Sunrise Lake Isabella 052210

This morning I went for a drive because I wasn't feeling well yesterday (thankfully it's all over now, I'm both relieved and glad!) I decided to catch the sunrise at Lake Isabella which is nestled in Sequoia National Park, about 3hours drive north of LA. So I got up at 2.30am and left home at 3.30am. First, I drove up I-5N to Bakersfield - there were so many trucks on the 5, literally the right 2 lanes were full of them. It was also very windy along there. No wonder there are many accidents involving overturned trucks there. I then drove via scenic 178E to Lake Isabella. At one point, I thought I was going the wrong way and there was no signal on my iphone. But I saw that I was constantly following a river (Kern river) and guessed that it's likely an off-let from the lake. Thankfully I was going to right way, it would be a shame to miss out on the sunrise after getting up so early! Finally, I reached Lake Isabella at around 6am. It was a beautiful sight. The lake looks pristine and I love it's peculiar shape and the many little islands within it.

Sunrise, Lake Isabella (West End)

Lake Isabella (East End)

I drove around the lake a full turn and then back on 178E, and afterward along 14S and returned back to Pasadena at about 11am. Not many days have I traveled 400miles before noon! I then went into the lab to plan some experiments. There are many interesting research projects going on and I have planned them - just have to grab my lab coat (correction, I don't wear lab coat but probably should) and goggles and do them!

After about 4hours in the lab, I went for a work out in the gym. In summary, 350 calories on the elliptical (30min), rowing 1km (5min) and cycling 200 calories (20min). As you can see, I haven't been working very hard. But that might have been due to the fact that it has been a long day!

Indeed, I'm starting to feel quite tired now, it's 10pm - a 20hour day! Though I have to say it was a refreshing and fulfilling day.

Bitten by a horse

Last Sunday I got to ride Maryland. She is the dominant horse in the barn and one of the few horses that has to be tacked up in her stall. Maryland also needs to be given treats for anyone to enter her stall. So I expected some trouble in tacking her but off I went with a couple of carrots in hand and into the stall. Oh my! She is gigantic, dark bay colored and very beautiful. As I was brushing her coat, her ears pinned back to show her anger and she kept turning her head around to try to bite me. At that point, I was actually more afraid of her turning around and kicking me than biting me. That's how angry she looked and I was thinking what the hell have I gotten myself into?! The stall was very small and if she does decide to kick me there is no escaping. Suddenly, she chomped on my arm - it freaking hurt! Now it was my turn to be angry, I shouted at her and slapped her on the neck a couple of times. She looked innocent with ears forward no longer angry. I realized that by using a stern voice I can somewhat curb her from trying to bite me (she resorted to biting her food bucket). I have to say though that it was hard for me to do that, I often try to use positive reinforcement but in this case, that obviously was not working out. Later I learnt that Maryland has bitten everyone who has tacked her. But hell, she was a great ride, very responsive and smooth. I took a photo of the bite to remember it by (currently that area is burning hot, I'm guessing the recovery process).

2 days after bitten by Maryland

Road trip 051510

Just came back from a short road trip today and thought I'd blog about it while it's still fresh in my head. I got up at around 7am (was supposed to get up at 5am - next time for sure) and drove to Lake Mathews - around 1 hour south-east of Pasadena. The lake was beautiful with different shades of blue and green. Today was especially nice because it was quite foggy and the lake looked almost surreal.

Lake Mathews

I then drove further east and came across some outlet stores in Cabazon. I decided to go in and take a look. I have to say that there were some heavily discounted clothing stores, but I was good and only got a couple of t-shirts. I have decided to wear conservative clothing in summer such as t-shirts instead of singlets. No matter what, people still reach quick conclusions about you by what you wear (I am guilty of doing that too!) and I should dress appropriately for campus. Also as a bonus, I don't have to worry about applying sunscreen on my back which was always such a pain!

After that I thought about going to Palm Springs, but it's all desert and I don't like deserts where everything seems dead - I like mountains, lakes and lush forests much more. Anyway, I checked my always helpful iphone and decided to cut down south across Mt San Jacinto via 243 and 74 to Lake Hemet. Driving up and around mountains is always nice and soon before I knew it I was already 6000ft above ground level (or was it sea level?). Along the way, I saw many people on motor bikes wearing what looked like skiing goggles and they looked rather strange...can't quite explain why but they looked like they were from the 60's. Also, I thought I saw an ant eater by the side of the road and was about to grab my camera, but upon closer examination it was just a wheel cover. So yeah, there were many random car parts on the road which lead me to be cautious for my tires when I saw a shiny thing just ahead across the road. As I swerved around it, I realized that it was actually a snake slithering away! Soon I arrived at Lake Hemet, there were so many campers there and their tents were literally side by side covering the entire east end of the lake! I think this defeats the purpose of camping not to mention I can't take nice photos with all the campsites in view. So yes, I was somewhat disappointed about that.

Driving on 243 (San Jacinto)

I then headed back home while the sun was setting. Overall, it was quite a nice drive. (I'll get up early to catch sunrise next time - I promise!)

Sail away from the safe harbor

Last week, James Cameron the director of Titanic and Avatar came on campus to talk about whether Pandora is possible. One comment which I thought was well put by Cameron was when he said that there are people who imagine things and there are people who imagine things and pursue their imaginations. This reminds me of my favorite quote: 'Throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.' by Mark Twain.

Explore, dream and discover provide the ultimate satisfaction to one's curiosity. And I am so lucky to be born in this modern era where I can pretty much do as I please and pursue anything I want. If I was born in say, China hundreds of years ago and as a girl....probably, make that most definitely I would have been married off somewhere, stuck in a loveless marriage and do housework or knit all day.... my gosh I'm certain I would have suffocated. Just thinking about this possibility makes me cringe - I think I would ran away from it all. But wait, if I was born into a middle class or higher family - my feet would have been bound. Alright, just googled foot binding - it's considered 'intensely erotic' (no need for adjectives but 'WTF' would not suffice). Probably erotic to men in the sense that 'Whoa, this girl is so fragile and can't walk properly and needs me, the oh so manly man to take care of her and this makes me feel so masculine.' Yes, I would have died a slow death of suffocation not to mention boredom. Thank heavens I'm here in this modern time!

Alright let me get back to the topic, here is a list of things that I want to try out or achieve

1. Gallop on a horse in the wilderness, jump over rocks and creeks
2. Help the world in anyway I can (a little out of context but very important to me)
3. Go to outer space (may not be possible but I'll see what I can do)
4. Travel the world (and yep this includes Antarctica)
5. Scuba diving in Great Barrier Reef and other wonderful places
6. Kayaking in South America
7. Go semi-pro in skiing (need to keep toe nails short!)
8. Fly around the world

The list is endless!! Life and the boundless adventures are good!! XD