Eat, Pray, Love, Lather, Rinse, Repeat

 What I learned from watching Eat, Pray, Love:

1. Eating a plate of pasta with wine by yourself is OK.
2. If your jeans don't fit because of too much of #1, buy bigger jeans.
3. Lounging in lingerie by yourself is great.
4. Don't get into a relationship with an actor.

...wait, I already knew all that!

I really wanted to like this movie. Pizza, pasta, gelato, James Franco, Javier Bardem, and beaches. What was not to like?

In a way, Elizabeth Gilbert was going through this "WTF is my life?" period the same way I kind of am. She wanted change and to experience things she had always put off. But after eating lots of pasta, pizza and Indian food and praying, what exactly has changed? Besides a bigger waistline and a hotter man, NADA.

She decides to take a 1-year vacation because she felt lost -- lost in her marriage and lost in the relationship she jumps into after that marriage failed. She learns Italian, how to not live like a workaholic American, gets spiritual help from some ethnic people, and that it's OK to get into another relationship. And the movie ends with just that. Liz throws herself into Javier Bardem's sexy arms. 

Did I just spend an hour drooling over pizza for a story without a climax or resolution? Great.

I'm 25. Aaaack!

Happy birthday to me!

Today I no longer fit in to the 18-24 years old age bracket. From now on, any survey I fill out will have the 25-29 box checked. That is, until I turn 30 (oh my god.). And so because I figured out months ago that there was no way I would complete this 25 before 25 list , I am turning it into a 30 before 30 list. Tada!

Am I setting myself up for another impossible to-do list? Maybe. But I've got 5 years to figure it out. Here are the new additions:


26. Learn to ride a bike.
I never learned. I owned a tricycle and after I outgrew that, I had no desire to transition to a 2-wheeler. I mean, it's not like I would have been allowed to ride it anywhere outside our house. Blame my overprotective parents and my natural clumsiness. So why now? Because I'm sick of hearing people's gasps when I tell them I don't know how to ride a bike. Yeah, you heard that right.

27. Get my driver's license.
I got started on this when I was 18. Got my learner's permit, paid for driving lessons, drove on a parkway and notorious Queens streets without hitting anyone (phew!), then dropped it because I had bigger priorities, namely, getting a magazine job. But after tackling that on my to-do list and realizing that I may not always live in New York City (I love you NYC, but you're a high-maintenance lover, and it's about time I got the upperhand in this relationship.), I'm accepting that being able to drive is pretty important. So watch out, pedestrians!

28. Explore the Philippines.
I grew up in the Philippines. I've spent 4 (or 5?)  vacations there. Next month, I leave for another trip to the motherland. But it's a shame that I've never really explored the country beyond the cities where my family live. I think I've spent more time going to malls than doing anything cultural. Not to knock the awesome shopping experience -- malls with ice skating rinks and concierge service? Hell freakin yeah! But it's time I got to know my country a little better. For starters, here's a nice list with things to do in the Philippines.

29. Lead a volunteer project.
In the past year I've been a proud member of New York Cares, a non-profit dedicated in providing needed services through volunteer work. I figured I needed to do something better with my life besides work, eat, shop and sleep. Last summer I became a Team Leader, who is a volunteer in charge of specific projects. Partly because of my schedule and partly because I haven't found the perfect project, I haven't put that "Team Leader" badge to use, but that will change. (BTW, I strongly suggest becoming a member. These projects are some of the most fulfilling work I've done and you get a reminder that there are people who are willing to work for something other than personal gain.)

30. ____________________
I'm not really sure what to put for this one. Should I learn a new skill, like sewing or pottery? Take up swimming as I originally planned? Go on vacation by myself? Run a marathon (even though I'm still recovering from injury. Maybe we can alter that to a HALF marathon)? Buy my own place? (I can already hear NYC real estate laughing at me.) What do you think?

#23: Cook a Filipino Meal Well: CHECK!

Let me just start by saying that I'm not completely new to cooking. Though serving up steak or a Thanksgiving turkey is out of the question for now (or probably for ever re: turkey), I've made my own alfredo sauce from scratch. I can make a mean veggie lasagna. And recently, I decided to make pies.

My  very first creation -- a lumpy apple pie. But a delicious lumpy apple pie.

My second pie was more aesthetically pleasing:  a sweet potato -- hand mashed, not the canned stuff -- pecan pie.

My cell phone camera doesn't do this justice.

Though for these pumpkin muffins I turned to the canned stuff.

But, aside from Italian food and seasonal baked goods, I haven't done anything ethnic. Sadly, the closest thing I've made that's Filipino is a cheesecake flan. (I'll take up a challenge if it means dessert.)

So that's why I needed to put #23 on this list. And finally...

It may look like it's swimming in oil, but there was 0 oil in this.

