Dear Rain City

To anybody who hasn’t lived in Seattle, this would probably seem like a strange thing to say, but I think the rain has grew on me.

This weekend is another one of those rainy muggy ones (after a week long of dry, sunny-ish weather). Sitting at home, doing some personal work, reading anything online, magazines, books, I came to like the almost constant heavy rain outside. After living in the Pacific Northwest for 5 years, I have learned to be content staying home (instead of running out to the great outdoors every minute available) and do things that I don’t have time for during the work week: listen to music on my pandora station, read anything online that comes to mind (so far this morning I’ve read about Kim Jong Un and Red Hot Chili Pepper), listen to the heavy rain… I think it helps that over the years I have become equipped with the appropriate rain gears, so I wouldn’t mind going out either.

Row Marathon around Mercer Island

Ole, Hugo, Elizabeth and I signed up for a marathon row around Mercer Island yesterday (Aug 29, 2010). The below course map is a rough drawing of what we were originally going to do:

Around Mercer Island - Course Map

we ended up not going around Mercer Island because of the windy weather and, thus, very choppy water.
Ole has captured most of our course with his iPhone app. Here are the google maps showing the distance we have traveled and the rate we have traveled at:
The first 2.86 km: http://tiny.cc/6zbf3
The following 18km: http://tiny.cc/mlbgn
The last 11km data was lost (possibly due to data overload)

Our quad launched at 6 am from Pocock Rowing Center (PRC). We traveled our first 2860 meter through Montlake cut into Union Bay, waited for the launch and another boat to catch up, then proceeded to Lake Washington and through 520. It was quickly determined that the condition was too rough so we backed into the North side of 520, and traveled along 520 to the end.

From there, we rowed to the Ballard Locks, then rowed back out through the ship canal down to South Lake Union, docking back at PRC at the end of our 3-hour row.

The long distance session was challenging both physically and mentally. It was very exciting that we have pulled through as a crew in the less than ideal water and weather condition (not to mention I was drenched wet like I went for a swim from the wakes, which kept me pretty uncomfortably cold throughout).

Nonetheless, I enjoyed pushing our limits in distance and time, and traveling to new places. Bringing food and water as well as tapes (for fingers) were new to me. We didn’t even think of bringing a sponge to the boat (which turned out to be tremendously useful for bailing). Now I know what to do on a long distance row! Next time would probably bring some gloves too (Peter recommended gardening gloves, Ani brought up golf gloves would be a good fit as well). I thought it would have been nice to have one of those quick dry towel to keep my hands and oar handles dry and reduce friction.

Next time we should practice more (than just 1 session on the day before) and challenge ourselves to a real marathon.

Will add a picture of our lovely crew soon.

Awesome Visit to Canada

GOSH! where do I begin? The beginning it is!

Rahul and Sarah was planning a 4th of July extended 9-day trip to Banff & Jasper. Shameek and Ani and I (and eventually Melanie) decided to tag along. Sarah flew in from DC so Rahul picked her up in Vancouver. We all arrive separately at the Banff Lake Louise campground for a 3-day stay, and another 4 days in Jasper (Wapiti campground). Ani and I packed everything into his car, including tent, sleeping bags and mats, OP’s stove, large amount of cooking/ eating utensils and instant food and seasonings. The weather was expected to be cold and rainy during the 4th of July weekend, then sunny for the next 5 days of our trip, so we packed in layers.

So glad I brought my woolen hat, if only I had my gloves too for Lake Agnes. I should get a new jacket more suitable for hiking. My current jacket is great for keeping warm at the beginning of the hike, but doesn’t breathe, so my arms get sweaty wet quickly as I warm up on a hike. The problem is, if I were on the move AND the weather is cold, it’s not very comfortable to keep the jacket on OR off.

My crappy hand-me-down sleeping bag from you-know-who still works for the most part as long as I dress very warm underneath. I also got my very own sleeping mat this time (L) which worked quite well also (as opposed to the bare ground camping I’ve been used to), it kept me off the rocky ground and insulated me from the wet and cold.

July 2
Boyfriend swooped me away from the office downtown around 3:20pm and we began our journey/ drive up to Kamloops through the Blaine crossing. It took me a good minute before I realize the Canadian custom doesn’t care why I’m coming in and what my plans were (they were questioning Ani a bit, but overall surprisingly easy). We arrived Kamloops after 9 pm at Ramada Inn and had dinner at an Irish restaurant where waiters were Scottish quilts and posters sell Dos Equis; menu items include beef teriyaki and cajun chicken with fettuccine (which turns out to be completely bland).

