Fresno: Making Dreams Come True??

24 days from today, if everything goes according to plan, I will be an official finisher of the San Francisco Marathon. Of course a huge part of me decided to run a marathon to challenge myself, learn about hard work and dedication, and prove to myself that things I think are impossible can be achieved one step at a time. The other part of me, however, thought that a marathon would be a fantastic excuse for a trip and where better to travel then one of my favorite places San Francisco. My excitement for the trip has been mounting. I will see family and friends all the while achieving something pretty cool. However, today while digitally perusing some pictures from my March trip to the Bay Area, I started to feel a little resentful towards the 26.2 mile jog that's bringing me down to my city by the bay for the weekend. With all of the carb loading, resting, and nearly 5 hours of running how on earth am I going to be able to go shopping? This resentment turned into panic as I looked at pictures from the Alemany Flea Market in Bernal Heights that I had taken and I saw objects that I CLEARLY should have purchased at the time but didn't and now during this trip I will not be able to go back!

With less than a month left until the marathon it is hardly the time for me and my dream (running 26.2 miles) to come into conflict. There will be more trips to SF and there will be more flea markets. I let it go.

A few hours later though I started to think about the recently planned trip to Fresno I'm taking the weekend after this one. What will I do while I'm down there? A run. Reading by the pool. Watching my parent's cable. Eating. After naming all of these activies that I am absolutely and immensely looking forward to I remembered an INCREDIBLE thrift store in Fresno's Tower District with an even more incredible name -- Yoshi Now! And the great thing about this store is that it's not simply incredible by comparison. What I mean by that is this: Fresno, for me, is a little less than alluring. When I am there for too long I get frustrated, antsy, and, I'll say it, downright cranky. Anything even slightly interesting can easily be labeled as extraordinary when you're that desperate for something new. Yoshi Now! is not only exceptional for Fresno but it would be exceptional anywhere and in this respect Fresno has a leg up on Seattle. It is a treasure trove of the finest quality because it's huge, chalk full, and CHEAP!!!!

I hope they ship because a week from now I'm on my way!

Beer Me!

One of the best things about living on top of this hill...

Is a view like this...


And a great thing about riding your bike while living on a hill like this is the thrill of going down it. Unfortunately what goes down must come up again if she wants to get home to devour her roommate's homemade fajitas. And this is the biggest drawback I have found to living atop this handsome hill...

I was recently gifted a hand-me-down bike and it was not until today that I had the time (and the helmet) to get out there and try it out. I had been renting hybrid bicycles from a local bike shop and these bikes had been dreamy. When I moved to Seattle I brought with me my beautiful, apple red, Schwinn beach cruiser (named Harvey, thank you very much). Unfortunately, after being tied to the roof of my sport utility wagon, Harvey is a little worse for the ware and his 3 speeds are not quite enough to get me around Seattle. The bike that I was gifted is a hybrid bike similar to the ones I had been renting. The big difference? My hybrid bike has a distinct lack of upkeep but a definite excess of rust. But I figured since it's a hybrid it will ride with the same ease that the rental did. Oh ho ho! What a foolhardy little troll I can be! With confidence in my "new" bike I decided I would make its inaugural ride's destinatation be Magnolia. To my non Seattle-ite readers this means ALL the way down the west side of the hill across a bridge and then TADA another hill to ride UP! Well getting to Magnolia was not a problem but once I was I came to find out that my new friend is prone to making mountains out of mole hills. The slightest incline felt like a spinning class from hell. Shins, hammies, and lungs were burning! Defeated, I turned around. Back at the base of Queen Anne I had a mountain to ascend. The bike, currently nameless, and I had an awkward and silent (I use silent loosely as the huffing and puffing were defeaning) walk up the hill. Now sitting here in my apartment, sweating something fierce, and doubting my level of fitness (I ran 16 miles on Saturday for goodness sake but this nearly killed me?? How can it be?) I am craving a cold one to soothe the aches and bruised ego. Me and Mr. Nameless Bike are not on the best of terms. Perhaps once the wheezing subsides we'll be on speaking terms again, but I don't think I will be taking him down the hill until he decides to get a major tune up!

Exhausted,
OLIT