10/10/2020
ARE YOU UP for a challenge? Says the poster in my email. A fitness challenge. That's equal to asking me do I like camping? My answer depends on how much work I have to do.
Rules of the game:
Seems easy enough since I already hike every morning before clocking in. The extra thing I would have to do before heading out the door is grabbing my phone – annoying but doable – to collect evidence.
So I signed up.
On a trail near our office building in Playa Vista, I thought about what would my photo catalog be comprised of. Thirty-one shots of my sleepy face plastered over half of the picture space? Maybe not. Oh my lord, what did I really sign up to do?
Searching for subject of the day, I tread the wetland like Alice in Wonderland, mesmerized by the artful spiderwebs that only under the right combination of humidity, temperature, and lighting would reveal themselves in a bold Halloween spectacular. Searching for the subject of yesterday, I saw flowers can wake up next day with messy bed hair too.
While the purpose of the challenge was to accelerate heart rate, it was doing the opposite for me. One time I stood at a spot so long waiting for the breeze to stop, trying to get the same angle as the day before to capture the difference, a budding flower in sight bloomed. Sometimes dogs came sniffing about as if I were a statue. Had I not flinched, they would probably have marked me their territory.
I couldn't stay long at the swamp watching ants skate on top of floating duckweeds because the little crawlers would have colonized me, camera included. Even then the photoshoot took me 20 minutes. My morning routine grew into an expedition and from 1 hour to 1.5 and sometimes 2 hours. But still 60 minutes I logged in the app – no need to track the progression of my perfectionist disorder.
Good shots don't earn me bonus points, and we have people who do longer and way more intense drills that jump their hearts to above 150 beats per minute. Win I did not expect to. But that didn't mean I can't reward myself with delightful treats after my heart-stopping workout. Here I share the captures from this month long photo trip during the pandemic and the most beautiful delicious art from Artelice Pâtisserie.
Rules of the game:
- You and colleagues in small groups of 7-9 people.
- Use We+ app to share workout.
- All exercises have same number of points.
- Maximum one exercise over 30 minutes per day is counted in the competition.
- The exercise/week average and the highest total number of exercise minutes during the period determine the ranking among the groups/individuals.
- The race begins September 8 and ends October 9.
Seems easy enough since I already hike every morning before clocking in. The extra thing I would have to do before heading out the door is grabbing my phone – annoying but doable – to collect evidence.
So I signed up.
On a trail near our office building in Playa Vista, I thought about what would my photo catalog be comprised of. Thirty-one shots of my sleepy face plastered over half of the picture space? Maybe not. Oh my lord, what did I really sign up to do?
Searching for subject of the day, I tread the wetland like Alice in Wonderland, mesmerized by the artful spiderwebs that only under the right combination of humidity, temperature, and lighting would reveal themselves in a bold Halloween spectacular. Searching for the subject of yesterday, I saw flowers can wake up next day with messy bed hair too.
While the purpose of the challenge was to accelerate heart rate, it was doing the opposite for me. One time I stood at a spot so long waiting for the breeze to stop, trying to get the same angle as the day before to capture the difference, a budding flower in sight bloomed. Sometimes dogs came sniffing about as if I were a statue. Had I not flinched, they would probably have marked me their territory.
I couldn't stay long at the swamp watching ants skate on top of floating duckweeds because the little crawlers would have colonized me, camera included. Even then the photoshoot took me 20 minutes. My morning routine grew into an expedition and from 1 hour to 1.5 and sometimes 2 hours. But still 60 minutes I logged in the app – no need to track the progression of my perfectionist disorder.
Good shots don't earn me bonus points, and we have people who do longer and way more intense drills that jump their hearts to above 150 beats per minute. Win I did not expect to. But that didn't mean I can't reward myself with delightful treats after my heart-stopping workout. Here I share the captures from this month long photo trip during the pandemic and the most beautiful delicious art from Artelice Pâtisserie.
Los Angeles County West Vector Control
The agency sprays larvicide over the swamp to keep the mosquito count low in still water. On the shallow side of the wetland, the water level ranges from knee high to 6 feet, so they walk or row. They said some parts are like walking in thick mud, some parts water. At the marsh where it's much deeper, they charter a boat to perform treatment.
