♪♫ It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year ♪♫

Faneuil Hall, Boston MA

LAX, Terminal 4

I generally love the holidays. The decorations, the wrapping of presents, overload of desserts and other good food... (yum!)

Few things give me greater satisfaction than finding the perfect gift, having the perfect box for said gift and wrapping presents.

I used to work at a jewelry store while I was in college. Christmas was such a fun time of year. People would splurge on gifts and usually had us wrap their presents. Even now, I am a bit neurotic about it. Only my brother takes me up on the offer of wrapping presents. A win-win for both of us.

Even though Christmas is over, I still have more presents to buy... I'm a little behind, but some people are just really difficult to shop for.

Happy Holidays!! I hope you didn't get a lump of coal in your stocking!!

"Newlywed or Nearly Dead..."

"Newlywed  or  nearly dead", that's the unofficial motto of where I currently live. As they always say, "Home is where the heart is" and in any case, I know I'm not in Kansas anymore! (Or Boston, San Diego, Garden Grove, or even Indianapolis for that matter!) Ok, ok, I'm done with the puns.

I had never been to Santa Barbara prior to the interview for my current job. I wanted to come to visit while I was living in San Diego, but it just never happened. I remember thinking, "Even if I don't get this job, at least I'll have gotten a glimpse of the place so many people have raved about."

Don't get me wrong, it's a great place. Beautiful, secluded, not too populated and was featured in the NY times in their travel section just last month! With the beach to the south (so weird!) and the surrounding Los Padres National Forest , it is a unique place.

It's definitely the smallest town I've ever lived in as an adult. (As a youth, I had a brief stint in Tequesta, FL which is by far the smallest town that I've been in... ever...) When people ask me what I think of it, it's almost a reflex that I exclaim, "They don't have a Target!!"

To drive the point home, I am where the green arrow is and the Target website so effectively reveals that the closest one to me is only about 40 miles away. (Only...) To the city's defense, there is a Kmart here (which to date I have not visited because I have strategically hit up a Target on my way back home from a weekend away), but man do I miss having one around!

The other place that most people know about is UCSB. Known as a party school, it also boasts some Nobel Laureates and one Field Medalist. One of my good friends visited me for Halloween weekend. We decided to venture into Isla Vista (or IV) where, according to Playboy, UCSB is a Top Party School. We strolled through the streets and one thing we both agreed upon was that they had a very "fit" student body. I had to ask my friend, "Is there a BMI maximum on their application form?!"

Yes, that does say "I <3 Boobz"

We saw and heard a lot of entertaining things. In addition to the window artwork here, we also saw a drawing on a filthy car. Instead of the familiar "wash me" sign, it was a picture of a particular body part. Enough said. Sorry, no pictures were taken.

The "inner hoes" came out in droves, although, some of them might have been themselves... something I'll never personally know. The quote of the night could have come from any of them, "Is my a$$ hanging out?" and we weren't sure if it was something they WANTED or didn't.

We also came across some guys that held up "DTF?" signs on cardboard. Let me be honest, I had no idea what that meant, although we were pretty close and definitely had the right context in mind. One thing was for sure, they were going to have some fun parties down there that night, even with the police in full force. (We saw a Cookie Monster in handcuffs on the sidewalk, so sad.) I was warned by several co-workers to avoid the area if I wanted to steer clear of debauchery, but as a good host, how could I refuse my first visitor?!

It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I'm guessing that's because of the SBPD.

Anyway, my temporary housing is coming to a close in about a month so I have to find a new place to live. Right now, I'm across the street from work, about 1.5 miles away from the local airport, and about 10-15 minutes away from downtown SB. Pretty darn convenient, but as a recent graduate with student loans, my current abode is just a wee (as in not at all, but actually a HUGE) bit too pricey for a gal like me. Wish me luck!

"Yelp Me, Yelp You!"

I started yelping back in May 2009, but was never really consistent with it. My first yelp review was not under my current account (and I don't know where it is now...) but it was to rant about horrible service I had in a downtown San Diegan Italian restaurant that I'm fairly confident no longer exists.

I use this site almost religiously whenever I'm in a new area. Usually, I'm passing through, but it's been a big help now that I've relocated.

