Multi-tasking is something with which I have a certain degree of skill, but that does not mean it comes to me easily. Tomorrow is a rare example of a single day in which I have three major events scheduled, all of which, while pertaining to theater, consume a different part of my brain and soul.
In the early afternoon I am the designated speaker at a social event for which I am expected to detail my journey as a theater artist. For this event I have even created a PowerPoint presentation. About me.
Later in the afternoon I will conduct an audition workshop with three at-risk youth, and encourage them to get onto their feet and read Shakespeare. It can be done. That does not make it easy.
Finally, there will be a private table reading of a new play I have written. This will actually be the most relaxing part of the day, where I get to just sit and listen. That does not mean it is without stress. But having already done all of the advance work (rehearsal with actors, writing the damn thing) I do not need to speak very much, and just sink into my chair.
Temperature: 59°
Climate: utter gorgeous
Distance: 4 miles
Anxiety can crush the will. Judging how much I yearn to accomplish vs. how much I want to just give up is a good barometer for whether I am depressed or merely stressed. This afternoon was tough because, I believe, this weekend, while entirely enjoyable, involved a lot of not doing those things that are running around my mind.
We were relaxing, attending the girl's orchestra concert, lazing about the botanical garden, taking in an art "happening", having dinner in Little Italy with my mother-in-law. Today it was the boy's soccer game. Hurry up and wait for Monday. That's no way to enjoy a weekend.
However, it even made me not want to run, rather than run. That lasted about two steps into my actual run. Synapses flashes, the pulse quickened, I came a live and alert. I even noticed that, for most of my run, I did not even open my mouth.
I breathe through my nose! To run! For miles, with my mouth closed! There was a time in my life when I could simply not have done that.
Gorillaz Genius Playlist
Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz
Suffragette City - David Bowie
Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend
Derezzed - Daft Punk
Close To Me - The Cure
Parklife - Blur
All I Need - Radiohead
L.E.S. Artistes - Santogold
Sleeping In - The Postal Service
Tron Legacy (End Theme) - Daft Punk
4 comments:
I don't know any of these songs. I haven't recognized any of the songs from your last two playlists. This makes me feel decidedly uncool. sigh.
The part I didn't put in my post today (because it's like beating a dead horse) is that as soon as I plugged in my earbuds (when my running partner dropped me for a while) I felt 100% BETTER. When I took them out (when I caught up with her again), I felt bad again.
Love the "Genius" feature on iTunes, saves me a lot of time. Can't use it all the time however, because it repeats a lot. From time to time it finds things I downloaded for free from iTunes years ago, but never listened to, and that's fun, too.
Really? Suffragette City? Never?
I stopped running with my iPod. I discovered that keeping pace to the music stressed me out a little. And I found that I like to hear what's going on around me when I run, especially these early-morning runs when it's mostly birds chirping and the sound of my feet on the trail or pavement.
However, when it comes to the marathon in two weeks, I will probably carry the iPod with me, just in case.
I may be at St. Clair and 23rd Street with a boombox.
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