Fast forward to mid-July, I realized that I had made myself that promise 6 months ago. I’ve never ran a marathon, but thanks to all that exercise physiology classes and labs, I knew that training for a marathon took time, I had better get started if I wanted to survive. First stop, research. Thank goodness to the people I knew that were hardcore runners, and so the conversations began.

First, it was buying my first pair of running shoes, then, it was all those dry-fit clothing. My first run was a total of 8 km, child’s play, or so I thought. It was the hardest 8 km I ever ran, and were my legs sore the next day.

Eventually, I got the hang of it. After a few weekends, I started going for 12 km on the weekend. Running being somewhat of a time consuming sport made it hard for me to stick to a schedule. If I came home late one night, it pretty much meant no running. It didn’t help that I had to leave for Taiwan for a wedding in late November. By the time I got back, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that the training few weeks ago have gone down the drain. At the end of it all, the longest I’ve ran was 24 km, hardly the 32 km recommended distance.

I was also a little frightened because I decided to run the Goofy race, which means I got to run the half and the full marathon. I figured, it’s go big or go home. Besides, the pacing restrictions for the races wear fairly moderate. 16 miles / minute pace was all you needed, that’s pretty much a walking pace!

I’m also proud to say that I raised $1046.00 USD for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. A big thanks to all those who donated!

With more encouragement, I arrived in Florida, where thankfully I got to stay with Matt and Kevin. I’ll tell you why I’m thankful later.

Race day, I was pretty nervous, but I think I managed to hype myself up enough to not freak out while waiting in the corrals. The game plan was to run slow for the half, and then go all out on the full. That did not happen. The excitement pretty much took hold. They started the race with columns of fire at the starting line, then they got all sorts of fun band, characters along the way.

In the end, I managed to run a 2:30:42 for the half, which was nice, but I knew I had ran too fast, and I was in trouble for the full. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience though.

The first thing I did when I went back to the hotel was having a nice, cold ice-bath, then I slept a few hours to recover from the exhaustion. To keep my legs feeling good and not sore like a log, I forced myself to walk around Downtown Disney whilst having a bite to eat.

Feeling surprisingly fine the next morning, I was starting to feel very confident that the race was going to go well. The race started, and I was off again.

It was all going all so well, until the half-way point, when everything pretty much fell apart. My legs, feet were starting to ache. I tried to keep running, until at one point, a grandma passed me speed walking. I chuckled to myself at how slow I was going, and then I started to walk.

The crowed was great, at points, when the crowed was large enough, they forced me to run — I can’t look like a fool walking the course! At other points, they gave me encouragement, shouting out “You can do it Tim!”. I always yelled back “Thank you”, or tried to anyways, the encouragements were nice boosts.

I was so happy when I got to the finish line. I ended up with a disappointing 5:25:53. But, as a first time runner running both the half and the full, I’ll take what I can get!

That night, my legs felt really good, thanks to the ice bath and the massage at Saratoga Springs Resort. Matt, Nick, Shanan, a bunch of other Canadian folks and I went for a celebratory dinner at Le Cellier. Amazing food.

Now here’s why I’m thankful I was with Matt and co. I ended up throwing up everything in the evening. The whole experience took me by surprise, since I was expecting my legs to act up. A good night sleep didn’t help at all either, and I was pretty much on liquid diet for the next few days until I got back to Toronto. Matt and co. took care of me for the rest of the time I was down in Florida, and for that, I’m eternally grateful.

My stomach continued to play games with me for a few weeks, at which point I went to the Doctors. Turns out, an asymptomatic bug called H. Pylori I contracted years and years before was able to finally flare up after the stress of the races. Nothing some antibiotic can’t take care of.

In the end, the race was a great experience. I’d like to take this time to thank all those who’ve helped me along the way! I’m not sure if I’ll ever love running again, perhaps I’ll just stick with my current gym routine, 3 hours a week of exercise sounds just fine. That said, I have a feeling that once warmer weather hits, I just might be back on the roads again.

Though it’s only the beginning of October, I’m already feeling the approaching end of 2010. This year has gone by fast, and it’s been such a ride.

In June, I had the privilege to attend my first Electronic Expo, ever. It was a dream come true, getting to try the latest and greatest video game that are not yet due on the market. My favourite would have to be the ‘Epic Mickey’ Booth, though I might be a little biased. It was also an eye opening experience zipping through Los Angeles on their public transit system. Man do I take the TTC for granted sometime.

