The list goes on
There’s something quite satisfying in creating lists, perhaps because it helps you pull all of those fragments, those ‘note to selves’ & scribbles on napkins, into one place. Title your list and print it out and every bullet of intention becomes final – something you are committed to doing if for no better reason than to cross it off the list.
My almost-daily runs afford me the time and patience to massage problems. Even when I’m not consciously trying to come up with a solution, running puts things in perspective so worries get to breathe.
Because of running I: breathe better, eat healthier, get sick less … and write more. The obsessive tendencies of writing are also driving my running. When running, I’m thinking about running- conditioning, finishing marathons, seeing the world on foot- and putting this all into lists.
New-ish runners focused on building endurance ought to try making lists while running. It forces your mind into repetition. I find that my breathing syncs with my body best when my mind is preoccupied. Just don’t fool yourself into delusions of multi-tasking. At the end of the run, most of these lists are useless. The 25 Worst Books I ever read, for instance, did nothing for me.
My list of the moment is vague and open to suggestions. (Hoping to find some great runs mentioned in First Marathons):
Favorite Places To-Run
- Pacific North West (Haven’t been yet, but I want to run every inch of this region)
- Grand Canyon (Haven’t been yet, but I will. Oh yes)
- Jersey Shore (I’ve only ran Ocean City’s so far)
- Manhattan Waterfront (My favorite paths so far include 125th down the west side, along the southern tip, and up to the Brooklyn Bridge)
- Boston through Charles River Park (been here, but haven’t ran it yet)
Get out of my head, you
In less than a month I’m off into a void… losing sleep watching the clock. And it seems like everyone else in the world knows where they’re going.
Running is keeping me sane. It’s not getting me anywhere, but it’s keeping me sane. I’m burning off the nervous energy, which replenishes itself in full each morning. My distance has plateau-ed at about 15-20 miles/ week, for now. Once I get past the turbulence of going from full time employment to freelance, I plan to step up my training and actually follow a program. I’m not sure when it happened, but running is essential.
Pictures from Ocean City are on their way. You know how unreliable these digital cameras are- always late on delivery.
Robert Rauschenberg departs
Books, Inq. Started my day with this: Robert Rauschenberg died Monday night.
Now I’m staring at a pile of work, out the window, bright walls and fluorescent lights. Coffee is getting cold, but did you know Merce Cunningham once had all of the elements of a show designed independently- choreography, lights, & music. The first time his dancers moved to the lights and music was opening night. Dancers were leaping in the dark, off the wings, unable to see where they were landing!
If you’ve never seen this documentary of Cage and Cunningham’s collaborations and friendship, take tomorrow off and watch it on repeat.
I’m glad Rauschenberg lived and sad he’s gone. His work and approach to life will forever reference that of John Cage, Merce Cunningham and Jasper Johns- artists who came together through their work, unbound by medium and influencing generations to come me.
Who wants to take a field trip tomorrow? Let’s go to the MOMA and erase a sculpture or touch up one of his paintings, cover it with white paint.
More to say, but I’ll leave it to a white canvas to translate
On your mark-
Only a handful of weeks remain until my current contract is up, and I launch my freelance business.
Three years of freelancing prior to said contract taught me everything I can imagine about what not to do. The biggest lesson learned is that good work does not guarantee success. You have to define what ’sucess’ means to you and how that will develop. I’ve had to educate myself on contracts, sell myself, and not neglect ‘business’ maintenance.
Suffice it to say that I never imagined writing a business plan when studying theatre. I’m starting to wish I did. I wonder if theatre students were forced to figure out how to put on a show without losing money by writing a basic business plan, young-ish / new / independent theatre professionals would enter the industry empowered with the skills they need to make a show viable.
Until realizing that everything is ‘business’, I hated the mention of the word. To have a livelihood that enables you to pay the bills and afford a place to live requires one (or most) to partake in business. What I’m starting to love are the numbers. Once you wrap your head around the numbers, or at least get over your fear of them, creating, growing and maintaining a business becomes more and more a challenge of creativity and determination.
