It's weird looking back at the year. I can't believe how quickly 2010 has come and gone. A lot has changed in the last 365 days. For me, 2010 had some great highs and some horrible lows. It was a memorable, life-changing year that I will always remember. Right now, thinking back, I remember 2010 for the lows that I suffered.
It sucks that the bad times stick out so much more than the good times. I hope that someday I will be able to remember the good times better than the bad times. But, right now, I am not in that place. When I think about the last year, it is the bad things that stick out. I guess it is my thinking though and I should focus on the good, and try to learn from the bad.
For the good, I can say that 2010 changed my life in many ways. For one, I have learned that it is okay to lean on your family when needed. They have been there to support me through all the changes I have been dealing with and haven't judged me for choices that I have made. Also, I have grown closer to my family members as we have completed runs together. The first was in June when I crossed the finish line in my first half-marathon with my dad. It was a great run with my mom waiting for us at the finish line and Greg, Debbie and Trinity there to cheer us on. I also was able to cross a few things off my bucket list including skydiving.
As the new year begins, I don't want to make any new year's resolutions as they always fail, but I want to make a new year's life style change. I want to focus on working out more and eating right. When I do that, I feel better about myself. I have another half marathon in March to prepare for and know that exercise helps my moods as well. I know in order to survive another year, I need to figure out what makes me happy and do that. For now, my only goals will be to focus on my training, eat right, walk Zeus more and scrapbook my memories. That shouldn't be too hard, right? And hopefully by figuring out and doing what I love, I will be able to have a better 2011! And when I write about the year in review in another 365 days, it will be easy to think of all the good and hard to think about the bad...
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Reading List
I have said it before, and I will say it again, I read a lot! I am always looking for new books to add to my to-read list and am asking friends for recommendations. I recently was browsing through free books that amazon.com offers for my kindle. I noticed that many of the classics that I have never read are offered for free...this got me thinking. I have run across the BBC list of must read books before but never paid much attention to them, so I have decided to make that my new reading list when I need a new book. Not only will it make me well read, but they are free and they must be good if they are classics. I still want to read some newer stuff in between the classics, but it will be nice to get an appreciation for the classic books (and the next time someone sends the BBC list around facebook, I will be able to mark off that I have read them all).
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas
For an early birthday present, my mom and I spent the weekend in Las Vegas. In San Jose, we signed up to do the Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 marathon in Las Vegas on December 5, 2010. We decided to fly out on Thursday and then come home on Monday after the Sunday run. Our flight out of Seattle on Thursday morning was uneventful. Upon arriving in Las Vegas, we took a cab to our hotel, the Luxor. After checking in, we decided to get lunch and walk around a little bit.
We ended up having a Mexican lunch at Tacos & Tequila in our hotel. There, we both had our first margarita. After eating, we walked around the strip. We checked out Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, New York New York and MGM among others. For dinner we shared a pizza at the Wolfgang Puck restaurant inside the MGM. It was kind of cool as the National Rodeo Finals were also happening that weekend so there were tons of cowboys walking around.
On Friday, we decided to walk down to the Venetian for check-in. There was not a coffee pot in the room so I went downstairs to Starbucks first thing in the morning and got my mom and myself a coffee. The walk down to the Venetian and back ended up taking the better part of the day. We took our time getting there and enjoyed walking through the booths and check-in. We wondered through a few casinos down at that end of the strip and found a spot along the canals in the Venetian for lunch.
Once we made it back to the hotel, it was time to clean-up and get ready for dinner. Aunt Barbara and Earl had driven down to spend some time with us and planned a special dinner for my birthday. My mom and I took a cab to the Golden Nugget where they were staying and had a nice dinner at an Asian bistro. It was really good food. After dinner, we gambled a little and enjoyed the Fremont Street experience. It was fun being down there. We spent some time with my aunt before heading back to the hotel.
On Saturday, we headed over to the Hoover Damn and see the new bridge with my aunt and uncle. My mom and I wanted to have an easy day without much walking so we would feel good for the run on Sunday morning. The damn was fun and so was the bridge. I walked to Arizona and back! On the way home, we stopped for lunch and at a store that sold metal work before heading back to the hotel.
