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August 31, 2008 / Sunday
Coors Cup 2008 Semifinal: Tomorrow We Get To Sleep In
Played the Crazy Cougars again this afternoon in a semifinal matchup. While for the most part a friendly group, this team's physical style on the ice makes them the least favorite of all the opponents we faced this weekend. I'm relatively little, and a lot of them are relatively not, and that was a recipe for repeated unplanned flights with rough launches and even rougher landings. Or maybe they were trying to balance out yesterday's whiplash. Oh, but that's how tournaments go. Not everyone plays as gently as they do in my league back home.
For the most part, we skated hard, and when we didn't, I pulled my hair out over it. I guess I really did want to play tomorrow morning. My line had some good shifts, decent shots, nice plays, and one really pretty rush at the net, but their goalie did her job and made some great saves. Props for her, boohoo for us. Final score: 0-3.
After the game, I noticed I wasn't tired, and realized that I hadn't felt tired all tournament, even in the 3rd period of our games. Amazing! I'm usually dead by the 3rd period, and wear out faster with each subsequent game. What made this tournament different?
Two possibilities, non-exclusive: (1) Electrolytes. I brought some CamelBak Elixir tablets and dropped one in my water bottle for each game. I chose this over Gatorade because I squirt water all over myself through my face mask, and I didn't want anything with sugar. It has a nice light lemony taste. (2) I remembered to eat fairly decent foods, and more of it than usual. My habit is to eat only when hungry, and only enough to feel *just* a wee bit full. I realized this was probably not giving me enough fuel to skate hard game after tournament game, so this weekend, eat eat eat. Well, except for Saturday afternoon, when I ate what I thought was a decent amount that turned out to be not enough
Overall, this was a fun tournament. It was well organized, the teams were friendly (in our division, at least), and there was a nice party on Sunday night. Even better, the champions of each division get to pick a charity to which $750 is donated. Hockey for a good cause! Way to go, folks who made this tournament happen, and thanks!
06:59 PM | Burninators| Comments (2)
Coors Cup 2008 Game 3: Snipers Practice
Played the Arizona Snipers this morning. After seeing this team listed in the second highest division of the Vegas tournament a couple years back, I expected a pretty fast-paced game. They had a different roster from Vegas, but we still got a fast game. I'm pretty sure they didn't skate at full speed, either. But then, they didn't need to, as their throttled down speed (along with their passing and positioning) was enough to win the game handily. It felt a bit like they were using us for practice, setting up plays and taking beautiful one timer slapshots shift after shift. Afterward, we noted how clean this game was. And why? Because when you're *that* much better than the team you're playing against, you can do whatever you want without touching them.
Final score: 0-7. I had to ask for the score after the game because I lost count. Still, good job us, for skating hard until the final buzzer.
I wore the new helmet today, and it felt great. It's nice to have something that fits my head well. The cage sticks out farther than I'm used to, which created a bit of a drinking problem, but that can be remedied with a different water bottle. I'm thinking it's time for one of those tall ones with the pointy spout.
The new stick saw action today also. Aside from the newly taped sticky handle, I couldn't tell the difference between it and my old stick. As it should be!
The hamstring started to stiffen up last night, and I'm trying hard to keep it happy. I've been keeping up my regimen of stretching and icing, and added a heat patch before games. It was noticeably tight during the game. Not a good feeling.
We have a playoff this afternoon against the Crazy Cougars, whom we played yesterday (and who gave me whiplash off a killer trip). Winner goes to the final tomorrow morning at 8 AM.
Gosh, that's early, but it's too early now to be thinking about it. One game at a time. That's been my gimpy mantra all weekend.
12:25 PM | Burninators| Comments (0)
August 30, 2008 / Saturday
I Just Spent How Much?
We took advantage of the fact that we were near a couple big hockey stores and went shopping this afternoon. I've been looking to get a second stick to match the Synergy Elite I picked up in April, especially since I destroyed my backup stick by shortening it in June. Sure, I could use my old Vapor XX, but it feels heavy compared to what I'm used to now. Gosh, I'm spoiled.
