30 Before 30: #4 & 3

#4: Run the Color Run
#3: Eat Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles

The Color Run was held (locally) at the Great Park in Irvine on April 22, 2012.  I roped my friends Michael, Danielle, and Nate into running with me, so we did a few runs together around the Rose Bowl to prep for this run.  The race course, in itself, was pretty boring along an old runway.  The weather was cloudy, with the marine layer solidly in place, making it fairly muggy.  We donned our race shirts, race headbands, sunglasses, old running shoes and lined up with 1000 of our closest friends at the start line.

So the premise: Run a 5k along a course where at each kilometer mark, a team is there to throw color (like bright powdered sugar) at each runner as he/she passes.  The first color was yellow, then green, then blue/purple, and then pink before the finish line.

The pre-picture:

After the first two stations: 

After the 3rd station:

After the 4th station:

At the end of the race, everyone has a packet of the color powder that we have a big color "fight" with:

It's pretty intense in there!  It's actually really dark and very hard to breathe!

Thankfully, we survived! :)

So by the end, we were more colors than just the 4 from the race (the pink and purple are the ones that "stick" the most!

It was quite a morning, to say the least.  Which, of course, needed to be followed up with a great meal. If you aren't familiar with it, Roscoe's is an LA legacy.  It's one of those classic places that somehow I've never had!  I'd been in Pasadena more than 3 and a half years, and never had Roscoe's!  Waffles and fried chicken are an apparent perfect match, as we quickly found out.  I had Herb's Special: 2 pieces of chicken and 2 waffles.  Most of which I took home!  It was a lovely meal, and I'm glad to have experienced a Pasadena tradition.  I probably will return to the restaurant, but may not have chicken AND waffles next time.

30 Before 30 #5: Visit Seattle

Seattle! A city that I have wanted to visit since 1998, when my family took a road trip across the entire US. One of the things I most wanted to do on that trip was go up in the Space Needle. The closest I got was a Baskin Robbins in Tacoma. I'm still bitter about that! ;)

Though I miss her dearly, I got lucky that my friend Alison moved from Pasadena to Seattle last September. I had the opportunity to visit her in December 2011, so I flew up for the weekend!

I arrived Thursday evening Dec 8, and Alison picked me up after her final exam for her grad school course (the reason she moved up to Seattle). We went straight home, but stayed up late talking. Friday we took the ferry over to Bainbridge Island, as it looked like this might be the best weather we had all weekend. We brunched at Pegasus Coffee House (AMAZING baked eggs) before walking around the small community and giving ourselves a self-guided driving tour of the island. We ended the daylight hours at Fay Bainbridge State Park, with excellent views back toward the city as well as Mt. Rainier.

Saturday started out with the Seattle Space Needle (FINALLY!). It was a somewhat rainy day, so the views weren't as epic as a clear day would have been, but definitely a great experience! So glad I finally got to see it and go up! From there we took the monorail into downtown, and headed for Pike Place Market. We walked through Pike Place, window shopping, and really shopping. I, of course, had to stop into the original Starbucks and pick up a mug. We got jam from a local producer, I bought earrings from a local artist, and then wound our way through to a cool little shop called Ventures. It's a cool little artist's collective type shop with all sorts of treasures for the finding. Helping a good cause is nice, too! We then stopped at Seattle Coffee Works to refuel. Coffee shops make for excellent people watching, don't you think? :) We walked back through the fish market (opening scene from "Real World" anyone?) and down the block to a lovely chocolatier, Fran's. Alison treated me to a drinking chocolate, which I heartily appreciated! We continued our walking tour down towards the water, ducking into the Seattle Aquarium momentarily and the carousel at Waterfront Park. The city was all lit up with Christmas lights, and it was a lovely sight! We took the bus home, then stopped at a yummy Thai place for dinner before crashing.

