatted away again over breakfast. I had some left over mac and cheese she whipped up for us the night before, she made some fried rice for herself. When Uncle DeWayne came home for lunch, we got ready for our day. We dropped him off to his ship and said our good byes, he's off to sea for 2 months. I was sad he was leaving, but at least he was here for a couple of days and I got to see him.

We ventured by "train" (it's actually like Bart) to Kamakura and visited 3 beautiful temples. I can't even begin to explain. (I'll post pictures later.)

And then we rushed home to have dinner with a Japanese family that Auntie Christine is close with. Noriko, along with her daughter, Yukari took us to a Yakitori style Japanese restaurant. She was so apologetic for not bringing us to a nicer restaurant, as everything was booked for some sort of celebration for the beginning of April. We thought the restaurant she did bring us to was wonderful. The food was delicious! We let Noriko and Yukari order for us, and everything they chose was great. Yakitori style is small portions served on short skewers. We had pork, chicken skins, ground chicken...and I can't even remember what else. We also had, tempura, some sashimi, 3 different types of tuna. The sashimi was so fresh and tasty not to mention the wasabi was sooo good too. And we also had kamameshi style rice. It's rice that cooks right in front of you, it's in a little latern looking pot and they light it during the beginning of your meal. Like Chinese restaurants, rice is last, so once you are done with everything else, the rice should be done. And it's comparable to paella, but Japanese style. They use Japanese rice and ours included shrimp, squid, crab, bamboo and some other ingredients, but you can choose different types of kamameshi. Filled with food and a whole lot of sake, Auntie Christine and I ventured home to get a good night's rest. Tomorrow (which is now today) we have a big day! We are going to the taiko drum festival!

I'm here, I'm really here!

My flight to Japan was early afternoon on Tuesday, and my cousin Murielle and her friends were going to the Philippines, so my uncle picked me up and off we went to the airport at 10am. Being that Japan is their connecting flight, we all were on the same flight. He helped us check in making sure we got on the flight and our seating arrangements early. WOO HOO for having an uncle that works for an airlines. My flight to Japan was a SUPER DUPER deal, and I flew business class! As Deb put it, "I'm the luckiest geisha in the world, keepin it kamameshi" lmao!!!

Unfortunately, one of Murielle's friends had a problem with his passport and couldn't make it on the flight with us. So, off the rest of us go to the gate... We had some time and I was STARVING, so I got a pizza from Firewood...pretty good.

Finally we board. Here is my pictorial of our flight...

this is what was waiting for me at my seat
mimosas before the flight
our menus
personal tv and vodka crans..yeay!
appetizers
i thought the butter was cute
dinner
breakfast

So we land, and Murielle and her friend and I go our separate ways. I go through immigration and then go through customs. Per my aunt's directions, there would be a guy waiting there to pick me up, with a sign with my name on it. HAHAA! And there he was. I should've taken a picture of this.

The ride out to the Yokosuka Naval base is about 2.5 hours away, so I drifted in and out of sleep. My aunt met us at the front of the base and got me checked in. After I unpacked a little and Uncle DeWayne got home from basketball practice, we all went to dinner. Sooo yummy, no it wasn't Japanese food it was Korean, but I did have the best udon I've ever had in my life. And so that started my trip. It was cold last night and drizzling from time to time, but the weather is supposed to warm up. The weather out here is as bipolar as the city!

I woke up about 1pm our time, 5am here! I'm gonna need to adjust to the time change, but it is pretty sunny outside, so maybe I'll go for a little run today.

T minus 5 days

yeay! dreams do come true! in 5 days my ass will be sitting on a plane half way across the world to JAPANNNN! i am soooo juiced. i can't wait to just take it all in.

FAQ's
1. why are you going? - vacation. trust me I'M DUE!
2. who are you going with? - MYSELF. i'm going over there by myself, but i'll be staying with my aunt who lives there, so i won't be alone.
3. why japan? - why not? really though, i've just always wanted to go there. i'd like to see the culture past and present, shopping, and traveling to different places is just fun!\

this is a life long goal that is finally going to be fulfilled! i can't even describe it...i'm just so excited, it's kind of overwhelming. i just can't wait to be there and experience it already.

other short terms goals/big purchases next on my list:
-music tattoo on my foot
-treat myself to a new computer

the sun is out and so am i

this weekend the sun decided to come out and play and i've been waiting for some great running weather so i decided to go out for a run on saturday. ran the 4.5 miles of lake merced the rare daly city sun and had such a good time just being out there soaking it all in.

you see...i HATE running on a treadmill. i can't stand the monotony of it. it's just so boring to me. yes even with a tv or my ipod on. i always say, i'd rather run a marathon than be on a treadmill for 20 mins. but, the rare times that i am on a treadmill, force myself through it for 30min. i can't take much more than that.

sooo the sun came out and so did i. here are a few things that i like to soak in while running outside

-people watching...i'm a big people watcher as it is, so i can't help but do this anyway.
-the sounds of the conversations pass me by just makes me feel alive
-the sounds of the fast person coming up behind me lol
-smiling at the elderly that are still out and being active (i wanna be like that when i'm old too)
-watching the dogs playfully running along their owners
-the gun shots at the rod & gun club let's me know i'm more than half way done
-the unexpected cool breeze
-slowing down you speed ever so slightly in the shade b/c it's much cooler there
-hearing the people practicing in their dragon boats
-the "go team" camaraderie even though you don't know that person
-the feeling of accomplishment when you beat your time again and AGAIN!!