Last Day

Today was my last day with Gap Inc. It was bittersweet. I spent 4 years of my life working my butt off for Old Navy. Yes, sometimes it was stressful, I worked late nights and sometimes on weekends. Yet, I loved my job. Being laid off came as a shock and I still can't quite believe it happened.

As my colleague destroyed my employee discount card in front of me (nice, huh?), I took my first step into the next stage of my career. I've planned to take a week off before I embark on my new job with Apple Inc! Apple has hired me on as a Print Production contractor from mid-July until the end of November. The position is similar to the one I had at Old Navy, color retouching, negotiating with printers, press checks, etc. Instead of color retouching models and clothing, I'll be reviewing color for screens and hardware. As of now, the position is short-term, but we'll see what happens. I accepted the offer mainly for the opportunity to work for Apple, who wouldn't want that? But, the job also appeals to me because I've been told there is a possibility the position could be extended beyond November. It was an opportunity I couldn't refuse!

The only down side is the commute... 50 miles south to Cupertino, California. Ugh. That's over an hour of driving each way and my Jeep isn't the most gas-efficient vehicle. I'm planning to try the Apple coach buses from SF to Cupertino and see how that goes. Wish me luck!

Sawyer Camp Trail...

... how I've missed you! Sawyer Camp Trail in Woodside, CA was one of the locations in our run rotation when I trained with PacWest. This trail was always one of my favorites since it has mile-markers. Mind you, when I was doing endurance running 5+ years ago, GPS sport watches were just coming on the scene. I didn't have one so I loved it when I could easily keep track of my mileage accurately.

I also love Sawyer Camp Trail for it's beauty situated by a the Crystal Springs Reservoir. Yesterday, I decided it was time to introduce my new Vibram Five Fingers shoes to the trails. I completed a 4 mile walk and a mile run mixed it. My achilles started to bother me a little bit, but overall it was a great workout. Here are some photos I snapped along the way.

A pretty view of the reservoir

The shady spots were a welcome site

Look, a baby deer!

The Gym

I can't believe it, I didn't think I would ever do this again... I joined a gym! Way before my competitive running days, I always had a gym membership. Sometimes I was a consistent gym rat, sometimes I wasn't. When I moved back to the Bay Area from Salt Lake City, I lived with my parents in Lafayette for over a year before I got an apartment in the city. I used to wake up at 5am to be at Bally's Fitness in Pleasant Hill, CA by 5:30am. I would workout for an hour, drive home, shower, get ready for work and arrive at the BART station by 8am to commute to the city. Wow... I'm impressed with myself that I actually did that! It seems kinda nutty today.

The big reason why I stopped going to the gym once I moved to SF was that I discovered the outdoors! Between bootcamp, running on Crissy Field, cycling, and swimming in the bay, I didn't think I needed the gym anymore. Now that I've gone full circle with my injury, surgeries, and recovery, I've decided it's time to go back to the gym. I joined Crunch, a gym chain in the city and I'm hoping their group classes will inspire me to try something new. More than anything I need to start lifting weights again. I have to gain some muscle back! It's so good for our bones and overall health.

I snapped some photos during a recent trip to Crunch on Polk Street, about 6 blocks from my apartment.

It's an old theater! Walk on the treadmill and watch a movie! Pretty cool, huh?

I love this phrase. "A good workout is whatever gets your heart racing."

The Trail

One of my favorite places to walk/run is the Lafayette-Moraga Trail close to where I grew up. My first days of running were on this trail with my junior high cross country team at Stanley Intermediate School in Lafayette, CA. Was it a competitive cross country team? No, we didn't actually go up against other junior high teams, I think it was just a passion of my 8th grade science teacher, Mr. Boucher. He volunteered to coach the students who wanted to participate during the After School Sports program. We would run up to 5 miles several days a week during the cross country season. Along with this, and other sports I participated in (volleyball which I loved even if I was on the "B" team, and Softball where I sucked, but stuck it out), I earned enough points to get my block "S" before I graduated. : )

Stanley is located just past the 1 mile marker on the Lafayette-Moraga Trail and this was where we ran after school. To be honest, I think I just ran with my friends and gossiped. We certainly weren't trying to make PR's!

The Trail is also one of the places my parents ran and trained for marathons when I was a kid. They have taken advantage of the Trail, whether walking or running, as long as I can remember. When I was training for races 5+ years ago, I would go to the Trail from time to time to do a training run. It's so familiar to me, it's part of home! Recently, I went there for one of my run/walks.

Isn't it pretty?

Stanley Intermediate School. Go Wildcats!

A mile marker.

Just a Hint

I have a new job!

Wordless Wednesday: Scrunchy Face

A Future Photographer?

My niece Morgan may have found her calling! Or, like most kids these days, she can't get enough of her parents smart phones. Morgan is 3 1/2 and has already learned how to take photos with her Mom's iPhone 3GS. Then I showed up with my iPhone 4. To give you a little background, Morgan has always been a little confused that she is supposed to sit still while you take her picture or keep on doing her thing while you're shooting a video. She is so fascinated by seeing herself that she sometimes leaves the picture, runs over and asks to "See Morgan!" Her parents have tried to explain to her and Piper that if they leave the picture, the screen will be empty, no Morgan or Piper.

Anyway, Meg, Morgan and I were upstairs in the guest room one day and Morgan wanted to take photos with my phone. I handed it to her and let her click away. Then I remembered that with the iPhone 4, she can take photos of herself by touching the button that flips the camera to the inside lens. Whoa, this was a revelation for Morgan! Meg and I looked at each other and said, "Uh oh. Maybe I shouldn't have shown her that feature." Oh well, the cat was out of the bag. Morgan ended up just cracking us up with her antics, taking photos of just about everyone and herself! Here are some samples.

Piper's cute diaper butt and curly hair.

Most of Dad David.

A happy photo of Mommy Meg. She told Morgan she needed

to get her eyes, nose, and mouth in the picture. Much better!

A sweet Morgan face.

OK, not quite.

There she is!

Aunt Ali's feet and Morgan's dress.

Yeah Morgan!

Wordless Wednesday: Bubble Girl

Jump and Bounce

One of Morgan and Piper's favorite places in Spokane is Jump and Bounce. It's a great place for kids, especially during the Winter months. There is jumping in an inflatable castle (among other inflatable jumpy things) and numerous big slides to climb up and zoom down. I tell you, 45 minutes of this is plenty for Moms and Dads! The one downside is that you have to not think about the germ factor. The fact that an afternoon nap for the girls is guaranteed, outweighs any silly germs my sister Meg may be concerned about. There is plenty of Purell provided. : )

During my visit over Memorial Day Weekend I finally was able to go there to see what it was all about!

I love Morgan's sweet face as she hits the bottom of the slide.

Piper's the Captain of this playground ship!

The slides say "No adults allowed on slides," but I snuck a slide in with Piper. : )

Morgan and her Mommy.

A video of the happy sisters at Jump and Bounce!

Mother's Day at the Ballpark

I took my Mom to a Giants game for Mother's Day this year. My friend Liz and I had purchased tickets for May 8 a few weeks back and she later enlightened me that the game was on Mother's Day! I thought Mother's Day was the weekend after the game so I was a little caught off guard. Since my Mom is such a huge Giants fan, I asked her if she could join us for the game as well and she said yes. Luckily, I was able to purchase one more seat in the same row, just two seats away. Once we arrived, some really nice people scooted over a seat so all three of us could sit together. I warned everyone that we had nose-bleed seats in the View Reserved section, but it was a great view above home plate and ended up protecting us from the windy day. All in all it worked out really well.

The game was so much fun! I get all excited for lots of game food, even if it's kind of pricey. Calories don't count at baseball games! We indulged in Giants Dogs and French Fries (we decided to forgo the Garlic Fries. Ugh, I'm not a fan) and my Mom bought me a Red Rope. : ) So yummy! My Mom is not going to like that I've posted this photo of her, but she looked so nice in her orange sweatshirt!

It also happened to be Tote Bag Day! I love the games where they give you stuff. Aren't tote bags perfect for Mother's Day? See's Candies was the sponsor and the logo on the back wasn't too obnoxious. I have a ton of tote bags, but not one with Giants World Champions on it.

Oh and so you know, the Giants played the Colorado Rockies, the number one team in their division, and WON! Woot woot!

Wordless Wednesday: Pretty Coffee Art

Workout in the Park

At the end of April a friend invited me to the Self Magazine Workout in the Park. It was so much fun! This year Self Magazine is holding events in San Francisco, Chicago and New York City. The day was gorgeous! The event was held on the Marina Green, not far from Crissy Field. The event consisted of mini-workouts separated into three different parts of the Green. There was the Main Stage, a second area sponsored by Reebok for core and aerobic training, and a third area for Yoga and Pilates. All of this was surrounded by sponsored booths by companies such as Lucy apparel, Hint water, Garnier hair and skin care products, etc. Lots of free samples and goodies!

