13.1 Miles

My knees still hurt. Oh, and my back still hurts.
But it was one of the most kickass 2 hours and 26 minutes (unofficial) of my year. Tiffany's? Yes please!!!

Doggone Fun

Success my loverlies! 5K? No problem!
I was concerned at first as the forecast called for scattered showers that Saturday. But the weather cooperated.. and the rain came overnight instead. By the time Sake and I headed to Golden Gate Park, the sun was out and shining oh so bright. A lot of people thought Sake wouldn't make it... but I think her P-p-p-puppy P-p-power kicked in and she could've gone another mile, I'm sure of it! And we found out, orange is soooo her color.


My deepest thanks to all the rockstars who were so generous and supported Sake and me! We would've been happy with just the minimum $100 donation but HUZZAH! We were able to raise over $800 for the San Francisco SPCA and PAWS! A brisk run in the park, free swag, Indian Summer, and all the butts Sake could sniff.


What a perfect day! Thank you all for helping to make it happen!

And I Bequeath Unto Thee...

After a great weekend, I'm left feeling a bit melancholy today. It's like coming off a big high only to find myself chained to a desk. (This is why I never really let myself get involved with drugs. The jones'ing for that high man! The elusive high!).... blech. Not really in a Blogger mood either. But I came across an article by Dr. Andrew Weil. He writes of spiritual well-being and one way to promote it is through the writing of an ethical will. (He's developed a line of wellness products for Origins Cosmetics.. so it's work related reading. Calm down!)

Intriguing. An ethical will has to do with nonmaterial bequeaths, the values and life lessons that you wish to leave to others. " No matter how old you are, it will make you take stock of your life experience and distill from it the values and wisdom you have gained. You can then put the documents aside, read it over as the years pass and revise it from time to time as you see fit. It can be a wonderful gift to leave to your family at the end of your life, but I think its primary importance is what it can give you in the midst of life."

I am wondering, after all my flailing about on this planet, what life lessons do I have to impart? I mean, aside from "only eat fresh sushi" and "always bet on black"? What have I learned?? ..... How will our ethical wills read?

Beware the Machine

This is a post far too long in the making... I offer my humble apologies...

My dear Ron and Klymer hosted an afternoon of fun and food at their lovely home this past summer. And as much as some of the gang is committed to City Living, we were all a bit envious of the monstrous yard that we were lounging in. This backyard was so enticing, we all left a good 2 hours after we said we would. How could we leave? There was plenty of BBQ, a hot tub, heat lamps, tiki torches, a hammock, and an oldie timie swing hanging from a tall sturdy tree. I could not have dreamt up a more soothing, idyllic scene. Thanks to the lovely couple for hosting. Can't wait till the next backyard Olympics!


It all started out so calmly.


Oh wait. Did I forget to mention? There was also Margherita Machine. Oh yes. And being the good friends we are, we were COMMITTED to finishing all things Margherita so that our hosts would not be left wondering what to do with the leftovers.
But well, needless to say... The combination of Tiki's, Swing, and Tequila did not bode well.

I don't think the Keg Stands at the Magherita Machine helped.


Oh yea, and having the swing strategically grazing over a lit tiki torch.. definitely didn't help.


But I did manage not to hurt myself wearing non-regulation, bad for Rowdeezy shoes. *yay* for me!!


And yes, I went on the swing.... With my skirt.... I guess the Boys forgot to pick up camera and get a picture when that happened..

Disclaimer: No butts were harmed in any way during the posting of this blog.

Sake Gets into the Running Act

This Saturday, Sake and I will join hundreds of other humans and canines in Golden Gate Park for the 10th Annual Doggone 5K Fun Run. This event will help further the work of PAWS and The San Francisco SPCA, two organizations improving the quality of life for animals and the people who love them. And isn't that all of us??
For over 18 years PAWS (Pets Are Wonderful Support) has helped thousands of people with life-threatening illnesses keep their faithful companions with them through the most difficult time of their lives. PAWS provides comprehensive services - a pet food bank, dog walking, cat care, supplemental vet services, transportation to vet appointments, and pet foster care when clients need long-term hospitalization. This is all designed so clients can maintain the love and companionship of their beloved pets.

