Race Report: LA Marathon March 20, 2011

"That was so stupid!" - me, my first words after finishing my first marathon on a windy stormy Santa Monica Sunday.

The beginning of my misery was waking up at 3:30am to prepare for the race. I had stuffed every pocket of my ultra-techy running gear with Gu's. (my squirtable food to help me run faster). Then covered all of that with my gigantic and hideous thrift store sweats and a garbage bag in hopes of staying warm and dry. (This later becomes a crock)

Mere and I catch a 4:30am shuttle to Dodger Stadium. This bus is full of equally sleepy racers, but just enough cocky loudmouths to drive me insane. These jerks found this to be the best time to brag about their past achievements.

4:50am - 7:15am We sit in Dodger Stadium in the cold and bored. At least it's dry.

OK so the race finally begins ... I shed my thrift store exterior and take off. Just in time for the storm to begin. Each mile was growing more and more uncomfortable in terms of weather. By mile 10, I was drenched and lost all feeling and function of my hands. At least, I learned how to use my mouth a lot more to tear open Gu packages and what have you. And what's that sound? Oh it's my squishy shoes because I had just run through 1/2 a mile of ankle deep water! Miles and miles of complete sogginess and wind chill. Everyone talks about mile 20 being the scorcher. No -- it's mile 26. As you turn onto what is called the home stretch, you get struck by a huge gust of wind coming from the ocean. Thanks, God, you got me there!

Finish time: 4 hours and 42 minutes. 12 minutes passed my time goal. Oh well. I was more concerned about pooping my shorts, which did not happen.

So as a completely depleted runner, you're happy you cross the finish line. But wait, you have to walk almost 2 huge blocks through picture taking and medal distribution and swag. This is useless to me because I still can't use my hands. Thank god they gave me this strange paper blanket to keep me "warm".

Overall, I'm in disbelief that I paid $150 to put myself through almost 5 hours of torture. Mentally and physically. Physically was the pain in my legs. The feeling that my legs weight 500 tons and my joints are aching. In terms of cardio, I was fine. Just leg pain. Plenty of "Shut up, Legs" leg pain! Mental torture-  I honestly knew that I would not be happy with myself if I walked at all. But when you're cold and tired and wet and in pain, it seems so easy to do. So I had to fight that urge.

 I was hoping for that end feeling of accomplishment, but when that blind guy and 470 others passed me in the last 4.5 miles, that went down the toilet, and thankfully not down my shorts (RIMSHOT!)

To summarize:

So, what was my favorite mile? 26th

Least favorite? 26th

Overall thoughts - Horrible. Thank god I didn't poop my shorts.

Favorite running gear - Lululemon all the way!

Do I recommend this to others? Yes. It's a great way to test what your limits are.

Will I do it again? Maybe. Probably not.

Currently: Cannot walk. Can hobble.

PS.

My marathon playlist was crucial through all of this. I highly recommend putting all of those songs that instantly make you want to hit something.

Here's an part of my playlist (as it's difficult to find suggested marathon music sometimes)

The Time - Jungle Love
Rolling Stones - Start Me Up
Supergrass - Moving
.38 Special - Caught Up In You
TV On The Radio - Wolf Like Me
LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out
Cee Lo - F*ck You
Amy Winehouse/Mark Ronson - Valerie
Eurythmics - Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves
Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
MoneyGrabber - Fitz and the Tantrums
Motownphilly - Boyz II Men
Move On Up - Curtis Mayfield
Heartbeats - The Knife
California Gurls - Katy Perry
Justin Timberlake - Damn Girl
NERD - She wants to Move
Power Station - Some Like It Hot (still worked)
Miss You Much - Janet Jackson
Hip to Be Square - Huey Lewis and the News
The Negatives - Hood
Empire State of Mind - Jay Z
The Humpty Dance - Digital Underground
One More Time - Daft Punk
9 to 5 - Dolly Parton
Single Ladies - Beyonce

etc...

