Since I'm turning 23 today, I decided to share 23 somewhat interesting things about my current self...
1. This is the first year that I actually made a birthday wish list.
2. I can't watch scary movies or shows. I love the plots of thrillers, but I'll have nightmares for weeks. I love Criminal Minds and Law and Order: SVU, but even those shows give me nightmares.
3. I got a toe ring for my birthday last year, and I haven't taken it off since.
4. I've only been camping in a tent once. I'll be going for a second time at the end of August though!
5. I love doing the laundry. I love separating clothes into piles, loading them into the washing machine and dryer, and putting them away. I just love washing clothes. I had a front loading washing machine for a year in college and I loved sitting in front of it, watching the colorful clothes spin. Seriously.
6. I like to quote "Mean Girls", even though it annoys people. I can't help it sometimes.
7. I'm afraid of almost all animals.
8. Someday I want to be able to do handstand pushups.
9. When I find a shirt that I really love, I want to buy it in every color.
10. I'm allergic to almost every tree, grass, and cats. I'm also allergic to soy, wheat, corn, and most nuts, according to a blood test. I tried eliminating those foods from my vegan diet and I felt like I was going to die after a week, so I still eat all of those foods. I carry an EpiPen around, just in case.
11. My favorite salad dressing is Annie's Goddess Dressing. So good!!
12. I have a callous on my middle finger of my right hand from writing too much in school.
13. I like the volume on my car radio to be on an even number.
14. I recently heard that there's a gene that causes people to have dry earwax, if they are recessive for this trait. Recessive people also don't have bad body odor. Guess what? I have dry earwax. I don't smell bad. Very cool! Don't believe me? Look!
15. I'm currently eating bananadoodle cookies.
16. I get to buy new running shoes once I've put 400 miles on my current ones. Only 170 more miles!
17. I'm pretty sure I have flat feet.
18. All my cousins on my mom's side are boys; all my cousins on my dad's side are girls.
19. I broke my toe jumping off a moving jet ski.
20. I used to hate hummus. Now, I can't eat a sandwich without it.
21. I have two blue colored moles. I'm an alien.
22. I love potatoes. French fries, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, tater tots, hash browns, potato chips...you name it, I love it.
23. I played basketball for an Asian league when I was 15. I had never played before but I was the starting center and leading rebounder because I was the tallest one on the team. I'm 5'4''.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Davis Moo-nlight
On Saturday Lauren and I ran the Davis Moo-nlight half marathon with her mom, Leti. This was hardly planned. Lauren had been talking about how she wanted to run this race for several months, but I kept telling her that I didn't think we were ready for another one yet. I didn't want to run an evening half marathon in the middle of summer. Unsurprisingly, Lauren won that battle and we signed up for the half marathon less than a week before race day. I didn't feel physically or mentally prepared for this one.
We actually ran this same race last year; it was my first half marathon. Ever. I had the worst experience last year. I didn't train at all for the 13.1 miles, and ended up having to walk a lot of the race because my knees were killing me. Since I was one of the last runners throughout the course, many of the aid stations ran out of Gatorade and I was running in complete darkness the majority of the night. To make matters worse, all of the post-race booths had packed up by the time I finished so I didn't get to even bask in the glory of all the complimentary snacks. I did however get a really cool glow-in-the-dark medal though!
This year was a little better. The half marathon was split into two waves, with the slower runners starting first. Based on my fastest half marathon time, I could have run in the latter wave, but I chose to run in the first wave so that I would finish earlier in the night. That was the best decision of the night. I was able to get Gatorade at all of the aid stations this year and was able to enjoy the post-race booths. It also greatly helped that I carried a water bottle with me. Some of the aid stations even filled it up when I got low on water :) I tried Honey Stinger Chews for the first time, about two chews every two miles, and while they tasted really good, I don't think they helped my endurance and stamina that much. I also ended up taking a vanilla PowerBar PowerGel around mile 10. I now know that vanilla is my least favorite flavor. It tastes like yogurt which many people may like, but not me. I do really like the consistency of the PowerBar PowerGels much better than Gu though.
Even though Lauren and I were able to run the majority of our previous half marathons, we ended up walking about 3 miles this race. I think it was the heat at the beginning that killed us. That, and the fact that we ran 6 additional miles that morning. Oh well.
