The sweet, sweet songs that cloud your eyes.

Now reading:
Run the Song
(Writing about Running about Listening)
by Ben Ratliff

Monday was a very unhappy day, following a seriously anxiety ridden weekend. I cannot tell you how many ways I fucked it over the past several days, it has been difficult, difficult, difficult.

Monday night I had something like a nightmare, but not a scary one. A very, very sad one. I was in love with a very special person, and they did not love me. We talked, we flirted, we understood each other. I wasn't so fond of her at first but she was for me, but as our relationship grew I was just her very special person, but it was not to be. I woke many times that night and each time, no matter what else I had been dreaming of, I felt the heartbreak.

If I could put that into writing, I would have a very successful play, but maybe I've already written it and it didn't work. That's another kind of heartbreak.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 28:18
Pace: 9:07

Sophisti-pop Workout Playlist

Slave to Love - Bryan Ferry

World Machine - Level 42

My Ever Changing Moods - Style Council

Kiss and Tell - Bryan Ferry

Cue Fanfare - Prefab Sprout

Temptation (Extended Mix) - Heaven 17

Up the Junction - Squeeze

This playlist is a work-in-progress.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 61°
Climate: clear & cool
Mood: very anxious

God damn, what a day. Didn't sleep well Monday night, slept worse last night. Things keep not getting better. Family is good, health is good, friends are good. I need to be writing, then at least I could say, at least I'm writing.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 162 lbs.

Good run, though. Beautiful weather. The leaves are turning. Reminds me of falling in love, all the times I fell in love ... and out again.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

My friends run the game.

Sick poster. Zombies, Run has been around since 2012, and there are hundreds of episodes. I usually do around four or five each spooky season, so I will probably never run out so long as they app doesn't disappear.

This is my fifth run for the year, fifth run for Runner Number Five. If I do another mission, that will be some kind of record. I think I may. 

An Unimportant Mission 0119

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:37
Pace: 9:13

Today we have completed as many runs as in all of 2013, and that was a good running year.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 60°
Climate: clear & cool
Mood: anxious

Fall '25 Workout

RATATA - Skrillex ft. Missy Elliott & Mr. Oizoi

Power - Ye

DJ Turn It Up - Yellow Claw

All the Way Up (Remix) - Fat Joe ft. Remy Ma, Jay-Z, French Montana & Infrared

Brand New Bitch - Cobrah

it boy - bbno$

Chroma 001 Helium - Bicep

Bon Bon - Fcukers

Stretches: Yes
Water: Yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

How are we at the start of this massive week? Well-rested, I am glad to say. I received vaccinations for both the flu and Covid (so fuck you, RFKJ) and while I was feeling it last night, I took a Benadryl and got nine hours of sleep and today I feel great. Except for, you know, the anxiety. 

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Well, I'm dressed up so nice and I'm doing my best.

On the most recent installment of the Dear Hank and John podcast, John Green recounts an episode in which he was at a party and his friend said he'd like to leave in ten minutes or so and John announced, I will have one last beer, then.

His friend said to him, "No one has ever regretted not having that last beer." So John did not grab another beer, and he did not regret that decision. Sometimes, I am entirely in tune with that vibe. In fact, I had already though something like that last Monday at a company function. I had had one beer, I thought of having another but instead grabbed a seltzer. I do not regret that decision.

Now, if I can only make it through a long evening at home savoring one drink instead of having two, just because I can, I would really be onto something.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 29:39
Pace: 9:34

Big weekend. Lots of different places to be. Hope to make them all.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 83°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: very anxious

Hot, midday run. I will miss these days and they will be gone soon. Kink in my right knee, just walking hurts today. Feeling the age. Also, attending an induction ceremony for my high school, I felt at once very old and also that I hadn't gained any self-confience at all since 1984.

High School Run (1982-1985)

Miami Vice Theme - Jan Hammer

Cruel Summer - Bananarama

What a Day That Was (Live) - Talking Heads

I Ran (So Far Away) - Flock of Seagulls

Flashdance ... What a Feeling - Irene Cara

Conga! - Miami Sound Machine

Back of Love - Echo & the Bunnymen

Couldn't Stand the Weather - Stevie Ray Vaughn

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: TBA

Our bodies displayed through the dance.

Fourteen runs in September, best since June. Time was, I would get into these bursts where I'd run every day, like I was in training or something, and it would get to me. That was doing all this running -- every single day -- but not for any reason. Just to rack up runs.

Running every other day just feels normal. A day off feels good, but so does running again, after a day's rest. 

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 28:01
Pace: 9:02

DID YOU KNOW ..? Infatuation is an intense but short-lived passion or admiration for someone or something.

Life In a Spanish Disco
Let the Music Play (Remix) - Shannon

Blue Light - David Gilmour

Infatuation - Rod Stewart

To France - Mike Oldfield

Ghostbusters - Ray Parker Jr.

Relax (New York Mix) - Frankie Goes to Hollywood

One of my Lugo compatriots just recently posted photos from a return trip, forty-one years later. They mentioned the playlist, I am glad to put this together, back in 2009 (it was a twenty-fifth anniversary inspiration) because I'm not sure I would remember them all now.

I always wondered if we would have a reunion but I don't believe that is in the stars. Goodness, we were all so very very young then. 

Route: Forest Hill Loop

Temperature: 57° 
Climate: clear & cool
Mood: good

Stretches: yes 
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

Moves? I make them.

The vast majority of Zombies, Run fan art features a female presenting Runner 5. I am entirely okay with this.

Eavesdropping 0118

Distance: 3.2 miles
Duration: 29:21
Pace: 9:02

No, I can't seem to run every other day. This won't always be the case, but I have been busy, busy, busy.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 76°
Climate: clear & warm
Mood: angsty

I seem to be gaining weight. Either that, or I have been standing on the scale wrong and if that's the case, I just need to be wiser with my diet.

