My first day....

..of biking to work! Woohooo!! What a rush! I'm pretty sure I'm still pumped up from this morning. On Sunday, Jez took me on a dry run on my brand new 'Bianchi' bike..it's so pretty...and vicious looking all at the same time! I love it so much, I actually say hi to it in the hallway...

So the ride on Sunday was great. Jez took me on a route away from all the main streets and I actually felt quite confident. Obviously because it was Sunday, it wasn't as busy as it would be on a regular work day. I planned on riding in on Monday but the weather looked miserable so that was my excuse...then today, I woke up to a beautiful day and I really ran out of excuses so I said..oh screw it, I'm gonna do this on my own.

First I had to have the right clothes (duh). I put on a black tank top, a pair of REALLY BRIGHT GREEN Nike capris, my fabulous Nike trainers and some very sexy Gucci shades (no, I did not wear a helmet..I'm planning on ordering one...soon..). Checked out myself in the mirror and thought..wow, I look like an Asian Sporty Spice..that might not be a good thing...

Next, I packed my lunch (credit-crunch, y'all!) and packed all the 'essentials' i.e. make-up, work clothes, hair brush, perfume, and a purse...into a duffel bag, tried to 'tie' the whole thing to the rack on the bike with the stretchy bungee cord thingies...yeah..didn't work out that well. As it turned out..I have a lot of crap in the bag! So plan B...I found my old-school Jansport backpack that I've had since college...shoved everything in the bag, checked my hair is nice and shiny (shallow am I..oh please..as y'all didn't already know...) and off I went!

First 5 minutes on the bike, total thrill..wind in my hair, sun on my face, I was feeling nice and refreshed. Then pulled up behind a bus...and the exhaust from the bus let out a really loud obnoxious sound...and I was covered in black smoke...and that seemed to be the pattern for the rest of my journey.

I thought I remembered the route so I didn't bring a map...bad idea..I got really lost from one junction to another...couple of times I had to get off the bike and walked on the sidewalk just to find my bearings. At one point, I ended up on a one- way street..but I was going the wrong way...THAT WAS FRIGHTENING! And it's not like people couldn't see me and I could just discreetly duck away and pretend I knew what I was doing...remember the REALLY BRIGHT GREEN PANTS?! So yes...I can only imagine the people in their cars thinking...there's something really green ahead of us...coming towards us...uh...it's a girl..she looks like an idiot...

Oh of course that's not the end...I forgot I was in the UK and instead of riding on the left..I somehow slowly drifted to the right and probably pissed a lot of people off...and had to get off the bike and walked on the sidewalk again...

BUTTTT I made it! Nearly 40 minutes later (I should mention it took 15 minutes on Sunday when Jez was leading...) I made it safe and sound at Russell Square. I was so pumped up and hyper! It felt like someone had injected copious amount of adrenaline straight into my vein! It was awesome! So I skipped into the building, up the stairs, into the office and I've got dirt on my face, hair all out of place and I'm pretty sure I swallowed a few bugs but I DID NOT CARE! I was so hyped up I probably could've ridden another 40 minutes!

I'm not going to write about my ride home because it was just painful....my bum is sore, my legs are shaky but honestly, it was so much fun, I cannot wait to do it all again tomorrow.

Highly recommended!

2 posts in a month?? I know, I'm on a roll!

So I was talking to a friend last week and she's been telling me for years I should write down my 'stories' or just things that happen to me because they're usually quite dramatic. I thought about it but I don't, usually down to laziness and also I'm always thinking, who'd want to read this crap? But forget all that, last week when I wrote about my fabulous running debut, it was really therapeutic! Plus I had fun writing it..laughing at myself for most of it.

So I thought I'd write about this...this happened a little while ago but now when I think about it..it really was quite funny...

My work, like many other jobs, started the Bike to Work scheme. Now I'm not much of a cyclist..no, I'm not a cyclist and every weekend Jez suggests we go on these gay bike rides (he has some super duper Roll-Royces of a bike..I have a dingy bike that I got from a secondhand shop..) and it's just not appealing to me..sweating buckets while attempting to ride up Highgate hill..it's not a pleasant feeling..or image...So when I told Jez about this scheme, he said I should use this to get a really cool bike. Well, I've really run out of excuses to tell him so I thought why the heck not. Our company has a deal with Evans Cycle and I'm suppose to fill out all the paperworks, go to the shop and pick out a bike. Easy enough.

