I would search everywhere just to hear your call.

Doonesbury, August 3, 1977

Better sleep habits. Reading in bed, not playing games on my phone. Currently, that would be Trudeau & Doonesbury: A Biography: The Cartoonist Who Turned the News Into Art by Joshua Kendall, a recently released biography of the man who might be the single most important influence on my writing.

Distance: 3.2 miles

Duration: 29:16
Pace: 9:08

We are practicing dietary maintenance. I've been taking a packet of ramen to work, it only took me until my late fifties to figure out how to prepare it in the microwave in a manner that is satisfying to me.

Also, getting better noodles at the Asia market. So, I have a controlled portion of filling food which is not terribly high in calories -- like any carry-out meal that exists -- and it's also cheap. Now I need to just get a big package of ramen and keep it in my desk. 

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 60°
Climate: absolutely gorgeous
Mood: good

Songs For My Funeral

Twin Peaks Theme (Instrumental) - Angelo Badalamenti

Tales From the Far Side - Bill Frisell

Afterglow - Genesis

Night and Day - Everything But the Girl

Dog Days Are Over - Florence + The Machine

Beating of Hearts - XTC

Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra

Why "songs for my funeral"? Because they are the best songs ever.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 167 lbs. (-3.0)

The mornings get cooler. We sit and write and try to remember.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

Let me steal this moment from you now.

So this is a thing I'm working on.

We're back on Noom. That's how these apps get you ... by working effectively. I started the program in Fall 2024, which was also the last time I was stuck at 170 lbs. I go back and forth, gaining twenty pounds, losing twenty pounds. The fact that I had been consistently 160 lbs., for over a year, was remarkable.

I would like to get back there before I calcify into these old habits. I logged off in January, it took fewer than six months to gain ten pounds.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 27:55
Pace: 9:00
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 67°
Climate: cool & humid
Mood: all right

Songs For My Funeral

Back to Oz - Sufjan Stevens ft. Angelo De Augustine

Kang Mandor - Degung Orchestra

Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) - Kate Bush

If I Can't Change Your Mind - Sugar

As - George Michael ft. Mary J. Blige

Little Talks - Of Monsters & Men

Ah. The forbidden track. Interesting.

Stretches: yes
Water: Yes
Baseline Weight: 170 lbs. 

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

I'll be waiting.

Bit of a lazy weekend, which was nice. Not unproductive, just much of the work done while sitting. Reaching out. Making yard sale plans. Rolling coins.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 29:23
Pace: 9:28

The yard sale is the next big thing ... this month has been a list of next big things. I am grateful for each of them, so I don't feel so adrift.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 72°
Climate: overcast & humid
Mood: all right

Songs For My Funeral
Wait For It - Leslie Odom Jr.

The Power of Love - Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Good Times - Chic

Time After Time - Willie Nelson

Backout - Frank Turner

Cuts You Up - Peter Murphy

For ten years now, Wait For It has been my morning alarm, the instrumental version. If it does play at my funeral, I might wake up.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 

A good morning. I wrote, part of the new script, a breakthrough. I was in a mood. I have plates, they are spinning.

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: yes

I'd give up forever to touch you.

Next week!

Okay. Here's the thing. Weed makes me dizzy. If I am dizzy, and I fall down, and I hurt myself, there is no one here to help me. Can we take this lesson and roll with it?

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 28:27
Pace: 9:10

Good hang last night, Josh and I went to the FEAST where I got cavatelli and meatball, and a lemonade, and then we got to fuck out of there. Spend a couple hours catching up on the side porch. Little Italy is, on this Saturday morning, a stinky dump and tonight will only get worse.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 75°
Climate: partly cloudy * humid 
Mood: maintaining

Slept without assistance last night. Couldn't settle in until midnight ... but then I slept until eight. Not bad? Love a Saturday. I remember when many Saturdays would come with a migraine. 

Songs For My Funeral

Gymnopédie No. 1:Var. 1 - Jacques Loussier Trio

The Way - Fastball

Hurt - Johnny Cash

Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel

Life on Mars? - David Bowie

Iris - Goo Goo Dolls

Take Me Home - Phil Collins

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 170 lbs. (-0-)

Planks: yes
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: yes

Must have been looking forward to today's run. Last night I dreamed I was running. I was a mile or so from home, when I realized I had finally done it. I had forgotten to put on shorts.

Watching some good friend scream, "Let me out."