I didn't think it was an out-of-control weekend. In fact, I skipped lunch on Saturday, without even intending to. As we head into sugar season, I must be mindful.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 164 lbs.

My right knee had been in pain for over a week, even waking me up at night, but that has subsided.

Now my left knee hurts. What the actual.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Upbeat Mix

360 - Charlie XCX

Now That We Found Love - Heavy D & the Boyz

Block Rockin' Beats - Chemical Bros.

DARE - Gorillaz ft. Shaun Ryder & Roses Gabor

One Girl/One Boy - !!!

Whip It - Devo

Alright - Janet Jackson

The lengths that I will go to.

*attacked*

Okay. Yesterday, I came home from work and worked. I got up this morning (see below) and continued that work. Then I went to work. It's Saturday.

I was going to go out of town for a day and a half, but I'm no longer doing that. I'm owed a couple days off, but the timing is all wrong. Because I have to work.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 27:55
Pace: 9:00

My right knee has been giving me some serious shit. It's even been keeping me up in the middle of the night. A lot of ibuprofen. I have been waking at 4:00 AM the last couple of days just to take more pain reliever.

Maybe I should take a break from running, but

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 75°
Climate: clear & warm
Mood: all right

Rock Mix

Take Another - Filter

Losing My Religion -R.E.M.

Jumping Jack Flash - Rolling Stones

Hungry For You - The Police

Let the Day Begin - The Call

American Music - Violent Femmes

Terrible Lie - Nine Inch Nails

Come As You Are - Nirvana

Gen X, right?

Stretches: yes 
Water: yes
Weight: 165 lbs.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: TBA

People of the world unite.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 27:40
Pace: 8:54

Pop Playlist

Rhythm Nation - Janet Jackson
Hella Good - No Doubt
I Feel Love - Sam Smith
Who Do You Think You Are - Spice Girls
This Love - Maroon 5
Good Luck, Babe! - Chappell Roan
The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?) - Ylvis
Espresso - Sabrina Carpenter

It's been a week. Great run.

Route: Forest Hill Loop 
Temperature: 69°
Climate: clear & lovely
Mood: good

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Gotta strut like a front suspension.

The beginning of a long week. Rising at five am isn't the problem, going to sleep at nine pm is. 

Last night, Brian took me to see Emo Philips, who was hilarious. I tried describing him to one of my Gen Z colleagues and it wasn't easy. Gaunt, bug-eyed, non-sequitur humor with a Prince Valiant haircut ... and now he's old! 

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:26
Pace: 9:10

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 69°
Climate: misty and damp
Mood: good

160 - 169 BPM Playlist

Little Girl Gone (Workout Remix) - Chinchilla

It's Indian Tobacco My Friend - Cornershop

Greatest - Eminem

Take It Or Leave It - The Strokes

Good Thing - Fine Young Cannibals

Young Americans - David Bowie

I Wanna Be Sedated - The Ramones

Concrete Jungle - The Specials

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

Got a stitch while running through the wood. That's not normal but it's the second time that has happened to me in the past week. I'm so used to never getting cramps, but at least I can run through them.

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: yes

Me? I flew.

I used to be like, no zombies. The very idea of zombies freaked me out. 

Vampires are people who attack people, drinking their blood is weird but it's not horrifying, no more than just being attacked and murdered. And you can talk to a vampire like a person. They are practically human.

Ghosts are freaky, I guess, because they mess with your head, what you see, what you hear. And the idea of a ghost, a spirit that lives after the death of the body, that's something I think about, it's interesting.

A zombie is the opposite of a ghost, right? All body, no spirit. No identity, no sense. Just a rotting corpse wandering around with no purpose, just the memory of being and a deep, unending hunger. Not crazy about that. Don't really want to think about it.

Except, now, for the metaphor. That society has broken down, due to a virus, a plague, God forbid, fungus. Our kid has us all watching The Last of Us together. It's not really about "the infected" is it? It's about the last of us, and we have been infected with something else.

There is no utopian future. All the good things science fiction promised us will never happen. It is all about disintegration, and what we do to each other as it happens.

So, anyway, that's why the Zombies, Run app. I'm into zombies now, because I think I am one. 

Information Exchange 0117

Distance: 3.25 miles
Duration: 28:46
Pace: 8:51

Missed a day, could not be helped. Next week, we need to be out of the house by 6:00 AM. Can I get fifteen runs in September?

Fall '25 Workout

Thunderstruck - AC/DC

Tesla - Mau P

Is Everybody Having Fun? - John Summit ft. Gorgon City & rhys from the sticks

Tambourine - The Dare

Stop Playing With Me - Tyler, The Creator

dashstar* - VIP - Knock2

Notorious - Malaa

Bangarang - Skrillex ft. Sirah

So Pretty - Reyanna Maria

Kyoto - Skrillex ft. Sirah

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 73°
Climate: sunny & warm
Mood: all right

Stretches: yes -- not enough, though 
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

I have been this weight, more or less, since February. I often gain weight during the September rehearsal period. Consistency. Mindfulness. I'm never hungry. Often, I am bored. 

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: TBA

Update (later that same day): For the first time, one of my posts has been flagged for sensitive content warning: "This post was put behind a warning for readers because it contains sensitive content as outlined in Blogger’s Community Guidelines." I have not edited the original post. Can you figure out what the content advisory regards? Because I am flummoxed.

Update 9/21/2025: No longer flagged, no explanation. Weird.

Rolling in Andromeda.

More B-52's! More songs about space age fantasy and hot bods at the beach!