One day after work, I told Jez to meet me at the Evans Cycle in Chalk Farm. He was, of course, late as usual so I decided to browse around on my own. I walked in, first sales guy came up to me and offered assistance, this is how the conversation went:

Guy: Hi miss, can I help you?
Me: Yes, I'd like to have a bike please.
Guy: Sure, do you know what type of bike you'd like?
Me: A pretty one! (I'm serious...)
Guy: Um...right..a pretty one..would you like a road bike, a mountain bike, or a hybrid?
Me: Uh...one that rides on the road...to work..and stuff...but it has to be light because I'd be carrying it upstairs (Jez's great suggestion, not going to happen of course) and it needs to look pretty...
Guy: right..well, I don't know if this one is pretty but let me show you this....
Me: Oh..that's not very pretty...but it is light..oh oh, can I look at that baby blue Dutch bike with the basket? Its called Poppy? That's way cute!
Guy: But that's really really heavy..you're going to have problems lifting that off the ground..
Me: Oh...but..it's blue..and it's got a name...
Guy: How about this one? This is a Trek bike, a hybrid (mountain + road apparently), it's got 27 gears but you really only need about 5..it's light and pretty fast but the great thing about this is it's got Dior gears.
Me: Wow..Dior gears..that's pretty cool...I didn't know Christian Dior made bicycles...Gucci doesn't, right?
Guy: ......um...no...D-E-O-R-E gears...not Dior...
Me: Oh..OH! Um...right...of course...ha..

Then Jez walked in..and I told him what I said...he just looked at the guy and said..you see what I'm dealing with here?

I'm sure the guy thought I was an abolute idiot..and I think I really was..but c'mon, if Jez were to walk in to a Gucci store, he wouldn't know what to do either! Anyhoo, I picked out my bike, got all the info, and left. I'm not suppose to leave with the bike till I have the voucher so no bike ride home that night.

Forward to last weekend...two days after the run, I finally got my voucher and went back to the shop on Saturday with Jez, all psyched up to get my bike...my bike is not there...they don't have it in stock anywhere in London...so a different guy showed me another bike...a better and faster and meaner looking bike..and and..it's Italian! It's called Bianchi..or something..and it is..PRETTY! See pic below:



It's not this exact bike but it's very very similar. Isn't it hot?? So I thought..this is great, asked the nice salesman, Bart, 'can I put a basket on the front? Like a cute little basket?' I swear the man looked at me like I've just murdered his first child...he just said..really? It doesn't really fit...looked at Jez..Jez shrugged..said again..'you see what I'm dealing with...'. I didn't throw a tantrum or anything but I did make him try to fit a basket on it..and he couldn't...so there goes my sweet fantasy of sunday gay bike rides in my white dress, a baguette in the basket and maybe if a lost puppy if I found one on the side of the street...the alternate is a rack on the back of the bike...and he gave me these bungee stretchy cords to tie things to the rack...lame...

I actually forgot I was in pain from the run and only occurred me towards the end of the transaction that I now have to ride this damn bike home...thank God Jez was leading, it was scary!! The last stretch up Archway Road was torture...but I did it..and my poor sore bum paid for it over the weekend. This weekend, hopefully Jez will take me on a dry run to work and I can start honoring my 'Bike-to-~Work' contract...

my journey continues...

I ran 5K! That is something for me to blog about...

Yes, useless blogger I am...but this week I did something I never thought I could so I think I have earned the bragging rights to write about it online!

So I don't run...I might do a few hopping around on the treadmill but I don't run. I don't understand why people run, it's boring, it's painful and I really find the whole activity quite pointless. I enjoy exercising but things like tennis where I'm chasing something (I like chasing things...if you throw something at me, I'll probably chase it..), or even resistance training, painful but there is a purpose. Running..bleh..so 6 weeks ago, when an email was sent around the office, talking about the Great City Race, I said kudos to those who wanted to do it, I thought I'd cheer at the sideline. Then peer pressure...I mean..grown ass woman and somehow I still gave in to peer pressure! Couple of other girls in the office were doing it and for a very brief moment, I actually thought..yeah..sure..why not...how bad can it be?

So I worked out a running plan with my PT and he was kind enough to tell me everything I needed to do in 6 weeks to prep me for this thing. Did I do it? Uh..yes, the first week, I was so gun-ho about it. I did the run 1K as fast as you can then 2K and so on..felt really good about myself. Then that excitement went away the second week and back is the 'why am I running? Am I chasing something? No...there's nothing ahead of me..this is so dull..' feeling so...I gave up and kind of ignored the fact I did sign up to run this thing.

6 weeks went by really quickly...next thing you know, we were given our 'running pack' with our 'running number' and a chip to tie to your shoe so they can mark your time. I started to get really nervous...i mean..not only did I not follow up on my fabulous running plan, I've stopped exercising completely and have gained back the few kilos I've lost before..so now I'm out of shape, carrying a few more weight and I have to run 5K?? Yeah..I was basically dreading this whole event...

The Great City Race is something that takes place in London every year. When they say 'City' they mean this 3+ mile area of London's biggest financial institutions, banks, investment companies, insurance companies and whatnot. Each year, this is the only race that shuts the City and thousands of individuals from City industries like the ones mentioned above represent their companies to run this thing. Of course there is a charity behind it, it's for Seeing is Believing, a charity for blindness.

