Better late than never

So...yeah.
I am running in the Camp Pendleton Mud Run with my sorority sisters from college next weekend. It's a 10K run with obstacle course in San Diego. I haven't run anything longer than 5 miles in over 8 months...ha! But last night I started training...by running 3 miles - ok it was really 2 miles running and 1 mile walking.. I alternated 2 laps run with 1 lap walk.
So hopefully by next weekend a 10K will be not so difficult.

I'm so ready

For 30. My last hurrah of my twenties begins officially tomorrow..and it's kind of blah. I'm actually more excited about turning 30...in fact, I'm VERY excited about turning 30. I'm ready to get this show on the road, be done with this suspended adolescense - bleh.

But I'm sure my 30's will be similar to my 20's only much quieter, hopefully with more cash but probably with equally more bills.

Movie Reivew: X Men 3 - The Last Stand

I don't care if you are a comic book geek or not..this movie kicks ass. It is short by today's movie standards, coming in at only 1 hour 44 minutes but it packed quite a punch. Now for those of us comic book geeks (myself included) will find this diversion from the comic book storyline either refreshing or blasphemy. I thought it was great...great in a way - as if all of my "i wonder if, what if" scenarios actually played out on the big screen with some big budget effects.

Naming Done

The car is Roxy....I like how Molly addresses her as "boxy roxy"

Here she is

Still unnamed Car Kang.

Baby Car Kang -- pics to come

Got a new car today...and so far she is nameless. I am open to suggestions - so please if you have a name, suggest it to me as I am having a hard time bonding with my new Honda Element. Celebrity was easy...the name totally just came to me during the first year I had my truck. I'm actually still kind of sad, knowing that I won't be driving celebrity to work everyday anymore...

A new era of fuel efficiency and Japanese auto manufacturing is upon me...I am now a proud owner of a Honda.

I have also decided to turn 29 this year instead of 21 again... Hell has officially frozen over. I own a Japanese car and am deciding to mature past Spring Break.

A "Stork-y" 2006

So if 2004 was the year of the wedding...then 2006 is definately year of the baby. In 2006, I went to about 7 weddings and was invited to about 11 of them. It was a love and committment kind of year I guess. This year, I am getting to see the "fruits" of that love - lol. Many a happy couple are welcoming new members to their families. It's fun buying socks that wouldn't fit on my big toe for all my new little "nieces and nephews."

All Grown Up.

Sam's former roomates graduated this weekend. That's Dobel, Francis and Ben (left to right) in their cap & gowns. I think I've known Ben since he was 18 or 19...and the rest of the guys I met via Sam 2 years ago. They're great kids and will shortly be off to fight for "freedom" most likely in Iraq. As ROTC kids, they not only graduated, they were commissed as officers in the US Army. They'll spend this summer in wonderous places like backwards ass Georgia and Alabama to specialized infantry and medic training. Hopefully we'll get to see them before they're stationed and/or deployed later this year.

Plush Peeps

So cute...as only I could love them. Molly, understanding my love of the marshmallow peeps found this batch of stuffed beanbag peeps and plush basket at a Toys-R-Us and found it fitting to give me this for my birthday. I plan on taking it to work so it can decorate my cubicle and creep out other people.

Welcome Ethan Michael James

Tom and Angie just sent this little picture of their newest family addition. Right off the bat I'm going to say he looks just like Tom....but if I'm not mistaken, that might be some blonde wisps underneath that cap, courtesy of Angie's side of the family :) I can't wait to meet the little guy.

Found at last...

Hiroko apparently spent the day trolling through the Napa tri phot site and was able to find a picture of me just after the swim. Look at how amazingly flattering neoprene is. Someone at work said that neoprene is very "slimming" like if you're a fat guy it will make you look skinnier. I think they are high and in reality, neoprene isn't that slimming...in fact it just makes you look a little wierd because you're encased in 1/4 inch rubbery foam stuff.

But check out that look of concentration as I remove my swim cap and head over to the transition area..LOL - this shit is too ridiculous for me to even take seriously

Action Shots - Betty

Just when you thought you couldn't get enough spandex....yes, I put up more spandex shots. I ordered the picture on the left :) no swim photos though :(

Look at more shameful spandex shots here

Action Shots - Hiroko

Just got these from the triathlon photo people...i think this little montage would makd a nice shirt.

Flattery or Insulting

Recently I took on some additional responsibilities at work... it was a welcome change in the sense that I like new challenges but the matter in which I got this was a little odd. The person who previously had these responsibilities said what I think was supposed to be a compliment, but it was exactly "Betty, I think you'd do a really great job at this, you are a very ambitious person...you're too ambitious to want to get married or have kids so young."

uh...ok...thanks, i think?