Distance: 4 miles
Duration: 36:55
Pace: 9:13

The B-52's - The B-52's (1979)

Planet Claire

52 Girls

Dance This Mess Around

Rock Lobster

Lava

There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon) *

Hero Workshop

6060-842 *

Downtown

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 72°
Climate: clear & warm
Mood: all right

Bit of a surprise, my cholesterol is not high, it is merely elevated and not only that it is borderline elevated. The doctor does not suggest medication, but improved diet and to continue exercising. That last is easy, the former is more challenging. But not impossible.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 161 lbs.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Sweat. Work it.

Blood draw this morning. If my cholesterol remains elevated, I may begin medication. I have tried to eat better -- and I certainly have -- but it may simply be a matter of genetics.

Scouting Mission 0116

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:57
Pace: 9:20

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 58°
Climate: clear & cool
Mood: anxious

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 161 lbs. (-0-)

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

Fall '25 Workout

Work It (Soulwax Remix) - Marie Davidson

Little Girl Gone (160 BPM) - Chinchilla

Don't Touch That Dial (Make a Dance Remix) - Django Django ft. Yuuko Sings

Wild for the Night - A$AP Rocky ft. Skrillex & Birdy Nam Nam

Dis Badman - Sammy Virji ft. Champion & IRAH

Girls - The Dare

The New Workout Plan - Kanye West

Shining in the Dark - Parallelle ft. Fulltone & Barbara Lau

Follow your bliss.

We were Seniors once, and young. Last fall we visited Good Stuff, the mediocre follow-up to the career reviving album Cosmic Thing by The B-52's. Not every band gets such a powerful second act, and one that was arguably, thanks to the corporate awareness of college music.

When I hear the song "Deadbeat Club" I was always remember my best friend, singing along with this big, beatific smile on his face. He loved singing to the girls' parts.

Distance: 4 miles
Duration: 37:38
Pace: 9:24

Cosmic Thing - The B-52's (1989)

Cosmic Thing

Dry County

Deadbeat Club

Love Shack

Junebug

Channel Z

Topaz

Follow Your Bliss

Never crazy about the song "Roam." I know it was a big hit, it kind of gets on my nerves. I think it's because it sounds like a very ordinary pop song, the least B-52's thing they ever recorded.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 56°
Climate: ideal
Mood: all right

The band composed some amazing instrumentals. The album closer is so atmospheric, evocative, makes me feel youthful. Were we ever so youthful?

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 161 lbs.

God bless Nile Rodgers.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Bright every day I wake up.

Run group steps up after attack on woman at Rocky River Reservation (News 5 Cleveland)
By Nadeen Abusada, 9/9/2025

A young woman has come forward with her story, last weekend she was attacked while training for her first marathon. She was seventeen miles into a twenty mile run when she was assaulted.

Here are some basic rules about running with safety:

• Go with a friend or group
• Run during daylight hours and in popular areas
• Share your live location

I run in daylight hours for my own safety, and our park is fairly well traveled. And my live location is always available to my family. However, running with a friend or a group, while ensuring much better safety, is unfortunately much more necessary for women than for men.

And I hate that. Women should be free to run, and to run alone, anywhere, at any time.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 29:00
Pace: 9:20

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 56°
Climate: clear & cool
Mood: anxious

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

Old School Playlist

Freedom of Speak (We Got Three Minutes) - De La Soul

Funky Cold Medina - Tone-Loc

Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children - Queen Latifah ft. De La Soul

Open Up Your Door - from "Standing at the Sky's Edge"

Aaron Burr, Sir - from "Hamilton"

Kiss You Back - Digital Underground

En Focus - De La Soul ft. Shortie No Mass & Dres

Hey Ladies - Beastie Boys

Run for cover, motherfucker.

It's spooky season! It's been three years since I started this journey, and I'm only fifteen episodes in (and there's a question as to how long this app will remain available) but though I enjoy them, I only like them when the leaves are changing and the world looks a little more like it's dying.

Virtuous Circle 0115

Distance: 3.2 miles
Duration: 29:29
Pace: 9:13

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 50°
Climate: clear & cool
Mood: good

Trying strangers' playlists now, the algorithm offers me what it knows I like -- songs that are already on my playlists. Not other tracks by the same artist, the exact same songs. Some new playlists are really cool ... like this one!

Fall '25 Workout

Don't Stop - Prospa

Baddadan - Chase & Status ft. IRAH, Flowdan, Trigga & Takura

Krack - Soulwax

CVNT - Sophie Hunter

Victory Lap Five  - Fred Again et al

Obsessed - Sophie Powers ft. Ashley Sienna

Backbone - Chase & Status ft. Stormzy

Mannequin Love (The Dare Remix) - Justice ft. The Dare & The Flints

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

With one foot in the past.

"Bardo Pieta"
Joost Witte

Slept until nearly 10 am on Saturday, a surprising development. It was an exhausting week, I guess. I had not taken any manner of sleep aid on Friday evening (one beer at the movie theater, just one, even though the event was three hours long) but the deal with my car Thursday evening was surprisingly depleting and I had gotten up early to run Friday morning. It was a great day, altogether, and yet I slept something like eleven hours.

I have activated a Libby account, in a quest to expand my audio consumption. I have been listening to an awful lot of enjoyable but, in the long run, meaningless podcasts, for years. And as I thought of what to download first, I was reminded that I have often thought of the book Lincoln in the Bardo, like, I think of it a lot. I was even thinking of rereading it, it's been a long time since I have read something a second time.

To my surprise and delight, the audiobook is read by over one hundred different voices (Nick Offerman and David Sedaris being the main two voices, which is in itself uniquely fantastic) putting me in mind of one of my very favorite stories from This American Life, "The Unknown Soldier" by Lucy Sante.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:54
Pace: 9:19

Back to School Playlist

Adult Education - Hall & Oates

I Don't Understand Anything - Everything But the Girl

True - Spandau Ballet

Happiness In Slavery - Nin Inch Nails

Head Over Heels - Tears For Fears

Take On Me - a-ha

Making a playlist of songs that remind me of fall, that were released in the fall, were popular in the fall, have a fall vibe. At the moment, it's not moody enough. Suggestions?