Sunday started with church at Quest Church, briefly preceded by a detour to the troll uner the Fremont Bridge and a driving tour of the neighborhood (as we waited for the first service to end, and parking to free up!). We brunched at Blue Star Cafe, then attempted to walk around Green Lake. It was a tad bit cold and windy for that, so we drove the circumference, instead. :) Being December in Seattle, I was a little surprised, but delighted, to find so many trees with fall colors! We definitely don't have many of those in southern CA! We then continued on to Seattle University, where Alison showed me around her campus and the things she loved about it. One of the things she loves is its proximity to Stumptown, so we had an obligatory stop there. (What's there not to love about Seattle and its coffee shops?!) It really was a beautiful building, very picturesque in the late afternoon light. And the mocha and brownie I enjoyed were delicious! We chased the sunset, which was just barely peeking through under the shelf of clouds, and caught beautiful views of the snow-capped peaks of the Olympic peninsula. Finally, we made an obligatory (for me!) stop at the flagship REI store! That place is amazing, with it's own rockwall and trail for customers to test drive mountain bikes!

All in all, I had a jam-packed and excellent weekend. I got to try/see all sorts of Seattle icons, and of course visit with my friend!

30 Before 30 #1: Run a 10k

Run a 10k, as in a race (not just the distance). This one I've actually done twice now, and I'm registered to run at least one more before the year ends!

Danielle, Nate, and I ran the Firecracker 10k that began and ended in Chinatown on February 12, 2012. The race course was a bit challenging, going up over the hill around Dodger Stadium and back down. To be honest, I knew I was under-prepared for the race, but knew that I would still give it my best. My goal was to finish the race in 1:15, but I didn't take into account the many hills! All my training thus far had been on relatively flat land, and I completely forgot that running hills would use different muscle groups in different ways!

The first climb was killer, not going to lie. But the views of the city were amazing! The park we ran through was beautiful, and many runners stopped to take photos along the way with their phones. I, however, concentrated on simply finishing! The race course continued to challenge me, and I fell behind Danielle and Nate fairly early on. They were kind to wait for me to catch up at one point, and we ran together for a while. On the downhill section, I ran past them, lengthening my stride and letting the hill do the work for me! But I overdid it, and Nate and Danielle soon passed me again. I finished in 1:20:29, at a 12:59/mile pace. Danielle finished, then came back to run with me across the finish line.

On May 20, 2012, Stephanie and I ran the Pasadena 10k, part of the Pasadena Marathon. This race was great because it started and ended just a couple blocks from my home, so I simply walked to the start line. The race course ran down to California Blvd, back up around Pasadena City Hall, and then back the way we started.

Pasadena City Hall:

I had definitely trained better for this race and was hoping this would be closer to the 1:15 time I had wanted to run the Firecracker in, or maybe even better! However, Stephanie had trained but not as well, and I didn't want to leave her. I have been hugely helped in my running by others sticking with me and encouraging me, and I found it beneficial, too. I wasn't as focused on my own muscle aches and pains when I was focused on keeping Stephanie energized! We ran by, and were passed by, friends at several stages which was a nice distraction.

The 2nd half of the race was more challenging, especially for Steph. Her stride (and therefore pace) was slower than mine, so I found I couldn't comfortably run alongside her. I ended up running ahead at my own pace, and at each block jogging in place to wait for her, or running back to then run alongside her. The last mile was more fun as we encouraged and challenged each other to the finish line. We finished in 1:28:23. So it was quite a bit slower than I had wanted to run, initially, but I'm really glad we finished together!!

The END!

I'm now registered to run the weSpark 10k through the Universal Studios backlot on November 4th. I've already begun a training program for this race (though I admit I haven't stuck to it 100%) and expect to hit my 1:15 or better mark for this race! I am using this race as an excuse/reason to get into better shape before going to Peru and trekking to Machu Picchu! Running this race, and actually training for it, will help that experience to not be as painful as it otherwise would!

30 Before 30 #16: Have a Drink on a Roof in LA

Friday night, I made plans to see my friend Jenny. After texting back and forth, we settled on going to Perch, a rooftop bar in LA. PERFECT. When I wrote this item on my 30 Before 30 list, Jenny immediately came to mind as the perfect person to help make this event happen. She's a great friend with a knack for finding fun places to get a drink around LA, and Perch is one of her best finds!