Filipino Cooking 101: Chicken Adobo -- recipe courtesy of the Food Network. (Their recipe was much simpler than Filipino cookbooks. Figures.) My very Filipino family loved it, so it passes the test. Next time I'll add those peppercorns because for an ethnic dish this wasn't at all spicy. But now, onto more complicated Filipino dishes!

Ballet Flats: So Pretty, So Bad for Your Feet

Poop.

I already knew that I wasn't supposed to be walking around in ballet flats. But I keep a pair at my desk at work anyway in case my outfit that day does not go with heels. The last time I wore them, my plantar fascia hurt. Like I had to take time off from running, hurt.

Two weeks ago (when I took a  kickboxing class) I got a terrible charley horse in my sleep and my calf was SORE. So I thought I'd give my calves a break and wear the flats for a day. How bad could it be? Well lets just say that while I was recounting this to my podiatrist he made the "Ooh, you shouldn't have done that" face. 

Safe to say I will be spending the rest of this fall not running. Bye-bye, 5K PR. For now.

When I tell my coworkers (who are well-versed in foot injuries from running) about having plantar fasciitis I get the same "That's awful!" reaction. But to tell the truth, I'm a little relieved. I honestly thought I may have had a fracture. But x-rays showed otherwise, so PHEW. I just need lots of rest, ice, stretching, and staying away from damned flats.

I'm consoling myself by taking cabs (doctor-recommended) instead of trekking all over Manhattan when I have errands and buying a new pair of heels (on sale, at like 80% off baby!).

Talk to pro-athletes and they'll most likely tell you to "Listen to your body" as a key piece of advice. My body's definitely yelling at me. I'm listening now!

I Punch Like a Girl

Today I finally got myself to take a kickboxing class at the gym. I figure it would act as a stepping stone towards an actual boxing class. But kickboxing is definitely not a substitute for a boxing. Proof? The lone male who wanted to take the class this morning because he missed the regular boxing class during the week walked out during the warmup. (What, do they not play Britney Spears while sparring? They should.)

While this class was more cardio-focused, that didn't mean that it was easy. The instructor yelled out a combination of moves as if we were all supposed to know what we were doing. I have a hard time remembering my left from my right. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who spent a good chunk of the class looking at other people to figure out what to do with myself. But it was a GREAT workout. I spent the entire hour moving and sweating and now my lower body is SORE. More sore than after going for a long run.

I should probably take on the self-defense class before taking a boxing class. And inject more testosterone in my system. Kidding about the 2nd part.

Updates Galore

Let's get right to it:

1. Last weekend was the FITNESS Mind, Body, Spirit Games 4-mile race and the Susan G. Komen's 5K. I ran the latter and walked the former with a friend. Though I had to take walking breaks during the 4-miler (running uphill is hard!) I beat my last 5k's pace by a few seconds, finishing in a little over 43 minutes. Yay. The walk wasn't timed, but I'm just glad I didn't need to crawl because I was still exhausted from the day before. Since last weekend I've been trying to get rid of a cold and catching up on work, so no running for me. The next 5K race is in a couple of weeks so I should probably start again, eh?

2. I am making another change to the list. Let's face it -- I will probably never have time to swim. For one thing, the nearest pool I have free access to is uptown. And another thing, public pools = yuck (and might cause cancer? But then again what doesn't cause cancer). SO! I am changing #12 to... trying a new hair color! Since my last hair disaster 4 years ago when I fried my hair from too much chemical straightening, I have vowed to lay off any treatments until I was 25. I think I've been good to my hair since then, keeping it au naturale. But I've always had redhead envy and I'm getting bored with my hairstyle, so we'll see how this turns out. My skintone probably won't go well with a shade like Julianne Moore's or Marcia Cross' (sigh) but a brighter tone will look nice against all the black clothes I tend to wear in the colder months.

Forget blondes, red heads should get all the attention.

You Can Do It Put Your Back Into It

For anyone who's ever doubted their capabilities, The New York Times has a profile of 69-year-old Cha Sa-soon from Korea who just got her driver's license after 960 attempts. Congrats, lady! She grew up in poverty, entered formal schooling late and never finished because a little thing called life got in the way, but still studied at dawn and late at night to pass the exam. Proof that if you put your mind and effort to something, it's going to get done.

I thought about putting "Get my driver's license" on this list, but I got realistic. I have to put everything on my calendar -- from dinner with friends to renewing library books -- just so I'd actually have time to do them. This isn't going to happen in the next 3 months (crap!). Cha had more trouble passing the written exam because of her literacy level, but I passed that part with flying colors (I'm a nerd, what can I say). It's the not-hitting-anything-with-a-vehicle part that I have trouble with. But it's good to know that, like this other stubborn Asian lady, with enough practice and determination, I can do it.

Also, I really hope a non-shooting related post would get rid of those Google ads that make it seem like I'm an NRA  member.