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 66°
Climate: sunny & gorgeous
Mood: good!

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

You have your orders. Now go, man. Go.

FYI, I will not be running to Synchronicity. I don't love the songs the way I love the songs on all the other albums. And most of the tracks are not good for exercise.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:45
Pace: 9:16

“… illness narratives are often not just a strategy for conceptualizing the pain of others, but also a way of reassuring ourselves that we’ll never feel that pain.”
     - John Green, “Everything Is Tuberculosis” (2025)

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 53°
Climate: dawn, cool
Mood: all right

President renames the Defense Department the Department of War. What a toddler.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

Last night, a coworker (former coworker) had married a woman who was half woman, half-fly. Not like in the movie, but that didn't make it any less unsettling. The four of us were supposed to be sharing a bed and I hadn't seen what she looked like, but I could feel her insect legs on my back and I just left.

She made a point of confronting me over my bigotry. When I was finally able to look at her she appeared mostly human, a little shorter than most, and her arms were longer than most people's. She insisted on shaking my hand, which were like hands, but clothed in mitts. Little, half-moon shaped wings emerged from the mitts.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: TBA

hamilton workout

Non-Stop

Waving Through a Window from "Dear Evan Hansen"

Copycat - Billie Eilish

The Schuyler Sisters

Guns & Ships

Into the Unknown from "Frozen II"

The Hamilton Polka - "Weird Al" Yankovic

Yorktown (The World Turned Upside-Down)

And so. Waking up at 5:30 to take an early run, and then realizing the sun will not be up at six. The world turns. We'll be hitting the gym soon. But not today.

Later, we're going to the movie theater to see Hamilton.

I'm not alone in reaching for a perfect life.

Tested negative yesterday. How long was I contagious? Anyway, running Sunday was a risk, I guess. Big sweat, exhausting, also restorative. I feel mostly good.

Just in time for residency rehearsals. Well done.

Distance: 4 miles 
Duration: 36:37
Pace: 9:06

Ghost In the Machine - The Police (1981)
Spirits In the Material World

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (164 BPM)

Hungry For You

Demolition Man (154 BPM)

Too Much Information

Re-Humanize Yourself

One World (Not Three) (168 BPM)

Omegaman

Secret Journey

Darkness

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 77°
Climate: clear & lovely
Mood: good

Without question, this is the very best album by The Police. Okay, really, I have no idea what's their best. However, I can say that this one has no skips, which is rare for any album for running.

Well, almost. I skipped "Invisible Sun." It is a bit downbeat, emotionally.

A friend who sat in front of me in history class wrote the words "spiritus mundi" on my brown paper book cover a day or so before he shot himself. This was in late 1984. I do not know where he learned that phrase, I knew it from the opening track of Synchronicity. 

I was brought before the guidance counselor, to ask if he had given any sign, any indication. I thought they were blaming me, they fucked that up, big time. I did not tell them about his message. It wouldn't have done them any good, anyone any good, but it scarred me.

I also used the opening track of this album for an English paper my senior year, as I compared lyrics to the plot of A Midsummer Night's Dream. I got an A.

My wife translated the lyrics from "Hungry For You (j'aurais toujours faim de toi)" for her French class. They are pretty hot.

No sleep to night

I want you

Until I’m thirsty

But our bodies are all wet

Completely covered in sweat

We clean ourselves in the tide

I have no desire

You have broken my heart

And me, I’ve drank your blood

But we can do what we want

I’ll always be hungry for you

And so on. She also put the song on her first mixtape to me, this is why we are still together. I think she also got an A, but I gave her the big D.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

I drove to Florida on my own in Spring 1989, to see both of my grandfathers, and my ex-lover. One of my grandfathers was dying, visiting him was very challenging. So was seeing the young woman, it was the end of the road for us. "Secret Journey" was on a mixtape I had made for the drive, for myself. 

You will see light in the darkness

You will make some sense of this

When you've made your secret journey

You will find this love you miss

I wish I still had that tape.

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

It's not my favorite Police album, it's not. But it may be their very best.

Time to get real.

Right here, right now.

Alas, no more runs in August than in July. This time, due to illness.

COVID-19, bout two.

Tuesday (August 26): Thought I had allergies: tickle in the the throat, watery eyes

Wednesday: Following a horrid night's sleep (woke dozens of times) tested positive. Headache all day, pain across the eyes, cough, woozy, slept on and off all day, watched a lot of TV.

Thursday: Night sweats but an excellent night's sleep. Woke once or twice, sore throat, no head pain. Bit dizzy. Slight cough. And sputum, which is always rewarding.

Friday: Difficult night, coughs and pained throat. Active during the day, working remotely, taking calls. Sore throat much preferable to head or body aches, feeling grateful. 

Saturday: Still testing positive. Good night's sleep. Haven't had a fever since Wednesday. Minor sore throat, little cough. 

Sunday: Spouse in the throes, kept me awake most of the night. Otherwise, mildly stuffed up, high feeling in my chest.

Monday: Ears stuffed, throwing off my equilibrium. high feeling in chest.

The question is, should I run? Rehearsals resume tomorrow. Will exercise wipe me out ... or help clear my system? I have been resting for nearly a week and it's driving me to distraction. And it is specifically because my head is stuffed that I want to run, to clear my head.

