I rode my bike for the first time in several weeks since opening the pharmacy. In the early part of my ride, this woman yells out "Damn, you have nice legs!" from the passenger seat of a car. That made me feel good since most of the time people are yelling obscenities at me or honking at me or just trying to run me over.
Things started getting worse when I started my route back home. Some fugly fat Hispanic grandma in an SUV kept honking at me for no reason. I was going down a 2 lane road. One lane for going south and one for going north. There was plenty of space for the angry granny to pass me. Instead she just kept honking her horn at me as if trying to say that I should get off the road. I actually went down 5 miles south before I saw her again. After that I just left her in the dust. I guess people are frustrated when they are stuck behind traffic and stop lights. It's still no reason to take it out on bikes. I always watch out for bikes and pedestrians when I drive without getting mad at them even though they aren't obeying the traffic laws. Some people are so rude.
Later on when I was biking back home, this guy sitting in the front passenger seat of a green taxi opens the door right in front of me trying to knock me down. Fortunately, my spidey sense was tingling and I had a precognitive moment where I thought that a car door might open up. The green taxi cab was stopped at a signal behind a few other cars. The taxi just passed by me earlier. As I approached the taxi, some stupid middle eastern guy just opens the door as fast as he could trying to time the door swing so that I would get hit. I slammed on my brakes and started skidding. I tried to steer my bike as close to the right as possible. Fortunately, there was some extra space on the right for me to pass without hitting the car door. If there was less space between the car door and the curb, I might have ended up in the hospital. He screams something at me and I yell back, "You frackin' @$$hole!" I should have stopped and taken some pictures of him and the taxi's license plates. I was kind of in shock and plus my adrenaline was pumping. I made excellent time on my way home so I guess I didn't want to stop or didn't think about stopping. I didn't want a jerkoff to ruin my day. Actually, he did since he committed assault by intentionally trying to make me crash into the car door. He might have been mad since I kept passing him on my bike at several intersections. Still, he had no right to try and kill me.
The taxi passed me again and I caught up to him at the light, but the light turned green before I could get the license plate. I got the taxi cab phone number, but decided not to call since I didn't have the license plate.
Despite the idiots and a-holes on the road, I wouldn't trade cycling for the world. If I make it back home in one piece and I had fun and exercise most of the time, then it's a good day.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Bowl-o-Rama
Last night, the Sunday School Teachers met at the Great Wall Chinese Restaurant and had some delicious food. We met at 8:00 p.m. since we had to close the pharmacy prescription section. I overstuffed myself as always.
Then, we went bowling. We only had time for one game since it was Saturday night and it was crowded. We had to wait about half an hour to get 2 lanes. There were 12 of us who played. We finished around midnight. I suck at bowling and seem to be getting worse every time I play. I only play about once every one or two years. Sarah did much better than me.
However, bowling is a very good social game. It really brings people closer together since we're all cheering for one another. Well, it brings feelings of closeness. It's back to normal the next day.
I had to wake up by 6:00 a.m. so I could get to church by 7:00 a.m. to set up the church sound equipment.
Sarah and I are really tired since we work 12-14 hours a day every single day at the pharmacy these days. I've only been sleeping 4-6 hours a night and I'm simply too exhausted to do anything else these days.
Those who attended bowling night was: Tony, James, Sarah, Yang, Whoony, Fenny, Jenny, Jung Mi, Ryan, Jimmy, Erich, and me.
Kate, Miju, Irene, and lil' Mikey were there for dinner.
I left my camera in my car, and we took Whoony's car so I couldn't take any pictures. :(
Then, we went bowling. We only had time for one game since it was Saturday night and it was crowded. We had to wait about half an hour to get 2 lanes. There were 12 of us who played. We finished around midnight. I suck at bowling and seem to be getting worse every time I play. I only play about once every one or two years. Sarah did much better than me.
However, bowling is a very good social game. It really brings people closer together since we're all cheering for one another. Well, it brings feelings of closeness. It's back to normal the next day.
I had to wake up by 6:00 a.m. so I could get to church by 7:00 a.m. to set up the church sound equipment.
Sarah and I are really tired since we work 12-14 hours a day every single day at the pharmacy these days. I've only been sleeping 4-6 hours a night and I'm simply too exhausted to do anything else these days.
Those who attended bowling night was: Tony, James, Sarah, Yang, Whoony, Fenny, Jenny, Jung Mi, Ryan, Jimmy, Erich, and me.
Kate, Miju, Irene, and lil' Mikey were there for dinner.
I left my camera in my car, and we took Whoony's car so I couldn't take any pictures. :(
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Chinatown 5K Race
I just got back from the Chinatown 5K Race this morning. I got there a little late, because a cop pulled me over. Fortunately, I was able to sweet talk my way out of getting a ticket.
I started at the back of the pack at 8:00 a.m. I only did the 5K instead of the 10K, because I had to finish as fast as possible so that I could fulfill my duties at church. I usually get to church when it opens at 7:00 a.m. to set up the sound equipment for the kids worship service. I wish it opened earlier on Sundays, because I have a lot of stuff to do. I have to prepare the kids' bible study, set up the sound equipment, eat some food, wash up, and change my clothes. I usually run or bike 13-15 miles depending on the route I take to church. If I run, I usually leave before 5:00 a.m. If I bike I leave before 6:30 a.m. I go to the 8:00 a.m. service and we have a teacher's meeting at 9:30 a.m. Maybe next year, I'll do the 10K. It starts at 8:30 a.m. though. Maybe, I'll do the 5K and then run the 10K right afterwards. The 5K and the 10K registration fees cost the same.
