Fall in Folsom....

Fall is one of my favorite seasons of the year. Our little town lights up in glory with orange, yellow, red, and brown trees all over.

I used to really enjoy walking from the overflow parking lot at work to my desk during this season. This year, they have chopped off most of those gorgeous trees that I had come to love, and cherish. Why - you may ask? It's because Intel is huge on solar power, and they have converted the open parking lots to covered structures and have put solar panels on top. Most folks really appreciate parking their car under the shade during those scorching summer months. But I feel bittersweet about the whole thing. They have taken away the entire beauty of the campus, in my personal opinion. This is how it looked in previous years....

Most of these trees are gone :(. This does not even show the overflow lot. I used to love getting in early at work in summer, and choose to park my car under a large tree in the overflow lot. And when I would leave work around 5pm, the temperature would be at its peak, often above 100F. But under the lovely shade of the gorgeous tree, my car would be covered, and cool. On most days, I wouldn't even need to turn the AC on right away, just airing out the car would work fine. I'm going to miss that going forward!!

This row of trees is the next in line to be chopped this month. Doesn't it make you cringe :(? or am I the only one feeling this way?

Other than the campus, the town still looks pretty. And thankfully, we have our gorgeous parks, with large, mature trees. And for now, they are here to stay!!!

Post 11 - 10K Trail Race

I am not sure why I did not listen to the logical answer coming from my brain "Don't do it", and went with the meek "Yes you can" coming from my heart....

On Sunday, I ran a very tough 10K trail race, organized by Intel. On a very chilly day (which is perfect for long runs), the course took us through the Folsom Prison grounds, giving us a chance to peek into a side of Folsom we never get to see. The course was hilly, with constant ups and downs, taking us through streams and bridges, through bushes and trees. It was single track all the way. It kicked my butt, to say the least :).

Towards the very end, I stepped on a small rock on the trail and fell down, hard. My left knee got bruised, but I was able to finish strong. I also got a bad blister on my right toe during the run, but it was not painful while I was running. Both were minor injuries and I'm well on my way to being healed now!

Here's what I learnt:

:: If you sign up for a race, please train for it. You could get injured badly if you don't, and pay for your mistake for years to come. {In my case: I have been running on and off since the beginning of this year, hence I had the courage to go ahead with this race. Earlier this week, I also did a couple of strength training workouts at the Intel gym, and figured I should be able to hack it.}

:: Eat well, hydrate well, sleep well - the day before the race. {I stayed up until 2.30am to pack for my upcoming vacation. I also skipped dinner (sigh) and was snacking on junk while packing. The only thing I did was hydrate well.}

:: Plan your outfit and lay it out on the bed the night before. Also plan your morning breakfast well, and pack snacks/water for the race if needed. Charge your ipod/phone and keep headphones with your outfit. {Can you believe that I did all these things? YAY ME!}.

:: Take a shower a couple of hours before the race to warm up your muscles. And stretch using a foam roller. {I showered at 2.30am before going to bed instead. And foam roller is my best friend - I used it before and after}.

:: Don't be indecisive until the last minute. {I showed up at the venue thinking I will change my run to a 5K. But when I went to pick up my BIB, I saw that my number was the last 4 digits of my cell phone. It made me smile, and gave me a nudge that this is meant to be. So I stuck with my original plan.}

:: Once you start running, leave all worries behind and just have fun. {Which is what I precisely did}.

:: A running group helps. A lot. Train with one. They will support you and inspire you all the way. I'm proud to be associated with Runnin' for Rhett and they were there with me, before and after the race.

I have another 5K race this Saturday - this time the whole family plans to do it - let's see how it goes :)! Wish us luck!

Post 6 - Fall colors

It still feels like summer around here. The temperatures are just starting to drop, but it's still very warm.

The Kings Fire near Pollock Pines has brought in a lot of smoke, ash, dust and pollen into the valley. Both kids have caught a cold, and the husband is also suffering from cold/allergy symptoms.

October is around the corner though, and it is one of my favorite months. The autumn air is crisp, the leaves put up a fabulous display of colors, the sunsets are vibrant, and the weather is simply perfect.

I will be out of town this year, and will miss Fall in all its glory. So I was pleasantly surprised when I was driving by our local park last Friday, and was treated to this view....

With the early morning sun shining bright, and the empty green field in the background, it was so inviting. I parked my car and spent a few minutes admiring this view, before heading to work! It completely relaxed me!

UBM Post 19 - Fire on the mountain, Run Run Run!

This one was a close call. Terrifying and frightening.

We had a grass fire today.....very very close to our home. It charred 40 acres and came threateningly close to many homes. They were lots and lots of fire personnel, helicopters and air tankers all out on the scene to contain it.

Here is the news story:
http://www.thepresstribune.com/article/fire-burning-near-highway-50-e-bidwell-street-folsom

I was working from home today, and a friend of mine pinged me at work to let me know that our house could  be in danger. {I have to ask this person how they get such news so quickly....coz all the time, such bad news comes from their end. They are also superstitious - the couple I mean - and I have my own opinions (not too positive) about people who believe too much in all that}.

I went out into the backyard and saw helicopters hovering over the house. So I drove out in the car and within a couple of minutes, I could see the hills on the other side of the freeway all burnt. There were a couple of fire department vehicles where I was parked and they were being vigilant about our side of the freeway. They didn't want another fire starting at our end. It was a bit scary talking to them about how close the fire got to the homes.

I took some pictures on my iPhone....in the first picture, the homes on the right is our community....

See how close the fire was....jeez so scary....

I came back home and alerted the husband about it. He faced delays on his drive back from work.

It also made me pause and think - what would I take with me if I was told to evacuate and if our house was going to burn down? Ofcourse, evacuate ourselves at any cost....but if we had a little bit of time, what would I take? We keep our passports, jewelry, etc in the safe deposit box, so that would not be an issue. I guess I would quickly pack the gadgets...especially this one backup hard drive that has all my digital data. Some clothes. Few essentials for kids. Some food. We have a medical kit in the car so would not need that.

I spent some time reviewing the government guidelines on responding to emergencies and how to build an emergency kit for disasters (www.ready.gov).

I'm so grateful that no one was affected by this fire. This is the third fire in our area this summer. Last weekend, there was a fire on Intel campus that burnt many solar panels on site. It did not affect any operation but did major damage. The hot, dry weather is acting as a catalyst to grass fires this year. Hope we see some rain soon!

Too close a call...and glad to be safe!!!!