Stuff

I've been incredibly unfocused and scatter brained this week. On Monday, I carpooled with a group of coworkers to Palm Springs for Lab Automation 2009. I was very sore from the race so it goes without saying that standing around all day at a conference was not what I wanted to do. On top of that, I was sitting in the back of a van driven by my coworker who is the scariest driver ever. I was convinced we were either going to go flying off the side of the mountain or I was going to throw up all over everyone in the van. Thankfully neither happened but I feel emotionally scarred from the trip.

The rest of the week was uneventful. Aside from work, I've been trying not to stress about the house, but so many things keep coming up that I can't help but freak out periodically. Luckily, Ryan has been on duty to calm me down and make me realize that everything will be alright. I can't wait until its all over and we close escrow. Other than that I've just been trying to get back into a routine. I was hoping to do some short runs throughout the week but I was only able to run one mile on Thurs before my legs complained grievously. Hopefully, they'll allow me to complete a 3-4 mile run tomorrow. I've also been trying to cook more and eat more healthily. During the week, I tried my hand at pan frying noodles which was pretty successful. I sauteed some bell peppers and mushrooms with cilantro to go with the meal. Yum. Note: the eggroll came from TJ's and it looked better than it tasted.


On Friday, Ryan and I treated ourselves to a dinner at La Puerta. To our surprise they had happy hour until 7 so we were able to get several Micheladas while we waited for a table. Stuffed with burritos and tequila, we rolled home to have a relaxing night. Today we woke up at a reasonable hour and went to Home Depot to pick out a new carpet for the house. After looking through several options, we settled on an eco-friendly carpet and a pad that is biodegradable. Although it was more expensive than others, the hubby and I really think it's important to live "green" so we went with it anyway. Afterwards, we went to Henry's to pick up some groceries and then hung out at the park with Kevin and the dogs, and Kristen and baby Sophie. We also got to see our parents new place in the community next to ours and boy is it beautiful! I can't wait to cook over there, the kitchen is so nice and big. Finally, for dinner tonight I made filet mignon steaks with sauteed potatoes and romaine salad. Of course I insisted we get A1 sauce first. So good. We rounded out the meal with red wine and mango sorbet.

My Legs Hate Me

Today was the Carlsbad Half Marathon - the event I've been dreading ever since I've stopped training back in mid Dec. For three weeks while we got married, went on our honeymoon, and had vacation, I did not run or exercise, as a consequence putting on 4-5 lbs of pure guacamole and micheladas (mmm). Since coming back from vacation, I've run 6 miles tops when I should be running 8 or 10 or even have attempted a 12 before the race. Suffice it to say, I knew this race would be painful.

That being said, I still dutifully carbo loaded last night at Buon Appetito. We went with our parents and Kevin who was running the Carlsbad full marathon and ate our fill of delicious pasta and tiramisu. Stuffed beyond belief, I went to bed at 10 but tossed a bit from nerves, even waking up at 4am all amped to run (until I realized it was 4am). Finally, we woke up at 5:10am and by 5:30, I was dressed with two pieces of toast in my belly, one with honey and one with an incredibly sour strawberry jam. We picked up Sophie in Carmel Valley and Ryan dropped us off in Carlsbad around 6:15ish. As an aside, Sophie and I got incredibly lost in Carlsbad yesterday when we went to the expo to pick up our bibs and goodie bags. Thank goodness we did that trial run so race day transportation went smoother.

Freezing in our bitty shorts, Sophie and I took refuge in the large tents and hung around for thirty minutes, nervous but excited. After several Porta Potty trips, we bumped into Cindy, Dave, Juliette, Cisco, and Jim before heading to the start line. Once the gun went off and our wave made it to the start, we took off at a healthy 10min/mile start. It was hard for us to resist the urge to run out faster but we knew it was the smart thing to do so we just tried to focus on keeping an easy relaxed pace. By this time, the sun was coming out a bit and it was indeed a very pleasant day for a run. At mile 4, we ate our Gu but unfortunately Sophie's knees were starting to bother her so we ended up separating. Having lost my pacing buddy, I began to run at sporadic speeds which I recognized but irrationally ignored. It didn't help that the marathoners were running back on the opposite side of the road so I was unwisely motivated to pick up my speed. Everything was fine until I hit a couple hills at mile 6 and 8. I walked a bit on those but tried to get back to running as soon as possible. By mile 10, I was TOAST. I was about 2 minutes ahead of my goal time and somehow I thought my body would magically ignore the abuse I was putting it through and let me continue on. No no, I completely lost steam on those last three miles, my pace falling to ~10:30. I watched my wonderful lead trickle away with only mild regret as I was in too much pain to care at that point. Thankfully, at the last half mile Outkast's BOB came on the iPod (well planned by me) and I was able to push for the finish. In the end I came in at 2:09:45 according to my chip time which is 9:54min/mile pace. Just made it under my goal time :).