I hope I do not regret this.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 30:39
Pace: 9:53

Dance/Electronic Mix

Block Rockin' Beats - The Chemical Brothers

Around the World - Daft Punk

Don't You Want Me (Purple Disco Machine Remix) - Human League

Star Guitar - The Chemical Brothers

Poor Leno - Röyksopp

Pacific 202 - 808 State

Right Here, Right Now - Pete Tong w/The Heritage Orchestra

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 77°
Climate: sunny & warm
Mood: woozy

Ringing in my ears, slight pain in the head now. Dehydrated. Lungs feel better. Will shower and rest, see where the day takes me.

Ha ha, no, that's not ringing in my ears. That's what it sounds like outdoors! Those are insects! 

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

Got to keep my foot right down.

Eight consistent every-other-day runs. More runs than in 2022, when eye surgery took me off the road. Today, as many runs as I got in last month.

Distance: 3.25 miles
Duration: 30:30
Pace: 9:22

Leaves turn. The weather cools. I must make myself mentally prepared to return to the recreation center, if the weather is disagreeable. Strange, if you had asked me when I last renewed my membership I would have thought last October or something, but it was December.

Going to the gym is easy. It is important I remember that.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 58°
Climate: partly cloudy & cool
Mood: a bit sickly

Reggatta De Blanc - The Police (1979)

Message In a Bottle (151 bpm)

Regatta De Blanc (159 bpm - varies)

It's Alright For You

Bring On the Night

Deathwish

On Any Other Day (157 bpm)

The Bed's Too Big Without You

Contact

No Time This Time

This was always my favorite Police album, "Bring On the Night" was my favorite song during my Senior year in high school (which is a problem) and I will still say it is my favorite if only for the almost complete lack of bullshit. Every song is a banger ... except "Does Everyone Stare" which is goofy.

Goofy, but on point. "I'm gonna write you a sonnet but I don't know where to start." That was me. My wife says I just don't like Andy Summers and I said, maybe it's just that I don't like Andy Summers, and also that that song was written by Copeland. 

I also left "Walking On the Moon" off this play list because it's not good to run to. But, still. A classic.

My copy was a special release, two 10" vinyl records. Pretty cool. Wikipedia tells me Reggatta de Blanc (French for "Yacht Rock") is also Copeland's favorite of The Police records, so I feel validated. I don't really care which one Sting likes the best.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes 
Weight: 161 lbs. (+1.0) 

Now, allergies. Woke an hour earlier than my alarm, a tickle in my throat and in my eyes. Going to the doctor this afternoon, we'll she what she has to say about all this (gestures vaguely at his own form).

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Man. Now, see, those guys knew how to close an album.

People! Keep on running!

This is a poster I had in college.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are trash and I do not understand why they have been inducted into the Rock Hall but what can you do. We dug them at the beginning, because they played stupid white funk and we were stupid, white, funky guys. 

Mother's Milk was their last good album (they've never produced a great album) which was followed by Blood Sugar Sex Magik for which Anthony Kiedis got the absurd notion that he could actually hold a note ("Under the Bridge") and was rewarded with a number one single. The rest is unlistenable history.

Distance: 4 miles
Duration: 36:58
Pace: 9:14

Mother's Milk - Red Hot Chili Peppers (1989)

Good Time Boys

Higher Ground

Subway to Venus

Magic Johnson

Nobody Weird Like Me

Knock Me Down (Long Version)

Taste the Pain

Stone Cold Bush

Fire

Johnny, Kick a Hole in the Sky

These things always fall apart at the end of the record, the two best songs are covers. Then Rick Rubin tells them, hey — you can fit 70 minutes of sound on one of these new compact discs. They can't even put together half that.

Good run, though.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 69°
Climate: clear & cooler
Mood: all right

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Slow up and stop all my running around.

I have to force myself not to leave the house too early when catching the bus. I am always there with plenty of time to spare. But it is a ten minute walk to the stop, and when I am prepared in advance, I will go and regret it, just standing for an additional five minutes.

That is what I am doing right now. Not preparing to run, but creating busy work, sitting down, so I do not leave.

Okay. Now.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:09
Pace: 9:05

Am I living my best life? By that I mean, am I doing this right? Am I getting all I can and also giving all I can?

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 66°
Climate: sunny & cool(er)
Mood: all right

So, I did a lot of stretches. Different stretches. Sitting, doing circles with my ankle, others. And it made a difference, it really did. I didn't start out feeling as though I was running on a broken heel. I need to take more time before each run. I can do this.

Stretches: yes!
Water: yes 
Weight: 160 lbs. (-2.0)

Maintain. Relax. Breathe. Think. It took two weeks to bring it back down to 160, and now I must maintain. Just stay here. My consumption yesterday was good. Good food, portioned, thought out. I could drink less. I did, actually, drink less. It was still a lot. Maintain. Focus on what is right in front of you, work, play, relaxation, dining.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

This Is Gabriel & Dresden

Sydney

Sequoia

Twelve (Darude Remix)

I'm Not Like Everybody Else (ft. Sub Teal)

Tomorrow Comes (ft. Neil Ormandy)

White Walls  (ft. Sub Teal)

I had a mood.

When it rains it rains all the colors in my paintbox.

shadow combover

We rest. We read. We write. We breathe. We drink water. We plot. We scheme. We live. We love. We view. We cook. We dine. We try. We try so hard. We try so very hard. We tell our stories. We create.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:44
Pace: 9:16

We take the bus. If there is no reason to have a car available during the day, we take the bus. It has been the summer of bus. Takes twice as long as driving, but in that time I can read, or think. It’s better for the environment. It’s going that way, anyhow, why not get on board?

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 73°
Climate: misty & light rain
Mood: all right?

We work. We make dinner. We pack lunch. We dine together. We talk. We watch TV together. We sleep well. It gets cooler, now the rains. The leaves begin to turn. The last official month of summer begins today. One more month, but it's already gone.

