Chalet Edelweiss for Valentine's Day!

Martin surprised me with an awesome dinner to one of the few Swiss restaurants in LA: Swiss Edelweiss. Yum!

This weekend was so fun--it started on Friday night when we went roller skating with Martin's ex co-worker and her friends. We were amongst the 6 white people in the whole place. I say this only to emphasize the cultural difference we encountered as the music started and the mostly black crowd started dancing around the rink. It was so funny to me to imagine my stiff-legged, ackward glide among such rhythmically talented people! While I fall under the beginner category, Martin was surprisingly good on skates! He has such a relaxed approach to new things (like skating and learning new languages) that he was quick learner.

Saturday, Martin picked me up around 2 (with a rose) and we headed up to Santa Monica to hang out for a little while before going to the restaurant. When we got to the Chalet, we ordered raclette, traditional fondue and homemade apple strudel for dessert. Everything was so delicious and made me want to visit Switzerland. I know Martin really enjoyed being able to speak Swiss German and was able to order a sports drink he is often homesick for.

It was all such a treat--we have both been under a lot of stress (who isn't?), and it was so nice to just leave it all at the door and enjoy the evening. It was a great Valentine's Day! :) Hope yours was too!

I moved.

I have a new address now--I moved away from Edna's house. It had to happen eventually, and I am basking in the new freedom this place offers me! No more calling home if I will be out past dark (5.30PM), no more explaining where I am going and how long I will be each time I leave. No more older people things laying around the house, and no more storing all my kitchen things and bathroom things in my bedroom.

I found a place on craigslist.com and moved in last weekend. I share the house with some roommates, but I hardly ever see them. It is quiet and just a couple of miles from my running trails.

I will post pictures when I take some--I have been a little lazy lately and haven't felt the urge to post much on here.

Happy Valentines Day, by the way! Martin made plans for us--a surprise, but he is terrible about keeping things from me, and as soon as he had an idea, he said, "Bonnie, I made surprise plans for Saturday, should I tell you what it is?" :) I wouldn't let him tell me, but yesterday, he almost begged me to let him tell me at least the "general direction in which we are going." I know now that we have dinner reservations somewhere...I have a pretty good guess where, too--he mentioned this restaurant a few days ago... So much for surprises! :)

Have a good weekend!

My new roommate!

Did I mention that this little guy was in my room? I saw him crawling around under the bed one day when I got home. At first, I thought he was a snake--a rattlesnake! Lucky for me he is just a harmless, little lizard.

I trapped him in a tupperware container and released him into the backyard. Then I washed the tupperware container with hot water and lots of soap!!

Groundhog's prediction: 6 more weeks of summer in California.

Happy Groundhog's Day!

I heard that the Minnesota folk have a few more weeks of bitter cold to look forward to...I, on the other hand, am thinking about buying stock in sunblock! It has been in the 80's most of the weeks since I've been back--it is physically draining to be hot all the time, but I would rather have this than the alternative right now! My shoulders are brown from all my training runs and my legs are pasty white--so I'm stuck wearing pants till I can even out a little.

My legs are stiffer than ever--I told Edna this morning that I can really relate to her stiffness in her legs. It is difficult to sit and stand--I just kind of hover over the chair I need to sit in and let my whole weight fall! I plop down hard, but at least I don't need to use my leg muscles as much.

I am being interviewed for a new job tonight in Brea, the next town over. The job is taking care of a family's 2 kids for a few hours after school each night--not hard, but pretty good pay. It should fit pretty well with my Korean/internet job. I feel like my life is a big patchwork quilt these days; I'm piecing together the semblance of a young, productive life.

Still no place to live after Edna's. I looked at several apartments/townhomes/condos in the past week, but nothing has really fit yet.

Update on previously posted Korean recruitment: I have a "business meeting" with Dr. Park in the morning to meet with the Director of the prestigious Global High School in Seoul. I thought it was a business meeting, but today it was revealed that it will be a good opportunity for me to personally meet the man in charge of hiring foreign counselors. I guess if things get desperate enough around here, I always have a back-up plan!

4:26:08 Official Time

Yesterday was so much fun!

Martin and I left at 5AM for Huntington Beach. It was a pretty cold morning (he lent me his sweatshirt) as we waited near the start line until the sun came up at 6:47. There were so many people there--so many serious runners!

The race started a few minutes after sunrise and ended for me 4 hours and 26 minutes later! I knew I would finish, but I surprised myself with the time--I had hoped for 4:45:00 and beat my goal by almost 20 minutes! When signing up, I had to agree that I would let the truck give me a ride back if I took more than 6 hours. I kept moving because I didn't want that to happen! :)

I know I'm not the most graceful looking runner around, but when this picture was taken, I had already finished about 16 of the 26 miles! I ran alone and without music (most marathons don't allow iPods, but this is one of the few that does).

Finish: 4:26:08

Overall: 920 out of 1953 Women: 289 out of 846 F 25-29: 56 out of 158

3 Mile: 29:39 Pace: 9:53 6 Mile: 58:04 Pace: 9:41 12.2 Mile: 1:59:23 Pace: 9:48 20 Mile: 3:16:41 Pace: 9:51

These are my official race results from runraceresults.com.

Martin was waiting for me at the 16 mile mark with the camera and some encouragement--it was really good to see him there. It gave me a boost of energy! He also waited for me at the finish line and snapped pictures as I crossed the line. This picture below was taken moments after I was done--it was hard for me to stand still. You know the feeling you have when you get off the treadmill after running for awhile, or when you step out of your rollerblades after a few miles? The forward momentum makes you feel like you are going to fall forward if you don't keep moving--I had that feeling.


They say not to think about doing another marathon until you finish your first and give yourself a few days/weeks to recover and process, but as I ran all those miles yesterday I kept thinking, "I want to do this again and again and again." I enjoyed my race so much and am absolutely hooked! I don't plan to do another marathon next week or even in the next few months, but I do plan to do another one and beat my time! Who knows, maybe next time I will even qualify for the Boston Marathon... :)