Earlier that week, a few other friends of ours made plans to get drinks at a happy hour in Pasadena, so that was a perfect start to our evening. We invited all those present to join us, and 2 were free to do so: Danielle and Chris. Our little group, having enjoyed a (few) drink(s) already, opted to take the metro to downtown LA to Perch. Taking the metro (the light rail to Union Station and the subway to Pershing Square) is an adventure in and of itself, one which I enjoyed immensely. Taking the public transit has somewhat of a romantic appeal to it, and it reminded me that I really do live in a CITY. I loved it!

We arrived at Perch around 830pm, which was perfect for a Friday night. The sun had set, and the Blue Moon had risen over the city. We took the elevator up to the 13th floor and transferred to the elevator that took us to the 15th. We entered the restaurant and took the last flight of stairs up to the rooftop and were immediately astounded by the views of the city! Topping off the fun of the bar was bumping into a friend from work.

The music, French pop, was almost as endearing as the simple joy of a lovely evening with good friends, great views, and an alcoholic beverage in hand. The drinks were delicious, though (understandably) on the expensive side. We enjoyed chatting among the views in every direction, overlooking Pershing Square, and finding the LA Times building next to City Hall. The jets were lined up to land at LAX, and the towers on top of Mt Wilson flashed their red warning lights. It really was a lovely evening, and the only thing that could have made it better was dessert. So we went to get some. :)

We walked downstairs to the restaurant, where we passed a long line of folks waiting to go up to the rooftop, and found there was a 2-hour wait for a table, even for dessert. We consulted Yelp and UrbanSpoon to find a dessert place about 2 blocks away, and started our descent. We passed a line outside the door on the street, as well, and were thankful to have gotten up without a wait!

Having grown up in the suburbs, I never knew how much of a city girl I am! I really enjoyed the nightlife and people watching as we walked over to Syrup. A man driving an SUV drove by us playing a dance song loudly with his windows down, and sadly changed the song. We playfully yelled and asked him to turn it back on, and he said, "I've got a better one, just wait!" He then started a new song and we continued dancing as we walked down the street.

Syrup, on Spring, was a lovely find. We walked in to find a busy scene, but found a table right away. Danielle sat down to claim our table, and Jenny, Chris and I pored over the menu while waiting in line to order. We chose a crepe dish (tiramisu-ish), a waffle dish (with berries) and a grilled cheese (muenster and some kind of jam?). We devoured the dishes, then walked back to the Pershing Square metro stop to take the train home. I was in bed by midnight - a lovely evening indeed!!

30 Before 30: #17. Hike Mt. Wilson

Mt. Wilson: check!

Mt. Wilson is one of the most historic peaks in the San Gabriel Mountains. It's the most prominent peak (covered in antennaes) that is visible from Pasadena. It's literally in our backyard! Mt Wilson is 5710 ft high, just shy of the highest point in my home state, Virginia (Mt. Rogers at 5728 ft). It's certainly not the highest peak in southern California (which would be Mt. San Gorgonio at 11499 ft) or the toughest climb (arguably Mt. San Antonio, aka Mt Baldy, 10064 ft). I've wanted to hike it for a while, so adding it to my 30-Before-30 list seemed appropriate.

I saw on facebook that a friend of a friend had started a local hiking group, so I joined the group and saw the first hike planned was summiting Mt. Wilson. I was free that day, so I invited myself along. So yesterday, July 7, 2012, I picked up my friend Janice and her friend James at just after 6am. We picked up their friend Dan, who originally posted about the hike, and drove up to Chantry Flat to park. We got to the parking lot at about 6:35am, and got one of the last parking spaces. That place is busy on summer weekends! After getting all our gear in order, we started out on the trail by 6:45am.

The first part of the trail is quite familiar to me, as it's the same trail that leads to Sturtevant Falls, which I've been to several times. Hiking to the falls after work is one of the joys of long summer days! At the split in the trail, James and I hung out while Janice and Dan continued on to the falls because they hadn't seen it before, then rejoined us about 20 minutes later. I won't go into the gory details of which trails we took where because we basically followed the hike Mt. Wilson trail via Chantry Flats, and this isn't a hiking blog. But I will say that we hiked about 13 miles in 9.5 hours total, including breaks.

