I have a new found love for cycling. It started merely as a component of the triathlon racing, but I've really developed a giddy kind of little kid enjoyment for it. I have found a deep appreciation for Lexington and how beautiful this area is thanks to my bike rides this summer through horse country. I love the green rolling hills, big beautiful trees, blue sky, horses, ducks, turkeys, chickens, dogs --- all the things that make our country roads so fun and interesting to ride.
In an attempt to go further faster and more efficiently, I have upgraded to clipless pedals. I started with flat pedals, the regular pedals you get on any bike, but heard from other biker friends, that clipless pedals would change my world. These pedals, along with cleats and cycling shoes, are all part of a system where you're actually clipped in/attached to your bike. Scary. The thought of not being able to eject myself from a speeding bike put a lot of frightening images in my head. But I did want to try it out in case it did revolutionize my world.
Once I got my clipless system in place (new pedals, new shoes with cleats attached), I tried it out on the bike trainer. Clip in, clip out. Clip in, clip out. Not so bad. Next day I tried them out on the open road. On my very flat street with not so many cars, I stopped, clipped in, clipped out. No problem.
This last Sunday I decided to take another casual ride around the neighborhood. Mike came along to keep me company and to see my new pedals in action. It still wasn't second nature to just remember to clip in and out, so I had to concentrate pretty hard to make sure I didn't fall. Rode around for about half an hour.
We came to a stop sign, clipped out my right foot and then my brain wandered. I was used to setting both feet down at a stop, so my left foot moved down to the ground without clicking out. Still attached to the bike, I couldn't do anything to stop from falling straight into the asphalt. BOOM! Sigh. Ow. I landed on my hand and elbow. I sat up trying to figure out if I had broken my arm or what was going on.
In the distance I saw a lady run my way. "Honey, are you OK?? I'm a nurse!" A blessed angel sent to peel me from the pavement. I could wiggle my fingers, check. I could move my arm, sorta, check. Some ice and ibuprofen, she said. Mike helped me off the ground and I rode back home one-handed.
I was really scared because I could barely move my arm at all without intense pain. I parked myself on the couch with several bags of ice and called it a night. Mike was sweet and handed me the remote control and later a tub of ice cream and it all seemed to be not so bad. I had visions of explaining myself to my mother in the morning if I had to tell her that I couldn't cook because I fell on my arm. I would hang my head in shame as she smacked me over the head with my cooking spatula...haha...no she wouldn't really do that. But a lecture and those searing disappointed eyes would hurt all the same.
This was motivation to think happy, healing thoughts and take as many ibuprofen as possible.
Yesterday I woke up and my arm was really sore, but I could move it pretty well. I could cook as normal, but just a little slower and without my usual zip and zeal. Now, it's Tuesday night and I think it's almost back to normal, just a bruise. But it surely rocked my confidence. Mostly because I realized that no matter how fast I race or how well I do, it's not worth it to risk my safety. So Sunday I will be paying special attention to finishing in one piece even if it means finishing last.
Last minute training plans are to swim tomorrow morning, run a little on Thursday, practice with the new pedals on Friday and then my first class of Tai Chi on Saturday!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, THAI ORCHID CAFE!
Four years ago, the doors of Thai Orchid Cafe opened to the world! And what an amazing journey it has been.
Here's the story of how Thai Orchid Cafe came to be.
GROWING UP AT THE SMILE OF SIAM
It started when I was 7 years old and my parents decided to open a business of their own. The business was the Smile of Siam Restaurant, the first Thai restaurant in Frankfort. After a couple of years of hiring help and the headaches that go along with it, they decided to run the restaurant themselves, just the two of them. That's right, it became a truly family-run business, which means whenever my sister and I weren't in school, we were at the restaurant.
My first job in the restaurant was refilling water. I remember I wasn't strong enough to pour the pitcher one-handed so I used two hands to slow pour water for our customers. Only a year or so after, I started manning the cash register. After school, my mom would pick us up and then we'd do our homework at the restaurant while my mom and dad continued to work and get ready for the dinner shift. Even at the cash register, I would do my homework, while checking customers out. Sometimes people would ask if I needed to get my Dad to run the credit card (this is when we had the manual sliding credit card contraption). I would raise an eyebrow, give them a snarky look and proceed to run their card. I liked showing people that I was perfectly capable of processing their payments, even calculating all their change in my head.
