Parnell’s beanie

Patrick, pale as a ghost in the flash moment

Salt Lake City

SLC is not at all what I expected. For starters, it’s incredibly for hot for September, 90F, which I’m told is “normal fall weather” for this city. It’s also very bright & sunny, I don’t think I’ve even seen the hint of a cloud since arriving yesterday afternoon. The altitude does take some getting used to, case in point, a measly 3.5mile run had me panting about 0.5miles into it. There are more than just white people here. The lady I’m renting the room from, NA, is Egyptian; there is a very large Chinese (?student) population as well as a large spanish speaking population. The Barnes & Noble at The Gateway, has one of the largest “libros en Espagnol” sections I’ve ever seen.

The Gateway, formerly the station of The Union Pacific Railroad in SLC, now a very large and new mall.

(Inside mural)

(Plaque commemorating Japanese-SLC relations)

Pad Thai

Made pad thai for the first time today.  I’m truly turning into my mother’s daughter, I didn’t exactly follow the recipe.  I added the things I wanted & had (mushrooms, Chinese style 五香豆腐, shrimp, bean sprouts, scallions).  I also didn’t put forth the effort of making pad thai sauce, instead opting for the pre-made kind.  I have to say, it all turned out quite well.  The sauce is actually the key to the pad thai, the rest of the dish is more or less like stiry fry.

Eat, Pray, Love … “The Catcher in the Rye” of the 20 something female generation?

I had an discussion with my mom about a year ago, whereby I attempted to convince her to read “Eat, Pray, Love.”  Her response after sifting through the first 20 pages was, “Why does this woman complain so much?  Why doesn’t she just get on with her life?” 

My response to reading the book was that of more empathy, understanding, and relating to the protagonist.  The exchange with my mom got me thinking … is it possible that Elizabeth Gilbert’s book is to my generation of young women what J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” was to all disillusioned youth of the early adolescent crowd?  Had I really fallen into the trap of hype & limited experience?

I remember reading Salinger’s “classic” in early junior high & relating to it in a very fundamental way.  Later on, when I read it again in high school, my empathy towards Holden was waning.  When I read it again in my early 20′s, I had little, if any, compassion for a what I deemed a “sniveling, annoying, and immature” character that just needed to grow up already! To sum up the book, “Yes!  Life is hard & full of things that aren’t fair.  Just deal with it, already!”

Is it possible that Ms. Gilbert was living the extended twenty something life into her thirty’s without realizing it?  Did she have a delayed maturity?  Or am I having an early life crisis? 

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Really Drunk

Now I’ve really done it … whole bottle of chianti by myself!  Woo Hoo!  Watched the pairs long program today, Pang & Tong totally deserved their gold at Worlds.  Go Motherland!!!

Savchenko & Szolkowy were good as well, but without the artistic mastery that the Chinese pair had.  This being said, I much preferred the German duo’s musical selection choice over that overused & hyperboled “The Impossible Dream.”  *gag*

It will be interesting to see which pairs couples in the top ten stay around for Sochi.  Both the Chinese & German’s have at least one half of the couple (if not both in the Chinese pairs team) already 30.  Figure skating has long been a sport of the twenty-somethings. 

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Chianti at home

Sometimes I wonder if it’s time to start those meds again.  I go through periods of being ok, and then periods of not being able to leave the house.  Then two days into it, I have to drink to oblivion to sleep & then on the third day I get up and leave the house.  At least, that’s the plan.

Gabbiano Chianti, 2007.  Not bad w/kettle corn!

Run 06:00 PM

dddd Activity Route: Around Horseshoe Elev. Avg: 914 ft Location: East Cleveland, Ohio Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 10/01/08 Up/Downhill: [+249/-249] Time: 06:00 PM Difficulty: 2.6 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 5.93 miles Time: 0:55:00 Speed: 6.5 mph Pace: 9' 16 /mi Calories: 606 Map East Cleveland, Ohio   Elevation (ft)

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