Category Archives: Life in ‘Frisco
My trials and tribulations of my new life in the big city of San Francisco.
Good Samaritan
I called 9-1-1 for the first time in my life on Sunday. Thank goodness they continuously reiterate that number in your mind starting when you’re 3 because in the heat of the moment I was lucky to remember my own name.
Black Sand Beach
On Sunday my friend Lauren was in town for work. I told her about a beach I’d heard of in Sausalito that had black sand and we decided to check it out. The beach is located in a beautiful area with cliffs overlooking the bay and long, windy one-way road to get there. As we left (we drove separately) I was driving (still on a one-way road) and there was an old, historic, dilapidated fort on my left. As I was coming to it I saw what looked like something falling off the roof of the fort. I couldn’t tell right away if it was a person or someone just throwing a coat down, but I pulled over. As soon as I opened my car door I could hear a kid screaming. Without thinking about it I grabbed my phone out of the console and started running in that direction. Another man beat me there and he was standing over a child that was very obviously in pain and bleeding from his chin. I volunteered to dial 9-1-1 and started dialing before I even got agreement from him. This man’s sig other came over while I was calling, who was thankfully a former EMT, and shortly thereafter the child’s mother. The mother wanted to move the son and the EMT lady and I both in unison shouted, “NO!” unsure of what kind of injuries the boy could have since he was obviously in pain. As the San Francisco emergency responders transferred me to Sausalito I ran back to my car to grab my big beach towel, realizing the kid was shivering.
The Sausalito emergency responders asked a bunch of questions about the fall as they dispatched their crew. Within 10 minutes they had a park ranger, followed by two fire trucks, an ambulance, and two emergency rescue vehicles were on the scene. They were quick to put the boy in a neck brace and make sure he could move all his limbs. They cut up his shirt and pants to make sure nothing was broken. By the time they left they were hopeful he was more scared than hurt and would probably just need stitches in his chin.
After I left I called Dubs, since she lives in Sausalito, to replay the event for her and tell her she was in good hands with the Sausalito medic team. We joked about me being a Good Samaritan and being in the right place at the right time.
When I got home there was a man in my parking garage that started walking towards my car when I pulled in. I sat in the car for an extra minute as I watched him to see what he needed. I got out of my car and he quickly introduced himself and his apartment number. He explained that his car was dead and was hoping I could give him a jump. Naturally I moved my car over to his, happy to help, and his car started on the first try. I guess I was in the right place at the right time…twice. Or else the universe is trying to tell me something about becoming a superhero.
Addicted to Endorphins
Since my marathon I’ve been more active than I ever could have imagined…probably even more active than I was when I was training. We got a gym at work a few weeks ago and one of my coworkers, Lupe, graciously offered to be Mansi and my personal trainer. Now, Lupe is about 5’ nothing and solid muscle. She’s done cross-fit for a few years and the work has definitely paid off, especially as she tells us about the ridiculous workouts they do each night and they don’t seem to faze her. Naturally Mansi and I took her up on her offer, naively realizing what we were getting ourselves into. (I should mention that I say this as my shoulders hurt so bad from the 55 push-ups she made us do last night that I didn’t even want to shampoo my hair because it required lifting my arms over my head. And by push-up, she literally made us go down until our chest hit the ground and then push ourselves back up. Oh, and that’s in addition to 10 minutes of intense jumping rope and biking, 4 minutes of planks, and 4 minutes of 20# kettle ball swings.)
Resistance running on the gym roof at Bridal Bootcamp
In addition to Lupe’s Doom of Hell 2-3 days/week, I also have Bridal Bootcamp one day a week with my personal trainer, Natalie, from my marathon training. Our bootcamp group consists of two other regular girls and one or two that drop in once in a while. Natalie likes to kick our butts and make me sweat more in 50 minutes than I did running the marathon. (I now finally understand the need for the towels at the gym and why headbands were cool in the 80’s. Have you ever gotten tears of sweat in your eyes? It hurts like hell!)
And, most surprisingly, I’ve started running again. Yep. I never thought I’d make that kind of public announcement again in my life, but I’m actually finding that…I…like…running. (I can’t say it out loud yet, I can only type it.) I’ve gone on a couple of runs with my KISA, including a scenic trail run, a ridiculous all-uphill trail run with Dubs, and a six mile run in the park on Sunday. And after each run I didn’t feel insanely fatigued and I had endorphins. Weird, right? I guess more sane of distances can be enjoyable.