July 3rd
We departed Kamloops for Lake Louise (Banff) in the morning and arrived after a 5-hour+ drive at 3 pm. The gang was already there. Our first order of business was to set up camp/ tent, then we caught up with the folks at Lake Morraine and Valley of the Ten Peaks. It was windy and cold, Ani and I quickly went around the lake on the flat trail and went back to campground for dinner. Turned out nobody did grocery and there is only 1 little one in a village nearby. Luckily my wonderful boyfriend brought a few steaks and a pack of sausages. During the first half of this trip I was still mostly sick so I had to stay medicated for longer than I originally planned. Coughing at night definitely didn’t help…

Lake Morraine

July 4th
The weather wasn’t all that great (and Sarah got sick the night before) so we went into Banff town for the visitor center and grocery. After lunch at the food court, we went to Tunnel Mountain for a 2-3 hour hike, and Johnston Canyon for another 2-3 hour hike (Mel and Shameek continued onto Ink pots which turned out only so-so while we slowly returned to the parking lot and campsite). It drizzled a bit that day and evening but wasn’t too bad.

Upper Fall, Johnston Canynon

July 5th
The most strenuous hiking day (after that day Ani’s knee got hurt so we stopped most hiking activities). The 4 of us went up to Lake Agnes, Big Beehive and all the way to Plain of the Six Glaciers (so pretty!). It was a 5-hour round trip with lots of elevation gain. For the most part I was a pretty happy hiker. I realized I ascended at a much quicker rate than the other 3 (who were struggling up hill as much as they were downhill). After a long way up we reached Lake Agnes, which was pretty cool and gave a good sense of accomplishment, but also freezing cold!!! It was insanely windy and the glacial water temp didn’t help. We stopped at the tea house for a cup of hot tea and to layer on a bit (Shameek was the most prepared, with hat, jacket and gloves) and for a bathroom stop. Apparently horses help carry ingredients to the tea house (and for some reason they also go even further up the mountain), so 50% of the trail was littered with horse poop which stunk really bad.

Lunch at Lake Agnes

We then continue along Lake Agnes and up on the mountain to Big Beehive, which gave a nice aerial view of Lake Louise and a gazebo for rest at the view point. The last climb up to Plain of Six Glacier is perhaps the most strenuous. By then we were already pretty tired, and the elevation is higher than before. Right at the tea house (where the trail continues to the look out), we ran into Rahul and Sarah (who later felt sick again and eventually have to leave camp early to stay in Banff for better rest instead). From there on we saw quite a bit of wild life, some goats far away on the hill side, marmots and porcupines along the way. The bit past the official lookout was a ridge to a scramble. it was quite difficult (mostly requiring concentration and a little more determination to get to the better view point).

Plain of Six Glacier

July 6
We were all up for a slow and relaxing day as we migrate from our campground in Banff (Lake Louise) to the one in Jasper (Wapiti). We got some hot coffee and breakfast from the bakery in the little village in Banff and recommendations from the visitor center for view points/ mini hikes on the way to Jasper. We drove on the Icefield Parkway. The lakes are numerous and all beautiful. I have a hard time recognizing them in pictures by their names… Columbia Icefield was also on the way, and we took the tour to take a walk on the icefield!

Columbia Icefield

July 7 & 8
Wednesday and Thursday kind of all blurred together for me; they were both mellow days. Minimal to no hiking. We went up the Whistler mountain by tram. It’s a 7-minute ride up 2km of elevation (they also have a hiking trail that starts from the bottom), where you can begin a 1-2 hour hike to the summit (where the trail ends). More experienced hikers can choose to go beyond the end of trail and out to the ridge, etc. The view is magnificent as the Whistler is one of the taller mountains in the area, and it’s surrounded by others in the Canadian Rockies. Despite the overcast, we were still able to see Mt. Robson, the tallest mountain in the Rockies, far far away in the background. Ani’s knees were hurting real bad going up and down hill/ stairs, so we took it slowly and enjoyed the view.

Mt Robson in the background

Since there weren’t much flat hikes we could do, we visited the various lakes in the Jasper town area (Lake Annette, Medicine Lake, Lake Maligne, etc). Meanwhile, Shameek and Melanie went off to conquer the Sulphur Skyline trail. It’s a strenuous 4-5 hour hike which starts from the Miette Hot Springs. We met up with them in the evening at the hot springs. The hot springs (pools) are well maintained with facilities and have a cheap admission rate. We moved between the 4 different temperature pools (mostly the really hot and really cold pools) and get our muscles relaxed and my swollen bug bite deflated.