I also wanted a new helmet, as my current one (1) stinks and (2) rocks a bit from front-to-back, I think because the pads have compressed and hardened. I dunked it in a bleach and detergent solution for a good two hours last week, but when everything dried I still couldn't stand having it on my head. And yesterday, whenever I went flying (there were some big girls on the other team) my helmet would shift forward and top half of my world would go dark.
Hockey Giant didn't have what I needed, but Hockey Monkey (now Monkey Sports) did. After trying a bazillion helmets and settings, I managed to get a good fit out of the Reebok 8K, size medium. (Makes sense, since it's replacing a CCM.) I paired it with a silver Itech RBE III cage; I'm hoping it'll be less distracting than the black cage I had before.
When I got back to the hotel, I set about removing all the stickers on the helmet and cage. I counted (of course I counted) 12 helmet stickers and 4 cage stickers. Ridiculous!
I also found the stick I was looking for. I've never had a matching backup before. In the past, I've always rotated sticks into backup duty by purchasing a new model. Not sure how I'm going to choose which stick to use now.
Shortening my first line backup was a really dumb experiment. What was I thinking?
Maybe I was subconsciously thinking, "If this doesn't work, I get to buy another stick!"
Oh, and to answer this post's title, I shelled out just over $360 at the register. Yes, I blinked.
But it's for two good causes: protecting my head and scoring goals! :-D
05:30 PM | Hockey| Comments (2)
Coors Cup 2008 Game 2: Momentum Swings Are A Bitch
Woke up way earlier than is proper for a Saturday morning, grubbed on some hotel breakfast oatmeal, and headed to the rink for our 9:15 game against the California Crazy Cougars, a.k.a. Shella's team. This game was a step up from last night in terms of speed and skill, but we managed to keep it even for most of the game with some decent skating and great saves by Mary, a.k.a. Chris's stunt double. ;)
We scored first; my center took a shot, the goalie stopped it, I poked at the puck between the goalies pads, then looked behind the goalie, and found the puck all alone in the crease, inches from the goal line. Must... get... stick... on... puck!!! Fortunately, I was able to, and this slow motion moment ended with the puck in the net.
They answered soon after, and after a scoreless 2nd period, we entered the 3rd tied 1-1.
The 3rd period did not go so well for us. They kept moving their feet, and we did not. There was definitely a momentum swing early in the period, and they scored three quick ones on us. We were never able to make it up. Final score: 1-4.
This afternoon, hockey shopping!
10:59 AM | Burninators| Comments (0)
August 29, 2008 / Friday
Coors Cup 2008 Game 1: Chillin'
Arrived at the Toyota Sports Center for game one of the 2008 Coors Cup tournament. This place is pretty nice. We went upstairs, signed in, and were handed a fabulous schwag bag containing (and this list is not complete) a Roxy dog leash, a strip of Durex condoms, two bottles of lube, an ID Glide branded water bottle, Propel powder, pink hockey tape, an LA Kings cap, and a Coors Cup 2008 trucker cap. We also got tournament shirts and a fluorescent green rubber bracelet from Ice Magazine that says "PLAY LIKE A GIRL". Sweet! I was liking this tournament already.
And now, the game. We weren't sure what to expect; if you haven't played a tournament before you really don't know what the level of play is, no matter what adjectives or labels are used to describe it. Fortunately, our two teams were fairly evenly matched. Most importantly, it was a friendly game. The Chill, well, they're pretty chill. I always say hello to my opposing wing before the first puck drop, and their response is often a good predictor of the game to come. I got a stick tap and a glove bump from this one. Hoorays.
We scored a couple early, one from Kim and another from a pass that bounced off my skate. The second one, definitely a fluke. After that, their goalie warmed up or something, because she then turned away the rest of our shots. Final score: 2-0. Way to go, Burninators!