Being a Teenager
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my cousin, Sophia, who is 13. She has an incredible artistic gift, things come easy for her, she’s very social, and is absolutely gorgeous (which fortunately and unfortunately she doesn’t realize the extent). I’ve started numerous blog postings for her to relay my unsolicited advice about being a teenager. Unlike most blog postings where I write it, post it, and then worry about what I said later, I’m taking my time with hers. I’m not really sure if she’ll actually read it (she’s unfortunately already becoming a stereotypical teenager and doesn’t care to spend her time with her cool 30 year old cousin, psh!), but being only 11 years removed from being a teenager I feel it’s my duty to educate her on what to expect the next 6 years and make sure she knows she has an adult, outside of her parents, to come to.
I haven’t finished my outline yet, but I’m going to break it up into different postings with different categories for each one. If you have any advice you’d like to dispense, please comment below or reach out to me. I’d love to include it since not everyone went to school in rural Wisconsin and had my same experiences.
TBT #4
October 17, 2010 – 4:01 pm
Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na ROBIN!
As I mentioned in a previous post, my KISA wanted to be Batman for Halloween, so I naturally had to go as Robin, or Robyn as I say. I hate cheap looking costumes, so I elected to make my own costume for Halloween. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but it looked how I imagined. The only hang-ups I had was the skirt – I didn’t have a pattern for any part of the costume, so I just cut a shape that looked like a skirt and proceeded to sew it…and then spent even more time trimming it and making it look even. Also, I decided it was necessary to line the shirt since it was see-through, but then learned the fabric store was out of that exact color. So, the inside is lined differently, but no one can tell. This was the finished product:
My Superhero Powers
I decided it was necessary to dress up as a superhero for Halloween because I have superhero powers. Ok, so it was because my KISA said he wanted to be Batman and, being a girl, I wanted to have a complementary costume – Robin (or Robyn as I say since it’s a girl). But, I still have superhero powers:
- I faint at the sight of blood. And by faint, I don’t mean I get queasy – I literally fall to the ground if I’m not already trying to get down there, knowing I’m woozy and don’t want to crack my head. Now, you’re probably thinking, “That isn’t really a super power”. Oh, but it is. If we’re ever attacked by bad guys and we all have to go to war, I’m the most likely to live. I faint because my blood pressure drops abruptly. This will make me appear dead to the bad guys (along with my pulse being faint) and, if I really am hurt, the low blood pressure it will help my wounds by avoiding bleeding to death. It is pretty superhuman.
- I can tell when I’m about to get a cold before I show any symptoms. A couple years ago I had a pretty terrible experience of having vertigo for two weeks. Well, everyone knows that with superheroes they have something that affects their health and then gives them super powers, like Spiderman, The Flash, etc. (Ok, so that’s not always the case, but it is one of the scenarios.) Well, ever since my vertigo my ears have been super sensitive. Now, when I ride in a car and try to read, or do anything besides hang my head out the window, and start to feel nauseous, I know I’m about to get a cold within in the next 48 hours. The next morning I’ll have a sore throat or be stuffy, and then it starts. Now, this is a super power because if ever the bad guys put an airborne sickness out there, I’ll be the first to know and can therefore work to reverse it.
- I have the ability to look like someone else by just pulling my hair back. Yes, this one surprised me as well. You know those sock buns that are cool? Well, I think they’re cool and I wear my hair in them sometimes. Every single time I wear my hair in a bun to work I have at least one person whom I already know introduce themselves to me. Seriously. It happened again today. This will be helpful when I need to change my identity when I need to escape the bad guys.
At the end of this Halloween evening, I’m going to share with you all a comic I created…featuring me. Ok, it’s not meant to be good…maybe just more amusing. Enjoy! Oh, and Happy Halloween!!
