to: charlie
from: laurie
re: puddles they are tricky like that
Running never takes away more than it gives back. Thank you Nike – because if I hadn’t read that billboard in some part of LA I may have stopped running last Tuesday morning.
6:02 – seriously is that my alarm
6:03 – unless I have moved a third roommate into my studio who shares a love for R.E.O Speedwagon as a wake up call – “I wanna keep on loving you”… that is indeed my alarm
6:08 – raining, not enough to go back inside – but enough to make me dream of my shower when this punishment is over
6:15 – 25th and 2nd, a herd of huskies round the corner by my familiar fruit stand – I swear everyday that I will bring money to buy a banana from that sweet man, anyway I digress… these huskies have in effect taken over my imagination.
6:22 – 25th and the FD, by the time I get to the water I have named my husky – Cullen, and imagined bounding through feet of fresh powder and or Frisbee on the beach, and or having such a beautiful dog to snuggle up with in heavenly bed in my NYC apartment.
6:30 – it crosses my mind that my new running playlist is a little Hanson heavy
6:32 – I am okay with it
6:35 – or a little tween heavy for that matter
6:37 – I am also okay with that
6:40 – puddles
6:41 – bigger puddles – blocking the entire path to the Williamsburg Bridge… I see the pretty blond running Barbie in front of me turn around. Out of spite I will not be defeated by this puddle… you need to know how big this puddle is – it really is more of a small pond or lake in the middle of my otherwise barren route.
6:42 – wonder if this would be easier with a husky
6:43 – made it 60% across running on the brick sidewalk – that turns to puddle. There is only one choice now, I lift myself onto the guardrail of the FDR Drive, (still on the park side don’t worry) and inch my way down the fence past the puddle.
6:44 – wonder if anyone has called the police thinking I am trying to throw myself in front of traffic
6:45 – misjudge the depth of the water – think I am in the clear and in fact submerge my entire foot in muck
6:46 – wonder if this would have been less painful with a husky
6:55 – return to the puddle after looping to the bridge. This time I stop. I lovely gentleman from Parks and Recreation is wading into the middle of the puddle, appropriately dressed in wellies I might add and has removed the grate from one of the drains.
6:56 – the puddle is draining
6:58 – the puddle is not an actual puddle
7:00 – the puddle is not more
7:01 – I head for home with a spring in my step
7:06 – realize that due to lack of flashing lights no one has called the police in an attempt to thwart my would be suicide attempt on the guardrail.
7:08 – try to make sense of what the puddle means – does it mean that life would be better with huskies? Or that problems, like puddles are here one minute and gone another? (they are tricky like that) Or that life comes with a little rain? Or does it simply mean that everything in life is relative… how badly I wanted to get the bridge out weighted by concerns for getting wet and doing some highway off roading… since when did running 4.5 miles every am becomes a necessity? Wasn’t there a version of me not too many mornings ago that would have snoozed it till 7 when the alarm went off? Was I becoming my Dad?
7:16 – these thoughts have taken me all the way to the shower, and I remember what I was thinking about an hour ago – how much I would deserve these 5 minutes under the scalding hot water.
8:15 – the apocalypse rolls into town and NYC is hit with a thunderstorm the likes of which would make Jim Cantore’s hair stand on end.
8:17 – I think to myself “I am glad I got my run in before all of this”
8:20 – I realize this running thing is not so bad – I also remember that huskies make great jogging companions, I open up eclipse on a crowded M34 – raindrops fall steadily only my foot – through the cracks in the roof off the bus – somehow I am not phased as I open up an email from Charlie.
8:33 – I reply about my love of huskies, and my gratitude for her presence in my life.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
some things will always fit
to: charlie
from: laurie
re: 389 days later
1. Love many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe: this was one of my grandmother’s favorite sayings, and I have to say in this first year out of school I have found it be true. In college there was an illusion, perhaps delusion that it the last two months of senior year would be what the rest of your life would be like. That you and your 15+ closest friends would stay in constant touch and talk about how much you loved your school and all the things you missed. You would get together for very adult gatherings like weddings and destination weekends that would rival any casino night or boat cruise. I was in – what might be described as a depression/detox for the first few weeks that I was home from college. Convinced that things would never be this good again and that I may have just flew threw the best years of my life. NOT SO… this first year out of school has been just as rewarding as the previous four. I am paddling my own canoe, with a few close friends, old and new along for the ride. I have learned more about who I am, as cheesy as that sounds – and more importantly how I deal with ever evolving relationships.