The hamstring held up (I wrapped it up tight), but the right glute is unhappy again. Not sure how to wrap that one. Do they make such a thing as butt wrap?
Next game is tomorrow at 9:15 in the morning. Gotta clean up and go to sleep now!
10:46 PM | Burninators:Injuries| Comments (2)
August 28, 2008 / Thursday
Water Dog Lake Park
Finally made it to the Passion Trail Bikes Weekly Wednesday Wride at Waterdog. (Phew, that's a mouthful!) I've been meaning to do this ride all season, but, well, work is all the way over in freakin' San Ramon.
Yesterday, I worked from home, which meant that I was not all the way over in freakin' San Ramon. (Can you tell this commute is wearing on me?) Aaron came over and we headed up to Belmont.
Aaron took off on the speedy rider's ride, and I headed out with the FBG (Fat Bottomed Girl, Flabby Bellied Guy, etc.) and mellow White Socks group. My initial intent was to ride with the FBG group, since I wasn't sure how ride ready my hamstring was, but when we reached the first regroup point, I decided it felt good enough to ride with the White Socks.
The White Socks group then split into two, and since I was trying not to push the hamstring too hard before this weekend's tournament, I joined the slower of the two. At the bottom of the big long fireroad trailhead, the faster group took off. I waited for the rest of my group to arrive, and after a chat, we headed up also. I rode pretty light, but managed to catch up with the last rider of the first group as we reached the top. He and I then swapped groups.
That turned out to be a good thing. My new group was just the right pace for me, and we rode a bunch of trails that suited me well, with a bit of a challenge in certain places. Waterdog is a small but fun park. The people were cool too. I definitely want to come back and ride with this group in the future.
Afterward, there was lots of tasty food and drinks at the shop. They brew their own beer there, and have some tasty root beer on tap, too. A nice finish to a nice ride.
10:45 AM | Mountain| Comments (0)
August 27, 2008 / Wednesday
Tire Rotation Adventures
A couple weekends ago, while trying to rotate the tires on my car, I got stuck. Stuck, as in, the bolts on the wheel I'd had replaced last February would not come off. Freakin' bolts! I'm coming back with a pipe!
Off to OSH we went, where after much waiting, we procured a three foot pipe. Aaron worried that my 1/2" drive 12 point sockets would strip the bolts with that much torque, so we converted to a 3/8" drive 6 point socket instead. The setup: socket, adapter, extension, ratchet, pipe. Apply force.
To our chagrin, the bolt didn't budge, and instead the adapter ripped into two pieces. Well, isn't that just lovely?
Today, I took my car back to the tire shop to ask them to loosen and retorque the bolts to spec. I watched them do it by hand, and the guy seemed to have a pretty easy time of it. Why, then, did we have so much trouble? I'm guessing it's because my ratchet didn't have long enough of a lever arm, and although the pipe took care of that problem, we introduced a weak link by switching to a 3/8" drive. I'm glad I waited a week and a half to not be upset over the whole thing so I could go in there and ask them nicely to fix what turned out to be only a slightly overtorqued set of wheel bolts.
Also today, I took the busted socket adapter back to Sears and got it replaced for free. Much love for the Craftsman lifetime warranty.
So what did I learn?
1. Giant pipes rule.
2. Giant pipes don't play nice with 3/8" drive sockets.
3. It makes no sense that my 1/2" drive sockets are 12 point, and the smaller drives are 6 point.
4. The next time I go to a tire shop I should explicitly ask them to torque the bolts to spec.
August 26, 2008 / Tuesday
Chihuly!
That name is fun to say.
Aaron and I went to see the Chihuly exhibit at the de Young this weekend. The full Flickr set is here, but I thought I'd share a couple of my favorites with you below.
If you visit the set, there's a bonus at the end: We came across a gopher on our way back to the car, so I took a few pictures and a video of that, too. :)
11:48 AM | | Comments (1)
August 25, 2008 / Monday
Friday Night At Vallco
I missed a couple Blue/Maroon clinics while away last month, and decided to crash the Maroon/Red clinic this month to make up for it. On the way there, however, I realized that I had no idea where the rink entrance was at Vallco.
