Losing Weight is Hard

Stating the obvious, I know.
Now I'm going to state the brutally honest, in hope that it will embarrass me so much that something will have to change: I need to lose 30 pounds. I weigh more than my 5'10" male friend (I'm 5'3"). True, he's naturally very skinny, but still.
When I lived in NW Portland, I walked everywhere, and my weight was stable and reasonable. Now, I live too far to walk places, and must resort to going to the gym to get exercise. I've been going consistently once a week, but clearly, that doesn't cut it. I have a trainer (ending soon due to budgetary constraints), and I'm definitely stronger because of it, but as far as slimming down and cardiovascular health, I need to exercise more often. Now it's imperative that I make myself exercise regularly, because I won't have the weekly appointments with her anymore. I need to make an appointment with myself.

I have the pulse of a hamster. That's got to change.
My stomach looks like a kitten is living in it. That's got to change.

Bottom line: I'm wasting my remaining, fleeting youth.
I know how to eat well to feel well: lots of whole grains, fiber, fruits and vegetables, but I'm inconsistent about it. I hate wasting things, so I'm reluctant to throw out the junky stuff in my kitchen, even though they're bad for me.
So I'm aiming to go to the gym three times a week like I used to; that should improve things.
I realize that this is a boring post, but I wrote it for my benefit, not anyone else's.
OK, my moment of completely embarrassing disclosure: I weigh 157 pounds.
There, I said it.
I should weigh around 125.
Hopefully, I will be able to report back in a few weeks with a slight reduction. Progress. My hamster-like pulse calming down.
I'll let you know. For me, not for you.

Been a Long Time...

Haven't posted anything since this summer, because I got burnt out trying to make my vacation posts too detailed. But I've returned! Since my last post, I've been on two super great vacations. First, to Amsterdam, Bosnia, Croatia, and Montenegro, and recently, to New Orleans. Quite the contrast.
Anyway, I've picked out a few of the best photos from each excursion.

First, Mostar: the Old Town is beautiful and the bridge has been rebuilt since the war in the 90s. Venture into the modern portion of town, and you'll find shelled out buildings on nearly every block. In spite of that, it's a pretty, green city.

















Below this, a photo of Dubrovnik. I loved Dubrovnik. Touristy? Yes, but wonderful and relaxing all the same. Full of history and the good life. You'd never even guess that a war raged here 15 years ago.
















Now I'm on to New Orleans, where Derek and I spent a week this December. I believe it is now my second-favorite U.S. city (after Boston). It doesn't have to be the ra-ra frat boy party town. Your experience there is whatever you choose to make it. People there are friendly, relaxed, and funny, and the city is an interesting mix of gritty and grand. I want to go back.

I just realized that the last two vacations we've taken involved places recovering from disaster: Croatia and Bosnia suffered through war in the 90s, and New Orleans was partially destroyed from Hurricane Katrina. Each locale differs in attitude in the wake of these disasters, but at their individual cores, they all want the same thing: to rebuild and thrive.

Oh Yeah!

In two and a half weeks, Derek and I will embark on our next adventure: Amsterdam and the Balkans!

We start off in Amsterdam:After a transfer in Budapest, Hungary, we arrive in Sarajevo, BiH:
See the old bridge in Mostar, BiH:
Relax in Dubrovnik, Croatia:
Experience the beauty of the Dalmatian coastline in Korcula:

Wind things up in the big city of Split, Croatia:

Three Weeks With Henry

Derek and I both fell in love with the same individual. A triangle of sorts, but a happy one: a golden retriever named Henry.
I took care of my landlords' dog Henry for three weeks while they were on a Rick Steves' tour in Italy. He is the best dog in the whole world. I'm not exaggerating.
What fun we had! Dog parks, a hike and a splash in the mud at Sauvie Island, watching windsurfing and drinking beer at a dog-centric pub in Hood River, mojitos on the deck upstairs, a hike and swimming at Lost Lake, and dog parks galore. Henry even found a girlfriend at the Gabriel Park dog park: a cute, shiny black poochie named Luna.

One of his most endearing points was that he stomped his feet and raced through the house when he was excited. He memorized the distinctive sound of Derek's car, and would run to the front door to meet him before he even parked his car.
Goodnight Henry, we love you. Looking forward to our next adventure together!

