Why I'm Running

This is a re-posting of my first entry that I wanted to put on here again so that it would be at the top of the page for any new visitors to my site to be sure that you read my story about who I am running the marathon in honor of, my Uncle Osky.

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you for visiting my AIDS Marathon Page! Running a marathon, which is a 26.2 mile run, has been something that I have wanted to do for the past several years and I have been so excited to finally be able to dedicate the time and energy to make it happen. I will be running in the 2009 Los Angeles Marathon which will take place on May 25, 2009. I started training for the marathon in October 2008, running as much as I can during the week and also with a group on Sunday mornings. What makes doing this marathon particularly meaningful for me, is that I will be running to help raise money and awareness for the fight to end AIDS. More personally, I will be running in honor of my Uncle Oscar “Osky” Aqui, who passed away from AIDS in the early ‘90s, before reaching his 40th birthday.

I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you what my Uncle Osky means to me. I was young to be able to have very vivid memories from when my Uncle was still alive (on top of the fact that I generally do not have the best memory to begin with), but I remember his ability to make me laugh. I remember his kindness and his creativity. I remember his cats that he had throughout the years, one of them in particular, named “Duchess,” who had one green eye and one blue eye. As the youngest of all my cousins by several years, I remember feeling like my Uncle Osky made a particular effort to make me laugh and have a good time.

Maybe this was because Uncle Osky himself was the youngest of his siblings by many years. Like my father and their two sisters, Uncle Osky was born in the Philippines. But as the youngest sibling, by the time my grandparents and most of the family had immigrated to the United States, Uncle Osky was still a Junior High or High School aged kid, while my dad and Aunties were already adults.

My Uncle Osky was an artist. Although I am not very knowledgeable of painting, I believe a dominant style of his painting would be described as “abstract.” He had a few shows that I can remember at local art galleries in San Diego and we still have many of his works today in our home.

Sadly to say, the next significant memories I can remember was that my Uncle became sick. My Uncle’s sickness was AIDS. My Uncle was also gay. Although I did not know the extent of it, I know that my Uncle being gay was, at the very least, a source of tension between him and my grandparents and perhaps others. I also know that it was something that I was too young to be aware of. But what I was aware of, was that I sensed that those around me were careful to not let me know the full story as to why exactly Uncle was sick. At the time I think I simply did not know or understand.

As my Uncle had become weaker, I remember accompanying my mother to visit him. She brought with us her homemade cream puffs that he (and all of us) so adored. But as we visited with my Uncle, I saw that the person in front of us was such a changed image of him. He had lost a lot of weight and most of his hair. The quality of his skin had deteriorated and he felt discomfort. We visited with him for a while and after we had left, I watched my mom cry as she drove us home.

That’s the last visit I can remember having paid to Uncle Osky. After that, perhaps I had expressed a desire to go visit him and it was decided that I was too young to see his condition. I believe that at some point, he went back to living with my grandparents, then the hospital, and eventually a hospice.

Then, one morning, my mom came into my room, as she did every day, to wake me up to get ready for school. She told me that Uncle Osky had passed away during the night. She said that he had gone to a better place and she also told me that it was ok for me to cry. So, that morning, I cried for the first experience I had of the loss you feel when someone is taken from your life.

Now, many years later, I come into my office at work, and when I look away from my computer I can see two paintings that my Uncle Osky did. I had them framed when I moved to Boston for law school and shipped them to California when I moved back. One hangs next to my college and law school diplomas and the other next to my Coming to America movie poster. Being able to walk into work every day and see these paintings is a bittersweet reminder for me. It reminds me of the beauty that my Uncle created and the talent that he had, but it also reminds me of the life that he had yet to live. With so much lying ahead of him, his life was cut too short, denying him of more experiences and denying those around him of his presence. And so, these paintings serve as a reminder to me, to live a full life for my Uncle and to pursue my dreams, something that he was not given the chance to fully see through. The paintings remind me to try be grateful for everyday I have on earth, to always strive to be a kind and good person, and to help those who are suffering in the world. They push me to achieve more and touch more people’s lives. Although my Uncle undoubtedly touched many lives in the time he had on earth, he could have touched even more lives, if he had only had the chance to live a longer one himself.

It pains me to think of the beauty that he could have continued to create had he only been given more time on earth. Especially now as an Uncle myself, it hurts to think of what a blessing it would have been to have been able to have him as an Uncle in my life as I grew older. So although I was perhaps too young to fully understand why I was crying when I found out my Uncle Osky died, I now understand it all too well. And while significant progress has been made in the fight against AIDS, there is still a tremendous amount of advancements that we are still waiting for.

More than one million Americans, and 40 million others around the world, are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. With more than 20 million deaths so far, AIDS is now the leading cause of death among all people aged 15 to 59 worldwide.

Regrettably, Los Angeles has the second highest number of people living with AIDS in the United States. So the money I am raising will benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles. APLA provides food banks, transportation, home health care and other vital services to help keep people with HIV/AIDS alive until there’s a cure.

I will be very content to just know that you have read about this inspirational person in my life and to know that I am running this marathon in his honor. It will mean a lot to me just for you, as someone who has been a part of my life, to know this story and know how it has affected me. However, if you are also so inclined, you should feel free to contribute to this important cause by donating on my fundraising page. Follow this link if you would like to make a contribution: http://www.aidsmarathon.com/participant.aspx?runner=LA-2100&EventCode=LA09 Any contribution you can make would make a difference. Contributions are tax-deductible and will help the lives of thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Whether you can contribute or not, I truly hope that my story can shed some light on this cause and show you a part of who I am. Feel free to e-mail me at andrewaqui@post.harvard.edu if you would like to share words of encouragement or if you would like to learn more about my Uncle and why I am doing this marathon. I will try to post on this site periodically to give you updates on my progress. I hope my story can help inspire you to also live a full life and to reach out to the people in suffering who are in need of our help.Thanks for your support.

Sincerely,
Andrew

Almost Running a Marathon

The other weekend, I ran 23 miles! I was a little worried, because I had missed a lot of the longer runs because I was out of town. What I thought was great about it, was that it really wasn't that bad at all. I felt it a bit on my knees/legs later that day, but I still managed to have a jam-packed day of activities after the run and actually had a lot of energy! I'll post some pics from this day later. It was kind of funny, because there happened to be a parade that day in Burbank or Glendale, so we were like running through the parade at one point.

Here is a photo of me at the finish line with my running coordinator, Ariana, who also happens to be a friend from undergrad!

Also, probably over a month ago already, I participated in the Pasadena Marathon. My work uses this event as a fundraiser, so many people from my firm and partner firms were there. My intention was to do a half-marathon, but by the time I went to register for it, the half marathon was full! So, instead I decided to join two of my favorite co-workers, to do the full marathon... but on a bike!

I had not been on a bike since I was a kid so I started to become really nervous the more I thought about what I was getting myself into. I don't even have a bike, so I had to borrow my friend/former co-worker Jason's bike. The only thing is that he is really into cycling, so it was a more serious kind of racing bike. Anyway, I practiced on the bike for a bit the day before, but showed up for the marathon the day of, bright and early at about 5 a.m. all worried that I would fall off or that people would run into me.




Here is a little video clip, courtesy of Fil who was there to document the sad sight of me practicing riding the bicycle. I must have looked like such a silly billy going around in circles on a racing bike on this street, the most empty one I could find, near downtown LA.

I was still super nervous when I arrived at the site the next day and saw all the serious bikers hop on their bikes to ride from the parking lot to the start-line. But I strapped on my helmet, and hopped on my bike and pretended as best as I could to look like an avid bicycle rider. Since I was nervous about the heavy-duty serious bike Jason let me borrow, luckily, my dear friend/co-worker, Banafsheh, who is at least somewhat more of a bicycle rider than I am, was kind enough to switch bikes with me, so that I could use her more standard, user-friendly upright kind of bicycle. And, I made it through the race without falling!

