Long Time Gone

Following a recent existential freakout, I decided to start jogging again. So, for a while, my days started at 5am with a few "laps" around my over-sized block (~3 miles). Recently though, I've been more ambitious. Instead of staying down in the flats of Berkeley, my runs have wandered up into the hills, pounding up slopes that I honestly feel uncomfortable ascending in my car. But suddenly, even this was not enough. The jogging stroller arrived -- a gift from my mom. What else could I do but accept the challenge?

The first day I ran a slow lap around my neighborhood, completing a mile in just under 11 minutes. Yesterday, I push 25 lbs of Thumper up... and up ... and up. Every cross street leading further up the hill was irresistible. It was a fast paced expedition into the unknown wilds of the Berkeley Hills, a tour of beautiful (and hideous) homes and their $10 million views.

One park in particular has a spectacular view for Oakland, San Francisco, the Golden Gate and Marin.I was surprised by all of the "hidden" parks, seemingly reserved for the wealthy locals. One in Absolutely gorgeous. As I got a very late start on my exercise yesterday, the setting sun washed out the picture I took (left), making the Golden Gate the source of light to the Bay Area.

About 4 miles up, Thumper went on strike. No more stroller! People watched me pass decked out in my jogging gear, pushing an empty stroller and carrying a baby. Fortunately, Berkeley facilitates quick getaways with numerous hidden walkways winding between houses. We quickly descended, banging down stairway were necessary, finally arriving home 2.5 hours after we left. Fortunately, this was my "day off" (Mondays with just Thumper and Vivienne). Unfortunately, despite my near total exhaustion, it was time to cook dinner. Mom's are always on the job.

Tomorrow I'll relax with a few papers on HMM-based vocoder modeling for speech processing. I have a clever idea to advance the field.