The last three weeks have been very eventful. I’m now nearing two full months back in the Bay Area. The layers of friendships keep revealing themselves, and I’m so very grateful to have such love in my life. Even from Kaj’s dog Charlie, who though he once bit my hand (nothing bad) now cuddles up next to me all the time when Kaj is gone (and sometimes when he is there too). So let’s get to it, the weeks that were!
Golden State Warriors win 3rd NBA Championship
Growing up as a sports fan in the 2000s did not promise much playoff excitement. It wasn’t until the Giants won the World Series in 2010 that the Bay Area that many of youngin’s got our first taste of championship glory. And that didn’t really sit well at the Laanen household, being Oakland Athletics fans and all. Back then our other Oakland teams weren’t doing so hot either: the Oakland Raiders were (are?) among the most looked down-upon team in the NFL and the Warriors made it to the playoffs once while I was in high school. S
o on June 8th, when it was time for the monthly ‘Tweede Vrijdag van de Maand borrel’ (Dutch for 2nd Friday of the month drinks) in San Francisco, I was very happy to watch the Warriors win game 4 to sweep the Cavs and tie down their 3rd championship in recent memory. Together with long-time Dutch friends.
On Running, again
Last time I wrote, I noted that together with my friend Emmad I had been running many Saturdays. More specifically, I shared that together we ran 17 miles one day. For me, that was smashing past my personal distance record and a big accomplishment. I learned something that day though: when I pace for 11 minutes per mile instead of my usual target pace of 9 minutes per mile, I can make a much further distance without stopping. Especially with a little refueling here and there.
This new found knowledge was so simple, but so key. I wanted to know if I could push myself to run an even further distance. As it happens, I set a challenge for myself at Tony Robbin’s UPW in April, to run a marathon this year. So I took my new insights, and did exactly that: I ran a marathon around Walnut Creek all by myself. And it was a success. Can I say that I’m pretty stoked on this? 🙂
Now the challenge remains to regulate that pace, and perform while timed at a real event. After that we can start talking triathlons! If you have any running knowledge bombs, do let me know.
Community makes me feel good
Last weekend I headed to Mendocino County for a camp out with a fantastic community of people I encountered during the Berkeley years. Together with 130+ others, we got together for dancing under the stars, a day party on the lake, and getting back in touch with one another. I loved reconnecting with people I haven’t seen since moving abroad, and meeting others who’ve joined since. Can’t wait until our next celebration together. 🙂
Lucky me, that wasn’t the only community I had the pleasure to interact with this last week. On Wednesday I went to my first Bay Area Policy Professionals event. It’s a consortium of alumni from various international relations grad school programs such as SAIS, where I graduated from last year. The non-profit fundraiser and happy hour drinks were hosted at Jackalope bar in San Francisco. A couple weeks back I had volunteered to help organize events for the SAIS alumni group in the Bay Area, and thus I was asked to help guest bartend at the event.
Together with other volunteers, we learned from the owner of Jackalope, Javier, how to run the bar. All tips collected went to the non-profit: Miracle Messages. MM reconnects homeless people with their loved ones and friends to get them back on their feet. In a city like San Francisco that is unable and/or unwilling to provide social support, we need more organizations like Miracle Messages. If you feel so inclined, you can donate to their cause as well through their fundraiser below.
Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!
