Biltmore Christmas Candlelight Evening

My last day of work was 12/23.  Right after work, I drove down to Virginia Beach just in time for Christmas dinner with Jason and the family.  Since Rachel and Alana were working on Christmas they had the dinner early.  I also hung out in VB for Christmas Eve.  On Christmas morning I drove to SC to spend rest of the day with Nathan and his family.  It was a very nice weekend and I was really glad to have been able to see them all before driving out West.

On the 27th I began my drive out West but not before stopping at the Biltmore Estates in Asheville with Maria and Alyssa.  It was crazy busy and difficult getting all the way to the parking.  Instead of doing two separate visits, one for day and one for evening, we ended up staying all the way through our evening visit.  The evening tickets were little extra, though I am not sure it was that much nicer at night.  The day time visit was significantly more crowded though, and it took longer than usual to get though the house. Below is a video of the photos I took during the evening tour: 

We also walked around the gardens and pond a bit between our house visit.  There wasn't a whole lot to see the in gardens though except the conservatory.  Overall, it was a really nice visit, but I think the outside grounds would be nicer to explore in warmer months.  

Moving to West Coast

Back mid-September, I had an in-person interview for a new job in Vancouver, WA (near Portland) and got the position.  It's a job I had wanted since I first saw it back in April.  It's the only job I had seen in a long time, if ever, that ticked all the boxes of things I wanted in a job. It is a Computer Scientist position for a scientific organization, working on tasks right up my alley, in government, in a location I wanted to be in, with high promotion potential, and with relocation included.  I could not have found a job more suitable for my skills, interests, and wants.  I put more effort into this job than any others that I applied for.  I ensured my application was impeccable, researched the organization I'm applying to, prepped for interviews, and followed-up with the vacancy contact.  When I got the offer it was a little surreal, but I do think I have all the right experiences and skills for the job.  If that wasn't enough, the offer came right after I decided to leave the BJJ school that was my life for the last two and a half years.  It was as if it was all meant to be.  

While I knew good things were coming it was also a little sad because I was leaving family and friends behind on the East coast.  Also, the initial frustrations with current job that led me to look at other jobs no longer bothered me.  I enjoyed my job for the most part, and had really good coworkers. I had a lot of prepping to do for the upcoming move, but I tried to focus on the there and now and enjoy what time I have left in Virginia.

Trump and Japan

Note to self:  Don't take vacation the week of Presidential elections.

I was due for a trip to Japan this fall and I had been planning to go in November.  The way it worked out with Veterans day being a Friday, the week of November 6 seemed like a good week to go.  However, November 8th was the Presidential election.  Undeterred, I booked my trip anyway and sent in my ballot by mail ahead of time.  I thought it would actually be a good time to be away too because I knew our country was divided and it was going to be ugly no matter who won. What I didn't expect was how disappointed and sad I would be that Trump won. I knew it was a real possibility but I must have been in denial.  I could not believe he won. It actually ruined couple days of my vacation.

My week in Japan started off well.  I caught up with 3 friends right off the bat and had a good time.  Also watched a full (4 hr) Kabuki performance with mom.  I like Kabuki, but yeah, 4 hours was a bit much....  On the third day, Mom and I started on a 2 day 1 night tour.  Since my mom can't do a whole lot of walking, it was a bus tour.  It stopped at Shirakawago, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  I had been wanting to visit there a while now and gotta admit it wasn't all it's cracked up to be. Probably would've been nicer in winter with lots of snow.

Shirakawago

This was Wednesday in Japan.  It was still Tuesday back in the U.S.  I periodically checked my phone even in the boonies for election updates.  Things already didn't look good for Clinton.  Then again, Democrats tend to pick up their electorates later since they tend to come from more urban areas where it takes longer to tally up results.  Still... I was nervous.  Around 5pm Wednesday Japan Time I saw that it was done.  Doom and gloom immediately washed over me.

