San Angeles :)

San Diego and Los Angeles! What a great spring break.

Here is a quick video. I will be posting more about the conference when I get the time. Maybe tomorrow evening.

Thanks for viewing! (Again, sorry for the english structure)

Also any tips for more fluidity, please let me know.

-Rach

Rock'n'Roll comes to DC!

I am a wonderful daughter :P But really, this morning (6:30am blah) my mother participated in the Rock'n'Roll 1/2 Marathon in DC. This reminded me yet again of how I do not want to do a marathon. The race itself seemed fine. The course was beautifully labelled, police at every intersection, took the runners through some really cool areas of my city, and finished at RFK stadium. But boy were there lots of people. over 30,000 is what I was told. My sister and I tried to see my mother at mile 10, 11, 12.5 and the finish. Course Map All of which were on my side of the city. We even practiced walking between the points to know how long it was going to take us. How wrong we were! We could not cross the street to cut across. I attempted it once and almost got plowed over by a runner. She bitched at me and believe me I know how it feels to be cut off by a spectator. It's annoying! Back to my point, I think I am too competitive for races of that size and distance. Here is why:
1) Running is hard
2) There is always someone in front of you, so you try to pass them, but then they try to pass you
3) Dodging people adds distance
4) I have no desire to wait for my stuff for hours after I finish

Running to keep in shape is just so different.

On a related note and why I chose to blog right now, I love biking. This past summer I bought a Trek Lexa SLX Triple. Best Bike :) Its a wonderful piece of metal and biking is the BEST way to get thorough this city. Hands down. If it is above 40 degrees and not raining (sometimes even when it is raining), take a bicycle. Bike racks are easy to find and you don't have to stop at stop signs. You get exercise instead of sitting in traffic and lately the city has been adding more and more bike lanes. Don't get me wrong, you still have to be careful, but it's awesome. I rode my bike around the different points of the 1/2 marathon and than to the finish line. After congratulating my mother, we decided to get out of the race area and get a cup of coffee closer to my side of town. She took the metro and I rode my bike back to NE DC. I not only beat her back, but by 25 minutes. How amazing is that? It costed her probably like $3 and me pretty much nothing and I gained some cardio strength.

Moral of the store, biking around DC, especially when you know were you are going, the best thing ever.

One last messing with my new blog, here is a cool picture of the thousands of runners and the Capitol Building.

-RachZ

A trip down memory lane

I graduated from undergraduate this past spring, but sometimes I do not feel like I have fully disconnected. I am dating someone who still goes to my alma mater, I have an internship based out of there, and I really am not that fair away. But today I went and visited my sorority to help them initiate new members. It was awesome and weird at the same time. I was participating in something that means so much to me, yet I didn't know all the girls around me. I didn't even know their names, but less what major they are, what they want to be when they graduate etc. Unsure if this is making any sense, but it was a weird sensation.

While discussing sensations, you know that feeling when something happens that you immediately go OH CRAP? Well yesterday that happened to me. I had been thinking earlier this week that I was proud of myself for always remembering to bring my swipe and room key when I leave the building. Not always an easy task for me. Especially when you add in changes between backpack, work, purse, going out, etc. So I walked out of my room, running late to class, and immediately realized that I forgot my swipe and keys. It was an awful feeling, but luckily, my roommate saved me a few hours later. Thanks roommate for your continuous ASL support, blogging advice, and now rescuing me from the computer lab and allowing me back into the room.

Note to the wise- don't try to ride the stationary bike, highlight a journal article, and have a signed conversation all at the same time. Ends up that none of the above gets done.

I think that's all for now. I'll keep working on my humor and hopefully my video posting abilities!

Attempt One at a Vlog Post

I apologize for the very English structure of this video and for the awkward camera angle. It will get better (I hope). I am attempting this for the first time and I don't do well with new things at night. Basically what I am trying to say is that I rode my bike yesterday from  Washington DC to College Park MD on the road. It was awful. The cars were trying to hit me. Next time I want to use the trails.
I tried to take the audio out; my roommate talking to her best friend. Hope that worked!

Welcome! +Briana Kichaven has had a blog for over a year now and I have habitually felt left out. Today my roommate created a blog and that was the last straw. So welcome! I am hoping to blog about my adventures at Gallaudet University as a new signer,  my wishy-washy triathlon training, working at a new fast casual restaurant, motorcycles and more. I hopefully will post some videos in ASL as well as some written english pieces. Thanks so much and here we go!