Ode to Steinbeck

This past weekend Seth and I ventured to Carmel to eat at his cousin's restaurant with a couple of his college roommates. Before we ate, Seth was nice enough to brave Monterey traffic so I could explore Cannery Row. I had not been to Monterey since 1997 - aka before I discovered John Steinbeck and all his literary genius. I wanted to see one of the places that inspired Steinbeck's writing. As one of California's native sons, I feel like Steinbeck defines California heritage in a way no other writer has done, and so Seth and I wandered a few streets, watched the waves crash against the rocks, and then decided we were starving, so it was time for Carmel (more on that later). Steinbeck is everything that a writer should be, and so Cannery Row and the central coast of California is exactly as I had pictured it from his carefully crafted sentences.

 A couple pieces of Steinbeck's writing have been on my mind lately. One is a simple line from The Winter of Our Discontent when he says, "I wonder how many people I've looked at all my life and never seen." The other comes from Steinbeck's most epic work, East of Eden, when he says, "In uncertainty I am certain that underneath their topmost layers of frailty men want to be good and want to be loved. Indeed, most of their vices are attempted short cuts to love. When a man comes to die, no matter what his talents and influence and genius, if he dies unloved his life must be a failure to him and his dying a cold horror. It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure to the world."  How amazing is that?!  That same chapter goes on to say, "We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil. And it occurs to me that evil must constantly respawn, while good, while virtue, is immortal. Vice has always a fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is." I love that so, so much.  I just can't help myself.

Called to Serve

I knew when President Monson made the announcement that mission ages were lowering that Jenessa would go on a mission. I almost had an insta-cry moment even though I knew the departure date was months or even years away. Jenessa who repeatedly denied that a mission was a guarantee said simply that she would pray about a mission while on her study abroad in Jerusalem (like going to the Holy Land and walking where Jesus walked would make someone less inclined to serve the Lord :) ). Jewels told her in no uncertain terms not to pray while she was there (Jewels was only half kidding).  And now it's official, Jenessa is working on her papers, getting blood work done at Palestinian hospitals, and preparing to be Sister Hutchins somewhere in this crazy world.

(Jenessa at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem)

 I would be lying if I said I wasn't dreading Jenessa's announcement, despite the fact that I know Jenessa makes no decisions lightly...and if she decided to go, it would be the best decision for her. And I may or may not have been in a slightly cranky mood for the last two weeks because of the email that came with the official declaration that a mission was in the immediate future. That said, this morning, I saw on my Facebook newsfeed a video from the Deseret News. I have no idea how that was in my newsfeed. I don't follow the Deseret News. I honestly don't even like it as a real news source, but watching this video of Olympus High School graduates from the class of 2012 opening their mission calls was the first time I grasped the possibility of Jenessa's decision. I still will need therapy when Jenessa leaves, and Jewels may need to move to California as a sanity saver for us both, but this sister is finally genuinely excited for the youngest member of the J-team to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Stay tuned for the official call - fingers crossed that it comes soon.

Santa Barbara Half Marathon

I naively signed up for Santa Barbara before even running the San Jose half. Ultimately I was glad that I signed up early because I may have talked myself out of it - not because I didn't love running in October, but because I was so tired by the whole experience. Santa Barbara was barely a month later, but the calls to Anna  and Maria had been made. We had paid the entrance fee, put down money on the vacation rental, and settled on travel plans. 

The race was on Saturday, November 10. This complicated things because I didn't want to miss work, so Seth and I left as soon as that final bell rang and made the drive to the central coast. Seth dropped me off at the darling beach house I was staying at with Anna's family and Maria close to 11pm. We unsuccessfully tried to sleep and were lacing up our shoes just after 5am so that we could line up for the busses that were supposed to get us to the starting line.

 The busses were hopelessly behind, so we stood in the freezing morning sunshine and took pictures. I think our feet look so tiny. Not quite sure how the proportions ended up this way. 

For it being so early and so cold, we look pretty happy. Lots of laughing and lots of people watching. 