Since I use it so much, I thought I would finally give back and let's face it: I'm opinionated and when it comes to food, I know what I like and I know what I don't like.

Mesa Cafe's Corned Beef Hash
Eggs Benedict

I was keeping a private list of favorite restaurants, which I would occasionally update, but this is so much easier to use, since it has all the information I usually need AND (as I'm sure most of you with smart phones know) it has its own app. I haven't reviewed all of my favorites, but I will so that I can remember them when I return. (I'm thinking about you, Boston and San Diego!!)

Taqueria Los Tarascos assortment 

of street tacos

I know many of you don't see what the big deal is about this site. But, just so you can see how helpful and entertaining it can be, I invite you to read a few of the posts from my friends, the Yelp Elite: Erica "Zombie Killer" P. (helpful) and her husband Chun "49% Gay/ 51% Cheapass" P. (entertaining, so much so that I'm usually LMAO!)

Goleta Sushi House's Chirashi

Feel free to friend me Kim "Kimikat" V. to follow some of my culinary adventures and to make some suggestions. I used to be all sugar and no spice on this account, but now, the truth comes out. After all, who wants to be lured into a crappy restaurant?!

Recent reviews by Kim V.

What's this?

A Phung-fastic weekend!

My good friend Erica Phung came to see me this weekend. I've had visitors every weekend I've been in SB and mostly we would walk around State Street and eat. This time was a little different.

Instead of just looking at different restaurants to try and roaming downtown SB, Erica and I looked for activities that could be fun in between all those meals. Our first crack was a boot camp that began at 8:30am on a Saturday morning. Well, at least according to the local paper, the Independent. We were so excited that we woke up early enough to give this a try, only to get to the fitness center and find out that the class had been cancelled... boo!!!

Crab Cake Eggs Benedict

Not to be discouraged, we decided to go to Cajun Kitchen for breakfast. A co-worker of mine recommended this place, and yelp gave it good reviews, so I thought, let's try it! (It was also right around the corner from the Boot Camp that didn't happen.) I got the Crab Cake Eggs Benedict and some OJ. It was good, but not as good as Erica's Hot Link Sausage. That in itself was amazing! (No picture, sorry.) The hash browns were indeed, awesome, as the reviews said.
After breakfast, we decided that we needed to commit to our earlier agenda of getting in some fitness in our day, so we ended up at Yasa Yoga for their "YASA Yin and Yang" course:

Enjoy a 45 minute YASA style flow, balanced by 45 minutes of yin yoga. During the yin portion of the class, students will explore longer holds, fewer poses and work with subtle energy to balance their yang practice. The perfect addition to any day to leave you feeling balanced and blissful. Suitable for All Levels.

Yeah right! That class was taught in a warm studio (about 85F) and kicked my butt! Granted, I'm working towards getting healthier, but this class was hard! So hard, in fact that all I wanted to do afterwards was take a nap. BUT, I had company, so that wasn't going to happen.

Pumpkin strip

After we freshened up, we headed to State Street for some shopping and stopped at Andersen's Bakery for a very late lunch. We were starved after that class! (At least I was!) The food was good, and the pumpkin strip was to die for! This may not look all that interesting, but the description peaked my curiosity: "A pumpkin pie in a pastry".  This was DELICIOUS!!! It was so good, that Erica came back the next day to bring some home! (If you want to know what I think of the service, that's a whole other story...)

This meal hit the spot. Full of delicious food, we returned to my place to take a quick rest. I had read in the Independent that they had a "Latin/Swing/Ballroom" lesson on Saturday nights at the Santa Barbara Dance Center. I'm still new to the area and wanted to try out the place for their Tuesday Salsa classes and asked if Erica was interested in going. We found out it was Lindy Hop night and even though Erica is pretty much an expert at Lindy, she was up for anything.

Don't judge me, but in order for me to make it out that night, I had to take a nap. I'm an awful host, but it just had to happen. To my defense, it was only about 15 minutes.

The lesson turned out to be fun. I learned the basics of a Charleston and Lindy Hop and felt like a Mexican jumping bean with all the hopping that was involved. It ain't called Lindy HOP for nothin'!!