As I grew into my teenage years, I felt more and more like there were bigger, more exciting things for me to be doing than working at the restaurant. Everyone else was out having fun and I was stuck working all Friday nights and all summer. I grew weary of the monotony of work and the intense labor that was involved. On top of that, I was expected to maintain a 4.0+ GPA in school.
My parents sold the restaurant in 2000 during my senior year of high school. After 10 years in the business, mostly doing the work all themselves, the restaurant life was wearing on them mentally and physically. To be honest, at the time, I was somewhat relieved. I had felt that the restaurant had held me back in so many ways, that I had missed out on so much. Now, 10 years later, I couldn't have been more grateful for my years of working in the restaurant. I have my parents to thank for everything.
COLLEGE DAYS
As I entered college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I swore that I wouldn't get a restaurant job. I was done with that life. I wanted to move on.
Throughout college, I had jobs in the music department, the Study Abroad Office, and a medical company selling special plastic surgery sutures (random). Although each place was fun, it lacked something that I craved. I wasn't sure what it was. My academic interests were all over the place too. Upon graduation, my degree was in Journalism and Public Relations, only after shifting from Biology/Pre-Med to Business to Undecided to Graphic design.
My real interest in opening a restaurant sparked when I became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. One of our fundraisers for a work trip to Thailand was a 'Thai Night" event. People would pay $10 to have dinner and a Thai Fashion & Culture show. It was a big hit and I put myself in charge to cooking Thai food for over 100 people with a crew of college kids. The whole process, from planning to shopping to cooking to serving, was all so maddening, chaotic and exhausting. I LOVED IT! The feeling I had at the end of that night, I wanted to replicate all the times. I figured a restaurant would do that for me.
The idea of opening a restaurant stayed with me even after I got my first REAL job upon graduating from UNC-CH. I moved back to Lexington with my sister and her husband and got a job working for Lexington Habitat for Humanity. The marketing job I had was a good starting point, but I still felt that the 9-5 office job, just wasn't for me. I quit my job a little after a year there and went to India for a month for a tsunami relief Habitat building project. While there, I feel like I found my true self...along with finding a husband (another volunteer)!
Upon returning, I had no job, no money, no place of my own to live---but I did have a big dream. The restaurant! I wasn't sure where it would be or how it would happen, but I knew I had to take action to get there.
We found a place we liked in a shopping center near UK and downtown. And so the dream began coming together. Building Thai Orchid Cafe from scratch is hands down one of the hardest, most difficult challenges of my life, but we did it! My parents were the foundation of the whole project, and I was a sponge soaking up everything they knew about the business. And here we are today, still working hard together to make the restaurant a success. Four years feels so long, yet like no time at all. Happy Birthday, TOC!
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| Last year's Anniversary Buffet |
Here's the story of how Thai Orchid Cafe came to be.
GROWING UP AT THE SMILE OF SIAM
It started when I was 7 years old and my parents decided to open a business of their own. The business was the Smile of Siam Restaurant, the first Thai restaurant in Frankfort. After a couple of years of hiring help and the headaches that go along with it, they decided to run the restaurant themselves, just the two of them. That's right, it became a truly family-run business, which means whenever my sister and I weren't in school, we were at the restaurant.
My first job in the restaurant was refilling water. I remember I wasn't strong enough to pour the pitcher one-handed so I used two hands to slow pour water for our customers. Only a year or so after, I started manning the cash register. After school, my mom would pick us up and then we'd do our homework at the restaurant while my mom and dad continued to work and get ready for the dinner shift. Even at the cash register, I would do my homework, while checking customers out. Sometimes people would ask if I needed to get my Dad to run the credit card (this is when we had the manual sliding credit card contraption). I would raise an eyebrow, give them a snarky look and proceed to run their card. I liked showing people that I was perfectly capable of processing their payments, even calculating all their change in my head.
As I grew into my teenage years, I felt more and more like there were bigger, more exciting things for me to be doing than working at the restaurant. Everyone else was out having fun and I was stuck working all Friday nights and all summer. I grew weary of the monotony of work and the intense labor that was involved. On top of that, I was expected to maintain a 4.0+ GPA in school.
