Ultrarunning, traveling, writing, and adventures from the RD of the Burning Man Ultramarathon.
30 November 2004
things that i thought i'd miss more
running
running is a HUGE part of my life. if i couldn't run again i would be extremely depressed. after running the marathon, i was almost sick of running but didn't bargain for having a tarsal tunnel entrapment. but it happened and i have taken a total of three weeks off from running (i ran on thanksgiving)
however it's so nice to be a normal person--not wake up two and a half or three hours before going to work so i can get a run in. on weekends, i sleep in, wake up and spend some time relaxing in bed, playing with luna and reading poetry (okay this sunday i spent it reading stupid articles on virtual library for my thesis). my doctor pronounced my foot cured, so now i can start first with fast walking, then with slow running. i have to make sure i warm up and get rid of my shoes once they start wearing (ugh, i need to go to the outlets more now, i love shopping, good thing). it'll be nice to start running, but to be honest, it was kinda nice not running for a while.
love
i do miss t but i'm glad he has a rad job, even if he has to live in MA (i know, poor thing!). but it is nice to have more space and be able to listen to air and letigre on repeat for 5 hours without any comments. i guess the best thing really is that i can focus on my thesis--boys are distractions, and i'm getting more work done with trev living in the middle of nowhere than i am with him in my house. i tell him, someday we'll live together, perhaps...
writing
i really miss writing. in fact, i'm going to a lecture on sun abt getting an agent, but i miss writing. however it's nice not to think of rejections for a while. this stupid thesisis taking up most of my brain power so...
summer
i don't mind fall/winter in the beginning so much b/c i love christmas. i LOVE running in a sports bra and shorts, but i really love the holiday season and trees and decorations and LIGHTS...i hate this consumerist crap and really, i'm not thinking of what i'm doing in five minutes, much less a holiday gift in 26 days.
last night's dream
someone was trying to come into my apartment and i was trying to keep them out. i kept trying to scream but i couldnt and then finally i could but none of my mean neighbors came. "he" (whoever he was, possibly a nonexistant ex-boyfriend? a lunatic def.) i kept screaming, sometimes it wasnt coming out, and he was franctically moving around my apartment. i began banging a shoe against the wall to try to muster up attention for my help but no one can. i was so frightened. i was trying to appease him but i'm not sure of the details now. i just hate being unable to scream in my dreams, so scared.
i really wish trev wasnt in ma b/c it really sucks to wake up from a nightmare and be alone. luna was there, but you know if anything happened she'd be the first to hide.
28 November 2004
thesis & what's outside my little nyc apt
btw in case you were wondering, i will prob put the interesting parts on my blog in sections after it's done. this is a horrible process. once i'm done with this, i'm going to head to the pencil factory and get myself something strong and relax. till then, my thoughts are filled with alternative libraries.
my computer is SLOW today!
it really is nice to not know what is happening in the world. i know that sounds totally ignorant but it is really overwhelming to have to follow every fucked up thing dubya is doing and how hated we are in the world. i'll start reading the news eventually, but for now, it's alternative libraries all the way.
27 November 2004
thesis, shemsis--or theses, feces
i lost my hammer and really should mop my floor and it's just you totally get caught up with things, you know?
here's a few things that happen when you write a paper you don't want to:
- you find yourself using words & phrases like "however" "according to" 'despite the undercurrents of"etc.
- you keep a nalgene bottle by your side to keep you hydrated--but to also give you many pee breaks--yay time away from the paper!
- take numerous photos of your cat and send them to people...and then they will call you so you will have to talk. and your cat is so darn cute you cant help taking photos of her! meow!
- clean out yr fridge. mop yr floor. prepare a soup or meal with many, many ingredients and whistle while you clean all of the dishes.
here's to procrastination! no, but for real, i'm going back to my thesis now.
21 November 2004
another day in paradise
do you ever wonder why you do this all? doesn't the idea, the very concept of money and working and all this stuff--isn't it so stupid?
i've been dutifully paying off my loan, waking up at the sound of the alarm, paying my bills on time, and i'm like, why am i doing all of this again?
and then: what did i get this mfa for?
okay it's a quarter-life crisis, i admit. i'm examining my life the way it is. i don't want to live as i am now.
so i have a plan.
(t makes fun of me for my plans but it helps me stay on focus, on target. some people could learn a little organization themselves!)
my plan is in the works, and i don't want to say it now lest i back down and look like an idiot. it doesnt involve anything dangerous (tho for my mother, me walking home from the train at 11:00 pm is dangerous) but involves a whole self-examination.
the plan would begin when i graduate, but right now is the real beginning.
i'm trying not to take all this shit seriously. like, "largest banks by assets"--do i care? no. stop pretending. library school i'm just going to get by.
i want to look more within. luna helps me. i know this sounds so stupid, but luna and, we think alike and act alike.
i think she also has her period today, not physically but emotionally.
till then, stay focused and pick yr plan. you don't have to live with only 10 vacation days a year. i sure as hell dont.