Erica left in the late morning on Sunday after we had breakfast and I took the rest of the day and night to recover. All I gotta say is, what a great weekend!

Muchas gracias Beto!

Although I haven't mentioned it lately, my "to-do" list has been on my mind. I've been scouring newspapers and googling websites to see if I can fulfill some of those activities that I spoke of several months ago.

Today, I went for my first Zumba class. According to wikipedia, this class was founded by Alberto "Beto" Perez in Columbia. If you know me at all, you know I love to dance. I've been dying to try this class since I heard about it a while ago. It was a mixture of Samba, Tango, Salsa, Cumbia and Cha-Cha. I was the youngest person in there by about 10-15 years. I was fine with that, and had fun taking the class. However, I think I'm looking for a more advanced one. Considering the audience, I feel like I can find a younger crowd that can make the class a wee bit more ... let's say, youthful.

In any case, I think the idea of this class is awesome. What a great way to get some exercise in without feeling like it was a work out. And for that, I say, "Muchas Gracias Beto!" for accidentally creating a fun way to get exposure to different music and dance styles.

I'm still looking into Salsa classes, and other ways to check off that list, but stay tuned. =)

Table for 1

Lately, I've been dining alone. It's not something that I have done a lot in my life, and I used to feel a lot more uncomfortable about it, but when you are alone in a new town, frankly, you just don't have a lot of choice. That is, unless you want to eat a lot of take out.

Anyway, I arrived really late in the evening on my first day in Santa Barbara. Considering my flight arrived in Phoenix at 7:30pm and my connecting flight was due to leave at 8:05pm in a completely different terminal, I had to run like a bat out of hell, barely made my flight, and didn't have time to stop for a bite to eat. (I was just glad I made my plane, although my luggage didn't until a day later.)

Looking on my yelp app, I looked for something that was open at 10:15pm on a Sunday evening. Elephant Bar was the first thing to pop up. I went there, only to see that they changed their hours and closed at 10. My search continued. I found another place and went on my way.

Instead of going there, Takenoya caught my eye since it had a flashing "Open" sign. Also, I had been eating a lot of heavy food, so I thought sushi would be a light meal that would be somewhat healthy.

I walked in and got seated quickly, since it was relatively empty. I ordered a Sprite, but they didn't have it. No worries there, I ordered a milk tea, which I realized I wanted after I ordered anyway.

I then looked at the menu and ordered a Red Dragon Roll: Tuna and avocado on top of a spicy tuna roll, and a Take Tower: Sushi rice, spicy tuna, avocado, crab meat and seared bay scallop with a special sauce.

This was an enormous portion. Even though I hadn't eaten all day, I couldn't finish it all. Well, especially since I realized I'm not a fan of the special sauce on the Take Tower. I spent a good portion of the time scrapping it off. ick! Mayo and sushi to me is like cream cheese and sushi. It's just not right.

Sadly, I have to admit that this meal didn't sit well with me. In fact, it woke me up at 2am and kept me up until about 3:45am. I won't go into detail, but let's just say I'm not going back there... EVER. Oddly, it didn't taste bad, but the combination just upset my digestive system.

This was quite unfortunate, since I had to start work the next day...

Happy 10th Anniversary to my fellow Contikians!

It’s been a full decade since I first ventured abroad. I was 24 and had never been out of the continental US. Not even to TJ, even though it was only 20 minutes south of me. (Believe it folks…)

Image from google

That year, several friends were going overseas: one friend to Japan, another to Korean, and yet another to India. I remember thinking, “why not me?” My cousin (Chris) had just finished her BA in Communications, also from UC San Diego and we were hanging out over the summer. During one of our regular Puzzle Fighter wars, we were talking about our friends’ travels (some of her friends were also heading off the mainland) and decided that we should go somewhere too!

She, also, was an international-border-crossing virgin. Immediately, we were able to decide upon Europe. Many of our friends had gone backpacking there, which gave us the confidence that we could do it too. Independently we came up with where we wanted to go. I always wanted to go to Spain and France, and if I remember right, she wanted to go to Italy and England. In any case, what I do remember is that logistically, we were not picking similar areas.

