Five for Friday is a weekly series about the five new things I learned each week. It could be anything from a new recipe, new skills, or a new life lesson.

Race On the Base: My First 5K

I’m doing it, folks. I’m going to run the 5K at Race on the Base in February 2013.  This will be my first 5K race ever. First race I signed up for since, I don’t know, 6th grade when I raced around a 400 meter track at Royal Bangkok Sports Club.

Race on the Base is famous for their reverse triathlon race but they offer everything for kids to wheelchairs.  I’m on Week 4 of Couch to 5K now so I should be ready in 4-ish months. Right? RIGHT?

When I got off the couch to run, I didn’t think I’d enter a race. Actually, running a race is the furthest thing from my mind. My cousin Nicky did the triathlon last year. His sister May, aside from being an Olympian (Beijing, U.S. Badminton), has entered a few races herself.  My friend Amanda has done this race and would’ve done it again if she wasn’t going to be busy giving birth in February. LOL  But really, I wasn’t going to join any race.

Then I watched Amy ran the Disney Half Marathon less than a month ago.  She too went from couch all the way to a half marathon. Overall, Amy is the real comeback kid.  And that inspires me to sign up for this race.

I’m talking Olaina into running it with me, even with Ella in the stroller.  My friend Vanessa might join me as a part of her training for an 8K she will do in March. Who knows, I might get others to run with me altogether!

Anybody else going to do it? Or are you running any other race this/next year? Let me know.

USS Iowa: the Biggest Playground for a 2 Year-old…

My friend J.C. and her son Zachary came to visit for a few days from El Paso, Texas.  We had a lovely breakfast and not much else planned. Then I thought we could go to visit the USS Iowa, now parked in the Port of Los Angeles as a museum.  J.C.’s family also has ties with the military and Zachary’s admission is free.  Of course, J.C. and I didn’t expect to get the tour and the lectures from all of the docents and volunteers as we were mostly making sure Zachary didn’t run under the ropes and into the restricted areas.

Zachary was definitely interested in conquering all the stairs on the ship. Even the ones he wasn’t supposed to go on.  He wasn’t as impressed with the presidential bathtub (which had to be installed for Franklin D. Roosevelt because he couldn’t use the shower) as J.C. and I were, or wanted to play with the knobs and dials on the bridge, or checked out the turrets and missiles like we did.

He’s two. And we’re into our late 30s. And we wanted to play ship captains. Go figure.

*giggle*

Yellow lines and dots on the missile deck, meant to make sure people don’t trip on them, were made for a very exciting game of “lava” for Zachary and I.  At some point, all three of us were inching side way on the yellow line along the length of the deck.  The ABLs (Armored Box Launchers) for the Tomahawk cruise missiles were also fun to play peek-a-boo around.  Yep. The missile deck. Best play area, ever.

J.C. and I concluded that when Zachary and his older brother Joshua are a little older, they’d all probably enjoy this a lot more.

Other than being a giant iron playground, the USS Iowa was amazing. I’m still impressed by the size of the ship and how much history she holds. And we didn’t even get to see all of the interior!  At $18 admission, I felt a little jibbed that I didn’t get to see the actual bunkers or the engine room.  They are still working on those to be ready to show next year.

The gift shop itself was almost worth the trip.  If you need a gift for your Navy or Marine family members, this is the place. I got a shirt for Brandon that says, “Some people wonder all their lives if they’ve made a difference. The Marines don’t have that problem. – President Ronald Reagan.”

…And Also Sort of Battle Ready

I noticed the lack of accessibility on the ship. With all the older folks coming to visit this piece of history, I was surprised that there didn’t seem to be any elevator access for wheelchairs. And all those stairs and shin busters!  The USS Iowa website explained that they are installing elevators for improved access, however, “the ship must remain intact in case of a national crisis and no armor can be cut, therefore inaccessible spaces for less-able persons will be able to be viewed from the theater as a “Virtual Tour”.”

So, in case of a crisis, they’re going to tug this ship into a yard, refit her as fast as they can and send her off to war. Just like that.

I know this is real but it sounds just like a movie plot.

Wait a minute…

Sugar-free Black Cherry Jell-o Doesn’t Like Vodka

Amy always brings some jello shots to the tailgate.  Now that she’s doing the paleo diet, she made hers sugar-free.  The black cherry part made me want to try some.

And as you can see…

…it was gross. The sugar-free doesn’t seem to like the alcohol Amy had added.  The consistency was wrong. The taste was wrong. All of it was wrong.

On that note, however, if you need something blood-like for Halloween, this is your ticket.

Gangnam Style: the Right Way

Sure, I knew the basics but I haven’t learned the proper sequence of it yet. So here I learned from this mirrored video of PSY’s dance rehearsal.

That’s right. Mirror. So you mirror what he is doing instead of the other way.

Start this shit with your RIGHT, people. Don’t make me smack you with my “lasso”.