See Jane Tri - No Race Report

This morning I got up at 5am. Usually I would be exhausted, but today I wasn't. God granted me a good night's sleep before I got up to watch my friend Judith finish her triathlon season doing the See Jane Tri. I also had a friend from my swim class who did it, so I spend a couple of hours running from swim entry, to swim exit, to bike entry, to run entry, to finish line, to bike exit, to finish line. I think I got quite a work out, but not as much as the triathletes.

It was fun to be a spectator. Here are some definite pros I noticed:

1. You get to wear real clothes. You don't have to show every curve to the whole world.
2. You aren't nervous. It's exciting and fun, but not scary. I WILL watch my friends finish no matter what. No risk there.
3. You get to watch people light up as you cheer for them. Being a triathlete myself, I know how much it means to have encouragement. To know you are giving that to someone else is pretty cool.
4. You get to take the photos...again...no photos of me in spandex!
5. You get to wave the cool sign! I made a reversible sign to cheer on Judith and Erica. Here are Judith and I with one side.And last but not least...

6. You get to see the crazy things people do at races. If you are in it, you are oblivious to almost everything, but if you are a spectator you get to see this:Happy Triathlon Season Everybody!

My time has come...

When I was a kid, I DESPERATELY wanted to wear glasses. There was some time in elementary school when the first wave of classmates started to get them. I thought it would be so much fun. In fact, I even tried to ruin my eyesight so I could get glasses. I would try to strain my eyes as much as I could. Once, a friend even asked me what I was doing...I was embarrassed, so I said "nothing", and relaxed my eyes. I didn't actually know what my version of 'straining my eyes' looked like until I saw a picture of myself at a friend's birthday. My eyes were opened as wide as could be. No wonder my friend asked me what I was doing! I realized how stupid I looked trying to 'strain' my eyes, so I quit.

Since then, I have become incredibly proud of my good vision. In high school I was labeled with 20/15 vision! I was so proud! It shows how much I enjoy getting good test scores. :)

Alas, now that I spend 8 hours a day in front of a computer, my eyes have been feeling quite tired. I don't think I had a vision exam since that glorious high school moment, so I decided to get it checked out...Just to see if it was just fatigue or something else. It turns out I have astigmatism. Minor, but there none the less.

As they eye doctor was explaining astigmatism, he showed me a little diagram of two makeshift eyes. One was slightly football shaped, while the other was normal. He was trying to explain the condition to me, but all I could think about was the spelling. 'ASTIGMATISM'. All these years I've heard people say 'I have astigmatism' and I thought they were saying 'I have a stigmatism'. I felt like a fool. But obviously I saw some humor in it, or I wouldn't be posting it for the world to know. And apparently, I am not alone.

Anyway, I was given the recommendation to wear computer glasses. I wondered if relying on glasses at work would make my vision worse, but he said that was not the case with astigmatism. He said wearing the glasses would let my eyes rest and not have to work so hard to focus, and maybe they wouldn't get worse. So I decided to try it.

I've been looking at frames here and there, but it sure is hard to do alone! So yesterday my friend Sarah went with me and helped me pick out some hip and trendy ones...Well as hip and trendy as Elaine can get. So, I'd like to introduce part of what will be the new professional face of Elaine...
Maybe after I get used to wearing them, I'll post a picture of me with them on. But I don't know about that yet...This whole thing might become an identity crisis for me.

I call this one...'Yellow Prickliness'

A photo from a walk through Stevens Creek Park in Cupertino. I liked it. Maybe you will too.

Freakiness of Genetics: Results!

Well, I was waiting for that last comment from Karen before the results were posted. I have to admit I was wondering which way she would go. ;)

But I'm very pleased to announce that despite the freakiness of my genetic code, you all know me and my handwriting quite well. A is correct! Nice work everyone!

Freakiness of Genetics

Those of you who know me well enough to recognize my handwriting will find this post most interesting...if not challenging ;). Those of you who know me by my witty banter via typing only, I hope you will appreciate the freakiness of this post.

A few years ago, I was visiting my grandma. She had a 'Thank You' card on her table. It caught my eye because it looked like my handwriting. I picked it and tried to remember the occasion on which I wrote it, but I could not. Then I began to doubt that I wrote it...but there was no signature. So I asked Grandma who wrote it...and she said it was my Uncle Gonzo (my mom's youngest brother). I was shocked because it looked so similar. Then I asked her to read me the contents of the card, and I wrote out the same words. We compared and they were almost identical.

The next time I saw my uncle, I told him to write out a few words on paper...and I did the same. Then we swapped...and were amazed! So now for fun at family gatherings we freak out our relatives with our insane genetics.

So now, its your turn! Which one is my handwriting and which one is Uncle Gonzo's?

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

I hope you enjoy the challenge! I've been told we also have the same hands, esp the cuticles, the same cowlick, the same eyes, and I might even venture to guess the same face shape. Sometimes ya gotta wonder!