We decided to think about it some more and regroup. On our next session, Chris mentioned that one of her roommates (Daria) went on a tour with a company called Contiki. For those of you who aren’t familiar, this is a touring company that markets to 18-35 year olds. They have different destinations and agendas to fit your needs. Anyway, her friend raved on about how much fun she had, so Chris and I started looking into packages.

European Vista Contiki 2011

We wanted to go for 3 weeks and selected their European Vista tour. This was a 20 day trip that went through: England, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Monaco, and Switzerland. (If I remember it right.) Today the same trip has changed, but you still get the idea. 

This map gives you an idea of what we were doing, but we didn't go to the Czech Republic or through Rhine Valley.

Daria told us that she had a blast and made a few really good friends on the trip.  Since this was right after 9/11, we were the only US citizens on the tour. There were about 5 or 6 Canadians, 2 gals from Japan, a guy from Peru (I think, it's been a decade, hard to remember now!) and a bunch of Ozzies. By a bunch, I mean about 45. They were the friendliest group of people and instead of hanging out in smaller groups, we hung out with practically everyone. Chris and I definitely lucked out in that collectively our tour group was very social and we got to know a lot of great people.

Group Photo in Italy

The girls on the boat cruise

At Hofbraeuhaus in Munich with Aaron, Lou, Carl, Steve, Holly, Katherine, Chris and Sam

Although it's been a decade since we left (holy cow!), I still keep in touch with several of them. This is quite a feat since this was when email was relatively new and FB didn't exist! Not only that, but I have been able to see them either when I was visiting or when they were.

Laura and me in Victoria, Australia

Me and Cath in Central Park, NY

Steve, Rita, me and Carl in Melbourne

I hope to add a few more pictures to these (when I find them and when I am able to take more). And for your viewing pleasure a few great shots of Europe:

View from the boat

Moulin Rouge in Paris

The Coliseum in Rome

Congratulations to Coral and Chris!

Di Tien and Uncle Jim had a daughter several years after they were married. They named her Coral because they met on a Florida beach and wanted to commemorate that moment with their first child.

 I was 8 at the time and I was elated to have a cousin. At the time she adored me as well. I remember that she would run around the house squealing my name with delight “Kimmy! Kimmy! Kimmy!” We used to sit at the kids’ table in the kitchen for dinner and Coral would happily entertain Steve (my brother) and me by dumping food on her head and in her diaper.  We couldn’t help but be in hysterics when she was up to her shenanigans.

When I was 14, I lived with my aunt, uncle and cousin for a semester down in Tequesta, Florida. One day, Coral and I were watching tv and Connie Selleca was in a Pantene commercial. I don’t remember what we were watching, but I do remember Coral mesmerized by her and when she said, “Wouldn't you love hair this healthy and shiny?” Coral stared, nodded and murmured, “Mmmm, hmmm!”

This is a picture of Coral and my her brother Gary. It's a few years after said commercial brainwashing, but she's still just as cute!

It should have hit me then that she might have wanted to go into Marketing! (Which she did!)


Fast forward 20 years, not only does she have the hair that surpasses Connie Selleca's, but she's got some amazing style too! 

Me, Coral, Chris, and Steve

Earlier this month, I had the honor of witnessing her marriage to a great man. This wedding weekend is what sparked my family appreciation month. Congratulations you two! 

Chris, welcome to the family!!

My they grow up so fast! (tear)

Happy Birthday Uncle Jim!

The good thing about family is that when you are close and spend a lot of time together, you have lots of stories about each other. The bad thing about family is that when you are close and spend a lot of time together, you have lots of stories about each other…

Although I have a lot of relatives (my mom is the oldest of 10, my dad youngest of 8), I’m not particularly close to most of them. My mom is closest to her eldest younger sister, (Di Tien) which is the one that I have known all my life. When I was younger, we used to live in Indiana and Di Tien lived in Illinois, in a suburb really close to Chicago. Since we were only about a 4-hour drive away, I used to see my aunt quite a bit, often spending part of my summers with her and my Uncle Jim, her husband. Quick lesson in Vietnamese, "Dì" = "Younger aunt on mother's side"


One summer, when my brother (Steve) and I were visiting, she taught us how to make chocolate chip cookies.  With our “help,” we made five dozen cookies. Quite a feat for us youngsters not to tear into them right away!