I also learned that I’m not all that prone to conventions and expos as I thought I would be. I was exhausted by the end of the week, and that was suppose to be my vacation. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to be a journalist at E3 for a week trying to cover everything.

In July, I went on a trip to Las Vegas with my Support Team at FreshBooks, and well, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

In August, I went to Disney World (again) for some R&R. We decided to upgrade ourselves and stayed at the Kidani Village at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was an incredible trip, and I definitely had lots of fun strolling through the parks with friends. I also got to visit some friends I haven’t seen in a while, so it was a relaxing trip over-all.

Trip-wise, I’m heading out to Taiwan for my cousin’s wedding, which is always exciting. Then, it’s the Christmas season, which I’m greatly looking forward to. 2010, what a year already.

Let this image serve as a preview of the photo-set to come. Speaking of photo-set, I’m quite stoked to be finally gutting my dust-collecting desktop and refurbish it with some brand spankin’ new parts tomorrow. Then hopefully I won’t have such a hard time processing photos.

Things are finally looking up a bit, hopefully it will get better as this year unfolds.

Well, it looks like I’m headed for another trip to my beloved hometown of Taiwan, with a stop in Hong Kong on the way back. My grandpa is turning 90, which is quite an incredible feat if you ask me. I can only wish that when I’m 90 (if I even get there) I’ll be as fun and loving and mobile as he is.

The not-so-fun part about flying standby is that there’s no such thing as “connecting flights” if you’re flying between two airlines that are not in the same “alliance”. Therefore, I spend hours and hours usually somewhere if I fly the Vancouver to Taiwan route. Last time I did that, I spent 6 hours in the Vancouver airport waiting for a flight back to Toronto on a return flight. Thank goodness there was the 2004 summer Olympics, or else I would’ve died from boredom. Today’s journey will see me at the airport from 8:00pm Vancouver time all the way to 1am — a grand total of 5 hours; a thought that has “tired” plastered all over it.

So wish me a pleasant journey! If anything, the prospect of eating a bowl of authentic Taiwanese beef-noodles will make the long hours flying all worth it.

Well, it’s sort of long over-due, but better late than never! Here’s a quick recap of what happened after going south of Seattle to Los Angeles, adding in San Diego and Vegas to the mix.

1. Warner Brothers Studio Tour
   




It would be such a shame to not visit a studio when you’re in such close vicinity to them! So I picked Warner Brothers on the suggestion of my other cousin, Brian. It was a blast. There’s me, on the preserved set of Friends, which was pretty fun.

2. Seeing family and friends in LA




I haven’t seen my LA relatives since I was like… 6 or something. So it was a blast to finally get reacquainted — American Style! I spend my very first American Thanksgiving, it was quite a blast, not to mention the food. Too bad I didn’t go Black Friday Shopping.

3. San Diego / La Jolla Beach with Dan H.



The sea was just what I needed. Despite being a bit of a cold day, it was still warm enough for Dan and I to go kayaking in the Pacific. It was amazing fun, until I learned that I get motion sickness in a kayak. We ended up getting stuck on a rock when we tried to get back shore, oops. Afterward we went to the gaslamp district of SD to grab some dinner, it was a fantastic day, thanks Dan!

4. Vegas!!!




It’s Vegas, enough said. I ended up only trying the dollar slot machine since I’ve never been to a casino before. My cousin convinced me to cash out when I was up about 45 cents. I ended up betting more and lost it all. It was just a bit of fun, and who actually cash out 45 cents anyways?

Anyways, for the rest of the set, go to my flickr.

Perhaps one of the most amazing day of my vacay to the West Coast way back last November was the day went to the Dungeness Bay, as well as the Hurricane Ridge up in the Olympic Peninsula. The hikes and sights were amazing, and it was quite refreshing to be “out in the wild” again after visiting so many cities and urban metropolises.

The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge was our first stop for the day. After traveling from Seattle all the way to the town of Sequim through car and ferries. It was an amazing view. As you can probably tell from the photo, the Dungeness spit is the world’s longest sand spit (8.9 km or 5.5 miles long!), and offers such bio-diversity (deers walking, and birds flying around as if humans weren’t around), it was quite an educational trip. Interestingly enough, there’s a lighthouse at the end of the spit in which you can volunteer at once you’ve joined a group. It was barely visible until I looked into the telescope provided by my awesome escape guides of Evergreen Escape.:

And before you ask, no, we did not hike up to it, that would take a good chunk out of your day to get to!

