Got down to Town Lake a little earlier this morning to beat out the ACL traffic. Not a bad day for the 7 mile loop, mostly because I managed to stay vertical the whole way.
Speaking of ACL, I'm not going to the festival this year. However, Mollie had tickets to last night's Austin City Limits Live taping of The Head and the Heart - and was nice enough to invite me along:
The show was great - and it was my first time in the new ACL Live space at the W:
Afterward, we had dinner at Trace, and then went for a walk around downtown to do some people-watching. It was a good night for hipsters and tall heels (not together - usually).
I got to Town Lake about 11:00 this morning (after my my mom and sister left for Houston - they had spent the night with me). I was going counter-clockwise around the 7 mile loop and having a decent run despite the dust storms. As I was crossing the wooden bridge along the trail below 1st Street, I tripped over one of the railroad timbers that make up the bridge. I started stumbling forward, so I sped up to try to regain my balance. Well, that was a mistake - all that did was propel me onto the ground faster and harder (note to self, as the angle of your body approaches 45 degrees, speeding up will not help right yourself up). Luckily, I landed on my shoulder, banged my cheekbone, then slid a few feet on my back. I laid there for a couple of minutes, looked around to see if anyone was nearby, dusted myself off, and walked the mile or so back to my car in shame:
The reason I was running at all was because I'm feeling blah from having eaten so much these past couple of days. Jill's 40th birthday was Saturday, and while we tried to stay up until midnight Friday night to celebrate, she fell asleep around 11:30. However, that gave me just enough time to hang some decorations and light a birthday cupcake before waking her up:
Her birthday presents seemed like naturals for me. A painting of Jill was featured on the July cover of Poets / Artists magazine. She didn't have a copy, so I got her one and put it inside a Mead Trapper Keeper (a modern version of what she wanted in high school):
I was surprised she didn't know what happened to the original cover art. So I contacted the publisher of the magazine, who put me in touch with the artist, who in turn sold the painting to me:
Morning came and we kicked off the day by going to the Monkey Nest for Caffè Americanos and vegan donuts:
The plan for Jill's birthday celebration was divided into two parts: roller skating in the afternoon, and a party at my house in the evening. This is her skating outfit (the obligatory tube socks were added later at the rink):
Skating was at the Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex in East Austin. I thought about joining her on the rink, but after putting on the skates, I realized that would be a big mistake. I felt like I was wearing really slippery, really tall platform shoes. Not to take anything away from Elton John, 3 out of the 4 members of Kiss (the drummer doesn't count), or any of a number of strippers working their way through business school on any given night, but the adage about "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" is true. Anyway, everyone else had a good time:
For the party at my house, I didn't really have time to prepare food for 20-30 people, so I got Zocalo to cater for me. Jill, however, picked out the cake - it's a vegan Dreamsicle creation from Sugar Mama's Bake Shop in South Austin:
I think everyone had a good time. Especially Jill:
Thanks for coming Eric, Gaby, Diego, Alison, and Mollie - it was nice to integrate some of my friends in with Jill's. And a belated happy birthday to you, Alison!
Had a nice 3 hour dinner with my dentist last night (at La Sombra, then dessert at Apothecary). Hard to believe I have 3 hours of teeth talk in me. Must be a trend. Last week we had a 3 and a half hour dinner at Cafe Josie. Anyway, I ran the 7 mile loop around Town Lake this morning with the banjo-backed Mumford & Sons (2 songs on repeat - The Cave and Little Lion Man). Another humid morning in Austin.
After showering, I stopped by P.Terry's for a burger and shake. I've dropped another 2 lbs recently, so I've decided I should just eat and drink as much crap as I can to gain some weight back. An added benefit of losing all this weight is I can wear my clothes from 20 years ago. So I walk into P.Terry's wearing my 1992 Lollapalooza shirt (size Large, which is like an XS these days), and all these college students stare at me. I thought maybe I had bedhead or something, but then I realized that these kids were probably born after 1992 and just shocked to see a shirt older than them.
