Random thought

I'm working while imagining all the things that I could be doing if I had money. Not just some money, but A LOT of money so that I could do what I've always dreamt of - travel the world while helping people. I want to travel to all corners of the Earth and do what I can to make life better for others, eg build schools for children so that they could grew up and contribute back to the world themselves. Wouldn't life be exciting?! Seeing all the wonderful places, experiencing the different cultures and meeting people whose backgrounds and views in life are distinct from my own. To top this off, knowing that I would somehow contribute in making the world a better place would be such a fulfilling and satisfying feeling. Yet since I don't have a lot of money, or some money for that matter, I made my career in helping people through trying to find a cure for cancer and in my vacations I can live out my dream of traveling the world.

There are many wealthy people out there who spend excessive money on themselves and have seemingly no other goal in life than to make more money. I think when people spend money for momentary self-pleasure, the excitement soon wears off and they are left searching for the next fleeting pleasure, and this pattern goes on...I believe real and long-lasting pleasure and happiness in life can be achieved in helping others, in appreciating what you have and in what life has to offer as well as not taking things for granted.

Horse Riding Accident

I went horse riding this Wednesday as I do every Wednesday night. I was assigned to ride New Jersey whom I haven't ridden before. My instructor said that he is quite bouncy and that we probably won't get to canter today. The trot was indeed bouncy but I soon got the hang of it. I must have done a pretty good job cos my instructor said that we can try the canter. I cantered him around one corner, the canter was fine albeit a bit fast. I then cantered in the opposite direction. The canter started off good but all of a sudden, New Jersey just took off. He looked extremely scared as if he's been chased by a pack of wolves. He galloped into an adjacent arena (Yes! I've galloped!) with me trying desperately to stop him calmly. That didn't work. We were fast approaching a fence with him still galloping at full speed so I turned him (or maybe it was he himself) to avoid the fence...At the turn I begun to loose balance and fall. I may have hang onto his neck for a millisecond and then I crashed my head on the fence and fell on my butt. The impact on my back was quite severe. I tried to get up but I couldn't. Everyone came over and asked me questions to see if I suffered a concussion. All I could think of was what if I'm paralyzed. I tried to move my legs, feet, arms and hands - thankfully I could move them all! But my back hurt so much...I was lead to the office and given an icepack and told to relax. It was then that I overheard people saying how they just found that part of New Jersey's hoof fell off - perhaps this was why he just took off? My instructor did say that it wasn't my fault and these things can happen without any reason. Then more people came and asked me what date it was? Who were you riding? Which horse do you hate the most now? I answered New Jersey. Which is the correct answer to give but honestly, even if I was paralyzed (and have to suicide) I still wouldn't hate him. Horses are not in this world just so that humans can have the pleasure of riding them!

I painfully drove home, at home I felt and saw a bump on the middle of my back. It didn't hurt at all...hm, perhaps it was always there? I wasn't too concerned since it was far from my lower back which hurt like hell. So off I went to have dinner with a friend. It was he who practically forced me to go to the hospital. I didn't really want to make a big deal out of it but admitted myself to the ER. After taking X-rays and CT scans it was concluded that I have a compression fracture on my L1 vertebra - compressed by 50% ouch! The doctor and nurse gave me crutches. I didn't want anything to do with crutches but was made to try them out - it hurt more than not using them. I told the doctor that I don't want them, the argument went back and forth for awhile, then I realized it was clearly not going anywhere and gave in. When I got home I left the crutches outside my apartment cos I didn't want to see them.

The next day, my two caring friends took me to see the orthopedic surgeon. The surgeon told me that this is a serious fracture and that the bump I can feel on my back will probably stay there forever :( He said the best chance for full recovery is if I'm immobilized in bed for 2 weeks. I was fitted with a back brace and there is no use for the crutches - so I happily ditched them. The following day I went to take an MRI, I had to stay in a tunnel for 30min with my eyes covered and ear plugs to block some of the loud noise (thankfully I had some music to listen to). Before starting this, the person taking the MRI kept on touching me with the apparent excuse of comforting me. I don't understand how does excessively stroking and squeezing others arms and hands gives the person any pleasure? But then again, there are many strange people out there.

I won't continue horse riding, to do so would just be plain stupid. If by any chance I fall off a horse in the next few months, then any injury compounded with this current one could be extremely serious. Fortunately for me my life does not revolve around horses, there are a lot of other wonderful and fun things for me to do - for instance cycling!! I can't wait to try out my clipless shoes and my new cycling gear. LG :D

Cycling Update

I've been riding around pretty much lately. With my two awesome friends who are great at cycling and patient enough with me a newbie to ride with them. I just came back from a 2.5hours long 27mile ride around LA area with lots of climbs and pretty steep descents. I'm so tired now I may fall asleep any second lol.

Let's see where we have been, I'll just list them: GMR (16miles), Big Tujunga Canyon Rd (26miles), GMR-39 loop (30miles), 2 local rides including Rose Bowl, 3 training sessions with my personal coach and today a local ride around LA (27miles).

Next week, we are going up Chantry Flats and I'm going to try to go for 30min - my heart may explode on the way, we will see....

I was sad to see that I have slight tan-lines on my arms and legs. I'll have to make sure to apply more sunscreen and I'm going to wear different length jerseys and shorts so that the tan can be gradual (my master plan). Another sad fact is the saddle pain :( But it's worth it because cycling is SO much fun - I wish I had realized this sooner!!!

My first road bike!

