I'm A Rock Star Baby.

New 14" Sabian X-Plosion Crash. Oh the sweetness!

Come check out Gozer & The Gozarians from 12:30-2:30 pm tomorrow, March 27. I'm the hot drummer in the back. You can't miss me; I'm the only female. Wuzzzup!

Location:
SFC/4th floor
3340 N. Broad St (Southwest corner of Ontario & Broad)
Philly

Six-Week Training Plan For Broad St 10 Mile Race (May 3, 2009)

Goal Pace: 7:50 min/mi pace

Notes: First race of the season. Haven’t been running that much since I started teaching Body Pump (BP) and Spinning in January. Last year, I ran 8 min/mi pace for this race. This year I’m shooting for sub 8. I think 7:50 min/mi is a reasonable goal. My PR for a half marathon was last year’s Nike Women’s Half Marathon in October and I averaged 7:31 min/mi. Obviously, not at that pace yet, but sub 8 is def doable considering I am very fit from my classes!



-Speedwork gets 800m jogs in between sets.
-I’m not sure that I’ll be able to keep to the >7 min/mi pace for the mile repeats….that’s pretty slow, but that’s the suggested pace considering I haven’t done any speed all Winter. I’ll let you know how that goes!
-I also kept out 400 repeats from the schedule…going to save that ‘til after I get my legs back.
-Tuesdays are my worst energy days (so much teaching mon/tues). I tried to allow for that in my planning.

Re: Twitter Updates

This post is directed mostly to my mom and dad (and possibly my sister too) who have never heard of Twitter. It's another social networking phenom sort of like Facebook that enables its users to send and read other users' daily (or hourly) updates known as tweets. In this fashion, Twitter is more of a micro-blogging tool where Facebook is an all-encompassing social network. Although both FB and Twitter have these "update" features, FB and Twitter are very different. Twitter is much more conversational and filled with observations on the world while Facebook status updates tend to stick to a formulaic “I am doing this,” or “I have done this.” Many FB users only update their status once a day, if that, while Twitterers update more often. You can also follow the tweets of famous people (I'm following Ben Kweller and Jimmy Fallon) or news stations (i.e. NPR). I have really enjoyed this last feature as I feel less ignorant already. Also, Twitterers have developed their own language (twead, tweetup, twis, twadd) which adds to the richness/addictiveness of the network.

I just signed up for Twitter this week, as a way to keep track of what I'm doing and thinking on a daily basis. I have planted a Twitter widget into my blog so you can follow my updates as well and get a better feeling for how I'm spending my days.

Happy Tweading!

Seattle!

It's been over a week since my last post. What have I been up to?

Mostly I've been out visiting Andrew D'Avis in Seattle. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures during this time, despite having brought two digital cameras with me. So much for my new "take more daily photos" resolution. Here's a breakdown of what I saw.

Runs:
-Lake Washington
-Interlaken Park/ran part of the marathon course
-Volunteer Park
-Humongous hills up to Capital Hill; my Philly legs were put in their place!
-Very eclectic architecture. Each house seemed different; moreover even each window on each house was different.
-Sprawling buildings/lots more "space" for a city

Coffee Shops:
-Victrola Coffee & Art http://www.victrolacoffee.com/
-Bauhaus Books & Coffee http://www.bauhauscoffee.net/
I was not disappointed!

Restaurants/Pub/Other Fooderies:
-Spinasse http://www.spinasse.com/ Highly recommend this one. Food was great, but the ambiance was excellent. Designed like you are in an Italian dining room and can see through to a homey kitchen. Very cool!
-Volunteer Park Cafe http://www.alwaysfreshgoodness.com/. Smells divine as soon as you walk in! Great waitress. Great food, though I was so tired from travel I don't remember what I ate. I do recall a nice bottle of Syrah from Columbia Valley, Washington (l'Ecole no 41, 2005).
-Honey Hole http://www.thehoneyhole.com/
-Dish Cafe http://seattle.citysearch.com/profile/10783787
-Kimchi Bistro http://www.yelp.com/biz/kimchi-bistro-seattle. Small family owned restaurant. Very nice people there. Had very filling and tasty Dol Soht.
-The Stumbling Monk http://www.drunkenmonks.org/. Great selection of Belgians.
-Pikes Place Market
-Madison Square Market (coop)
-Dave Zucker's Pi(e) Party! However it was on 3/13 as he had to leave for China on Sun. Thanks Dave for inviting me! It was the most memorable Pi Day! There were many, many tasty pies; I sampled at least 10. There was a raspberry/strawberry one that was quite good. Well, actually that's the only one that I can recollect with any clarity, so it must have been very good...
-Last night, went to Charlie's apartment for dinner [cooked by Andrew's housemate (lamb ragu, very tasty!)]. Then Andrew and I made chocolate souffles. Turned out well if I do say so myself!