Even more than concerns about policy (which he didn't give out any details of), what saddened me the most was that half of our country felt it was ok that someone as sexist and racist as Trump to be the President of the United States.  I understood people wanted change and oust establishment.  Still, it surprised me that they were wanting it even at such expense.  I could only conclude that a large chunk of those who voted for him are racist or sexist in some way.  That was sad.

After a brief stop at Shirakawago we stopped in a hotel where the usual routine is spending time in a hot spring and then feasting.  I struggled to enjoy the trip and felt really bad for my mom who had to endure a depressed me.  I cried myself to sleep that night.  Hillary could not have been a more qualified candidate for the Presidency.  No one is perfect, and the attacks on her were unjustified and excessive.  It was a blow to all the hard working women.  I don't think most people realize what it takes for women to succeed in a male dominated environment.  Her loss felt very personal.

The second day of the tour wasn't going any better.  The fall foliage in the areas we were at were more or less peak.  It was kinda annoying though that I could only enjoy the views from the bus. It was only after we finally got off the bus and had an opportunity to walk around to see waterfalls did I start to feel somewhat better.  Not great, but less upset.  By end of the day I even clung to hopes that maybe he will surprise us all and do a good job of being a President.  (That hope was soon dashed by his cabinet picks - all against things I valued.)

Friday was a family day.  I met up with two of my cousins for lunch and karaoke, then with more family in evening.  I had a good time, though I could've done with getting out of dinner early.  Jet lag was still kicking butt.

Saturday was the real fun day though.  During the day I met up with two friends I've known since high school (they came to Virginia as a summer exchange program).  They're such odd balls but I love them.  In the evening, I went to Disney Sea with couple of friends.  That was also a lot of fun, although the crowds were crazy, as one might expect.  You really need a lot of time and a good strategy to make the most of it.  Still, it was a pretty to go at night with everything lit up, and the holiday decorations.  Also was fun catching up with my friends.

Tokyo Disney Sea

Sunday morning was my flight back. Six full days is way too short for a Japan trip.  Oh well. Until next time.

White House Christmas

Probably the best perk of my job is getting to visit the White House every Christmas to see the Christmas decorations.  This is my fourth year going and it never gets old.  

This is my last year going for a very long time since I am leaving my job.  Above is a short video compilation of photos from this year's visit.

This is also President Obama's last Christmas.  I will miss him very much.

BJJ and Sexism

Shortly after I came back from my Iceland trip mid-September, I found myself in the biggest drama of recent years.  The consequences left me sad, confused, and angry.  Worst of all, I ended up quitting jiu-jitsu.

It all started with a simple request for feedback from my instructor on the new class now being taught by another coach.  I gave my honest feedback there, but decided now would be a good time to also chime in with other feedback unrelated to the class. The gym has been growing, which overall is a good thing. This resulted in couple of issues though that have been nagging at me since around Spring. They are:

1) The women end up in groups of three every time there is an odd number of students and there are odd number of women.  This annoyed the heck out of me.  Being in a group of three means I get less drill time.  I only get to the gym 2-3 times a week as it is (unlike others who go 4+ times) and wanted my time there to count. I understand it's necessary sometime and don't mind the occasional tripling, but when it's a regular basis and it's because we're women, that's frustrating.  I get that there's benefit to drilling with people our own size.  Still, given that usually there's at most 3 women, it's always the usual folks getting tripled.  If the guys are odd, there are many of them so it's not the same person in a group of 3 all the time.

2) The women weren't allowed in the advanced class.  Earlier in the year I asked if I could do the Tue/Thu advanced class instead of the Mon/Wed class since I wanted a break from late night classes.  My instructor said I could not because he planned to increase intensity of that class. I didn't really understand what increasing intensity meant.  I was even further confused when there are lower ranked guys (I'm blue) and a kid (granted he's very good) that weighs 50lbs less than me in that class. What the hell is that about???