Here we are on the cover of Bicycling World Magazine just after finishing the marathon! Haha, no but they had a little green screen or whatever its called at the end of the race to take photos like this. :) From left to right, Banafsheh, me, My, and Jason.

It was quite tiring to do 26.2 miles on a bicycle, especially at 5 in the morning and because it was raining that day as well. But I have to say, it was a lot of fun and I was proud of myself for doing 26.2 miles on a bike, for having not been on a bike for many years and even when I did ride a bike before, I was never that into it. I can see how people can easily get into bicycling. It was also nice to just ride the bicycle around Pasadena and have the roads closed off for us and have people cheering us on! There were some cheer/water stops where the people were so enthusiastically cheering us on, but then there were other sites where the people were being boring, probably annoyed to be out in the rain themselves, so I yelled at these people as I bicycled pass them. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and maybe I'll do some kind of bicycling event after I finish this marathon.

Quick and Easy

I hope you can take the time to read my previous entries (below) to read about why I am running in the LA Marathon on May 25, 2009 and to see the scenery from some of my favorite running trails. But, in case you don't have the time right now to read my stories but would like to make a donation to support AIDS Project Los Angeles, the organization for which I am running the LA Marathon, here is a quick link to my donation page here:http://www.aidsmarathon.com/participant.aspx?runner=LA-2100&EventCode=LA09

I have committed to raise at least $1,600 for this important cause. Thanks for your support!

Try not to get lost

A pretty regular run for me is running at Griffith Park in LA. Griffith Park is really big and my Sunday trainings when I run with my AIDS Marathon group are held at Griffith Park, but on another end of the Park. The photos I'm putting up in this post are from around the area of where the Observatory is in Griffith Park, just up Vermont Ave.

This is a view of the Observatory - it was recently renovated, its really nice in there!

Another lovely view.

A view of the lovely trail I run up.

You get really close to the Hollywood sign.

And you also have a nice view of Los Angeles - do you see the Observatory down there?

And beautiful LA sunsets.

But, CAUTION, because it is not all lovely scenery, at least not when its me running it.

Sometimes, there are forks in the road, and you must pay attention to which way you came from! (PS - Sorry this text is all together, it's not letting me put spaces in between paragraphs, so I'm just going to alternately italicize each paragraph for clarity purposes.)

One of the times I went running up this trail was just after the daylight savings time change. I was so excited that I would be able to run outdoors after work, so on the very first day after the daylight savings time change, I was able to leave work relatively early, and I made my way to the park. But, by the time I reached the top of the mountain, the sun was setting. As I made my way down, I noticed that my surroundings did not look too familiar. I thought, "I don't remember being that close to the Hollywood sign on my way up?"

I looked at things around me and thought "ok, there is that silo looking thing, that looks kind of familiar." Or, "Ok, I think that's the same horse excrement I saw on the ground on my way up." I saw people going down this route, so I thought ok, well this must be the way back. Or, I figured, ok, it'll probably reconnect with the road I came up with pretty soon, so I'll just keep going. But then my surroundings just started to look too different. And the sun was really setting by this point. I realized, "that wasn't the same silo looking thing that I saw on the way up and that was different horse excrement on the ground than the ones I remembered." I started to pick up my pace.

"Oh, ok, thank God, I see some people up there, let me run faster so that I can at least catch up to them." Uh oh. As I got closer, I realized "Oh, those aren't people... its a coyote." So, I turn around and start sprinting up the way I had been coming down. I think, "I wonder what you are supposed to do to avoid having coyote attack you?" But I come up with no answer to that question. I stop listening to my IPOD to be more aware of the sounds around me. I start to hear coyotes howling. The normal chirps from crickets that normally freak me out were there too, but I guess that wasn't a huge concern when you are also hearing coyote. It was getting darker by the second at this point and I was becoming short of breath.

