value

I've been thinking about value lately.  I've said this before, but I'll remind myself again, when a word gets stuck in your head, you better get it thought through, because it might be the universe trying to tell you something.  Or the universe that is your grey matter.

First, I think of values (political) such as whether people "value human life" or not.  I mean, who doesn't at least value their own life.  When I think of my own health, which I take for granted, I realize that many of us do not make daily choices that lead to a state of optimum health.  Others do.  A recent trip to Las Vegas cemented these opposing values in my mind as part of the fabric of American culture.

Then, I think of value (bargain, price) which we may have had at Circus Circus.  I enjoyed the theatrical escape of being geographically distant from my house, which seemed much less cluttered when we returned than when we left.  Something about staying in a dirty, crowded, noisy hotel makes you enjoy the peace and quiet of your own home when you return to it, exhausted.  I went totally WifeBOT5.0 on the house with the remaining glycogen in my system from the crystallized ginger and added some boiled turnips and barley/lentils for good measure.

Also, I think of value (of a color based on its reflectivity).  I like highly reflective colors!  Especially for biking and cycling.  Think of them as photon friendly.  High value is like canary yellow or cyan (#00FFFF). Low value is like a king's red or navy blue.  I still haven't gotten to my craft project of adding reflectors to a couple of pairs of pants and a jacket using iron-on double stick batting and fluorescent orange ribbon coated with retroreflective tape.  I have one running outfit, but I want a few things for urban night-cycling.  Wolfpack Hustle, this summer I am riding (at least once) with you.  Found my stack of blank canvases so a flock of birds I hope to paint.  I've been watching you carefully this spring my feathered friends.

Finally, I'm thinking about eVALUEations.  It's the end of the semester and naturally I am evaluating my students while they are evaluating me.  We each give each other a certain number of points, and then I give them a letter grade, they submit teaching evaluations (both electronically and on paper).  If my garden were to evaluate me, it would give me an F.  The value on the thermometer was above 100 deg F yesterday, which means it's time for the dogs to get their summer haircuts.  At the shop they ask you, what value?  Meaning how short of a razor guide to use.

Value is everywhere in my life these days, but I am in a big moment right now.  Finishing up at Claremont and heading into a summer of new experience!  Grades are due in a week.  We had our first research meeting yesterday, so it felt great to show how much progress we've made this past semester.  Publication-quality figures!!!  I feel like my neighbors are valuing (or evaluating) the educational garden in the front yard.  We have our first ripe tomatoes and cayenne peppers (thanks to this heat wave) and there are seeds forming on many of the native and cultivated plants.  These are a few of my values: plants and chemical education.

Yeah, and it's BIKE WEEK in LA.  Amgen Tour de California is happening!  You can take your bike onto any bus for free.  There are bike lanes spontaneously popping up around town this week and weekend.  I value my carbon bike, it was costly.  I value the Reve Tour and they gave me a free subscription to a magazine so I can read stories other writers write and other photographers photograph about a lifestyle I wish I had more time for.  But I guess that is what tells us about our values.  What you spend your time doing must be what you value, or as Tony Robbins would say: "You're out of alignment, and that's why you're not happy."  It's almost time to align myself with a showerhead, but at least the thoughts about value are out of my head and down here (not on paper), or should I say: up in the cloud?  Maybe later today I can align myself with my bicycle around Claremont or otherwheres.

Verdugo Mtns 10K ~ Race Report

This race was awesome, particularly the weather that day was stunning and perfect.  We had cool winds, cloudcover, sprinkles, and just as we were finishing up, it was warm again.  The steep change in altitude throughout this course has you discovering layers of wildflowers and canyons overlooking Hollywood and Los Angeles.  I think my knees are almost recovered.

The officials said we did it in 2 hours 16 minutes, which is crazy by the way, since we have not been training to do such a thing.  If we hadn't have been part of that event, which we did it one time, our time was more like 2 hours 39 minutes (on May 28, 2012), so I guess we rested a bit more when we weren't compelled by photographers and volunteers along the way to "keep going!"  There were water stations at every mile and cyclists in yellow jerseys throughout the course with MTB on standby for emergencies and to remind us to "keep to the right" as runners who had already turned around were flying down the rock face.

The fastest man, Kwin Keuter of Los Angeles, 24 years old, managed to go up and back in 40 minutes.  The fastest woman Lliana Hernandez, 25 years old, of Glendale, placed 28th overall. She was only 10 minutes behind the fastest man, finishing in about 50 minutes.  It was so fun to read about her coaching story in the Glendale News-Press and seeing her "sweep by" us a full 2 minutes ahead of the next woman Emily Farr of La Crescenta, age 29, who placed 34th overall.  As for us, or me, I was number 622 out of 653 racers, that's among the slowest 5%.  Out of 54 women who ran in my age group, I was the second-to-slowest, among the slowest 2%.  But hey, finishing is finishing and by golly we did it!

work/life balance

I've been wanting to write about this for awhile now (since Apr 2nd at least) and since I'm shooting for 10,000 pageviews, I want to get one more post in for April. So here goes, work/life balance...