It's easy. Accessible. Mind numbing and perfect for HORRIFIC situations.

Coachella and my constant denial of hipsterdom. Real talk.

Coachella, Southern California's most crowded desert music festival, has just announced their 2011 line-up.  My reaction- I know where I will not be in April.

I love music. I listen to everything. I play instruments and have friends that play instruments. But why not Coachella? I appreciate that Coachella shares the work of hard working musicians to people who haven't heard their music. I appreciate this inspired outfits on the sexy music lovers. I applaud the kids who camp out or have all night parties at fabulous desert vacation homes. But I just don't feel comfortable there anymore. 

Beyond the fact that I can probably only recognize a handful of bands and this reminds me how out of touch I am with new music and thus igniting flashbacks of high school ignorance of then cool bands. A feeling I hope no one else feels. In addition to the 100 degree heat,  100 yard long portopotty lines in that heat, $5 waters, crowds and  I dread the fact that going to Coachella may just stir up my inner-ugly-superficial-LA-wannabe-model that wants to blend in with the other desert minxes who had just ransacked Urban Outfitters and Opening Ceremony. I just can't bear the shame, but that's not it.

I think I've  lost that romance for the music festival. That feeling of inadvertent coolness that comes when you see a band that you have respect for, that thought "o man I look like hot shit in these jeans/sunglasses right now", having respect for people who also like the band you have respect for, the whole excitement of how your pictures will look on Facebook when you get home, or hell the idea that you could be there and someone else couldn't (despite the thousands of people that can go). I lost it. Or maybe I just realized it's bullshit.

I'm older, an asshole and my sense of adventure is not picture worthy enough for a hipster.

But these are my well wishes: that people go to Coachella for the love of music and befriend people on a less superficial level. That those music geeks who are truly passionate about music become king and that they get to make out with models, or at least, wannabe models.

A Filipino Food Truck - The Manila Machine

The Manila Machine was nearby the other day and I couldn't be happier. Since I've moved to LA, I've always had to hunt for some good Filipino food. And what better than for it to visit me?! Like Filipino soul food, it reminds you of your family, which we Bay Area transplants need from time to time.

So I was happy to do some research that not only do they have some Filipino classics like adobo, lumpia, and leche flan, but they have some interesting Fil-Am things like pan de sal french toast, ube cupcakes or what I'm most intrigued by- the chicken adobo slider. It's a pan de sal roll with caramalized onions and chicken adobo. What?!

Look for them in the metropolitan LA area. You might also find me. Gorging.

roller hobos

I'm happy to observe the growing amount of homeless people wearing rollerskates in the metropolitan los angeles area.

Friday night with the Midnight Ridazz

After work I rushed over to downtown. I was so disappointed that I had to miss LA's Korean "taco" the town (that's right I went there!), the Kogi BBQ truck but was just in time to meet up with the gang for the "No Name" ride. We were handed spoke cards and a piece of paper with a list of turns. Then off we went pedaling through the streets of East LA. Dogs barking through chainlink fences, but nothing more really. The streets were calm with exception of our group of 60 or so riders shouting and laughing.

We came across some hills and anxiously watched as the brakeless bikes skidded down hills just precisely enough to near miss a run-in with oncoming cars. Our happy group (Eva, Lorenzo, Meespace and Jason) had such a fun time that we had unknowingly gone all the way to Commerce Casino, which is about 10 miles south of Los Angeles.

Upon our return to Los Angeles, Jason and Lorenzo and I craved some lower items in the food chain- Del Taco. At 3:30am, we went to USC where sat at ate surrounded by numerous drunken frat kids on their way home from Mardi Gras night. We had never felt so proud to be from UC Santa Cruz.