I Totally Forgot About This Idea

Surprise, Surprise, having trouble finding a job. I know I am not alone in this problem. Seriously, even a volunteer position never called me back. But suddenly, while cooking asparagus a la Julia Child and simultaneously drinking martinis, I remembered that [back when I had a job] I had wanted to hit Ken Forkish up to ask for an internship at either his bakery or pizzeria. He used to be on Facebook, but now I can't find him on there, no email address, so I guess I'm going to have to do it the old-fashioned way: snail mail letter. But reflecting upon this, it seems somehow appropriate: old-world traditions for making bread, pastry, and pizza meet old-school method of communication. I mean, back in the day, Jacques Pepin's daughter used to head up the evening dinner service at the bakery. So tomorrow, when I am martini-free, I will draft the most convincing letter ever about how much I love the craft, and want to learn about it, and hopefully, this will be my entrée into the culinary world. We'll see.

Winding Down

It's the last regular week of class before the reading period, and then finals begin. Am I relieved? Yes. Am I super confident and prepared for finals? No. But that's what the reading period is for.
What am I going to do this summer?

• Take care of Henry for three weeks! I'm looking forward to having a doggie friend.
  
• Find a job? Hopefully.
• Go on vacation? Definitely. Maybe Japan, as Iceland is looking obviously unreasonable. Maybe a national park. Maybe Ecuador.
• Take a class to get ahead? I think it's probably too late to register, and frankly, I don't want to. I need a break.

Any other ideas?

Santa Cruz/San Francisco

The coast near Santa Cruz is pretty, and I had a fun trip, although it got off to a rough start due to a bit of projectile vomiting. But after that passed, it was fun. The first night, we saw a San Jose Sharks game. In NHL games, they really do spontaneously get in fights (not in college games). The next morning, I was feeling normal, and we initially toured around the Santa Cruz beach a bit.







Heading out of town, we drove along Big Sur, which is possibly the most impressive coastline I've ever seen.
The cows there are even rich, living on expensive ocean-view pastures. I think they're the ones in the "Happy Cows Make Good Cheese" commercials.















Wending our way back north, we take the "scenic" route, which was essentially a pitted dirt road that winds up, up, up a hill, across to another hill, through private property, and right before it joins up again with the highway, we see a spectacular view of Bixby Canyon Bridge (Death Cab for Cutie song, remember?)
Back on the road, we clamber through a free state park....






And finish off at an ancient mission in Carmel. Time to meet Derek's parents for Mexican seafood and margaritas. It was an excellent day.
The next morning, we take a quick tour of Capitola, a cute, little town near Santa Cruz.

These flowers were everywhere:
We end our Santa Cruz segment at the Boardwalk. Yes, I rode the roller coaster, but my eyes were closed most of the time.
On to San Francisco! Derek's parents drive us up there, and we have a really excellent Japanese lunch together, do a little shopping at a Japanese dollar store, and then tour the Asian Art Museum.

That night, Derek's parents head back down the coast, and we have dinner at a Spanish restaurant on Belden Place. This is a miniature version of the Flower Street in Istanbul, except the hostesses trying to entice you to their restaurants here are significantly less pushy than those in Istanbul.



After dinner, we meet up with some old high school friends of mine, Thierry and Choi. I haven't seen them in over 10 years!
We all eventually ended up at a weird bar called Lefty O'Doul's. Divey? Yes. Entertaining? Definitely. The couple pictured below came in, sat down, and placed their own flower arrangement in the center of their table. It was kind of weird. Our waitress never really waited on us, but rather just told us that food was self-serve, and then sat down at her own table and resumed eating.
For our last full day in San Francisco, we go to the Mission district to meet up with Derek's cousin, have lunch at a really good Salvadorean restaurant, and then streetcar-it to the Academy of Science, which has a very impressive rainforest setup, complete with birds and butterflies flitting about. Pictured below is a tree frog.
I told you there were butterflies!
The Academy of Science also houses a pretty cool aquarium with unique vantage points...




...as well as a rare albino alligator.


Traipsing though Golden Gate Park:


After a rest back at our hotel (Hotel Abri--very nice and well located), we take the cable car up to Nob Hill, peek into the Tonga Room ($5 cover charge just to go inside and order a drink? No thank you!), and hike up and down to Russian Hill, were we enjoy the imminent sunset with a couple of saké cocktails at a corner cafe.



We finished off the evening with a dinner in Chinatown, and dessert in North Beach, which I had never seen at night before, and was very lively.

Fun trip!