20 November 2004
it's not just okay to be gay, it's FABULOUS, esp if you're flaming!
i dont understand why these FUNdamentalists think they are going to spread the love of jesus and are they trying to recruit people? how horrible. i am reading paul monette's "becoming a man" and it's so disgusting. i mean, i grew up in a guido suburb. i didnt bring my boyfriend to my prom (he didn't dance, and we ended up breaking up shortly after)--i brought my best friend, who is gay. i wouldnt have it any other way. (i'm a fag hag to the extreme. i dont have any close straight men--i try to keep straight men far away b/c we're friends and then one night they're trying to get in my pants, telling me that my love and i are both air and i need some fire--no thanks. but anyway, i brought mike to the prom and we had SO much fun--i love that boy. and afterwards, someone said something abt my boyfriend--i said, "he's not my boyfriend, he's my best friend." oh. somehow it came out that he was gay...the reaction from the guidos (i'm italian but i went to a guido school, even the ones who were not italian) was appalling--saying how they wouldve kicked his ass had they known. why is it so threatening to them? why? it makes me want to move to a "red" state and talk about how much i love to eat pussy in the town greene--but sadly i'd prob get pushed out or killed. it is disgusting that these ignorant attitudes still exist.
i love fairies of all kinds.
i think there's also a lot of straight people--and in the closet people--who won't speak up when homophobic and antigay things are said. my suitemates always used "gay" to mean "stupid." gay, as far as i known, meant happy, and now, homosexual. anyway, my suitemates would say "that shirt is so gay," "that's so gay!" etc and i'd always so "is it homosexual?" they would laugh at me, but i always said it. they werent homophobic--but i still think we need to rethink the way we word things.
i'm so gay today! i was kidding my love all morning, and now we have a play to go to tonight. what a marvelously gay day!
that's a proper usage of gay.
back to the protestors. why were they protesting? it was at a high school. maybe there was a play with a gay character--lissy didnt give me a lot of details, i'm not really sure. i dont think she knew. all i know is that is hate, not love.
and religion supposedly is based on love.
go kiss your nearest gay/lesbian/bisexual/trans friend.
don't read 'the ornithologist's guide to life' by ann hood
it's a book of stories. in nearly every story, a woman in pregnant and has just been left or she just had a baby or a small child and her husband divorced her for a younger woman. or there's an older married couple and the wife has an affair. why cant anyone just love one person? i mean, monogamy sucks, that's what i wouldve said when i was 18, but now it's just annoying. i think jane did some poll of their readers and a really high percentage (i forgot what right now) had cheated on their spouse. i know everyone makes mistakes but cant the characters in our books be a little less slutty? i'm depressed now. i'm going to watch "lost in translation." wait no, i need to do my thesis.
but the stories are really good. some of them are cheesey, and i really did not like the first one. but many of them are terrific, really grabs you in and keeps you. altho i dont want to have kids or cheat on my love, it's still a good read.
for now...
18 November 2004
some good links
This link is Library Humor. V, you will love this. The library stories are so funny, and of a variety. I love the sexy librarian--because that's what I am.
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/ames/
I love Jonathan Ames. He is hilarious.
http://rainforest.care2.com/
If you click here daily in all the categories (Big Cats, Oceans, Violence, etc) your click will provide $ for a good cause.
17 November 2004
i love chocolate milk...a rant
save the world
i'm tryin to save the world. wanna help?
16 November 2004
My Bush is Better!
It's fluffy like a sweater.
My blood ain't blue, it's redder
The thought of Freedom makes me wetter.
My Bush smells sweeter
Not like his stinky peter.
A Puppet, a repeater
He'll never be my leader.
My Bush looks cuter.
Not like his prezzy pooter.
So full o' shit, needs a roter-rooter.
Fuck that stupid war recuiter!
This is a great cheer I love - attributed to the Phoenix Menstrual Menace!
so you know about the help of the old polish woman in greenpoint who helped me walk home from the pharmacy, but i have encountered some other angels too. i know you're gagging, andrew, but listen to me, okay? i have been worried about rush hour b/c you always don't get a seat. i've mostly been lucky, but i've had so many people just randomly offer to give me their seat in the past week, who just get up. and normally, this kind of stuff doesn't happen so often.
today some woman offered me her seat. i refused at first (she was 60). she said "no you need to relax." i told her "thanks" and accepted her offer. i told her i hurt my foot, and she said "see i knew you needed to sit. just think of me as your guardian angel."
15 November 2004
okay so i'm having a quarter-life crisis. i found this terrific website http://www.handbag.com/careers/careerprogression/quarterlifecrisis/ that assures me i am not alone.
three of the people i love most live across the country--WI, MA, CO. my job is okay but, HELLO, I'M A NAROPA GRADUATE AND DOING CORPORATE? i'm so burned out from too many years of school. i'm 25 and will have two graduate degrees BEFORE i'm 26. i think i need a break.
i want to give up my apt, put all my stuff in storage, find a good home for luna for a few months, and travel. go someplace different. go on a writing retreat and write and read and chill for a few months.
i'm having a quarterlife crisis.
when you are younger you think, "oh i'm going to be married by the time i'm 21 and have a fabulously successful career where i make a difference and get a great salary and i'll have some kids and..." now i'm not married, i have met a wonderful person but we don't even live in the same state, i hate children and never want kids--i'm thiinking about getting another cat....and i'm in debt and once i leave my job i will have a serious problem living alone..perhaps t will actually live with me again...
