Nacho Cheese in Black & White

By now most of you know that Ann's pregnant and due in May. We're calling the little guy Nacho Cheese. Nacho & Ann are both doing well. (I am too.)

Because we have less to rant about now that we're in suburbia (except that people drive like babies playing Mario Kart in mall parking lots), we've moved most of our posting to Facebook. However, given the interest in Nacho Cheese, we've decided to bow to popular request and post the first pictures of him here.

Right now the little guy looks a little like an alien or the Panda Mii we created on our Wii.

The first thing that Ann's mother did when looking at this picture was count the toes. (Five.)

Ann couldn't see Nacho in this picture at first. Once I explained that he was looking like Alfred Hitchcock lying down with his hand on his head, she spotted him.

We'll post more pictures in May when the little guy's actually amenable to normal photography.

For your viewing pleasure

A legal way to jump the turnstile at the New York Transit Museum

This is where I have to mention that this was his second attempt.

How long does it take for shoes to dry?

We're going on three days of wet. Fingers crossed they actually dry today. Shoes were completely drenched during the Outdoor Adventure tour in the jungle of the Sierra Madre.

No. 1 reason why I don't immediately unpack

How can I disturb a sleeping cat?

How to describe Puerto Vallarta

Well first of all, we were actually in Nuevo Vallarta, which seems to be a compound of resorts.

But that whole area... HUMID. Nothing dried. It was very much like Florida.

This was a family vacation, where my mom and two of her brothers and all of their respective families converged in a very intense time-share experience. Want a free taxi ride to the hotel? Promise to go to a time-share presentation. Want free breakfast? Go to a presentation. Want a discount on activities? Go to a presentation. Craziness. Need help at the grocery store trying to figure out what hydrocortisone cream is en espanol? The clerk will show you, then launch into a presentation. (by the way, it's "hidrocortisona")

The first night we went to dinner at Laguna. Lagoonside dining. Bad idea. MOSQUITOES!!! Getting multiple bites really was not a good start to a vacation.

The next morning (after the breakfast, the kids were allowed to excuse themselves to freedom while the parents went to the presentation) we checked out the hotel's lazy river, waterslide, wave pool and regular pool. Tried to lounge by the pool, but mosquitoes showed up again. Yikes!

For lunch, we decided to check out downtown Puerto Vallarta. The taxi driver convinced us it would be way more awesome to go to Bucerias. The coastline was amazing. But you couldn't stand still for too long, because throngs of little children selling their wares would surround you. It's kind of sad to see kids spending their summer peddling and not playing. The taxi driver promised flea markets. After seeing them, I immediately thought of the episode of South Park where Kenny was dragged by a bus to Mexico and he reports that there are a lot of trinket stores that all sell the same trinkets. The place we went to eat had authentic Mexican fare and beachside dining. I never realized what fresh salsa and guacamole should actually taste like until this trip. Yum!!!!

Bucerias was so tiny. It was a little unsettling to stick out so much like a sore thumb. Although I guess anywhere in Mexico, our group would obviously look like tourists. Our taxi driver offered to take us on a tour of the "real" Mexico. We declined.

After a very uncomfortable night from day 2 of healing mosquito bites, my mom went out and bought calamine lotion. Can one overdose on that stuff? Applying it was so addicting.

Tuesday was sea lion encounter day! My sister and cousin also did the dolphin encounter. The difference? The sea lion encounter was more comical, whereas the dolphin encounter was more cute.

Wednesday was Outdoor Adventure day, offered by Vallarta Adventures. Oh man, all the activities involved were very un-Ann-like. Riding a mule, zip lining, rappelling down waterfalls, walking across hanging bridges, hiking through streams, all in the jungles of the Sierra Madre. I did what?!?! The guides were awesome. They were funny, bold, good motivators, knowledgeable, etc...

And then it was time to go home. I don't want to go into it, because Michael is currently working on a strongly worded letter to Continental.

It was really weird relinquishing control. I mean, this was the first time in a long time that I wasn't in charge of an itinerary of a trip. I hate not knowing what's going on.