Well, after I wrote my feedback to my instructor he wanted to talk to me in person.  Made sense so we quickly arranged a time and I went to go talk to him. Things did not go well.  We never even got to talk about #1.  He tried to explain to me that #2 was because he did not want me to get hurt.  It didn't make sense.  The advanced guys are perfectly capable of making me work without hurting me. Why would I get hurt?  The only explanation was that he did not want them to have to do a roll that required them to meet me at my strength/speed/skill, etc.  Whether some of those guys in that class my rank or below have more speed and skill than me is questionable.  That left strength.  So I blurted out, "It's because I'm weak isn't it?"  His response?  "Yes, and that's the truth."  I responded with, "So you want a class where the guys just can go all out on each other?"  He said yes.  Basically, he wants a bro-fest.  He then went on to take offense that I implied the guys did not want to be helpful.  I know damn well they are.   I love rolling with those guys in that class.  Why do you think I want to take that class sometime?  If that wasn't bad enough he called me "selfish" and "ungrateful".  He further continued to make me feel bad by saying he was planning to be taking his wife out to dinner instead of being here with me.  How the fuck was I supposed to know?  I left the gym very upset... like crying upset.  I got home confused.  This guy that I had respected and liked for the last two and half years could not handle honest feedback and have a conversation with me without making me feel like shit.

After getting home I reported to couple other girls at the gym how the conversation went. They were also interested in the Tue/Thu class.  Come to find out, they each had their own issues with the gym, though I wouldn't say they were necessarily sexism. But those that could be considered so are:

- Couple of the women train in the morning since they have children to look after in evenings.  This is unfortunately it's labeled "pro training" time, so while they can show to class and drill, they don't always get to roll.  At times, they are banished to the corner to drill while the guys do all the rolling. It's not like only pros show up to morning classes.  Guys of all ranks show up occasionally.
- New purple belt female at the gym isn't allowed in that Tue/Thu class until she "proves herself".
- The women who were going to compete in September got hardly any competition training.  When the guys compete, they get a lot of coaching and opportunities to super fight.  They drilled nothing but triangles for weeks leading up to competition.  Not a lick of info on what to do initially from stand-up or anything else that might be relevant and not covered in usual class.
- There are men's bible studies at the gym that women aren't invited to.

To be fair, I do have to give him credit for organizing couple of classes dedicated to the women at his gym and affiliates.  He does also spend quite a bit of time with his students, women included, after class too.  Still, I felt like we were being treated differently and I didn't like it.  Rather than having the rare women's class, I'd just preferred to be included in our regular classes. I missed the old days when school was smaller and we were just one class regardless of rank or gender (kinda hard to single me out since I was the only girl there 99% of the time). At the end of the day, it doesn't matter that I take that class because I was getting sufficient training without it. I would have even accepted it, even if I didn't agree, if he just explained the importance of such a training without making me feel like crap.  He never really seemed to understand though that it was the principle of  it that bothered me.  He also failed as a professional to control his emotions which led to that awful conversation.

I had a lot of fun these past two and a half years doing BJJ, but it's time to move on.  Yes, other gyms are an option, but at the moment I have lost motivation to commit to the sport.  For now, I am going to focus my life on other things for a change.

Golden Circle

For the last day of my Iceland visit I met up with Chiho, my friend from Japan, to drive around the Golden Circle.  We visited the usual must sees: Þingvellir National Park, Haukadalur, and Gulfoss. Þingvellir was pretty cool in that it was where the American continent meets the European continent.  You can see divide.  At Haukadalur, Chiho and I spent many minutes trying to get a decent video/photo of Strokkur, a geysir that erupts every 5 minutes or so.  The heights of the eruptions vary, but they are smaller than Old Faithful.  One time it erupted twice in a row, and the next eruption was paltry.  I didn't really manage to get any good videos.  Perhaps the best one was the first one where I was too close to the geysir and thought I'd get drenched by the water.  You can hear me scream and see that I'm running away.  Gulfoss, a powerful two-tiered waterfall, was my favorite.  Not as wide as Niagra or Victoria Falls, but definitely is more powerful.  Got a bunch of pics but weather wasn't so nice so it probably didn't come out as good as it could be.