The network of trails in the San Gabriels is pretty astounding, with lots of back-country campgrounds and even cabins scattered throughout. The first half of the trail up was fairly busy as it leads to other peaks and good hikes. We chatted with a few other groups, with hikers of all ages, who were heading for different destinations. We were surprised by how much shade the trail afforded, as one of the complaints is that on fire roads and other more exposed trails, it can get hot very quickly! We hiked in full shade for 3/4 of the trip up, and partial shade after that. We were especially grateful since the forecast high temperature was 85 degrees. I'm not gonna lie, I got really tired by the end. The "up" stretches (as opposed to the "flat" stretches) were very slow going for me. My water was out, and I focused my energy on getting to the next shady spot, then resting a bit. I could feel my pulse in my ear drums. The others went on ahead, and James thankfully lent me his hiking poles. (Side note: hiking poles will be my next camping/hiking investment! They were awesome, and it would have been MUCH harder without them! I'm a new believer!) I finally joined the others at the lookout point by about 11:10am.

We had made it! The view from up there was amazing! I had driven up Mt Wilson on previous occasions, but this was the first time I entered the complex and had seen the eastern side of the peak. I had seen some of the views on the Mt. Wilson webcam, though. We wandered around the observatory grounds for a bit, found a drinking fountain, and refilled our water bottles and Camelbak bladders. The Observatory has a collection of telescopes and has quite the history! Hubble and Hale were two of the big-name astronomers who did a bulk of their work at the Mt. Wilson Observatory. There were signs in front of most buildings, and even a small museum for visitors to learn about the work and history of the observatory. We contemplated waiting around for a tour at 1pm, but decided to get home sooner. We then headed for the picnic pavilion, where Janice, Dan and I ate our packed lunches, and James got a sandwich from the Cosmic Cafe. I had developed a blister on the back of my right heel, so I pulled my shoes and socks off during lunch, put a bandaid over the blister, and enjoyed the chance to rest.

We started back down about 12:30pm, after enjoying the views from the west side of the peak toward the Santa Monica Mountains, across the city and toward the Pacific Ocean. Dan and I were in the lead, and we were on the trail no longer than 5 minutes when we spotted a 4-ft long rattlesnake! I had seen one before (while hiking in Ventura County, ask Danielle and Nate how loud I screamed after almost stepping on it!), but this one still took us by surprise. We heard the rattle, but it sounded to me like a louder version of a cicada, so it didn't even register until Dan quickly turned around and walked back up the trail towards me. It slithered into the bushes and quit rattling, so we laughed and kept hiking. However, the section of the trail we were on was switchbacks, so we kept our eyes peeled as we headed down, knowing the snake could make it downhill faster than we could. Ten minutes later, Janice and James caught up to us (they had stopped to take more photos) and we told them about the snake. No sooner had we told them than they saw one just off the side of the trail, slithering downhill. We thought the chances were pretty good that it was the same snake!

The trip down was pretty tiring, but slow and steady wins the race. James had picked up two sticks to use as hiking poles when he lent me his. We switched "poles" at the top of the mountain, so I was grateful for the two sticks on the way down! Again, we were surprised and grateful by the amount of shade on the trail! It was a much quicker descent, of course, but still not record speed. When we got to the trail split at the Upper Winter Creek trail, we remembered that the very start of the trail would be the end of the trail taking that route. Which was a steep, open, paved incline that we would have to hike up to get back to the car. Suddenly, the longer-by-a-mile route that descended to the parking lot sounded a lot better. Only we didn't realize that it also included a climb in the first mile, rather than in the last. The climb on the Upper Winter Creek trail wasn't nearly as steep as the Sturtevant Falls trail would have been, but it was still not very welcome. I was pretty tired and ready to be done by this point!

I finally caught up with the others at the top of the fireroad at the top of the campground/picnic area at Chantry Flat about 4pm, maybe 4:15pm. What a day, but we made it! I was quite proud of myself, but also quite exhausted. I don't think I've accomplished something like that before: 4000 feet of elevation gain in one day, or a 13 mile trail in one day. Before this, I think my longest day hike had been about 10 miles. Woohoo! Today, the day after, my calves and hips are pretty tight, but I'm not as sore as I might have expected!