July 9
We had a very enjoyable Friday morning chilling by the Maligne Lake while Shameek and Melanie canoe-dled. The morning sun was warm, and we had coffee and tourist watching on the deck at the lake side cafeteria.

Shameek and Melanie Canoeing in Maligne Lake

After meeting up with Rahul and Sarah for lunch in Jasper, we took off for Merritt, on our way back to Vancouver. Merritt seemed to be an even smaller town than Kamloops. We arrived in the evening, had dinner, games and some beer, slept and took off in the morning.

July 10
We arrived in Vancouver after 1pm, checked into our hotel, and went straight to Saravanaa Bhavern for a delicious South Indian (vegetarian) buffet (weekends only). BEST BUFFETT EVER. Wish we could have stayed longer and ate more but the buffett closes at 3pm (although there’s not really any room left). I wish they’d come to my backyard and make me dosas.

Saravanaa Bhavern Chefs Make Dosas In Your Backyard

Delicious lunch!

After lunch, we visited Capilano Suspension Bridge and Stanley Park. It was sunny and hot so it was nice to be outside and about. In the evening, we went to a bar with outside seating on Robson street and people watched over delicious Okanagan Spring Lager. Later on we moved to another Irish bar around Burrard and Davie for food and more beer. Good times!

July 11
World Cup Final! Spain vs. Holland! How could we miss it? We went back to the Irish bar and Shameek and Mel and Rahul already saved us a good seat in front of the tv. It was an exciting game and we were happy that Spain had won at the 2nd extra time *yay* We left after the game to head back to Seattle. Custom went relatively smoothly. Soon we were home and getting ready for going back to work on Monday.

Beautiful Seattle Weekend

Lovely lovely weather this weekend. It was super sunny and warm (high at 17 degree Celsius) on Friday. Weather continues to be beautiful through Saturday and Sunday.

Ani got Mariner’s tickets so we went after work to see them against LA Angels on Friday. Got hopelessly beat 8:0. Beer and garlic fries were good nonetheless. Slept in on Saturday; decided to go for a walk in the Olympic Sculpture Park since it was so nice out and neither of us has been there. Ended up spending the whole afternoon in the waterfront area, enjoyed some chowder and clams and mussels at Elliot Bay’s while doing some reading for our road trip to So Cal at the end of this month. Headed home and watched lots of True Blood afterward. It’s a strange strange show and Ani watches way too much TV. o we also got IMAX tickets for Ironman 2 ’cause Ani enjoyed it a lot the first time he watched it on Friday morning with co-workers. Ani’s brother wanted tickets too so I have innocently bought 4 tickets for next Wednesday (without thinking that he would be bringing a little cousin or a date… I kinda assumed it would be Ben :p).

Got up around 8 Sunday morning to get some work done for MBA applications and woke Ani up for the soccer game. Chelsea won so it’s not good for Man-U. We were going to build out the new dresser I got from Ikea last week, but turns out there’s a duplicate of the left side panel and missing 1 right side panel, so we went for a 30-minute run along Eastlake around 1 pm instead. Took an easy pace and totally beat out Ani :p It was actually really nice to have a running buddy but he didn’t like that I out-ran him. He’s determined to get back in shape and beat me. We’ll see… After run we went to Costco for some groceries and the Blue House for BBQ. It was so nice! The weather was perfect, the food was awesome (we tried out habanero with pepper jack cheese sausage from Costco yum!), and it’s been a while since we’ve all hung out (since Hula’s parents were visiting for a month and I was home for 2 weeks during then) and Nanna wasn’t all stressed out even though OP’s dad was there too. Had a good time and left around 7 pm (when sun was starting to set). Ani ended up watching true blood at home while I continue researching MBA stuff.

I was all dressed and ready to go for a row this morning but I overslept in my mini nap and woke up at 5:12 Went back to bed and woke up to heavy rain at 6. Guess I was lucky I didn’t go or I would be drenched and cold. Weather is expected to turn for the better starting tomorrow for the rest of the week. woohoo.