But that's okay. We like the the fall. Fall is for endings, but it's for beginnings, too.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 162 lbs.(-0-)

My right heel. Still. Tight, I do stretches, the first quarter mile is still so difficult, then it eases off. I need some PT, this just isn't going away on its own.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

155-164 BPM Playlist

Ballet For a Rainy Day - XTC

Black Star - Radiohead

Lost Track - Haim

A Bar Song (Tipsy) - Shaboozey

Giving Up On You - Wild Belle

Classical Gas - Mason Williams

She's Tight - Cheap Trick

Sleepless - Soul Coughing

Boo'ed Up (Remix) - Ella Mai ft. Nicki Minaj & Quavo

That's good bpm.

Struggling, stretching for the beat.

Doldrums, am I right? There is a lot of work to do, but little pressure. Last week was ridiculous, I was busy every single night, finally getting to chill on Saturday and Sunday evenings. And yet. there are a host of microanxieties which nibble around the edges.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 27:09
Pace: 8:44

For example, discovering I'd loaned a book my wife needed, seeing how much I had let the outdoor plants wilt in the heat, having to complete an application, having completed the application and doubting how good the application actually is, that I have gained weight, that I am hungry, decorating, cleaning, thinking about rehearsal and everything that goes with it and on and on and on until we die

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 78°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: all right

Fast run. Evening runs now. Waking early is increasingly difficult, the days are wearying. They will not always be, but they will be at least through September.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 162 lbs. (-3.0)

160bpm 80's Running Playlist

Maniac - Michael Sembello

Take On Me - a-ha

What I Like About You - The Romantics

Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra

Misirlou - Dirk Dale & His Del-Tones

Invisible Touch - Genesis

You Make My Dreams (Come True) - Hall & Oates

What a Feeling - Irene Cara

A Millennial made this playlist. One song from the 70s, another from the 60s that was made popular again in the 90s. Also, Invisible Touch has a beats per minute of 131, and What a Feeling, 122. Anyway, maybe I'll try another one by someone else.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Is anyone else hot?

Maintaining weight is easier than losing it. I need to return to basic steps (having fresh food in the house, making dinners instead of purchasing them, always packing lunch) but also, training my body not to need.

Thursday, I did a fine job of only eating at mealtime. The meals were bigger than they needed to be, but there was no snacking, no grazing. However, by dinner my system was, I don't know. Empty? I have gotten used to always having something to digest. I developed an uncomfortable case of gas, not in my bowels, in my stomach. It was distressing, uncomfortable, painful. This is a thing that happens sometimes when I eat less.

And then there's the kind of hunger that is disorienting, making me confused, irritable, difficult to concentrate. There is a way through this, but like I said, it takes work. And since the middle of the summer, I have either been on vacation, where the rules are different, or very busy and away from home.

Home makes for good eating habits. I never thought of it like that before.

Distance: 4 miles
Duration: 37:09
Pace: 9:17

Great run. Hot, yes -- it's noon! But I felt good, warmed up, no tightness, no pain (okay, slight pain) good posture, nice pace. Felt great!

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 84° 
Climate: hot!
Mood: good

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 165 lbs. (+2.0)

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-ups: TBA

It's Hot! Playlist

HOT TO GO! - Chappell Roan

Hot For Teacher - Van Halen

Hot N Cold - Katy Perry

Hot In Herre - Nelly

Hot Stuff - Donna Summer

Warm - Haim ft. Charlie XCX

Hot Blooded - Foreigner

Gonna Make You Sweat - C + C Music Factory ft. Martha Wash

Warm Leatherette - The Normal

Send My Love (To Your New Lover) - Adele

Own heart beating.

Exhausting myself this week. Long days, long nights, and the heat. I don't like to complain about heat, I much prefer it to the cold. It truly has had an effect upon me. 

I really should never go out after Dark Room. Socializing is fun, but going to bed at midnight is no longer a practical option for me, not ever. Bed by ten is ideal. But not on Tuesday. Nor on Wednesday. Nor on Thursday, or Friday. Not this week. 

And yet, I run.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 29:15
Pace: 9:25

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 72°
Climate: sunny & bright
Mood: bit angsty

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 163 lbs. (+1.0)

Man bytes dog.

Much of the current weight fluctuation relates to circumstance. Went to a ball game last night. We are also going to be eating out tonight -- and another ball game tomorrow night. It's a lot.

Planks: yes
Pushups: yes

155-164 BPM Playlist

Make Your Move - Kenny Loggins

Beat On the Brat - The Ramones

The Long Hair of Death - Stereolab

No Love Lost - LCD Soundsystem

Don't Fence Me In (The Bachelor Remix) - David Byrne

Leaving Las Vegas - Sheryl Crow

Thank You For Hearing Me - Sinéad O'Connor

I can handle my shit.

My goal this year has been consistency. That, whatever else is happening, that I run every other day. Also, that I not run two days in a row. Take that break, even when I am desirous to move. Run, rest, repeat.

So far this year I have run as many times as I did in the entirety of 2017, which was a year that involved a lot of travel, and a lot of distraction. A wedding, a graduation, a fatal illness. Ninety-nine runs in 2025, as of today.

Many year I run between, let's say, one hundred and one hundred and ten times. Two years ago, in 2023, I ran almost two hundred times, which isn't normal at all. No idea why I did that.

At this rate, I hope to have run between 160 and 170 times by New Year's. That's a lot. But I think I can do that.

Distance: 2.34 miles
Duration: 27:09
Pace: 11:35

So, anyway. Had to take an extra day. These days are hot, and I am listening to my body. That's good, too. Take that break.

Also, we spent a day (and two nights) this past weekend at Cedar Point. Okay, so now summer is over. Just kidding, it's not. We have two baseball games to attend just this week. It's crazy.

