Bike Ride to Sausalito, CA

Anais Nin once wrote "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." I'd like to think that mine expanded an additional 8 miles last March 14, 2007. :-)

Yeah, I know. 8 miles doesn't really sound like much. Definitely not the longest distance I've managed. But it's definitely a ride that I've always been afraid to take. And here I am, not a scratch on me! Woohoo!

Anybody who can ride a bike can do this ride (a knowledge of shifting gears wouldn't hurt, either). I took the 22-Fillmore to the end of the line, right on Marina Blvd. to get to the bike trail. The trail is clearly marked as you can see below:

I didn't really trust myself to be able to make it on my own (my sense of direction being what it is), so I waited until I got my handheld GPS to make this trip. Using a simplified map provided by Blazing Saddles, I used Google Earth's satellite view to plot coordinates and create my route in my GPS. In hindsight, I probably could have managed with just my handwritten directions but when you have billions of dollars worth of satellites hovering overhead to assist you, why not use 'em?

After taking a short detour to Fort Point, I doubled back to The Warming Hut where I had to make a series of climbs up to the Golden Gate Bridge. (a harsh reminder that I have to get my darned ass in shape one of these days . There are two paths on the bridge, (East and West), but at that time only the East side was open. Again, the path is clearly marked.

Through the length of the bridge are crisis counseling phones like this, a grim reminder that the Golden Gate Bridge is not only famous for its beauty but also for its allure to those wanting to end their lives.

The only thing annoying about going solo is that nobody is there to take my picture, so it definitely takes a certain amount of chutzpah to stop passers-by to take my picture, and then trading cameras with them so that I can take their picture. The trade is fair enough - usually the tourists are happy to oblige.

Whew! We made it across! This is a view of the bridge from the Vista Point on the Marin side.

After that, it is all downhill to Sausalito. Wheeeee!!!

Finally made it downtown. The GPS receiver was so accurate that when I uploaded my trip info to Google Earth Plus, it was able to pinpoint and zoom-in to the actual bench that I rested my bike on! Kewl beans, man!

After spending a little time in Sausalito it was finally time to take the ferry home. This is not some tourist ride but an actual part of the Golden Gate Transit system, so don't expect a leisurely ride. It costs about $6.75, I think. There is no pay booth at the pier. All you need to do is get on the ferry and pay inside.

On the ferry you can clearly see who the locals and who the tourists were. The locals were the ones wise enough to stay inside the warmth of the ship. The tourists (me included) were the idiots who were standing on the deck freezing our collective asses off. As a reward, I ended up sniffling with a runny nose for days. Note to self: stay indoors!

All in all, it was a good trip. I made the mistake of leaving home too late in the afternoon, because if I had left earlier I would have rode all the way to Tiburon. Unfortunately, I didn't know how long it would take me and I might miss the Tiburon ferry to go back home (they don't run as frequently as the Sausalito ferry). Well,there's always next time.

Here's a map from Google Earth showing my GPS tracks. You can see my trip details (elevation, min/max speed, time, coordinates, etc on my Motionbased.com page. Not that impressive, I have to agree. But for me and my lazy butt, this is the Tour de France, baby!

more pics of this ride at my Flickr.com page.

The Lives of Others ("Das Leben der Anderen")

After watching “The Lives of Others” I couldn’t help but be reminded that a “thriller” does not need to have gunfights or car chases to bring you to the edge of your seat. This is definitely a must-see movie, and the guys at the Oscars agree. This movie won Best Foreign Language Film.


The story revolves around three people – Gerd Wiesler, a straight-arrow but cold and ruthless member of the Stasi, East Berlin’s secret police, Georg Dreyman - a famous playwright, and his girlfriend Christa-Maria Sieland – a famous stage actress.


The movie is set in East Berlin in the 80’s. The Minister of Culture has become obsessed with the beautiful actress Christa, and he has given Gerd Wiesler the task of conducting 24-hour surveillance on Georg. His objective is to find anything illegal that Georg might be doing (even though his record had been spotless so far), so that he can get Georg out of the way and have Christa for himself. The task was simple enough – stay in the sidelines. Never interfering, only watching and listening.

The best part of the movie for me was the incomparable Ulrich Muhe, who played Wiesler. His transformation as a character was unmistakable. As his involvement in the lives of Georg and Christa deepen, so did his emotion. As he witnessed their lives in his surveillance room, he realized the bitter truth of his lonely, loveless life in contrast to the richness of theirs, in their relationship with each other and the friends that they have. He turns from cold calculation, to sorrow, anger, fear, (even mischief) and eventually deep concern.

