Attend a yoga class

On Sunday, I went to a free yoga class at the Presidio Sports Basement. Luckily Michelle called me and I managed to drag my ass out of bed in time. She and Brian were already there and ready. The class was largely women--no surprise there. In yoga, you are supposed to concentrate on your breathing to the point of controlling where in your body you inhale the air. You use the breathing to to focus your attention away from the mental aspect of holding poses for an extended period of time. It leads to a heightened state of calmness/awareness. (Or dizziness if you are me and didn't have breakfast and can't remember to inhale/exhale at the correct times. Sometimes, I am convinced there is little difference between nirvana and low blood sugar/oxygen levels....)
We went through all kinds of positions--the dog, the cat, rocking the baby, the warrior, the kitchen table--there seriously seems to be a yoga pose for pretty much any object you can think of. Some of the stretches hurt so good. Others were easy and some made me inwardly scream their name. After a certain point, awash in tranquility, we started doing pelvic stretches. Between that and the deep breathing all I could think about was tantric sex and how I'm not having any. At all. Le sigh. (Though you best believe I made a mental note that this is a "girly" activity to drag a guy along to that we could both appreciate and, ahem, "thank" each other for later...)
At the end of the hour I felt more relaxed and limber. Then little kiddies started filing in for their class and it was back to reality, more recharged and slightly less skeptical of connecting with the "temple" that is my body.

Angel Island Trail Race

In an attempt to kick off a healthier year and knock out #44, I signed myself up for a 16k trail race with a mild 1,036' elevation. Then I promptly stopped training. (Not that I ever really started...) In typical Clara fashion, I figured a few 3.5 mile jogs and having run a marathon about 3 months ago would suffice. To my surprise and amazement, it actually did! I finished in 1:53:24. While nothing to write home about, it's under 2 hours, and thus exceeded my expectations.

The weather was perfect--cool and slightly foggy. At the start of the race some little miss cunt fellow runner told me I wasn't allowed to wear a headset on single trail races. I looked around, incredulously noting at least seven other runners in our proximity with theirs already in. Instead of punching her in the face, I civilly pocketed my nano, vowing to put it in as soon as we got away from the start line. (I did continue to get disapproving looks from some other runners throughout the race. Their elitism made me glad I was there, polluting the "purity" of their "sport.") The altitude got high really quickly, but the long, fast downhills saved me. Some points along the trail were so foggy it looked like if you stepped off, you'd fall into the clouds. The views of the city line were pretty sweet and would've been truly amazing had the day not been as overcast. Here is one from the summer version of this run:



My strategy was basically to walk the steep parts (I walk quickly though!) and run all the easy descending ones. The last 2 miles my knee cap became furious with me and my right hip joined the protest. Apparently they don't appreciate being forced to participate in such under prepared physical endeavors. I can still hear them cracking, clicking and plotting to make a cripple of me before 30 if I keep it up... Mercifully, Rupa's music kept up my pace long enough to sprint the finish, even passing some people!

We had lunch at Sam's afterwards and then I crashed for 5+ hours. Barring rain, this weekend I am definitely going hiking in Pacifica and next month for the Super Bowl maybe crashing the Kaiser half around Golden Gate Park if Brian and Lindsay are down, mixing delinquency with exercise and saving myself $50 at the same time. Win!

New Year's Eve 2010

I have not been in the mood for festivities this past month. Christmas Day might as well have been May 3rd for all I cared. I had bought a dress for NYE-- a short, tight black little number with just enough class to spare me from utter Skankdom. It had been staring at me from its perch on my door for the past week, losing desirability with each passing day. Gone was my energy to get dolled up and shitfaced. I then came up with the half-assed plan to go night hiking instead.