I wondered who I should call, but then I realized it'd be more efficient to put out a broadcast on Twitter. That did the trick; I got a few responses within minutes. I don't think I'd have managed to find the inconspicuous rink entrance otherwise. Thank you thank you, Twitterpeeps!
It was really nice to be on the ice with some of the folks from Maroon again. I've really missed skating with them. I felt right at home, although I did find it amusing/weird that the three assistant coaches at the clinic were Blue skaters. (From my team this summer, no less!) It really served to highlight how much of a n00b I still am in that division. Not that I didn't know it already. I'm not there 'cause I'm awesome; I'm there because several someones were kind enough to give me a chance.
We did some skating, some passing, some drills with more passing, some shooting. We also did a drill where we forwards practiced 1-on-1s against the defense. I had a couple runs against other skaters in the clinic, and then a run against one of my Lollerskate teammates. She totally schooled me, and when I got back in line one of my other teammates came up and said, "Don't let her do that to you!" My final run (against one of the other skaters) went much better, and for the first time, I tried to drive wide to my backhand with only my top hand on the stick while holding off the D with my other hand. It wasn't perfect, but I managed not to lose the puck and even curled back to center in time to get a shot on net. I'll have to remember to practice that one some more.
I also remembered to thank one of my teammates for her season's worth of advice this summer. I've gotten good advice from various players this season, but this teammate has had words of wisdom for me game after game. Much appreciation from me on that front.
Afterward, I drove... and drove... and drove in search of the mall exit. I eventually found my way out onto Stevens Creek, after driving around almost the entire mall. It wasn't the street I was looking for, but it was good enough to get me home.
The clinic left my body a lot worse for wear. The shooting drills wrecked my forearm (I've been battling tennis elbow for months) and I somehow managed to pull my right hamstring. The hamstring was especially troubling, as I had a 3-on-3 tournament scheduled for Sunday and a Burninators tournament the following weekend.
In the end, I decided against playing the 3-on-3. After a ridiculous number of phone calls, we were fortunate enough to replace (or, rather, upgrade) me with Shannon.
On Monday, I bought a big thigh wrap for my hamstring, a non-bulky elbow wrap for my forearm, and an ice pack for the freezer at work. I'll rest and ice and stretch as much as I can this week, then wrap myself up and Burninate away.
01:52 PM | Hockey:Injuries| Comments (2)
August 23, 2008 / Saturday
This Makes No Sense
I'm talking about the following sentence from this article, which revealed Obama's running mate a day early.
The official who spoke did so on condition of anonymity, saying they did not want to pre-empt a text-message announcement the Obama campaign promised for Saturday morning.
You say you don't want to pre-empt the text message announcement, but you just did. Anonymous official, logic is not one of your strong points, is it?
And you just took all the fun out of the whole running mate text message grand reveal thing. Poopiehead.
12:47 AM | | Comments (4)
August 21, 2008 / Thursday
Hello? Where Is Everyone?
Headed to Chabot after work yesterday for the Wednesday evening ride. Pulled into the parking lot just uphill from the marina and found it empty. Where was everyone? Was I early? Nope. Got my stuff together and decided to go for a solo ride. I'd been smart enough to print a map of the trails, but stupid enough to leave it on my desk at work. No matter; I figured I could ride from memory, or at least do an out and back.
I headed out on Ten Hills, then up Brandon. At the top of Brandon, I decided to see where the downhill fork on the left went. It took me to the family campground entrance, which I recognized from my first group ride there a couple months ago. I continued out on Quail, then on Lost Ridge, and was amused to find that I had inadvertently retraced the route from that ride in reverse.
I backtracked to a trail fork just before the campground and took Live Oak back toward the parking lot. After short jaunt on Cameron Loop and back up the top portion of Ten Hills, I arrived back at my car. Total distance: 9.7 miles. Thank you, trail junction signs with directions to the marina!