After the race, it was a completely zoo. Imagine about 8,000 people just milling around. It was crazy. I called Ryan and met up with our parents and Kim who came to cheer us on and Kevin who unbelievably finished the marathon in 3:26 with absolutely no training (what a sicko). Unfortunately we couldn't find Sophie so we went to Borders which was our safe meeting place in case we got separated and found her already waiting there. Tired and ready to go home, we piled in the car...and just sat there. There were cars lined up as far as the eye could see and none of us was moving an inch. After about an hour just sitting in the same spot, we decided to park and go into the mall for some grub. Ryan was anxious to still make his soccer game at 12:30 so he took every opportunity that he could to look at the window for moving cars. Luckily by the time we got Subway sandwiches, the traffic cleared up a bit so we were able to head home and Ryan still played the second half of his game. After devouring my sandwich and showering, I took a wonderful and much deserved nap.

Prom - 10 years later

Saturday night was the long awaited company holiday party. Yes, while most companies had their holiday parties, ahem, during the holidays, we broke the mold by extending the celebratory activities well into the new year (I believe this was an executive decision made by our CEO a while ago so if you want to argue this point with him then by all means, you are welcome to).

Like last year, the venue for this year's soiree was Stingaree, a club downtown. Unlike last year, I was sans husband, who was whisked away for the weekend to Sundance Film Festival (my poor company party could not compete). Quick on my feet, I decided to replace one Gordon with another (enter Kim the Sis-In-Law) and the event soon became just another girl's night out.

The week before the party, Kim B. had the brilliant idea to take a party van down. After some research, she found The Drunk Driver, a service that drives up to 11 inebriated party-goers anywhere in San Diego. On the day of, I walked over to Kim's to get ready and hang out. We thought we'd be able to pre-party (yes we're still reliving our college days) but before we knew it, it was 4:30 and everyone including party van had arrived. Armed with four bottles of champagne and a ridiculous amount of jello shots that Trish made, we boozed it up during the ride (there's really no other way to describe it) and by the time we arrived, I was well on my way to embarrassing myself in front of coworkers. Uh oh. No Ryan to supervise me! This could be disastrous...


As we waited in line to get in, we noticed several impersonators wandering in our midst. There as a Johnny Depp look-a-like that was quite impressive, a Marilyn Monroe look-a-like and a Joan River interviewing guests as they entered the club. This Joan hussy had the nerve to call us the Pussycat Dolls when we got to the front, and in my drunken state I immediately informed her that the interview was very awkward. She asked me why it was awkward, to which I responded with a dazed and unfocused look. Luckily, our friend Jon S. stepped in and said something witty or entertaining and finally she released us into the club.


Sadly I can't remember much of what happened after that, but here's what I do remember:

-Kim B. encouraging me to double fist a vodka-ladened bright blue drink.
-Trish and I wandering around on the roof, taking many pictures of...ourselves.
-Passing out jello shots that I smuggled in in my purse like I was Santa Claus.
-Professionally throwing up in the bathroom and then telling everyone about it.
-Insisting on getting subway at the end of the night and devouring a footlong.
-Wandering around downtown barefoot (ew).

The next day I woke up feeling like crap. I was unable to move from my bed for several hours. During a moment of clarity, I dragged myself downstairs to the couch to watch some DIY network and drink some water. Around 3pm, I somehow made it to the car to get some mcnuggets and fries from the local drive through. Greased out, I napped until 5:45 when I finally felt human again. That night I visited baby Geraghty (whole gang was hanging out at Kristen and Simon's) before coming back home for more sleep.

Today has been interesting. I thought I had been pretty drunk but judging from the stories I'm hearing, I wasn't NEARLY as drunk as some other people. Stories will remain private but let's just say the whole feeling of the party was that of teenagers getting wasted at prom. This is what adults are reduced to when alcohol is free. It's a sad truth that will never change. All in all, I still had a great time although I do hope no more embarrassing pics of me show up. Here's two for the road. The first is of me and Trish hugging some lady I have never met. The second is of me eating jello shots with...um my boss. God bless the holidays.

