President's Day

The long weekend is over, and I survived it. It wasn't too bad, I must say. Now if only I can get through this busy week of work.

Yesterday, Presidents' Day, I spent in Pasadena. I hopped on the Gold Line and joined Jane in her lunchtime bike workout around the Rose Bowl. It was her first bike workout in a while, so she wasn't 100%, but we managed a couple of laps (6 miles) before calling it quits. I did another 3/4 of a lap after we parted so that I could build up some momentum to climb the hill leading out of the Rose Bowl. I then grabbed lunch at Chipotle and hung out at Peet's where I finally finished "The Road." It was a very moving novel and exceedingly bleak. I started Dave Eggers's "What is the What," but only got through the first chapter before I had to head out. It seems like it will be another harrowing but good read. I really ought to read something lighter.

I swung by Run With Us and picked up a couple pairs of running socks, a shirt, and a handful of Gu. My running gear has been getting worn out, holes everywhere, so this was a long overdue trip. Afterwards, I biked back to the Rose Bowl to meet up with Katie, Rob, Theresa, and Andy for a fun five miler at sunset. I thought I would have some time to lay out in the sun before the run but all I could manage was about five minutes before I had to get my running clothes on.

By the time we started running my legs were pretty tired from biking, but I figured I can survive five or six miles. It turned out to be a very good and rather easy run. In fact I was feeling so good towards the end that I just sped up and ran a little bit ahead of everyone. I love that feeling when running doesn't feel like such an effort, when your legs seem to move on their own accord and the rest of you is just along for the ride. At the end I wasn't even breathing heavily. The sun was setting and it made for dreamy lighting around the arroyo before it got too dark to see. Katie, Rob, Theresa and I grabbed dinner at Lucky Baldwin's where three of us had the rabbit stew. It tasted bland at first, but a little dash of salt and I was devouring the whole thing, sponging up every last bit with the bread and fries that came with it. Not surprisingly, when I finally got home I was exhausted. I had plans to cook last night but I just changed my clothes, checked my e-mail and plopped down in bed and fell right to sleep. Pasadena is a great place to ride a bike. Lots of quaint, pretty streets and not too traffic-heavy. I must have ridden 11 or 12 miles altogether and ran 5 miles.

My Favorite Weekend

Having not read the paper version of the L.A. Times in months, I'm not sure if they are still running the "My Favorite Weekend" column on Thursdays. Who knows what changes Sam Zell has wreaked on the paper. But if it still is, my weekend should qualify for it. Even more impressive is the fact that it actually happened and wasn't just an imaginary weekend from some B-level celebrity. And even more impressive than that, it was relatively affordable. No over-priced sushi for me.

Saturday started with Sameer and me riding Metro to South Pasadena and from the Mission station we rode our bikes to San Gabriel for dim sum at New Capital. It was a great morning for riding--overcast and cool--and the streets were still lightly trafficked, even notoriously gridlocked Garfield.

We arrived on time for our 10:30 dim sum date with the GLU fellas. Being rather indifferent to dim sum in general, I can happily report that I thoroughly enjoyed my meal on Saturday. I gorged myself on everything--even chicken feet. I left the table thoroughly full. Afterwards Sameer was on a mission to cap off the meal with some dan taat, which weren't able to get at New Capital. No problem. We just went downstairs to a Chinese bakery and ordered three different kinds. The Portuguese-style was the best.

By the time Sameer and I hopped back on our bikes it had started to sprinkle lightly, but not bad enough to prevent us from going to our next destination: Galco's in Highland Park.

Oh, Galco's! I've been wanting to visit for a while now, and now that I have I will definitely come back over and over again. I don't even drink soda! Since I hadn't had my daily cup of coffee yet, I bought an espresso coffee cola, which basically tasted like iced coffee with some carbonation. I also bought a root beer, a dandelion and burdock soda, cream soda, and a pear soda. They are all chilling in my refrigerator.

Post-Galco's we biked back to South Pasadena to drop by FJ's house. He finally got to meet Sameer and we talked for a bit before we cycled back to the Gold Line station.

After a quick clean up, we hopped back on Metro and headed down to Long Beach on a mission to eat Cambodian food and maybe watch a movie, time permitting. Time didn't permit for the movie, but we did have some tasty Cambodian cuisine. The restaurant we were going to check out turned out to be closed for a wedding reception. We were told there was another restaurant a couple of blocks down. Sure enough that restaurant also was hosting a wedding reception. We went inside a market and asked the proprietors if they knew of any other restaurants. They scoffed at first, but the older lady did point us to a couple of restaurants in the other direction of Anaheim Street. Just four blocks down, we settled on New Paradise.

Without going into much detail, dinner was good and we were treated to some line dancing by other diners and musical performances. Afterwards, we got some after dinner coffee at the Library. After a long day, I got back home at 11:30 in time to catch "Saturday Night Live."

Sunday was slower-paced but still fun. I got up early and went for a 10 mile run with Katie. Great weather and we made great time, finishing the run in 1hr, 34 min. I went to hang out with my family before my parents left for the Philippines this Wednesday. This entailed more eating. We love shabu shabu, which became my only meal for the day. I ate so much, that there really wasn't room for anything else.

To close out the weekend, I went to see Liz Phair perform Exile in Guyville at the Troubadour with FJ and his friend Dave. Good, solid show. Liz didn't do much with the songs, no reinvention, but it was fine. She sounded great, too, which was a relief.

So, there you go. My favorite weekend: lots of eating, a concert, running, cycling and great company. What more could a guy want?

Raul is Biking

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After much deliberation I finally bought a bike last night from Sameer's friend, Lauren. It's a cute bike, a Univega. I picked it up after work at Lauren's place in Echo Park and Sameer met me there so he can escort me to Hollywood for the GLU meeting. I think he was terrified I would get myself killed. It was only later in the evening that he revealed that he had packed medical supplies with him, gauzes, scissors, morphine. That's how much faith he had in me. Frankly, I didn't have much faith either. In the morning I made a point to find my Blue Shield card and stuff it in my wallet.

From Echo Park we took Sunset all the way to my old street, Martel. 6.2 miles according to Google. I did 10K in my first bike ride. The ride was fun and exciting. I tried to be vigilant the whole time and watch out for crazy drivers. I know there are horrible drivers out there, but to really get a sense of how bad some folks are, get on a bike and feel how dangerous it can be out there. Echo Park wasn't bad with its bike lanes, but once we got to Hollywood it got a little scarier. Actually the worst part of the ride for me was how bumpy it was. They really need to do something about those potholes.

It was exhilarating getting to our destination. I think I was just relieved to have made it in one piece. I was sweaty and thirsty, but I was alive.

We also rode back home to Koreatown and riding down 7th Street was fun. It was late at night and no cars. I need to get a frontlight, though.

Today my butt is a little sore, but I'm looking forward to getting on the bike again. Maybe next week I can start taking the bike to work.