The past two days ... the past four days, five days ... it has been a lot. Tuesday afternoon I received an alert that my train had been cancelled, and trying to get onto the Lake Shore Limited was impossible to accomplish online. I was in an automated call string while they were driving us back from seeing their girlfriend, and Ze said, "Get out of it, say, 'Talk to a representative.'"

They were right. And I did. Thirty minutes later (and back at their apartment) I did speak to a human. They said the only available seat was an accessible bedroom, which I could have for the same price, would that be okay?

Oh, uh, yes. Thank you. That would be wonderful, actually.

Later, on board, the porter told me that unfortunately, due to the weather, we would be delayed several hours before reaching Cleveland. So, in stead of having a poor night's sleep, worrying that I might miss our 5:30 am arrival, I slept deeply until seven am and still had time for breakfast, coffee and reading.

I feel bad about the flooding and the disasters, but I made out like a bandit.  

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 28:55
Pace: 9:19

I had already called off work, I was expecting to go back to bed. Instead, I did housework. All day. I couldn't stop. Washing, mopping, sweeping, throwing out things, looking after cats, shopping, preparing for some weekend house improvements.

I am afraid of stopping. I can't relax. I'm not doing this well. 

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 68°
Climate: overcast & humid
Mood: still moving

Songs For My Funeral

Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk (Remix) - Rufus Wainwright

Tomorrow Never Knows - The Beatles

Hey Jealousy - Gin Blossoms

Such Great Heights - Iron & Wine

Under Pressure - David Bowie & Queen

1979 - Smashing Pumpkins

One More Time - Daft Punk

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 170 lbs. (+1.0)

And yet, we self-medicate to sleep. Right off the bat.

Time to get back to work.

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: yes

Now the party's over. I'm so tired.

Made it!

A long day of driving, many thanks to Ze's uncle Nick for providing us the truck. And I've learned so many things! How to attach a U-Haul trailer! How to drive a truck hauling a U-Haul trailer! All kinds of crazy things for a fifty-eight year old never to have done before.

Distance: 2:45

Duration: 24:29
Pace: 10:01

It turned into a late night, I don't want to go into the details. They are embarrassing. I had an existential crisis in the room I had rented for myself to stay in and asked our kid to pick me up to stay with them.

As a result, I got to help them put their bed back together, so I think it was a good thing. But that was hard. 

Route: Humboldt Park Loop
Temperature: 76°
Climate: overcast, threatening rain 
Mood: glad to be running

Songs For My Funeral
Avalon - Roxy Music

Pictures of You - The Cure

Dust in the Wind - Gabriel & Dresden ft. Molly Bancroft

All I Wanna Do - Sheryl Crow
Stuck In the Middle With You - Stealers Wheel

Strange discoloration on my right forearm, like a bruise but it doesn't hurt. Weird. Bug bite? Been around a lot of different insects the past several days. Maybe I will develop superpowers. Or get sick.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Our child has landed an excellent first apartment in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. I headed out for a run, to see what the park is like, and noticed there were far fewer cars on the side of the street where we had parked the trailer. Sure enough, there were temporary signs posted that street cleaning is today. So, instead of taking it back after, we got ourselves together to return the thing right away. Another milestone.

Humboldt is a nice city park, the paths haven't seen some love in a long time. Lot of food trucks getting ready for lunch -- but then we had a tornado warning. I hope they were all okay. 

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: TBA

And that's it. Cincinnati, Athens, Chicago. Tonight I head for home, and there will be no one to greet me but the cats.

Wear me on your wrist and I'll tell you things ten thousand times.

We rise. We pack. We drive to Athens. We learn how to drive a pickup with a trailer hitch. We get U-Haul. We load. 

We run.

Distance: 4 miles

Duration: 36:56
Pace: 9:14
Route: Hocking Rover Bike Path
Temperature: 75°
Climate: hazy & hot, dusk
Mood: maintaining

Songs For My Funeral

Tinseltown in the Rain - Blue Nile

One of These Things First - Nick Drake

Get Me - Everything But the Girl

Marquee Moon - Television

This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) - Talking Heads

Do You Realize?? - Flaming Lips

Águas de março - Elis Regina & Antônio Carlos Jobim

The fair is in town!

Stretches: I mean
Water: yes

Planks: no
Push-ups: no

Sit-Ups: no

Lovely run by the river. Really pushed myself after an exhausting day. Lot of time with my kid, though much of it was either woozy in the car (the rest, man) or negotiating furniture. I'm apprehensive, but also looking forward to our journey tomorrow.

Columbus, Indianapolis, Chicago. With no air conditioning. And rain. We will be sweating.