Another aspect of the trip. I know all the folks were just trying to be friendly and make conversation, but it gets really annoying to be asked where you're from, and then the follow up question be no I meant where are you originally from. And after not getting the answer they are looking for, they try to guess my ethnic background. Auggghhh!!!! In case you're wondering, I answer New York, then Ohio, then after they have exhausted all the countries of Asia that they know, I put them out of their misery and say my parents are from Vietnam.

Who am I kidding? This line of questioning happens everywhere, and not just by folks in the Mexican tourism industry.

Why even in NYC, a gigundo city with people from all over the place this stuff happens. New girl at work was trying to make conversation by launching into a tirade about how she hates it when little old Chinese ladies ask her directions in Chinese. This has also happened to me, so I say I just shake my head and they move on to ask someone else. I actually don't mind this, because it's better than being asked straight up if I speak English. Just start speaking to me in whatever language, and if I don't answer it means I don't understand or I'm just choosing to ignore you. And I'm really bad at directions, so it's probably in your best interest to not ask me. Okay, back to the story. She said she knows a little bit of Chinese, but not enough to say directions. She then said to me that my parents must not have taught me enough Chinese either. I answered, they didn't, 'cause I'm not Chinese. Seriously???

Okay, a blog post about my Mexico vacation has digressed into a rant. This is my cue to sign off.

Oh, and it's pretty obvious I left the camera at home. I pack the frickin' charger, but no camera. So no pics. Boo. Maybe I will be tagged on my sister's facebook page if she deems me cool enough to upload any pics of me in her photo album. Ha!

I also forgot to set my fantasy teams. Oy. Oh well. Even fantasy managers have to go on vacation sometimes. It was definitely more fun to see the fam than to worry about my fantasy lineups. Heehee.

Trying to create an only in New York moment

(that doesn't involve poo on the subway)

We went to Governors Island, because during a run there, Michael spotted a newly opened area called Picnic Point, which had hammocks with a view of the Statue of Liberty.

New this summer, there is ferry service from Brooklyn to Governors Island. The Island used to be a military base, but now it's a park.

Sitting in the funny red chair while waiting for an unoccupied hammock.

Score!

Switching to sunglasses

Let Michael sit in the hammock too.

Awww...

Yes, we have his and hers coordinating tennis shoes.

After our photo shoot it was time to go back to catch the ferry.

Climb on some art on the way back.

There is also a miniature golf course and bike rentals. Regular bikes, tandem bikes, quadcycles... On Fridays, the bike rentals are free! We might have to go back and try that.

We spent two hours out in the sun. Farmer's tan alert!

By the ferry dock, there is a little cafe where we got a frozen lemonade. Pretty nice outing! Beats doing laundry.

The Shelter Island 10k

On Saturday, I ran the 30th Annual Shelter Island 10k. It was the very first race I signed up for after I decided to start running again back in February. I had targeted the race for a couple reasons: (1) I wanted redemption at the distance . . . I was perilously close to finishing last in the 2004 Running of the Bulls 10k in Fayetteville, NC and (2) I'd heard wonderful things about the course.

I'm pleased to report that I set a new Personal Record: 56:46, almost 15 minutes faster than that horrible 2004 time. The result was made even sweeter because less than 24 hours before the race, I had no idea how I would get there.

Shelter Island is not only an island accessible only by ferry but to reach it, you have to travel to Greenport. LIRR only sends two trains each weekend day to Greenport and both of the departures were hours before the race would end. Luckily, I happened upon the Hampton Jitney. The Jitney has a couple options for getting to the race, but only one for getting back: an 8:05 p.m. departure. So, after starting at 5:30 p.m., commuters from NYC need to (a) finish the 10k; (b) shower -- facilities are provided; (c) take a shuttle bus to the ferry; (d) take the ferry; and (e) walk the relatively short distance to the bus stop.

I had some doubts about whether it would work out for me. As soon as I finished the race, I quickly grabbed a couple snacks from the post-race recovery tent, rushed to the showers (cost $1 and located right next to the bag check; shower only, no lockers, no sinks, no toilets -- there are port-a-johns across the street), and flagged down the first bus I saw. Got back to Greenport at about 7:10. Searched the town for a place to grab a quick snack -- found a Starbucks across the street from the bay-side carousel (along the boardwalk) -- and got back to the bus stop by 7:40. A tight fit, but I made it.

