Marathon Life

Monday, May 25, 2009

San Diego weekend coming to a close

On Friday afternoon I drove down to San Diego since I needed to pack up and sell my bed and dresser. I also wanted to spend time with friends as I know no one in Newport Beach yet. I left Irvine at 2:45pm or so. The drive took almost 3 hours! I should have waited until 7pm, but my manager let me leave early. I should have left at noon or something. I just felt bad leaving so early during my first week.

It was a long drive but was happy to be back to San Diego and hang with friends for the weekend. On Friday night I went to Bourbon Street with Newell, Ryan and Justin. It was ok, kind of dead and many more lesbians than usual. Then on Saturday I organized stuff for a while and then went walking around Balboa Park with my friend Ryan. I am going to miss that park and all of the beautiful scenery, the flowers, greenery, etc, etc. Before I left for the walk, I posted my bed and dresser on Craigslist and within 20 min I was already getting calls so after our walk I rushed home to get rid of the bed ($45) and then later that night the dresser ($25). I should have priced them a little higher as I received at least 15 phone calls. That's the beauty of Craigslist. You can buy or get rid of something very easily. I thought it was going to be a stuggle to get rid of the bed. I was so wrong!

Yesterday I went to a BBQ with my ex-coworker Suzanne in South Park. It was great. The food was good as I really craved meat, so I got to eat some nice chicken. I also had this amazing Julian apple crumb pie and brownies! I did not run on Saturday due to my achilles (or a tendon around that area) still being sore from my Thursday night run in Newport (I did and out and back 7.2 mile run along the Pacific Coast Highway). I ran 5.3 miles yesterday (Sun) around my neighborhood here in University Heights. It was good as I did not feel too much pain and did 6:52 pace according to the Nike sensor. Oh, I need to replace the sensor soon since the battery is low (as displayed on the screen). I hope it is not $30 and I can just buy another sensor for less. Today I did not run but walked with Justin in Pacific Beach down the boardwalk. The sun finally peaked out at 3:30pm finally (typical May gray pattern in San Diego).

I still (5pm) have not packed up my car. I was able to put books in boxes and pack kitchen stuff and most of my clothes. I am coming back down next weekend to wrap it up. I still need to water plants next weekend as one of the last apartment manager duties. It was a good gig doing it as it didn't take too long to maintain the grounds, etc. I am going to miss San Diego a lot, but I am only a 90 min drive away (without traffic!).

I also found out that my friend Ivan and his ex-boyfriend Mahesh live in Irvine! Mahesh works in the same office park that I do! Thanks to Facebook I was able to find Mahesh and then I wrote Ivan, who I have not spoken to since 2006. It is great to have friends in the area. I missed them a lot.

On a random note: Mahesh took photos of me at the 2005 Long Beach Marathon (above is one). Ivan was living in Long Beach back then since he was going to UC Irvine at the time and has since graduated. Anyway, the photos were very good. He really captured the struggle and exhaustion he was going through at the finish line. I ran 3:09 that year (not the best time for me, but middle of the road). I have since run faster than that, but that year I had not trained to my utmost capacity. So I was happy to squeak in under 3:10.

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posted by Anthony at 5:22 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

The OC, I live there now


Well, I have officially moved to the OC, on Balboa Island in Newport Beach. I started my new job today in Irvine. I probably should have waited until 5/20 to start since I flew back from Houston last night at 9pm. Then I packed some things and drove to Newport at 10:20pm! I got there around 11:45 and was up until 1AM! Then I got up at 6:40AM to be at work by 8AM!. CRAZY.

It was a great 5 years in San Diego. In this economy I had to expand my search to LA and Orange County. It's ok. I will definitely thrive. I want to. For so much of my career I have not thrown myself into something. I want to do this at this new job. I don't know many people here so I can focus my energy on that and running. The company has it's shit together. It's amazing how much more efficient they are compared to my last company. It just seems like they are on the cutting edge and are much more forward thinking. They even have a Facebook page!

My hamstring is feeling better these days. I was in Italy May 8-16 so I only ran once through the streets of Venice. I ran once in Houston before heading back to CA. I ran around Balboa Island twice and took amazing photos of the sunset. I cannot believe I will be able to enjoy that sunset EVERY DAY. I caught the ferry boat going through it. So amazing. I live in paradise.

I'll be going back to San Diego this weekend to pack more things and hang out with friends. It's a bit sad to leave, but I am still within a 90-min drive.

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posted by Anthony at 5:23 PM 0 comments

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