Afterward, I looked up the group ride online, and it seems to have disappeared. I guess I'll be riding with the Tuesday group from now on. I suppose I could ride by myself again with a map, but Chabot feels just a wee bit too big for me to feel comfortable riding around solo with so little light left. The farther out I went, the more uneasy I felt. (Granted, I'd probably feel less uneasy if I could locate myself on a map.) What if I crash? What if my bike breaks down and I can't fix it? What if I bonk? What if a mountain lion eats me? What if space aliens hover overhead and try to beam me away?
Hey, you never know.
Too bad the Tuesday ride moves to Pleasanton Ridge next month. Maybe I'll ride solo at Chabot after all.
07:02 PM | Mountain| Comments (6)
August 19, 2008 / Tuesday
Amazingly, It Worked
This morning
with zero notice
I had to deliver a demo
over WebEx
using a VM
running on a Remote Desktop host
accessed through the VPN.
The only visible side effect of this less than ideal setup was the sluggish pointer response, which, when paired with pointer acceleration, made it look like I was mousing drunk.
03:30 PM | | Comments (3)
August 17, 2008 / Sunday
Last Lollerskate of the Season
All too soon, the season has come to an end. We played our final game today, and in typical fashion the Tami and Kristen line (today with Theresa) put in goal after goal, securing us a 9-5 victory to close out the season. I remarked on their second half of the season scoring rampage (which greeted me in the form of a pile of scoresheets when I returned from Russia) and asked if they were having some sort of scoring competition with each other. No, they replied, Wendy got sick of losing, that's all. Oh, I see. Previously, I had witnessed this only in moments here and there, but after all the scoresheet data and being present for the last couple games, I'm thoroughly convinced: they score at will.
End of season hasn't hit me yet. I think I'm still busy grokking the score at will thing.
09:45 PM | Lollerskates| Comments (0)
August 16, 2008 / Saturday
Mmm, Tasty Ride
After my 17 mile road ride a couple weeks ago, I said I'd go for 34 the next time around. 34 miles happens to be the approximate distance of the Portola loop from home, so Portola loop it was.
A couple miles into the ride, I realized that I'd forgotten to take my pre-ride Aleve. This was bad news, as my knees are wholly unable to go any decent distance without the aid of an anti-inflammatory. Aaron was smart enough to look for Aleve at shops along our route, and picked some up for me at the Walgreens in Los Altos. It got me through about 30 miles of the ride; my knees started aching a bit after that, but fortunately the pain subsided a few hours afterward.
We continued up Foothill, up Sand Hill, and then onto Portola. Even though I was eating, I seemed to be having trouble getting enough calories in me. But then, hallelujah, we came across a lemonade stand along the road. When we stopped, the girls at the stand sheepishly told us they were out of cups. Oh, but we had water bottles! They filled one of my bottles and one of Aaron's. "How much?" we asked, and after some confused discussion, they decided that two water bottles of lemonade was worth two dollars. Aaron handed them a five and told them to keep the change. They were surprised, and happy. So was I. Lemonade! Calories! Hoorays! Plus, kids and lemonade stands, super cute.
The lemonade energized me, and when we reached Alpine, I decided I wanted to ride up to the end where it turns into a dirt trail. I love that stretch of Alpine. Smooth pavement, few cars, a beautiful creek surrounded by trees for most of the way, plus a few extra miles and some climbing.
I'd noticed that the ice cream place at the Rancho Shopping Center had switched from a Dreyer's to Lappert's, so we stopped on the way back for some ice cream. I ended up with a super flavorful coconut sorbet. Sorbet! I never eat sorbet, but I guess coconut is different because it's fatty and creamy on its own. Good stuff.
