Happy International Day of the Nacho!

A few years ago, I met up with Pachuco3000 and Gustavo Arellano at a Mexican restaurant in Northridge before Gustavo’s talk at CSUN. P3000 picked a hole in the wall since that’s the type of place Gustavo frequently reviews for the OC Weekly. I was a bit surprised when P3000 ordered nachos. I remember his reasoning more than the actual food. Basically, nachos are one of the best indicators of whether or not a Mexican restaurant is any good. Since nachos — the loaded kind, not the processed orange cheese and stale, overly salted corn chip variety you get a ballparks — are made up of several basic ingredients, you can get a sense of whether or not those ingredients are any good.

Do they fry their own corn chips or do they use store bought kind? What kind of beans do they use? Are they perfectly salted, any manteca (lard)? Are the toppings fresh, house made and the proper amount? And what type of cheese do they use? Is the meat bland and overcooked or juicy and tender?

P3000 has a point, but he doesn’t need to convince me that ordering nachos is a good idea. I’m already a fan. These day, I don’t eat them too much. I have to keep my pansa in check. Plus, after eating the best nachos ever in Cozumel nothing compares (2U).

It’s been 4+ years since we had these nachos and my family and I still talk about how amazing they tasted. I’m not ashamed to admit that I frequently check out the photo my sister took (above) and think about going back to Cozumel. The best nachos ever came from a small Cozumel seaside café. While my family took turns exploring the ocean floor with our scuba diving instructor, my mom chilled on a beach chair under the palapas. She also ordered some nachos. As soon as the first group of novice divers (me, Lori, Dad and Mike) came up from our lesson and took off our gear, we attacked the nachos. We were hungry from swimming, but they were also perfect. Everything tasted fresh, especially the guacamole and black bean layer. We ordered a second plate and those went pretty quickly. After all, there were 8 of us digging in to the nachos. Anyone else think food in Mexico often tastes better than food stateside? Is that just me?

As for stateside nachos, I can’t pick a favorite. I typically get nachos in bars, not at Mexican restaurants. I liked the nachos at Simone’s (Pilsen, Chicago), but they had too much sour cream and no guacamole. Some chain restaurants like Rubio’s Baja Brill and Baja Fresh have decent versions. I used to frequent the Rubio’s in the UCLA student union. I probably should have shared those chicken nachos.

I got tagged by Julie and Shelby, two fellow bloggers for a blog award. This means I have to — well, I don’t have to, but I kinda like these memes — post 10 fun facts about myself.

1. I’m a dumbass. After doing a short easy test run a few days before the Long Beach Marathon, I iced my hamstring. I wasn’t thinking and affixed the ice pack against my bare skin. I left it there for 20 minutes. The result? An embarrassing and itchy ice pack burn. Thankfully, it wasn’t a serious burn and went away in a few days.

2. I subscribe to 34 podcasts. Some of those are super short or song-of-the day types, but several are 45 minutes to more than a hour long. I always have a podcast to listen to at work or for a run.

3. Whenever I feel pretty bummed about running, I remind myself that I’ve only been doing this for a little over 2 years. If you would have told me in early 2009 that I’d be able to run a half marathon in <2 hours (okay, barely) or run a marathon, I’d have laughed at you.

4. I watched Toy Story 3 for the third (fourth?) time on Saturday. I cried again. I blame hormones and the fact that I’m a wuss.

5. Aside from persistent gray hairs and paying bills, the biggest difference I notice about getting older is that I now regularly get motion sickness on roller coasters and spinning rides at amusement parks. I always loved the rides that made me super dizzy, now they make me want to vomit or give me headaches. Also, I used to be able to read in a car without any problem. I occasionally get queasy when I read in a car or on the bus, especially if there are a lot of turns or jerking motions.

6. I probably look a little too long when I see a mixed (black+another race) baby or kid when out and about. I blame my biological clock and the fact that I look forward to being the mother to Mexican+Jamaican babies.

7. The food I most often crave is plain old frijoles de la olla, basically a freshly made pot of pinto beans. I love beans and am so happy when I can steal some from my mom’s house.

8. Since high school my mom has predicted that I wouldn’t marry a Mexican man. She was right.

9. I get that a lot of beauty practices are painful, uncomfortable, and time consuming. I avoid most of those, but will deal with things like eyebrow and upper lip waxing because I like the results. However, I won’t suffer for fashion. I tried on a sequined dress last week just for fun. I think I looked okay in the dress, but was very uncomfortable. I left the shop feeling itchy and with red marks on my skin.

