iPod Wars + P-RIDE

Let’s Get This Party Started… RIGHT!!!

So, some crafty friends of mine decided to organize a great event in which closet DJs (like me), play songs as requested by the judging panel, that fit into random (SERIOUSLY RANDOM) categories, and get judged on a scale from 1 (worst) to 5 (best). The end result… the winner becomes the musical overlord of all of his/her friends until the next installment of iPod Wars. BIG FUN!

We did this last night, so I don’t have the official numerical scores yet… but here’s how I played.

BEST SONG TO GET IT ON TO:

Sweetest Taboo x Sade

BEST CHEATING SONG:

She Said OK x Big Boy (feat. Theophilus London & Tre Luce)

SONG YOU LIKED WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG, BUT ARE EMBARRASSED ABOUT NOW:

Oh-bla-di Oh-bla-da x The Beatles

BEST SONG TO GET READY FOR BATTLE:

Backseat Freestyle x Kendrick Lamar

BEST SONG TO GET MARRIED TO:

Love the Way You Lie x Eminem (feat. Rihanna)

WORST SONG ON YOUR iPOD:

All That She Wants (Is Another Baby) x Ace Of Base

BEST SONG TO CRY TO AFTER A BREAKUP:

It Ends Tonight x The All-American Rejects

BEST SONG TO CRY TO/MASTURBATE IN THE SHOWER:

Darling Nikki x Prince

BEST 80s SONG:

Dude (Looks Like A Lady) x Aerosmith

BEST SONG TO DRIVE DRUNK TO:

Ridin’ Dirty x Krayzie Bone (feat. Chamillionaire)

Going into the final round I was in 3rd place, but after hitting the judges with Ridin’ Dirty they had to recognize the superiority of my repertoire… I ended up tied for 1st place with a good buddy of mine. And the tie break got pretty interesting…

TIE BREAK: Swap devices and play THE ONE SONG THAT ONCE IT’S PLAYED YOU JUST CAN’T NOT DANCE TO IT…

He played… Jammin’ x Bob Marley

I played… What is Love x Haddaway

What do you think happened? Yup, you got it! Another tie break…

TIE BREAK #2: With your own device play the BEST HOOK UP SONG ON THE “STEAK NIGHT” PLAYLIST (I have to note here that “Steak Night” is a local event that I do not attend so I was at a bit of a disadvantage)

I played… We Found Love x Rihanna (feat. Calvin Harris)

He played… Call Me Maybe x Carly Rae Jepsen

And he won!!!

It was an awesome night and even more awesome event! I’ll be better prepared for the next one!

To get my head right for this event, I’ve been mixing up my cross-training with some Nike Training Club workouts . I would recommend the NTC workouts for anyone who needs to mix it up a bit. NTC is a free app available on iTunes or Google Play with loads of content and variety. Give it a try.

I’ve also been incorporating some indoor cycling into my training. After spending so much time working out at the Revolve NYC studio, I’m having withdrawals. So I created a ride of my own (dedicated to the Supreme Court’s DOMA decision) that I like to call the P-RIDE aka my Push It To The Limit Ride. Check out the playlist and strategy below… and please note, I’m an amateur at this. I just put together some songs that I know motivate me to work and I used the resistance to my advantage.

Do you think you could own iPOD WARS? What would you say is the best song to workout to?

Signing off… ETT =)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Song number 11 in the P-RIDE playlist should be She Said OK (Big Boi feat. Theophilus Monk & Tre Luce).

TNF Marathon Update + June Faves

It probably took me so long to post this, because I felt awful breaking the bad news. I didn’t run the TNF Washington, DC marathon like I said I would =( Ok, this news is more heartbreaking for me than it is for you, but that doesn’t make it any easier to share.

It was just a case of pushing one’s body to hard too fast. I thought I could get myself ready for a marathon with little (more like no) prep, but my body is MUCH smarter than me… lemme tell ya. As soon as I started to up the mileage during my short training period, my knees threw up the white flag.

So here’s what I did instead…

Went to a lovely wedding [congrats to the newlyweds]

Did some hardcore relaxing [adult beverages included]

Sampled beer with the folks and lil bro [first time for everything]

I will get my act together for future and potential races. Not sure what I was thinking with the TNF… maybe the fact that I was going on vacation made me think I could do anything. I’ve run long distances before and should have known better. BAD, ETT… BAD!!!! [there.. I just gave myself an Internet scolding]

 

JUNE FAVES

I guess one of the other things I’ve picked up on since my vacation is how much I love (when other people publish their) favorites. So I decided to dabble in this ritual myself. Here are a few things that I could not get enough of in the month of June…

1. Lets start with the obvious… FAVES. The below video from Summer0892 was what got me hooked.

2. Revolve NYC… I rode that indoor cycle until the wheels fell off. It was probably moreso my legs, but I’m telling everyone I won that fight. I found myself in that studio every chance I could get, doing double rides and all. By the end of each class I was wobbly and maybe a bit nauseous at times, but it was worth every bit of effort. I think I rode with 60% of the NYC instructors and they were all knowledgeable, motivating, and bad ass.  Don’t be afraid… just go and ride your cares away.

Revolve has studios in both New York City and Washington, D.C. as well as class/package options to fit any rider’s needs. Check them out on WordPress and Twitter.

3. Mushrooms… I’m back to my ovo-lacto-pescatarian ways and this month I’ve discovered a dish so good that it was repeated more times than I’m willing to admit. Yep… that good. It’s a spicy noodle dish with mushroom and cashew nut. The mushrooms were the highlight to me and after every repetition I seemed to be adding more and more of them to the recipe… and it only got better.

I made those noodles taste so good, I wanted to smack my momma. But I would never do that because I like living.

#TeamNoRabbit

4. The Asics Gel Lyte33 II… these are some comfy running shoes. They are the perfect combination of stability and cushion for my flat feet, not to mention they only weigh 9oz. I’m in love with these shoes and despite my unflattering report of not actually having run the TNF WashDC marathon, I have actually been using them.

Signing off… ETT -_-

Left Behind

The sights of Beijing have been engraved in my brain for the past three years. It was harder to leave than I’d expected and explaining the feeling of leaving Beijing is even harder to put into words.

Maybe a few pics from my last few days might help…

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Signing off… ETT

Sweep The Tombs Early…

… so that way, you have time to play the rest of the day!

For this years Tomb Sweeping Day, also know as Qing Ming Jie (清明节), my colleagues and I visited Qianmen Street in Old Beijing. It’s funny to have Old Beijing so close to New Beijing and in some of the photos below you can see how modernization is pushing its way in…

Qianmen is a network of interconnected alleyways and corridors south of the Forbidden, or Imperial, City… since it’s a commerical area, this isn’t necessarily considered a hutong but it has the same feel…

There’s a trolley that transports patrons from one end of the main walking street to the other…

At the north entrance, you can see the Zhengyangmen (正阳门) Gatehouse , or Archery Tower… this 42-meter high tower was used to defend the Forbidden City (north of Qianmen) from intruders and is the tallest tower in Beijing’s city wall…

Like any other shopping area in China, there’s food… anyone for some scorpion on a stick? or perhaps a juicy beetle?

We got away from the bugs as quickly as possible… and ran into this guy…

Who probably spent much of his time using this (which I think is an apparatus for grinding meal)…

Or maybe he just used it to chase this guy with…

After exploring Qianmen, we headed to Capital M for afternoon tea…

Afternoon tea at Capital M is a wonderful experience. As a matter of fact, any meal at Capital M is wonderful. It’s worth a visit if have the chance.  I have to make plans to go back soon.

 

With the weather getting nicer, Qianmen is also a must see. I took the day off from running and it was well worth it.

Signing off… ETT! =)

BURR…

… it’s cold! In Mongolia. It’s over a thousand miles from Siberia, but I am still freezing! No treadmills to speak of. I’m sure as the frozen tundra not running outside. When my fingers thaw, I’ll write more… but for now, I need to de-ice my eyelashes so that I can have a better view of the picturesque mountains.