I got my new Cannondale Synapse Women's Alloy 6 51cm road bike from REI last Sunday and I couldn't be happier. I never thought I'd say this for something manmade - but this bike is absolutely beautiful! Every time I look at it I can't help but smile! I took it for a spin around the block this morning. Got up at 6am (there are not many things that can motivate me to get up 'so' early). I was riding on the pedestrian pavement which was a good practice cos it was bumpy and uneven. And so I nearly crashed a few times (ok I did actually crash into some bushes). I will try out shifting the gears tomorrow morning on the road.

My Cannondale Synapse bike! (with it's oh so reflective reflectors which I was encouraged to remove - otherwise the 'pro' cyclists will have more reason to be snobby towards a newbie lol)

The gears (Shimano Tiagra)

A Fun Filled Weekend

Last weekend I went for my first road bike ride and my second horse riding competition.

In preparation for the bike ride and future rides, I got a pair of cycling shorts, helmet and cycling gloves. The pair of Pearl Izumi Attack shorts I got are a good fit but wth, at the back it looks like I'm wearing an incontinence pad! And it sure feels like carrying a huge diaper when I walk around in it. But compared to others it is the most comfortable shorts which made up for its more padded appearance. I picked up a rental road bike, Specialized Ruby at Incycle which cost around 3.5k. The service person helped me adjust the seat and taught me how to take off and on the wheel for loading into the car. It seems that each time I go there the cutest guy in the shop is happily helping me which I'm not complaining about.

Early Saturday morning I met up with two long-time and very fit cyclists and we drove up to Glendora Mountain Road for my first time road biking. I was so excited but also a little apprehensive in that I didn't want to be too much of a burden for them. Also I didn't want to embarrass myself too much because I have problem getting on and off the bike (similar problem with mountain biking). It just doesn't feel comfortable with the seat so high such that my feet can bearly touch the ground without me leaning to the side.

We went up Glendora Mountain Road which is 8miles long. I was surprised when we got to the top - I thought we'd have a lot longer to go. It was even more surprising when everyone kept on saying how fit I must be for my first time road cycling and already going up GMR!

The descent in a sense was more tiring than going up. I was braking throughout in case I pick up too much speed and do a flying dismount. Everything I do is hindered by my rather unfounded EXTREME fear of falling - hell, I even had nightmares about falling off cliffs. So we went down at 10mph initially and reached around 20mph at the end. It felt good going down, I can imagine it must feel like flying descending at 40mph!

This cycling experience was so much fun! Now I know why people love it so much - I'm already getting addicted to it! You get to see the scenery while working out while feeling that you are getting out more than you put in (on a nice road bike) not to mention the amazing speed.

The next day I had my second horse riding competition. This time it was Walk/Trot/Canter. There were 6 people competing and I was surprised to see some of them there cos I know that they've been riding forever! So I was nervous and it didn't help that I was late for the show (no surprise there!) and we had to quickly tack up the horse. It also didn't help that Virginia the horse that I'm riding has trouble picking up the correct lead when she's tracking right. I just learnt how to tell leads in my last lesson and my instructor told me that if she picks up the wrong lead when tracking right (which is 100% of the time) I should slow down to a trot and try again such that the judge knows that I know that I'm on the wrong lead and I'm trying to correct it. That was exactly what I planned to do in the competition.

The competition was divided into 2 sections, Equitation and Pleasure. In the first section, when we cantered tracking right I tried several times to correct the lead but to no avail. At the end of the competition, the judge said to me that I have trouble picking up the canter. I explained to her that this horse always picks up the wrong canter when she tracks right and so I had to slow her down to a trot and start again. You know how some people just look like bitches - well she was one of them and she certainly didn't disappoint. Anyway the results came back and I was pronounced last - f%#@. So in the next section of the competition, I totally ignored whether my horse was on the correct lead or not and just went with it. I knew I wouldn't be last this time round - I came 5th, second last which was still bad!

It's not a good feeling to not come first and an even worse one to come so behind! Yet the people that I'm competing with has been riding much longer than me. The person with the least experience has 3x the experience as me. Still I can't help but to feel disappointed...On the bright side, this motivates me to improve.

I just got back from the gym, when I started working out on the cycling machine, next to me came an extremely fit looking guy dressed in full cycling gear. As we were cycling he kept on looking at my display to see how many calories I'm loosing. Is he trying to compete with me?! He should pick someone his own size. In 35min I lost 350 calories and he lost 580 calories. I don't think I can compare with him, but the fact that he is so interested in what I'm loosing perhaps means I'm doing pretty well. During the cycling he was sweating profusely and at the end he proceeded to rest on the floor of the gym. Anyway, in summary I lost 457 calories in 45min on level 15. I should up my game next time.

Things to do Before I Turn 30

Here goes my list of things to accomplish before I turn 30. I'm sure I'll think of more things I want to do in a few months if not a few days from now!

1. Backpack in Europe (after I graduate)

2. Sleep under the stars without a tent

3. Get scuba diving license (this summer IF I have the money)

4. Swim with giant turtles/sharks/whales

5. Truly help someone (eg turn their life around for the better)

6. Live in the jungle for 48hours (sounds feral I know)

7. Go hunting, prepare and eat my catch (getting more feral)

8. Aggravate the Queen's guard and get in trouble for it

9. Get arrested and spend a night in prison (very easy to achieve)

10. Go fishing and actually catch something

11. Ski without fear of crashing into some random tree 10m away

12. Get my resting heart rate to below 50bpm (currently it's around 58)

13. Gallop in the wilderness with jumps across rocks and creeks

14. Get a tattoo without regretting it

15. Fall in love (hardest to do on the list)

Major Earthquake Imminent for California

If the observations are indeed triggers for and caused by upcoming earthquakes as Jim Berkland believes then it does sound convincing - let's see how it all pans out the next few days.