They collect mosquito samples weekly. In the equipment photos, the top bucket contains CO2 to mimic human's exhaling to attract the mosquitoes, and the fan below sucks them into the mesh bag. They tally up the lot and send them over to a lab for analysis on diseases such as malaria and West Nile.
They collect mosquito samples weekly. In the equipment photos, the top bucket contains CO2 to mimic human's exhaling to attract the mosquitoes, and the fan below sucks them into the mesh bag. They tally up the lot and send them over to a lab for analysis on diseases such as malaria and West Nile.
Artelice Pâtisserie
The coffee machines at work may simultaneously go out of order, and we may have to social distance from each other, but fika – a Swedish coffee break tradition where we meet up for a chit-chat over some sweets – must go on. Rolling back in time to May this year, a few days before our Safer at Home Fika over zoom, our office manager sent us a message.
“An afternoon snack (modern French pastries) will be delivered to your home from Artelice Pâtisserie.”
The only word I picked up was pastries. The rest? Whatevers. But on that fateful day when the delivery was made, I had just come back from a quick lunch walk. The Pâtisserie made an impression the minute the driver took out the box from his trunk. The shade of cyan popped out from the surroundings.
Was I experiencing tunnel vision with a box? Yes. I walked up to the driver and said, “I think the box is for me.”
Beautiful it was. The design. The colors. The feel. Could it be love at first sight? As I unraveled the mysteries crafted by the wonderful, down-to-earth brothers and pastry chef duo Saeed and Farid Azarang, I knew this instant attraction has staying power.
My friend Latoya joined me in this sampling affair. Before she got to my place, I cut the Roche and saved half for her. After she tried it, the first thing she said was, “Janey, how did you only eat half?”
Impossible it was. The layers. The blend. The taste. I would have gone all the way if my nose could handle the sugar. The piece was lightly sweet but there were four desserts with a two-day lifespan – my sinus would flare up if I had ingested all at the same time.
That's how it all started – our love affair with Artelice. My friends and I smile even just speaking the name – the name of the shop, the name of the desserts, the name of the croissants.
Me: “The name of the orange blossom, rose and pistachio croissant is Persian Princess.”
Susan: “Lol. Wish I were one.”
Me: “Well… they say you are what you eat.”
“An afternoon snack (modern French pastries) will be delivered to your home from Artelice Pâtisserie.”
The only word I picked up was pastries. The rest? Whatevers. But on that fateful day when the delivery was made, I had just come back from a quick lunch walk. The Pâtisserie made an impression the minute the driver took out the box from his trunk. The shade of cyan popped out from the surroundings.
Was I experiencing tunnel vision with a box? Yes. I walked up to the driver and said, “I think the box is for me.”
Beautiful it was. The design. The colors. The feel. Could it be love at first sight? As I unraveled the mysteries crafted by the wonderful, down-to-earth brothers and pastry chef duo Saeed and Farid Azarang, I knew this instant attraction has staying power.
My friend Latoya joined me in this sampling affair. Before she got to my place, I cut the Roche and saved half for her. After she tried it, the first thing she said was, “Janey, how did you only eat half?”
Impossible it was. The layers. The blend. The taste. I would have gone all the way if my nose could handle the sugar. The piece was lightly sweet but there were four desserts with a two-day lifespan – my sinus would flare up if I had ingested all at the same time.
That's how it all started – our love affair with Artelice. My friends and I smile even just speaking the name – the name of the shop, the name of the desserts, the name of the croissants.
Me: “The name of the orange blossom, rose and pistachio croissant is Persian Princess.”
Susan: “Lol. Wish I were one.”
Me: “Well… they say you are what you eat.”
The modern French pastries shop is located at Olympic and Sawtelle and currently open Friday-Sunday. Their spacious Burbank location is scheduled to open in February 2021 (Address: 117 N San Fernando Blvd, Burbank CA 91502.)
Bon appétit!
The header photo was taken at W Manchester Ave and S Earldom Ave in Playa Del Rey. A car waited and then went around me. No honking. Love the patient and friendly driver!
© 2018 Janey Play