I was thinking of running to the race, but I thought I would be too tired to post a good time. I was thinking of biking to the race, but I didn't want anyone to steal my bike while I was running. Plus, I usually carry some stuff with me when I bike and I didn't have any place to put my stuff. So, I drove my car to the race. That's when I got pulled over.
There were several hundred people at the race. I couldn't believe how many people there were. I couldn't even run in the beginning because it was way too crowded. When I was finally able to run, I went at a really slow pace, because there were just way too many people blocking my way. The entire street and sidewalks were filled with people. Eventually, the crowds thinned out the further out we went.
I was passing everyone and it felt great. After awhile though my heart started beating really fast. During a race, I push myself at a faster pace than when I usually run during training. The uphill section was tough. After when I reached the turnaround point, it started going downhill. That's when my heart felt like it was about to burst. I had to slow down because I had not felt my heart beat like that before. I guess my conditioning was not as good as I thought. I usually don't run at that pace. When I run a half marathon to church in the mornings, I usually go at slow and steady pace. During today's race, I pushed myself to pass as many people as I could. I need to do some more interval training to get my heart to take that kind of high pace strain.
Eventually, my heart settled down a bit and then I pushed myself again. When I came near the finish line, I sprinted. I finished in about 23 minutes. I think I could have gone 5 minutes faster had it not been for the slowpokes blocking me in the beginning of the run. I'll have to train a lot harder though if I want to keep up a faster race pace. I don't want to die of a heart attack.
The great thing about racing is that it is fun running with so many people. I can totally understand the pain and heavy breathing from the people around me. We share in the suffering and we revel in our mutual agony. I didn't even wear my new running shoes, because it was raining in the morning and didn't want to get them dirty so soon. So, I ran with my old running shoes.
I used to be faster in high school. I was the fastest kid in junior high. Then, the kids all started getting the growth spurts in high school, and they started running really fast. I was still fast, but not as good as the track stars.
I've been pretty tired lately since I've been helping Sarah's pharmacy as much as possible. We have to work really hard to make our business grow so that we can survive this recession. I don't want to live out on the streets.
I started at the back of the pack at 8:00 a.m. I only did the 5K instead of the 10K, because I had to finish as fast as possible so that I could fulfill my duties at church. I usually get to church when it opens at 7:00 a.m. to set up the sound equipment for the kids worship service. I wish it opened earlier on Sundays, because I have a lot of stuff to do. I have to prepare the kids' bible study, set up the sound equipment, eat some food, wash up, and change my clothes. I usually run or bike 13-15 miles depending on the route I take to church. If I run, I usually leave before 5:00 a.m. If I bike I leave before 6:30 a.m. I go to the 8:00 a.m. service and we have a teacher's meeting at 9:30 a.m. Maybe next year, I'll do the 10K. It starts at 8:30 a.m. though. Maybe, I'll do the 5K and then run the 10K right afterwards. The 5K and the 10K registration fees cost the same.
I was thinking of running to the race, but I thought I would be too tired to post a good time. I was thinking of biking to the race, but I didn't want anyone to steal my bike while I was running. Plus, I usually carry some stuff with me when I bike and I didn't have any place to put my stuff. So, I drove my car to the race. That's when I got pulled over.
There were several hundred people at the race. I couldn't believe how many people there were. I couldn't even run in the beginning because it was way too crowded. When I was finally able to run, I went at a really slow pace, because there were just way too many people blocking my way. The entire street and sidewalks were filled with people. Eventually, the crowds thinned out the further out we went.
I was passing everyone and it felt great. After awhile though my heart started beating really fast. During a race, I push myself at a faster pace than when I usually run during training. The uphill section was tough. After when I reached the turnaround point, it started going downhill. That's when my heart felt like it was about to burst. I had to slow down because I had not felt my heart beat like that before. I guess my conditioning was not as good as I thought. I usually don't run at that pace. When I run a half marathon to church in the mornings, I usually go at slow and steady pace. During today's race, I pushed myself to pass as many people as I could. I need to do some more interval training to get my heart to take that kind of high pace strain.
Eventually, my heart settled down a bit and then I pushed myself again. When I came near the finish line, I sprinted. I finished in about 23 minutes. I think I could have gone 5 minutes faster had it not been for the slowpokes blocking me in the beginning of the run. I'll have to train a lot harder though if I want to keep up a faster race pace. I don't want to die of a heart attack.
The great thing about racing is that it is fun running with so many people. I can totally understand the pain and heavy breathing from the people around me. We share in the suffering and we revel in our mutual agony. I didn't even wear my new running shoes, because it was raining in the morning and didn't want to get them dirty so soon. So, I ran with my old running shoes.
I used to be faster in high school. I was the fastest kid in junior high. Then, the kids all started getting the growth spurts in high school, and they started running really fast. I was still fast, but not as good as the track stars.
I've been pretty tired lately since I've been helping Sarah's pharmacy as much as possible. We have to work really hard to make our business grow so that we can survive this recession. I don't want to live out on the streets.
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