We cooked our first Paella tonight… Yummy.
Yummy Paella
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Author Archives: David
U.S. Citizen
I became U.S. citizen today.
After living in California for the last 10 years (not counting the close to 1 year total time I actually spent outside of the US during that time frame), it seemed normal to me to apply for citizenship. I did that 4 months ago and the process went very smoothly ending by the Oath ceremony today in Saratoga.
For those interested in dates:
- 07/07/1999: Entered the USA on a J1 visa
- 07/2000: Transferred to an H1B visa
- 06/2003: Received letter I had been selected to apply for a green card through the diversity visa lottery.
- 07/2003: Second H1B visa
- 06/14/2004: Green card application accepted (I had a very high number so it took a while for it to become eligible. In a better (or worst depending how you look at it) year, I might never have become eligible)
- 04/15/2009: Applied for naturalization
- 06/06/2009: Fingerprinting
- 07/29/2009: Interview and questions
- 08/20/2009: U.S. Citizen
San Francisco Half Marathon – Take 2
The San Francisco Half Marathon 2007 was my first half marathon ever. I had been training pretty well but I was not ready for the distance and the treacherous hills of San Francisco. By the end of the race, I was completely dead and cold (the mist over the bridge had not helped). Still, this first race gave me enough desire to go on with my running and I guess it will still hold some special place in my heart.
I did not run last year because I was in France. I was not to miss it this year. First, it was fitting well in my schedule and it was a great way to see how much I have improved in 2 years.
I woke up early and drove to San Francisco, found a parking spot very easily 1 block away from the starting line and got myself ready. The race is very well organized and running over the Golden Gate Bridge is always something special. My friend Luc woke up early and managed to get station himself in the middle of the bridge and took some beautiful pictures of the race (including the 2 pictures in this post).
My race went well. It felt very different than 2 years ago. The hills did not seem as bad and I felt strong throughout. I am definitely a stronger, better and faster runner: 10 minutes faster to be exact :).
Now, I really want to run the full marathon… maybe next year?!
My backyard
The closest park to home is Shoreline park in Mountain View. I run there most of the time via the Stevens Creek trail that is 1 mile away from home. I usually reach the center of the park on my long runs (over 10 miles round trip).
Right now, I find the park particularly beautiful with its trees in bloom and the multicolored marshland grass. Alicia and I went there for a walk today and I took some pictures.
I thought I would share:
Cafe Gratitude
Friday night, we found our way (by luck) to a restaurant I had been wanting to try since some friends had mentioned it: Cafe Gratitude.
We visited their Healdsburg location on our way North to the Redwood National Parks that we visited over Memorial day weekend.
Cafe Gratitude is the kind of restaurant chain that gets traction easily in Northern California because it is healthy, somewhat alternative, and has an attitude. They serve mostly raw and live food.
In their own words:
Cafe Gratitude is our expression of a world of plenty. Our food and people are a celebration of our aliveness. We select the finest organic ingredients to honor the earth and ourselves, as we are one and the same. We support local farmers, sustainable agriculture, and environmentally-friendly products. Our food is prepared with love. We invite you to step inside and enjoy being someone who chooses: loving your life, adoring yourself, accepting the world, being generous and grateful every day, and experiencing being provided for. Have fun and enjoy being nourished.
Alicia and I loved our meal: I am luscious, present and accepting ;). The ambiance was nice and the food was very tasty. And the best of all, you do feel good after eating there. It might be because of the ambiant vibe, the super nice waiting staff or the positive words/sentences spread all over the place. Highly recommended.
Castle Rock
Continuing on our series of local parks, today we hiked in Castle Rock in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a bit less than 1 hour away from home.
The weather was awesome and the sun scorching. So much so that at one point, we disturbed a rattlesnake that was taking the sun in the middle of the trail. Happily, both parties agreed that retreat was the best course of action and after waiting a while, we were able to resume our hike.
6 Months
Big Sur
Today we wanted to hike the Ewoldsen trail in Big Sur but a series of events did not see it that way.
A late start, a wrong turn, a stubborn driver (that would be me!), and to prove that sometimes, it is not worth fretting over the little things: a closed trail!
Yeah, the Ewoldsen trail is closed because of last year’s fires. Even if everything had gone as planned, we would not have been able to do the hike we planned.
We still had a great time though and got to enjoy the famous Julia Pfeiffer’s fall on a gorgeous day.
Santa Cruz Half Marathon
Today, I ran my first race of the year. After the Sacramento marathon in December, I took it easy and did not run much in December. Then the demands of the new job and the cold weather have kept me (read: I got lazy!) from training as much as I would have liked early this year. To remedy to that, I signed up for the Santa Cruz 1/2 Marathon race this morning because knowing I have a race coming always keeps me motivated in going out running.
Anyhow, My goal was to have a good race. I had initially set a 1:40 finish time goal but then, based on my training, I could not see that happen…
I woke up early and drove to Santa Cruz. The weather was beautiful, blue sky and moderate temperature in the high 50s. Getting to the starting line seemed like it would be hard when I got stuck in traffic 1/2 mile away but then, I got good parking karma and found a spot waiting for me with only a short direct walk to the start.
While waiting for the race to start, I got into a discussion with a man that looked to be in his 50s and in good shape. Along the way, Ricardo told me he has been running over 30 marathons and many more other races since he started running 15 years ago. Today was his first race after he injured an ankle some weeks back so his goal was to finish in less than 2 hours, pretty far from his all time best of 1:45. He won several gold medals at the senior olympics last year and he is running again this year. And the most amazing thing I discovered was that this gentleman is 71 (yes, seventy-one) years young! If you do the math, that means he started racing at 56. Kudos to Monsieur Ricardo Guidolin. What an inspiration.
The race went well, I paid attention to my pace at the beginning as usual to not let myself be carried away by the adrenaline rush of the other runners. I felt a bit tight for the first 5 miles and though it might become hard by the end. But then, I and my body relaxed and things got smoother, I started accelerating. The views along the Ocean cliffs were beautiful and kept my mind busy as I was pushing harder. I kept on passing runner after runner giving me an even bigger moral boost. By the time we were back on West Cliff Drive, I was so pumped that I felt like I was flying (lack of glycogen does that you… some also call it the runner’s high). To make a long story short, I finished in 1:43:04. Really happy with my race and my results. I will be back next year to run that awesome race again.
Next in line is the San Francisco 1/2 Marathon in July. It was the first 1/2 marathon I ran when I finished it in 2007. It will be a good way to see how much I have improved since then ;).
And by the way, Ricardo finished in a bit more than 2 hours taking first in his age class by 25 minutes! I just wish I can still run when I am his age.
Brrrrrr….
Spotted from the plane over Northern Canada on my way back from England.
It is beautiful and attractive. Still, it must have been crazy cold down there!