I've had the [Illustration by Hallie Bateman for Pandodaily] stuck in my mind ever since I first saw it (pun intended).

woman-in-half

Then when an opportunity to speak with the filmmaker of "Lost in Living" at a screening on CMC campus, I knew I had to make time to go.  Also the event was being hosted by CMC Prof. Audrey Bilger and every single event she plans is good.  What an amazing role model.

I cried.  At the end.  I didn't want their stories to end.  I wonder if Mary Trunk felt that way, too.  I have to thank her and the artists who star in this reality-show glamazon escape film.  We see gorgeous artists in full bloom, soaring through the story while doubting themselves along the way.  It was so powerful to see friendships and generations evolve over the course of 2 hours.  Did I mention I love time-lapse photography?

Also, I got a copy of the DVD and I would be happy to have a screening.  Call me, maybe?  Our house is such a mess right now, I think dear husband is completely incapable of making progress towards helping with it. For me, I'm imagining what Henry Ford would have said: "Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs."

I'm not a mom, but I'm definitely a woman who struggles with the daily grind of balancing creative time and housework. I'm losing the battle on the home front, but potentially winning it on the outside. But maybe that's what all women feel like. When I read my cards, the image that I saw was King of Swords, an unstoppable force of nature. That's how other people see me, but I wouldn't even describe myself like that.

All the moms in the film judge themselves and their decisions, but all are creatively established to the point that they can handle rejection and even continue to work productively (and successfully) while raising children.  Nothing could have inspired me more to continue writing, even if I do not have a clear picture of my audience.  Let's continue this conversation...

CicLAvia

I can honestly say this is the most amazing event I have ever participated in.  If you don't know, there are two more chances in 2013: Sunday, June 23rd AND/OR Sunday, October 6th.  Please make plans to join us in Glendale.  We had a car-free day by taking the Metrolink into Union Station.  All together, we took alternative transportation to get to Venice Beach from our front door.  It was a cyclist's dream to cruise down closed streets, I was constantly pinching myself to be sure I hadn't fallen asleep and drempt it.

When we got out at Union Station, we were a bit disoriented, but it was somewhat easy to follow the crowd of people on bikes.  We parked (our bikes) in Olvera Street for some much-needed breakfast at Rodolfos.  We mounted up and gathered in the square with all the other cyclists.  When the church bells rang 10:00am everyone started howling and ringing their bells.  Slowly the crowd began to roll through a starting line of sorts, maybe there was a camera there.  This is Los Angeles, after all.

At every stoplight, my dear husband said "take a picture" this is a once-in-a-lifetime view, and it was!  Usually I don't let the photos speak for themselves, but I think this time it's warranted.  People along the way, and afterwards eating our recovery meal at Traxx kept asking us what we thought of the experience.  IMHO, the news organizations got it all wrong.  The way we felt about it was: by showing up and participating in this event, we are showing our support of all cyclists, no matter their level of experience and we are saying to our local government (HEY) we want more bike lanes.  The safer the streets are for people, the more people will come out and ride bikes.  The more people on bikes, the happier and healthier we will all be.

We stopped twice, both coming and going, at the mid-city hub.  The port-a-pottys were much appreciated.  The food trucks and merchandise tent as well.  And as usual, a DJ saved my life!  By dancing a little and drinking ice water, we found the strength to finish out the ride even though streets were beginning to be re-opened for autos.

I don't know why we made such an epic ride out of it, most other people did just some portion of the route.  We rocked the whole thing from end to end.  Problem was, we didn't stay at Venice Beach longer than 10 minutes and we had to turn around. Even starting at 10am sharp, we didn't get back to Union Station until 3:30pm (missing the afternoon train, and having to wait until 5:40pm for what was probably the last train of the night, but maybe not).  Anyway, KUDOS to Metrolink for getting us there and back.  On the way in, we just bearly made it in before the doors closed and they didn't complain that we didn't have our bikes strapped in to the bike zone, in fact, we were in a handicapped zone, but the bikes fit within the yellow tape and they let us stay.  On the way back, we were in a car stacked 4 bikes deep (normally they allow only 2 bikes per car) but since we were going only one stop, they let us stay on.  So SERIOUSLY THANKS to everyone who coordinated this dream-ride.  In total we traveled 53 miles round trip, including the train.  To the sea...and back.

Ceiling Tuesdays

FINALLY I did an awe-inspiring Tuesday ride.  I brushed the cobwebs off this beauty, which I am christening "The Iron Lady" in honor of our recently departed chemist-pioneering woman Margaret Thatcher (R.I.P.).

