Wednesday, November 30, 2016

You're better up and running in another direction.

When the air is unseasonably mild and I do not have or take the opportunity to take a run,even a brief one, it can throw me into a depression. Is this what we Americans so inelegantly call Indian Summer (the wife has just informed me the British call it St. Martin's summer) or the result of global climate change, I cannot say.

What I can say is that I ran once over Thanksgiving weekend, which is excusable in so much that we were all pleasantly occupied with family and friends and writing and such. Eight runs in November is the recent average.

Distance: 3.3 mil;es
Avg. Pace: 7:55
Duration: 26:08
Route: Forest Hill Loop

They say there will come steady rain. Today was very nice, and I am feeling strong and motivated. Every day there is a new depression, you can't have an interaction with anyone without the election being part of the conversation ... I guess attending a lecture in which Tony Kushner and Sarah Vowell discuss the legacy of Abraham Lincoln (as we did last night) such a conversation is inevitable.

But we do have solidarity. We weren't defeated, we only lost. But it would be too easy to dismiss, it may not hurt me, or my family, but it will cause damage to so many other lives, and we will never lose sight of that.

Temperature: 55°
Climate: cool and breezy
Weight: 168.5 (+1.0)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Mood: still anxious

Snuck through Thanksgiving weekend just a little heavier, can I tread lightly before all the cookies emerge?

Obama Years (2009-2016)
Compared To What - John Legend & The Roots
All You Need Is Now - Duran Duran
Don't Wanna Fight - Alabama Shakes
Break Your Heart - Taio Cruz ft. Ludacris
Rumour Has It - Adele
Happy Idiot  - TV on the Radio
Hi Friend! - Deadmau5 ft. MC Flipside

Thursday, November 24, 2016

I'm in need of something good right now.

Do as De La does.
Beautiful Thanksgiving Day with family, watching the parade on TV, then a long walk up Radar Hill. Why run? Why not now crack a beer, sit and chat?

Stress without name. I have to do something. I have to get out there and move.

Mom says, oh. Wasn't this walk enough exercise for one day? No, ma. It really isn't.

Distance: 3 miles
Avg. Pace: 7:38
Duration: 22:54
Route: Hocking River Bike Path

Beautiful day down by the river. Feared it might rain, didn't. No students, just middle aged guys, walking. I passed all of them.

Temperature: 57°
Climate: overcast & cool
Mood: thankful?

Obama Years (2009-2016)
HandClap - Fitz & The Tantrums
South - Hippo Campus
When Love Takes Over - David Guetta ft. Kelly Rowland
Change of Time - Josh Ritter
Last Friday Night (TGIF) - Katy Perry
FloriDada - Animal Collective
Giving Up On You - Wild Belle

Good times.

Friday, November 18, 2016

Vote for me and I'll set you free.

Join a full-scale protest in Public Square after work or enjoy drinks with co-workers? Modern problems.

Last one in before the storm

Distance: 3.3 miles
Route: Forest Hill Run
Temperature: 54°
Climate: ideal. perfect.
Weight: 167.5 (-0.5)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Mood: forward.

88 Lines About 44 Women Playlist
Nemesis - Shriekback
Ball of Confusion [Extended Version] - Love & Rockets
Destination Unknown - Missing Persons
The Jam Was Moving - Debbie Harry
Birds Fly (Whisper To a Scream) - The Icicle Works
Just Got Lucky - JoBoxers

That was a pick-me-up. It will snow, and I will continue to run.

The past couple years, November has been a good month for running. I think that's because of the holiday, but the weather has also been very mild.

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Touching from a distance.

Butcher Billy
Friday they expect a high of seventy. And then winter blows in for the weekend. It's nice to have that kind of warning, especially when it means getting additional runs in.

It also means making time to bring the deck furniture, bring up the awning, clear the yard of stuff. Pack up summer, pack up fun.

You know. Forever.

Okay, that was dire. Time to move.

Distance: 3.3 miles
Route: Forest Hill Run
Temperature: 48°
Climate: cool and overcast
Weight: 168 lbs. (+0.5)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Mood: pissed

Wondering what will become of my daughter as she begins her high school years, which will be overshadowed by the Trump administration.

Artists tend to react strongly to fascists, and while some in this country (not a majority) would take offense to that description, if you look at his rhetoric that is the platform he chose. Peace through strength. Sit down and shut up.

She says she wants her septum pierced. Once I would have objected to that, but who knows? The Thatcher Era created the punk scene, and her parents do go on about how the late seventies was the very best time in music.

No Love Lost Playlist
No Love Lost - LCD Soundsystem
Transmission - Joy Division
Ceremony - New Order
Run, Run, Run - Velvet Underground
White Light, White Heat - Velvet Underground
Rusholme Ruffians - The Smiths

Into the dark. Actually not a wallower, just wanted something aggressively pessimistic today. Then I get to spend the rest of my day bringing light into the world.

Monday, November 14, 2016

Yesterday I woke up sucking a lemon.

I'm not giving up and neither should you.
What, again? I have to run again?

Yes, little Pengo. Yes, you do.

Distance: 3.3 miles
Avg. Pace: 7:50
Duration: 25:47
Route: Forest Hill Loop

Long pants, gloves, cold weather hat. The world still spins.

Temperature: 36°
Climate: cool and sunny
Weight: 167.5 lbs. (-0.5)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Mood: same as everyone

Wrote a thing about Kate McKinnon's cold open of SNL the other night. Check it out.

And One (On One) Playlist
And One (On One) - Lilys
Cannonball - The Breeders
Stutter (175 bpm) - Elastica
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - Radiohead
Drunk Girls (Holy Ghost! Remix) - LCD Soundsystem
Everything In Its Right Place - Radiohead

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Gotta get up, gotta get up. Move.