Being me, I seriously start to worry. I think, who should I call? Oh shoot, my phone doesn't even have reception out here. "Let me call Christine, because I can't call my mom she'll panic." I start to envision stories on the news the next day about the lost runner that a search crew was out looking for in the Los Angeles mountains. I keep running as fast as I can so as not to be devoured by the coyotes or the crickets.

And alas, almost out of breath and sweating like Whitney Houston only 30 seconds into any performance, things start to look familiar again and I see a woman with her two dogs.

"Hi!" I try to ask calmly so as not to appear panicked. "Do you know which way down takes you to the Vermont exit?"

Thankfully, she does, and she points me in the right direction and I make my way down the mountain in almost total darkness at this point. But, at least its on the path I knew and there were people here and there and eventually, street lights down by where the Observatory is. I calm down and kind of laugh at how crazy I was in how I started to see my life flash before my eyes. I think I then text messaged Christine to tell her of my crazy adventure.

Then, I vowed to myself that I would pay more attention next time I ran there, or better yet just not run all the way to the top where it starts to get more confusing.

A few days later, I'm running up Griffith Park, past the Observatory, and I make it to the top of the mountain, assured that this time I would pay more attention.

This time though, on my descent, I am not too proud to ask if I'm going the right direction, so I ask a bubbly looking lady walking in the same direction, "Is this the way to the Vermont exit?" And she assures me that it is. I tell her "Ok, I was just wondering, because I've gotten lost here before." She says, "yeah, because I remember passing that thing over there (pointing to the Silo looking thing)." "Oh, ok," I say. "She seems really confident and like someone who knows where she's going," I think to myself.

And sure enough a few more minutes on our descent, she realizes that it is indeed, not the way to the Vermont exit. But at least this time the sun is not too close to setting, and we had company. So, we turned around, backtracked to the top of the mountain, and made our way down the Vermont exit together, chatting most of the way. She was an LA native from Pico Rivera and she had run the LA marathon herself a few years ago. She told me about the friend of hers she did the marathon for, who passed away from cancer. And I told her about my Uncle who I was running the marathon for and I also told her about my mom who had also had cancer, but was fortunate enough to catch it in its early stages. And she shared her stories with me of when she ran the marathon and how she would love to do it again.

That was sweet, I thought. So, then, I was happy that I got lost, because from that, I made a new friend. :)

But still, when I run, I should still remind myself... to try not to get lost.

Running at Miramar Lake

I'm going to start a new little feature, where I take you running... with me! That's right folks! I will bring my camera along with me on some runs, so that I can share the adventure with all of you. So, for my first entry, I will take you to a classic running route for me - Miramar Lake, which is the lake close to where I grew up, where my mom still lives in San Diego. It's lovely! A full circle around the lake is almost 5 miles. So, sometimes I'll go around twice. This time, I went around once. My dad joined me too!

Nice running path along the lake.

Flowers

Look who joined me running - its my dad! He looks tired already.

We hadn't even reached the 1-mile point yet!

I've never seen a snake here, but sometimes I do see lizards run across the road and it makes me run faster to get away from them.

We even ran into my cousin Aldryn running at the lake!

Another lovely flower.

See you next time, lake!

Quick and Easy

I hope you can take the time to read my previous entries (below) to read about why I am running in the LA Marathon on May 25, 2009. In fact, I'd be more than happy even if you are unable to make a donation but take the time to read my story below.

But, in case you don't have time to read my story and would just like to make a donation to support me running in the LA Marathon, to benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles, here is a quick link to my donation page here:
http://www.aidsmarathon.com/participant.aspx?runner=LA-2100&EventCode=LA09
I have committed to raise at least $1,600 for this important cause.

Thanks for your support!

Photos of Uncle Osky

One of my Uncle's paintings (right) that hangs in my office.

One of my Uncle Osky's paintings (center) that hangs in my office (I will post a better photo of it soon).

With me and my brother and cousins at Easter '84.

With my mom probably sometime in the '70s.

With me, my cousins, and my family's cats.

As a young man.