Meanwhile, I have decided to re-study and re-take GMAT by end of August to see if I can get to 750. I also need to find time to sit down and type out some draft essays. Today I will be meeting Gretchen and Katie from the FIUTS BoT after work to see if I can get into the Board. Hula said they’re looking for people to help with the Alumni side of things and I already had long affiliation with FIUTS so this should be good More to my resume and story to tell for MBA applications. It’s interesting to go through personal history to look for stories to tell. Sometimes things that seem so far away and minor may help make a good story (not a lie, of course). Over time, even without intentionally trying to go for a theme, I do ended up doing things I like which all falls in line.

Looking forward to my meeting (interview?) this evening, Ironman on Wednesday and my missing dresser piece in the mail later this week.

First 5 Days in Hong Kong

Day 1
Left Seattle for a 2-week visit home last Thursday afternoon. After 20 hours of traveling (with some layover + 1 hour delay in Narita, Tokyo), I finally got home after midnight (Friday). Kicked off the vacation with a 20km cycling trip to and from Tai Po and Wu Kai Sha. We biked along Shing Mun River, where there are a couple of boat houses for rowing as well as dragon boating and canoeing, kayaking. Swung by offices to see if there’s an opportunity for a drop-in row. Left some contact info and haven’t heard quite yet. Probably won’t get a chance; they seem to be quite a closed community and requires memberships, etc to be involved. Had lunch at a road side restaurant: got dim sum and beef stir fry noodles and started to head back. Thighs were super sore that evening; in lots of pain when we went out for dinner at a fancy modern Vietnamese restaurant called Rice Paper and browsed around shops in the mall (ordered transition lenses for Uv protection). Applied lots of Ben Gay and went to bed early.
Day 2
Mostly recovered on Sunday. Visited ancestor’s grave Sunday morning before heading to dim sum lunch with Ki suk suk and family at Yau Yat Chuen. Went home for rest afterwards and went out again for dinner @ Harbor City’s Habitu, a fancy Italian restaurant by the (not very romantic) pier. Then met up with Elaine and Dawn for drinks (white wine) at Spasso, a fancy lounge resturant with outdoor seating. Talked lots till 11:30 when they are closing, and decided to head over to Dawn’s to chat through the night. Caught up on some junk food from the convenience store as well. Slept for 2 hours at 5 am and had breakfast with Dawn before heading home Monday morning.
Day 3
Monday morning went with Mom to her new gym for an Easy step class; quite hilarious. the instructor was awesomely energetic and funny. The class was fun even though neither me nor my mom could quite follow all the steps and the turns plus enthusiastic poses. Definitely sweated out.
A visit to Hong Kong in April is definitely quite a change than ones during December/ x’mas. Not only is it warmer (from 10 – 15 degree celcius, to 20+), it’s also much much more humid (98% humidity) which makes it all the more (to put dramatically) suffocating. Perhaps also due to the humidity and warm weather, it also seems a lot more smoggy. It’s been almost always gray sky because of the smog. Lots of smokers every where; didn’t help that it’s also a more populated city. It’s more comfortable when we were out cycling, with nice breeze and fresher air.
Went to a shanghai restaurant (a chain with branches all over Asia called Jade something…) for lunch after gym. Then mom took off to get Susan’s watches fixed while I stayed in TST for some browsing (or as I call it, ‘re-discovering’ the city). Didn’t really buy anything (other than a few small things from Muji); lots of shops with lots of little knic knacs, nothing too interesting to buy. Mostly just go into tiny shopping complexes and spin up the stairs, window shop through each level and spin back out. Cosmetic stores (and consumer electronics, and just about anywhere else) are constantly packed with tourists from mainland China. Apparently they like to come to Hong Kong and stock up as the RMB (Chinese currency) is now more worthy than HK$ :’( (RMB$1 = HK$0.8) A bit turned off by the crowd (and thus lack of service staff attention) so didn’t really stay any where mostly). Totally crashed in bed before dinner and blurred through my first home cooked dinner before some more sleep right after. roasted pork and sai yeung choi soup were delicious *sleepy eyes*
Day 4
Tuesday went to gym again for ‘stretch it out’ with mom. Kinda lame. Yoga class with lots of people who ache even from sitting, before putting leg over head. Lunch at Arirong, our favorite old time Korean restaurant. Checked out digital cameras, sales at Fortress (electronic store) recommends Olympus stylus 7040 for my all weather-proof and panoramic function requirement. HK$2200 for the 5x optical zoom version; $300 – $400 more for the 7x one. Seems a bit expensive especially I’m probably taking dad’s ‘spare’ camera, Fujifilm Finepix s1000 fd, but it’s too bulky for every day use. So, still thinking. Got my new lenses and went off to more rediscovering in Yau Ma Tei/ Mong Kok with mom. Didn’t really get to take time looking at things as mom has never been to those little shopping complexes filled with teenagers and not very comfortable. Got lots of fruits along the way. Headed off home soon to get ready for running class in Kowloon Bay at 7 pm.
Running class turns out to be a lot of fun. Did an 800m warm up run around the tracks with mom, then followed the basic class for posture practices. Then mom accompanied me for the time trial for 400m, 800m, 1000m. Following mom’s pace helped me finished them all comfortably at approx. 60% effort. Time is probably not great but I’m glad I didn’t keel over and not finish 1000m. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it’d be and group/ class running turned out to be quite fun as there are others to chat with and cheer on. Fridays they would practice long runs on streets. I wouldn’t go to any both because I’d die if I try and because we’re off to Taipei this Friday and I’ll be back in Seattle the next. May go back for another Tuesday track run next week Home cooked meal around 10 pm. Hot soup was awesome.
Day 5
Mom’s taking kung kung to his doctor’s appointment and speech therapy today so I get some time off from daily exercises and will be heading off to CWB in the afternoon with Dawn. Hopefully would get to buy some pretty clothes or what not. More home cooked meal in the evening.