He makes a choice to step over the line and involve himself, and by his actions he creates a chain of events that will irrevocably change their lives.

Definitely 5/5 stars.
(in German, with subtitles)

Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno)

This was just an incredible movie. It was hard for me to imagine that the same Guillermo del Toro who directed “Hellboy” was the same guy who made this movie. Not since the late 80’s when I watched Jim Henson’s “Dark Crystal” have I ever been so horrified, moved and engrossed by what some would classify as a fantasy movie. Called a “grown-up’s fairy tale,” Pan’s Labyrinth is definitely not for the faint of heart, but for those who are willing to take the journey it is definitely worth it.

The story is set in the 1930’s, during the Spanish Civil War. Ofelia is a young girl who moves with her pregnant mother to a rural military outpost to be with her new stepfather, the ruthless Captain Vidal. The captain is in charge of taking on resistance fighters in the mountains nearby.

Beside the outpost is an old garden with a labyrinth, and this is where Ofelia meets the Faun. He tells her that she could be the princess that their kingdom had lost long ago, and to prove that she was worthy of regaining her throne he gave her a magical book outlining 3 tasks she must complete before the full moon arrives.

Two characters stood out for me in this movie, both of them women. The first of course was Ofelia, played by the amazing Ivana Baquero. The intensity in which she was able to convey Ofelia’s innocence and strength literally grabbed me by the collar throughout the whole movie. The other character was the housekeeper Mercedes played by Maribel Verdu. (I was surprised at her transformation from the seductress she had played in “Y Tu Mama Tambien”). Mercedes was the other heroine of this story, and I could clearly see the depth of her courage strengthening with her resolve. With the same mouth she once used to say “I am a coward” also came the chilling words “you are not the first pig I’ve ever gutted” as she held a knife against a tormentor, rage burning in her eyes.

The movie is completely in Spanish with subtitles, and it worked perfectly. The fluidity of the Spanish language made me feel like I was listening to music instead of spoken words. The score also played a great part, the movie’s main theme is a sad lullaby, hummed because the words have long been forgotten. The cinematography was also a work of art in itself, almost a gray monotone throughout the film except in the Faun’s fantasy world.

There were a lot of themes in this movie: The depth of a child’s love, fearless in its simplicity. The courageous choices that ordinary people make, even in the face of great danger or even death, to stand up for those they love and what they believe in. The savage, cold-blooded brutality that the powerful can inflict over the weak. The truth that our external battles can only be faced and fought when we’ve conquered our battles and fears from within.

As I was exiting the theatre after the movie ended, I happened to glance down at a couple that was in one of the lower seats. A man was holding his wife, who was sobbing openly (and quite audibly, I might add) in his arms. Sheepishly I wondered if anyone would notice that my eyes were puffy too (since I had been crying myself). It was hard to deny the strong emotions that all of us felt, even after the end credits rolled by. For me, it was a bittersweet feeling – of grief at the heavy cost of Ofelia’s choice, and then sharing in her triumph in spite of her great sacrifice.

5/5 stars.

Hannibal Rising - A Review

When I first heard that Thomas Harris wrote Hannibal Rising, a book about Hannibal Lecter's beginnings, I was giddy with excitement. I've always been a fan of his two other books Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs, and I couldn't wait to get that impossible question out of my mind ... of how Hannibal Lecter became the coldblooded murderer and cannibal that he is.

I just finished listening to this audiobook, and I have to say - that was a total waste of 7 hours of my time. 7 precious hours that I will never get back! This book was a joke.

Okay, so Hannibal watched his parents die in the war, his toddler sister eaten by a group of looters as they struggled to survive through the winter. He grows up into a brilliant young man who goes to medical school, falls in love with his dead uncle's wife Lady Murasaki. He exacts his revenge on those men who ate his sister, rescues Lady Murasaki from danger, blahdey-blahdey-blah.

He's more of a HERO here - yeah, usually heroes don't go cannibal - but a PROtagonist nonetheless. The question remains unanswered - when did he become eeeeviiill?!?!?! That's what I want to know! Thomas Harris' story is a cookie-cutter plot. You could have substituted any number of characters for the protagonist here. This book is not worthy of the Hannibal Lecter I came to fear (and love) in Silence of the Lambs.

