Training Update: 22 September

I was doing well for a bit there, running slow intervals, exactly as I had been told.

Then, I went for a run right before we left for Taiwan. It was excellent. I started running and I didn't stop. 5k later, I hopped off the treadmill, glowing red and feeling completely pleased with myself.

That satisfaction remained until the next morning, when I woke up with miserable hip pain. I was told to train gradually because when I get tired, I use the wrong muscles to balance, and my decision to enjoy my run meant I did all the things I wasn't supposed to. My hip hurt for five days, well into the Taiwan trip.

Lesson learned? Quite possibly.

I took a break until we returned, and soon thereafter, I stumbled across a writeup about Couch to 5k. I liked the idea of a structured training plan that my adherence to wouldn't make my physiotherapist cringe, but I couldn't help but feel a bit disgusted by the notion that running a 5k would require nine weeks of training. The longest I had ever trained for said distance was three weeks at most. Then again, I also have had a lion's share of running injuries, and the only reason I finished the 5k I ran earlier in the month was raw stubborness, not fitness. I printed out the plan.

Today marks the first session of week four, so I have six more weeks to go until I can officially run halfway home from my office. Week four is the point at which you actually have to jog more than walk. My tortoise-worthy achievement is above.

I think I am more couch than 5k. We'll see in another week or two.

The Alma, Wandsworth Town

The Alma has consistently served us well, while never being subjected to the scrutiny of The Quest.

We headed there today, in an effort to embrace our unreviewed locals.

The Alma has consistently delivered. It has a cute bar in the center of the pub area, shows lots of rugby, and offers a good menu. It is always a welcome opportunity to stop when we have gone on mighty DIY treks to Homebase.


The Menu for today is to the left.






Joining us on the quest today were Vera, Roland, and Dom.









Dishes Ordered:
(Pictured clockwise from the top left)

• Beef & Guiness Upside Down Pie & Mash (Darren)
• Alma Burger with Somerset Brie, Bacon, & French Fries (Vera)
• Roast Pheasant Casserole, Pearl Barley, & Thyme Dumplings (Roland)
  
• Roast Striploin of Exmoor Beef with Yorkshire Pudding (Dom, Franc)

and we liked our main courses so much, dessert was not to be missed...
(Pictured left to right)

• Sticky Toffee Pudding & Vanilla Ice Cream (Dom)
• Bread & Butter Pudding, Honey Ice Cream, Apple Tuile (Vera, Franc)
  
• Treacle Tart, Glenmorangie Chantilly Cream (Darren, Roland)
  

Observations: (collective and individual)

• The pub has a nice mix of people in it, and I liked that there wasn't any music. (Dom)
• The wine cellar in the basement is cool. (Darren)
• Would have awarded a higher score for environment if the bathrooms had provided towels for those who don't care for air dryers (Roland)
  
• The red cabbage (hidden under the beef in the roast picture) was a bit ambitious, given that it isn't the most popular of vegetables and it wasn't mentioned on the menu (Dom). (For the record, we all do like red cabbage.)
• The fireplace in the back corner is nice, especially when lit on cold days. (Franc)
  
• I ate entirely too much. Walking home was a labor. It was delicious. (Franc)

and my favorite...

• Our waitress looks like Martha Jones from Doctor Who. She's welcome in my tardis anytime. (Darren)
  

On to the scores: (awarded on these guidelines)







Our Updated Map of Eats:
*note: Pubs are noted with their scores in parentheses


View The Quest for the Best Sunday Roast in a larger map

AeroKat!

Oscar, our cat, has been a bit under the weather.

We first noticed that he was breathing very fast when we returned from Taiwan. After a few tests and a chest x-ray, we learned that he had a very severe chest infection.

After much improvement during the first half of his course of antibiotics , he took a turn for the worst, which prompted several trips to the vet and even more medicine.

What I hadn't expected was to be given the AeroKat, an asthma inhaler, and a few words of encouragement.



At first glance, the AeroKat looks an awful lot like Austin Powers' Swedish Enlarger.

Further inspection reveals that it is, in fact, Canadian.






The AeroKat comes with convenient instructions; so convenient, they're printed right on it and seemingly don't require words. While one could read the enclosed insert for further detail. I'm reasonably confident it doesn't include anything about bloodshed.


(note: for our purposes, diagrams are numbered 1 through 3, going from left to right.






As I see it, this set of diagrams is sorely lacking in a few key points about using the AeroKat. It focuses on all thr wrong stuff. Removing the cap on the inhaler (picture 1) and inserting the inhaler into the AeroKat (picture 2) are the least of your worries if you actually have to use the darned thing.

That brings us to picture 3.
In this diagram, the human dispenses the inhaler into the AeroKat chamber using a single hand to discharge the inhaler, dispensing medication to a cat who willingly inserts its face into AeroKat's comfy mask and accepts the medication into its visible set of lungs.

What the directions fail to highlight is that this is the step where it all gets violent and complicated.

The human must hold the mask area tightly on to the cat's face, discharging the inhaler into the chamber. This cannot be done with a single hand on the inhaler, as the diagram suggests. Should the mask lose contact with the cat's face, you get to start all over again.