Up on Hurricane Ridge we were faced with spectacular views of the Olympic Peninsula as well as the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We were also treated with a full out lunch complete with bread, soup, salad, cookies, hot chocolate and most importantly, wine! It was such a great way to take in the view, and well, since my words fail to describe the scenery, I’ll let the photos do the talking (click to see larger versions):

The Olympics — Awesome. No other ways to describe it.

On Hurrican Ridge Road, near the lookout rock. Although you can’t see it thanks to the clouds, this overlooks the town of Sequim and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. On a good day, you can even see Victoria, BC, Canada!

The entire Seattle Set:

Seattle for sure, was yet another city that surprised me. The amounts of activities, especially if you’re an outdoorsy types of person is literally endless. There are so many natural parks and reserves around the area, it’s impossible to run out of outdoor adventures.

The first thing I did after I arrived in Seattle was to explore around the downtown area. First stop: Athenian Inn at Pike Place Market. You know, where Tom Hank ate in the movie “Sleepless in Seattle”?. A few bites into my food, I realized that I’ve stopped at a total tourist spot — the food wasn’t the greatest, but the sight of the marina wasn’t too bad. The market offers its own charm in its quirky way, something I think that is more enjoyed by the local than tourists. I eventually decided to hike up the hills WITH my luggage all the way up to Kerry Park in Queen Anne, Northwest of Pike Place Market, and a hike it was. I was sweating buckets after the climb, and I think just about every passerby on the street gave me a “Poor-tourist” pity look. It was worth it though, as the view from the park was an amazing one. Too bad I arrived on a cloudy day, I’m sure a clearer sky and a non-hidden Mt. Rainier would’ve made the trip worth just a little more.

The bus system in Seattle was a bit confusing. There were multiple fares at many different times of day, and there were “zones” where you could travel for free at certain times. I was quite fortunate enough to meet a local gal named Val, who guided me from the airport to the appropriate buses and stops. I would’ve been lost if it wasn’t for her!

After Kerry Park, I spent the entire later half of the afternoon going from coffee shop to coffee shop, not really knowing where I would go. My friend Bill was still working away at the time. I decided not to be a wondering traveler when the famous non-stop rains of Seattle started to pour. I figure an umbrella wouldn’t really cover both me and my luggage, so I parked myself in one of the many, many coffee houses in Seattle. Thank goodness I had my Nintendo DS with me. That made the hours passed by just a tad faster.

The next morning Bill and I got up bright and early and drove all the way from his house in Sammamish, WA to downtown Seattle. Where I was suppose to meet up with Evergreen Escape, a tour company based in Seattle, offering local and sustainable eco-tourism. We ended up being an hour early thanks to a mix-up with the meeting time. What did we do? Obviously, park ourselves at Starbucks! Hmmmm, Pumpkin Spice Latte…

Jeff, my guide for the day, was ultra nice. The Mercedes Van that I sat in, was totally awesome and comfy!. Our first stop ended up being the Sculpture park, which was much more informative now that there’s a guide there. Second stop: Kerry Park… d’oh. It was also very cloudy that day, so nope, didn’t get to see Mt. Rainier… again.

Our next stop was a quick stroll through Discovery Park. We ended up by the beaches of Puget Sound at the West Point Lighthouse, where we saw some amazing birds and animals, including this little guy:

A baby seal! There were laws in Washington State that prohibits humans from getting within 15 feet of these cute creatures. We were quite close though, which made my whole day. The seal was waiting for the mother to return with some breakfast, we assumed. Either that, he just really wanted to get some sun.

We then made our way to the Theo Chocolate factory in Fremont, where we got to learn about the company and sample some chocolaty treats! Yummmmm. They’re the only Fair trade, bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the States!

Up next, the famous Fremont Troll! It was apparently featured in the movie “Ten Things I Hate about You”. But I wouldn’t know since I’ve never seen the movie. This art piece was a winner of a competition sponsored by the Fremont Arts Council in 1990, and was sculpted by four local artists. The Volkswagen Beetle in his left hand was an actual working car! As you can see, this thing was huge!

We then headed for Gasworks Park, which features the remnants of the sole remaining coal gasification plant in the US. The plant was in operation from 1906 to 1956. The park offers plenty of space — 19.1 acres of it. Gasworks Park is also the starting point of Seattle’s World Naked Bike Ride. Fun facts 101.

Later, we went to visit Commodore Park to see the Salmons, and even got to see the campus of University of Washington along the way. We ended our tour for the day around noon. Where I met up with Bill again to do the Seattle Underground tour. Too bad I forgot my camera in the car! The tour itself was very interesting. Pioneer Square, the oldest spot in Seattle, and surrounding areas were built on top of the original streets!

