putting the knit in shizknitz

We are such nerds. The only time we left today was to eat at Titos Tacos early this morning. If you took time-lapse photos you would see me at my laptop in the living room, T at the kitchen table with his. Then eventually you see me running up and down (trying to get the double sided printing to work on our new printer), then sitting down to knit. T takes a nap on the couch, Mia gets caught up in the yarn, I start using my laptop again. Read a few things, T gets up, we make dinner, eat, clean. Now we’re both sitting at the kitchen table with our laptops to each other. He has no idea I’m posting. Let’s see how long it takes him to realize it

In the last week: spent over $400 on books (some are used, too), met 140 new people (okay more like 70 so far), mixed up Bill with Joe, got a new .edu email account, had to call 911 in the Malibu Mountains, got 4 hours of sleep 2 nights in a row, learned what’s in a Malibu cocktail, got locked out once, mixed up Amanda with Miranda, and got hooked up with a schedule of 4 hours a day, and every Friday off. My commute has gone from 13 miles round trip to 38 miles - never had to buy so much damn gas - but OHHH, the most beautiful commute ever. Damn, its nice to be back in school again.

Its a tad foggy, so you can’t see the ocean, but all that blue is the Pacific Coast!

I can never seem to have a cheap hobby/pasttime. Whether it be knitting, jewelry making, scrapbooking, skiing, bowling, salt water tanks, reading magazines, everything seems to add up more than initially intended. So when I picked up running, I was ecstatic. All you need is you, some old clothes, shoes and outside. Of course over time it added up - new shoes, water belt, some clothes, entry fees. Now after my second week with the Leggers, this has added up to membership fee, LA Marathon reg fee, new shoes, new non-cotton clothing to match the new shoes (ClimaCool Adidas!), Gookinaid hydration fluid, and of course, a watch.

But not any old watch - I need one that will help me train even on Saturday mornings I can’t make the Leggers. This means - heart rate, pace, distance, and splits. I did some reading back when I first heard about the Suunto T6 which is a personal trainer on your wrist, but for $450 I would have to sell my left foot. I decided that I didn’t necessarily need the whole EPOC calculation and would be happy with the HRM (heart rate monitor) and distance/pace. There were two models which satisfied that - the Polar S625X and the Garmin Forerunner 301 - but at $450 and $325 respectively, I can’t justify spending that kind of money. Then I recently read about the Polar RS200SD - RS is their new line for Running Sports, and SD is for Speed and Distance.

This cool little watch (yes, little, unlike the Suunto hulks which would take up half my arm) has everything I want it to do, for much less (retail $210). Its relatively new and quite popular, so it was a bitch to find (the only place currently in stock in he LA area was in Encino at Phidippides). The reviews have been great (Review 1, Review 2) and the interesting difference between this one and the Polar S625X and Garmin 301 is that this distance is monitored by footpod technology rather than by GPS - so if and when I end up running through tall buildings or in the Canyons (like up in Temescal) - I never have to worry about losing accuracy.

My heart rate currently measures 72
Update: Its been almost 2 months and I can’t leave the house for a short jog without this thing. It really does work well - and I haven’t even done a calibration yet. There are so many different views, by heart rate, by distance, by speed… I upload my running stats to the website which keeps nice track of everything, and its interesting to compare good/bad runs on heart rate/speed and it helps me to strategically plan better for my runs. Also at races, I no longer have to rely on the chip reports to know how I did

Pattern: Knitting Pretty 2005 Wall Calendar
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Soho in shade 03
Changes to Pattern: None

I had picked up 4 skiens of this SoHo at a sale… it coincidentally matched the pajamas my mom bought for my sister and I, so I threw together a roll-up hat on size 7.5 double pointed needles (I didn’t have the right size circular, and no time to pick some up) which worked out fine, especially as the circle got much smaller. The yarn works fantastic and it keeps your head nice and warm. I used 1.5 skiens - hopefully the remaining 2.5 will be enough for a matching scarf!

… so what if I watched XX in my pajamas half awake? As a wise man once said, “its a new day!!” A few nights ago surfing Active.com, (the Samurai 5K is tomorrow) I found a link to a running group called the LA Leggers. Not knowing what it was all about, but wanting a more regimented running schedule, I signed up. Turns out this group trains specifically for the LA Marathon. But what caught my eye was the number of pace groups they had available - everything from 8 min mile to 14 min mile run and 30 min mile to 17 min mile walk - which was nice to see, which meant a huge variety of people. The group meets every Saturday morning for a training run, and I came in a few weeks late so I jumped in straight at 3 miles (it increments every week). I took my 30 min 5K time and decided to join the 10:30 pace group which worked out great…. we meet at the Santa Monica Senior Citizens Center (drop off your stuff!) and the run right up along the beach…. it really was nice. Afterwards they have water, fruit and bagels (carbO!!) and a guest speaker. They give you a workout schedule for during the week, and many other goodies with your registration. The group works around the training methods of Jeff Galloway, so the walking/running intervals was definitely new, as was the nice yoga-esque stretching we did afterwards. I don’t know what my school schedule will be like yet, but I’m determined to give this my best shot!! 7 months to get to 26.2 miles!