i have 15,000$ in loans, a cat who enjoys eating and driving me nuts, too much schoolwork to even think about, a super-humid refrigerator...okay so my life isn't really so bad but i'm like, what am i doing to change the world? i'd like to leave this country, and i might...but i probably won't. i need to stay here so i can make a difference HERE. like make sure roe v. wade isn't overturned and spread radical cheerleading across this country...
okay enough bitching. back to my cranky old life...
asthma
asthma sucks. i'm coughing like crazy. i hate all these smokers smoking in front of you. i want to say, "hey don't smoke right now to me, i have asthma and i can't breathe anyway." my personal favorite: those fools who smoke at the side of a track. i remember coughing during the 800 at one of the red tracks on LI b/c some guy had to smoke a cigar right next to my lane. grrrr. i think i was starting California Style or something.
the beauty of winter
anyway it's cold at my job and i'm realizing it's winter and i'm kinda liking the fact that we are all in this together...like all the cute hipster girls with their pink pompom hats slung low over their ears and the too-cool men in just a leather jacket (a warmer option than what they had on a week earlier) and mothers with too many kids and missing mittens...and the smell of hot apple cider through the farmer's market and soon we'll smell evergreen--damnit, i'm going to get an evergreen wreath this year so my bedroom will smell delicious...and with the first snows, how clean and beautiful nyc looks and i love how it sparkles...and when you're kissing the one you love and it's snowing and your mouths are so hot and you create your own pocket of warmth within the freezing city you call home...and when you're baking cookies with your mother and fighting with your sister and she pushes you down in the snow, keeps pushing you down, and really, if you weren't laughing hysterically you could probably stand up...and then it's january and then february and for kicks you go with your friend to a singles bar and he says to you "everyone here is leftovers" and he feels terrible so you take him out for a drink and he starts crying at the bar so you leave and you hold his hand,not knowing what to say, as your cell phone rings and it's your love but you don't answer it because that would be mean. and then your friend throws a snowball at a stop sign, and you remember your friend who is looking to be fixed up, and say, "wait, i know what will make you better."
and suddenly you're wearing a bikini on the beach, but hello, it's spring break.
you should too:
The Complacent Organizationpresents:An Abbreviated History of trueAmerica
http://www.complacent.org/trueamerica
14 November 2004
Intellectual Freedom Links:
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/statementspolicies.htm#basics
Freedom to Read Statement:
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/ftrstatement/freedomreadstatement.htm
ALA is so determined for unrestricted access to anyone at all public, academic and school libraries. Sure you get these conservative freaks who think we're interested in pushing porn to kids, but seriously, it's about being able to get whatever it is you want (that's legal) and having no one tell you NO.
“Intellectual Freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored. Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas.” — Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q & A
from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/relatedlinksa/Default5562.htm
Okay so I'm a nerdy librarian but whatever, it's a great job--I get to help people and make a difference. Right now researching Merrill Lynch and all that--I look at it as my "afterschool job" (only I'm working full-time). Whenever I leave, I am going to--YES I AM--find a job someplace else.
It's weird how most of the people in my life work in jobs where they are helping people. Even if it's creative, they're helping people. My parents are teachers, my sister and boyfriend are studying to be scientists (Lissy will save the bugs of the world!), my friends are in school or are librarians, library workers (Did I mention ALA and library world is a great way to meet friends), writers, revolutionaries, social workers, etc. We're gonna change the world, damnit! And I'll help everyone do the research to do it.
Any questions? Ask Radical Reference: www.radicalreference.info the raddest group of radical librarians!
i dont know abt you, but i'm not able to cook elaborate meals, other than on weekends. (today i had apple pancakes for breakfast, and i'm making pasta fagioli.) here's my quick fix.
almond banana yogurt dish
you have...
yogurt (plain or vanilla...i prefer brown cow cream top, yum!)
banana (i always have bananas and am forever eating brown ones b/c i dont eat them in time)
sliced almonds
slice the banana. pour some yogurt. throw on however many almonds you want. this is a great afternoon snack.
you can also substitute with another kind of fruit. i'd recommend if you were adding apples (yum) to add walnuts instead of almonds. i always keep a bunch of nuts in my house for quick protein.
lovely autumnal oatmeal
quaker oats
1 apple (whatever type you like)
almonds
brown sugar
milk
raisins (optional)
make oatmeal according to package. (do yrself a favor and get the old fashioned--it's SO much better.) when most of the water is gone but not all (like 3 minutes) add the apple. if you like raisins (i'm not a big raisin person in cereal) add the raisins now too. cook till it's done, then add brown sugar, walnuts, milk. stir and eat. so so good.
clean the cabinets soup
throw on some water--the more you add for the more people and more crap in your fridge. figure out the correct proportions with your handy bouillion cubes. (i always keep a bunch of these in my cabinet--they're so useful.) then, add celery, carrots, cauliflower, pasta, whatever else you want. eat.
crazy salad
mixed greens
tomatoes
green peppers (or whatever kind you like, i only like green)
cukes
zucchini
sprouts
basically whatever else you like to add to salads...and....
dried cranberries
grapes
sunflower seeds, pecans, whatever kind of nuts you like.
strawberries
whatever else
add a light (by light i mean not heavy not lowfat altho you can do that too) vinagrette. eat.
