You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February, 2008.
This morning Adam and I were sitting on the couch, drinking coffee.
I said to him, “We need to pay rent because tomorrow is the first.”
He said, “No, today is the first,” looking at his watch and pointing out that it says March 1.
I laughed and told him it’s leap day.
“Well,” he told me, “my watch still says it’s the first.”
Work is getting needlessly stressful. This is due to the fact that deadlines are approaching, photo shoots are getting planned and completed and not everybody is prepared. And apparently I don’t handle others’ poor management of their stress well–instead I absorb it and carry it home with me. This, I’ll be honest, is not a particularly good idea. So I’ve been trying to focus only on my own work and letting everything else go. It’s made for a better week, and the photo shoot we had yesterday went really well for my first shoot with live models.
I haven’t had a chance to run since Monday, though it’s on the agenda for today–a 4-miler. I realized I need to register for the 10K pretty soon or it’ll be too expensive.
I’m reading The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, which I can only handle in small doses. It’s about her husband’s death and the grieving process that followed. It’s well written, smart, poised, and a little close to home right now. So I’m also reading In Brief, a collection of creative nonfiction briefs that was edited by a former writer-in-residence at SUNY Brockport. Each snipet is only about four pages, just the right size for small bites. I took a class on the creative essay in graduate school and only got a slice of how slippery is the slope in defining “creative nonfiction”. This book has got me back in that classroom with all the discussions that ensued. (Sometimes I really miss being in school, especially with serious writers. Can I even call myself a serious writer? That’s another blog for another time.)
Lost tonight!
This video is actually a song someone put together using only sounds from Windows 98 and XP. Enjoy.
I try really hard not to make this a blog of “interesting stuff I found on the web,” but some things just resonate with me and I feel like it’s worth sharing with my future self (who will re-read this blog at some time) and the 2.3 people who actually read this blog (God bless your souls).
These two tidbits I found this morning were worthy of noting. First, at Image Journal’s new blog, a meditation on the balance between work and prayer. I read Bill Hybel’s Too Busy Not to Pray in college (honestly, I skimmed it), and I agreed then that “Prayer is an unnatural activity.” And I remember a college friend who would post an AIM away message with a quote from Martin Luther that said something to the effect of, I have so much to do today that I better spend the first three hours in prayer. I always thought, how impractical. Maybe it’s not.
The second slice I read is from world.com, a note about vocation. I think a lot about this, what I’m called to and how I’m spending my life. Honestly, I never ever ever would have thought I’d be suited for the wedding business, but I always knew (even as a small child with an affinity for spelling and grammar) I would end up writing and editing. And so often I should remind myself of Buechner’s quote: “The vocation for you is the one in which your deep gladness and the world’s deep need meet.” I can only hope that my life’s efforts equate to this.
I ran last week. A lot. It added up to 11.9 miles. Considering the most I’ve run in one week so far this year is 5.3 miles, last week was quite a feat. I’m not running very fast, though that’s not really the point. The point is that I’m doing it even though it’s hard. My body isn’t used to running more than 2.5 miles. So when I got past my first, rather easy run this week, my muscles were exhausted and rebellious at the thought of running again only two days later. But I did it. I know it’s a cliche, but I see that running can teach me so much about life, about perseverance and endurance, about how my mind becomes such an obstacle to what I can accomplish in life.
Tonight, I’m planning on going to a yoga class at the Y, then running two miles.
I love the movie Donnie Darko, though I realize not everyone does. It is quite weird and will make you think so hard about time and space that your brain might start seeping out of your ear. I first saw it when a friend sat me down one day and made me watch it. A year later, that same friend and I went to the theater to see its re-released director’s cut. If you’ve never seen it, I suggest checking it out. Jake Gyllenhaal and a man in a giant bunny suit–does it get better than that? Still not sure? Read up on it here.
Another week gone by–thank goodness. It’s been a long one. I’ve been thinking about finding a class to take somewhere around here, though it looks like I might be too late. The community college where I taught last semester had a few interesting continuing education classes, bu they all started a few weeks ago. So, I may have to wait for something else to come along. I’ve been feeling lately like I have an awful lot of time on my hands and should be doing something productive with my time. I attribute this mostly to Adam’s working a ton of overtime and me not reading as voraciously as I did last year.
I do have the training for the 10K run, which had me running 3.6 miles on Tuesday and 4 yesterday (on the treadmill, no less, due to adverse and wet outdoor conditions). Tomorrow I am supposed to run 5 miles. Running the long distances isn’t so bad, especially because of my iPod, but I noticed last night that the cheap earbuds Apple provides don’t hold up well against sweat. The buds kept slipping out of my ears. I think I will be buying a new pair soon, something not so earbud-like that secures itself in my ears better. Any suggestions?
This post on CatalystBlogger struck a serious chord with me today. I don’t enjoy talking on the phone, especially with people I don’t know. But with my new job, it’s a necessary evil. I’m responsible to coordinate photo shoots, reconfirm those who’ll participate, and attempt to communicate my creative vision with other creative individuals–all of this over the phone. I know I’m getting better, but I can relate to Jennifer when she writes,
Maybe you suddenly forget the word “benefits” (I swear, stuff like this has happened to me before) and you suddenly find yourself groping for a synonym or going “um, you know, those things that tell customers why they, uh, you know. Starts with a B.”
Yeah, that just about sums it up.
Well, from what I have heard, last week was a bad week for everybody. To counterbalance my bad week, I’ve decided to train for a 10K run at the end of March. I found a five-week training plan at runnersworld.com that I’m starting tonight with a four-miler. Hopefully Adam will be running it with me, especially since he found out he can run for free because he’s a firefighter. What perks.
To catch you up, in the last week I have:
- finished reading A Year of Living Biblically, which was a disappointment. I wanted more depth and spiritual digging from someone trying to live out the Bible literally. Since it was written by a man who wanted to prove how foolish and crazy biblical living is, he wasn’t as affected by God’s spirit as I had hoped. For me, the best of these “stunt books” are those where real transformation occurs. To an extent Jacobs’ life was changed, but he ultimately landed not far from where he began. This one’s not highly recommended by me.
- started reading The Natural by Bernard Malamud. I’ve never seen the movie, but I saw it on our bookshelf and needed something relatively neutral to read. It’s not bad for a baseball book, though I really look forward to watching the film (Robert Redford is a hottie!).
- finished the last season of Six Feet Under, and fortunately didn’t die of depression. It’s an interesting series but so heavy. And I wasn’t impressed with the way everything “tidied up” (or didn’t) at the end.
- watched the first season of The Sopranos. At first, I didn’t like it much. As the season unfolded, though, the characters became richer and the storyline deeper. I’m looking forward to season two.
- bought the third season of Family Guy and the new Jack Johnson CD. Thumbs up for both.
- watched Becoming Jane. It was boring.
- spent too much time reading blogs about Lost. What a time sucker!
- been extraordinarily busy at work. Tomorrow is our first photo shoot. Let the games begin.
It’s been a week since I last blogged. This week, my family suffered a virtually insurmountable loss. I’m not sure when I’ll be back to blogging regularly–hopefully within a week or two.
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Be blessed wherever you are.