Sunday was the big day. We got up early and had room service breakfast before heading out to the race. It was nice staying at the Luxor as the start and finish line were next door at the Mandalay Bay. The totally shut down the strip for the event. It was neat at the beginning as all of the hotels were showing live coverage of the race on their big screen billboards. I started out doing good, but then ended up bad. It was a bummer, once I realized I wasn't going to beat my previous time, I gave up. Overall, I really enjoyed the course as it went down Las Vegas Blvd from the strip to downtown and back. It was fun running in front of all the casinos, but I am bummed I didn't get a better time. My mom also felt the same way. After the run, Bret Michaels performed and then we headed back for showers.
For lunch, we ate at Dick's Last Resort. The food was good and the atmosphere was a lot of fun as the draw for the place is the rude waiters. We eventually made our way down through the Bellagio to the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. The Bellagio was amazing! I loved their displays. After some window shopping, we made our way back to our hotel and got ready for dinner. We eventually made our way back to Fremont Street to have dinner with Barbara and Earl. This time we ate at a cafe in the Golden Nugget. My mom and I were both tired after the long day, so didn't stay out too late.
We ended up having a Mexican lunch at Tacos & Tequila in our hotel. There, we both had our first margarita. After eating, we walked around the strip. We checked out Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, New York New York and MGM among others. For dinner we shared a pizza at the Wolfgang Puck restaurant inside the MGM. It was kind of cool as the National Rodeo Finals were also happening that weekend so there were tons of cowboys walking around.
On Friday, we decided to walk down to the Venetian for check-in. There was not a coffee pot in the room so I went downstairs to Starbucks first thing in the morning and got my mom and myself a coffee. The walk down to the Venetian and back ended up taking the better part of the day. We took our time getting there and enjoyed walking through the booths and check-in. We wondered through a few casinos down at that end of the strip and found a spot along the canals in the Venetian for lunch.
Once we made it back to the hotel, it was time to clean-up and get ready for dinner. Aunt Barbara and Earl had driven down to spend some time with us and planned a special dinner for my birthday. My mom and I took a cab to the Golden Nugget where they were staying and had a nice dinner at an Asian bistro. It was really good food. After dinner, we gambled a little and enjoyed the Fremont Street experience. It was fun being down there. We spent some time with my aunt before heading back to the hotel.
On Saturday, we headed over to the Hoover Damn and see the new bridge with my aunt and uncle. My mom and I wanted to have an easy day without much walking so we would feel good for the run on Sunday morning. The damn was fun and so was the bridge. I walked to Arizona and back! On the way home, we stopped for lunch and at a store that sold metal work before heading back to the hotel.
Sunday was the big day. We got up early and had room service breakfast before heading out to the race. It was nice staying at the Luxor as the start and finish line were next door at the Mandalay Bay. The totally shut down the strip for the event. It was neat at the beginning as all of the hotels were showing live coverage of the race on their big screen billboards. I started out doing good, but then ended up bad. It was a bummer, once I realized I wasn't going to beat my previous time, I gave up. Overall, I really enjoyed the course as it went down Las Vegas Blvd from the strip to downtown and back. It was fun running in front of all the casinos, but I am bummed I didn't get a better time. My mom also felt the same way. After the run, Bret Michaels performed and then we headed back for showers.
For lunch, we ate at Dick's Last Resort. The food was good and the atmosphere was a lot of fun as the draw for the place is the rude waiters. We eventually made our way down through the Bellagio to the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. The Bellagio was amazing! I loved their displays. After some window shopping, we made our way back to our hotel and got ready for dinner. We eventually made our way back to Fremont Street to have dinner with Barbara and Earl. This time we ate at a cafe in the Golden Nugget. My mom and I were both tired after the long day, so didn't stay out too late.
Our flight left Monday morning and we had to get up early to head to the airport. It was funny there as you could see people wobbling around and knew they did the run the previous day. Our flight amazingly ended up landing early in Seattle. Andrew picked me up at the airport so my mom could head directly home. Zeus was very happy to have me home and it was nice sleeping in my own bed again. We did have a good trip and am looking forward to my next trip to Vegas which will most likely be in May for my cousin's wedding!
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