Gulfoss lower falls

In addition to seeing the sights we had a nice lunch at the restaurant at Haukadalur.  We had fish soup with free refills (second bowl and bread was enough tho).  Chiho also told me ice cream here should be good cuz dairy here is good.  So I got a soft serve cone at the first place I could (in a gas station) and OMG... it was the best soft serve ice cream ever.  I was really sad I didn't have any day before and that might be the last one ever.

Reykjavik and Blue Lagoon

After the Laugavegur trek I planned a day to just chill. What I originally wanted to do was spend the entire day at Blue Lagoon.  However, when I first arrived in Reykjavik the hostel staff told me that I needed to make reservations. I immediately looked online (at 2am) for available slots and was surprised to find most of the entry times booked.  There was one 8 am and 3 pm, and some later ones. No way I was going to get up at 6 just to get there at 8, so I got the 3pm slot.  Fast forward to Friday 9/9, I woke up in my hostel after a good night's sleep ready to tackle the day.  I had a few hours to kill until the 1:30 bus to Blue Lagoon.  I walked around Reykjavik for a few hours.  Walked around and saw Tjörnin lake, Hallgrímskirkja Church, and the Sun Voyager. I then walked down main street and stopped in souvenir shops for postcards and browse a bit.  Lunch was at Geysir Bistro (Halibut and cauliflower soup) which was pretty good.

At 1:30 I got the Fly Bus to Blue Lagoon.  Once there I was one of first one off bus and luckily so cuz there was a long line to get in. Even with prepaid vouchers there's a check-in process where they give you wristbands and other things (towel, robe, slippers) depending on what you had paid for.  You're then shuffled into a busy locker room where you shower and put on your bathing suit.  Once in water, it felt really nice, but it is not as if you would spend that much time in the water.  I spent maybe 10-15 minutes, and then 10 minutes in sauna. What was disappointing though was that everyone there were tourists. Lots of groups and couples. It was kinda annoying. I got the complimentary silica mask and later the algae mask.  I went out once for my complimentary drink and to read my book.  There really wasn't a lot of places where you can relax, which was disappointing.  I managed to secure the last free reclining seat in lounge to read a bit.  Then back in the water a bit again.  I probably could've done with a bit more time in water, but I decided to catch the 6:15 bus back to eat in city rather than at the lagoon where dinner was like $50-70+.  It was a rush to me, but it also wasn't the relaxing experience I hoped so in a way I guess that was enough.

Back in Reykjavik I got dinner at Shalimar Indian and Pakistani restaurant on Austurstraeti.  Had the best Green chili lime chicken ever. For $20 or so.

Laugavegur Trek

After about three years of wanting to go, I finally booked my trip to Iceland.  I had been missing beautiful hikes, fresh air, clean water, and cooler temperatures.  Iceland offered all that.  I had also heard about the famous Laugavegur hike and wanted to do it.  It is a four day trek on well established path with huts along the way for lodging if you don't want to camp.  I decided to go the easy route and booked a guided tour through Trek Iceland. Figured this way I'll also meet new people too, which I haven't done in a while.

The tour started with a pick up in Reykjavik and a 2-3 hour drive to Landmannalaugar on a bus.  I hoped to catch up on sleep during this time since I hadn't slept much the couple nights prior but the last couple hours of the ride was a bit bumpy.  Still was really happy to arrive at the starting point.  The 16 of us on tour got a quick lunch at the sheltered picnic tables.  Sky was gray with some rain already.  By early afternoon we set off.

The first day of the hike was supposed to be the hardest, but I think it is only like 610m of total elevation gain.  We hiked 7 miles.  Luckily I was used to wind and rain from my Millie walks in Juneau so that didn't bother me much.  Scenery was a bit dark, partly cuz of the rain, but also because we were hiking through lava fields or so.  Also not so much green on this day.  We made good time and arrived at our hut about 3.5 hours later.  Our guide made soup for us, then got some of the folks to help with dinner and clean up.  We had nice smoked salmon and pasta. Only one guide, Arni, came with us.  For the price of the tour I expected more, but I later realized Iceland is just that expensive.

The hut had electricity, running water, and toilets.  No shower.  It was a cold windy night and you have to leave the hut to get to the toilet stalls.  I had to get up a few times to pee and each time I had to put on my coat and boots - a bit of a pain but you do what you gotta do.  Took a while to get to sleep that night I think because of jet lag.  It was also so HOT in the bunk room.  All 16 of us were in there with no ventilation (windows and door closed).  Was quite ridiculous.  There was also a guy snoring.  So yeah, didn't sleep well that night either.

Next day was much nicer.  Another 7 mile hike but mostly downhill.  Thank goodness for poles.  We left around 9 and was at next hut by like 1 or 2. Wish we had taken it slower to enjoy the awesome scenery.  We leave the dark lava fields for greenery and view of Swan lake.  The hut that night was right by the lake.  This night I got a shower, and was able to chill a bit and read a book with a view of the lake and mountain.  This hut was really nice with dining area separate from the sleeping area. Dinner this night was spaghetti bolognese. Sleeping area is a bit cozy though.  You're literally sleeping next to a stranger.  We learned our lesson from last night and opened the window this time. Helped a bit, but I still had a hard time falling asleep.  Another night of shit sleep.

Third day started off nice, with more beautiful scenery, and couple of river crossings.  We also had one the day before but the second one today had higher waters - above my knees.  Yikes.  I managed across with the help of Arni.  I probably would've fallen over otherwise since water was flowing kinda fast. We also had lunch by a waterfall. Everything was going well until about 6-7 miles into our 10 mile hike.  We were done with all the hilly bits and started off on a long stretch of boring walk along back country "road". On top of a painful blister I'd been gritting my teeth through last few miles, my ankles started hurting because I was stupid and didn't break my new boots in properly.  I bought them early in the year but with the summer being so ridiculously hot, I ended up hiking in my Keens and wore the boots like once.  It had a stiff ankle so my ankle was getting bruised.  I powered through best I can but was in so much pain toward the end.  Still made good time of about 5 hours though I think.

The hut this night had dining area in same room as sleeping quarters again.  Another night of sleeping next to a stranger - though by now no one was a stranger.  I skipped out on the optional hike that afternoon because of my ankle and hung out at the hut - reading, napping, chatting - for about an hour or so.  Dinner was soup with chunks of lamp and veggies.  The dinners have been very good but can't say I enjoyed our lunches and breakfast that much.  We typically had oatmeal for breakfast and self-made sandwiches for lunch, along with cookies and chocolates.  Could've done with little less junk food, but guess we needed the calories. Anyway, this night was the most fun.  We played a drawing game and name game, which lasted quite a while.  Games are awesome.  Need more nights like that.

The fourth day didn't go quite as I hoped.  I was planning on wearing my sneakers or Keens for the last day because there was no way I could walk in those boots that day.  It was another 10 mile hike though, and it was pissing rain. Arni had offered night before another option of riding with the driver (the guy who takes our luggage from hut to hut).  I wanted to finish the hike, but didn't want to risk further injury or illness by wearing the wrong footwear for 10 miles in these conditions.  My feet would have been wet and cold for sure since sneakers weren't waterproof.  I would've also held up the group who would've wanted to rush through the hike because of the rain (and to catch the early bus for those of us leaving). So I took the easy way out and rode to the last stop.

The drive itself was quite an adventure.  The 4x4 truck was old... really old.  Like from 80's maybe? The windshield wipers broke that morning so no clear view out.  To make matters worse muddy water often splashed up from huge puddles and passing buses.  Ride was bumpy.  Then roof started leaking.  And we ran out of gas on the way (but he had reserves).  Was quite fun.  Enjoyed getting to talk to a local a bit more too.  I think his name was Elmar?  Young lad in his 20's with good sense of humor. We chatted about few different things and he was very nice.

About an hour or hour and half after I arrived at next hut, the rest of the gang started pouring in soaking wet looking quite cold.  While it sucked that I didn't finish the hike, I was pretty sure I had made the right call.  I would've struggled and been quite miserable.  

