Blog-in-an-email

Maki said to try it, so I'm trying it.

Every Dollar Counts

I've recently decided that I'm going to buy a house. However, the San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most expensive places to buy in California and seems to be relatively untouched by the decline in property values throughout the nation. Even though I've heard that now is the time to buy, the amount of money in my accounts tells me otherwise. So... for the next 30 days I'm going to save every dollar possible, foregoing luxuries like Starbucks and parking in the pay lot near BART rather than down the street, a 10-minute walk from the BART station. Basically, I just want to see how much money I waste every month on things I don't need. I'm certainly not going to be able to afford a new house with my savings but... every dollar counts, right?

p.s. I saved $9 yesterday - $5 for not parking in the pay lot and $4 by going through the toll plaza as a carpooler on the way home. Yay!

Weight Training

I started weight training today after a 2-year hiatus. Basically, I stopped lifting weights when Marky moved to San Diego and could no longer hold my hand at the gym. It felt so GOOD to actually push myself again. Cycling just doesn't cause the muscle ache that makes one feel alive. I think I only remember 10-12 exercises, though. I'm hoping that Marky will make some demonstration pictures and create a nice "book" for me... :o)

Are They Serious?

Is it just me, or does the first climb of the I Care Classic Century ride look a little intimidating? Do people really enjoy pushing themselves like that?

Cinderella I Am Not

Regrettably, I caught a terrible flu a few days before my metric-century ride and, well, I am a wimp and stayed home in bed on the morning of my ride - I guess I will never find my Prince. I'm now registered for the I Care Classic on May 12 in "very scenic and especially beautiful" Morgan Hill. Yes, I care and you should too.

And now I have two...

Yes, I admit I can be a little impulsive at times. While I was running some errands yesterday, I drove by a bike shop and decided to stop and look around. I am getting ready for a metric century ride at the end of March, after all. However, not even 5 minutes of looking around and I had decided to buy a new bike. Although, it is termed a "fitness" bike, it's basically a road bike with mountain bike handle bars and more durable-looking tires. It's a very smooth ride and I was promised at least 20 minutes off my century time. I am such a sucker! So, now I have two bikes sitting in my garage, but it's raining outside and I'm too wimpy to ride in the rain...

50 Inches of Pleasure

This past weekend I bought a 50" plasma flat panel HDTV. It doesn't really matter that I only watch about 2.5 hours of cable each week and that my collection of DVDs has been gathering dust. What truly matters is that I now have 50 inches of pleasure in a width of only 6 inches. If only I could get the same from a few of my other toys... Now, where did I put that fetish video...

Sleeping Single in a King-Size Bed

This past year I bought a king-size bedroom set. Sure, my queen-size bed was sufficient, but it was just a bed - not a bedroom set - and I was offered a deal I just couldn't pass up... Doesn't matter that I didn't have a mattress for it the first month and had to sleep on the floor. What matters is that now I have a mattress and I am sleeping like a king! Well, maybe not quite like a king. I've had a lot on my mind lately and even though I can fall asleep really easily, I now wake up constantly throughout the night - every night.

When I first bought my mattress, I started out sleeping on the side closer to the door. And, well, since I sleep alone these days I decided to make full use of my bed and not sleep on just one side. This was easier said than done. Each night I go to bed and I tell myself to sleep on the other side and I just can't do it - there is something comforting about "my side" of the bed. Recently, however, I came up with a plan to using all of my bed. Since I wake up quite often each night, I decided to roll towards the other side each time I wake up. I knew that I would eventually end up on the other side and wouldn't wear out my side sooner than the rest of the bed.

Each morning I wake up closer and closer to the other side of the bed, proud of my nocturnal ability to squeeze the value out of my mattress. This morning I woke up on the floor with a knot on my forehead. Somehow I rolled out of bed and hit my head without waking myself up. I'm not sure if I should be thankful for the best night of sleep I've gotten in two months, or embarrassed that I fell out of bed for the first time in my life.

Cinderella Classic 2007

I registered today for the Cinderella Classic 2007. It's a women-only metric-century bicycle ride starting/finishing in Dublin, California. I'm completely excited and nervous at the same. I have NEVER ridden more than 25 miles in a day and I'm fairly certain I only did that once. Probably because my rear was killing me for several days afterward... I do, however, ride the cycle at the gym approximately 3 times a week and I average about 15-20 miles per hour - though I usually only ride for 45 minutes due to time contrainsts. However, I am determined to complete my first of (hopefully) many century rides. And, well, since the brochure clearly states that "Cinderella is not a race," I guess it's ok if I'm the last to cross the finish line... The ride is scheduled for March 31 - just a little more than 2 months to train! Let the training begin!

Not Quite On Demand

Ok, admittedly I have been a little lax in posting blogs lately. I guess that being in a funk is no excuse for missing a blog, or two, or twenty. My bad. Quite frankly, things have been fairly boring in the Land of Lali... Some things are better left unsaid. Don't fret, though, change is in the air! Stay tuned - there is more to come.