13 November 2004
anyway, i'm wearing yoga pants and a sports bra, hardly sexy but comfy. i'm in clothes, somewhat. it's a step up from the robe i'm usually wearing.
anyway my goal is to get across that sex is good, being sexy is very good, and being gay is wonderful! people just need to love themselves for who they are! you can't hate yourself because you don't belong in a little box...most people don't.
aright back to writing abt sexy gay libraries. i think i'm going to just write about sex now, to me, that's the best part of library school: that you can write abt sex all the time and have it relate to libraries. can an entomology student do that? well i guess related to beetles or whatever...
i'm fucking cranky. i have PMS forever this month. i'm listening to all this cutsey babydyke music and i realize, yup i am a librarian and live alone, except for my beautiful cat. i'm doing research on censorship, not finding the articles i need, but it is sick the way people are. like, check this out:
AUTHOR:
B.G.
TITLE:
Conn. Family-Diversity Program Stirs Spat
SOURCE:
American Libraries 33 no4 22, 24 Ap 2002
A program created to inspire a community dialogue in Groton, Connecticut, has erupted into a fight over what constitutes age-appropriate materials. The controversy revolves around a series of middle-school field trips to Groton Public Library to view the March 4-27 exhibit "In Our Family: Portraits of All Kinds of Families" because three of the 20 photos on display were of same-sex couples and their children. Concerned parents could deny permission for their child to participate.
let's freak out. omigod, people are gay. among my friends i dont think i know anyone who's straight. my "bf" might be but really, who is straight anymore? why identify as anything anyway? so you can check a little box? so people know who to hate? everything is making me sick right now.
but meanwhile my friend j, who i'm not sure if she checks any box, she def likes one sex that i know of, but we're going to a movie today and will gawk at the beautiful star, if nothing else.
i have a headache and just want to curl up in my bed. people like tom coburn exist. ugh i went to his website last night, reading aloud parts to v, and we both cringed. wtf?! and these religious freaks who want to ban harry potter b/c it might cause people to want to become wizards.
here's something from my term paper:
Books are banned for a variety of reasons, including:
§ Profanity
§ Sexuality
§ Violence and horror.
§ Religion and Witchcraft
§ Rebellion
§ Racism/sexism
§ Substance use/abuse
§ Suicide or Death
§ Crime
§ Depressing/Negative
§ Crude Behavior (Curry, 30-32).
wait i dont have pms. i mean, i just am in a cranky mood for a variety of reasons. you cannot live for someone else. i've learned that. v, we need to stick to this...we are living for us! speaking of which, let's become traveling librarians and LEAVE.
goddess i'm feeling all these different things right now. my apt is abt 100 degrees, just the way I like it. heh heh.
this is how i closed my term paper: While we can remove books from the library if we think it will protect children, we must remember: censoring a library creates a one-sided society, with material to the liking of some, not all. Perhaps if we cover children’s eyes we can protect them from locating books that are not to their parents’ liking. However, without an abundance of choices, children will find it even more difficult to make educated decisions when they become adults. Variety is necessary for any library, society, mind, and person, and without the full spectrum of choices, both people and creativity will suffer.
okay so i should get off my butt and start finding some freakin articles. research is hard on this topic. i'm mad right now. mad at a lot of things. i'm going to just withdraw, curl up with my kitty and read jonathan ames...yup i like books abt men who wear bras!
back to censorship. someone prob tried to ban ames, do yrself a favor and read a banned book today!
12 November 2004
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm
What to do if a book is challenged:
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/challengesupport/challengesupport.htm
and also,
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/challengesupport/dealing/Default1208.htm
Read a banned book today! Support these authors and the library's decision to have these books!
11 November 2004
Fifty feminist quotes, courtsey of the Chicago Women's Liberation Union:
http://www.cwluherstory.org/phpweb/mod.php?mod=userpage&page_id=2?menu=14&page_id=2
this quote is awesome:
I have a brain and a uterus, and I use both. - Former Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder
check em out:
Memo to Sore Losermen
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2004/11/11/kumbaya/index.html
But especially, read, Perverse Pleasure is the Best Revenge
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2004/11/11/healing/index.html
Oooh, this one is soooooooo funny. It's all about makin the read mad.
um, we have 4 more years of dubya. i cant deal with this.
i don't want to just give up but i feel like this is too depressing, too much. i'm going to focus on spreading cheerleading squads and making sure a woman's right to choose is preserved.
meanwhile i have friends talking of leaving the country and i am sick of all this "we can do it..." i feel low on energy. maybe it's that i just ran a marathon and to me that is so life-changing.
i am taking a break from politics. i'm not reading the papers right now (um, if you are working full-time and going to school full-time you wouldn't be either) and am taking a break from getting so absorbed. it's about me for a little while.
but when i'm ready...you betta watch out.