Lincoln Park Zoo

While we waited for the cookies to cool, she suggested that we take a walk to the Lincoln Park Zoo. If I remember right, it was a hot day, and when we got to the zoo, most of the animals were inside. I was pretty disappointed and remember inquiring, ok, whining, “what kind of zoo is this if it has no animals!?”

After a few hours, we went back to my aunt’s and were excitedly anticipating a cookie treat after the disappointment we encountered at the zoo.  We opened the door, and went to the kitchen. To our astonishment, ALL the cookies were gone!

Poof! 

Vanished!

Bewildered, my aunt called out, ”Jim! Are you home?” He came out and my aunt asked him about the cookies and he said that he ate them. All SIXTY of them…  with some milk, of course.

Can you guess his nickname?

Cookie Monster

So, for his birthday this year, I decided to hit him where it hurts and made some chocolate chip and pecan cookies: a plate for him and a plate for everyone else. Not six dozen, after all, we all need to watch our figures! 

Happy Birthday Uncle Jim!

"Couch-to-5K" plan

I started jogging while I was in CA and then fun (and laziness) got in the way so I didn't do it consistently enough to develop a routine. After getting back to Boston, the weather was way too hot. After getting used to weather that rarely got over 75F or below 65F, the humidity and the heat were just too much. Over 100F, as my MBA Council President, Ajay, would say, "C'mon SON!"

Now that the weather has cooled down and I realize that leaving Boston isn't in my near future, I've decided to get serious about training for that 10K/ Half and future triathlon.

Almost every exercise routine always has the mandatory, "consult your doctor" disclaimer. I'm feeling alright, but one thing I DID do is consult my two Iron(wo)man friends who are and always will be my inspiration: Treven and Lisa! Being pretty much professional athletes, I asked them their advice on how I should start my training.

Paraphrased words from the wise: (disclaimer, my friends are NOT coaches, so if you want to take their advice, please be warned of that!)

Find a plan and stick to it!

Plan Suggestions:The Galloway Method or The Couch-to-5K ® Running Plan

Other tips:
* Take it slow, alternate running and walking
* Be disciplined - think of training as not optional, with only exception being an injury.  Don't make excuses. Feeling tired or moody, work, studying are not good reasons to not to continue to train.
* Don't increase your training by more than 10% each week
* Don't undersell yourself / focus on setting goals and getting there
- 1.5 miles is a good start.  everyone has to start somewhere.  It's like everything else in life - it takes practice, dedication, and hard work. 

* No matter the distance, drink 24 grams of protein within the first 30 minutes of finishing your run, it help rebuild the torn and worked muscles while you sleep. 
* Stretch every time after you run and before you sleep, this will help prevent injury...make sure to really stretch and roll your IT band area...its a common problem with women runners so it you pay attention to it now you'll have no problems later.  
* Try to incorporate Pilates, preferably Yoga in your weekly training regime and a different sport to give your running muscles a break.


I'm a lucky gal to have such great resources. I'll need to research their advice a little more before I decide which routine I'll use, but I'm leaning towards the Couch to 5K regiment because I am THAT out of shape.

As Sally Field says in her commercial, "We only have one life..." so might as well be as healthy as I can to enjoy it!

"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans" - John Lennon

At long last, after many great suggestions and a lot of thought, I have compiled my list. (About time, I know!)

This will be a "living document" and while it will not shorten, it might get longer. I have divided it into Benner's Level of Experience which technically deals with nursing, but the categories seem to fit quite well for me.

NOVICE

Most of these require training of some sort, and some require me simply taking action

1. Learning how to drive stick
2. Surfing lessons (photo from http://www.1000lonelyplaces.com)
3. Flying lessons
4. Take a martial art (tbd)
5. Learning how to apply make up well (this one is for my mom who says I'm not girly enough)
6. Trapeze lessons
7. Golf lessons (there was a rumor that said a lot of business decisions happen on the golf course; can't miss out on that!)
8. Skiing (both water and snow)
9. Drawing lessons
10. Take a hot air balloon ride (picture from google search)
11. Swim with dolphins
12. Go to a Conan O'Brien taping
13. African Safari

ADVANCED BEGINNER

So for the most part, I've done some of this before and want to improve...

