Browse Month: October 2007

G-Love

I love Garmin. My Forerunner stopped working a couple weeks ago and it totally bummed me out. After all the firmware upgrades, etc, it stopped finding the satellites. So, I called them today and the very nice tech support dude helped me out. Initially, we tried to update everything again as he walked me though it over the phone but in the end he said, “It looks like there’s actually something wrong with your Forerunner.” When he said that I had two thoughts. 1) “Haha, I’m not the technical idiot you thought I would be.” and 2) “Oh man, I’m either going to get screwed with a repair fee or have to buy a new one.” Instead, he told me to ship it to Garmin and they’ll send me a new one. Solid. Mr. Darrell hooked me up with an extended warranty and a new Garmin. Woohoo! Since it was due to the most recent update (aka not my fault), they’ve put my problem under warranty even though it’s been over a year since I purchased the unit. This has to be one of the most successful customer service calls I’ve ever had.

Run Together

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Last night we had a carbo-load dinner at our place and Jes made some tasty risotto and penne. This morning I got up at 5 am, made my coffee and peanut butter sandwich, and got a ride to the Start Line from Victor. Thanks, dude! I started the race with Vyl but I lost her in the crowd somewhere in the 2nd mile. I ran the rest of the race alone since I couldn’t find Susie but I still had a great time. The weather was very pleasant – sunny but cool. The hills were as difficult as I remembered but I survived. I even scored a finisher’s necklace AND t-shirt when I crossed the Finish Line since they weren’t checking bibs this year. Yes! This year’s race went rather smoothly. My pack didn’t bother me, my earphones stayed in my ears the whole time, and my iPod and Nike+ sensor did a great job recording my race. I guess the only hiccup was that my Garmin stopped working a couple weeks ago. Boo… Afterwards, we had brunch at Home Plate with the Bangs, Tammy, and Angela, which really hit the spot. The rest of the day was spent in my PJs and watching TV. Oh yeah, my finishing time was 2:20 and some seconds.

Here are some photos from Wednesday night’s NikeTown party and today’s race.

great game

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On Saturday, my uncle, aunt, and cousins came up to SF for some brunch. It’s always nice to be with family. They got to see where I live and we had brunch just down the street. Hopefully we’ll get to see more of them in the next few months.  And thanks for brunch and the flowers!

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Right afterwards Jes and I went downstairs to Pete’s to watch the remainder of the UCLA/Cal game. With so much on the line for Cal, it was not a good game for Victor. Fortunately for us though, we won and we’re still undefeated in the Pac-10. It’s crazy how standings can change so drastically each weekend. It was nice to be with fellow Bruins in a place that’s filled with Cal fans. I was so torn since Victor was so invested in his team. But in the end, I was still screaming “RUN!” when we scored the winning touchdown. Victor was so sad that he fumbled his beer glass and it crashed on the floor resulting in Coors Light all over my bag and a cut toe for Jes. No worries though. Jes got a cool Coors Light t-shirt and can opener.

Genius

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It’s T minus 2 days until the half marathon and I’m feeling excited to be running my one and only event this year. With that excitement also comes a sense of skepticism. When I first registered for this race two years ago, I was one of the first among my circle of friends to know about it and thought it would be an interesting race to sign up for. Now in it’s 4th year, the race has gotten a lot of hoopla and has lost a bit of its athleticism (at least in my mind). Sure, it’s for a good cause and you still have to train (sorta) but there’s something about this race that some purists would scoff at. Nowadays, it seems more like a fun excuse to buy really cute workout clothes and pay 80 bucks (registration) for a Tiffany necklace that you receive after “running” 13.1 or 26.2 miles with hundreds of other women. Yes, I am guilty for using the finisher’s necklace as a part of my motivation but running is running and that’s what I’m really here for.

On Wednesday night, ClubRunSF held their last training run of the season with a 3-miler and then big carboload party, which was quite a spectacle. Just imagine 500+ women in a 5-story NikeTown fueled with excitement, money to burn, and a little alcohol and you’ve got one of the best marketing schemes ever.

This year’s race colors are pink, white, and plum, which make for a very cute line of running shirts, shorts, caps, jackets, and anything else running-related. To make matters worse they give us a 20% discount off of all purchases made that evening and a chance to win a pair of $900 Tiffany diamond earrings. Let me give you a little perspective on the “devotion” these ladies have to the event and their Nike “madness”. In the middle of the party, the fire alarm went off. As a result, the entire store needed to be evacuated. Everyone was asked to put down their merchandise and go downstairs and hang out on the sidewalk. You’d think that this would lower their overall sales but think again. I’d have to say there were at least 475 of the 500 women still outside and waiting in the cold for a good 30 minutes for the chance to file back into the store to continue shopping. That’s devotion for ya.

At the end of the night, I too bought something. I got myself a hoodie to make up for the one I did not get the first year I ran this race. The race was still in its infancy two years ago and sold out of almost every item by the time I had arrived in SF for the weekend. You may think I’m being silly but most girls who have entered this race once before will continue to register (regardless of whether they plan to train or not) and purchase a new race outfit each year. As I’ve said time and time again. Whoever came up with this race for Nike is a genius.

