Coming off a record breaking weekend. I managed to run 7.2km on Saturday. As a direct result, I feel like a 75-year old right now. It seems that any time I really push past my last PB for the first time, it takes a few days for my body to get itself back on track.
It's a simple truth that this summer has been, and will continue to be, incredible. I don't know that I've ever been as content as I am this year. We have such a great situation. Weekends... waking up on a Saturday morning, throwing on a coffee, heading out to the back yard to poke around, throw a ball around, watch Kar working in the garden..
I'm learning it from her. She's always had this thing about her. An ability to sit and watch, and look. Watch... cats messing around in the backyard. Watch... bugs crawling around in the dirt. Watch... the garden growing. There's so much to see. I sit and listen. I sit in the backyard and hear.. everything that's going on in the city. She looks.
Then, grabbing an apple, throwing on the sneaks, and hitting the road for a mid-day run. The city, just waking up, the heat not quite fully realized, but in that late morning, hard-blue sky, cool breeze, hot sun scenario. Jeff asking me questions as we run... me responding with nods and hand signals.. (must.. conserve.. energy...) Don't flex any muscles that aren't aiding in the process of running. Hands loose, thumbs pointing forward, resting on the index finger. Face relaxed. Conservation. Breathing: 3 steps... in through the nose... 3 steps... out through the mouth... 3 steps... Manage the heart rate.
The afternoon is a slow mixture of laundry folding, homemade soup simmering, guitar playing... the ball game is on in the background, but only as a visual. One of many party-mixes takes care of the day's audio. Tom Petty is starting to make himself at home.
Evening is all about options. Drinks on the patio? The Quinnie's patio is the gold-standard. Slightly sunken below the porch-height to give you that cozy, tucked-away feel, and under constant cover of a huge Oak tree. The neighborhood is quiet at night. The little kid across the street plays Wii in front of his huge upstairs window. Last night it was bowling. When it's calm, I can smoke a cigar and just watch the smoke. It goes nowhere... just hangs in wisps.
Or maybe we walk off the day's remaining energy. Our new format is a quick subway ride to Greektown. From there we can walk through the restaurant district and across the Don Valley into the city. There's too much to see. I take pictures with my eyes.
Or maybe it's "small budget, big heart" movie night, and then discussing what WE would do if...
Sometimes, I think I wouldn't do much different than what we're doing right now.
Life's good.
JB
Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
RunRunRun
Me and El Hefe (Jeff) looking soaked, sweaty, and pumped.
My buddy Jeff is into running.
You guys know that I've never been into running. I always hated it. It was hard, and it felt completely unrewarding.. like there was no reason for me to be out there doing such a preposterous thing anyway..
Anyway, a while back, Jeff asked me if I wanted to start running with him. So I got myself some cheap runners (all-stars don't cut it for this type of thing..) and hit the pavement. It was terrible. I came back feeling the same way I always had about it.
Then, about a week ago, Jeff got me to go again. I think the fact that it coincided with my feeling a bit restless.. ready to start summer-life.. had to help. So anyway, we did a 4km loop around our neighborhood. And something weird happened... I LOVED it! I wasn't good at it. In fact, I made it about 3km before I had to shut it down and walk the rest of the way. I guess sitting at a computer for a living will do that to a guy.
But there was something about it that just sucked me in. So I went out again on my own the next day, and pounded out the full 4km, and it felt fantastic. My breathing was better, my feet felt stronger, and while I was totally wasted when I got back, I felt like I was clearer, and more alive.
So I headed out again the next day.. two days ago. This time I managed 5Km. And oddly, I finished feeling like I could have done another one at least. The recovery was quick, and again... I just felt great.
So, naturally, I entered a race.
There's a running club that runs in the park behind our house. I say park... it's more like a trail that goes from our area and connects all the way down to the Don Valley, and from there, into downtown. The race today was a 5Km. It was pouring rain, but we were pretty pumped up about it.
I gotta say, it was fantastic. I ran a 26min, 05 seconds. (Jeffy banged out a new PB, something in the 22 range or something). I can't describe it. The park is beautiful. Dirt (mud) and asphalt trails winding through forest with a big creek winding through it. Being out there on your own is incredible. I'm all alone.. as a direct result of the fact that I'm running a 26 while everybody else is pounding out 22s with Jeff. Pounding along on my own, counting my breathing, listening to my steps, and the creek... looking around at everything, just enjoying it.. I loved it. And the idea of tackling a personal challenge is also so cool. I've had a lot of that with guitar... forcing myself to learn new tunes, climbing the hills of technicality... it's like that, except so much more physical. Crossing the line at the end, I'm a mess, full of sweat and rain and mud, and you just feel like you worked for it.
Anyway, more to come. Gonna keep things going over the summer. I'm still in the early stage, where the improvement comes quickly. I know it'll get tough quick. For now, I'm loving it.
Side note: immediately following the race, Jeff, Kim, Karen and I went to McDonalds. I ordered a Big Mac combo. With Coke. Life is a game of balance......
JB
Monday, June 15, 2009
Summer
Summer is fantastic. It's that simple. We've been loving weekends up here, just getting outside, walking around the city, etc.
A few weekends ago we planted the garden. Or... in reality, that should read, 'Karen and Kim planted the garden... Jeff and Jon played catch". It's coming along alright... we're just working on getting the watering schedule right. It's packed this year. Tomatoes, Cukes, Radishes, Carrots, Peas, Beans, Red Peppers, Sage, Oregano, Kale, Chives, Lettuce... seriously the makings of several glorious dinners. Here's Kar in her kingdom:
On top of the garden, there's been a lot of catch. Jeff and I are big ball fans, so at some point on most saturdays we're out in the back yard having a catch. Is there anything as relaxing and enjoyable as having a catch with a good friend? I mean, it's second-nature, so it's great for conversation. And every now and then, you just put a little extra mustard on a toss to keep the other guy honest.