Working on a business plan forces you to ask questions every time the optimist’s voice sings ‘It’ll work out’. It won’t work out unless you work it. Apparently, all businesses are a risk – no matter how small. Freelance writing fortunately requires little overhead, but there are still many cracks to fall into as you go.
It’s going to be difficult, but I’m energized.
First Step – evaluate strengths and weaknesses
My first 5k
I ran my first 5k through Riverside park this morning.
Though misty near the Hudson river, it didn’t rain on us, for which I’m thankful. But I was way under-dressed for the chilly morning. We arrived at registration right on time, an hour before the race. It took all of one minute to give our names and get our numbers, leaving an hour to jump up and down and try to stay warm.
Who knew you can check a bag and coat at registration? I arrived in thin pants and a thin hoodie over my running top, holding my metro card and questioning how anyone does these races without bringing any stuff. Now you and I know their dirty check-in secret. Next time I’m checking two bags. And a coat.
Unfortunately, no pictures because none of my bums friends came to run along side me, documenting each stride, frame by frame. My running partner, RC, ran, too. But apparently he’s too uncoordinated to run and photograph me. I’ll have him work on that.
It feels silly to talk about running a 5k, especially as I’m reading First Marathons, edited by Gail Kislevitz, and just finishing Ben Cheever’s Strides. After reading about grueling, exhilarating, lengthy 26.2 mile marathons, 5ks go by fast. I couldn’t believe how quickly the whole 5k shibang I’ve been obsessing about was over.
The fastest man was 18+ minutes and fastest woman was 19+ minutes.
I had energy to burn after so I know I could have gone way faster. When the race started, about a hundred people charged and I thought ‘They’re gonna pay for it in the last mile when I pass them!’, pacing myself more for 6 miles instead of 3. The chargers never slowed…and I never passed them.
However, I ran my fastest 3.1 miles yet so I can only get fierce from here. Right?
The most difficult and unexpected aspect of running a 5k was pacing myself and breathing. I run with myself all the time so I just assumed I’d naturally find my race pace – slightly faster than my usual. But everyone else seemed to be going so much faster! While I wanted to keep up with that first wave of starting run charger, and I don’t think I could have, I didn’t even try because I was pacing. Pacing.
It wasn’t as hard as I though it would be to let people pass me. They just did.
Next time, my pretties. Next time, I’ll do a few training runs at faster than usual/ not quite race pace in order to get my breathing up to speed.
Everyone there was in great shape, and it was nice to be around a large number of runners who all woke up around 5am.There were many smiles before the miles and plenty after as the organizers quickly announced winners and prizes while we all inched away to the warmth of bus exhaust on our faces.
I can’t wait to do another 5k now that I get:
- When they say ‘GO’ You really ‘GO’ – with kick.
- 3 miles is not much so if you run regularly, you really can push yourself.
- There’s always going to be handfuls and handfuls of runners who can just run faster than you. It’s fun to be in the same race with them, and maybe one day I’ll be in a handful of someone else’s un-catchables.
- Find out if you can check bags and if so bring a camera and something warm.
- bananas and cashewnut butter are our best friends
Here’s the course we ran, south of the George Washington bridge, through Riverside Park. I did my best to
map it, but it’s about .02k short. Jersey’s on the left.:
Not gonna talk about
Sorry, but I can’t talk about the 5k I’m going to run tomorrow because it’s my first and if I talk about it I’ll jinx it and probably loose my Mizunos or my lucky laces. I don’t really have lucky laces.
I do have a lucky pin I use to carry around – not wear. Running’s not conducive to wearing this pin and I wouldn’t want to carry it because it’s in the funny shape of a rabbit. And I lost it a long time ago.
But now I’m paranoid, should I have a lucky something for running? Superstition is prevalent in sports. It hints to that magical element that brings mystique to the moment. Because no matter how hard you train or bad you want to either reach your goal or squash your opponent, there’s an unpredictable nature to sports. And here luck comes in to play.
They’ve already changed the course, which I ran last weekend. More people are registered than I thought would be. If it rains. If I don’t eat because I’m nervous and therefore don’t have any energy. If I do eat too much and can’t put one foot in front of the other. If someone steps on my feet on the subway. If my cat accidentally cuts my throat with his well intentioned claws. If I’m just unfocused or having a bad breathing day…
That’s what I get for not having a lucky something to divert pre-race misfortunes.