14. Photography classes

15. Piano lessons (I took piano for 2 years when I was a kid, I kind of miss it!)

16. Dance lessons: Zumba/ Hip Hop/ Ballroom/ Swing/ Belly Dancing; the more the better!

17. Sailing lesson (I'm a good crew member, but help us all if I have to steer!)

18. Cliff Diving (first need to find a suitable cliff)

19. Rock climbing

COMPETENT

I'm hoping that at this stage I'll pick up things a little faster after attempting some of this stuff before...

20. Become fluent in Vietnamese (nói và viết tiếng Việt tốt)

21. Become fluent in Español (hablar y escribir muy bien tambien!)

22. Volunteering at an animal shelter (picture by Meredith Childs)

23. Unassisted pull-up (see #19 for how I hope to achieve this!!)

24. Tan legs - my legs are almost always ghostly white. But I think I can tackle this one during the summer this year. =)

PROFICIENT

A lot of this will just take practice or some good old fashioned planning...

25. Become a good salsa dancer, to the point where I can take advanced lessons, style, and look graceful! Eat your heart out Dancing with the Stars (although I'm not even sure they do salsa as much as cha cha)

26. Visit the remaining "7 natural wonders of the world" - I've been lucky enough to see the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef, but still have 5 more left!

27. Drive across the US. I've been to the corners, the middle, and the south, but have left out quite a bit in between

28. Run a 10K, then a half marathon

29. Become a decent cook. This will be a long road, but hopefully I can manage with some good recipes and constructive (but not too harsh) feedback!

30. Write and illustrate a children's book. Don't need to have it published, it can be for a niece or nephew. =) Besides, after taking all those drawing lessons (see #9), might as well have something to show for it!

EXPERT

31. Travel enough to fill a passport - Looking at all the different "7 wonders" lists is making me want to travel more... a lot more!

32. Accomplish a Super Sprint Triathlon. All my Iron(WO)man friends have been really inspiring, but I'm setting my sights on something that is a challenge for me. Considering I've had my bike for about 5 years and have ridden it about 5 times...

33. Last but not least, live on another continent

And there you have it...

Slow and steady...

I am about 9 goals away from completing my list, and am still brainstorming ideas for my personal development. Hopefully the final list will come out soon!

I had dinner with friends that I haven't seen in about 2 years. When I told them about the 10K/ half, they said, "what will stop you from doing a marathon?" Well, this is coming from a friend who's been an Iron(wo)man 3 times over and another who also beefed up his triathlon training. They are endurance junkies and along with a few other people, my inspirations for healthy living.

My goal is still the half, though and once I complete that I'll let my body decide if it wants to do more. One step at a time! (Literally and figuratively...)

Today I will continue to work on my endurance. After applying to a few jobs, I will hit the Bay and attempt a 1.5 mile jog. I have also heard a good way to build endurance is to walk for 2 minutes then alternate with a 2 minute run. I will do that tomorrow, I think and see which one works better. One thing I know for sure is that they will both exhaust me!

I went to the San Diego County Fair over the weekend where my companions were out to try any and everything that just sounded a little bit on the gross side! The list of heart attack inducing foods includes: deep fried bacon with french fries, deep fried butter (both pictured here), deep fried Klondike bar, Krispy Kreme chicken sandwich, chocolate covered bacon (the only thing I tried and it was really rich and more than I should have had!) and the grossest thing yet: Baby Ruth Stuffed Deep Fried Jalapeno on a bed of churros...


So for those of you who remember that Team Baby Ruth described the candy bar to look like $h!+ for the IP project, yeah, it looked like that in the jalapeno. I didn't get a great picture of it, but hopefully my friend's album is open for viewing and you can see a better one there. They each took a bite and declared their disgust, then came the inevitable, "you wanna try it?!" Yeah, I passed.

After trying that concoction, they decided they were done with food for the day. I had a big lunch and never did get hungry, so I passed on the yummy looking humongous turkey legs and everything else.