The Oscars from 2 blocks away

For Tinseltown, the Academy Awards are a huge event. We're the ones that keep tabs on which movies will win and have pretty on-the-mark predictions for the Oscars' outcomes, yet we STILL sit and watch and get so emotionally involved. (I mean, really, everyone KNEW Slumdog was going to win even if you didn't think it was worthy)

I live within 2 blocks of all this hoopla. My street was congested with locals who have lost their way among the newly posted detours. Helicopters all night! But while watching the broadcast, I couldn't believe how glamorous they made the Kodak theater seem. They hid the Sanrio store and unknown clothing shops so well that no one could tell that it was the most hideous building in Los Angeles .

But all in all I think it's great that our entire Hollywood community gets together annually to celebrate the year's achievements. It's an amazing event and collection of workers/artists whose purpose in life is to make something larger than life. Forget about their clothing and their gossip (like how awkward was it for Jennifer Aniston to present while Brangelina sat in the front row with their Best Actor/Actress nominations?), because all that dazzle will all be returned to normal anyway.

Congrats to everyone who won!

Exciting news: Woolly Mammoth Bones Found at La Brea Tarpits

Right next door to my office building, a complete woolly mammoth skeleton was found along with a large collection of well preserved fossils. The impact on the paleontology world is huge, but the immediate impact is that a lot of people will be crowding my regular lunch place at the museum. Will have to scout for other food. Darn. Anyway, I think it's great that some good came out of the La Brea Tar Pits...

And your fantastic narrator, Ryan Ebelt

Ryan's been a dear friend of mine here in Los Angeles. A modern day renaissance man who has become one of my wisest advisors. He is not only a talented writer but also a gifted painter. His gift storytelling is evident in both.

He has been writing a novel via his blog, Friends of Junior . Check it out!

For more of Ryan's wonderful work, check out his website

From FailBlog.com - Diva Gina

Sadly, only in Los Angeles...

Golden Globes 2009

30 Rock's Tracy Morgan Acceptance Speech

Congratulations to the casts and crews of 30 Rock and Slumdog Millionaire for their sweeping and deserving wins of the Golden Globes.

To the Screen Actors Guild,

Thank you for postponing your strike vote so that the Golden Globes could happen. Too bad your strike could possibly devastate this entire city over the non-potential that the internet will overtake television as our primary brainwasher within the next 3 years. Please vote wisely and take into consideration that the families of your crews may go through harsher times during your strike. And by the way you have taken up way too many parking spots in our building!

The Birthday Boys

Mike, Jeff and Chris work with me and are 3/5 of the sketch comedy group,the Birthday Boys. So last night, I went to the Upright Citizens Brigade theater to see what people were talking about. And guess what? They were actually funny.

An interesting fact about the Birthday Boys is that they all live together in one big sized house of brainstorm. This is evident in their sketches through their themes of insecurity, groupthink, and absurdity. Most importantly it shows that they like what they're doing and in result, we like them and their work too.

See them every 1st Wednesday of the month at the UCB Theater in Hollywood. Or here: The Birthday Boys

New Hobby: Skateboarding

Venice's compact geography makes getting around fairly easy. Just enough for me to become curious about other convenient modes of transportation: like walking, biking and now, a skateboard.

Mike was inspired to skate again. So he put me on one of his old trick boards and oh dear, was that a horrid sight. Since I hadn't ridden a skateboard for almost 2 years, I needed some time to re-learn how to ride. It took nearly 35 mins for me to go to the bank only 2 blocks away. Thank you, lack of coordination and fear of falling. While I trailed behind, Mike was up ahead hearing my girlish screams as I made my way.

With the trick board not being so successful, he got me the board above. Something small and user-friendly. Just for going places. Lorenzo got a mini longboard one! The three of us skated on our new boards in a parking lot until it was already dark out. I managed to be the only one who took a spill, but that was predictable to anyone who knows me. Looks like we have a new obsession.

Bridal Battery : Monique Lhuillier Sample Sale

Carb up and get a good night's rest. It's time for the Monique Lhuillier Sample Sale! My last memory of this sale is dodging concussions among flying silk dresses and nearly nude brides to be. Exciting times! But my boss did score a deal on a lovely gown that made for those elegant and fashion-like wedding photos...