Throwback Wednesday #3
October 10, 2010 – 11:19 am
I have no pets, so WHAT WAS THAT?!! You know how sometimes you are dreaming, but you don’t realize you’re dreaming? Yeah? Well, that happened to me Saturday morning. Let me begin my saying that I may or may not have been under the influence of alcohol the evening before all this took place. It was about 5 am and I’d mustered up the energy to get up and grab my trusty bottle of water to encourage hydration in my body. Shortly after this my nonexistent alarm clock started playing low music and I didn’t have the energy to shut it off. As I lay there in my hung-over stupor something grazed my neck. It took me all of 5 seconds to remember that I don’t own any animals. Typically most human beings would flip on the light right away, but a fear took over my body and I laid there motionless waiting to hear it for some indication of what it was and where it was. After a couple minutes of not hearing anything I turned on my lamp. There was nothing there, but I wasn’t about to look under to bed to be certain. After I laid back down (with the light on) I realized that the music had gone away. And, I didn’t have an alarm clock that played music. And, it was probably just a dream. Or at least I really hope it was… I may get rat poison to sprinkle around my bed just in case.
I lisp when I drink alcohol. Most of you probably know that my two front teeth are fake. Well, unlike real teeth they are not made of enamel and dentine, but rather porcelain, and they take up more room in my mouth because there’s a bump at the back where they meet my gums. Since I’m sensational at talking and do lots of it, I have adjusted for this so that people don’t notice the bathtub in my mouth. However, I have found my kryptonite – booze. Apparently after a couple of drinks the alcohol works as Miracle Grow for my front teeth, making them triple in size. One would think an easy way to remedy this would be to stop drinking, but binge drinking with water just isn’t the same. Instead I’m just going to stop using words with ‘th’ after the second drink.
If you tell me to do something I’ll do the exact opposite. Sometimes it’s intentional because I don’t like to be told what to do, and other times telling me to not do something somehow subconsciously makes it happen. For example, my boss has only once told me what to not do at a specific training: make sure no one sees your tattoo, don’t tell them your age, no sexual references or dirty jokes, and don’t use the Lord’s name in vain. (Makes you wonder what my trainings are normally like, huh?) Needless to say, there was only one of those things that didn’t happen. (I’ll let you ponder which one you think I succeeded at.) I was set up for failure. And, he’s never again given me advice for trainings. Since being single there have been several people encouraging me to throw all my inhabitations to the wind and have one night stands. Not going to happen. I’ve never done that before in my life, nor do I understand how any human is capable of doing that. I can’t even kiss a guy on the first date, for heaven’s sake. Obviously I know they’re joking – I don’t hang out with friends that would give that terrible of advice. But, to make a point I’ve set a new goal in my life – I have taken a yearlong+ vow of celibacy. You’re probably thinking to yourself, “What happens if you get into a relationship with someone before that year is up? Are you not going to date too?” Yes, I am still going to date. Here’s my thoughts on the situation – el sexo complicates things, especially when it’s premature. And, I’d rather date someone who’s with me for me, rather than my gymnastic talents. (That’s a joke, Mom. Stop clutching your chest.) So there. It’s set. And, no one is allowed to harass any future suitors about this. Maybe they’ll want to play a lot of Scrabble in the evenings anyhow.
Marathon
I ran a marathon on Sunday. Typically when I have a terrible experience with something I’m dying to blog about it. For some reason I wasn’t that way with the marathon. Maybe because it wasn’t as terrible as I imagined. Maybe it was worse than I’d imagined. I’m not quite sure. But, there are a few things I learned from running it that I wanted to pass on.
My Advice For Running Your First Marathon
- First and foremost, make sure you understand what you’re getting yourself into. If you’ve ever had surgery I think it’s a fair thing to compare training for a marathon to. You know how when you wake up from surgery feeling groggy, super nauseous, and in a lot of pain? Now imagine feeling that way and trying to run. And repeating this same feeling every other weekend as your miles build up. (Granted, it only really starts when you get to 14+ miles and as you’re building, but that still seems to be enough times to never want to run again.) Oh, and while you’re feeling horrible on a bi-weekly basis, imagine not drinking or hanging out with your friends anymore on Friday nights. Or really Saturdays either while you do your runs and then feel like crap. If you’re really ready to make that sacrifice and you’re being honest with yourself, then maybe a marathon is in your future.
- Don’t expect that training for a half marathon is even going to be comparable to training to a full. Yes, I ran 5 half marathons before doing a full and thought I was a stud. Well, there’s nothing like an extra 13.1 miles to kick you on your ass and remind you that you’re not. I don’t remember ever having the same exhaustion, pain, or necessary discipline when I trained for the full marathons.