…Signing off, a frozen ETT =)

No More Running…

…at least not until New Years Day! Ok, I’m crazy for thinking this… but even though I can barely walk today (two days after the Honolulu Marathon) I’m already planning my next race. 18 days from now I plan on running in the new year at Central Park. What can I say!?! I’m born & raced in NY.

The Honolulu Marathon is complete… It was beautiful, painful, long, eventful, and AH-MAZE-ING. 70 years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, it was awesome to see the Japanese turn out for this event. Kama’aina & Malihini… we all ran together. Much aloha to Honolulu for hosting us and Japanese Airlines for sponsoring us and the Hawaiian people for being so hospitable.

Mahalo,
ETT

Spotify, An NBA Christmas, and Stiff Joints…

… these things topped the list of thoughts that ran through my head during last night’s 12-miler. Here’s what I was thinking:

1. SPOTIFY: Anything that has anything to do with music always catches my attention. What can I say… I can’t live without music. That’s the truth and I’m not afraid to say it. [INSERT TANGENT HERE] I once had my car radio stolen (by-product of living in the hood) right before a pre-planned four-hour drive to NYC… it was the longest four hours of ETT’s life, let me tell you. I can’t sing! And I had to sing to myself, out loud… [END OF TANGENT] I digress. I’m sadly not interested in Spotify at all. Why would I want to pay $10/month for streaming audio (that’s possibly not streaming as fast as advertised) when I could just pony up the same amount and support the artists I love by buying their album??? If I’m not guaranteed gapless playback, why bother? Sorry, that’s just how I feel about it. I’m going to continue to buy albums by my favorite artists and those funky newbies until somebody finds a way to give me the same quality while compensating the musicians/artists/engineers/producers/writers/others the way they deserve to be compensated. This took up about 40 minutes of the run… by the way I was listening to Drake’s new album Take Care ❤ 
2. NBA Christmas: Some people wish for snow and presents… I just want to get some Knicks tickets for me and the fam. I think it would be a very welcome change to the normal holiday schedule of events. No?
3. Stiff Joints: I’m not talking illegal substance abuse here… it was more like old lady joint pain. I mean, boy was my right ankle killing me. The crazy part was whenever I slowed down, it hurt more. What kind of sick twisted skeletal-sadism is this!?! What do you want from me, right ankle? What you’re telling me is if I run faster you won’t hurt? I oughta kick you in the you know what, you mean little ankle! Yea… I said it!

Do you daydream about randomness when you run? Most times I just focus on the music and my feet.

Signing off… ETT =)

To Run or Not To Run!?!

… that was the question. It’s already been answered though… Honolulu Marathon, here I come!

While planning a winter vacation to somewhere sunny, I searched fervently for local race information stumbled across a nice little gem. I may be a weirdo, but to me it seemed only right that the Honolulu Marathon was going to take place smack dab in the middle of my island hopping extravaganza. I am most certainly going to hop my silly behind over to the starting line and get my run on. This is what vacations are all about… no?

What? You don’t run a 26.2-mile race when you go on vacation? Ok ok ok… I’m crazy for doing this, but I just can’t imagine when I would spend this much money just to compete in a race. I’ll have ample time to enjoy the islands as I taper my workouts. Right!?!

Speaking of workouts… it didn’t help that I decided to do this so close to race day. I mean, I’ve been running… but not with a real goal in mind. So I had to ramp up the efforts… I threw together a 25-day plan chock full o’ tempo runs, speed & strength work, along with some long runs. I’m six days into and although there is some familiar race preparation aching, my legs feel strong… and I’m psyched!

Trust me… you would be excited too… just imagine watching the sun rise over Diamond Head or running along Waikiki Beach! I’m giddy with excitement. I don’t, however, know how I feel about this scavenger hunt at the end of the race for my finisher’s medal and race shirt… but I think I can deal. It’ll be a new adventure… good or bad, I love adventure!

My goal is to try and catch up to ole Nicky Nick here and get his autograph...

Annnnnnddddd if nothing else, it’ll make for some wicked oceanside bikini pics… YEEEEEAAAAAAA BOYYYYYYYYY

 

Signing Off… ETT =)

Tour d’Afrique

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Motto of the Day: Whole Foods selling pre-washed lettuce is one of the small joys of life one should not ignore.