My parents sold the restaurant in 2000 during my senior year of high school. After 10 years in the business, mostly doing the work all themselves, the restaurant life was wearing on them mentally and physically. To be honest, at the time, I was somewhat relieved. I had felt that the restaurant had held me back in so many ways, that I had missed out on so much. Now, 10 years later, I couldn't have been more grateful for my years of working in the restaurant. I have my parents to thank for everything.
COLLEGE DAYS
As I entered college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I swore that I wouldn't get a restaurant job. I was done with that life. I wanted to move on.
Throughout college, I had jobs in the music department, the Study Abroad Office, and a medical company selling special plastic surgery sutures (random). Although each place was fun, it lacked something that I craved. I wasn't sure what it was. My academic interests were all over the place too. Upon graduation, my degree was in Journalism and Public Relations, only after shifting from Biology/Pre-Med to Business to Undecided to Graphic design.
My real interest in opening a restaurant sparked when I became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. One of our fundraisers for a work trip to Thailand was a 'Thai Night" event. People would pay $10 to have dinner and a Thai Fashion & Culture show. It was a big hit and I put myself in charge to cooking Thai food for over 100 people with a crew of college kids. The whole process, from planning to shopping to cooking to serving, was all so maddening, chaotic and exhausting. I LOVED IT! The feeling I had at the end of that night, I wanted to replicate all the times. I figured a restaurant would do that for me.
The idea of opening a restaurant stayed with me even after I got my first REAL job upon graduating from UNC-CH. I moved back to Lexington with my sister and her husband and got a job working for Lexington Habitat for Humanity. The marketing job I had was a good starting point, but I still felt that the 9-5 office job, just wasn't for me. I quit my job a little after a year there and went to India for a month for a tsunami relief Habitat building project. While there, I feel like I found my true self...along with finding a husband (another volunteer)!
 |
| Mike and I having a 'quick meal' in India |
Upon returning, I had no job, no money, no place of my own to live---but I did have a big dream. The restaurant! I wasn't sure where it would be or how it would happen, but I knew I had to take action to get there.
We found a place we liked in a shopping center near UK and downtown. And so the dream began coming together. Building Thai Orchid Cafe from scratch is hands down one of the hardest, most difficult challenges of my life, but we did it! My parents were the foundation of the whole project, and I was a sponge soaking up everything they knew about the business. And here we are today, still working hard together to make the restaurant a success. Four years feels so long, yet like no time at all. Happy Birthday, TOC!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Raisin' the Roof, kinda!
Last Saturday (Aug 7), Mike and I spent our day volunteering with Lexington Habitat for Humanity building on one of their many of house projects.
Originally we were going to volunteer with our friend, Dennis Pike, who helps sponsor a house every other year, but building was canceled for the weekend due to drywall delays. So we headed over to another house being partially sponsored by the Pat Smith HFH Endowment Fund. This fund was created in memory of our very dear friend, Pat Smith, who passed away in a plane crash in 2006. So we try to help out with as many projects as we can that involves the Endowment Fund.
This house on Polk Lane was in my favorite stage of construction, FRAMING! I love the framing phase because you can really see your progress and plus, you get to hammer a lot of nails. You literally are helping to construct walls and helping to put them in place. When you finish one section, you can look at your work and know that a family will be using that space and living within those walls in a few short months. That's a good feeling.
On this build, I met some great people, all around my age, from the group LYPA (Lexington Young Professionals Association). It was fun to spend time with some young community leaders that were in a similar stage of life as me. Being fairly isolated in my job, I don't get out much to meet people my own age. So it's nice to know that they're out there!
Most of the morning, I worked on building some interior walls and getting them installed in the house. After lunch, I hopped onto the top of the first floor..the "roof." It wasn't really the roof but it was the top of the project, so it felt like the roof. I am always really nervous going up on open beams, but once I was up there, it was glorious! We worked on laying, gluing and nailing the sheeting down which will be the floor of the second level. I got to chat with a former co-worker, Nate, the house leader, a new construction employee, Jon and one of the committee chairs from LYPA, Allyson. Fun times on the 'roof'!
The day turned out to be so amazing. Even in the middle of this sweltering summer, we picked the perfect day to build. It was 86 degs., the sky was bright blue, there was a slight breeze, and the company was unmatched.