Warp Speed

Ryan and I have been moving at warp speed recently. In the past two months, not only have we gotten married, had two receptions, and gone on our honeymoon, but we've also bought a house. And of course with the house comes a whole other set of obsessions - this time in the flavor of wall paint color, curtain choices, cabinet refinishing, appliance upgrades, etc. My poor brain, I never give it a break. Luckily, Ryan (who has been out of town since Wed) was not around last night to see me feverishly reorganizing our living room furniture at 11pm. Nor did he see me photoshop a picture of our current living room with our new living (pulled from original craigslist posting) in order to see what the new hardwood floors look with our furniture. He would be so sad to know that his poor wife has lost her mind.

YAY

Pictures posted, check them out! There should be a category on the right for "Jessica's Favorites". Or just wade through all 600 of them... :). We should be receiving digital negatives when we get the album so if there are any you'd like, just contact me and let me know (prints through Pictage are ridiculously expensive).

In other news, we had our home inspection today. It went very well. The owner had recently update a lot of things like the water heater, A/C, plumbing, and electricity wires. Everything is in great shape and we even found out he's going to give us some great patio furniture and a killer outdoor grill for free. Hooray! On top of that, he's some sort of master gardener or something because he's got papaya, mango, orange, lime, chinese loquat, avocado, fig and all these other plants growing in the yard. I can't wait to stuff my face when they bear fruit.

Life is good.

Not Cool

Um, it's mid January and it's 78 degrees today. What the hell is up with that? I tried to go for my long run, aiming for 8 miles, but only lasted for 6. Ended up walking a lot and hacking up a lung from the dry wind, so my overall pace was 10:42min/mile. This does not bode well for the half marathon in TWO WEEKS EEP. Must buckle down next week and run my little heart out.

In other news, we put an offer down on a house in the same complex where we currently live (same layout as our current place) and just received news that it was accepted! AHHH we have a house?? CRAZY!! Now I guess we need to schedule inspections since our escrow opens tomorrow. SCARY!!

Decadent Lunch

For lunch I made chicken fajitas with mexican rice, dressed with salsa, sour cream, refried black beans, cheddar cheese, and a habanero sauce inspired by something we ate in Mexico (essentially habanero chili, lime juice, a little oil, cilantro, and salt). SO GOOD.

Pictage Registration

It sound like our wedding pictures will be released on Monday WHOO HOO!

If you register on the site before they are released, you will get $20 free towards ordering.

http://www.pictage.com/567462

Memories

While going through the memory box, Ryan found a new paper clipping from the MIT Tech about the MIT Tae Kwon Do Club's performance a NYC meet back in 2000 or 2001 (can't remember). Here is an excerpt.

"The women's yellow belt sparring team (Jessica Huang '03 ) also contributed to MIT's score, winning third place in their division with a cumulative record of 4-1.

Huang used her height and flexibility to her advantage, easily winning her first match with several kicks in the head."

That's right. Kicks in the head. Don't mess with me.

Aftermath: Part III - LA reception

From Mexico, we flew into LA to spend Christmas and to prepare for the LA wedding reception. During the week, Alice and I sweatshopped for several projects. The first was to wrap these cute teddy bears that my Uncle Jamie's company makes, to be used as favors. My mom asked for them to be made with our names "Ryan" and "Jessica" on the front paws, and "Gordon" and "12-14-08" (date of wedding) on the back paws. We cut up cellophane, wrapped them, and tied with gold wire ribbon.


The second project was to make TJ's truffle brownies, package them in cellophane, and top with a little confetti cut out that I had leftover from the wedding. My mom insisted that I hand these out personally to each guest as they leave the reception so we stacked them in a basket that I could carry. These turned out especially cute.


The last project was to wrap potted poinsettia plants that we got from Home Depot (half off!) and add a gold ribbon.


The reception turned out to be a hit. My mom had invited our relatives and a lot of her church friends (many of whom I had never met). Everyone was super nice and generous with big smiles on their faces. I did feel like a behemoth with my heels on, towering over the masses, but that was to be expected. Here's a pic of my mom giving a little speech before dinner. She's too cute.