2. Your job is what you do not who you are: in this economy I am lucky to have a job – HOWEVER – I have had to learn to challenge myself outside my daily activities. Such as, going back to school – even if it means I spent half the year without a lazy Sunday – it was worth it! Taking time to travel, see friends and family and most of all explore beyond the island of Manhattan. These are the experiences that define me – not where I am 9-5.
3. Vampires have more fun: you would think that I would be embarrassed to say that after spending the better part of three years tearing through every great in Victorian literature I would be embarrassed to admit that the only books I have really enjoyed since college are about vampires. Now I could chalk that up to my recent inability to focus on anything with a comprehension level above an episode of 90210 or Dawson’s. Or I could simply admit that I enjoy a little escapism, a little fantasy in my otherwise ordinary life. Harry got me though high school and elves got me though college so why shouldn’t the Cullens get me though these even more formidable years?
4. Van the Man: I have never underestimated the value of music, however, I don’t think I have ever been so dependent on it. I wake up to it, I commute to it, I run to it, and chances are if I am quiet for any period of time I am singing it in my head. Never one to say, “Dave Matthews is my favorite band ever” or “I swear I loved Coldplay before XY” I have decided to embrace a classic. Some who could be indisputably loved by all – Van Morrison. Stepping Out Queen was not only the anthem to my first year in the city, it changed me, admittedly extreme – but have you heard the song?!?
In conclusion, I have learned – never underestimate the value of a best friend, a paying job, a devastating book, and truly great song.
from: laurie
re: 389 days later
1. Love many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe: this was one of my grandmother’s favorite sayings, and I have to say in this first year out of school I have found it be true. In college there was an illusion, perhaps delusion that it the last two months of senior year would be what the rest of your life would be like. That you and your 15+ closest friends would stay in constant touch and talk about how much you loved your school and all the things you missed. You would get together for very adult gatherings like weddings and destination weekends that would rival any casino night or boat cruise. I was in – what might be described as a depression/detox for the first few weeks that I was home from college. Convinced that things would never be this good again and that I may have just flew threw the best years of my life. NOT SO… this first year out of school has been just as rewarding as the previous four. I am paddling my own canoe, with a few close friends, old and new along for the ride. I have learned more about who I am, as cheesy as that sounds – and more importantly how I deal with ever evolving relationships.
2. Your job is what you do not who you are: in this economy I am lucky to have a job – HOWEVER – I have had to learn to challenge myself outside my daily activities. Such as, going back to school – even if it means I spent half the year without a lazy Sunday – it was worth it! Taking time to travel, see friends and family and most of all explore beyond the island of Manhattan. These are the experiences that define me – not where I am 9-5.
3. Vampires have more fun: you would think that I would be embarrassed to say that after spending the better part of three years tearing through every great in Victorian literature I would be embarrassed to admit that the only books I have really enjoyed since college are about vampires. Now I could chalk that up to my recent inability to focus on anything with a comprehension level above an episode of 90210 or Dawson’s. Or I could simply admit that I enjoy a little escapism, a little fantasy in my otherwise ordinary life. Harry got me though high school and elves got me though college so why shouldn’t the Cullens get me though these even more formidable years?
4. Van the Man: I have never underestimated the value of music, however, I don’t think I have ever been so dependent on it. I wake up to it, I commute to it, I run to it, and chances are if I am quiet for any period of time I am singing it in my head. Never one to say, “Dave Matthews is my favorite band ever” or “I swear I loved Coldplay before XY” I have decided to embrace a classic. Some who could be indisputably loved by all – Van Morrison. Stepping Out Queen was not only the anthem to my first year in the city, it changed me, admittedly extreme – but have you heard the song?!?
In conclusion, I have learned – never underestimate the value of a best friend, a paying job, a devastating book, and truly great song.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)