While a great idea, my impetuousness and last minuteness almost always guarantee solo pursuits, because people always seem to need proper notice of such undertakings. I thought I had secured some partners in crime, but one couple bailed and the remaining two can't keep their hands off of each other. That and they have an insatiable addiction to chain-smoking cigarettes, which ABSOLUTELY RUINS nature (and, well, EVERYTHING) for me. I weighed the pros and cons of pretending to tolerate their PDA and carcinogens; company v. aloneness, playing nice with others v. freedom, safety in numbers v. rape and dismemberment, etc . Given my not-so-great day and consequent surly evening attitude, I decided perhaps keeping myself away from others the best bet.

I took a 2 hour nap and managed to drag myself out of bed by 11:15pm, annoyed, but determined not to let my indolence cause me to sleep through the final minutes of 2009. I pushed $62 and my ID into one pocket, loaded a head lamp, my phone, ipod, camera, a small umbrella, and a small paring knife, just in case, into my jacket pockets and set out toward Lands End.

On foot, it took me less than 30 minutes to reach a good vantage point on the Coastal Trail to ring in the new year. The Golden Gate Bridge glowed against the sultry fog of the clear night sky. The moon shone brilliantly, soothingly, illuminating the surprisingly warm night. For the first NYE in years, I saw the fire works erupting from Aquatic Park. Happy 2010 world.

Having abandoned attempts to take pictures in the dark, I continued along the trail, hyper alert and suspicious of distant shadows, but after a while, chilled out. I re-pocketed the headlamp, as my eyes had adjusted to the ample moonlight and the light from the headlamp was reminding me of the Blair Witch Project. (I'd also become convinced I'd see a spider drop down before my eyes causing me to scream and lurch myself off a cliff.)

The walk was very serene and rejuvenating, the seratonin flooding my brain allowing me to welcome 2010 with optimism. At one point I stopped and convened with the moon, convinced it was directing me to sit in the stone bench it was irradiating and state aloud my resolutions. I wondered on accompanied by the sound of the serf and the sight of white waves riding the edges of distant rocks in the sea, drinking in the coastal skyline. Company would've been nice, but I have learned that I can fully appreciate solo activities. (Pretty sure that remark is going to ruefully catapult me into spinsterhood one day...)

Once back on surface streets, I put on my ipod and let Kid Cudi, Kanye, Weezer, Miles Davis and Coldplay take me home.

New Year, New Page

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010. This isn't a new chapter in my life, so much as it is a chance to turn the page and focus with renewed zeal.

My main goal this year is to lose 15 lbs. The weigh in: 148. I figure setting a 2 lb/month goal is a good starting point. In addition, cooking more, adding in the dreaded weight training, mixing up the fitness routine more, drinking more than 1.5 liters of water per day and sucking it up and buying those pre-cut/sliced fruits and veggies so I stop gravitating to the 10 for $10 Haagen-Dazs ice cream and 2 for $5 cookie sales... This is going to be a sad year for my inner fat kid.

I am going to start writing more, because I need a constructive way to digest the last decade and the next few years which promise to have high highs and very low lows. I have started a blog to to help accomplish this.

I am also really going to work on not giving people such a hard time. Ironically, I mainly only do this to people I like, and for the most part they understand this, but I need to let up more so that they know I really do appreciate them. It's not going to be easy. Perhaps I'll compromise by only making subtle remarks--a sting instead of a bite. This will help me seem less combative and force me to do a better job filtering what I say, practices that are vital to good lawyering anyway. Besides, I am not in college anymore--wit is more admirable and age appropriate.

I don't really have any other super interesting or pressing goals, but life isn't always about thrill--consistency is a necessity, so I will concentrate staying in the present and practice honing my brown belt skillz in the art of patience through moderation.

Attend every class of three first semester law courses

This was one of those minor, tedious but necessary goals. 1Ls have five courses each semester, so staying on top of things is crucial to surviving the first year of law school. I'm sure my grades will be disappointments, but upside, now I know exactly what I need to do for the remaining semesters. Between the other two courses I only missed 3 classes. My attendance rate hasn't been this high since my parents were in charge of taking me to school! I'll take it as a sign I'm starting to get all growed up :)