And the happy couple - I was wearing jewelry that my cousin in Taiwan made for me as a wedding gift.


Here's a pic of me that looks terrible but Alice and Kara look super cute so I'm posting it...*sigh* the sacrifices I make...


And finally I wrap up the Aftermath series with pictures of a random pasta meal we made and our Christmas meal that my sis and I made - rib roast, buttermilk rolls, sauteed zucchini with veggies and feta cheese, garlic mashed potatoes, and a RIDICULOUSLY delicious double layer chocolate cake, of which I know I ate about half of it.

Randomness

I had to wrestle Ryan into letting me post this UBBER UBBER cute picture of him with Henry. I caught them one afternoon napping together on the couch, looking especially snuggly. He thinks he'll get a lot of flack for it so I'm forbidden from posting it on facebook. Men! The picture below of me is not as snuggly but still cute indeed. Henry our little baby...


Since coming back from LA, I've been keeping meals pretty simple, just trying to clean out the food we already have before buying more. A couple nights before New Years, we decided to have baked potatoes topped with butter, sour cream, green onions, and plenty of cheddar cheese (salt and tabasco to taste), served with sauteed spinach on the side. Delicious! I'd forgotten how good simple meals could be. As an aside, I finally went to yoga on Mon and ran on Tues. Unfortunately, I'm so incredibly out of shape when compared to pre-wedding shape. I could barely run 3 miles! I'm determined to run 6 tomorrow even if it means hobbling in between. Must get ready for half marathon! I still haven't posted about the LA reception or New Years but I hope to get to it asap.

Aftermath: Part II - Honeymoon

On the Tues morning after the wedding, Ryan and I flew to Cancun, Mexico. Upon arrival, we were picked up by the hotel shuttle which drove us south through Playa del Carmen to our hotel, Royal Hideaway Playacar. Although, I can't remember exactly what we did the whole time (other than eat and drink our faces off), here's my best attempt at a breakdown of the trip.

Tues: Arrived at hotel, greeted by doting staff with champagne, immediately spotted the first of many iguanas and a strange rabbit-like rodent, ordered room service, napped, woke up and had dinner at the Grill (hotel restaurant on the beach).


Wed: Woke up late, ate at the Desk (the Grill by day), laid by pool, had many pina coladas, went back to room and ordered room service, napped, woke up and had dinner at Azia (asian-themed hotel restaurant) where we shared tuna and salmon sashimi, Ryan had seafood tappanyaki, I had thai soup and thai duck curry, both drank delicious bright blue cocktail called the Tokio, ended dinner with dessert.


Thurs: Woke up early for planned outing - first stop was the ruins of Tulum (city by sea), saw iguana friends everywhere, got sunburnt walking around with tour guide. Second stop was natural aquarium park called Xel-ha, ate at delicious Mexican buffet, went snorkeling in the inlet (slightly bad idea on full stomach), saw lots of small fishes and a sting ray, walked around beautiful inlet, went inner tubing down river, ate at Mexican buffet again, went back home. Went to italian-themed hotel restaurant that night, ate ridiculous amounts of food, went back to room to watch movie.


Fri: Woke up late, went to lunch at Deck again, discovered the most delicious Michelada I've ever had, laid by pool, drank 5 more Micheladas in short span, went back to room, napped, woke up and went to dinner at asian restaurant again, this time we both had tappanyaki, took cab into Playa del Carmen downtown that night, walked up and down shops/bars on 5th Avenue, sampled tequilas at bar, went home and passed out.


Sat: Went on another planned outing to a secluded beach for snorkeling trip, took boat out to first site which was 3-6 feet deep, saw tons and tons of beautiful fish, took boat out to second site which was 4-8 feet deep, saw tons of coral which I thought was beautiful even though Ryan diagnosed them as dying, saw beautiful peaceful sea turtle (shortly after tour guide dived down to catch it and ended up abandoning us on a wild chase, never did catch poor turtle), took boat back to shore, unfortunately caught glimpse of nearby nudist resort, once onshore ate Mexican buffet (not as good as before), relaxed on beach while Ryan played beach volleyball, went home and ate at the Grill again, had delicious salads and grilled fish.


Sun: Woke up and packed, ate at Deck one last time and had 3 more Micheladas, took shuttle to airport and had panic attack because flight was delayed 4 hours. Somehow everything worked out and got to leave at original scheduled time. Made it back to the USA!

More pics to be found here