When we were younger, our family used to go camping all the time. Everywhere from Big Sur to the Grand Canyon (where the most beautiful night skies exist) and everything in-between. This time, my dad took the opportunity to book us a few nights over at Big Basin Redwoods State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Many of my friends have heard about this trip and have been eagerly awaiting photos of the infamous “matching pajamas” my mom had bought (and thus she concluded we - my sister and I - didn’t need to bring much else home).

By the time I arrived home, the van was almost fully packed. On departure date, my parents proceeded to load up another huge ice chest and some more boxes. You would have thought we were moving, not camping. But of course, what is most important in camping? FOOD. Tons of FOOD. We even had the obligatory Japanese curry to eat (who decided that curry was the staple of Japanese campers?) of course with the obligatory discussion on who gets bathroom duty (since that’s the only power outlet for the rice cooker).

Overall, a great trip - a bit humid and hot and lots of mosquitos but was a beautiful location with GREAT, CLEAN facilities. We scored an awesome larget lot (you have to get in line and at 2 PM they start to give out camp sites) with lots of huge trees and good privacy. Had we planned this better, I would have loved to have done some day hikes as there were trails EVERYWHERE, but instead, I knitted up a cap which coincidentally matched the matching pajamas.

Finally finished watching the last of 20 episodes of Fuyu no Sonata, what can I say, I was intrigued by the hype surrounding this man they call Yon-sama. I had watched the first episode flippantly, as I knitted but then soon became hooked. I watched 4 hours without a break. Talk about serious drama. It was a Japanese dubbed version with no subtitles so poor T had no idea what the heck was going on except my english commentary “oh heck no!!” “Say something!!” “more mama drama!” and of course, pass me more kleenex.

Just like the line “You had me at hello” in Jerry Maguire, this had an ironic, romantic line loosely translated “the best type of house is in your significant other’s heart” - as the main characters Chun-san was an architect and Yujin was an interior designer. It was so well done that most of the time I had forgotten that it was a Korean drama until I see Korean signs or the Hyundai they all drove. Yes, it was a great series, but I’m still trying to figure out why in particular the middle-aged women are the biggest fans of Bae Yong Joon, rather the younger generation. He’s good looking (they rarely show anything but his face with all of those jackets and scarves) and that one quick blip of him getting dressed to get married made it obvious that he’s got quite a bod, as well as a sweet caring personality in his character, but why that particular generation? I think at one level or another most women crave some type of Happily Ever After in their lives, but that would apply to women of all ages…

May good karma behold whoever was kind enough to mail me back my drivers license!! Although a little late (I ordered a new one last week), many thanks to my kind, anonymous finder!

The literal translation I think is thankfulness in Japanese, but I interpret it as appreciation. My baachan is always full of useful information, and the older I get, the more I realize that she is one of the wisest people I know. She’s in her mid 80’s now and just underwent 2 major eye surgeries and is recovering nicely… but the message she wanted to talk to me about this time was about arigatami, the appreciation we should feel - for life in general. Appreciation in the morning for a wonderful day that is ahead of us, and appreciation at night for another wonderful day we were able to experience. We sometimes forget and take for granted what we have in life.

For me, coming home is always a renewal of arigatami. I see my caring, hard working parents making ends meet and it reminds me, of my own simpler days living under their roof. I wash my car to remind me of how I felt when I first bought it, and to appreciate all that it has done for me over the years. I patiently pet my cockatiel Pika, to appreciate the time my parents have taken to care for her. But most importantly, I let my parents make me feel humble - and to return to this state of arigatami, something I hope I never forget.

It was easy to leave on my last day, hard to let go, certainly hard to wrap up. I suppose that reality will set in once I realize that I’m not returning…. anytime soon.

I seem to be following in the footsteps of fellow bloggers Carrieoke and Wilco in making the decision to leave my current place of employment. What’s strange is that this time for the first time since my first job at the age of 18, I do not have another one lined up to start on Monday. A sabbatical if you will, of different proportions, and although I will not be getting a paycheck (quite the contrary!) I will certainly be working my tail off in just a few short weeks. Some have compared B School to being thirsty and drinking out of a fire hydrant. Hopefully I will remain standing at the end!