Author: Kris

  • RunningBlog

    I’ve given this blasted cold four days of rest, with no running or swimming in that time. Thursday I started to feel a lot better though, so today I decided enough was enough. I put on my new shoes, zipped up a hoodie for extra warmth, and headed out for a slow, easy run through the neighborhood. I did 25 minutes of jogging without stopping, and though it didn’t feel as easy as some of my recent runs, it wasn’t too difficult either. I didn’t start hacking or coughing or anything. And the burgeoning sinus headache I’d felt when I woke up? Completely disappeared. (If you’d told me six months ago that running could actually make me feel better, I’d never have believed you.) I’m still planning to do the Mother’s Day 8K on Sunday, but I’m not going to kill myself trying to get a PB or anything. It’s all about Sunday the 18th, and my goal right now is just to hold it together for nine more days and give myself the best chance to finish the half-marathon.

    Oh. And my race pack came in the mail last night. I’ve got my official race number (#508, baby! I must have gotten in early) and my timing chip. Seeing them on the dining room table suddenly made it all seem very real. Nine more days.

  • Korean Citizenship

    “Ask a Korean” tackles the issue of South Korean citizenship. Check out the section on “simplified naturalization”:

    1. If one of your parents was a Korean citizen. (Emphasis on “was.” It’s ok if your parent renounced Korean citizenship.)

    Hey, I think that includes me! My mom was born in Korea to a Korean woman, so she would’ve been a citizen, right? (She would’ve renounced it as a child when they moved to America.) That’s pretty neat.

  • Wii Fit

    I headed to EB Games tonight to pick up my pre-ordered Wii Fit kit, and I was so excited. I tried to get the guy to price match Kmart, but he informed me that Kmart sold out of ’em way earlier today. (They don’t match a price if there’s no stock.) Oh well. I wanted the thing NOW. So I carried it home and set it up. Snookums walked in while I was doing my first fitness test, so we quickly got his character set up on it too.

    Okay, first off, this thing is ADORABLE. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible to anthropomorphize a heavy (and it is heavy) plastic platform, but the Japanese are geniuses. It speaks in this fun squeaky voice – “Initializing!” – that kept cracking me up. Of course, I stopped laughing as soon as Mr Balance Board calculated my weight and BMI, and my cute little Mii suddenly grew quite stout around the middle. Bugger. (For the record, Snookums is smack dab in the middle of his ideal weight. Bastard.) It also told us that our “fitness ages” are in the mid-forties, and it somehow correctly predicted that I trip a lot. (I wish I were joking.) We set our fitness goals and then started playing.

    There are four types of games (Yoga, Balance, Muscle, and Aerobic), and we started with Balance since we’re lazy. Heading the soccer balls was surprisingly difficult… but so fun too. The board is very sensitive. I had to keep reminding myself that moving my actual head didn’t do anything; it’s all about shifting your weight. Incidentally, I love that Wii games always use the Miis from your machine, which meant that the people firing soccer balls (and shoes, and panda heads) at me included Fiona, Steph and Eva, Andrew and Kathleen, and basically anybody who’s ever played Wii at our house. I found the slalom skiing pretty hard until I worked out that I needed to bend my knees and shift my weight forward. That helped move me down the mountain faster. I think the funniest moment of the night, though, was when Snookums sped down the ski jump and stood up too late, resulting in his Mii doing a crazy header down the mountain (and turning into a giant snowball).

    After Snookums retired to cook dinner, I tried out some of the yoga games. I chose the female trainer (she sounds like a Pom!) and started each exercise with a tutorial. They were surprisingly well done and effective! Even the simplest “game” – deep yoga breathing – takes on a new level of difficulty when you’re trying to keep a dot representing your center of gravity in the middle of a circle onscreen. I was actually pretty good at the yoga stuff, and I managed to unlock an extra level already. I can’t wait to try it out properly (like, when I’m not just about to each dinner).

    So overall, I’m loving this thing. I did a good 20 minutes of varied, fun exercises tonight without even realizing it. While that doesn’t sound like a lot, I’m sure that there are millions of people who don’t get that much exercise in a day. This thing is gonna be revolutionary. I’m already looking forward to my next workout!

  • Sub-Prime

    Via the Snook: The Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis Explained. It involves stick figures and the F-word. Very enlightening.

  • Myer One Wii Fit Discount?

    I don’t suppose any of you have a Myer One discount voucher booklet (including a $40 off coupon for the Wii Fit) that you won’t be using? Because that would, like, rock.

  • Ebert’s Blog

    Wait, WHAT? Ebert has a blog? That’s awesome!

  • Hillary only by TWO?

    Wow! Hillary only won Indiana by two percentage points? That’s much, much closer than I imagined it to be. Awesome. (Sorry Grandma. I voted for the black guy.)

  • Fat Scrutiny in the Media

    Role Reversal. It’s not often you see the media scrutinizing a man’s belly

  • Still Sick

    Still sick. I felt so crappy last night that we decided to skip the Neil Gaiman talk. I just couldn’t face the thought of standing in a crowded bookstore coughing and hacking all over everyone. Luckily, I can vicariously squee over Neil through crumpet, who saw him twice in 24 hours. What a fangirl. 🙂

  • Vodafone announces it’s got the iPhone

    Vodaphone announces it’s got the iPhone. As Snook just put it, “Tomorrow’s news: Vodafone no longer able to sell iPhone due to leaking info to the press.”