I'm a little bit slow.

Home again. Long morning not-writing, scheduling opps, thinking about maybe running. It was a long, leisurely, pleasant vacation with the outlaws. Planning for the New Year is, in spite of everything, exciting. Once you have faced failure, what is left except to work for success?

The kids are well and in a good place, and so, I think, is the wife. It is freezing out, which is all the more reason to get moving.

Distance: 3.5 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:12
Duration: 28:44
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Pavement: wet, dusty snow
Temperature: 28°
Climate: windy
Weight: 172.5 lbs.
Goal: 165 lbs.
Mood: leaning forward

Running in the cold, it works just fine. Thinking about Chicago, October 8. Wonder if there are tickets to Hamilton available, that would make the journey worth it, amirite?

It is a fact that the wind, when it blows, blows down Monticello from west to east. This is why both times I have run out to 271 and back (12 miles) the return trip is completely miserable. Fool me once, etc. You may have noticed I have not done that again, not since 2012.

So, heading out to the park was arduous today, but hoped the wind would be at my back on my way home, and so it was. Never realized was great, fast bpm "Wedding" has, but it also laid me out a little. The final tracks kept me going, however.

The Obama Years have yielded some amazing music - especially from women.

Obama Years (2009-2016)
Batches & Cookies - Lizzo ft. Sophia Eris
Believer - American Authors
Burn It Down - Sims
Cake By The Ocean -DNCE
She's Not Me - Jenny Lewis
Giving Up The Gun - Vampire Weekend
Wedding * - Poliça
Rolling In The Deep - Adele
Starships - Nicki Minaj

Thanks for the extra push, Nicki.

You run on fumes.

Yeah, this made me laugh.

The kids took us to see Moana yesterday, and by that I mean they had both seen it already, with their aunt, at Thanksgiving time, and insisted on our seeing it with them. The girl takes particular interest in strong female protagonists, they are both in love with the songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

At Christmas I am disappointed if we do not see at least two movies in the theater. But I also need time to complete the script I am working on, the story is all there but still needs a beginning and an end.  The wife's cousin's fiancée observed it's like McCartney's bridge in A Day In The Life, wanting for someplace to come from and somewhere to go to.

Distance: 4 miles
Avg. Pace: 7:45
Duration: 31:14
Route: Hocking River Bike Path
Temperature: 45°
Climate: bright & cool
Mood: all right

A tad bit overdressed, winter hat, gloves. Glad I was wearing shorts though, the sun was bright enough to make me sweat. I was the weariest I have been this week, running swiftly against the breeze, running fast.

Obama Years (2009-2016)
Burn It Down - Sims
Drive By - Train
Bad Blood * - Ryan Adams
Feel So Close - Calvin Harris
Derezzed - Daft Punk
Something Good Can Work - Two Door Cinema Club
Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny) - A.M. Rahman ft. Pussycat Dolls
I Gotta Feeling (FMIF Remix) - Black Eyed Peas ft. Dave Guetta
Harlem - New Politics
Na Na Nothing - Mike Doughty
New In Town - Little Boots

You got yourself some action.

So I started by writing about George Michael, and it turned into a much longer piece, better suited for my writing blog, so here that is.

The wife and I went out, she to walk and I to run to the smooth stylings of the late twentieth century's greatest crooner.

George Michael Playlist
Freeek!
I Want Your Sex - Part 2
Last Christmas
Shoot the Dog
Star People '97

Thank you, Spotify, for providing me an impromptu playlist.

Distance: 3 miles
Avg. Pace: 7:50
Duration: 23:32
Route: Hocking River Bike Path
Temperature: 61°
Climate: fantastic

Three days in a row. I feel it in my shins, hobbling down the hallway in the middle of the night. But I feel much less sluggish and sloppy. And the day has only begun, it's time for movies and friends and more forced merriment.

To romantic places.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah. Day two of the new running schedule, we shall see how long this will last. Temperatures in the fifties make it a bit easier to work up the courage.

It was not a ridiculous evening, I was able not to overindulge though I can't speak for how well I will behave today. We already loaded up the coffee with Baileys this morning before several Guinness at the Skull. I have had a nap already and it's only just past lunchtime.

Distance: 3 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:20
Duration: 25:02
Route: Hocking River Bike Path

I felt a bit weary at the start, that is what happens when you jump back into exercise two days in a row, and also when you spent the morning drinking. Didn't stop me however, I built speed as I ran and three miles was just the perfect length. I never even felt like stopping.

I don't usually listen to jazz on the run but I'd generated this playlist and thought I would try to out. That may have been what kept me from running any faster than I did, which is a good thing.

Pavement: dry
Temperature: 52°
Climate: perfect
Mood: joyful. right?

Gifts have been opened, everyone is sitting around, watch the Cavs, relaxing. Best to you.

Christmastime Is Here Playlist
Skating - Vince Guaraldi Trio
Kathy's Waltz - The Dave Brubeck Quartet
These Foolish Things - Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra ft. Billie Holiday
My Baby Just Cares For Me - Nina Simone
Cold Cold Heart - Norah Jones
Christmas Time Is Here - Diana Krall
Dance Me To The End of Love - Madeleine Peyroux

Knowing just where you are going.