Well, just as we were getting to know each other 6 of us had to leave.  Others were doing the six day trek.  Not sure if I will see these folks again, but definitely enjoyed their company.  Here were our group make up:



Top row L-R: John and Nyna from Colorado, Conor and Ashlie from Portland, our guide Arni, Barbara and Sabine from Switzerland, and Daniel and Claire from Australia.
Bottom row L-R: Paul and Leslie from Colorado, Tim and Rolf, Brittany from Philly, Jennifer from Seattle, me, and Shannon from Seattle.

The microphone under me is because I told a few jokes.  I didn't bust out the karaoke like you might think.

When all your friends post back to school pics and you don't have kids

About couple weeks ago I started seeing all my friends' back to school pics of their kids in my Facebook feed. For the most part it's usually scroll, scroll, scroll... unless it's my nieces and nephew in which case I will hit "like". After a while though you feel the need to partake and thus...

Happy 6th Birthday, Millie!

My Millie turned 6 today! She’s just a dog but I tried to make it a little extra special for her by buying her toy and cookies to share with her friends at day care. In many ways having a dog is like having a child.  You feed them, bathe them, educate (train) them, play with them, and clean up after them.  You spend lots of money on them – food, toys, day care, medical bills, etc.  You lose a little bit of your freedom as now you have the responsibility of caring for another life.  You do it though because they also bring you joy and the love you have for them is unconditional. Happy birthday, baby!

Lantern Asia

Went to Lantern Asia at Norfolk Botanical Gardens with family.  Was pretty cool.  Full set of photos here.

Snowzilla 2016

It is a week now since the end of this year's blizzard dubbed "Snowzilla".  It started snowing afternoon of the Friday before, and it lasted until Sunday morning.  The Saturday between was when we saw most of the wind and snow.  As I went out to try to stay on top of shoveling, even Millie was not so keen on being out in it and asked to be let in.  My first shoveling on Friday night was almost point less, and I'm not sure it did much good to go out Saturday either given all the wind was blowing snow back into places I've shoveled.  Only thing I might have accomplished was ensuring that not too much snow piled up outside my front door.

By Sunday morning our area had about 3' of snow.  The snow in the backyard was as tall as the fence.  I had to periodically clear out a spot so Millie can comfortably pee and poo throughout the storm.  In the front, the entire street was covered in snow just as high since the plows stopped coming. From what I heard, there was diesel fuel shortage over the weekend so VDOT stopped plowing secondary roads.  So the plows for our neighborhood, contracted by the HOA, couldn't get in.

People in the neighborhood came out to dig their cars out, but with the roads unplowed, no one could get out.  It was not until Tuesday afternoon before a plow came through.  At that point most of the neighborhood came out to finish digging their cars out.  It was tricky business though, as there weren't too many places to put the snow.  Tensions were high as one woman complained about a trickle of snow that fell towards her car as my next door neighbor shoveled.  As if that would make a difference.  The complaining woman wasn't even out shoveling.  She was probably waiting for her husband to do all the work.  Then there were folks putting snow back out on the road in hopes of plows coming through again to clean it up.  Was a bad idea since the plows only made like one or two passes.

My neighbors helped me get my car dug out, so I kept helping others soon as my car was cleared.  I was out for about four hours and getting to know my neighbors better.  It was a good time, but I had been recovered from a cold over the weekend so it turned out to not be such a good idea.  I was feeling pretty good after a bit of shoveling and carried on, but by time I was done I was ready to pass out.  Then I was so sick the next few days I hardly went to work.  So between being snowed in and being sick, I only got like 6 hours of work in the whole week.  Even now I am still not feeling 100%.
Given that I was not feeling well, I accomplished very little the whole week.  I did get through about 3 seasons of Scandal though....

Today we're in the 50's and the next few days are expected to be warm.  Really hoping for the big pile of snows on either side of my car melt away.  There's not much room there to back in, and I can probably only do so when my neighbor's car across the way isn't there.  Also, I hear from my meteorologist colleagues that we should expect a cold spell most of February.  Maybe even another snow dump :(