- Find a buddy or a training group to run with. (Or even a generous friend that’s willing to bike or roller blade alongside you.) Yes, it’s nice to have someone to keep you company for the runs, but it’s even more important to have the accountability to make sure you don’t skip your runs just because you don’t feel like it. Because you won’t feel like it a lot.
- Pick a race with a flat course. Yes, it was great to do one in San Francisco and I saved money on not having to pay for a hotel. But, when your split for the half is slower than any half you’ve ever done and your calves are burning by mile 10, you know it’s a tough course and insanely hilly.
- Don’t expect the impossible from your sig other. When they give you their blessing to train for a marathon they don’t really know what that entails because you also don’t know what that entails. They don’t realize that you signing up to run a marathon means you’re both signing up to train for a marathon. You’ll have a regimented schedule, but you can’t expect them to change their diet, their workout routines, their weekends, and their social calendar to ensure you’re successful at your training. They didn’t sign up to run a marathon for a reason.
- Get a personal trainer early on in the training to show you how to strengthen your IT band, legs, and core. Then, stick with the suggested muscle building techniques. Your knees and hips will thank you. (Yes, your knee pain is really from a lack of muscle not bad knees. Or in my case – both.)
- Always have enough water for your runs, even on the day of your marathon. Always. It’s worth carrying the extra weight to not get thirsty during a run or to drink too much water if you come to a water fountain or a water station on the course. Not having enough and having too much can make your run miserable. And a slight wind or 5 degrees can change your water intake for a long run.
- Don’t schedule anything for early in the afternoons on Saturday because otherwise when you get started later than expected or your runs take longer than expected you’ll find yourself in a predicament the first time…and then making excuses to not run all the subsequent times you have afternoon plans.
- If your second toe is longer than your first toe, determine your shoe size off the second toe, not your big toe. You’ll look much better with toenails.
- Don’t start eating crappy foods just because you’re burning loads of calories. It’s really easy to do and justifiable. But you’ll quickly learn that junk in = junk out. If you want your body to feel well during the runs you have to treat it well.
- Don’t stop exercising just because you’re tired of running. After 5 months of running it’s inevitable that you’ll be tired of running. Even if you want to skip your shorter runs during the week, make sure to still do some sort of cardio.
- Scrape up the money to get massages after each building run. It’s amazing what it does for recovery and your body will thank you for it.
- Foam roller. If you don’t have one, buy one. If you don’t know how to use it, look it up on YouTube. You’d be amazed at how many sore spots you have and you don’t realize. Oh, and it’ll hurt. But it hurts so good.
- Have bags of ice in your freezer for an ice bath after your long runs if you want to function later that day. (If you don’t, you can skip this step.) When you get home from your runs start your bath with cold water while you grab the ice. Set your timer for 8 minutes and relieve yourself from all the pain you just endured. Then wrap yourself up in a blanket to warm up and take a nap. You earned it.
- Make sure your workout gear fits. There’s nothing worse than always pulling down your shorts, chaffing, blisters, readjusting your headphones, tying your shoes, etc. during the course of your runs. You’ll be spending a lot of time running, so put forth the money.
- Figure out the food situation early on – both before your runs and during your runs. Figure out what you should eat before you run and how long you need it to settle in your stomach before you head out the door. I found apple slices were wonderful for during my runs but took up a lot of space; Shot Blocks hurt my stomach, but they tasted good and I didn’t like Gu. Can you drink a sports drink or will it mess up your stomach? Know what to pack: antacids, salt, ibuprofen, caffeine?
- Plan how you’re getting home from the race before you start the race. There’s nothing worse than finishing a race, being sore, and then having to wait for a bus or a taxi to arrive. Or, worse yet, having to walk a long distance.
This was around mile marker 16 or 17 when my friend Jenny was making me laugh.
And, this was me after I finished. I think the picture displays exactly how I was feeling.
Visitors
One big difference between San Francisco and Madison is the number of visitors. When we were looking at apartments my KISA insisted that we get a two bedroom for people to stay when they came to visit. I thought he was crazy.