10. I take my right to vote seriously and like going to the voting booth. I’m not the most informed person when it comes to politics. I mean, I can talk about the stupid things Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann said during last night’s debate. However, I do nerdy things like write letters to my representatives on issues I feel strongly about (see: the DREAM Act) and volunteer for political campaigns when possible.

I’m supposed to tag someone, but I’ll skip that part.

Last year I ran the Long Beach half marathon. Lori ran too (but we didn’t run together). Our dad joined us and cheered us along at the finish line. It was my second race and first half marathon. Prior to the race, I had never run more than 10-11 miles. I didn’t take any gels/chomps and relied on the course water, sports drink and food from spectators. Along with Target capris, tank and stopwatch ($10), I wore my first pair of Mizunos and a pace band I picked up at the expo. The day was cool and gloomy (high of 65ish), perfect distance running weather. I met my goal finishing in 2:03:56 (<2:05) without walking. I came away from the race ready for more.

This year, I’m running the marathon. Lori won’t be running, but I won’t be alone at the start. Sean is running too. He’ll be running his first half marathon. I have more experience running races, but not too much as my codo hurts every time I pay a race fee. Long Beach will be my second marathon. I have a stronger distance running base and despite gaining a few pounds have gotten faster. I’ll be wearing the same capris, but I’ve upgraded watches to a Garmin to help me keep pace.

Other differences:

1. Weather: it’ll be hot and sunny in Long Beach. The high will be in the low 80s. Frankly, I’d rather run a marathon in rain than in the heat. The rain doesn’t seem to slow me down, but the heat does. I ran most of my long runs in cooler temps (60s-low 70s) with the protection of the marine layer. Maybe I should have run more when it was warmer and sunny.

2. Health: I’ve had a cold all week. Thankfully, the worst has passed. I’m less congested and feeling better.

3. The hamstring: Despite getting plenty of rest during my super taper, my hamstring doesn’t feel any better. I went out for a 3 mile easy run yesterday morning. It was hard from the beginning and my heart was beating way too fast for an easy run. Could I really have lost that much fitness in 3 weeks? My leg started hurting about 20 minutes in once again and I stopped to stretch a few more times before I got home. I stretched and iced afterward, but my leg still hurt the rest of the day. I felt better after getting a massage in the evening. Today I tried an icy hot patch. It burns, but it feels good.

I have no clue how I’ll feel on Sunday, but hopefully my parents’ and grandparents’ prayers will make a difference. Who knows… I prayed for a dry LA Marathon and didn’t get that, but I did have a great race. When I thought of my paternal grandparents in the last few miles, I felt a surge of energy and finished strong.

GOALS

Four weeks ago:

A. Less than 4:10 – Based on my 1:58 finish in the Pasadena half marathon, the McMillan running calculator put me down at 4:09:59 for the half. I thought the time was ambitious but doable considering Long Beach is a flatter course.

B. Less than 4:16:19 – I know this seems arbitrary. I chose it after reading in Men’s Health that it was the average marathon time for men 40-44, the fastest age group. This was in 2009. In 2010, men 40-44 were a little slower, averaging 4:19:51, but they were still the fastest age group.

C. Set a personal best, finish in less than 4:23:56.

Today:

A. Set a personal best (see: goal C above)

B. Finish. It’s okay if I need to walk. At this point, I just want to prevent further injury and get my medal.

If you want to see how I do before I get around to posting a race recap, track me live. The race starts at 7. My bib number is 2016.

Goal:
Be as bad ass as the huntress/warrior woman in the mural above.

More specifically…

Health & fitness
1. Run a personal best at the LB Marathon; I have more ambitious time goals than sub 4:23, but I’m not so sure how that’ll work out with the hamstring issues and cold
2. Begin half marathon training (for Holiday Half on December 12th)
3. Start strength training
4. Eat out less
5. Try more new recipes

That dissertation thing
1. STOP SLACKING. Seriously.
2. Chapter 3 drafted, sent to the advisor. Chapter 2 revised.