First Time in a 4+

Was hesitating this morning on whether or not to go to practice this morning, the same way I did yesterday (and ended up not going because I didn’t feel like sculling in a single), because I would much rather be in a sweep than a sculler. Given recent history, we have not had 9 people to come for an 8 and have been sculling mostly in quads, which was something I didn’t feel like doing this morning. Luckily, I got myself together, inspired by Lori’s history of never missing practice, and went.

We had 5 so Ann (our coach) decided to put us in a 4+. It was pretty wobbily at first but we managed through practice and, at the end, we were able to paddle slowly/ lightly, match each other’s stroke, and maintain a pretty good balance. That was quite exciting

From rostermanager it looks like we will have at least 5 on Wednesday and Friday as well. Hopefully we’ll get to consistently sweep in 4+ at the very least.

Excited for the Weather

It was even better earlier this morning when I checked. Seattle is SUNNY! It still is. So exciting Hong Kong had pretty similar temperature with Seattle (and Vegas) the past week. But today they’re at 23 degree Celsius! How exciting!!

Freezing Cold Seattle

We had a pretty darn cold week last week. While it didn’t rain (i.e. no clouds, i.e. COLD!!), it was just really cold.

When I noticed that the weather forecast says -5 degree Celcius on my iGoogle homepage, I went ‘Holy Crap!’ and it looks like it’s not getting any better tomorrow and staying mostly in the negative Celcius for the rest of the week.

Wish I could work from home and not have to brave the cold outside until we leave for the airport to warmer land.

Seattle Heat Wave

Yesterday Seattle has broken the all-time temperature record with 102 degree Fahrenheit (39 Celsius).

My apartment was hot like the oven. So glad that Ani got the air conditioning figured out.

Few & Infrequent Postings Lately

Last week pretty much flew by with stress and work. Rowed all 4 days the past week, through good and bad weather.

Friday we were invited to a comedy show at Parlor Live and went to an Irish pub before hand. It was a fun night out.

Saturday was PRC (www.pocockrowingcenter.org) 15th anniversary and open house BBQ. Terrific weather and Susan and Peter came by for a free LTR lesson Very glad they got the opportunity to try rowing out. It was also very nice to finally meet some of the operative staffs and members of the center. We stayed after morning rowing for the member presentation.

Sunday morning was freezing cold and there was barely any boats in the water. There was thunder 10 till 11 and we were just heading towards U-bridge so we immediately rowed all four back to the dock :p Very happy to hear from Kip that Ani and I are ready to move up to Level 2 intermediates. We are both looking ahead to join competitive teams down the road. Went to the French Bakery afterward for some hot breakfast Later in the evening we went to Golden Garden beach for Kara’s farewell BBQ. It was cold but good to meet up with some folks.

Have a feeling that I’m becoming lactose intolerant. My left middle finger has also been acting up on me since Mt. Rainier weekend. It’s like the bone or tendon/ ligament is off or something; can’t fold and unfold naturally and can’t really use much force. Need to check it out soon; hope it’s nothing too serious.

I’m in a bit of a scattered brain mode. Maybe it’s time for some coffee.