then in college, discovering social change for women. discovering who i was. discovering radical feminism. not shaving my legs. loving paddie kilrain. loving the butchess, bitch and animal, kaia. omigod kaia. liz's radio show. dancing like a fool, wearing the slutties clothes but snubbing all the boys. "sex doesn't exist in a vacuum." making signs with danielle before the women's studies conference of 97. "it's not like there are dominatrixes teaching classes here. oh yeah, um, well, um...safe sane & consensual s&m. sex toys. lesbians! omigod, fire the president! whatever."
all the more reason to attend suny-new paltz.
but seriously: those were the days. the wild days and now here i am, working at a corporate library, being dangerous by wearing sneakers, researching goldman sachs and reading about people who are worth $100 million when me, i'm wearing hand-me-downs and old clothes. i could wear something nicer, but...i want to be free.
thinking of applying for a writing retreat..i'd have to put my stuff in storage for a few months, stuff luna up in massachussets...wait no, trev is never there anyway. damn, my poor kitty. maybe she can come to the azores.
god, i just want to escape sometimes.
but i'm remembering wearing way too much lipstick and throwing glitter and running around and take back the night and outscreaming the screamers, and where am i? why did i do my mfa? i cannot forget.
don't worry i'm just listening to old cds, bringing me back in time, trying to get to my roots and realize where i've been and where i'm going...
bratmobile...
Cherry Bomb Lyrics
Can't stay at home, can't stay at schoolOld folks say, ya poor little foolDown the street I'm the girl next doorI'm the fox you've been waiting for Hello Daddy, hello MomI'm your ch ch ch ch ch cherry bombHello world I'm your wild girlI'm your ch ch ch ch ch cherry bombStone age love and strange sounds tooCome on baby let me get to youBad nights cause'n teenage bluesGet down ladies you've got nothing to lose Hello Daddy, hello MomI'm your ch ch ch ch ch cherry bombHello world I'm your wild girlI'm your ch ch ch ch ch cherry bombHello Daddy, hello MomI'm your ch ch ch ch ch cherry bombHello world I'm your wild girlI'm your ch ch ch ch ch cherry bombHey straight girl what's your styleYour daddy's dreams don't make you smileI'll give ya something to live forHave you, grab you 'til you're sore Hello Daddy, hello MomI'm your ch ch ch ch ch cherry bombHello world I'm your wild girlI'm your ch ch ch ch ch cherry bomb
but my calves...wow. since living in CO over a mile above sea level, the veins slowly rose to the surface. those perfect calves i had when i was 20---gone. oh well. the veins are showing my strength.
whenever i wear trouser socks, they cut off the circulation in my leg and create welts in my calves. they're too big now.
09 November 2004
written especially for andrew...andrew, not quite as funny as glp, but...
so i ran the nyc marathon on sun. it was a wonderful, amazing experience. yesterday i went to work, and had trouble climbing the stairs at work and on the subway. not just the soreness but i realized my foot was injured. i iced it, but it still hurt. i woke up this morning and my foot hurt. i called in sick and made an appointment at a podiatrist four blocks away from me. i spent the morning hobbling around my apartment when necessary, and making cds for venessa on my favorite dyke bands (drag king bar? yes!) and doing searches in lexisnexis for class.
so i go to this doctor and he takes photos of my foot (with some special machine, ultrasound perhaps) and presses my foot--you know, the "does this hurt? how about here? does it hurt here? over here?" YES GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY FOOT!
so then he tells me i have tarsal tunnel entrapment--posterior tibial nerve. basically a tarsal is trapped in a place where it shouldnt be. good thing i went b/c the pain and entrapment can travel up your foot.
he tells me he needs to give me a shot that will take the pain away, and i'm to take these pills. fine. i tell him i'm afraid of needles.
so he sticks in the needle right in my foot. now, i've had a ton of injuries (comes along with being a runner when you have feet as messed up as mine) and i've had a cortizone shot directly in the bone--but nothing has hurt as much as this. i was screaming, gripping the chair arms, closing my eyes..."ow, ow, ouch this hurts! FUCK! sorry, i didn't mean...omigod, this hurts so bad...are you done yet? please hurry up...i didn't mean to me. this hurts SO bad, please, hurry up, omigod, ow, are you done yet?" i have a low tolerance for needles. it hurt like crazy.
so then he xrays me, gives me a prescription, and sends me on my way. i go to the pharmacy, drop off my meds and tell the i need them quickly. i'm kind of limping, but i'm somewhat okay. i drop off my shirt at the cleaners and then come back. then it hits me.
i feel woozy. i can barely stand. rows of incense and cards in polish and natural soaps and toothpastes and flosses...my foot is killing me, this is all i can think about. i tell them, "please hurry up i'm in pain." i get my medicine and i make it halfway down the aisle. i am in too much pain to continue.
they get me some water and tell me to take my medicine and sit as long as i want. after a few minutes, i am not feeling better but get up. i tell them i'm okay. i walk outside.
i pause a few feet away. i am in so much fucking pain. i walk a few more feet and want to cry. where is someone to help me? even a hipster who last washed his hair when kerry was supposed to be president...no, no one. an older woman sees me. "you need help?"
i must look like a lunatic. "i went to the doctor...he gave me a shot...it hurts so bad, i've never felt pain like this ever...a shot in my foot, i can't walk...omigod, this hurts so badly..."
she makes me take her arm and she helps me down the block.
she stops a man and they converse with polish. she gestures that he should help lift me up. she is about sixty, older probably. he holds up a hand that is wrapped in a bandage.