Did I mention this was an audiobook? Thomas Harris should have left the reading to professionals. I would have preferred someone with a more neutral accent. His southern twang made me think I was listening to some bad George W. Bush impersonator all throughout the book. His European accents were passable, although sometimes hard to understand.

All in all, a disappointment. The movie is coming out, too. My guess is that it would be as unsatisfying as that movie "Hannibal."

Urban Bike Skills Course

I recently attended the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's 2-day Urban Bike Skills class and I'm totally blown away by how awesome these guys are! I would definitely recommend this class to anyone who is a beginner cyclist in SF.

To start, the classes are free - all you need to do is go to their website and register. The first day is a 4-hour classroom discussion of street laws and skills necessary to ride safely around the city. They have handouts, slideshows and videos to supplement the lecture.

The second day is an outdoor class --- a chance to practice the skills learned in the classroom. This was my favorite part of the course. The first half was held at Golden Gate Park, where we had different "practice stations." In short, we practiced how to (1) look behind while riding, without swerving to the side (not as easy as it sounds!) (2) making a sudden complete stop without skidding (3) how to quickly avoid something on the road while making a minimal change in your course (4) making a sudden right/left turn to avoid a collision. (I totally sucked at all of them, btw. But practice makes perfect, of course...)

The second part of the day is actually on the road. We had enough instructors so that each instructor had 2 students (and there were probably about 15 of us, more or less). We took a route around the Golden Gate Park area during the afternoon --- first run was led by the instructor, showing us the right way to change lanes, make left turns, stay visible, when to "take the lane" etc. On the second run, it was the students' turn to lead, and a chance for the instructors to see how well we learned.

At the end of the course, the instructor spent time with each student to discuss those things we did well, or on those points where we need to improve. They even have a checklist and a grading system for it!

In short, these guys really know what they're doing and they are serious about educating cyclists. They aren't just "going through the motions" in teaching this class. It is their goal to educate people so that we can be safe on the road and that (through riding responsibly) we can be "ambassadors" for all other cyclists.

Thanks, guys! Keep up the great work!!!

Salsa - Extra Chunky!

Well, that was a bust...

Those were my words as I was walking away from the salsa class I just took at the Mission Cultural Center a little while ago. I'd been looking forward to my first salsa class in SF - there are just so many of them scattered throughout the city that I have several lined up to try out.

The salsa class I used to attend in Kissimmee, FL was taught by Salsa Heat, and they were by far the most organized class I've seen. That is, when you put into consideration that it is a walk-in class, and has about 20-40 people in a class, often 2 or 3 going on at one time.

This one tonight, though - not so good. The teacher, Mr Jaime Martinez (pictured on the left with the maracas and the Hoochie-Koochie Chiquitas), is a good dancer - but there really is no way to teach salsa properly without a female co-teacher. This being a basics class, he taught the basic salsa step and then proceeded to teach this big combo move with back-to-back turns and multiple twirls that had us all scratching our heads. But he turned the music on (too fast for a newbie group) and gave us a "have at it!"

I should have just stayed home.

There was no question that all the guys there were good people, and it would be fair to say that some of them had some inkling of what was going on... but most of the time I was coaching my partners. It wasn't so much because of the fact that a lot of them were total dancing numbskulls and were getting really pitiful to watch, but it was more because they had to be in my face for the next few minutes (until the teacher would say "switch partners!") and I might as well make it a little less humiliating and a little more bearable for myself while they were there. Near the end of the practice session, I was in agony because some of them were starting to think "hey, I'm getting the hang of this!" and were getting a little overzealous and pulling hard and fast on the back-to-back turns.

How do you say "Excuse me sir, but I like to keep my shoulders in their respective sockets, thank you very much" in Spanish?

I haven't lost hope in the salsa classes at the Mission Cultural Center. After all, there are other classes there taught by other teachers. But I think this night has taken my away my appetite for salsa dancing, at least for the next few days. For now I'll stick with the kind that I can put on a Tostitos chip.

Listen to the Radio Salsa channel on the RadioCubik website.


Other class venues I'll be trying out:
Dance Mission
Metronome Dance Center
Rhythm and Motion
Dance SF
Studio Gracia
Barrio Tango
Tango Mango

Steve Irwin's Memorial Service on YouTube

I watched Steve Irwin's memorial service on YouTube today, and I'm not ashamed to say that I cried. He was one of the few celebrities that really made an impact on my life with his zest for life and his love of animals.