That I’m not concerned with my speed is helping. But if you see something easy like a lucky paper clip lying around, send it my way please.
Tell me – Do you have a lucky something?
RUNNING UPDATE:
42+ miles in April
Total for 2008 —180 / 500 miles ran
Theatre or another NYU dorm?
It’s a really hard choice.
Do I go to the village to see Theatre? Yes
Will I go to see NYU dorm and more law classrooms for NYU…NO
Will the village continue to be a place of culture amidst NYU’s increasing shadow?
More often than not I’m embarrassed to say I’m an alum of NYU. Because by attending university I contributed to the monster. Not to be too dramatic, but that’s how it feels. Particularly now, as their expansion plans for the next 20+ years are announced and the village looks like it will completely disappear beneath dorms and classrooms.
On the list of buildings to be gobbled up in the name of NYUs manifest destiny: The Provincetown Playhouse. I had my first reading here. Perhaps more of note, Eugene O’Neil staged his first plays here.
This blog by Leonard Jacobs articulates the situation better than I.
UPDATE:
Here’s part of what I wrote to President of NYU John Sexton, with this letter:
I graduated Tisch Dramatic Writing in 2003. I dug myself into a deep hole of debt to study playwrighting and theatre at NYU, and thanks in part to you, the spaces that existed just a few years ago for me to stage my work are Gone. History implies that the University will do as it pleases, continuing its expansion … I am disappointed in and ashamed of my alma mater. … the theatre community gives more to the city than NYU’s dorms and extra classrooms. It gives more to the city than it will ever get in return. Theatre is not about ROI. This community shines in your shadow, and you will not be able to replace what you will lose by tearing down the Provincetown Playhouse.
Come ride with me June 8th
The Tour de Queens is a 20 mile leisurely ride through Queens on June 8th. Registration is FREE and it’s organized by Transportation Alternatives.
The ride is limited to 500 cyclists so register now if you want to partake.
I signed up and can’t wait. The hardest part will be staying on the bike and refraining from stopping off at every single food stand. Queens is well endowed with tasty, authentic ethnic food from Indian and Thai to Greek, Italian… Many don’t realize that empanadas are premium cycling fuel.
Think you got what it takes to take a leisurely roll? 20 miles is more than I’ve ever gone on a bike, and at just 6.2 miles short of marathon distance, I’m curious to see how it feels. Let me know if you plan to ride.
Theatre guilt
I haven’t posted because a plague is upon me. It’s called ‘I am a very bad person’ plague, and it haunts you if you commit to seeing a show and don’t.
After all my jabber (see post below), I didn’t make a show on Friday. I stared at Cai Guo-Qiang’s gunpowder paintings (are they considered paintings?) and sculptures too long. We didn’t leave the Guggenheim until near closing Friday.
I’m going to go see When is a Clock this week. Not because playwright Matthew Freeman posted a comment on my blog – though for that he is awesome. I am going to see the show because after reading about the production and story a few weeks ago, I haven’t forgotten. I’m intrigued and the possibility of seeing a good show, when I haven’t seen one in so long, is irresistible.
Why do we choose the shows we do? It’s easier to pin point the negative. Deal breakers – reasons why I will not go to a show – include:
- Gimmicks – After I was kidnapped and forced to watch Heddatron at HERE, I will never be suckered into a theatre gimmick again, no matter how many robots are rolling across the stage. Can you tell I’m still bitter about the time wasted that fateful evening?
- Personal Connotations – a graduate of Tisch Dramatic writing and part of the NYC theatre community since 99, I pre-judge quite a bit based on who’s involved (but don’t we all regardless of industry?) But this is just as often the only reason I go to shows so that can’t be a negative.
So what makes a show irresistible? What would make you leave an exhibit early or even better – buy tickets in advance? Do good reviews seal the deal for you?
What if you had a show in two hours and your potential audience is uptown blankly staring a big paintings and suspended cars?