Job1 & Job2
1. Write my section of the report for one of our external funders
2. Finish the qualitative institutional reports
3. Start remembering the names of the new students

La boda (the wedding) [with Sean]
1. Update our budget, make a plan to save enough and pay any outstanding deposits
2. Schedule our engagement shoot with Michael, our photographer
3. Ask our bridesmaids and groomsmen to be part of our wedding party
4. Ask X to be my maid of honor
5. Meet Sean’s extended family at our informal Long Island engagement party
6. Work with our graphic designers on our save-the-dates and invites

The blog
1. Post two DIY costumes per week

Other
1. Get my Halloween costume together
2. Make an overkill jar for all the words and phrases Sean and I say way too much

September was a good month.

Labor Day weekend

Sean and I traveled to Napa/Sonoma for a wedding. We spent the rest of Labor Day weekend hanging out friends in San Francisco and Berkeley before going back to work.

Long Beach Marathon training

I got in to the dreaded peak weeks of marathon training and knocked out an 18 mile run followed by a 20 miler and a 21.5 miler. They were tough and the new aches in my knee and hamstring reflected it. I got a new pair of my trusty Brooks Adrenaline (in purple, of course).

Getting some culture

We saw the National at the Hollywood Bowl. They put on a great show (setlist and review at the LA Weekly). Sean and I were reminded once again that we really need to put together our Hollywood Bowl concert bingo. It’ll be ready for the 2012 season. Sharon van Etten and Neko Case opened for the National. (Not the National in the photo.)

Source

A few days after the National concert, we saw “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity” at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood. We saw the show off Broadway last year and had a moment to chat with playwright Kristoffer Diaz then. I’ve known Kris (via the internets) for about 7 years now and it’s neat to see his career take off. I remember when he was working on Chad Deity. The show was equally enjoyable the second time around even though our seats were up in the mezzanine rather than a few rows in front of the stage. The production was almost identical to the NY show and featured the same set design, actors (most of them) and director. Kris tweaked at least one line for the LA setting, but I wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t tweeted about it. It’s tough for me describe the show, but Kris can tell you in his own words.

Source

We went to our last Hollywood Bowl show of the season: TV on the Radio, the Arctic Monkeys, Panda Bear, Warpaint and Smith Westerns (we missed them). It was a great show (see the LA Weekly review. I’ve had Arctic Monkeys’ “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” in my head since then.

Birthday celebrations

Adrian’s birthday was on the 17th, but we celebrated a few days before with a surprise BBQ at his girlfriend’s house. Alexis insisted we park our cars on a different street so we wouldn’t ruin the surprise. He had no clue we were hiding in the backyard. When Adrian came out, we yelled “surprised” and he was stunned. He responded, “you wasted the good surprise on me!” I wasn’t surprised that he quoted Big Daddy.

Two days later, my family hosted my 31st birthday party. That was a lot of fun, but also a lot work both before and after.

The following week, Alexis (brother’s girlfriend) celebrated her birthday. We joined a big group for a late dinner and drinks. I’m not sure Alexis remembered much.

Starting fall quarter

Zero week (September 19-23) is always busy for me at Job1. I work with the rest of the staff to pull off our two main events that week, a chemistry diagnostic exam and a welcome reception. I’m used to it after 6+ years at Job1, but I still find it difficult when students get the results from the exam and I have to find a tactful way to advise them about their courses for fall. It’s not easy to tell someone you think they’re unprepared for a class they’ll need.

I’m working less hours at Job2, but the projects are picking up. It’s weird how that works out.

I had a pretty low key 31st birthday followed with a long weekend in Napa and San Francisco for a wedding.

Sean and I spent the day at Disneyland & California Adventures. We’ve had annual passes since the beginning of the year, but have only used them twice since they’re weekday only passes and we’ve been blocked out for most of the summer. Yeah, I bought the cheapest pass.

We arrived at Disneyland around 11 and made a beeline to Indiana Jones for fast passes and then got in line for Star Tours. I’ve never been a Star Wars fan. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the trilogy all the way through. I’ve never seen the prequels. Still, Star Tours has always been one of my Disneyland favorites. Prior to the renovation, the lines were always short and it was a nice respite from hot summer days. With the renovation, we waited 20-30 minutes, but it was still worth it. I missed the familiarity of the old story line, but seeing the new scenes they generated was pretty cool.

We spent the next three hours going on rides new to Sean (it’s only his second trip) like Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, Autopia and Big Thunder Mountain. Most of the summer crowds were gone, so lines were pretty short. After lunch at ESPN Zone, we went to California Adventures and went on a few rides including the Toy Story-themed Midway Mania.