If you ever have a free Saturday, volunteering with Habitat is a great way to get your hands dirty, build alongside the future homeowner of the house and really see what a difference you can do in your corner of the world. I could go on and on about how much I love Habitat, but that will be left for another entry.
Originally we were going to volunteer with our friend, Dennis Pike, who helps sponsor a house every other year, but building was canceled for the weekend due to drywall delays. So we headed over to another house being partially sponsored by the Pat Smith HFH Endowment Fund. This fund was created in memory of our very dear friend, Pat Smith, who passed away in a plane crash in 2006. So we try to help out with as many projects as we can that involves the Endowment Fund.
This house on Polk Lane was in my favorite stage of construction, FRAMING! I love the framing phase because you can really see your progress and plus, you get to hammer a lot of nails. You literally are helping to construct walls and helping to put them in place. When you finish one section, you can look at your work and know that a family will be using that space and living within those walls in a few short months. That's a good feeling.
On this build, I met some great people, all around my age, from the group LYPA (Lexington Young Professionals Association). It was fun to spend time with some young community leaders that were in a similar stage of life as me. Being fairly isolated in my job, I don't get out much to meet people my own age. So it's nice to know that they're out there!
Most of the morning, I worked on building some interior walls and getting them installed in the house. After lunch, I hopped onto the top of the first floor..the "roof." It wasn't really the roof but it was the top of the project, so it felt like the roof. I am always really nervous going up on open beams, but once I was up there, it was glorious! We worked on laying, gluing and nailing the sheeting down which will be the floor of the second level. I got to chat with a former co-worker, Nate, the house leader, a new construction employee, Jon and one of the committee chairs from LYPA, Allyson. Fun times on the 'roof'!
The day turned out to be so amazing. Even in the middle of this sweltering summer, we picked the perfect day to build. It was 86 degs., the sky was bright blue, there was a slight breeze, and the company was unmatched.
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| ME, Nate, and Jon on the "roof" -- Notice that I am safely sitting |
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Lame Duck Tri Recap! July 31, 2010
So I did it! I finished the hardest race of any kind that I have ever participated in. I ran across the finish line in quite a bit of pain, but with a smile on my face. Mostly because I was happy to finally be done.
Overall, it was an incredible experience. Here's a recap of my race. (Be warned, this will be a lengthy entry--grab some coffee if you must)
I woke up at 5 am Saturday morning after only sleeping about 4.5 hours. I don't have the luxury of going to bed early since I get home from work on a Friday night around 11 pm. But I felt wide awake and anxious to get going nonetheless. I ate breakfast (two pieces of toast with butter and sugar), finished packing my bags, and pumped air into my bike tires. By 5:45, we were heading out to pick up my friend, Angie, who's a super mom of 2 cute little girls. She's also my triathlon hero for doing these races while being a super mom at the same time.
By about 7 am, we arrive at Mallard Point neighborhood on the north side of Georgetown. I was excited to see all the other racers and the transition area buzzing with people.
I set up my area, only to be hugged from behind by one of my most favorite people, Mrs. Cathie Hoehner...the Mrs. Hoehner, 8th grade teacher that inspired my life and inspired the title of this blog. I hadn't seen her in years and what an amazing place to reunite! This was going to be her first triathlon ever! And she had only started running in 5K's last year. Didn't I say she was an incredible lady!?
Once we set up our transition areas, we started to get in line to ride over to the race start on a pontoon. It was a nice preview of the lake swim course that I had never seen before. I was trying to plan the shortest route possible with Angie as we rode to the other side of the lake.
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| Pre-Race smiles in the Transition Area |
RACE RECAP
The Lake Swim (0.54 miles = 950 yds)
Time: 21:54 min
Like I said before, I feel like I am a fairly strong swimmer and that the swim is my best leg of the tri. This is only measured by the fact that my swim times are closer to average than my bike and run times which are much much slower than average. I had swum in lakes before and felt like my pool swimming skills would easily translate to the lake. Oh I was so wrong!
The course is a wide-angled 'L' shape so there really was only one 'turn.' Once I heard the shotgun start (with a real shotgun! So Kentucky) I started my freestyle stroke and got into a smooth rhythm. After swimming a while, I popped my head up only to see a boat in front of me...a boat parked on the shore. I had been swimming completely sideways. I could see the crowd of people in the distance going in the opposite direction I was going...eeeek!