My spouse encouraged me to ride more ride than I would have desired to, but I am all right. I have a real discomfort with heights, but there were some special moments. Daddy wanted to see all the young college students doing their dancing and their singing before they all return to college. Is that creepy? Of course it is. Totes creep.

Route: Forest Hill Run
Temperature: 75°
Climate: overcast & humid
Mood: all right

Eesh. Shooting pains in my left calf. Right heel still still. I'm a mess. A hot mess.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 162 lbs. (+2.0)

Portion control, yo.

Planks: yes
Pushups: yes

Running Summer Playlist

Walking On Sunshine - Katrina & the Waves ft. Carstn & Agent Zed

Ways to Go - Grouplove 

Coming Back to Me - Kasabian

Happy Customers - Two Door Cinema Club

American Pie (L'Tric Remix) - Don McLean

I Can Do It With a Broken Heart - Taylor Swift

Saving Up - Dom Dolla

Espresso (Mark Ronson x FNZ Working Later Remix) - Sabrina Carpenter

Nobody Else - The S.L.P.

I don't know. I think these playlists kinda suck.

Moving at one million miles an hour.

Increasingly now, numbness in my hands. Mostly the right, but also the left. Is this poor circulation? Nerve damage? At the moment it is merely unpleasant. It wakes me earlier than I'd like and makes it impossible to go back to sleep. 

Distance: 4 miles
Duration: 35:54
Pace: 8:58

Welcome to the Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1984)

Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Escape Act Video Mix)

Relax (Come Fighting)

War

Two Tribes

Born To Run

Wish (The Lads Were Here)

Krisco Kisses

The Only Star In Heaven

The Power of Love

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 80°
Climate: sunny & HOT!

Mood: good!

We were Frankie Fans. Relax had been released in late 1983, and was rattling around on MTV — but only a little — in early 1984. It was part of the mix, the general wash of British disco that was worming its way into my consciousness.

In summer I participated in the Experiment in International Living (EIL) and after a fraught couple of weeks engaged in culture and language training, we flew to Spain. The first night was spent in Madrid, before taking buses to our month long homestay in Lugo.

The bunch of us, twelve nervous American teenagers, were at a disco talking and drinking. I wasn't much of a dancer then, I had only ever been on a dancefloor a couple times over the past couple years. but Footloose was a thing and I tried to get over myself. I love music. But I didn't know how to dance.

The synthesized bass line for an extended mix of Relax (the New York Mix, I believe) it had a prolonged, melody-free intro, and I was distracted. "What is this song? I know this song. What is this song?" It built and built and I needed to know what it was. When the beat dropped, I think I actually shouted, and I got up from the table to take the floor. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I needed to be out there.

I've been chasing that high for a very long time.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs. (-1.0)

The original double-album for Pleasuredome included several interstitial gags and songs that are not part of what is currently the official release (on CD and also streaming services) but they are slow songs, anyway, like Bacharach's San Jose and the Liverpudlian classic Ferry Cross the Mersey, so I didn't want to run to them, anyway.

Planks: yes
Pushups: yes

Yesterday I had a big cookie, a scoop of ice cream team, and popcorn. I didn’t even enjoy the popcorn, it was too salty. A snack between/after every meal. That’s not necessary.

Run into you sometimes.

Oof. Some days I can feel my age. And then I ask myself, have I ever actually felt better than this? I have a hernia, that was thirty years ago. Thought I would need to wear compression pants the rest of my life, wore them about five years. What I learned was that if I gained weight (or wore boxers instead of briefs) I would hurt down there. So I try not to gain weight, and for the most part I haven't hurt down there in thirty years. 

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:10
Pace: 9:05

Now there's this thing in my wrist. I worry its a symptom of something great, like something to do wit my circulation. But then, maybe it's just muscular. I work out. I do upper body exercises. I have also made a doctors appointment, it's good to see how balanced my humours may be.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 65°
Climate: clear & beautiful
Mood: good

We run. It is still summer. And yet, it is summer still.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 161 lbs. (-4.0)

Maintenance. Be smart, kid.

Planks: yes
Pushups: yes

Running Summer Mix

Murder On the Dancefloor (PNAU Remix) - Sophie Ellis-Bextor

123456- Fitz & the Tantrums

Dance Wiv Me  - Dizzee Rascal ft. Calvin Harris

Carried Away - Passion Pit

Big Energy - Latto

Levitating - Dua Lipa

Fortnight - Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone

Love Tonight - Shouse 

Well. Spotify is just culling from my own playlists now, that's hardly what you would call working.

This is not a charade.

Forty years ago was a good summer. A very good summer, a special summer. My brother was home from college, he'd just graduated from college and was churning out resumes on a dot matrix printer from his Apple Macintosh. We bonded over Heineken, chips with good French onion dip and weed.

We watched Miami Vice reruns, Night Flight, and Dave Letterman. I learned about new artists, or new to me, anyway. The Cure. The Smiths. New Order. Fishbone. We watched strange videos, and laughed our asses off.

Live Aid, Back to the Future, Thunderdome, we made one DDT-V episode for July, and a second one for August, a clip show based entirely on the advertisements (that one was my idea). We had gone to Maine early in the season for my grandfather's 90th birthday, so the rest of the summer stretched out madly.

I was cited on my seventeenth birthday for trespassing in the Metroparks after dark (we had been playing assassin) and broke up with my girlfriend. I was ready to be a senior. And I was free.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 29:23
Pace: 9:28

Summer 1985 Mixtape Playlist

Time Bomb Town - Lindsay Buckingham

Cry - Godley & Creme

The Power of Love - Huey Lewis & the News

Party at Ground Zero - Fishbone
If You Love Somebody Set Them Free - Sting

Money for Nothing (Live at Wembley Stadium) - Dire Straits ft. Sting 

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 64°
Climate: sunrise & humid
Mood: good

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 165 lbs. (+2.0)

We must mind our intake. Yesterday was like a day on vacation. Be careful. Moderation in all things.