"Oh, shit."
Hey. Remember when Cleveland was up three games to one in the World Series, it was seventy degrees out and the polls predicted an electoral college landslide for Hillary Clinton. Me, too. Good times.

I can't even articulate the feelings, but I'm working on it. Unlike so many of my friends, colleagues, over half the electorate, I have not posting my thoughts on the past week in emotional bursts on social media. I do not have a problem with people who do, so many have been articulate, heartfelt, and good. It's a way of coping. I just can't, anything I might express feels inadequate.

If anything, I have been avoiding Facebook because ninety-nine out of one hundred posts have to do with the election. I dip in from time to time, but it's just too much. Weeping and wailing is good, but there's also so much to do.

Distance: 3.3 miles
Route: Forest Hill Loop

Meantime, I have been ill. Literally sick and tired. Weak, headachy many days. Yesterday I realized I had been squinting pretty much every day since November 8, like the world was out of focus. All of my thoughts have been about what just happened, I can't attend a meeting or have a conversation without thinking, What? What happened? What does that mean? What happens next?

Then realizing I just missed the last minute, or two, and trying to concentrate on what is right in front of me.

This morning I rose early, I had a headache but it went away. I sat by the fire and wrote a children's play. I wrote for an hour, by hand, creating a tale, a conversation between two women. There is a conflict, one which is resolved through communication and understanding and assistance which results in reward.

There is another play I am working on, which will end in violence and horror. That play relates directly to our present moment, but I can't focus on that right now. Now I am looking for the helpers.

Temperature: 43°
Climate: cool
Weight: 168 lbs. (-0-)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Mood: not great

Cool and brisk, using gloves, not sure I needed them. No wind, that makes a difference. Cleared my head a bit, I mean literally, that's where the congestion is. My nose, my ears, my sinuses. Still, the usual rise I have in my chest after running is serving to amplify the same anxiety which has possessed it the past few days.

I hope having done this does not make me feel any more ill. Sickness like colds take much longer to shake as I get older. At the very least I need to run, and run often. You can't do if you are not able.

We are not defeated. This is very wrong, historically wrong. A friend said, well? If she had won, we'd all be so happy and go back to sleep. My white colleagues and confounded. My black colleagues ... they are sympathetic, you know?

Wake up. Back to work.

What's New Playlist
Move - Saint Motel
Satisfied - Sia ft. Miguel & Queen Latifah
Run Sister Run - Cass McCombs
Cruel World - Phatntogram
New Song - Warpaint
My Shot [Rise Up Remix] - Busta Rhymes, Joell Ortiz & Nate Ruess

Thursday, November 03, 2016

Heart's like crazy paving.

You can say it happened in Cleveland.
Like so many in this city, we were up pretty late. What can you say, that was a tremendous series. I am looking forward to sensible bedtimes and less stress. Not an absence of stress, we still have an election to get through and the family will be knocking on doors this weekend and driving folks to the polls on Tuesday.

This must not happen.

Last night I thought I would miss the entire game, anyway. We had a rehearsal scheduled for tomorrow evening's reading. That was a much more enjoyable way to spend an evening, the process of creation (like sitting in a shop window, writing a new play) is considerably less stressful than sitting, witnessing, and worrying.

Distance: 3.3 miles
Route: Forest Hill Loop

Brisk, strong run this morning. Dawn run in light rain, no jacket.

Feeling well, in spite of the exhaustion. What am I running for anymore? The keep this heart alive, for one. I didn't run three marathons because dad ran two. I ran three so that I could run four.

This weekend is the tenth anniversary of my first, in New York City.

I understand Chicago is very beautiful this time of year, and that the people are very happy.

Temperature: 57°
Climate: rainy and cool
Weight: 168 lbs.(-1.5)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Mood: not bad

The Honeythief Playlist
The Honeythief - Hipsway
Talk Talk - Talk Talk
Shiny Shiny - Haysi Fantayzee
Birds Fly (Whisper To a Scream) - The Icicle Works
Rattlesnakes - Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
Some People - Belouis Some
Don't You (Forget About Me) [Extended Mix] - Simple Minds

We were so fucking suave.

Tuesday, November 01, 2016

Hurry, boy. It's waiting there for you.

The girl states the holidays have begun and now we must listen to Christmas music. I told her we have a baseball season to close first.

Last night we had lots of kids at the door for Halloween, it was a pleasure. Our children were across town, trick or treating with friends. The girl designed her own Benny's Burgers T-shirt so she could go as Eleven from Stranger Things.

Check #StrangerThings on Instagram. Some of the costumes are amazing, who knew there were so many Dustin trucker hats. Can't keep the David S. Pumpkins suits on the shelf, but there's all these red, white and blue trucker hats.

Let me say it again, she made that shirt. My daughter is a better artist than I have ever been, and that is a wild understatement. My son is already better at the drums than I ever was. And I never suggested that they do either of those things.

Distance: 3 miles
Route: Boulevard Loop

Brisk run, fast ... in spite of the moody music. All the emotions this season. The election, the World Series, the middle school. Work, play, plays. And yet, as a family we hang together very well. We spend so much time together, there is a lot of bickering, occasional shouting, but there's so much love here. I don't know how that happened.

Temperature: 52°
Climate: overcast and cool
Weight: 169.5 lbs (-0.5)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Mood: still anxious

This hat is too tight at times. Makes my head hurt. I need a different hat.

Stranger Things Playlist
Should I Stay Or Should I Go? - The Clash
Heroes - Peter Gabriel
I Melt With You - Modern English
Atmosphere - Joy Division
Waiting For a Girl Like You - Foreigner
Africa - Toto
White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane