Up on the top floor of this historic house lives the old maestro. He’s quiet most of the day, usually just leaving the house once a week for a bag of groceries. He spends most of the day indoors, but will sit out on the balcony for some fresh air, quietly watching the fruit fall from the trees. Then each night, at the same time right after supper, I hear his soft shuffle towards his phonograph. Playing the same waltz song over and over again, I can hear his footsteps move in rhythm as he dances across the floor upstairs.
L Adviento loves to dance. This is her 100 Words a Day Creative Series. www.ladviento.com
I’ve been focusing on uphill stuff lately. Last weekend, I attended an uphill sprinting session with my training group. I was so excited to meet this challenge. I’m not very surefooted and I was pretty nervous about having anything to do with a mountain. Once I got there and got on the trail, I found my confidence and set out to follow my coach’s direction: sprint full speed four rounds about 20 meters, walking back and resting for about three minutes in between rounds. One round completed, I got set for #2, and off I went. Two steps off the mark, I heard and felt a startling and painful “Pop!” on my left calf, and then I pulled up lame. Since that day, I’ve had several people ask me why I needed to run uphill…and not just run, but sprint. Wasn’t walking up the incline just as good? I have answered emphatically “No!” each time. Here are two links that will explain why sprinting is an effective and efficient conditioning method:
Why Hill Sprints Are the Fastest Way of Getting Strong, Fast and Lean http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/staley14.htm
More Reasons that Sprinting is Good for You http://stuartbuck.blogspot.com/2008/03/more-reasons-that-sprinting-is-good-for.html
Now my uphill focus is on the challenge of healing. I have a minor injury. Still, it will take patience and rest to climb this hill. The recovery process must be run like an endurance event, not a sprint uphill to the top.
Ann Onymous writes to create a history of personal and family milestones, to think through challenges and to share parental wisdom with her kids.
A reminder to keep the pressure on, especially if you’re in the lead.
Adam lives in Phoenix, usually with two phones in his pocket: one smarter than the other. Read his blog here.
Covered by the canopy of leaves above, I rested the side of my face against the cool bark and slipped into nirvana as the world buzzed by below.
People ran to classes, jobs, deadlines and phone calls while my mind wandered from thought to thought – joyously and unrestrained – like a child choosing between ice cream flavors in an empty store.
I remembered how nervous I was when I first arrived at CU Boulder: away from home for the first time with such an appetite…to succeed. The cramped living arrangements at Bear Creek Dormitory and the challenges of a full course load weighed me down at first.
At one point during the first few weeks of the transition I even contemplated giving up and going back home. But then I found my thinking tree – where everything just let me be – and my outlook brightened up.
I visited my tree at least every week and it gave me the perfect release from the strains of college life.
Nothing better than climbing up and going invisible for a few hours to recharge the batteries after a long week of exams, double-shifts and all-night parties.
But one day it all came crashing down.
I was chilling out in the tree, picking leaves, minding my own business, when all of a sudden a group of students, police and cars circled me below; their sirens blasting, fingers pointing and cameras clicking.
I closed my eyes, ate some leaves and prayed they’d all just go away.
Then I felt a jolting stabbing pain…and blacked out.
I woke up about an hour ago and am just now able to collect my thoughts and shake off the cobwebs.
God knows how long I was out, how far away from campus they took me or what those bastards have done to my thinking tree.
Gotta get back…
Adam lives in Phoenix and poured one out for the falling bear. Read his blog here.
Thesis: a time-consuming process of interviews, transcriptions, research, writing, waiting, and re-writing. There is no shortage of stress, skipped meals, or sleep deprivation. It consists of meltdowns and motivation, made up of endless phone calls, email, meetings, email, and more email. You realize all those cliché phrases are true, God is in the details (so don’t leave formatting to the last minute) and that at the end of the day, “done is better than perfect.” The biggest takeaway is that no matter how many times you say it, it is quite never enough. So, once more can’t hurt: thank you.
