Weekend Holidaze

Scott is out of town tonight, on a business trip to Orange County. While it's great to lounge around in my underwear, let's face it: I'd do that anyway. I am so bummed that he's gone! It's not fun, contrary to popular belief. Sure, by the time he gets home tomorrow night I'll be just getting used to not having the house be a mess when I got home, and having well-behaved cats (they only misbehave when we're both home, no joke)....but oh my, I really do realize how much I love having him around when he's gone. Absence, in our case, really makes the heart grow fonder, especially for the one of us left alone at home.

I had the day off today for Presidents Day. This is my first time being at home, in town on this weekend in many years; typically it's a great time to visit family, and we're always away. This year we were here, and it turned out to be a pretty awesome thing; not only did we get to sleep a lot (desperately needed), but I also got to participate in two events I would have definitely missed out on otherwise: Sunday's Chinese New Year run, and  today's pinhole photography workshop at the Lomography SF gallery store. I'd love to share my thoughts on both of these events with the internet, so here we go:

Chinese New Year 5k

I really, really tried hard to prepare for this race ... until 2 weeks beforehand, when I was felled by a ridiculously long-lasting cold and a schedule that threatened to bring me to my knees. I was unable to run for literally two weeks before this, my first ever race! I tried to keep it cool, but on the inside I was really disappointed and really upset that this was how it was all going to play out.

But wait. No way was I going to fail at this. I could do this without training for two weeks beforehand, right?  I didn't really get into "let's do this," mode until two days before the race. At that point, no junk went into my body, and I slept as much as possible, and I tried to be as kind to myself as I could. The night before the race I watched a documentary on food (Forks Over Knives) & pampered my feet with a salt soak, pumice stone & moisturizer. I went to sleep later than I'd planned, but I knew all along that coffee would have to help sustain me through the race, so I hoped for the best and had to be happy with 6.5 hours of sleep.

In the morning, I was so frazzled & running late that I forgot to put on any concealer, couldn't put anything in my hair (hence the frizz disaster below) and had to chug my coffee like a college student hitting a beer bong before I left the house. But I made it in time, and the race happened, and I finished the 5k in a little more than 37 minutes (still waiting for my official race time, but I saw the clock as I ran through). I am really, really proud of myself. I had moments of mental weakness where I felt I was pacing myself too fast, or couldn't make it, or some other silly things ... but I remembered to center my mind again, and it was actually pretty easy after that. Something about being with so many other runners really inspired me to do my best.

Scott met me at the finish line. I liberated these photos from his camera moments ago & against my better judgment am showing them to you ... remember, no makeup and nothing in my hair.

Photo by Scott Gregory

Photo by Scott Gregory

So that was my first race. I rewarded myself by getting a veggie burger & fries at 10am, passing out for 4 hours and generally being a useless lazy slug the rest of the day. When's the next race???  Actually, I already think I know what it'll be: the Run For The Seals (Marine Mammal Center) in March.


Pinhole Photography Workshop

Today I did something that, if you know me well, seems like something I'd never do: I attended a pinhole photography workshop offered through Lomography's SF gallery store.

I'm not generally "the type of person who goes to workshops," if that makes sense. I don't like hanging out in groups and learning new things unless I have some leverage, some way of feeling like I'm not just another student. This dislike of admitting that I don't know things, and distaste for admitting that I could possibly be like other people and benefit from group learning, has been a lifelong problem, one that has prevented me from learning a bunch of things in life that I really wish I'd learned.

I don't know what inspired me, exactly, to check out the pinhole class today, other than that I've really wanted to get out there more and stop letting myself hold ... myself ... back. I also know zero about pinhole photography, and since the time + the price were right (2 hours, $10 and that included use of a Diana camera and a roll of film), and Scott wanted me out of the house so that he could be productive, I decided to just go for it. And I'm so glad I did, because it was nothing like I'd feared.

The class was totally not pretentious, even though it easily could have been. The other students in the class were all experienced photographers, but not douchebags about it. And hey, I'm an experienced photographer too ... and not a douchebag (right?). It just all ... worked. And I feel really inspired, and proud of myself for getting out there and doing something outside of my comfort zone. We also managed to get kicked out of the Zeum carousel, which was pretty interesting. Ahem.

I only had to pay $7 to get my roll of film developed through Lomo Labs. I should have my negatives soon, and when I manage to scan them in, I'll be sure to share them here. Hopefully at least one came out, but I know from owning a Holga for several years that nothing is guaranteed as far as toy cameras are concerned.

So that was my weekend. How was yours?