We actually ran this same race last year; it was my first half marathon. Ever. I had the worst experience last year. I didn't train at all for the 13.1 miles, and ended up having to walk a lot of the race because my knees were killing me. Since I was one of the last runners throughout the course, many of the aid stations ran out of Gatorade and I was running in complete darkness the majority of the night. To make matters worse, all of the post-race booths had packed up by the time I finished so I didn't get to even bask in the glory of all the complimentary snacks. I did however get a really cool glow-in-the-dark medal though!
Last year: Pre-race
This year was a little better. The half marathon was split into two waves, with the slower runners starting first. Based on my fastest half marathon time, I could have run in the latter wave, but I chose to run in the first wave so that I would finish earlier in the night. That was the best decision of the night. I was able to get Gatorade at all of the aid stations this year and was able to enjoy the post-race booths. It also greatly helped that I carried a water bottle with me. Some of the aid stations even filled it up when I got low on water :) I tried Honey Stinger Chews for the first time, about two chews every two miles, and while they tasted really good, I don't think they helped my endurance and stamina that much. I also ended up taking a vanilla PowerBar PowerGel around mile 10. I now know that vanilla is my least favorite flavor. It tastes like yogurt which many people may like, but not me. I do really like the consistency of the PowerBar PowerGels much better than Gu though.
Even though Lauren and I were able to run the majority of our previous half marathons, we ended up walking about 3 miles this race. I think it was the heat at the beginning that killed us. That, and the fact that we ran 6 additional miles that morning. Oh well.
This year: Pre-race
This year: Post-race
Saturday, July 13, 2013
My Graduation Dress
Last year, I took a sewing class called "Costume Construction" during my final quarter of college. The majority of the class had never threaded a needle before, let alone use a sewing machine, so there was a wide range of skill. For our final projects, we were let loose and given the freedom to select any pattern to make for ourselves with fabric of our choice. Since graduation was approaching, I wanted to sew myself a graduation dress.
I took to the internet to find a pattern I wanted to use; something I hadn't done before. I stumbled upon Grainline and browsed through her pattern shop. The moment I saw the Kat Strapless Dress, I knew that was the dress I wanted to make.
I ended up purchasing three patterns: the dress, the Scout Woven Tee, and the Tiny Pocket Tank.
Lauren and I spent an entire day fabric shopping in San Francisco. I had the idea embedded in my mind that Iwanted needed a floral rayon for the main fabric of the dress. I finally found what I had been searching for at our last stop. I spent forever trying to pick the perfect colors of solids that would go well with the floral print. Luckily our classroom had a large supply of boning, so all I needed to get after I selected my fabric was interfacing, which wasn't so hard to pick out.
The class met for one hour, three times a week, but I also spent a lot of time out of class working on my dress. All in all, my dress took me about 40 hours to complete, including the printing/taping/cutting of the pattern. I know that seems like a lot of time, but it was the first garment I sewed for myself from a pattern.
The pattern was pretty easy to follow, although I am thankful I had lots of help from my professor with the boning in the bodice and inserting the zipper. It turns out using boning isn't hard at all, but it does look pretty scary if you've never attempted it before.
I love my finished dress, but I wish I made a smaller size. Throughout the graduation ceremony, I was constantly readjusting because my dress kept falling down...yikes! Needless to say, I haven't worn the dress again, but once I work up enough courage to take out the zipper and reinsert it, I'm going to take in my dress so that I'll be able to wear it much more.
I took to the internet to find a pattern I wanted to use; something I hadn't done before. I stumbled upon Grainline and browsed through her pattern shop. The moment I saw the Kat Strapless Dress, I knew that was the dress I wanted to make.
I ended up purchasing three patterns: the dress, the Scout Woven Tee, and the Tiny Pocket Tank.
Lauren and I spent an entire day fabric shopping in San Francisco. I had the idea embedded in my mind that I
The class met for one hour, three times a week, but I also spent a lot of time out of class working on my dress. All in all, my dress took me about 40 hours to complete, including the printing/taping/cutting of the pattern. I know that seems like a lot of time, but it was the first garment I sewed for myself from a pattern.
The pattern was pretty easy to follow, although I am thankful I had lots of help from my professor with the boning in the bodice and inserting the zipper. It turns out using boning isn't hard at all, but it does look pretty scary if you've never attempted it before.
I love my finished dress, but I wish I made a smaller size. Throughout the graduation ceremony, I was constantly readjusting because my dress kept falling down...yikes! Needless to say, I haven't worn the dress again, but once I work up enough courage to take out the zipper and reinsert it, I'm going to take in my dress so that I'll be able to wear it much more.
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