"he's lazy," she tells me. "we're okay, let's find someone strong." hipsters pass, but they are not strong. "no, we need somene strong."
we cross kent. we walk a few feet and i am trying so hard not to cry. she finds some polish guy, he's big and he doesn't say a word to me in english. i hold myself up as they drag me down the block. he leaves us off after a block and we continue. two more blocks. she helps me walk home. she smells like cigarette. i have never felt pain like this.
i am almost crying as i hop past a bodega. she holds onto me.
a block from my house, she tells me she really should go. she says she'll help me home tho. i don't want to impose. i tell her to go. she looks doubtful. i press her, "go, i'm okay, only a block from home. please. you have helped me so much already. thank you, thank you so much." i give this woman a hug, this woman whose name i don't know, who is at least thirty-five years older than me, two inches shorter than me, this woman who speaks with a thick accent and smells strongly of cigarettes. i love her. i hug her. she tells me to be careful and rest. i hobble, hop, pause, take my time.
at home, i hop awkwardly to my second floor apartment (this is why i don't do walkups above the third floor). i hop into bed, clutching my foot. "omigod, this hurts, this hurts, this hurts." now i can cry. i read blackbook and talk on the phone with my parents. the pain abates after about 4 hours but i still have difficulty walking now.
so the people that say new york city is an angry, rude city...i have had too many experiences with guardian angels in this city to agree.
“Far worse than Seasonal Affect Disorder is having Bush as President. I think he’s more damaging than sun-muting winter skies. He’s like an eclipse. Every time I think of him in office I lose serotonin. I will dub this syndrome: Bush Affect Disorder. And it’s going to last, I’m afraid, for four years, and maybe eight. This is very, very BAD. No wonder he’s so into prescription drugs. I’m sure he’s into the pockets of the pharmaceutical companies. Antidepressant profits during his administration are going to skyrocket!”
08 November 2004
ow....
so i did it. i finished my first marathon. my time, well, i was hoping for better but considering:
- i hadn't done any speed workouts;
- i didn't eat much breakfast, which made me extremely lightheaded in mile 17;
- i went out WAY too fast;
- iot was hot
i did pretty damn good.
on the bus, i met these really awesome women, jill and abby, and hung out with them. a woman mistakenly told us as the top 3000 women we would be going off with the professional women at 935--thank god she was wrong! i would've been trampled by the men.
our bus driver got lost. he drove from battery park to the brooklyn battery park and back over the brooklyn bridge. um...what? then he started driving uptown. some woman gave him directions. luckily we had plenty of time.
abby, jill, another woman, and i stretched, tried to eat. i peed a hundred and nine times. i was so excited and nervous. my goal time of 4:40 would be hard... i could barely jog--there were 36,000 people in the park.
b/c we were the first 3,000 women, we started on the left side of the verrazano--the pro men were on the other side. pro women went off at 935, and sadly, deena kastor, my fave runner, dropped out.
it was beautiful. the entire park was filled with runners, as the bridge. i couldnt stop smiling for the first 15 miles.
i am in love with 4th avenue. there were bands, crowds of shouting people. the best part? slapping little kids' hands as i ran by.
i felt like a hero.
bedford ave was a bit quieter, esp the hassidic jewish section. they just stared. in the southside, somebody gave me some candy. i scooped up oranges, sucking candies. at every water stop, i gulped down water.
trevor said it was 68 degrees. i have never been so thirsty when running.
i was smiling like a fool. "you looked like the happiest person in the race," rachelle said. i was, especially when i saw rachelle's sign. and my mom's sign, and trevor's. the oranges my mom gave me in mile 7, and mile 17, saved me.
ed met me before the 59th st bridge. i felt so ill and dizzy. i almost fell. ed kept me going. ed, i love you. you are the best friend. supposed to drop out at 125th st, the boy ran with me till we were in central park.
at mile 17, great to see my family. i fell shortly after, dizzy. soon, i indulged in goo. i am in love with strawberry banana power gel. soooooooo good. saved me.
gatorade upsets my tummy. tried to take a little.
whoever gave me the hard sucking candy in the bronx, and the gummy bears on 5th avenue, i love you.
i love the water station attendees. i have never been so thirsty. i love my nalgene.
the dizzy period of miles 16-18 were the worst (except when i saw my parents, trish and trev), and the bronx was hard. boogydown bronx, you killed me.
i didn't think the hills were so evil. somebody smack me. nyc is supposed to be a hard course, but i just thought the distance was hard.
on 5th avenue, i almost choked on the aforementioned gummy bear, and fed off the crowd's energy. into central park, i began picking off people. it was so crowded. i ran fast, faster. a smile was once again glued on my face. as i finished, i was so emotional.
then the sobs make you walk a mile to leave. i had my medal, and my little foil wrap to keep me warm. i kept swaying and falling on top of other people.
