Does badly broken English lead the way to better Chinese fixings?

This is so "well done" that I believe it was intentional. But this was too entertaining to not share with my blog readers. Below is word-for-word menu text from A New Restaurant I Won't Even Name (ANRIWEN), which just opened in a nearby Houston neighborhood:

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ANRIWEN is a traditional Chinese-style restaurant. ANRIWEN pays great attention to the general visitor's health. So, you can taste the legitimate Chinese-style here. ANRIWEN requests in food choice aspect very high. For example: The meats, the seafood, the vegetables and so on. ANRIWEN uses the superior quality to achieve the low fat and the high textile fiber and to increase food nutrition

ANRIWEN forget vegetarian diet! ANRIWEN uses the pure vegetables rapeseed oil regarding our food. Therefore, no matter you are the common visitor or the vegetarian, all can enjoy all delicacies food in ANRIWEN.

Good news! Our chef's have several years experience to provide the birthday party, the company party and so on. ANRIWEN provides different situation food and the drink. Above this new service, lets the general visitors have the different choices.

Remembered: Only ANRIWEN is able to provide you a legitimate Chinese-style good food. Eliminates this, you can eat your health by the most beneficial price! No matter the western-style food or the snack, we all welcome you the presence!Can provide the good food for you, which is our being honored. In this, ANRIWEN thanks you the support and the presence!

ANRIWEN wish all our customers have a health and prosperity year

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In!

Dear Treadmill,

I know we haven't seen much of each other lately. I wanted to let you know that I really appreciated your help in those good performances I enjoyed at the Heart of Katy 5K and the Bayou City Classic earlier in the spring.

Well, I'm going to be spending more significant time with you again. You see, this morning, registration opened for the Marathon Sunday events in Houston and my impulsive self registered . . . for the full marathon event.

The first time I registered for this 26.2-miler three years ago I was a little wide-eyed and naive about what it took. Deep into training I found myself waving the white flag and switching to the half before race day in 2007. After finally breaking through in 2008, I truly comprehend what it takes . . . and I still registered today anyway. So, yes, I am truly nuts. But it's like a little personal version of America returning to the moon.

T-minus 183 days, 19 hours, 13 minutes to launch....

See You Soon,

CurrentlyVince

One 5K endures post-Ike. A second 5K is born of Ike. A third 5K suddenly fades to black.

Event updates for the Houston-area running community:

• Hurricane Ike destroyed Maribelles Bar in Seabrook last September. August is an especially thin month on the running calendar in these parts, so it was nice to see that the 5K previously staged out of Maribelles will go on. Renamed to reflect a new host bar, the Outriggers 5K will run on August 1. Hopefully participants will be treated to another bounty of pizza and beer similar to the one I saw last year. Link to registration and more information on this race can be found at the On The Run site.
• Organizers of the Galveston Rebirth Race will use the one year anniversary of Ike's landfall as an occasion to run on the island.
  
• I was surprised to discover that there will be no Fired Up 5K this year. The Sugar Land Fire Deaprtment and First Colony Community Association had been jointly hosting this Labor Day race benefitting the Muscular Dystrophy Association. According to the fire department, the FCCA discontinued its sponsorship. It certainly could not have been due to a lack of interest, as the event appeared to progressively draw bigger crowds each year I ran it. One of the memories I have of that last Fired Up 5K in 2008 was simply being able to run it after being worried about Hurricane Gustav in the preceding days; Gustav was striking Louisiana instead.
  

Just one more shameless plug: These updates have been transferred to my Houston Running Calendar blog.

Run Wild 5K

It's been a summer of droughts. After flooding from the massive rain event in May, Houston's been dry as a tinderbox. And ever since my trainwreck-like race at the Heights Fun Run, I've been struggling to log any mileage at all, even taking a couple of zero weeks. But after a couple of decent run/walk sessions this week, I decided to go for the "comeback" on Independence Day at the Run Wild 5K. And it was a pretty good one:

Mile 1: 11:10
Mile 2: 11:06
Mile 3: 13:10
5K elapsed time: 36:31 per Garmin Forerunner 205

For those wondering, Run Wild is the timing services company that put on this race. There was nothing "wild" about it, unless you count the shopping at the boutiques in Uptown Park!

One of the most pleasant things about the morning actually came before gun time. When I arrived, the Uptown Park parking lots were full, so I decided to drive a couple blocks over to an apartment complex on the other side of Post Oak Boulevard. I parallel-parked on the street, stepped out, and discovered a twenty-dollar bill next to my car.

Coincidentally, when I registered yesterday, I padded on a few extra bucks for the race charity Special Olympics of Texas -- for a total of $20. I think I was meant to be at this 5K.

Happy Fourth of July!