Once the inhaler is discharged, the human must cling onto the cat for dear life as he takes his next five breaths and sticks his claws in your flesh and wriggles around like mad.

I have found that this task is best achieved by holding the cat against my leg. I have also found that wearing my work clothes is less preferable, but in the absence of riot gear, they're not a bad option.

The AeroKat does not come with a supply of Band-Aids; although, it might be a nice effort if it did.

Fortunately, the cat is already back on the mend. The medication via AeroKat has helped him significantly, so perhaps I won't be needing all that Neosporin.

The Telegraph, Putney Heath

The Quest has been on hold for most of the past two months, so we were pretty eager to get back to it with our latest pick, The Telegraph.

Joining us today were Vera & Roland (of Taiwanese Wedding fame) and Bridgette, Pete, and baby Max.

It looked cute from the outside, with lots of picnic tables and a Cornish farmer's market.




We headed inside to find an equally cute interior, and found ourselves discussing how this pub would certainly be worthy of multiple visits.

The menu looked reasonably good, and I should have taken a picture of it; however, the events ahead led to my forgetting to do so. Fortunately, it is available here.



Dishes Ordered:
We settled in and placed our orders:
Vera: Fish & Chips
Roland: Roast Lamb
Bridgette: Roast Lamb
Pete: Burger
Darren: Burger
Franc: Roast Beef
Water for the table
...until the waitress returned 10 minutes later and advised that the Lamb Roast had run out.

Take Two:
Vera: Fish & Chips
Roland: Roast Pork
Bridgette: Fish & Chips
Pete: Burger
Darren: Burger
Franc: Roast Beef
...ten minutes later, more bad news.
The beef and pork had also run out. We also were still waiting on the water. Bridgette's mention that a round of drinks would be a nice gesture given that the pub was seemingly out of food by two o'clock went unacknowledged.

Take Three:
Vera: Fish & Chips
Roland: Macaroni & Blue Cheese Bake
Bridgette: Fish & Chips
Pete: Burger
Darren: Burger
Franc: Burger

When our food arrived, there wasn't enough cutlery on the table. Obtaining more took significantly more time than it should have. When it arrived, we dug in.

We dug in before pictures had been taken!
Dishes ordered from left to right:
(Macaroni & Blue Cheese Bake, Burger, Fish & Chips)









The food was unremarkable.

The dessert course arrived, after we watched it pass our table twice.
The waitress seemed almost argumentative when we insisted that only one apple pie had been ordered with ice cream.
Desserts from left to right: Cheesecake, Apple Pie With Custard, Sticky Toffee Pudding

Overall, the presentation was careless, but we all agreed that the desserts tasted better than the entrees. The Sticky Toffee Pudding wasn't warm, and ridiculous as it may sound, the ice cream wasn't cold. Darren's ice cream had mostly melted on his plate, and if you take a closer look at the picture of Roland's pie in the center, the custard had been spilled

We wrapped up the dessert course, and after watching our server come over and add more cutlery to the basket on the table without offering us additional drinks or our bill, we asked for ours. She asked us what our tab number was, to which I pointed out the large card on the table displaying our number. The bill came, and at least a generous, undeserved gratutity wasn't included.

Observations: (collective and individual):

• The high chair we requested was never delivered, and the bathroom with baby changing facilities did not have a hand dryer or towels (Bridgette)
• The cheesecake made up for the burger's shortcomings (Pete)
• The space was nice, but the chips were mediocre (Darren)
• Based on his entree, he was disappointed, but based on Vera's it was ok. (Roland)
• The service was poor, the food average. The interior and outdoor area were nice. (Franc)

On to the scores: (awarded on these guidelines)










Our Updated Map of Eats:
*note: Pubs are noted with their scores in parentheses

View The Quest for the Best Sunday Roast in a larger map

Fish!

As I love fish, swimming, and aquariums, my husband very thoughtfully bought me a fish tank earlier this month.

We set it up in the kitchen, in case you've noticed the Ben & Jerry's ice cream bookbook hiding behind the cutting board to the right.

Two visits to the aquarium shop later, the 30L tank is full!

Introducing in order of aquisition:

• Mimosa: Champagne & orange colored
• Rumsfeld: The speckled one, he kept beating up on Mimosa, until Calippo and Simon joined the tank
• Calippo: The Orange one, named for the British popsicles
  
• Simon: The black one with the bulging eyes, much like my husband's friend, Simon, who we refer to as, "the eyes"

Down Here All the Fish is Happy: Engrish Roundup

Having studied a bit of Mandarin, I actually have a bit of a clue as to just how hard it may be to effectively learn these two radically different languages.

That said, it's still really funny to see one's native language so misused.

Here are my remaining favorites, rediscovered while sorting the many pictures taken.

At the Aquarium:
Down here, all the fish is happy!
(look to the right for , "...us and eat us"


A subway advertisement for Biore face wash on the Taipei MRT promises a Happy Ending!











A department store advises that their products do not have testers:

















Meanwhile, one may shop at
Kuda: For Curious Woman









For any emergency, please press this button:













Some just want to be Foved, at the Shilin Night market


















And surely whatever snack is created when the,
"vegetable stick attaches the tartra sauce"
is worth a go...