Summertime

The weather has been perfect this weekend. Sunny and breezy. Our neighborhood is very quiet. We hear the wind rustling through the trees, the birds chirping, the squirrels scampering and the occasional car passing by. It's very Leave it to Beaver. Sometimes I forget that I'm in LA.

This morning I went on a run through the neighborhood-- a big change from my usual treadmill fare. Running outdoors looks deceptively easy, but boy is it hard. The first part of my run went well enough. I was going pretty fast, without expending much energy. I'm getting good at this, I thought.

I realized on the way back that I had been going downhill the whole time, and now I was paying the price. To get back home I had to run back up. Granted, it was a slight grade, but, being accustomed to the flat treadmill, even the slightest incline winds me. I labored up the hill, at times running more slowly than I could probably walk. Even the old man walking on the other side of the street kept up with me. But I kept chugging, running in place when I needed a break. Eventually, I made it back to my starting point. Door-to-door I was gone about a half hour.

On a different note, here are a couple videos sent by friends of the Chanchow-- Tea Partay and Ok Go.