The San Francisco SPCA is dedicated to saving San Francisco's homeless cats and dogs. Through an array of innovative programs serving the needs of both the human and animal communities, The SF/SPCA has achieved unprecedented success in saving the lives of abandoned animals. This keeps San Francisco's save rate at more than double the average for major American cities, making it the best place to be for cats and dogs. I hope you will help me reach my personal fundraising goal of $500 as I feel so strongly about supporting these causes. Any little bit will help($5, $10, $50!) Please don't feel like you need to drop a bundle. We thank you for your time attention.

Much love, Rowena and Sake

Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support PAWS and The San Francisco SPCA******************************************************************************
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Look! Up in the Sky!

I was minding my business yesterday, kneedeep in vendor meetings and lipgloss samples. When there it was.. The roar.... The roar that can only mean one thing... Fleet Week. Or as its known to the local hookers... Christmas.

Every October San Francisco welcomes the parade of Navy ships into the Bay and yesterday the Angels began their practice runs. Being on the 31st floor of my building.. we can literally wave hello to the pilots as they come zipping by. "Hey sailor!! ... Call me!!"

In addition to the usual jawdroppng stunts by the U.S. Navy's Angels, I'm thinking about at the checking out the final stop of the Red Bull Air Race World Series, a seven-event race featuring nine of the best pilots in the world competing in an event that requires flying through strategically placed gates and performing specific stunts over the Bay. Fastest time wins. But I am also scheduled to run 10 miles tomorrow so it may be a Fat Nap for me instead.

So here's to you Blue Angels. *pours glass of Dom* CHEERS!

Artist Plug

I'm so digging Jason Munn's work, thought maybe you would too; particularly the Death Cab for Cutie fans.. And you know who you are!!! ( That was a crazy sentence and clearly I have no idea how to punctuate it properly.) This local boy (Oakland) makes hand-silk-screened album and concert posters in really simple 3 color designs. I'm musically stunted and so am only familiar with about 3 of the bands he has done work for.. but they're so awesome I may buy one anyway.

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On other fronts... It's really draining having to show new shoes who's Boss. "I said HEEL!! Good girls...."

And yet another front... Please check out the My Flickr page link (on the right) as you will see highlights of my recent night out in the OC. And for those of you unfamiliar... no. That's NOT Marc Anthony.

One Last Time for Good Measure

I know I know. But this is the last of it.
My brother has finally gotten around to loading up his pics from our Half Dome Odyssey and they're so much better than mine! Oh c'mon! You know I like to share!!!

Why do they call it a Fanny Pack, and not a Butt Pack?




This is some Blair Witch shinznit right here.

This is All Going to End Badly: Part 3 - The Conclusion, "I'm so OVER nature."

With zen-like state partially achieved, we ventured forth to tackle the Crazy Ass Rock, aka Half Dome. This was the moment everything had been building up to. Nothing in the previous 6 hours could have hinted at what we were facing now and I have to admit, sitting it out seemed like a perfectly viable option. "You guys, I could just stay here with Bambi."

But I was met with support and reassurance. "No one has EVER died from the cables. Yet." God damn. You're right. That IS reassuring!

A virtually vertical wall of sheer granite.

What you see are 2 lengths of steel cable with wood slats every 10-12 feet or so. Theoretically, climbers use one cable to go up, the other to go down. The problem is, with going down such a precarious task, many people use BOTH cables. This in turn causes a major clusterfuck and can slow the going up process to a grinding halt. Imagine just hanging out there until the entire Cal Berkeley Womens Crew Team made their way down while you were already halfway up. Personally, I found going up to be physcially exerting but not a psychological challenge as long as I kept my eye on the granite. Eventually the top was in sight and with a few final hoists we found ourselves at what seemd like that afternoon, the Top of the World.