With a slight delay, we made good time back to New York and I was at Grand Central around 10:45 p.m.

As best I could tell, I was one of only three people who did the same-day commute out to the race. And while the Jitney can only accomodate so many, it is a shame that more folks can't make it out to the race. It's one of the few non marathons that's treated like a big deal to the community: radio stations cover it, names are called out over the loud speakers when you finish, etc. In short, it makes you feel like you completed something impressive. And while marathons provide nicer shirts and fancier medals, I have no doubt that my Shelter Island memorabilia will be some of my most cherished running swag -- it was an all-around wonderful experience.

Paul Bunyan Statue

Saw the Paul Bunyan statue in Bangor, Maine. It is located across the street from the Hollywood Slots Hotel and Raceway. And behind it is a skate park.

That was the only stop we made in Bangor.

Great Head Trail at Acadia

During our weekend trip to Maine, we drove to Acadia National Park. I was obligated to agree to a hiking excursion. I bought new shoes for the occasion and chose a moderate trail. Great Head Trail promised evergreen forest along sea cliffs. It begins on a beach and it is a 1.4 mile loop. Perfect!

Sand Beach. Quite foggy in the morning.

Lots of trees

Michael did not wear appropriate shoes, so he had to wade across the little ravine to get to the other side of the beach.



The beginning of the trail begins with pink granite stone steps. A little freaky.

Because the trail is a loop, there is a decision to be made: turn left to the forest or turn right to the sea cliffs. I thought it would be cool to end with the sea cliffs. Into the forest we go. The forest part is fairly easy.

We get to the sea cliffs. Still foggy.

Still foggy.

Fog is starting to clear! Now we can enjoy the view!

Time to continue on the trail to get back. Trudge, trudge.

Sheer rock to climb down. Really?!? This made me really glad that we did not start this way. If I had to go up those, I would have balked and quit right then and there. The other way, I had no choice but to continue or else I would have been stranded.

The trail markers were either wooden signs, cairns, or little painted blue strips. With those lovely blue strips, I didn't have to worry about being lost and could just concentrate on getting the heck out of there! Hiking 1.4 miles is definitely more strenuous than just walking 1.4 miles.

Harvard on the Hocking

As a campus tour guide, I liked to tell parents that Ohio University was known as "Harvard on the Hocking." And not just because of the Harvard squirrels brought to Athens by its Harvard founders. And not just because we emulated the style of architecture found in Cambridge. But, because it was a great academic school wrapped up in a party school reputation. (I've since learned that Harvard's a great party school wrapped up in an academic school reputation. So we didn't have that in common.)

Nine years later, there's proof that OU really is on Harvard's level: a joint study conducted by Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School, and Ohio University determined the unfortunate, ridiculously prominent role that medical bills play in bankruptcies. Not just Harvard but Harvard's Law and Medical schools. Nice work OU.

A 5k a Month

Now that I'm running on a consistent basis (~20 miles per week), I've tried a couple 5ks. The first, back in April, was the JFK Runway Run. My unofficial time of 30:20 was disappointing -- I'd set sub-30 as my goal.




That's me behind the girl in the pink sweater. That she's walking should've been a sign that I was not moving quickly.


An 'action' shot. I believe runners call what I'm doing here "shuffling." The other guy in the picture spent the entire race taking pictures. And he finished before me.




At least I finished hard . . . I had been ~100 yards behind the guy in the yellow as we hit the final turn.

One month and 60 miles of training later, I ran the NYPD Memorial 5k in Battery Park. With 1156 finishers, it was a big race. Using my stopwatch time (because it took a minute to get to the actual starting line), I finished in a respectable 27:29 and easily surpassed both my official goal of sub-30 and my unofficial hope that I'd finish under 28.





I started out well back, even behind more walkers than I care to remember. The perk to the crowd was that I couldn't start out too fast. By the time the crowd thinned a little, I was already one mile into the race.

Unfortunately, I finished in a crowd and my finisher picture only captured my sleeve:



(That's my sleeve/shoulder on the right, behind the man in the white t-shirt.)