I had a nice 3.5 mile run around the neighborhood tonight (with a soundtrack by Johnny Cash). There's something poetic (or cliche depending on your level of cynicism) about listening to Ring of Fire while running laps to a setting sun.
Speaking of cynicism, for those of you who argue that I never buy anything healthy from Costco, may I present my dinner for this evening:
It's my version of Croque-monsier, made from a rosemary-olive loaf, roast chicken, and Dubliner Irish cheese - all sourced from Costco. Unlike the French version, I toasted mine instead of frying the concoction in oil. The squash, btw, was a gift from Betsy.
And now, an open letter to Dustin: It looks like I won't be joining you on your cross-country tour. I wish I could, but I just don't have my act together. Reading your blog, however, it seems you have a good crew of riders already accompanying you. I feel rather aquamarine (sad and envious) about it. I'm sure you'll have a great rest of the trip and many cool stories to tell when you get back (and maybe a picture or two).
The following is for my brother-in-law, Joe. Happy Birthday!
Ron was in town this past weekend looking for romance. Well, maybe he was just hoping for a little rest and relaxation (the other "R" words). However, given the pace of his 24 hour visit, maybe he should have just settled for rapture.
We started off Saturday evening with an appearance at the Bell school house post-rapture/housewarming party. After a couple of beers, we headed to Sao Paulo's for some Brazilian food and caipirinhas.
Lulled into false comfort, Ron talked me into a final beer at the Broken Spoke. Citing a $12 need to dance, he even paid for my cover to get in.
Once inside, we stood around like a couple of wall flowers - it reminded me of junior high dances I suffered through (should I ask her to dance? what if she says no? how will I live with the shame? what if she has cooties?). Despite much prodding, Ron still refused to ask anyone to the dance floor. Sensing our reluctance, a woman finally approached us and asked if we were there to just stand around or were we there to dance. I confirmed the later and shoved Ron towards the inquisitor (she introduced herself as Marti). Needless to say, once Ron started two-stepping, he couldn't be stopped. In the end, he danced several dances with several women, and I even managed half a dance - Marti tried to teach me the standard quick-quick-slow-slow with limited success. Counting to four wasn't difficult, but keeping rhythm proved a little more challenging.
The next morning, Ron and I met Betsy at Town Lake for a quick 7 mile loop together. Afterward, we met Ron's nephew at Trudy's for brunch, then Ron ran off to Z-Tejas to meet a date for lunch (yes, he has dated every single woman in Houston and is now focused on Austin). He said the date went well - but I'm not sure how he's suppose to sustain a relationship with a woman who lives 150 miles away. I have a hard time dating women 15 miles away. I guess he's a romantic, and I'm just lazy.
Ok, maybe I'm a little romantic. Here I am helping Betsy make almond cookies yesterday (and by "make", I really mean "eat").
Have a touch of insomnia, so I thought I'd update my blog.
Belinda flew in from San Jose a week ago Thursday. She brought some See's chocolates and mochi from my favorite mochi shop. Yes, we finished off the box by the time she left:
She also made a quilt for me, which was way cool:
We spent much of the time she was here eating. A little late night Hey Cupcake action:
And a post Marathon dinner Sunday at Parkside:
Speaking of marathon, the one this past Sunday set a bunch of PRs for me. A personal record for the slowest marathon I've ever run (5:19, 50 minutes slower than my 2009 time). A record for the number of times I had to stop to pee (7 times before mile 21). And a record for feeling the best after a long run (I was able to walk down stairs the following day). Race day was hot and humid, so fearing I would cramp up, I drank a lot of liquids. In hindsight, it was way too much liquids. After stopping for potty breaks at miles 1 and 3, I pretty much knew I had broken the seal. Good news is, I didn't cramp up. I was a little stiff-legged at the end, but no cramping. Yay! (small fist pump)
Here I am coming down the finishing stretch:
And crossing the finish line:
In bike related news, the North American Handmade Bicycle Show comes to town this weekend. Dustin and I went to the kick-off party at Mellow Johnny's and watched a couple of short movies (one on Dario P. and the other on the Rapha continental ride). Free beer, cool bikes - a good time was had by all. I was happy to see that MJ's is an Alchemy bike dealer now. And - this must be a blow to Crumpton - they're also carrying Parlee. The Parlee folks were at the party Thursday and showed off a number of nice rides, including this AC/DC inspired one:
I'm waiting for Belinda's flight to get in from San Jose, so I thought I'd do a quick update. The last week or so in reverse...