Monique Lhuillier Sample Sale
Sunday 10a-5p
1201 S. Grand Ave, 2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA
323 655 1088

Los Angeles and Richard Wagner

So the LA Opera Director, Placido Domingo (who knew?!) just announced that there will be a 10 week art festival celebrating The Ring by Richard Wagner. The big guys in charge want to put us through a 10-week cultural bootcamp so we can become a "cultural mecca." Exciting.

Ridge Residence, Brentwood, CA

Cool house near Mandeville Canyon featured on the LA Architecture Tour. Designed by Nicholas Budd Dutton

From Curbed LA

My New Pattern of Bohemia

Like many others, my career has been effected by the weakened economy. Weeks have passed without paychecks and I've been left to devise other ways to sponsor my Cap'n Crunch addiction. This entry contains no sadness because my needs and wants have evolved into a minimum.

One new venture is freelance writing. A certain publication, whose validity I still question, approached me and asked if I could write a 500 word article for the entertainment section. "Sure" I respond. My skepticism is muted as a direct result of my hunger. For a writing career or for food? At this stage in my development, the definitions have blurred. The deadline was met on account of having nothing to lose.

Another has been painting. Eva, one of my biggest art cheerleaders, told me about the Gallery at the End of the World. She had a flyer that encouraged emerging artists (that's me!) to display art and hang out with the local art hippies alike. The gallery was a garden space that was decorated with rusty knicknacks and a disco ball. Vines shaded the bar and stage for inspired performers. This is how my Sunday afternoon was spent: Hung up some art. Had drinks with my stylish friends (who looked like fishes out of water) with slimly populated Altadena as the backdrop. Guess what? I even sold some stuff!

Eva asked me, "Aren't you glad that you're not working?" My immediate answer was "no, I hate it." This is evident in the fact that I spend near eight hours a day choosing the sexiest Helvetica resume font and politely e-mailing studios without even a piano break. But at least after the last few weeks, I can define "work" not only by my production jobs, but also by the things I love to do.

People in Hollywood read?

They most certainly do! Here is my neighborhood Los Angeles Library branch (designed by Frank Gehry). Surely there are probably more homeless drug addicts outside this branch than say your neighborhood library, but at least they're reading books. Eva and I decided today was the day to take advantage of this great resource and get ourselves some library cards. Proudly I will walk to my modern library, greet my hobo friends, and check out books for absolutely no money at all.

Hollywood Weirdness: Mysterious Building Art

This camera viewframe has been placed on several buildings in Hollywood. I get the idea. Hollywood's constantly in front of a camera, but really these look like targets for large weapons. It's disturbing. As Nathan would critique, "FAIL!"

Hollywood Wilderness: Runyan Canyon

Mike was surprised that I wasn't leaving my apartment until the sun went down. My "art/write" hat just doesn't really tell me to go outside. Feeling slightly offended, I decided to prove him wrong and take advantage of Los Angeles' most valuable asset: sunshine.

I forced myself to get up earlier than my biological clock enjoys, nearly making me a stunt writer. I took a small walk/hike to Runyan Canyon. It is about half a mile from my apartment and there were plenty of beautiful locals with white headphones walking along with me.

Once you enter the gates, you've stepped outside of Hollywood and into a national park. The silence and shade bring a little serenity into my traffic stricken tourist trap neighborhood. There's a grassy knoll where some people meditate, plenty of happy dogs, and miles of trail to take on. In just 30 minutes, I'd reached one of the peaks. (where the picture above was taken)There I sat and admired the smoggy view. Reminded me why all the movie stars and affluent Angelenos tuck away into the Hollywood Hills: they're wonderful!

I walked home happily and somewhat victorious.

Seen at Selma Ave and Vine St.

Don't know what it's there for, but I really enjoyed walking by it.