When we lived in Madison we had my KISA’s brother come up from Chicago to visit, my family (that lived 1.5 hours away) visit, and J-Lu visit after they moved from Madison to Chicago. And, that’s about the extent of it unless it happened to be that some person in our network had a work trip to Madison. Since moving to San Francisco we had more visitors in the first three months than we did the entire time we lived in Madison.
After working at my last job that required me to travel sometimes 3 out of 4 weeks a month I got pretty burned out on travel. One of my favorite things about living in California is that you don’t have to leave the state to feel like you’re on vacation. It’s pretty fabulous. Another thing I’m learning I love is the excitement and pride of showing someone your new city. I find I now get excited when someone is coming to visit in the same way I used to when I was the one traveling. And today is no exception! (Hence the reason I’m blogging at 5 am on a Thursday instead of sleeping!!)
When I was in Australia a couple of years ago I met this sweet French Canadian, called Miss Mondaine. Unlike a lot of the friends I made during that trip, her and I kept in contact and actually grew our friendship more after we returned. When she got back to Quebec she decided to start up her own company (yes, she’s ambitious) and has not had the luxury of traveling ever since. Needless to say, I couldn’t be more flattered when she picked her next trip, two years later, to be San Francisco. And, judging by the airport picture she took this morning and the picture of her grinning, she’s as excited as I am for the adventure that ensues over the next two weeks!
I Stand With Boston
My KISA is from a city outside Boston. The Boston Marathon is run on a holiday that I’m aware is only celebrated in the state of Massachusetts: Patriots Day. On Patriots Day the schools don’t have classes and many employees don’t have to work, so a lot of people watch the Boston Marathon and some even go down to support the race, even though they don’t know anyone running. Boston is a very proud city and they take great pride in holding the elitist of all marathons in the world – The Boston Marathon.
When the Boston Marathon attack happened I selfishly thought first of races where I used to watch my ex cross the finish line. I remember specifically for the NYC Marathon standing at mile marker 25 and then again at the finish. The fear that the attackers hoped to instill in many had worked on me as I reflected on the “it could have been me”. As I heard about the deaths and casualties it became even more real, my heart went out to them and their families. You heard all the heroic stories of the people that didn’t run away from the bomb, but rather towards it to help the victims. Something that is not the reflex in most people.
As most of you know, I started training in June for the San Francisco Nike Women’s Marathon. The race is now on Sunday, October 20th. For anyone that has not done a marathon, you cannot fathom what it’s like to train for one. Even having done 5 half marathons I had no idea what I was in for. First, the sheer number of miles that is expected for you to run is insane. And, multiply that by 5 months and you’ll realize why I’ve been burnt out from training for over a month. I don’t think there’s anything in life I’d want to do for as many days and hours as I’ve run, including running. Then, there’s the pain that ensues from doing your long runs. Every week knowing that you’ll be in pain and have to push through it is daunting. It made me dread ever having to do any of my long runs. Many weeks I procrastinated and had to somehow make up time during the week or else modify my training yet again to get the distances in that were required. I also had to adjust my lifestyle to make sure I got proper sleep, hydration, carbs, clothing, shoe fittings, etc. to prepare me for the runs each week. There were a lot of sacrifices of fun that were required to get my long runs in, both the night before and the morning of my runs. And then after the long runs, faking that I felt great when the last thing I wanted to do was stand or go anywhere that day.
As I’ve been training, I’ve realized that there is one other group of people that were affected by the Boston bombing that people don’t often think of as victims as well – the runners. I could not imagine, first of all, not being able to finish a marathon I’d trained for over the last 5 months, which happened to many. Second of all, thinking of all the supporters that graciously came to watch you run, and now knowing that you may have inadvertently put them in harm’s way. For some runners, the fear of not knowing where your friends and family were, if they’re safe, trying to find them, etc. when they heard the news. I couldn’t imagine. I pray all those runners get a chance to cross the finish line at another point in their lives and that they don’t have to live in fear during their next race.
Because of all this, I’ve decided to dedicate my marathon to Boston. And when I say “Boston”, I mean all the people that participated in the Boston Marathon, all the victims and their families, and all my loved ones that are from Boston and now are forced to have a dark memory to go along with all the other great memories they’ve had with the race held in their city.
FarmGirlHipster 