"VICTOREEEEE!!"


Happy, but not so secretly wishing a helicoptor could bring us back down.

Although the climb up was smooth, I cannot say the same for the climb back down. The day was slipping away from us, and the challenge for our large group(14 people) would be to make it back to camp not too far past nightfall; but most importantly, before the pizza counter closed at 9pm. I found going down the steel cables was strategically easier but also a bit less controlled. I held onto both cables and basically let my feel slide down the granite slide while my hands were used almost as brakes. Facing the wall, I could almost forget how high up I was. But as someone's battery pack fell out of their backpack and tumbled past me, my eyes instinctively followed the path of the battery. Bad move. I saw my surroundings and basically freaked out. Frozen with fear, I could not catch my breath and tears streamed down my face. Classic anxiety attack. Thank the stars for my little brother as he was right behind me and talked me through it.

Once off the Crazy Ass Rock, we knew the objective was speed. So a handful of people started back at a brisk pace. I needed to make a pit stop but eventually followed suit down the hill. As I began to leave behind the 7 or so people who moved at an almost ridiculously slow speed, I heard the pitpat of feet running down towards me. My brother, being inspired by the closing time of the Curry Village dining hall, came bursting down the hill doing an odd Charlie-Chaplin-on-speed move, all the while blurting out "pizza pizza pizza" like the Little Caesars mascot. It was almost funnier than seeing this:

I SWEAR to god those aren't mine!

So this is where things get crazy. My brother who only hours earlier saved my life, has now abandoned me and left me to fend for myself. You see, he never slowed down and I was never able to catch up. Unfortunately, my efforts at catching up also put the slow group farther and farther behind me. The woods which were quiet and peaceful, now seemed eerie and menacing. I was afraid to stop, preferring not to be a sitting duck for a bear. ("Maybe I should dump my food in case a bear follows me... No No. I may be stranded here and will need the food to survive!") I figured I would just book down that mountain at the fastest pace I could manage.


One last photo before darkness fell and my demise seemed imminent.

One thing I have learned during this trip. That mountain gets Fucking DARK. The glorious Autumn Moon that had lit the valley floor just the night before was gone. I only had the glow of my little flashlight to light the way as the sun set. But the trail down was manageable and I felt I was making good time. I had no idea how far ahead my brother and the others were ahead of me... but when I saw a sign that said 2.3 miles to Yosemite Valley, I felt I could carry on. "It's only 2 miles. You can do it. You can do it!".... Well, I made the mistake of looking up around me as I was walking and saw how Dark it was once I hit the canopies of trees. PITCH as they say. And when I heard the rustling of leaves to my left, I screamed like a Little Bitch and darted back up the hill to the first clearing I could find. So there I sat at the widest open switchback I could find and sat down on a rock waiting for the slow group to show. I could occasionally see their headlights at the top of the mountain... glowing orbs bobbing up and down as if it were the 7 Dwarves up there. By my estimation, they were a good hour back. I had no choice but to wait.

After about what seemed like 15 minutes, I saw 2 lights making their way down the trail towards me. I couldn't make out their face and could only pray they were friendly. "Hello? Are you a part of my group??"

Well, they weren't but Doug and Andrea welcomed me to join them on their way down. We sidestepped all the fresh Bear Piles and made it the last 2 miles in good time. I found my brother and K waiting for me at a bathroom stop (evidently they radio'd back and FINALLY realized neither groups knew where I was.). They told me their own stories of bear run-ins which made me only the teeny tiny bit more forgiving towards them for leaving me behind.

So. All in all. No harm, no foul. Our feet hurt, our everything hurt. But we got our pizza, we have stories to tell, and I learned to live without hot water for 2 days. I have a little perspective now and can laugh about it all. We can reminisce about our favorite moments and our favorite overheard moments, "Honey, the squirrel licked my camelback." "So this area looks like the all those crazy episodes of Star Trek where a crazy ass Ferengi comes out to attack us."

I reckon the question is, would I do this again? And you know what... sans the solo hike in the dark? I'm stupid enough to say yes.


Camping's not so bad.....

This is All Going to End Badly: Part 2 - My What the F*ck Moment

The night in the 8-person tent passed peacefully. No bears ripped us to shreds, no frost awaited us in the morning. Just that crispity air that outdoorsy people always rave about. After packing up trail mix, PB & J's, liters of water, and Fruit by the Foot, we were ready. Only 8.2 miles until we met with destiny. Along the way we saw some breathtaking sites and climbed up some daunting trails.

Beautiful and awe-inspiring.. even from the beginning. The Blah Blah Blah Falls, that's all I know.


Check out all the cool reflective crap on our clothes... Damn my fanny size is not helped by my fanny pack

Borderline Blair-Witchy... but I took the picture anyway... This became quite helpful as a trailmarker on the way back down.

After about 6 hours of hiking, we arrived at my What the Fuck moment. You see, once you hit the trail up to Half Dome... you never actually get a view of it. So you randomly point at all high in the sky mountains and say "Hey! That must be Half Dome!" only to realize you are retarded and it's not. "You keep speaking of this... 'Half Dome'..... Are we ever going to see it??"

Well, be careful what you wish for. Because this was our first glimpse of the path we were taking to go up that big crazy rock.

"See those ants?? ... Well, those aren't ants...."

Realizing what I really needed to do to finish this trek, panic began to set in. BTW, did I mention, that I'm slightly phobic with heights?? Yeah. I know... I'm smart..... Seriously, I was already feeling the beginning pangs of nausea set in. What had I gotten myself into??!!

"I'm not looking! I'm not looking!"

I finally told myself that if I ever wanted to be on Amazing Race, that guy with the shmarmy haircut was going to make me do crazier shit than this. So SUCK IT UP! I also told myself I was having a Frodo Baggins moment and needed to chuck my One Bracelet in the fiery pits of Mordor. .. That didn't help too much. .... Nothing left to do at this point but clear my mind, take a nap, and try to achieve Zen-like state that would carry me through the rest of the hike.

Please note: Brand New Northface™ fleece was ultimately lost during the course of this odyssey.

This is All Going to End Badly: Part 1 - Meet My Nemesis, Half Dome

I don't know how it happened.. but I survived my hike up to Half Dome!
Despite my High Maintainence trepidations, I felt quite confident with my gear in hand. Afterall, I've got Eye Cream and Charmin, I'm ready to take on the world!









And so.. Bring it on World!
First Stop for this Intrepid Group: A stop at the Chinese Camp and Trading Post and Tavern.


Not so surprisingly, we were the only thing Chinese about this place.

An otherwise uneventful drive. Wait, did I mention the Tall Man and the Chili-Cookoff?? Another time perhaps. So hmm, where was I? Oh yes. Once at camp, our group worked together quickly to set up our sleeping quarters.

Please note: For once, I was NOT the one wearing completely impractical shoes... Good Girl!

Our 8-person tent was quite luxurious and I was relieved to find Curry Village and it's amenities (ie. Pizza, Full Bar, and ice cream!) just a small walk away. The August Moon was full and we were all excited to know the placement and fullness of the lunar placement would only repeat every 19yrs or so. This weekend we would see Yosemite much as Ansel Adams saw it. So at 9:30pm we took a walk through the Yosemite Valley Floor, accompanied by the awesome glow of the Full Moon. No flashlights were needed and the gigantic rock walls were so beautiful they seemed as if brought in by a movie crew. Truly an inspiring stroll.

Shout out to my talented friend,Lane, who gets his first of MANY 15 minutes of fame here in this article about Yosemite and the Full Moon. (BTW, Autumn Moon, reminded me of August Moon, which is a line from a Duran Duran song..... Hence my poor Reference. Can anyone name that tune???)http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/050916_adams_moon.html

The night air did much to calm me down. It had already been a full day of travel and making new friends but I was ready for sleep. Your Rowdeezy seemed to take to camping pretty well and slept through the night nice and toasty.


Litte did I know my Nemesis was already lying in wait; laughing as it knew what was in store for me the next day.
*cue theme from 2001: Space Odyssey*
Ladies and Gentleman... I give you .... Half Dome.

To Do List

I'm getting the chance to cross another thing off My List! This Saturday morning I shall be departing for Yosemite National Park to make the 14mile(roundtrip) hike up to the top of Half Dome. As a Californian with this legendary landmark just a drive away, I've always felt it was one of those Things I Had to Do. But I must admit, Half Dome was only added to that List a few months ago. You see there's a little maintenance issue I've had to contend with. When I mentioned my planned excursion to a friend recently, it went something like this:

Row: "Hey, guess what? I'm going to do Half Dome this weekend!"
Friend: "You."
Row: "Yes, me."
Friend: "You're going to make that 12 hour hike?"
Row: "Yeah, I'm not worried about that part.
Friend: "You're not?"
Row: "Nah. The camping part scares me more than anything else."
Friend: "But you're High Maintenance. You don't camp."
Row: "I know! That's the scary part. That's what I'm trying to tell you!"
Friend: "You're not staying at the Ahwahnee?"
Row: "They want $400 a night. I already called...."
Friend: "Do you even OWN a sleeping bag???"
Row: "I bought one yesterday! And I also got this cool super thin super absorbent towel thingy. "
Friend: "It's all going to end badly isn't it.."
Row: "Pretty much."

My preparations for Skydiving went a lot smoother a few years back. Afterall, I only needed to pack me, myself, and I. Other items on My List: Summer Olympics 2008 in Beijing, Hiking the Himalayas, and running through the mountains of Austria a la Julie Andrews (RIP Robert Wise).

What's on Your List?

You Know What They Say...

A Healthy Rowdeezy is a Happy Rowdeezy!! Okay, I guess maybe only I say that. The point is, I survived the Cool Bursts and the Hot Brandy to be revived today. After a short bout with the dreaded weekend cold I'm no longer sniffly, snotty, and incoherent. The only remnants left are my sore little nose from all the Wonton Wrapping I did.

I entered "Happy" into Google Images and got an image from http://happyfamousartists.blogspot.com. This is actually the latest piece that's posted. Bad Art for Bad People. MMmmmm.. I like it. I like it A LOT. Muahahahaha!

His Name is Martin Fry, F-R-Y

How can I convey the air of all-around Kick-Assity that occured Friday night at the Red Devil Lounge? (What a fantabulous way to kick off Labor Day weekend BTW.) Oh, if only my sister were there with me so I could prove to her that ABC existed.. and not only do they still exist, they still rock the house!!  Now, for those of you who are referencing Another Bad Creation in your minds,  WRONG.  You might as well beat it.  I shall be waxing rhapsodic for the next few reading minutes about the band that recorded one of my favorite all time 80's songs(The Look of Love).  I know I know.  I guess 80's bands are now dorky retro, eh?  But could Martin Fry be any cooler and relevant by recruiting the duo from Air for his backup band? 



As for Martin, he was never a looker in the same vein as the pretty boys from Spandau Ballet or of course, Duran Duran.   He always seemed older and more mature than the other pop singers of the time; so seeing him age was not a disappointment.  He is still suave and debonair enough to carry off a rhinestone belt buckle.



And when the crowd recognized the first few melodic notes of "When Smokey Sings", the place went wild.   I won't run down the entire playlist here(I will answer individual inquires.), but suffice it to say My Favorite was sung...  and how outstanding to hear all of us belting out..  "Hip Hip Hooray-ay!!... Yippy Yai Yippy Yai Yay-ay!!"  along with Martin!  Oh so cheesy!  But oh so perfect....!


Special Thanks must go out to Jordan and Jay of the Red Devil Lounge who took such good care of me and my girl Leslie!