We left Disneyland a little after 6. On the way out we stopped by the store at Downtown Disney and found some interesting hats.

We met up with my mom, Adrian and his girlfriend Alexis in Hacienda Heights. Dad, Danny and Lori were all working so they couldn’t make it. We went out to dinner at my favorite restaurant, Mariposa Inn in Covina. I’ve had many birthday dinners and brunches there. My mom requested we sit in Nacho’s section. We’ve been sitting in Nacho’s section for 20-something years. Even though my mom hadn’t been to the restaurant in a while, they caught up like old friends and talked about the changes at the restaurant since the longtime owner, Raudel, passed away a few years ago. Naturally, Mariposa felt different without him.

I came home to the last of my presents from Sean, a shiny new iPad. He spoils me.

It was a good birthday. Now I just need to get things ready for the birthday party.

Earlier this year, my good friend Rio asked me to write a guest post on his blog for his 31st birthday. Rio’s used his talent and creativity to surprise me on past birthdays (see: birthday activity sheet #1). It was only fitting that I repay the favor.

I lifted what I wrote for his blog and made some changes.

I’m jealous of Rio. Today, he gets to say he’s 31. I’m counting down the days until I can say that. Yeah, I know I’m not your average woman.

I’m obsessed with the number 31. I take photos of it when I see it randomly on a bus or sign. I make a point of noting it as a hashtag on my Twitter feed when something is #31ftw (for the win, e.g., my favorite baseball player Andre Ethier hitting 31 home runs in 2009) or #31fail (e.g., Justice Sonia Sotomayor getting 31 nay votes in her Senate confirmation). My friends and family don’t get it, but they still send me photos when they spot a 31.

The truth? I don’t really get it either. My affinity began late in high school. That was when friends started teasing me about my many crushes and I earned the nickname “31 Flavors.” I didn’t mind it, after all, I was born on the 31st of August. Soon, the nickname became part of my first email address. I grew out of a lot of my other high school/early 20s mini obsessions. Not 31.

As for the photo series, that didn’t begin until I bought a digital camera in 2004. The next spring I went out to lunch with my ex-roommate at a diner. We ordered our food and the cashier gave us a number for our table. It was 31. I had to take a picture.

Soon, I was spotting it around school, LA, in my travels and so on. I took more photos. My friends and family spotted the number occasionally and sent me photos too.

I kept it up for several years, but never sat to think about what 31 means and why it’s awesome. Some reasons why:

• The best months — January, March, May, July, August, October and December — have 31 days.
• Some of the best days of the year are on the 31st (César Chávez Day, Halloween, NYE, my birthday).
• It’s a prime number, a self number and all kinds of other cool math stuff I don’t really understand.
• California, my beloved home state, was the 31st state admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850.
• The motherland, Mexico, is made up of 31 states.
• In Lotería, the 31 card depicts las jaras, or the arrows. (I think this is pretty cool considering Cynthia is one of the names of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, forest, hills and moon. I’m also pretty keen on the moon.)
• Baskin-Robbins has 31 flavors of ice cream. Yum.
• In the periodic table of elements, Gallium has the atomic number 31. It’s primarily used in semiconductors.
• Nick Hornby wrote a book called 31 Songs all about songs that have impacted his life and his music taste.
• Thirty-one rhymes with “flirty one” and “dirty one” making for a particularly sexy year.
• The Dodger record for a hitting streak is 31. Sadly, Andre Ethier didn’t tie that record.
• If you subtract 31 from 100 you get 69. I won’t espouse on that one because I’m an adult.
• The old 31 line of the MTA started in the neighborhood where I was born and continued west in to the heart of East LA.
• I live on the 3100 block of my street.
• Greg Maddux, one of the best pitchers in the 90s, wore #31. His jersey has been retired by both the Cubs and Braves. (Fun fact: he pitched for the Dodgers in 2006 and 2008.) Reggie Miller (Pacers), Mike Piazza (Dodgers) and Kurt Rambis (Lakers) also wore #31.
• Aimee Mann has a song called “31 Today”. I can relate to it in some ways.
• If you inverse 31, it makes 13, which might not be so popular in Northern California, but is more liked in LA and Southern California.
• If you add the digits of 31, you get 4. There’s lot of cool things about 4, like the 4 elements, 4 directions, Cuatro Caminos from Café Tacuba y más.

