I'm running the San Francisco Half Marathon!

Hello, I don't know what I was thinking, but I am running in the first leg of the San Francisco Half-Marathon on Sunday, July 26, 2009.

I know running has changed my life and brought out a confidence in me that I never knew I had. The program that I am raising money for, Youth Run4Fun, helps youths in San Francisco get involved in running and fitness programs to discover their own strength, happiness, and well-being from running. I only have to raise $250, so please help me help our community with any size of donation.

Go to this link to support my Half Marathon and Youth Run4Fun:
https://secure2.merchantcart.net/runSFM/mywebpage.cfm?pID=387837

The San Francisco Marathon’s youth running program Youth Run4Fun (YR4F), is dedicated to establishing sustainable community-based running and fitness programs for youth of all shapes, sizes and cultures that enhance physical health, emotional well-being and personal achievement, with a focus on underserved populations of the San Francisco Bay Area. Under the umbrella of YR4F is the JUST RUN® San Francisco program, and various track & field events.

THANK YOU! And wish me luck!

Travel for Cat Lovers

Who cares about ancient ruins and the pope...I want to see the cats!

[Fiction] Friday Challenge

[Fiction] Friday Challenge for July 3rd, 2009:

Where your character is committed to a drastic or extreme change

What am I doing? Am I really packing this bag? I mean, this is not something I normally do. Really! This is me, Janie we're talking about here. Okay. Breathe. Why the hell can't you run off to art school in London? Lots of other people do crazy, impulsive things and no one bats an eye. But God forbid Janie fall one step out of her perfect life's lines, heaven help us! The world is coming to an end! Oh, screw them all!

With confirmation in her throw, Janie sweeps her duffle bag onto her shoulder and storms out of the room--of course, banging into the door jam a couple of times in a manner that still kept her defiant tone intact. Once into the hall, she slams the door to her dorm room, and quickly rushes through the hallways into the community room and through into the open air. The bright green lawn and electric blue sky seems like it was ripped from the college catalog and hung up for the world to see how amazing of a school this is. It seemed to mock her, "How dare you leave such a wonderful, institution! As if you're better than us. As if you're going to do any better anywhere else. You'll be a failure." Flipping off the sky, and her beautiful Ivy League campus, Janie gets into her car and takes off for the airport.

"Wait, there's a problem." she says to herself. "What do I do with this freakin' car?" Apparently she hasn't thought through ALL the details yet of this plan. But hey, that's okay, right! It's an adventure... no, more than that! This is what I am meant to do with my life... the car will survive.

She stops in front of her best friends house, writes a note, attaches it to the pink slip and registration, sticks it in her mailbox, and calls a taxi. Problem solved. Okay, let's see what you can throw at me next life, she thinks.

But really, Janie's adventure hasn't even begun. Literally (she hasn't even gotten to the airport for goodness sakes) and figuratively.

5 things I can't go running without

5) ASICS Brand Running Shoes: I love these shoes. I need to get new ones and I keep putting it off. They are big and not very attractive, but my feet, especially my toes, have never been happier than with these babies.

4) Larabars: Especially the cashew ones. LOVE!


3) RunningAhead.com: A great site for planning your runs and keeping track of your progress. It can do things, like planning a route ahead of time, that my iPhone running app can't do yet. The application I'm trying out right now is called RunKeeper. When the GPS is working, its great for keeping track of your progress and pace while out on the road.


2) My IronMan watch: It's the same one I ran my first marathon with 3 1/2 years ago. Even though the light on it doesn't work, the face is scratched and a nice new one is sitting in my drawer, I still love this watch and don't want to ever leave the house without it.



1) Alameda: I have fallen for this city all over again. The streets are safe, the climate is a runner's paradise, the houses and gardens are beautiful distractions, and the people are friendly. What more could you ask for?

Nine Lives to Live: The Feud has Come to an End

Hello fellow felines!

The white flag of peace was waved in the courtyard this weekend. Or maybe it was so hot that all our friends were just too tired to squabble. No matter the reasons behind the serenity, I witnessed quite a surprising scene one afternoon as I lounged in my warm, sunny and very well-positioned window.

Floyd was lounging the the popular dirt patch when Archie came sauntering out his door. This is when Archie would normally take off scampering around the back of the bushes and plan his ambush of poor old Floyd. But not today! Archie calmly walked over, made a couple of remarks (I couldn't quite make out what he said) and Floyd chirped back a reply.

Then, if you can believe it, Floyd just watched cautiously as his arch-enemy, slowly laid down in the dirt with him. Of course Archie, still being wary of the situation, laid down facing his rival.

I will be sure to keep you up to date on how our two "buddies" are doing with their new-found friendship -- or is it tolerance.

purrs and kisses!

P.S. The 'yard just isn't the same without you, LuLu.

Thank you Tim Burton!

Can you believe Tim Burton is finally taking on Alice in Wonderland? Words cannot express my excitement!

Check out some of the amazing photos and concept art:
www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=56475

REVIEW: Rachel Getting Married

This week I watched the unexpectedly original movie Rachel Getting Married. I forget who told me I needed to see it, I think it was a few people, and to who ever you are, thank you! While this is most definitely NOT a happy-go-lucky, popcorn and candy type of movie, I thoroughly enjoyed this work of art.

Rachel Getting Married is a drama about a recovering drug addict, Anne Hathaway, who returns home from rehab and jumps straight into her sister's wedding. Of course, there's turmoil for this dysfunctional family and it's portrayed in a very thoughtful, articulate way by director Jonathan Demme (he also directed The Manchurian Candidate, Philadelphia and The Silence of the Lambs).

The casting and the acting was perfect. You truly felt you were watching loving, very hurt family during one of their most personal experiences. Anne Hathaway has definitely shown that she can do more than act in goofy yet charming comedies (though I really do love The Princess Diaries. I can't help it!) Anne creates a character that is complex and layered; she is someone you want to comfort and at the same time give a good slap to. Same compliment goes to actress Rosemarie DeWitt, who plays Rachel in the movie. Both of these characters yank the audience through a brutal weekend.

The absolutely brilliant use of camera and score also helped to pull you into this unique film. Being a Creative, I can't help but watch all of the behind the scenes extras that are created for the DVDs. I knew there was something very unique about this film but I couldn't figure out what until I watched the special features for Rachel. In it, Demme explained how they had purposefully written musicians into the story line, so that they could try something that no other film has done: filmed both the actors AND the score at the same time. The musicians were family friends who were staying at the house for the wedding. They would be practicing, or goofing off with this instrument or that while the scenes were all being played out. The effect was amazing. It was raw and true. You felt like you were right in the room with them, feeling their awkwardness or pain or happiness. The music was eclectic and flowed organically, even though at times the musicians would be downstair, with only vague knowledge of what was happening in the scene the actors were filming upstairs.

The camera work was another unique way of bringing intimacy to the movie. Most of the time, there were two cameras that were following the actors about the scenes. In large group scenes, like at the wedding, the actors were to just be in character and "be at a wedding." They didn't know when a camera would come and film them (except for during the major parts of the story). This created many vignettes that were worked into the film. It gave real depth to the characters and that feeling that you were looking in on a real family wedding. Most of the people at these large filming were friends and family of the director, which also added to this ambiance. In some of the other reviews I read, people complained about the free style camera work being too shaky. Take note that if that style is hard for you to watch, this might be a movie you'll have trouble with.

I enjoyed the rawness. My main criticism was that there were couple of scenes that went on way, way, way too long. At one point I was starting to get annoyed, hearing all of the speeches at the rehearsal dinner, but patience paid off in the end. Also the wedding scene is very long and gets a bit bizarre. As I mentioned, they worked musicians into the story line, and along with that came some surprising cameos of artists from all sorts of backgrounds, which makes this scene very surreal.

Overall, while I spent most of the movie either crying or holding back tears. It left me deeply grateful that the art of film is so accessible as a medium. This was a beautiful exploration of haunting characters in a unique and captivating way.

More about Rachel Getting Married at www.imdb.com/title/tt1084950/