 This amazing woman has three boys and a husband working towards a PhD at U.C. Riverside, and she still managed to fit in time to train. We've come a long way from our days running around the halls of our freshman dorm. 

This is the iconic Instagram of the day. 

Our lavish travel arrangements - Santa Barbara school busses. Oh so fancy. 

 Maria ran her heart out and finished much sooner than Anna and I, so Maria was able to snap this action shot of our final turn on the course with Gangam Style blaring every inch of the way. This half marathon was a good excuse for Anna and I to catch up without her cute boys climbing all over her. It was also was an incredible view of the ocean as we rounded a corner during the last couple miles. 

 Tired, starving (my two pre-run bananas just weren't cutting it), and happy.

It was Veteran's Day weekend so our course had these fine gentlemen clad in uniform hanging out at the end. 

The standout thing about this run is actually what happened after. While it was a great adventure to run with these two friends, it was Maria getting so sick on our bus back to the parking lot that left the more lasting impression. The poor girl threw up over and over again over the course of the hour after the race and was so weak that I drove her back to Los Angeles because I was nervous about her being alone on the road. I was sad to leave Anna, Justin, and her boys much earlier than planned, but glad that I had the ability to get Maria home. Besides my legs shaking like crazy while Maria and got stuck in traffic on the 101, we had a surprisingly good time just chatting and marveling about the fact that we had done two races in a month. We even mused about the possibility of a marathon and gushed over pictures of her new niece. I fell asleep before eight that night curled up on Maria's couch. 

Because Seth had continued on to Orange County after dropping me in Santa Barbara, he was able to come pick me up the next morning so that we could make the trek back home. Naturally we had to stop in San Luis Obispo (which we also did on the way down) for food and to drop off Seth's friend Jim. When we got back to the Bay Area, it was hard to tell what had just happened. SLO, SB, LA, and back to the Bay in 48 hours - not to mention the 13.1 miles run in the middle. Oh, the insanity!!

Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half-Marathon - Post-Run

When Jenessa and I crossed the finish line, we knew were going to do the Jessica Ennis pose (see below). It was even better that Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" was playing and the people on the sidelines (including my parents and Cameron) were cheering like crazy. Jenessa and I were practically in tears. Finishing that race was an accomplishment we had been talking about for a long time, and amazingly enough we had done it. 

The race itself was actually so much fun. Maria had left us after mile one, since she was much better conditioned than Jenessa and I and had a chance for a great finish time. Being that it was a "Rock 'n' Roll" race, there were bands playing at every mile, not to mention high school pep bands and cheerleaders spread out along the way. These distractions and the random Gatorade stations were a major help. Without question though, having Jenessa by my side is the reason I made it through the race. She persevered through an injury to finish, never complaining even though she literally went down at mile ten in excruciating pain. Like I mentioned in my last post, people called us Double Mint twins along the way and others pointed saying audibly, "Oh my gosh, they're twins!" Yes, my sister, who is ten years my junior, and I were twins for a day. Couldn't ask for a better person to be my other half. 

Seth drew this picture of Jenessa and I crossing the finish line. I just recently hung up a copy of it in my classroom to (cue the cheesy music) remind me of what's possible when you have a goal and put in the work to make a dream a reality.  

The live-action photo that Seth's drawing comes from.

Our Jessica Ennis picture - you can tell we didn't buy the picture because the proof is a little bit scary, but it makes us oh, so happy.

Ice, Jamba, Gatorade, Sweat, and Tears

We found Maria and naturally had to take more pictures. I am so glad that Maria flew in from LA to run this race with us. Seems fitting to run with two of the most important people in my life. 

Not the most glamourous picture, but our mom looks great. 

I love the design of our finishers' medals. Very retro (if the 80s can be retro).

Our driver, artist, photographer, and moral support - not to mention distracting humorist. Seth's teasing about my pain after the race kept me laughing so much that I didn't focus on the fact that it got harder to move with each progressive minute. Oh the joys of running 13.1 miles. 