A Short Note from Africa

My less polished English will make you realize soon that this is not Trish. This is Trish’s friend, Eva. I am currently in the middle of forcibly changing my self-concept in the most western point of Africa: Dakar, Senegal. In my wedding vow I promised my husband to follow him on his way; at that time I did not know this path is somewhat curved.

My Venezuelan friend, who lived in Budapest* told me once that each place he had lived, changed him. I am a bit hesitant whether Dakar is changing me for the better, but here is a list of some of my recent “achievements”:

1. I started driving. Even though there are cute goats staring at you when you stop at crosswalks and cows with easily visible bone structures that block the road, I enjoy it.

2. I jog outside every other day. It is fascinating how many people work out here; hundreds are running on the beach, doing sit-ups at 7 am on sidewalks or push-ups on stairs on the seaside – in a country with over 40% unemployment (I understand there might not be a direct correlation between economy and the desire to do exercise). A photo of the popular ‘Muscle Beach’ is below. There is another reason why I must work out: the French left some really good recipes here when they left the country in 1960. Unfortunately I cannot resist the fresh bread with olives and tomato sauce, the warm baguettes or chocolate croissants sold at almost each corner.

3. I extended my English vocabulary on technical expressions. Power outage became part of my life. Electricity is sporadic, adding a romantic ambience to the apartment. Words like generator, regulator, ups, modem, server would never have become part of my vocab.

4. I reevaluated the real need of having as many clothes as I do. I found an article about European women having 60 bags on average. From here it seems surrealistic that things like that have importance!!!

5. I practice patience every day to release toxic energies like frustration that is not uncommon when one lives outside his/her comfort zone. (There is still room for improvement as far as patience). I do not want to pull out my hair one by one any more when the IT-guy who promised to give me an extension cord shows up with it two days later or when getting a bill in a restaurant takes approximately an hour.

I can already foresee some future changes in my personality after we relocate to Europe/ the US:

1. I will appreciate having electricity all the time even though converting a power outage into a romantic evening with a bunch of candles over the bathtub can be fun. The same applies to the constant supply of water and internet.

2. I will enjoy not having to clorox vegetables and fruits before eating.

3. I will appreciate cabs with doors that can be properly closed and one does not have the feeling that it will fall apart any minute. Seatbelts are simply a luxury here.

4. I will love that trails are not turned into a mutton selling place overnight.

My only hope is that someone who put me here had a good reason to do so, and I will find out what it is :). If you happen to be in the Whole Foods with unlimited access to baby carrots, please enjoy it for me while I am trying to get the answer from the Universe.

* I am from Hungary.

NOTE FROM ETT: Thank you so much, Eva, for this wonderful guest post! I hope you will come back and share your experiences again soon. =) Go check out Eva’s new blog, Tour d’Afrique!

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The POST-

So… I will spare you (actually I’m doing this for me) the Hangover-esque details of the wedding night… just trust me when I say we SHUT IT DOWN!!!

…even Chef Jacque got some of the action…

[If you’re ever in New Orleans, go enjoy a fried shrimp po’ boy at Chef J’s Crabby Jack’s! You won’t be disappointed.]

We had one crazy night… and one very important thing to do the next morning… retrace our route back throughout Bourbon Street to find us some beignets and coffee at Cafe Du Monde…

Surprisingly, Bourbon Street was lemony fresh by 0800 the next day…

This brought on some dejavu, as I vaguely remember howling… at something

I also recall enjoying a wonderful jazz band here…

 

SCANNNN-dalous, I think I saw these two in the flesh the night before…

Our reminiscent stroll was coming to an end, so we popped in here for souvenirs…

After scarfing down warm French donuts, we headed to the Garden district… with powdered sugar EVERYWHERE (they need to give out head cones with each beignet sold…to localize the mess)

Artsy…

Green…

And sweet…

It was time for me to put out the flame in my gas lantern…

 

 

…but not before Tenacious D and I (green) made a Mardi Gras pact!

Signing Off… ETT =)