i got my bag from the ups truck and called my parents. i met them outside, and saw trev with his sign, my mom with her hot pink glitter sign and balloons, trish with her hugs, and met tired ed. i was so happy and so proud. sure i wish i ran faster but the thing abt running is you never know how it will go. i was proud of being strong, and feeling great for most of it. running would be a bad sport to bet on.
my parents took trev and i out to sea, and when i came home i took a nap. my mom woke me up, i couldn't fall asleep so i ate chocolate, straightened up the house while hobbling, and then fell back asleep.
trev gave me a sports massage, during which i screamed. my right foot, on the inner side towards the ankle, is swollen and hurting.
still i'm so happy. i can't believe i did it.
so crista, yes, i'll do a marathon with you. i think we should do a spectator-intensive marathon. god, i can't believe i had a smile for most of my race.
thanks so much everyone for everything. i love you all, you volunteers and friends and family and loves. now i need to recover.
what i learned
- run more speed workouts
- go out slower
- carry goo
- carry gummy bears and hard candies
- eat breakfast before the race
shoutouts to ed for running 8 miles with me, illegally; mom & dad for the oranges; trish for helping my parents from getting lost; trev for the goo handoff; cathleen for the best cheerer; rachelle for making greenpoint a happy place; 4th avenue for rocking so hard; and everybody else who called me, cared, sent flowers, and love--thank you.
marathon linkage:
complete race results via the official site of the ing nyc marathon http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/raceday/index.php
ny times article abt the marathon: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/08/sports/08women.html?oref=login
want to know how a specific participant or group ran? try this! http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/training/simulation.html
ramaala's victory http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/08/sports/sportsspecial/08men.html
results: look up yr favorite athlete, or friend, or me! http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/results/results.html
complete marathon coverage from the NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/sports/sportsspecial/index.html
04 November 2004
IS IT FASCISM?
a checklist
- hitler/germany
- mussolini/italy
- franco/spain
- suharto/indonesia
- pinochet/chile
common to all of these regimes are which of the following conditions?
- powerful and continuing nationalism
- disdain for the recognition of human rights
- identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause
- supremacy of the military
- rampant sexism
- controlled mass media
- obsession with national security
- religion and government are intertwined
- corporate power is protected
- labor power is suppressed
- disdain for intellectuals and the arts
- obsession with crime and punishment
- rampant cronyism and corruption
- fraudulent elections
Okay America, what then is this?
- PROJECT FOR THE NEW AMERICAN CENTURY
It’s Okay to Be Gay!
A Reading List
- Two Teenagers in Twenty: Writings by Gay and Lesbian Youth edited by Ann Heron (YA Nonfiction—305.9H) Forty-three teens from all over the country talk about how being gay has affected their lives. Each teen’s experiences differ, and each reader will find themselves identifying with different essays. Gay and lesbian teens will realize that they are not alone.
- The National Youth Advocacy Coalition http://www.nyacyouth.org/index.html The National Youth Advocacy Coalition’s website provides lots of information for those questioning their sexuality. It provides lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and queer youth with links to different websites, hotlines, support groups, health centers, legal resources, school resources, as well as a place where teens can get involved in the policies and laws that affect LGBTQ people.
- Young Gay America http://www.younggayamerica.com/index.shtml This interactive and colorful website is for LGBTQ teens—teens can post articles, find honest information about sex, ask for advice and read others’ questions and answers, and check out other links, personals, forums and interviews with LGBTQ youth.
- GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens by Kelly Huegel (YA Nonfiction—306.76H) GLBTQ is an excellent book written for teens who are unsure of their sexuality, wanting to come out, or wanting to learn more about GLBTQ lifestyle. The casual and hip language makes this book interesting and informative, and it’s designed for browsing, so you don’t need to read the whole thing—just pick whatever section interests you. There are also tons of resources in the back—names of other books, websites, hotlines, support groups, etc.
- Am I Blue?: Coming Out from the Silence by Marion Dane Bauer (YA Fiction—Bauer) Am I Blue is the first fiction anthology for Young Adults on gay and lesbian teens coming out. Francesca Lia Block, Nancy Garden, Lois Lowry, C.S. Alder, and other gay and non-gay authors have written realistic stories about teens who realize that they are gay.
- Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden (YA Fiction—Garden) Annie on My Mind is a novel dealing with many of the problems that two lesbian teens encounter, but also deals with their romance. Annie and Liza come from two different backgrounds but become close and inseparable friends, and eventually discover their romantic feelings towards each other. Trouble follows when their love is discovered.
- Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez (YA Fiction—Sanchez) From coming out to falling in love to worries about HIV to homophobia, this book will speak to teens about many of the issues impacting them and the people in their lives. If you like Rainbow Boys, you can follow Nelson, Kyle, and Jason into the sequel, Rainbow High.
- Beautiful Thing (DVD and VHS—“Beautiful Thing”) This coming out movie focuses on two high school boys, Jamie and Ste. Jamie faces bullies and homophobia in school, and Ste escapes from his abusive and unhappy house into Jamie’s arms, while both slowly coming to terms with their sexuality. A romance, without being gushy.