The weather, the activity ... you know? Forget that, I haven't been running because I haven't wanted to run. Not once, not at all. And I've gained weight and my legs hurt and I feel flabby and unwell. So there's a choice I have to make. Am I going to attempt o remain fit, have a healthy diet and exercise regularly or not?

Yes, it's the holidays. So? No excuse. I need an early New Year's resolution. I want a change. With so much uncertainty in the world there's (excuse the reference) I am the one thing in life I can control.

Distance: 5 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:19
Duration: 41:38

For the record, I am sick and tired of people treating the year "2016" like it's some kind of mummy's curse of a year because people keep dying, like Alan Thicke or Bernard Fox. I can't tell if people are being serious or actually superstitious, but people fucking die, every single day. Some of them are innocent nobodies and not Z-list celebrities you haven't even thought of in decades.

No, the year 2016 sucks because that's when my father died. Alan Thicke can suck a dick and die twice for all I care.

Route: Hocking River Bike Path
Pavement: wet
Temperature: 46°
Climate: cool
Mood: sanguine

Cool by the river, not an unpleasant breeze. Just wet, no snow, very few others on the path the day before Christmas. So, why not? I went five miles instead. And it was easy. Tomorrow it may be a bit more challenging but I'll do it, no matter what. The temperature is supposed to spike to the sixties by Monday, too. It's my vacation, and I will run if I want to.

Also, if you are in Athens you can plan on seeing me at the Skull around 10 AM.  Join me!

Christmas Wrapping Playlist
The Power of Love - Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Echo Beach * - Martha & the Muffins
Oliver's Army - Elvis Costello & the Attractions
Golden Brown - The Stranglers
Golden Touch - Razorlight
Winter Wonderland * - Eurythmics
Weather With You (Live) - Crowded House
Planet Earth (Night Mix) - Duran Duran
Parklife - Blur
Wild Wood * - Paul Weller
2000 Miles - The Pretenders

Yes, now that you mention it, why the hell isn't Paul Weller in the Rock Hall?

Moving on, forward.

Why not run? Concerts to attend, social events, writing to be written. We've seen an awful lot of plays this season. Last night the wife an I had a rare night on our own, attending a performance of the sold out run of Cabaret at Blank Canvas.

Tiny house (90 seats) set in the middle of a vast warehouse on the edge of downtown. That warehouse, 78th Street Studios, was last night crammed with craftspeople for the Cleveland Bazaar, and loaded with holiday shoppers.

This was my dream of the early 90s, we would stage events in strange spaces in the city and, yes, we would draw a certain number of folks to whatever it was we were doing but then it would be over and the places would once again be vacant and these moments would be few and far between.

This my hope for the future, that we continue making things happen in the city. Things are worse than they have ever been, things are better than they have ever been.

Did I mention the show were were seeing was Cabaret?

Distance: 3.3 miles
Avg. Pace: 9:03
Duration: 29:41
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Pavement: dusty snow

Snow, yes, even through the park, but it's still light and not packed, not crusty, not yet. Was able to chug my way around. It woud feel good to do that more often, though my knees are already in pain. That's what happens when I run in snow, too much twisting of my legs, too much landing on uneven ground.

Thankful for a great set of winter gear. Got this jacket from L.L.Bean during the summer of 2012, that was planning ahead. My brother gave me these pants over twelve years ago. No holes, both the zippers and the elastic in the cuffs still work.

Still. Weekend headaches. Went to bed after midnight last night, we had a post-show meal at Toast. She loves that places and I do, too. The waitress asked if we wanted the speaker near us turned down, but we didn't. Two funky young theater artists whom I dig were sitting two tables away talking shop and using the word "fuck" a surprising amount, but I didn't want them turned down, either.

Temperature: 27°
Climate: cold, nice
Weight: 171 lbs. (+2.5)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Mood: disbelief

Obama Years (2009-2016)
This Must Be The Place - Miles Fisher
Pumpin Blood - NONONO
Giving Up The Gun - Vampire Weekend
Voices In My Head - Bob Mould
Down By The Water - The Decemberists
Happy - Pharrell Williams
Something Good Can Work - Two Door Cinema Club
Love Sex Magic - Ciara ft. Justin Timberlake

It struck me that the two of us could run.

Got my mittens, got my hat.
I wonder where the snow is at.

Joyeux Noël. 'Tis the season. The elves still visit though they speak with greater maturity to the teen and near-teen. The advent calendar is out, preparations are being made for annual holiday events. Taking the girl to rehearsal for the winter recital at CIM this morning, this evening is the reception for the winners of the writing contest at Playhouse Square.

Tomorrow, we hold the first of what we hope will be a series of salons in our home. No idea how many people will attend. Kind of freaks me out, actually. But what will be will be.

Rose early, wrote, thought, planned, sent the boy to a robotics competition. The wheels turn.

Distance: 3.3 miles
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 37°

Been a good morning, then got a headache right in my temple before heading out. Right then. Not fair. But I made it, breathing cold air deeply through my nose to clear my head. It still hurts, but I am glad I pushed through.

Standing straight, running down the sidewalk, and looked down at my feet. They looked so small from up there.

Climate: cool
Mood: my head hurts

Obama Years (2009-2016)
Wide Awake - Katy Perry
Fascination - La Roux
Run - Vampire Weekend
Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
Mute (Jokers of the Scene Remix) - The Brash
We Can't Stop - Miley Cyrus
Bury Our Friends - Sleater-Kinney