Later that afternoon, I was dropped off at Microsoft, where Alex was working at the time (and will be in the future!). And we played a lot of whack-a-mole on the Microsoft Surface. Brilliant. Later, we had dinner, and went to see a dazzling display of “Beauty and the Beast” performed by Village Theater in Issaquah. It was a great performance, the only beef I had was the lack of a big orchestra (The score really calls for a big and lush sound… something that a small production company couldn’t really offer). I especially loved the choreography between Belle (Jennifer Paz) and Gaston (Troy L. Wageman) in the duet “Me”. I distinctly remember trying not to laugh as Paz was lugged around like a rag doll, her facial expression was priceless.

All it all it was a fantastic way to start my vacation. Next up: Olympics Peninsula!

It’s been a while since I had time to just sit down and reflect to myself — The end of November and all through December of 2008 was quite a crazy one for me. Lots of things happened in the short amount of time span. That said, I’m quite glad to finally sit down and be able to blog again.

First thing first, got to update everyone on my west coast trip. I just finished the first half of the Seattle photos today, they take a while to go through, above’s the teaser photo. Once I have them all updated, I will definitely do a complete report with photos. Until then, feel free to explore through my flickr, or to my twitter to get a micro update of what’s going on in the life of Tim Lee.

Nevertheless, this is an exciting day today, for it is my very first American Thanksgiving… spent in the US of A. It’s quit exciting, we are apparently having a huge feast tonight, and then the cousins and I are going to line up for some black Friday deals, imagine, I can finally experience the joy of elbowing crazed shoppers as we race for the door crasher deals, and the pain of getting trampled over by hundreds of people. Don’t worry, I’ve got my helmet, gloves, and knee pads ready.

Will update more later, probably when I return home from my trip. Seattle and LA are amazing cities that has very different things to offer (I’ll write about them in depth later!). I definitely recommend a visit. San Diego tomorrow, followed by Vegas, then home for the Holiday blitz. Not counting the jobless-ness, life is pretty good right now.

Time for more adventures.

The past week was quite the eventful one indeed. First, as said last post, I was invited by my friend Dan to go up to Montreal to attend EA’s release of their new game “Boogie Superstar”. The event was pretty cool, with lots of food, EA staff, and enough Boogie Superstar running for everyone to give it a try. The whole evening I was speaking to programmers, designers, project managers, and marketers, making me feel like I should’ve gone into Computer Science or Business, since being a Bio-Med guy there seemed pretty out of place.

Boogie was actually quite a fun game, but it was clearly targeted to the teeny-bopper crowd. I won’t lie though, I did enjoy the game when I was playing it, and I can see kids getting excited over this game. There were plenty of food to go around at the event, and we event got a tour of the studios (no photography allowed, obviously), as well as some great swag — a free t-shirt and a copy of NHL ’09! Sweet!

The next day we explored downtown Montreal for a bit, then went to Science Centre Montreal where I felt right at home. I was especially ecstatic when I got to try out an interactive game where they translate your alpha and beta brain waves into kinetic energy to move a little ball. The objective of the game is to win by moving the ball to your opponent’s side by thinking really hard. That said, I had a disastrous lost my friend Dan since I found the whole thing very amusing and could not concentrate hard enough to win this battle of the minds.

On Friday, some of the East-coast ex-Disney cast members came up to Toronto to see High School Musical 3 (what else?). I was intrigued as to how the movie will do on a theatrical level. The last two was acceptable for a Disney Channel movie, but way too cheesy for it to make it in the theaters. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the movie. Granted, there was obviously some very cheesy moment that almost made me spew the coke I was drinking through my nose, but over all it was a pretty well enjoyable movie and a fitting end to the High School Musical series if you’re willing to look past some awkward dialogue and cheese. The gang then hung out after for some desserts, a great time, as always.

The next morning I crawled out of bed to go to the gym at 7:30 in the morning. Both my trainer and I gave each other the “This is way too early” face. You know it was too early when the gym hasn’t even officially opened. That said, I found the silent atmosphere a pretty good place to work-out. In the afternoon, I went to watch the Sound of Music at the Princess of Wales, it was shorter than I thought it would be, but it was delightfully done, and every moment was filled with fun. Props to the actors and actresses playing the Von Trappe children, way too cute. In the evening, I went to Heather’s place along with my sister Tina and friend Raymond to chill in Heather’s hot-tub. Makes me want to get one in the backyard, hmmm, hot tub.

And that was that, a great way to end October, I’m looking forward to what November will bring.