L Adviento couldn’t be more thankful to those who helped her get through her thesis. This is her 100 Words a Day Creative Series. ladviento.com
Ah, the wonderment of how the mind works! Feeling frustrated that it is time for the Letter “T” and I have nothing, and knowing that it is really past time, as Our Great Leader has asked me for an early contribution to allow for the effects of travel on his posting duties, I could only think of “Tippecanoe and Tyler, too!” That’s a lot of “t’s”, but what, oh what will I do with that? Then I googled it and found the perfect segue into a discussion of presidential campaign songs! So, here, for your enjoyment and edification, are a few links on the Tipster and his sidekick, Ty, their song, and then some that fast forward you to our current presidential election’s musical whimsy.
“Tippecanoe and Tyler, too!” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XcDeRJ_Osc and http://www.presidentsusa.net/1840slogan.html.
The Preezy’s on Spotify http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/04/obama-spotify-2012_n_1478026.html
Tough to be a Republican if you’re running for office and like pop music http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/04/arts/music/romney-and-gingrich-pull-songs-after-complaints.html?pagewanted=all
Ann Onymous writes to create a history of personal and family milestones, to think through challenges and to share parental wisdom with her kids.
Soup is the overachiever of the culinary world. Like a family’s first-born child who sets the bar high for follow-on siblings, soup often leads a multi-course meal with a “see if you can beat this” attitude. On other occasions, soup will proclaim “I am. Therefore, I am a meal.” and demand to fill us up with one hearty serving.
Soup…
Is a food for all seasons and is found in all cultures
(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soup)Has curative power and a book named after it
(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_soup)Played a supporting role in an Academy Award-winning movie
(see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-emQAsGMeQ)Is synonymous for Disney’s Sylvester
(see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkhPuH8G5Hg)Flew into space
(see http://space.about.com/cs/videosapollo/v/ap11_dlclip03.htm)Even has not one, but two Seinfeld episodes revolving around it
(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soup_%28Seinfeld%29
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soup_Nazi)
Soup…it’s mmmm-mmmm good! (Thank you, Campbells!)
Ann Onymous writes to create a history of personal and family milestones, to think through challenges and to share parental wisdom with her kids.
Should you find yourself hungry while on Avenue Parmentier in Paris, France and unable to see golden arches anywhere in sight, I suppose you have no choice but to dine at Le Chateaubriand. You can start with the hot foie gras on a melting apple. If you can’t remember (or never knew) what foie gras is, it is, of course, goose liver. Can’t decide between the mushroom and the Porto sauce? Just keep it simple and go with the chicken. And if you must ask, do expect all forks to drop before you even finish saying, “Please pass the salt”.
L Adviento is never heavy-handed with seasoning. This is her 100 Words a Day Creative Series. ladviento.com
The dinner table fell silent when Jeb walked in the room.
He eyed the T-bone steaks, mashed potatoes, pineapple and fresh rolls, vacantly, ignoring the nervous family seated before him.
They had just taken their first bites of salad before the interruption.
Jeb’s seat had been loudly vacant for months, but the lack of a place setting didn’t deter the adolescent fiend.
The floorboards creaked when he sat down, filled a plate and poured himself a glass of water.
“Aren’t you going to clean up first?” his father said sarcastically, without looking up, seated at the table’s head.
Jeb, got up and left the room.
His mother whimpered, guilt-ridden. His father’s critical glare made it worse.
They argued over whose fault it was for leading the boy down the path to addiction.
It could have been so many things: his father’s executive position at Dial; his mother’s way of punishing him for saying swear words; his sister’s germaphobia.
All the while, Jeb pushed off in the adjacent laundry room, scooping handful after handful of detergent into his mouth, soaring higher and higher with every mouthful. He lapped up the bits he spilled and giggled a powder-stained grin as he sauntered back into the dining room to finish dinner.
By that point, the room had emptied.
Jeb brought the family-size box of Tide to the table and finished his feast.
Adam lives in Phoenix and saw something like this on a show like Intervention. Read his blog here.
Wake up
Iron clothes
Eat breakfast
Make lunch
Brush teeth
Take a shower
Get dressed
Go to work
Eat lunch
Back to work
Drive home
Un-dress
Watch TV
Eat dinner
More TV
Brush teeth
Go to bed
Wake up
Watch out
Adam lives in Phoenix on a grid. Read his blog here.