16 July 2009, at approximately 7pm, my colleagues and I arrived at the meeting ground and I must say, it was quite a sight! 4 years in London I've never seen the City shut down and it was actually really cool to witness. People were everywhere, all in their best exercise gear and all looking like professional runners! I was thinking..what the hell am I doing here?? So I hung around with my 3 others colleagues, the others we lost somehow. One of the girls decided to just follow the crowd and we somehow got stuck in the middle of the 21-27 minute runners...yeah..that is optimistic but obviously won't happen..but we stayed and the race began.

All I saw were a flood of people running past me and people on the sideline cheering..obviously not for me because I was so freaking slow! I wanted to chase my colleagues (see, the chasing factor is still around..) but they just took off so fast and also I knew this chase was not going to end for a long while so I gave up on the chasing and decided to just run at my own pace. So got my iPod on, playing some really cheesy pop music and I just went. First 2K, totally fine, I just daydreamed about recipes, cookies, Chinese food, clothes and shoes..very random..then I saw the 3K mark and thinking..WTF?? I've been running forever! Oh sheesh...okay..by then I ran out of things to think about..so I started thinking about how I've run out of things to think about! And why did I do this..and why are these people enjoying this? And how I am in so much pain...4K...oh dear mother of god...will this ever end!?! Then I saw it..the finishing line..so..with Christina Aguilera's Fighter playing loudly in my year, I just ran....and when I crossed it..I nearly died...I cannot believe I actually f**king did it!!! It was such an adrenaline rush! I was so proud of myself..I mean, I cannot believe I actually finished it..I wanted to quit so many times..but...self-motivation really does work wonders.

We all got a goodie bag which I like until I saw what were in the goodie bags:

- a bottle of low calorie Lucazade (disgusting)
- a small bottle of water (should've traded the Lucazade..)
- a bottle of eye drop (?)
- a pack of vitamins (seriously?)
- an apple (that made sense)
- one piece of Ricola drop (in case I somehow contracted sore throat during my run?)
- a small pk of Mike & Ike (is that to throw at the random bankers drinking on the sideline??)
- a medal (Duh, cuz we're all winners...)
- a t-shirt (I think it's too small for me..)
and THE MOST RANDOM THING you'd ever find in a running goodie bag.....
- A JAR OF CRANBERRY JAM!?!?! (Not sure if the organizers were expecting us to find some kind of Turkey meal like a treasure hunt or something..)

Well, I did it...after all the moaning and whining, in the end, I'm glad I did it. We got our result back Friday morning and my goal was to finish in under 35, I did it in 36.13.

I am not one bit disappointed! I have no idea if that's good or bad but I don't even care. The fact is I actually finished it and I think it's not a bad time for a first timer. This actually does prove to me that anyone can run. I'm not sure if this is something I want to pick up, unlike one of my colleague Alisa who had such a rush after the race, she is now planning for next year (WTF*&#*&). But I definitely missed being fit and working out so maybe this was the push I needed. Yay, I ran 5K!!

I really am a crap blogger...last post, Oct '08??

I can't believe some time that people read my rambling thoughts..but it's really quite comforting.

Since October of last year, so much has happened..I guess I just didn't really think I should blog it because it really wasn't all that interesting! But let's see..I went from a depressed unemployed to desire of becoming a cup cake extraordinaire to beginner pastry school student to now, marketing coordinator at an..wait for it..wait for it...Intelligence, investigation, and security firm. Unbelievably fashion unrelated and for once, I'm the best dressed in the office? Ha!

For confidentiality reason, I'm not allow to disclose the name of my company but it really isn't that impressive. I started working in beginning of November and have been there ever since...shockingly they haven't fired me yet, especially for something who obviously did not graduate from Oxford or Cambridge and I am clearly not 'corporate'..but I'd like to think of myself as a fresh breath of air.

So much has happened..Jez and I moved out of our horrible flat to a wonderful place in Highgate. We still have our cats...and we failed toilet training them miserably so we're back to regular litter box. I wish I could say the move was smooth but it was anything but...we went from homeless to living in hotels (with cats..not an easy task) to finally moving into the house. Surprised Jez and I didn't end up killing each other but some how we made it through ( I feel a song coming on....). We now live in a very nice 2-bedroom flat, beautiful kitchen. Although we don't have a garden anymore, we have hot water and heat..which 'I' think are more important and useful.

So now I'm a marketing coordinator..which is really an assistant job but I'm actually quite happy. It's very different from my usual environment but it's always nice to put yourself in challenging situation from time to time.

Life in London is good, it's not perfect but it's nice and comfy...wondering if this is where I'll be calling home.....