I've had this bike since I became a woman, in the biological sense.  I was reading something about how you know you are a woman, by when you hear men cat-calling you!  Well I did get one persistent cat-caller on this ride, but one in 34 miles isn't bad.  And I was wearing my tennis-ball boob bra (see VS) and this is an idea for a future blog post: I have names for all my bras that relate to their origin and our history together.  Despite the latest buzz about whether or not to wear a bra, sometimes I enjoy it.  Other times, like on the weekends, I like to go without.  Just like I enjoy a day without a car, I enjoy a day without a bra, too!

It's amazing for the first time I did lots of things. That's why I've been so exhausted! Sometimes you have to write to realize things about yourself. See also Why grad schools should require students to blog. I rode over to Pasadena City College to check it out. I also wanted to see if it would be possible to ride my bike there on a regular basis if I can get hired there.  I still also have to write about my amazing times in Marin county.  But first: the Pasadena City College ride...



Getting through Glendale isn't bad, if you are totally aware of your surroundings and hustle through streets like you are a car.  Verdugo has good bike signage, but you have to watch for shadows and parked cars.  Also there is a school zone.  Eagle Rock is always interesting.  York is colorful and smells delicious.  I'd hate to get a flat there though, the sidewalks are quite busy.  Arroyo is amazing, and I stopped at the park there twice to refill my water bottles and have a snack.  Climbing out of the canyon wasn't as bad as I imagined, but I had to get out of my saddle a few times.  Pasadena is achingly beautiful and I enjoyed the shade of its mature trees to take a phone call.

It was hard to find a way in to CalTech's campus.  Once in, I overheard guys giving each other a hard time about eating and not being "in lab."  All too familiar.  Once I crossed Hill St into PCC, the atmosphere was pretty different.  I dismounted my bike as I entered campus but rode through on "scooter mode" until I found a bicycle rack.  I thought I might find a place to sit and grade midterms, but instead I was starving so I walked over to Bittersweet Treats for some Banana and Strawberry ice cream and a "Trail Mix" cookie.  I stashed the cookie in my backpack and ate the ice cream as I walked back to my bike.

Writers have to find inspiration.  These types of rides are mind-numbing and mind-expanding at the same time.  It allows you to get the "lay of the land" both internally and externally.  Ride on!
Again: Too many labels to post: career, ceiling tuesdays, community, cycling, distance, education, fall, goals, green, love, Map My Ride, motivation, nutrition, pain, picnic, positive, riverside bicycle club, San Francisco, science, spandex, spring, vintage, weight loss, winning, winter, writing

snow white

I saw the movie Mirror Mirror with Julia Roberts (finally) on Netflix the other day.  Again the wise old woman is demonic while the innocent youthful one is the herione.  What's wrong with educating women?  Maybe it was her star power, but I was drawn in by the Queen character.  Had she ever had children of her own?  Had she ever been in love once?  How did she learn all that magic?

I told my students the other day, you can spend many years denying your own abilities, but eventually you have to own them and grow up.  No wonder women and girls are busy flipping their hair and posing about uselessly.  Disney tells us that's what girls do.  Check out the body language alone in this video.  Now I can see out my window a dog walker pausing to observe the plants in my front (educational) garden.  Lovely.

International Women's Day passed in my life, while I was clueless as to its intent and history.  One powerful image has stuck in my mind though, a girl with a pink bike.  It was in the lobby of the Athenaeum next to a big poster advertising a film called Girl Rising.  A lame photoset which is totally unrelated is here.  I have been thinking ever since about the power of educating and empowering women around the world.  And giving them bikes.  And teaching them to farm.  And teaching them chemistry.  Practical magic.

Race Report: Glendale Downtown Dash 5k

We had a GREAT time at the Downtown Dash this year.  It was funny since we didn't lay our clothes out the night before, and we assumed our phones would wake us including daylight savings time, but it turns out that it woke us at 0600 according to the pre-Daylight Savings time, so we woke up at 0700 instead.  The race was to begin at 0830.

We got dressed and hit the ATM, parked on Wilson.  We hustled over to registration, picked up our numbers and T-shirts, then headed back to the car.  After dumping our goodies and pinning on our timing plates, we headed to the starting line.  We didn't wait longer than 6 minutes of stretching with the Radio Disney dancers, and the race was off!

The amazing thing was that we ran the entire time and a fairly steady pace, stopping twice for water.  I LOVE supported events like this that bring athletes of all levels of experience together.  I love running in a massive pack and this event hosted over 1000 runners ages 1-99.  I placed 19th out of 64 females in my age division, 448th overall!

There was also a big band stationed near the old post office.  We got to hear them twice, both coming and going.  It was also a great idea to have a two-sided water stop at the turnaround somewhere around the two mile marker.  All the volunteers were cheering us through the race, which was so sweet!  And one guy was watching us while eating a huge ice cream cone just outside the Americana, that was hilarious!

Our co-finishers were a family: five kids under the age of 12 and the mom was wearing two leis, one with purple flowers and one with green.  All the kids had some element of green in their running outfits.  Even though the kids were always stopping and starting abruptly, they were cute!  To help us across the finish line, one little guy jumped out of his stroller to sprint the last 0.2 mile.  Awesome.