He lived and died doing what he loved. His memory will be an inspiration to me - to live my life with purpose and live each day to the fullest.

Thanks, Steve! You will be missed.

Jay Leno's tribute to Steve Irwin

At the end of the memorial video, there is a clip of him talking about his newborn daughter (Bindi). He says, "it's just unfortunate that I was the dad and not the mum, coz i reckon if I had boobs mate, I could do the breastfeeding." Priceless! :-)

Reconnaissance Mission: Santa Barbara

My trip to the Philippines last June was in one way a pleasure and in another, a disappointment. I always look forward to my trips back to the Philippines because I always think of it as "going home." Well, after all the excitement of seeing my family had worn off, I came to the sad realization that the place I considered "home" is no longer there. I had fond memories of this huge rice field right beside our residential subdivision that had this huge acacia tree right in the middle. It is now a restaurant and a motorcycle store, and I guess they built more houses over it. I had memories of sitting outside in our garden, munching on small aratilez we picked from our trees, with a cool breeze blowing. Or of waiting in greedy anticipation for when the coconuts would be ready to harvest from the 20-year old trees we had out front … and getting sick from eating too much when it was finally time. The trees are gone now, and my brother had built his house on the lot where the garden once was. I don't know – I guess I am romanticizing it all. I am sure it was not as idyllic as it is in my memory now. I am probably just wanting to return back to that time when I was young and things like mortgage payments, relationship issues, retirement plans and job security were still decades away. I suppose one of my goals in travel nursing now would be to find that new place to finally settle down and call "home."

Anyway, speaking of that quest… I have several places in Cali that I am eyeing for my next assignment. (So much for just staying in Cali for 3 months!) My next dream location is in the City of Santa Barbara, about 300 miles south of San Francisco and about 100 miles north of Los Angeles. (www.santabarbaraca.com) I had a 6 straight days off a few weeks ago so I decided I'd take the Amtrak train from San Jose to Santa Barbara for a "reconnaissance mission" haha. Of course, as Murphy's Law would have it, Cali was under a heat wave at the time, and we were notified that the train would be 5 hours late. I refused the option to take the bus (which would have arrived at SB at around 6pm that day) because I was a dooby-brain and wanted to try the Amtrak. The train was re-scheduled for 3:30pm, but I sat at that train station waiting for that train until it finally arrived at 7:45pm. I boarded, but my relief was short-lived as I realized that - crap! I am going to arrive at Santa Barbara at 3-friggin'-AM!

And so there I was, at the Santa Barbara train station at 3:30am. The train stayed there for about 10 minutes, and during that time I was working my way up to a major heart attack as I was walking up and down the street, trying to look for where the *&^%$ hostel was. The website said they were just across the train station, and from what I could see there was no hostel in sight. I told myself I would have to figure this one out fast, because the rest of the people who got off the train with me were already getting into their cars and driving off, and pretty soon I would be by myself on that platform. I saw a shuttle bus nearby and asked the guy there if he knew where the hostel was. He said he was sorry but he was from LA and didn't know. I thanked him and started walking away but then he started asking me questions and afterward said, "hey, can I give you my number so you can call me sometime?" He must have seen the "huh?" expression on my face so he added, "or maybe you can give me yours so I can call you…?" In my mind I thought, sh*t, I am gonna get myself murdered… Anyway I declined and he was totally gracious about it. Thinking back on it, I would have considered it charming – if it had been in the daylight hours. But when it's 3AM and I'm by myself in some strange city and I've got the deer-in-the-headlights look and I'm in fight-or-flight mode, I'm more inclined to give a guy a kick in the solar plexus than my phone number. Oh well. Anyway, long story short, when the train left the station, the hostel was just literally across the tracks. So I breathed a huge sigh of relief and checked myself in.

Santa Barbara is definitely a gorgeous city – they had reconstructed and restored the downtown area in its old Spanish and Mediterranean style. From afar you'd see buildings with adobe-like walls and tile roofs, but close up you'd see upscale shops and restaurants that would rival Beverly Hills. Their courthouse was also part-museum, and I had it in my list of "things to see." I entered expecting to just walk through but the building was so amazingly preserved with its tiled floors, huge murals and mosaic-lined walls - that I spent an entire afternoon inside, just taking in the sights.

Well, I'll have to see how it goes. SB will definitely be in my list of possible future assignments.