When we got home, I managed to lock my keys (including both my copies of the garage key) in the garage. I ended up borrowing a ladder from my neighbor, climbing up to the balcony, and entering my apartment through the sliding door, which I had left open. Thank goodness! After some searching, my neighbor found her copy of my garage key (she's also something of an apartment manager), and I was reunited with my keys. Phew!
Total distance pedaled: ~43 miles. I can't download data from my Polar wrist unit until I get an IR adapter for my laptop, so no detailed data until then.
[ Update: I forgot to mention that we saw an Ariel Atom zoom by around a curve on Sand Hill near the Portola junction. Sweet! The driver had a full face helmet on. I wanted to offer to trade him my bike for his car, but he was gone before I could say anything. ]
August 13, 2008 / Wednesday
Pleasanton Ridge
Finally rode this park today with a former coworker who now works near me. It's conveniently located just off the freeway on my way home from work, but I don't think I'll be spending much time here after today.
Despite the name, Pleasanton Ridge is anything but pleasant on a bike. It's miles of featureless fireroad that just go up, up, and up, leaving you with nothing to think about but how much it sucks to be pedaling, pedaling, pedaling in such a boring park.
It didn't help that I wasn't feeling very well. I've been staying up way too late watching the Olympics, and it has taken a toll. My legs were tired and my stomach felt queasy. How ironic; the Olympics is proving to be bad for my fitness and health.
Now if you'll excuse me, men's gymnastics is on.
11:14 PM | Mountain| Comments (0)
August 11, 2008 / Monday
Happy Birthday Grandma, And Thanks!
My grandma turned 80 today. I spent most of the afternoon busy at work, but remembered to call her before it got too late in her time zone. We had a nice long conversation about all sorts of things, and I amazingly managed to say everything I wanted to without a lick of Chinglish*.
At one point, she was talking about how my sister recently got a raise, and how she still remembered carrying her home from the hospital like a little lump of dough. (When you say it in Chinese it's cute and endearing. "meen fun") "And now," she said happily, "you're both grown up and making money, and your sister even drives me around!" I took that opportunity to thank her for where my sister and I are today, because if it weren't for my grandma, I wouldn't be here, and you wouldn't be reading this.
You see, way back when I was just a wee little meen fun, my grandma, who does not speak any English, bought a book about America and started studying. She studied every night while she worked on her sewing (for pay, not for fun). Then she rounded up a couple of US citizen friends to accompany her to the naturalization exam. (I guess you need to prove you know people who belong here?) She failed. She studied more, rounded up a couple friends, and went back. She failed again. She didn't give up, though. There was more studying, another round of rounding up two friends, and finally, on her third try, she passed.
After that, my mom (then pregnant with my sister), dad, and I got to move to the US. I can't imagine what my life would have been like if I'd grown up in Hong Kong. As it was, when my mom told my teacher we were moving here, she replied, "Good! Vivian will never make it here. She'll do much better in American schools." And she was right. In Hong Kong, I struggled to focus, and got in trouble because I couldn't. Here, I thrived.
Thanks, grandma, from the bottom of my heart.
* By "Chinglish", I mean Chinese that is interspersed with English, or vice versa, not bad English, as it is defined in Wikipedia. Bad English, in my book, is "Engrish". I've been using the term "Chinglish" since the 90's, and the initial Wikipedia definition of the word came about only in 2003, so suck it, Wikipedia, that's my word.
11:08 PM | Famidotes| Comments (5)
August 10, 2008 / Sunday
Arastradero Trails Go Round And Round
I'm over a week and a half late with this post, but I'm backdating it to August 10th, when Aaron and I paid a visit to Arastradero. It's an easy park, but I wasn't really feeling it that day, and therefore not up for the intro to Skeggs, a.k.a. El Corte de Madera, that Aaron had planned for me.
This was a little different from our previous visits to Arastradero; we carried a map this time, and used it to do a few loops and cover almost every trail in the park. Nice, mellow fun.
I've ridden a couple times since then, and if I can manage to keep my dirt legs under me (I lose them if I don't ride often enough, and feeling comfortable on dirt makes a world of difference), maybe I'll feel up to trying Skeggs next time.