So I caught my eye on the giant yellow inflatable duck (used for spotting) and headed straight for it. After a few more strokes, I popped my head up again, only to see the same boat again! What is happening! EEEk! I majorly underestimated how much work it would be to pop my head up to spot where I was going in the lake. The water itself was green and even with buoys and the giant duck, I spent a LOT of energy just making sure I was swimming towards the finish.
Finally, I figured out a new plan. I started to swim breaststroke (my slowest stroke), so that I could breath and spot at the same time and not waste any more energy swimming sideways. I passed a few people and felt pretty good once I neared the end of the swim.
I was somewhat delirious as volunteers pulled me out of the water. My pride was shot for swimming a zig-zag instead of an 'L', but I had bigger things to worry about now....the bike!
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| Emerging from the lake! |
T1
2:22 min (a lengthy transition as I took some time to rest because I knew I would need it to survive the hilly bike course)
Bike (9.4 miles--about 2 miles of the course are flat)
48:31 min
There is a massive hill that starts your bike course and naturally, you're starting at the bottom of the valley going up. There are a lot of blind curves, fast turns, and scary downhills on this course, so my strategy for this leg of the race was to survive and to not crash. I kept thinking that if I get hurt and don't make it to work later that day, my mother would certainly kill me if the race didn't. And that would be scarier than any bike crash.
I had practiced the bike course once before so I knew what horrors were ahead. Having this knowledge was so key for my mental state because I knew if this was the first time I met these hills, I would have just laid down and given up. But I had conquered them before, so I knew I could do it again. There were a LOT of walkers on these hills. I passed a few people walking, but I think there may have been a few walkers that passed me too. Hmmm, that's not good.
I felt pretty good through most of the bike, but as I was going down the last hill into Transition 2, I felt like I had completely run out of gas. I knew the last leg wasn't going to be pretty and there would be no way I would finish in the time I had hoped.
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| Finishing the bike and heading into T2 |
T2
1:41 min (pretty slow considering all I had to do what change from helmet to running hat and throw on my number)
Run (2.6 miles)
35:33 min
As I walked out of the transition area, I could see a few runners in the distance at the top of the hill I was about to climb. My legs were completely shot after all those climbs on the bike. They felt like jello and I had no energy to muster even a slow jog. So I speed-walked to the best of my ability to climb the first hill.
Part of the run course over lapped the bike course so I was familiar with part of the terrain. There was another section, though, that I hadn't seen that was so insanely hilly. Oh my gravy! I tried to jog as much as I could, but I could feel my cardio and my muscles just weren't prepared for this venture. So I just speed-walked up hills and jogged down hills. I got passed by so many people :( Even a gentleman who couldn't have been younger than 65. I told myself that he must have been on a relay---he had fresh legs. At least that's what I told myself.
The most crushing point of the run was towards the end, when I had to weave through the crowds of people who were leaving and headed back to their cars! The racers looked so refreshed and ready to go home and here I was feeling close to death and I still wasn't done! But that also meant that I was nearing the finish line and THAT was a glorious feeling.
The last stretch was downhill and there were a few people milling around who cheered for me at the end. One of them being my wonderful husband, Mike, who cheered me on at each transition and any time I passed the spectators. I'm glad he was there to make sure I was ok :)
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| Home stretch! Me blocking the car in the road. Nice. |
I looked at the time when I crossed the finish line -- 1:55. What?!?! I had been in the second swim wave so I could subtract 5 minutes. 1:50 was the time I had predicted for myself if all had gone as planned. So to finish in that time after all that I felt went wrong. I didn't feel so shabby after all.
Finish time
1:50:02
Place Overall
161 of 171 people who competed
I don't feel badly at all about being near the last to finish. I was just proud that I finished the whole race. Being new to the sport and working 12 hour days, I placed right where I should, I think. It was a fun day and I'm glad I got to share it with my very dear friends, Angie and Mrs Hoehner (who only finished 3 minutes after me by the way-- you go girl!)
The next race is the Tri for Sight over Labor Day weekend. Let the training begin!
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| Angie and I at the end! We did it! |
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| The cutest little lady --Audrey cheering on Mommy(Angie)! |
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| Mrs. Hoehner and I -She's a rockstar! |
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