Planks: yes
Pushups: yes

I don't want the world, I just want your half.

Welcome home. Numbness in my fingers, pain in my wrist. Is this diabetes?

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 29:23
Pace: 9:28

So, yes. Good on ya, we got a run in right after getting home, unpacking, putting in a load of laundry, and on, and on. Back on my head.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 73°
Climate: sunset & humid
Mood: all right

Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Weight: 163 lbs. (+3.0)
Planks: yes
Pushups: yes

WRUW | Erie Effusion (Live)

Ana Ng - They Might Be Giants

Istanbul (Not Constantinople) - They Might Be Giants

Balalaika Gap (158 BPM) - Camper Van Beethoven

Turquoise Jewelry - Camper Van Beethoven

Barbarism Begins at Home - The Smiths

Heart Shaped World - Billy Bragg

Soul Awakening - China Crisis

Open up the door.

We reach the end of another stay in the Barnstable. And what have we learned? Why, nothing. Nothing at all.

Six runs in Maine! Every other day. Do you imagine I will run on Sunday evening?

Distance: 3.5 miles
Duration: 32:18
Pace: 9:14

Yesterday we went on a puffin sighting cruise. Cool day, overcast, occasional, very light rain. Ideal.

I have been enjoying the fried things, yesterday I even had a lobster Reuben, which is just what it sounds like. Breakfast of fruit, granola, and yogurt keeps me honest.

Route: Martin Point Run
Temperature: 69°
Climate: sunny & beautiful
Mood: very good

We drive home tomorrow, a two-day journey for which I plan to do a lot of mental prep work for our teacher workshops on Monday and Tuesday. This happens far too often, I have to hit the ground running (as they say) the morning after I return from a vacation or expedition.

Stretches: 
Water: yes
Planks: yes
Pushups: yes

We have taken many vacations and expeditions over the past two years; the Southwestern train and desert trip, a transatlantic cruise, our journey across Spain, with jaunts to NYC and of course, right here in the cove.

And I'll tell you why. Because my mother died. Because there was a pandemic. Because our children are grown and we are celebrating them and also ourselves. And because we couldn't, and now we can.

It won't continue like this, it can't is is unsustainable, and we aren't getting any younger. But I am trying to remain young and alive, and treasuring the world while I am on it is going to be a big part of that.

BorderLight | Fringe Unleashed Playlist

World, Hold On - Bob Sinclar ft. Steve Edwards

You're the One - Kaytranada ft. Syd

Intimidated  - Kaytranada ft. H.E.R.

Back on 74- Jungle

Chihro - Billie Eilish

Another Night - Claptone

... and scene. "See you in the Heights."

Work your body.

Considering I missed six days, thirteen runs in a month is pretty good. Also, my ankle no longer feels sprained. My heel is no longer in pain. I got up the past two morning, and I didn't even think about my feet. Healing happens, still. Healing happens.

Since members of my family have gone, the time has gone much slower. I think this has more to do with second-week syndrome than anything about them. I was anxious, now I am not. I had been anxious for days -- weeks, actually -- prior to the festival. Then the festival, then ... here. Just here.

Day after day. Time after time. We will be home soon enough, today is for here. 

First (Boy) Run/Walk

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 20:47
Pace: 10:20

Today the boy taught me about the 1904 St. Louis Olympic marathon, the first Olympic marathon to take place on American soil, so naturally it was dangerous, ignorant, and racist.

Second (Solo) Run

Distance: 3 miles
Duration: 28:22
Pace: 9:27

Route: Martin Point Run
Temperature: 75°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: good
Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Planks: yes

Pushups: yes

BorderLight | Fringe Unleashed Playlist

The Story Continues - Marco Lys

Street Life - Purple Disco Machine

Tití Me Preguntó - Bad Bunny

Treat You Better (Purple Disco Machine Extended Remix) - Rüfüs Du Sol

Work Your Body - LA Riots

I have gotten so used to playing only music I am already familiar with. Listening to this list is fun, my mind is free. I have had many ideas on these runs, I like the repetition, the dearth of lyrics.

Out of time on the highway to never.

I think I said something.

The second week. Different guests. different vibe. The weather remains ideal. Things are different this year, and by that I mean I am different. I seem to remember being a bit irritated by little things last time; that chairs that weren't pushed in, the glasses and cans that were left about.

Sometimes people take care of these things themselves if you leave them alone for a little. Sometimes you just take care of them yourself and that's okay, too.  

Seriously, these recent memories of times ten years ago have had a profound effect on me, on my appreciating the way things are for us now.

Distance: 3.5 miles
Duration: 32:19
Pace: 9:14

How is my diet? Good, I think. I am trying not to think too hard about what I am eating, nor how much. Certainly there are more desserts (dessert is not a usual thing most days) but even these are taken in moderation. There are an abundance of Doritos, because it is vacation, and also a lot of alcohol. Is it a lot of alcohol? Moxie & rum is a favorite. 

Route: Martin Point Run
Temperature: 75°
Climate: sunny & humid
Mood: very good
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Planks: yes

Pushups: yes

BorderLight | Fringe Unleashed Playlist

Love Come Down (DJ Nipper Remix) - Evelyn "Champagne" King

Love Tonight - Shouse

My House - Purple Disco Machine

Ocean Drive (Purple Disco Machine Extended Mix) - Duke Dumont

On My Mind (Purple Disco Machine Remix) - Diplo ft. Sidepiece

I'm enjoying this playlist a lot.