I wasn't sure how my knee would handle the mini-workouts, but I decided to give some a try. First, I took a Mat Pilates class. Wow, I realized I really need to get signed back up for a gym and in to some classes. Just like the boot camp I used to do, classes require you to do exercises that you wouldn't do on your own. That short, 20-minute class showed me how weak my left side is (my left knee is the bad one) compared to my right side. I definitely need some even-ing out. Next, I took a Core/Abs class in the Reebok area. There was more repetitive bending of my knees than I would have liked, but thankfully it was a short class. Last, but not least, my friend and I stayed for the Glee Club workout! It was basically an aerobic workout choreographed to music from the TV series Glee. Such a blast! The best thing, was that I was the good kind of sore the next day and my knee was fine! A great time in the city.

Happy Bunny

One of my favorite Christmas presents last year was my Happy Bunny One-A-Day Calendar. My sister gave it to me. What is Happy Bunny? If you aren't familiar with this little creature, it's an animated little bunny that makes hilarious, sarcastic, inappropriate, and sometimes brutally honest comments. It just cracks me up! Here are some recent favorites to add a few chuckles to your day. : )

Wordless Weekend: A Foggy Sunday in the City

My Wacky Shoes

Check it out! These are my new "wacky" shoes, as my sister likes to call them. In the spirit of less-is-more for walking and running, I decided to purchase my first pair of Vibram 5 Fingers shoes. They're like gloves for your feet with a rubber sole. I've read about these shoes for years in running books and from running friends and they are all big fans.

It's all about "barefoot" running to strengthen the feet. The Vibram 5 Fingers shoes are a little tough to slip on, but the snugness makes them quite comfortable. The few walks I've taken in them so far, I've noticed people pointing at my feet with funny looks. They are a little strange to see! If they were green, they would look like frog feet, don't you think? As for how they feel while walking, it's taken some time for me to get used to feeling twigs and rocks under my feet, but that's the point. All those little twists and turns are getting my feet and ankle muscles into better shape! This should be better for my knees and hips in the long run (I hope!). While walking on Crissy Field the other day, a couple ran past me, both wearing V5F shoes. I hope I can get to that point some day too!

SF Giants - The Ring Ceremony

The day before the second Giants home game of the season I decided I had to go that game! The first weekend of home games was a BIG weekend for the Giants as the current World Series Champions. The second game was the ring ceremony where the players finally received their World Series rings. The first 20K fans (the ballpark holds about 42K seats) got a World Championship ring key chain. Yay!

My new SF Giants hat. Ready to go!

The ceremony. Tiffany & Co made the rings.

Ooh say can you seeee....

The most expensive key chain I've ever bought! ; ) It was worth it!

Wordless Wednesday: Fridge Art From Morgan

Avatar Fun

I bought the cutest app for my iPhone! Yeah, I know. I have a lot of apps. I won't tell you how many. ; ) I came across this fun app where you can make Avatars of yourself and your friends. The first one I did was of my sister Meg. I texted it to her and she wrote back and said, "David (my brother-in-law) knew it was me right away! But, are all the Avatars stocky?" Hee. Yes, they are. Here are some samples.

Meg with her Starbucks coffee and iPhone.

My brother-in-law David. He's a sports guy who loves his laptop and lots of Diet Pepsi!

My littlest niece Piper with her ponytails and green lovey bear. She's one. I love the tongue!

My niece princess Morgan. She loves the Disney princesses and her books. : )

My Dad. Coffee, camera in hand and books nearby. I pictured him in Yosemite.

My Mom with her golf clubs and bottled water. She always has bottled water!

Me in Paris with my cafe au lait.

After my iPhone was stolen!

New Toy

I'm loving my new toy, the Nike+ app for my iPhone. I can be a little "OCD" about keeping track of how far I'm walking or my short stints of running. The Nike+ app is a GPS tracker. I open the app, plug in my headphones, click on START, and begin my workout. A voice tells me when I've reached each 1/4 mile and how fast I'm going. Once I've finished my walk/run, I push END WORKOUT and someone talks to me, like Lance Armstrong or Paula Radcliffe (champion marathoner). They say encouraging things like, "That was your longest run yet!," or "You've recorded a new personal best!" I tell you, it cracks me up, but it's also motivating. I then sync my run to the website and I can get online later to check my route and pace. It's fun! Here's an idea of what it looks like, this is my recent walk from work around the ballpark.