- Lesbian Favorites: Women Like Us—Various Artists (YA CD—Various Artists) Whether you like pop, rock, folk, or any of the other kinds of music on here—from k.d. lang to Ani DiFranco to Dar Williams to Jill Sobule, this variety album is full of lesbian-friendly songs. If anything, this will give listeners a taste of different musicians to check out.
- Talking in the Dark: A Poetry Memoir by Billy Merrell (YA Nonfiction—811M) This book of poems about Billy Merrell’s life deals with his parents’ divorce, a friend dying of AIDS, and his own acceptance of his homosexuality. For the reader interested in poetry, as well as those is interested in other people’s experiences—this is for you.
Note: LGBTQ stands for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered Queer, and GLBTQ stands for Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgendered Queer.
or like this: An Industry in India Cheers Bush's Victory http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/04/business/worldbusiness/04outsource.html I work for a company constantly interested in outsourcing and the odds are quite high my job will be eliminated. i am just so freakin pissed.
what went wrong?
so anarchists, please, shut up. i dont want to hear how kerry wasnt that great--duh, but you know what, he was very very good and was going to truly save this country.
i am so disgusted that so many people would vote for dubya for xmas.
lissy, i say for xmas we get grandma subscriptions to mother jones and the nation. heh.
this attitude of "kerry wasnt that great" is just as bad as "i told you so" or "nanny-nanny-poo-poo."
hey we are the cheerleaders, you know what we got?
what do we got?
we've got a message that's hotter than hot!
how hot is hot?
we're bi and gay and possibly straight!
uh-huh, uh-huh!
fuck george bush and his "compassionate" christian hate!
03 November 2004
i am just sick.
trev, about australia?
veness, about france/england/anywhere?
lissy, about lesbos? (i know you want to go there!)
douglas coupland, i'm moving in with you in vancouver.
grandma, remember christmas? well it's cancelled because you voted for bush.
now i'm remembering the chants during the no-rnc united for peace & justice march we did in august. i felt halfway guilty, not chanting half the time b/c i knew i was voting for kerry, but anyway...
not bush, not kerry, what we need's a revolutionary!
for now i am going to have to recycle all these antibush cheers. for starters, i really want to learn the end of "my bush is better, it's fuzzy like a sweater!"
i'm depressed and don't feel like doing anything other than crying.
you can bet i'm going to dc come jan to protest at the inauguration. if you want to, join up for the radical cheer bloc.
i woke up at 630 am, ran to the polls and voted. long lines for 640 am! i ran, came home and got ready, and pulled on my VOTE skirt, my RUN AGAINST BUSH shirt, grabbed my pompoms, and left. i went to union square and all these buses were full. luckily all of the cheerleaders were able to hop onto bus #7. MANY people did not get on the bus--i'd estimate at least 200, probably more.
finally we got to a suburb of philly, by bryn mawr (sp?). we grabbed some snickers bars for energy and hopped on the R5 to suburban station. on the train and in the station, we asked everyone if they voted yet, and reminded people to vote.
in philly, we ate, then began reminding people to vote, asking them if they had voted yet. we cheered "dub" "supersonic" "no c.a.r.b.s" "cheney is an oil whore" "we're sexy we're cute democrat to boot" etc. a lot of fun. whenenver we were too tired we'd do "to the left! to the left! to the left--not to the right!" or "drop bush not bombs clapclapclapclapclapclap!"
mostly people cheered at us and loved us. how can you not?
we encountered two groups of bush supporters. the second just stood there and didn't do anything. (we were also way too loud!yay!) the first group freaked out--there were kerry people coming at them from two directions, plus up screaming "george bush, you motherfucker!" they ran away. YAY!
it was SUCH good energy in philly--very democratic. cabbies, stores, buildings, statues, dogs, baby carriages, people, cars--all with kerry/edwards signs in the windows. really great. went to cheer by the polls but not too many people by the polls we were at.
so many street corners had tons of people holding kerry/edwards signs and "HONK IF YOU VOTE FOR KERRY/EDWARDS"--you'd better believe there were a ton of people honking. it was like a huge party.
i am so depressed. we have to recycle these cheers another 4 yrs. and suffer. and the poor will go hungry, and bush will run his dictatorship. i am having trouble focusing.
from my boyfriend's mother who lives in fla:
I think we should take all the thinking people in this country - those who believe in civil rights, the right of sexual preference and to marry whomever the heck they want, those who believe in freedom from as well as freedom of religion, those who believe in a woman's right over her own body, of a citizen's right to free speech, etc. etc. - gather them up - move them all to the northeast and then secede from this country. It has been taken over by morons.
In a few years, when they cannot walk down a street without being asked for their papers, when they cannot take out a library book without having their retinas scanned, when their children are drafted and killed in senseless wars, they'll want to come and live in our country.
I am so disappointed in America. The American people, unfortunately, will get what they deserve.
- love
- family
- friends
- being in love
- running
- writing
- chocolate
- feminism
- eating good food
- luna
- starting a new journal
- finishing a story
- holidays
- lipgloss
- hugs
- buddhist bks (sometime)
- stretching
- yoga
- summertime
- getting mail
right now i'm so angry. i cant believe my grandma voted for a president who believes in HATE. grandma betty, i love you but i'm very angry. i won't be talking with you for a while, so we don't get into a fight.