This is the Instagram that Jenessa posted after our event. I look at it all the time, in awe of the fact that we set a goal and actually accomplished it. Running has changed my outlook on so many things, myself included. It sounds a bit cliche to say that a single morning in October changed my life, but that morning and process of getting there really did. 

I took most of December and all of January off from running because of illness, cold (hello thirty degree temperatures in California, what is going on?!), and work chaos, and I have missed it so much. Starting next Tuesday, I'll be back. See you on the trail, and as always, happy running!

Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half-Marathon - Pre-Run

It has been months, but it's absolutely essential to document the Rock 'n' Roll half-marathon that Jenessa, Maria, and I ran on October 7th of last year. Becoming a runner was one of the highlights of last year, and this particular run helped solidify in our minds that this was not a "one and done" type of event. Once a runner, always a runner. 

 Early on Saturday morning, the girls and I trekked to San Jose Health Expo to pick up our race packets. This picture reminded  me of Jem and the Rockers - couldn't resist the photo op.

 No idea why we made Ness be documents with the Nesquik bunny, except that chocolate milk is delicious - even at twenty-nine and nineteen, respectively.

 We were trying to document our Lululemon purchases without smiling with these funny looking bags. This was what we came up with. I think our hunger was getting in the way of successful posing ideas. 

 The shirts are obviously what was in the Lulemon bags. We decided that for our first race, we wanted to be matchy-matchy. All throughout the course, people called Jenessa and I the Double Mint twins. 

 This race was in lieu of our normal J2 Walkathon - the motto is j-walk or die, and on a thirteen mile race course, we did all sorts of j-walking (j-running??). Successful event to be sure--

It was Tracy's idea that she and I do this race back during December 2011. Unfortunately, she and David ended up having a scheduling conflict, but had to give her a shout out for inspiring us with the idea in the first place. 

 I ended up moving from the 14th corral up to the 9th to leave the gates with Maria and Jenessa. Even still this is the tag that I am thrilled to have hanging on my wall at school.

Months later my face breaks into a full grin seeing these pictures.

Seth was nice enough to wake up way too early to drive the three of us down to San Jose, so we wouldn't have to park a car or worry about having shaking legs while driving back. He also brought his camera and helped document the madness.

Off we go. See you in 13.1 miles!

Word Obession

As you know, I am obsessed with quotes - quotes about books, quotes about boys, quotes about love, life, and the blissful mess it all can be. Here are a few that I've been musing on lately.

As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once. --John Green

(I love John Green, and I love this quote. It's perfect.)

For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice. --T.S. Eliot

(I read this on New Year's Day and have been trying to determine what I want 2013's voice to be ever since.)

A book lying idle on a shelf is wasted ammunition. --Henry Miller

Words were not given to man in order to conceal his thoughts  --Jose Saramago

(I am trying to be more transparent with my thoughts. It doesn't make a hard situation easier not to talk things through.)

Grammar is a piano I play by ear.  --Joan Didion
(Case in point for why teaching grammar is hard. You can just hear when things are right. In Didion's case, her playing is epically beautiful.)

My experience of life is that it is not divided up into genres; it’s a horrifying, romantic, tragic, comical, science-fiction cowboy detective novel. You know, with a bit of [bodice ripping] if you're lucky.  --Alan Moore
(This is a bit saucy, but I like the sentiment...and yes, I edited the original.)

Of course motivation is not permanent. But then, neither is bathing; but it is something you should do on a regular basis.  --Zig Ziglar

Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead. --Ben Franklin

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. --J.K. Rowling

The most exhausting thing in life, I have discovered, is being insincere. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh

(I just love this because it's so profoundly true.)

There you have it - something to think about. Love you tons!

just thought you should know

The real reason I am catching up on my posts is that Jenessa is halfway across the world studying for the semester in Jerusalem. She requested the updates, and since I want her to keep me posted, I promised to do the same. You should check out her updates aptly called "Come Away With Me". Her days are never boring and her pictures are fantastic. The only thing that would make her blog better is if I were in the pictures with her. Happy reading!