One of the perks to running in New York is that you get to see celebrities every so often. My first racing celebrity is Kathryn Erbe.

I spotted her while awaiting the pre-race ceremony standing within 10 feet of me. But I didn't recognize her until I saw someone go up and ask her for a picture. She seemed really friendly and approachable. And I'm a big fan of two of her movies: What About Bob? and Mighty Ducks 2. But I make it a rule not to strike up conversation with a stranger unless I've got something important to say. And the world's no worse off for my not saying, "My wife thinks your character on Law & Order: CI should get to solve things and not just ooh and aah when your partner figures it out."

Next up, the Shelter Island 10k. Allegedly, I 'could' run it in ~57 minutes. I've set my goal at sub-60. At the very least, I'd like to improve on a poor Running of the Bulls 10k in 2004 when I was so near last place that I risked being chased across the finish line by a guy in a bull costume. As of right now, Ann's planning on watching this one so I'll have to try and put on a good show.

Unwigged and Unplugged

Shearer, McKean and Guest performing "Stonehenge"

Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer singing music from This is Spinal Tap, A Mighty Wind and Waiting for Guffman.

Should I be slightly upset that they did not play "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight." Does that mean I'm not a hard-core fan???? Their final encore song was "Heavy Duty."

Feeling Like a Runner

My high school math teacher (I had several, but I really only remember the one who I constantly clashed with) was a runner and one of his favorite quotations to our track-heavy math class was something along the lines of, "I love running in the rain because I know that my competition isn't." In the many years since I first hung up my Brooks shoes, running in the rain became my litmus test for knowing whether I was a runner again. Every other year, I'd start running again and invariably the first inclement day would arrive, I'd skip my run, and that would be the end of it.

Last Friday and today, I found myself heading out into the rain to run because I had a run scheduled and didn't want to miss it. And now, two months after first lacing up my Brooks shoes, I finally feel like a runner. It's one of those accomplishments in life where you don't have a medal (or anything really to remember it by) but somehow you know it'll stick in your memory.

Update

Ann's been hounding me to post on our blog for a while; she's been keeping this blog alive. Figure today's as good a day as any to make a contribution to this site. And the only thing I'm really doing now is trying to get in shape, so thought I'd update everyone on how that's going.

Since Christmas Day, I've been using WiiFit every day -- haven't missed even one day since then. (This is much easier to do when you don't make out of town trips.) My WiiFit usage waned -- I started off doing the full Body Test (calculating BMI, weight, and WiiFit Age) and some exercises as well. Now, I just do the BMI & weight and call it a day. The WiiFit Age just didn't show a real correlation to how I felt I was performing and seemed to be largely based on luck.

Instead of doing WiiFit exercises, I've been using the Push-Up Pro, the Iron Gym, and running. I've been pleased with both my As Seen on TV purchases -- both work exactly as described. The Push-Up Pro really embarassed me; it makes pushups noticeably more difficult. And I'm just thankful that the Iron Gym hasn't damaged the door or paint in our apartment. In the past couple months, neither has been relegated to the stack of unused fitness equipment which currently consists of my exercise ball, a tennis racket, and a softball glove.

My big personal fitness accomplishment is that I've started running again. After going out way too hard on my first run (and getting the predictable shin splints in both legs requiring 2 weeks off), I've been more gradually building up my distances. Already met my first goal -- running 5k nonstop -- and now on to running a 5k in less than 30 minutes. (I've got about 4 weeks to shave 3 minutes off.)

Coupled with my new diet (no pop, limited fast food, lots of water, fruit, veggies, and enough carbs to keep me happy), I've been losing weight at a fairly decent pace, 10% of my starting weight. It's not Biggest Loser-worthy, but I'm proud of it.

And that's what I've been doing for the past three months. Not the only thing, but sometimes it feels like it.

P.S. On a completely different subject, I just discovered "Hell is for Heroes," a Steve McQueen war movie. Honestly one of the best ones I've ever seen and I'd never even heard of it before seeing it on Turner Classic Movies recently. I don't think many of our readers are fans of the genre, but if you are you must check it out.