Dixie Cups

Currently I am staying with a fellow nurse in Santa Clara, CA, just a few miles away from Mountain View. She lets me stay here for almost next to nothing and so I have given myself the title of being her "live-in maid" and try to be as useful as I can. BTW, we have another roommate in the house - a 25lb pug named Grissom (after Gil Grissom of the tv show CSI). I have to tell you, pugs could very well be the ugliest living creatures alive but - heaven help us! - Grissom has us wrapped around his little paw, and we just love him to pieces.

My roommate, Dixie, is almost my clone, except much nuttier. Last night after coming home from work at 12:30 midnight, she said, "hey, you wanna go to San Francisco for a pizza? I can call some friends and have it delivered by the time we get there.." So, we grab our coats and off we go. We took the 50-mile drive, arrived at her friend's house, ate pizza, raided the refrigerator for other munchies, and then we said our goodbyes and drove home. Hahaha if ever I had a long-lost twin, Dixie would be it.

Backpacking with the Sierra Club

I went on my 2^nd backpacking trip last weekend at Henry Coe State Park with the Loma Prieta Backpacking Section of the Sierra Club. I decided to bring my heavy SLR camera this time, and it was almost 70% worth the trouble. I am saying 70% because I got some good pics BUT that thing is a heavy bugger and there were times during the hike when I wished I could toss it down the cliff (but they teach us to "Leave No Trace" and so I didn't do it). I posted some of the pics at my Flickr site. My scanner was acting up so the colors aren't as good as I'd like, though.

I have to say that this trip kicked my ass. The hike from the trailhead to the campsite was 4 miles downhill, at times the trail felt like it was a 45-degree angle or more. And of course, the hike back to the trailhead was even worse. We took a route that was not as steep, but quite long. 5 miles, uphill 700 feet. My backpack was probably 30 pounds more or less. All I had in there were essentials – tent, sleeping bag, cookware, clothes, food, water, and other miscellaneous (but necessary) crap. But the damn thing felt like I was carrying a patio set and a cabana boy. (Ah, would that I could! A girl can always dream, right?)

It is Monday today and it's been 24 hours since the hike but I am in paaaiiinnn. Hahahaha thank heavens for Advil! It was funny how any downhill incline is causing me so much pain today – even the *&^%$ wheelchair access ramps on the sidewalk, for heavens sake! I noticed I was walking like an arthritic grandmother and so I decided to fix my gait to keep from walking lopsided. Unfortunately I think I may have looked like a cocky teenager instead. But hey, cocky teenager looks better than arthritic grandmother. Besides, I'm turning 30 this year (and by Filipino standards, a frumpy old spinster hahahaha) so I guess it's a good excuse to look "cool" for a little while.

Anyway, on the trip home last Sunday I told my friends that I might pass up on the last trip. It is a 3-day, 2-night trip in the High Sierras. If the Henry Coe trip was classified a "moderate" trip, the Sierra one would be "strenuous" (according to one of the instructors). I hate to back out, but I have to recognize my limitations here. They are all encouraging me to go, but I told them I have been living in a vegetative state for most of my life and I can't become SuperHikerGirl in 1 month. My friend told me that I should just go on my own pace, it doesn't matter if I'm slower because it just gives them more time to chill and drink sodas in the parking lot. That's easy for him to say – he's in Stanford's competitive rowing team! I told them I will build up my endurance by going on regular hikes around the San Francisco Bay Area, but there's no way I'll get conditioned for a "strenuous" hike in a few days. I'll have to cool my heels for now and just gradually work my way up to that level. I'm not considering it as a defeat. Just a postponement. I've got lots of time. :-)

It was raining in the 50's during the hike home, and there were many times in those 5 miles that I started to ask myself what in the hell am I doing here and why would I want to put myself in this kind of horrible situation? And then finally during the last mile or so, I glanced up and realized I'd reached a clearing and saw the mountains around me and the view took my breath away. A voice inside me said that's why. It was already almost level ground near the top of the mountain (Where the parking lot was) but I had to slow my pace to soak in the sights. It was incredible – the rain, the view, the solitude- it had been a while since I'd felt such inner peace. It made me forget the heavy backpack and the grueling hike I'd just been through. (At this point, I was already hiking by myself [I preferred it that way] – the faster hikers have long since passed me and the slower hikers still a long ways down.) It just strengthened my resolve to do solo hikes in the future. My camera had run out of film too, and it was raining too hard and too risky to open my camera. I really wanted to take pictures of that awesome view.

No big deal, though – I can always close my eyes and see it fresh in my mind anytime.