11:19 PM | Mountain| Comments (0)
August 09, 2008 / Saturday
There's Something About Being Away...
Last summer season, I missed 6 weeks of hockey, came back raring to play, and scored a bunch in the next three games. This summer season, I've just missed 7 weeks of hockey, and came back thinking I'd get my butt kicked. Strangely, magically, and surprisingly, I had my best game of the season tonight: 2 goals and 2 assists. Granted, it probably had something to do with the fact that I got to play on a line with Tami and Kristen, who have been on a scoring rampage for the last month and a half. When I first found out who I was playing with, I thought, "Oh no! How am I going to keep up? I hope my rustiness (and out of hockey shapeness) doesn't screw up their mojo." As it turns out, I was so excited to be back that I was nothing but go-go-go all game. Not that I played a perfect game; I still had a bunch of n00by moves, but those are normal for me, and should decrease in frequency (and eventually go away, I hope) as I get better over time.
So hooray. And boy, is it good to be back!
09:32 PM | Lollerskates| Comments (0)
Learn To Pave, Caltrans!
680 South got a little road repair this summer. The result? Transitions between old and newly paved stretches of road so rough that it makes my CDs skip. And for parts of the road where they simply filled in the potholes, they didn't level them out and created a bunch of bumps instead. I know that my car has sensitive suspension, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that when Caltrans works on our roads, their workers leave the surface smoother than before they started.
It really feels as if no one bothers to do their job (official or not; I mean that in a broad sense of the word) properly these days. What happened to taking pride in one's work? Sometimes I wonder why I bother, given that so many others around me (and who often directly affect me) don't.
In the end, I always do bother. I have to look at myself in the mirror every morning, and I want to be able to respect the person looking back at me. So if I ever fill a pothole for you, you can trust I'll level it out before I declare it done.
03:20 PM | Rant/Whine| Comments (0)
It Seems Weird To Be Pleased With Starbucks
Went to Starbucks for the first time in a couple months this morning. It was already pretty warm out when I arrived, so I decided to give their new Vivanno a try. Banana chocolate, with a shot of espresso. 270 calories with 6 grams of fiber and 21 grams of protein. Not bad! Tasted pretty good, too.
While their ridiculously cheery and helpful baristas perpared my drink, I browsed a few of their pamphlets at the condiment bar and found one with detailed nutritional information for what looked to be all of their drinks. I was pleased. Jamba needs to publish a portable one of those.
And finally, I left with a "Treat Receipt", which is essentially a receipt with a stamp on it that says, "Bring this in after 2 p.m. today and get any grande cold drink for just $2 (plus tax)." At first, I thought it was just a clever ploy to get people to consume more Starbucks (which it is), but then I thought, you know, I just might come back before my game this evening...
02:32 PM | Drinks| Comments (0)
August 08, 2008 / Friday
Muscle Memory FTW!!
No thanks to a mild case of golf elbow coupled with a wicked case of tennis elbow, I stopped playing golf in May. Since then, the golf elbow has healed and the tennis elbow is refusing to. It frustrates me a lot, because I really want to start hitting some balls (both golf and tennis) again. I suspect that typing is preventing the tennis elbow from healing, but that's kind of hard to avoid.
Anyhow, my company is holding a golf tournament next month. I'm signed up to play, and I intend to. Tennis elbow be damned! This means I have to start practicing again, so today I went to the driving range.
The good news: I can still hit the ball. This in itself is a surprise to me, and even more so is the fact that I'm hitting the ball better than I was before I stopped playing. Why? Because I don't remember all the things I was supposed to remember. Instead of going through a way-too-long checklist in my head before every shot, all I know to do now is get comfortable, focus on the ball, and swing. Muscle memory does the rest. My first shot (with the 7-iron off the tee) sailed a very straight 120 yards. Nice!
I can't pitch to save my life, though. It hurts the tennis elbow a lot. I'm hoping that I can get by with a brace. We'll see how that goes next time.