Ron came into town last Saturday night. We had dinner at Sao Paulo - where Ron discovered that caipirinhas can be just as tasty as margaritas. Sunday morning we hit the trails at Town Lake, did the 4.7 mile loop, and then met Pete and Pablo for brunch at the Hyde Park Grill.
Speaking of Sunday, this Sunday is the Austin Marathon. As usual, I've been training like crazy. I peaked with a 14 mile run last Saturday (followed by a burger and fries at Sandy's):
I thought I had a big mouth, but here's a shot of my squirrel hoarding nuts this week. Someone should tell him that winter is over:
Then again, the squirrel isn't the only one stuffing his face. My mom sent me back to Austin recently with leftovers from our Chinese New Year meals. I'm not sure what these are called in English, but trust me, they're good. Rice stuffed with meat and mushrooms:
This is what radish cakes look like before they're sliced and heated:
And after a little pan frying:
Btw, Belinda warned me that she was bringing See's chocolates with her from California. Yum.
I've been a big Liz Phair fan ever since her "Exile in Guyville" album. Based on that Rolling Stones connection, the New York Times tasked her recently with reviewing Keith Richard's autobiography, "Life." I haven't read commoner Keith's tome - because I'm still struggling through "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," but I understand it's gripping. She also penned a Wall Street Journal editorial on 90's nostalgia that I found interesting.
Anyway - Ms. Phair has a new CD out and has been touring the West Coast. I haven't heard the new disc yet, but initial reviews were mixed. Here's a song by song explanation of each track by Ms. Phair. I wish I could explain what she's doing with her hand in the picture below:
On the West Coast and soon to be touring the Third Coast is my friend Belinda. She called me this afternoon to ask about visiting Austin next month. She was hoping I'd be less stressed with my new job and reminded me that the last few times I visited her in Calif I was not a lot of fun. I would have to agree.
One time, we went to a fancy wedding together at a very nice vineyard, and I spent most of the reception in a corner editing the book my dad and I were writing.
Another time, we drove up to NorCal for the weekend, but I had to take conference calls with a very upset client in Canada for most of the drive up.
Anyway, I convinced her that I was indeed less stressed now, and I assured her that my new boss would not be calling me up at 3:AM because there was a problem processing the New York Times or WSJ feeds.
There is, however, a small problem. She's coming the weekend of the Austin Marathon. And I really can't image asking her to wait for hours while I run a marathon, so I've decided to just do the half instead. And in that case, I'm already trained. It feels so good.
More food pictures - because eating is what I've been doing this holiday season...
Had a nice New Year's eve dinner with Alison, Emily Sue and Dustin at Fion Bistro.
We started out with some black eyed peas and cabbage for good luck and good fortune:
For my main course, I had a rack of lamb with purple and white potatoes. I like the look of the purple potatoes. Oh, and a couple of snakebites. The snakebites made running this morning particularly difficult:
I made bold claims last night that I was going to run the 7 mile loop twice this morning. Yeah, that's the problem with running a loop multiple times - it's way too easy to stop after the first lap. Which is what I did today. It was probably for the best. I did what I needed to do to sweat out the toxins and didn't injure myself - a good way to start off 2011.