Those are all just random reasons, but I’m pretty sure 31 will be an awesome year for Rio. I can’t see why not.

Yes, I’m happy to say “I’m 31″ when someone asks my age.

As for the 31st birthday, it was low key. I spent the morning and afternoon at Disneyland and California Adventures with Sean. We rushed through several short lines and finally got to check out the new Star Tours. I loved the old version, but the upgrade is pretty neat. Throughout the day, I heard from several friends near and far (e.g., China). Their birthday greetings made me smile and feel loved. Afterward, we met up for dinner at my favorite restaurant with my mom, Adrian and his girlfriend. The rest of the familia was working. I’ll really celebrate with the extended familia and friends in a few weeks at my birthday party.

Things I like about this photo from my first birthday party (one of my all time favorites):
1. My sundress (my mom has great taste)
2. My little baby arms and complexion
3. I’m wearing a Tejana (probably Papá Chepe’s or my padrino José’s)
4. Um, I’m hugging a bottle of tequila. I wouldn’t let go of the bottle even when I went down for my nap.
5. How more Mexican can a baby be?

I’m pretty sure my 31st birthday won’t involve sundresses and bottles of tequila. At least not today. But a sundress and a cowgirl hat? That could be done.

Things Sean missed after leaving New York and moving to LA:
- Several blizzards (except for the one that delayed his move 3 days)
- The second hottest day in New York City history
- An earthquake
- A hurricane

Things Sean misses about LA and wants to do when we return to NY in the fall:
+ Play football with ZogSports
+ Visit various restaurants
+ Walk/take the train everywhere
+ Wear his fall coats again (he gave them to his brother before he left)
+ Go to happy hour with friends
+ See family, of course
+ Hopefully see the Yankees in the playoffs

Maybe sometime soon I’ll have a photo of me wearing/holding up the jersey of whoever gets #31 on the NFL team we might get in LA.

I also chose this photo because it’s a gratuitous before/after photo. The first photo is from January ’09 on my first trip to the Staples Center. After the Red Wings beat the Kings, my date and I wandered around the store; of course I had to take a photo of the Kurt Rambis’ jersey. I know the jersey covers up most of me. Oh well, you can see it in the face right? This photo was taken just a few days after I started WW. [This is usually the "before" picture I use.]

The Dodgers jersey was a gift from Sean. The first jersey he bought was lost somewhere in a postal office in NY. Someone out there has a Dodgers jersey and is confused; there are no Mosquedas on the Dodgers. I took the second photo in June ’10, after getting to my goal weight and achieving WW Lifetime status.

There are a lot of differences between January ’09 me and August ’11 me. Things that I didn’t foresee happening in January ’09:

1. Successfully losing 31% of my starting weight (60 lbs).
2. Running a mile without stopping. Hell, running much longer distances without stopping and really enjoying it.
3. Cooking decent home-cooked meals.
4. Still loving the Dodgers even as they go through one of the worst seasons ever, both on and off the field. Troubles include life-threatening violence in the parking lot, threats of MLB taking over, severe decrease in attendance, possible bankruptcy and not being able to make payroll on the first of the month.
5. Going back to work as a research assistant for my advisor to study the educational pipeline of underrepresented minority research scientists.
6. Getting an article I co-wrote with colleagues published in a top tier education journal. I was last author, but that’s okay.
7. Losing two long time roommates and seeing my living situation turn upside down initially. In the end it all worked out and I have some pretty cool roommates.
8. Beginning to date Sean, the guy who inspired the concert buddy search and a post on mini crushes. After 9 months of doing the LA/NY thing, he moved to LA. A few months later, he asked me to marry him. Now we’re planning a wedding. Fun times (sorta).
9. Having my words featured in some pretty cool places. I wrote about college affordability on the NY Times debate blog and was featured along with my father on NPR’s Morning Edition and Latino USA talking about our father/grandfather. I’m such a nerd that a year later I’m still geeking out over that.
10. Getting in to the reading running and healthy living blogs. (More the former as the latter typically bore me.) These would inspire some quality snark and contributions to a meme. Today I found out I won Angry Runner’s contest. Neat.

There are some things that haven’t changed since then. Some of the changes were tough. The change in roommates wasn’t easy. Neither was breaking up with Alan in November ’09. I only alluded to it here, but it felt a little too personal for the blog.