Putting was frustrating. I'm not focusing and being patient like I need to, which makes me miss, which makes me less focused and patient. I'm going to have to work on this a lot more, and I have no excuse not to because it's the least injurious golf stroke with the greatest potential to lower my score. Back to the putting green I go!
Aaron came too and we had a putting contest. I ended up buying him dinner.
August 05, 2008 / Tuesday
Yay, Dirt!
Got back on the mountain bike today for my first decent ride in almost two months. (Rancho Cañada del Oro doesn't count because I was totally illin' from altitude sickness and thought I wasn't going to make it back.) One of my coworkers from our Oregon office is in town, and we met up with a weekly local shop ride for an after work spin at Lake Chabot.
I think we ended up riding most of the loop around the lake. It was a little less organized than other rides I've been on in terms of distinct groups; people split off into packs at trail junctions depending on what they wanted to ride. At one point, we lost our group, but were picked up by another one soon after.
The ride was fun, and it was really nice to be back out there on the boingy bike. I'm finally starting to feel like me again.
Two thumbs up for this ride. I think I'll come back. :)
11:19 PM | Mountain| Comments (2)
August 04, 2008 / Monday
Yay, Ice!
Went to a hockey clinic yesterday. It was only for an hour, but it wore me out good. We did a bunch of sprint from the line drills, which I love, but it pretty much wrecked my out of shape hip flexors. This morning, putting on my jeans and trying to operate the clutch on my car was a challenge. The sign of a good workout!
Skating felt great; it was really nice to be back on the ice. Stick handling and shooting, not so great. I seem to have forgotten how to lift the puck. No biggie. We didn't work much on shooting at the clinic; I reckon a few minutes with a puck and a wall will bring the shot back soon enough.
Really wishing Belmont was still open. I could sure use some midweek pickup.
11:41 AM | Hockey| Comments (0)
August 02, 2008 / Saturday
Yay, Bike!
To be clear, that's, "Yay, Human Powered Road Bike!"
Went for a super easy ride today to Rick's Ice Cream and back. I was feeling mighty sore from the gym yesterday, but ice cream on a hot day is a wonderful motivator. I'd planned a slow ride, and thanks to an uncomfortably tight hamstring, rode an even slower one. Still, slow exercise is better than no exercise.
Popped an Aleve before the ride and made it home just as my left knee started to complain. The rest of me still felt pretty good, though. Logged just over 17 miles. If workout ramp-up goes well, I'll go for double that next time.
Wow, this was my longest ride since May. I haven't been riding nearly as much as I'd like this summer. Wasting two hours a day driving to and from San Ramon kills weekday riding, and training for Whitney killed a lot of weekends.
Or maybe those are just excuses, and I just need to be less lazy. Get on it, me.
August 01, 2008 / Friday
I Hope The People Elect More Wisely Next Time
A couple yell racial slurs at a group of Indians, THEN beats one of them up while yelling more racial slurs, and the judge rules it's not a hate crime.
The dismissal of the hate crime charge in this case should be considered a hate crime.
This travesty of justice brought to you by the Presiding Judge of the El Dorado County Superior Court, the Honorable Suzanne N. Kingsbury.
Honorable. How exactly?
08:19 PM | Rant/Whine| Comments (0)
Everything Feels Wrong, Wrong, Wrong
Went to the gym this afternoon for a UB set. Didn't feel *too* much weaker than usual, and managed not to pull anything. (I'll know for sure when I wake up tomorrow.) Saturday, I'll go for an easy bike ride, followed by a hockey clinic on Sunday. Hoping to feel more in the swing of things after that.
I hate having to take baby steps. I hate losing ground. And feeling out of shape sucks.
This week, everything sucks. Not exercising has me feeling totally off kilter. I'm easily frustrated, and I react to that frustration by wanting to throw things and cry. As if that's gonna solve the problem!
How long before I start feeling useful again?