Generosity

I want to be a person know for her generosity. This stems from a variety of impulses. For one, generosity is a trait that is in short supply in my generation, and in society today. It is so easy to act out of my own self-importance or selfishness, but that's not how I want to be. Generosity is an act of character, and represents a life overflowing. To be generous is to remind myself that I am not a world unto myself, but I am an actor in a community. To be generous is sometimes an act of sacrifice, proof of love for others.
Even in writing that paragraph, I see aspects of my personality. "Gifts" is a love-language that I enjoy operating in. I don't want to give the appearance of being materialistic, so this is an area that I have suppressed for a long time. But it's true! I want my friends and family to know that I was thinking about them as I traveled, or when I saw something at a store that I think they would love. I appreciate when someone does the same for me, though I don't expect gifts. I also have "connectedness" as one of my top 5 strengths in the Strengthsfinder realm. So of course I would see myself as a part of the bigger picture, that we're all connected and rely on one another.
I also used to life off other people's generosity. I've been on at least 7 mission trips that relied heavily on support raising. As a Starbucks barista, I used my paycheck to cover basic necessities, and used my tips as food and fun money for the week. As a result, I try to give good tips in restaurants, even if the service isn't great.
I am now a single, employed adult in my late 20's. I have no kids to care for, no mortgage to pay, and a decent, steady income. I have margins in my life - extra space that can be carved out to serve others, do things I'd always wanted but lacked the time, money, or vacation days, or learn to just BE. Why not use my free time to volunteer for a cause I care about, or offer to watch a friend's kids while she runs errands? Why not use my steady paycheck to show up at a friend's yardsale with a bag of bagels and a gallon of coffee in hand? Or actually purchase something cute I notice at Target for my friend who would love it? Or regularly support my local public radio station? I'm still not so great at the budgeting thing, but I do know that I have room to be generous.
Spiritually, generosity is not a fruit of the Spirit, per se. I do believe that it is a byproduct of love and kindness. I want to love others well by blessing them with things that I have been blessed with. I want to show kindness to my sick roommate by bringing her chicken noodle soup, a box of nyquil, and a silly redbox movie to kill the time with. I believe I am sowing into the ministry of my friends who are missionaries by giving them monthly support. God has been good to me, and I have no right to hoard the things I only have because of His generosity to me.

And that's who I want to be: a woman known for her generosity, because God has been generous to her.

Update:
My pastor, Megan, spoke on generosity in church tonight. She spoke on Luke 3, where John the Baptist spoke to the Pharisees and tax collectors and others who came to him to be baptized. His message to them was essentially, "Just be generous, be honest, be fair." If you have 2 coats, give one up. If you have extra food, shared it. Your. Rees are met, so help out those whose needs are not met. I haven't said much about church, yet, but hearing this tonight was kind of a nice little confirmation for me.

Back in the Saddle, Starting Today!

It's time to get back in the saddle. After finishing grad school, it was nice not to be required to write, so I didn't write at all. Plus, I work on a computer 40 hrs a week; I didn't want to even turn my personal computer on! My personal journal hasn't seen much activity, either! Now, nearly 2 years later, it's time to start practicing something I claim to be good at. Not amazing, mind you, but not terrible, either. If I want to be able to tell my boss I'm a good writer, I know I need to keep working at it. So in this area, among several others that I shelved for a while, it's time to get back in the saddle.

As a means of commitment, whether or not I have any readers at all, I'm laying out here a few things I want to tackle in the coming weeks and months. Writing helps me to process my own thoughts, as well as document my experiences, so here's what I plan to blog about:
1. Stewardship - including tithing, generosity (today!), and areas beyond finances
2. My 30-Before-30 list - items already accomplished as well as what's next
3. Church. I'm still not sure where this one is going, but I committed months ago to thinking more deeply about it, so it's time I start. Eeek. 
4. General life goings-on - new position at work, LOVING Southern California still, and learning (still!) the slower rhythms of life as an adult 

Join me if you dare.