Oh yeah…and let me share with you the additional marketing twist to this crazy race this year. They’ve decided to incorporate Apple into this marketing scheme by introducing their faker Nike+ challenge. Basically, if you didn’t get a spot in the actual race, you can register with Nike+ and use your iPod sensor to log 13.1 miles on the actual race day for a piece of the excitement. I am one of those suckers and will be running (unofficially) alongside Susie and Vyl on Sunday for a Tiffany keychain (not necklace) and a loser-time t-shirt that both get mailed to me 4-6 weeks after the race. Fortunately for me, registration costed half the price and I may actually walk home with a finisher’s necklace too if I’m sneaky enough. Yes, I admit it. I’m a sucker for great marketing too. Now if only I could figure out a way to get a piece of all this…

what a waste…

p1000178b.jpgThis post is a little reflection of my first experience flying with Virgin America. I’m a frequent Southwest and JetBlue customer and this airline was worth checking out.

First of all, I scored $39 one-way tickets from SFO-LAX. Plus. However, they have only 5 daily flights to LAX right now, which seem to fill up quickly for peak travel days/times. Minus. They fly out of SFO, which has a direct connection to BART and have assigned seats. Plus. When I arrived at the gate (on time) they were delayed about 20 minutes. Minus. They had plush leather seats and power outlets in coach along with personal entertainment with DirectTV. Plus. I was pretty hungry and they didn’t give out any snacks. Minus.

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The TV and video game remote is tucked away in the arm rest. That’s pretty cool.

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Who doesn’t enjoy TV on a flight?! They also use Google Maps to track the flight.

Overall impressions of Virgin? It’s good and comparable to JetBlue minus the snacks and reliable entertainment. It has power for your mobile devices, which is a definite plus (esp. for cross-country flights). The purple mood lighting and loungey music is a cute touch but completely unnecessary. I would have to say that it’s a good competitor with JetBlue. Just beware of the rising prices as the airline becomes more mainstream. Until then, expect a half-empty plane (on off-peak flights) with a few kinks they have to work out. Would I fly with them again? Sure. At least I know that I have another option when I fly home or to New York.

Now for my return flight…

On my return trip today, my expected 4-hour journey (including drive time, flight, and commute on BART) turned into 7. It’s not all Virgin’s fault but it definitely tainted my first flight back with them.

My flight was scheduled for 11:40 am. We left the house at 10:15 with plenty of time to get to the airport and for check-in. We got to the airport exit around 10:40 and that’s when the day turned sour. The exit was closed and my dad and I had to circle the airport for another 45 minutes trying to find a way into the terminals. A couple of wrong turns, a closed off intersection, and unusually congested streets resulted in me getting through security and to the gate by 11:30 where the plane had already pushed back. *grr* I was booked on the 1:55 pm flight and had to hang out in Terminal 6 (probably the worst terminal ever) for another 2 hours.

Once aboard the plane, I nearly knocked at guy in the head with my backpack and had to sit next to a really snobby lady who kept scowling at me. As we pushed off and started our taxi, the plane paused with an announcement from above. There was rain in SF and we were ordered to sit on the runway for another 25 minutes. What?! By the time we took off, it was 1:30 and a half hour past the landing time of my original flight. Argh. The flight was bumpy and the DirectTV was not working the entire time. Thank goodness for the power outlet because I was then able to sort through this weekend’s photos. We landed at 4:00 pm and I was restless. I rushed over to the BART station, which is actually IN the airport and got home by 5:00 pm. I can’t believe I spent my day off traveling.

homecoming

I made my first trip back to Cerritos (and Irvine) this weekend and it was a lot of fun. I got to sleep in my old room and in my old bed. I got to wake up in the Magical House where breakfast was ready as soon as I got up on Sunday.  Woohoo!

p1000241b.jpgOn Sunday, I drove down to Irvine to pick up some supplies for my inservice and stopped by the old neighborhood to say “hello” to my old neighbors. Luckily they were home and we got to do a little catching up. Later that day, I had lunch with Patti and it was so nice to hang out with her again. In the evening, I went to my uncle’s retirement dinner. I also got to meet little Brandon for the first time, which was a special treat. Cole is growing up fast and pretty soon little Brandon will be running alongside him as his sidekick. That evening I spent the night at the Suminos’ in preparation for my presentation in Irvine the next day.

On Monday morning, Kenji dropped me off on his way to dropping Cole off to work and it was a pretty early morning for all of us. I got to ECLC and it was just like old times…going into work and messing with the photocopiers in a rush to get everthing done before 8 am. It sounded like my presentation went well. I had to present the same material to two different groups within the span of 3 hours, which ended up being pretty tiring. My throat was so sore afterwards and I was pooped. I got to catch up with old co-workers and had lunch with the OT team. Everyone is pretty stressed out already and it’s only October! The girl who filled my spot is pretty frazzled at this point and I spent about two hours consulting with her about certain sticky cases. Dave gave me a ride home that afternoon and it felt like old times. Later in the evening Brother and I took my parents out for a Lawry’s dinner. It was an early birthday dinner for my mom and a great time for the four of us to just be together again.

Here are photos from my weekend.