Yes, we ate well!

NB. Of all of the wines we drank, I didn't like any of the European wines--which was odd because I'd had those wines before on the East Coast and know that I've liked them before. There was a 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape that I was very disappointed in. It was really acidic and never opened up even after a half hour of breathing. On the other hand, all of the West Coast wines were impeccable. I wonder if anyone else has experienced this phenom. In any case, I was glad to finally try some good California wines, in particular a Pinot Noir. I was very impressed. I am completely ignorant when it comes to West Coast wines.

Cool views:
-The Library. Thanks to Andrew's friend who works at the library, I was able to get a look at the cool conveyor belt system that ushers/organizes the incoming and outgoing books. Pretty high tech! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Central_Library
-The view from Charlie's apartment. Amazing! Can see all of Seattle skyline, the Needle, Elliot Bay. You could really see how quickly the weather changes there. The apartment had sunshine, but you could see rain falling out over the bay. Clear view of the sunset (well it got hidden in the end by little storm clouds). But you could imagine how wondrous it would be on a clear day.
-First night there, walked up to Volunteer Park. Great view of Elliot Bay and all the mountains that surround Seattle. There's also an art museum, a green house, and an interesting circular sculpture. I forget what it actually was, but it reminded me of The Death Star with it's center blown out (yeah, a little strange, but come on, I was on EST and I'd been traveling all day).
-I was blown away by views from path around Lake Wash. To be so close to the mountains, but still in a city. Awesome! So much green too. I almost (ok, I did) tripped several times just because I couldn't tear my eyes away from Nature.
-Up on Cap Hill it seemed as though there was a great view from every street corner: mountains, lakes in both directions.
-Drove out to Puget Sound. Wow! The wind was crazy that day. I'd say this added to the magic of the shore. Lots of dogs and other people strolling the beach and tide pools, having a relaxing Sunday morn. There were seaweeds, rocks, shells, and drift wood to play with/on. This is one of the downfalls of Philly: no beaches, no lakes, no waves. I felt utter glee from being out in nature like this; energized by the wind and surf and salty smells!
-The Fremont Troll http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2236

So, yes, I had a great time in Seattle. Is it the better coast as Emily Meshberg incessantly argues? TBD.

Bullies Then & Now

I recently became Facebook friends with someone who used to be a bully. He was a terror at the bus stop; nobody was safe from his demeaning comments or physical threats. I personally remember him picking out my own insecurities, namely my "buck teeth with the gigantic space in between." Yup, sometimes he'd even just call me Bucky for short. Just one utterance from him could send you reeling.

I wonder what he is like now. Is he still a jerk? Unfortunately his facebook page doesn't (or can't) reveal his current personality. Propriety prevents me from writing on his wall and demanding if he is still that same bullying creep or if he has matured into a better person.

What do you think? Are people who were bullies in middle school or younger (he moved before high school) really jerks or are they just going through an insecure phase themselves that passes?

My Band; RIP John Pike

Aka Gozer & The Gozarians aka Zuul aka Apoptonic aka Work In Progress.

Yes we're geeks and proud of it.

I've been officially playing the drums since the fourth grade. Unofficially, I've been tapping out beats since I was born. Some of my earliest memories are of me sitting atop my Dad's shoulders, watching the drum core of the local marching band stomp by. I'd try to imitate the rhythm, using my Dad's head as my first snare drum. Thinking back, he must have had bruises from my 'sweet' beats, but he never complained. Always a supporter!