Add in lots of walks. Our new thing is to subway down to Pape and then walk from there to the downtown core. You get to go through greektown and all the nice restaurants and patios, and then over the bridge at the Don Valley. It's really an incredible view, actually, to stand on the bridge and look over the valley and see the city rising up over the treetops.
So here's to a great summer coming up. Life's good.
JB
A few weekends ago we planted the garden. Or... in reality, that should read, 'Karen and Kim planted the garden... Jeff and Jon played catch". It's coming along alright... we're just working on getting the watering schedule right. It's packed this year. Tomatoes, Cukes, Radishes, Carrots, Peas, Beans, Red Peppers, Sage, Oregano, Kale, Chives, Lettuce... seriously the makings of several glorious dinners. Here's Kar in her kingdom:
On top of the garden, there's been a lot of catch. Jeff and I are big ball fans, so at some point on most saturdays we're out in the back yard having a catch. Is there anything as relaxing and enjoyable as having a catch with a good friend? I mean, it's second-nature, so it's great for conversation. And every now and then, you just put a little extra mustard on a toss to keep the other guy honest.
Add in lots of walks. Our new thing is to subway down to Pape and then walk from there to the downtown core. You get to go through greektown and all the nice restaurants and patios, and then over the bridge at the Don Valley. It's really an incredible view, actually, to stand on the bridge and look over the valley and see the city rising up over the treetops.
So here's to a great summer coming up. Life's good.
JB
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Visitor
We watched a great movie this weekend.
My idea of a great movie has changed a fair amount over time. So much of what once appealed to me seems to do the exact opposite now. I was talking to a buddy, Zak, about music, and he said that he has to feel as though the guy he's listening to has put himself out there.. left it all on the table. It's a matter of knowing that the guy has really poured himself into the work. I like that. If it didn't feel like it cost a part of your soul to create it, than maybe it doesn't have much soul in it at all.
I've been really appreciating great acting. It seems like the movies I've loved in the past while have been all about actors and directors at the top of their game. 'Frost/Nixon', 'Marley and Me' (ya, seriously). I just bought in, fully. That's the best thing about movies. They just transport you. Which is, I suppose, why I like a specific type of movie. You can always kindof tell when a movie is mostly just about itself, and it's never an experience that really takes me.
Anyway, the movie we watched was 'The Visitor'. The actor is Richard Jenkins. It's about a chance meeting he has with a couple that's living in the country illegally, trying to make ends meet. They've done due diligence. They followed the procedures set out by immigration when they arrived, and then they waited. By the time they heard back, it had been a few years, and they had settled in. They had dodged the bullet. They were here, they had jobs, they were home. Then they were told to go home. Only.. home was, at that point, in their minds, an undefined idea.
It strikes me particularly, maybe, because we live in a community that is made up, largely, of immigrants. People trying to create home, trying to escape bad situations, trying to find, or create, 'normal'. The movie has a beautiful way of pitting one struggle against another.
In a white, suburban life where financial stability is a foregone conclusion, work is easy to find, and there aren't many things standing between a person and what might be considered a comfortable life, there are other demons.
In what is truly an aggressively real scene, everything comes to a head, and Walter (Richard Jenkins) reacts to the frustration that so many of us discuss internally on a daily basis.. to unfairness, or injustice, or inequality... or just whatever it is that makes life what it is.
It's a very big movie in a very small package... sometimes it seems like they always come that way. The smaller it is.. the less glossy...
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/thevisitor/
Watch it if you can!
JB
My idea of a great movie has changed a fair amount over time. So much of what once appealed to me seems to do the exact opposite now. I was talking to a buddy, Zak, about music, and he said that he has to feel as though the guy he's listening to has put himself out there.. left it all on the table. It's a matter of knowing that the guy has really poured himself into the work. I like that. If it didn't feel like it cost a part of your soul to create it, than maybe it doesn't have much soul in it at all.
I've been really appreciating great acting. It seems like the movies I've loved in the past while have been all about actors and directors at the top of their game. 'Frost/Nixon', 'Marley and Me' (ya, seriously). I just bought in, fully. That's the best thing about movies. They just transport you. Which is, I suppose, why I like a specific type of movie. You can always kindof tell when a movie is mostly just about itself, and it's never an experience that really takes me.
Anyway, the movie we watched was 'The Visitor'. The actor is Richard Jenkins. It's about a chance meeting he has with a couple that's living in the country illegally, trying to make ends meet. They've done due diligence. They followed the procedures set out by immigration when they arrived, and then they waited. By the time they heard back, it had been a few years, and they had settled in. They had dodged the bullet. They were here, they had jobs, they were home. Then they were told to go home. Only.. home was, at that point, in their minds, an undefined idea.
It strikes me particularly, maybe, because we live in a community that is made up, largely, of immigrants. People trying to create home, trying to escape bad situations, trying to find, or create, 'normal'. The movie has a beautiful way of pitting one struggle against another.
In a white, suburban life where financial stability is a foregone conclusion, work is easy to find, and there aren't many things standing between a person and what might be considered a comfortable life, there are other demons.
In what is truly an aggressively real scene, everything comes to a head, and Walter (Richard Jenkins) reacts to the frustration that so many of us discuss internally on a daily basis.. to unfairness, or injustice, or inequality... or just whatever it is that makes life what it is.
It's a very big movie in a very small package... sometimes it seems like they always come that way. The smaller it is.. the less glossy...
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/thevisitor/
Watch it if you can!
JB
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