I'm not usually a wimp when trying new foods, however odd they are. But after exercising for 2.5 hours the day before and seeing how it would all unravel in less than 20 minutes, I had to resist. In the past I've tried the Krispy Kreme chicken sandwich, deep fried oreos (which are pretty darn good, actually) and the fried cheese curds. We'll see what decisions I make next time, whenever that will be!

On the way to a 10K

So one thing that I have found out (and that I have known) is that I'm a little lazy. I create these lists to help keep me motivated and on track.

Speaking of which, I got a few more suggestions, but am still quite a ways off from the magical #33. Once I come up with the final list, it will be presented in one post and you can hold me accountable. I have a few more ideas which shall be revealed soon enough. (oooh, I can feel the anticipation from you all... not really. ha!)

Since getting in shape (other than round) has been a never ending goal, my first move to start checking things off this list of mine is to start jogging again (See unofficial list #5). The never ending goal of trying to get fit comes partially from vanity (just keeping it real folks) and partially from wanting to do whatever I want for as long as I can, aka just being healthly!
[Side story:] A few years ago, I went snowboarding when I was on my lighter side (no, I will not disclose how much I weigh. That's just not a polite thing to ask a girl!), and not only was it easier, but it was also more fun. I could do a lot more runs and not feel so darn tired!! Also, let's face it, I felt better about myself.

Anyway, I decided that Thursday was the day I would formally begin. It's been a long time since I have run. Last year I signed up for a half marathon only to be stricken with plantar fasciitis. I had to retire (temporarily) just after hitting a personal milestone of 4.5 miles. I had run a decent amount before this training and never experienced this type of pain. I vowed that it wouldn't conquer me and although I didn't run the race, I plan on making sure that I run a half eventually. (But not at the risk of permanently damaging myself since I'm still young (relatively) and don't want to screw myself up for life!)

Starting out slow, I walked 2.5 miles, jogged 1 mile, then walked another 2.5 miles. I have been going to Mission Bay Park in San Diego. The weather has been typical wonderful SoCal sunshine, and not only is it a mile away from where I am currently staying, but it's also just plain beautiful.

After the mile jog, my lungs were about to burst and I cursed at myself for allowing me to get so unfit! Last summer my daily routine was to at least jog for 2 miles and I had a decent (albeit slow) pace. I had my ipod that was filled with upbeat tunes, but alas, I have resigned to the fact that I need to take it slow. Which is fine, because at least I'm working at it!!!

Blog Bandwagon

Several of my friends have been beefing up their blog postings.

I remembered that we had to create one during our summer class and have also decided to give it a go. It will be unlikely that I solicite readers until I feel that my thoughts are worth reading. By then this post may be ancient history.

I'm currently in SoCal looking for a job after recently graduating with a dual degree from Boston University. Even before I left my thought was, "it's hard to leave, but I can always come back..." Well, from my experience it has been the opposite. All the stars seemed to align when I made my decision to leave San Diego (my home for 15 years) and venture out to the East Coast. I was fortunate enough to have a friend who found an apartment for me that was ready as soon as I got there. My boyfriend got a job because one of colleagues moved to a new company and essentially gave him a position that included a relocation package. Things couldn't have been easier.

Coming back to CA has proved to be more difficult. Unemployment still hovers in the 11% + range and finding a position that fits what I want to do and what I have already done hasn't been easy. I have seen that most postings are too senior or too junior. I'm still optimistic though!!

So, since I "ain't got no job, and [...] don't have $h!+ to do" I decided to not only start writing this, but to create one of my "To do lists." The last one I wrote was when I turned 26. I know I have it somewhere, but now that I have crossed a bunch of it off (at least half), I am going to construct a new one.

Here we go: "33 things to do before I get too old!" (in no particular order)
1. More salsa lessons
2. 2nd course in Vietnamese
3. Retake Spanish
4. Surfing lessons
5. 10K, then a half marathon
6. Volunteer more
7. Learn to cook at least 2 meat dishes really well!
8. Photography classes
9. Do a pull up
10. Learn how to drive stick
11. Travel alone
12.

Ok... so I'm going to need some more time to think about this. But, feel free to add some suggestions!