In high school I mostly just played with the school bands (marching, jazz, and orchestra) under Band Director Bob Lassonde. I'd occasionally play a school musical or with fellow students (shout out to Four Green Polo Shirts). Back in those days I was obsessed with playing Zeppelin, namely Kashmir or Stairway to Heaven. Couldn't get enough of that heavenly bass drum sound. In college, I branched out a bit. My other drummer friends and I would go down to this park with our sticks and knock out rhythms on anything we could play on. This is what I'd like to call my "creative/hippie" phase. Later years at Colby saw me playing in a band with a good friend of mine, Leif. We did a lot of covers and had a blast together, though we didn't really practice that regularly.

My drum playing reached an all time low in the years immediately following graduation. My grad school program sucked me into a dark abyss and I didn't do much besides study and run. I kept thinking to myself that I'd get back on those drums soon, once I got some more free time and motivation. However, I 'all of a sudden' found that three years had passed and I still hadn't picked up a drum stick.

In June 2007, all of that changed. A childhood friend of mine and fellow drummer died unexpectedly. Just as his own band, Ra Ra Riot, was starting to get momentum and start a tour that summer, Johnny Pike's life was suddenly taken away. Apart from feeling an immense sorrow for the loss of such a talented and outgoing musician, I was reminded of how quickly things can end and how important it is to take advantage of the moment. Don't put off things until tomorrow because a) you'll most likely put it off again to the following day, etc, or b) shit happens, you may not be around tomorrow.

*You can't wait around for that magical free time, good timing, and/or motivation to suddenly appear. It's not going to come. Stop thinking about doing something and just go do it.

And thus, the day I returned from the funeral, I sent out an email to the Penn listserv and asked if anyone wanted to get together and jam; I explained that I hadn't played in a couple of years, but I really wanted to get into something consistent.


Matt and Jeff replied quickly; eagerly saying that this is exactly how they felt too. Jory got recruited through Matt; they've known each other for a while and had discussed getting together, but never got around to it. We've met pretty much every Saturday since then (ok, we have periods where life has gotten in the way, but overall we've been consistent).

And that is the story of how the band got together.

I cannot express how happy playing with the band makes me. The first level of pleasure comes from the mere act of playing and making music. It's great to be inside that beat and feel it easily flowing from you. Second, I feel happy because this is something that I actively sought out. I could have just as easily kept on slogging through my schedule, still claiming that I just didn't have enough time. Activities like this make me feel alive and that I'm living to the fullest. There's a jubilation in that knowledge.

March 27th! 12:30-3:30p. Temple Musicians In Medicine Spring Concert. Be there or be square!

Shameless self-promotion

Few things coming up I'd like y'all to know about.

*March 27th*: MARK YOUR CALENDARS. My band is playing at The Temple Musicians In Medicine Spring Concert. Yay! It's from 12:30-3:30. Everyone is welcome to come, even if you're not in med school...Please come! I'd love to see familiar faces in the crowd. For you HW folks out there, Nick Papacostas shall also be in attendance an playing in his band. He sings, he plays piano, he raps a bit! Multi-talented dude. We're reppin' good ol' Ham-Wen well. Come show your support.

*I opened up a flickr account last month and have been uploading photos little by little.
Check it out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/daisie981/
I'm planning to get a bunch of films developed this weekend from my 1970 Nikon and scanning them in. Be on the look out!

*If you are looking to do something artsy this weekend, come see my friend Amanda Juner's art show at T Bar (12th & Samson). It's Saturday, March 7 from 6-8p. Free teas and treats AND there's going to be a jazz band. Need more reason to be there? Yours truly shall be present! Fo Sho! And then I'll be headed to see The Watchmen. Sweet!

*Next week is Philly Beer Week. Yes! It's here again! Last year I was so caught up in studies, I didn't get to attend any of the events. Not this year! I'll be posting my favorite stops. Get ready!

*Sunday, May 3. Broad Street Race. 10 miles of flat & fast & fun. You still have two months to get ready. Sign up and join Melissa and my Dad and me! Give it a try! http://www.broadstreetrun.com/site3.aspx