So apparently to this person ambition and family are mutually exclusive goals, or potentially conflicting goals that cannot coexist. Not that I've ever been in any sort of a hurry to get knocked up...but it's never been off the table because I like my job.

One for Chester

Found this at Sportsbasement in the cycling clothes area...those clever kids.

heehee

If anyone has spent any soft of time with my brother, you'd know that Sam's smog is a potentially murderous gas that can kill you. Funny enough, this is a test only center...

Book Review: The Year of Yes

Just finished this little book called "The Year of Yes" by Maria Headley. It's quite an entertaining book with an interesting concept..what if, you said "yes" to every date for an entire year? This doesn't mean you have to do anything more...but jsut say yes and acommpany said person to coffee, drinks, a meal, dancing... It's funny because she ends up sharing a meal with a homeless man, going salsa dancing with a neighborhood grandpa, shares coffee with her handyman...has a few bad dates, a few embarrassing moments and in the end..finds that she enjoys life more, gets to know her neighbors and ultimately finds the man she marries.

The Results are In...

Upon discussing the matter, Hiroko and I decided that the above picture correctly displays the swim route we were supposed to take as compared to our actual seim path shown in red. Literally at one point I thought to myself "Wow! This is a really shallow lake" only to look up and realize I had swam to shore...DOH!

But even with our "over-swimming" we found that we had surprisinly fast swim times.

ME: Finish 02:16:33.6

• Swim 00:24:56.0
• T1 00:05:32.5
• Bike 01:02:40.8
• T2 00:03:41.3
• Run 00:39:43.0

LOCO ROKO: Finish 02:38:20.5

• Swim 00:23:10.9
• T1 00:05:27.4
• Bike 01:15:44.2
• T2 00:02:58.9
• Run 00:50:59.1

Mind you, my transition times leave much to be desired as I was chatting with everyone and was taking my sweet time. I was almost pretty close to ordering lunch while I was at it. At one point during the run, I actually stopped to fix my hair.

I LOVE SPANDEX

AND I look super fobby! Check out my smooth outer layer...otherwise known as a spandex, moisture wicking unitard complete with chamois and rear feed bag. I know, I know...that sounded disgusting. Hiroks had the right idea with the jersey over the god forsaken spandex...instead I wanted felt it neccessary to perpetuate the "stuffed sausage" look.....and by sausage, I mean my spandex casing....lol

Go Team Go!

Here are ourfavorite cheerleaders. They stayed up late making the cutest signs for us...there were a total of four (2 double sided signs) that read

• Loco Roko
• Go Betty
• Team BH
• Cute Boys 100 yards

I saw the "Team BH" one as I was exiting the lake from my swim and couldn't figure out what BH meant...after what seemed like 10 minutes, I realized it stood for "Betty Hiroko"

Can you spot us?

we're out there somewhere..i promise

Where are we supposed to go?

Dude we are sooo serious in all of our neoprene glory.

done and done

Hiroko and I are alive...we made it through the triathlong with just tired muscles. Results are not yet posted...pictures to come as well.

Thanks to Forrest, Erin, Sean, Linh and Jason for making the trek out to creepy town USA to watch us - and cheer us on with some great signs -- even though we tried to discourage them from driving to creepy towm.

Sushimania 12

Latest anniversary party group photo. If you haven't been, you're missing the mania

Socialism Rules....

Went to the Commonwealth Club last night with Molly because they had guest speaker, Eric Schlosser, the man who wrote "Fast Food Nation." It's funny because I was just as peeved off listening to Eric talk as I was about reading his book. Granted I feel that Fast Food Nation was well resarched and very informative, but I just didn't agree with his tone. The writing style seemed a little "sensationalist or expose" - a la Fox News. And finally his recommendation for change was more about corporate social responsibility -- and not particularly the need for personal responsibility. It comes down to no amount of government regulation or corporate business practice will ultimately make that big of an impact unless people are held accountable for their own actions and decisions. And really, what happened to holding parents responsible for providing a good foundation for their children and teaching basic food and nutirition like fried food in excess = bad.

Also, how much of the American obesity epidemic can be blamed on fast food companies. There is an argument that government subsidies of agriculture or the influence of food industry lobbyists makes for bad food politics. Also, how much did the change in American family structure affect the increased desire for pre-packaged, convenient foods? America consistently has high productivity rates per capita over other countries...how much does our attitude towards work affect time spent at home, cooking with family? Or what if this trend is just a way of weeding out the population through evolution? In animal kingdoms, if you are not fast enough to run away from predators -- well, you're done. I think my point is that...the finger pointing should be at ourselves and not at everyone else -- food cannot be the scapegoat.

There was a book signing at the end...but I had to leave because I thought it would be rude to have him sign my book "socialism rules" or "i need someone else to tell me when to stop eating" or Mollys "Carla Marx".