Shipwrecked

Shipwrecked.

A metaphor for life? Sometimes, in a way.

Mishka Shubaly's short ebook, Shipwrecked, is hilarious, insightful, a little worrisome, and filled with empathy.

Shubaly is in a state of despair. His best friend died of a heroin overdose, while he was indulging in drinking too much. Blaming himself in a rather difficult situation, he decides to deal with the situation by drinking more and serving as a low-level member of a sailing trip. He messes up (He's not the strongest member of the crew.), almost dies (It's the 'Year of the Shark,'), continues to inebriate himself - but ultimately redeems himself.

I had just graduated college, my friend Jacob had shot his final speedball and died on his kitchen floor, and my drinking was spiraling out of control. The Year of The Shark struck me perversely as a good time to bail on a promising internship and abandon New York to go sailing in the Caribbean.

On the boat, Shubaly finds distancing himself from his problems helps - but ultimately, they're still there. A marlin's life that Subaly has caught is saved when it reminds him of Jacob. You know how when someone dies, every little thing makes you think of them? I remember bawling in the MoMA a month or so after my grandfather died because I saw a little old man using a cane. My grandfather used a cane towards the end. Anyway, this is what Mishka is going through. His way of processing the death is to work as hard as he can, drink as hard as he can, and distance himself.

  After the boat runs aground, Mishka convinces the captain (whose responsibility it should be) that he should go for help. He argues he's younger, stronger, doesn't have Parkinson's (the captain does) or a family, but most memorable - that he's expendable.

Realizing that you're expendable is a mature thing to realize. Most people think they're so important, that they're going to live forever, that their invincible. They deny their very mortality, the very fact that they don't impact the universe very much, the very fact that they're just not that important. This is a huge turning point for Mishka.

Survival is what comes next...one might argue, "It's merely a day," and as I'm currently reading Endurance about Shackleton's journey across Antarctica, and that is months, our world, our society is all about the now, the instant. For example, not having my phone on me for mere hours - chaos. We need everything now. So I think this is HUGE.


Shubaly is an ultrarunner today - you can see this as his first ultra. And when you think about the time this is - around 30 miles - you realize, that's how an ultra is. And so many things happen. And it feels like an eternity has passed even when it's only hours.


And he's funny...I love this section:

"I had changed into cut-offs the night before when my pants got soaked, but these were still damp and chafing, so I took them off and put them in my backpack to cushion me from the gallon of water digging into my back. My boxers were damp too, and chafed the insides of my thighs, so I hiked them up and rolled the waistband over. My running shoes had gotten soaked getting off the boat, so I had tied the laces together and hung them over my shoulder to dry. I had salvaged a dry pair of white cotton socks from the boat, which I wore under a pair of hopelessly nerdy sandals my mom’s boyfriend had bought for me. My shirt was a white long-sleeve button down, to protect me from the sun. I realized that I had to make it to town because if they found my body here, dressed like this, they would think I was just the biggest dork."

 Great changes happen, but he ultimately remains the same - because you are always the same inside.


I loved the start, and especially the ending.


Highly recommended!!!


Get it here and read it on your phone, eReader, or computer. This short read (around 30 pages) is only $1.99!

Generation A

Generation A by Douglas Coupland


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A+ Another stellar work of Coupland's. Although it's not out in the U.S. for another two months, I paid $40 for a copy to be shipped to me from Canada - and SO worth it. A brilliant story full of shorter stories and poignant one-liners. Reminds me of Generation X in a way (the story-telling element). The time is sometime in the near-future, and bees don't exist anymore...but suddenly, five people in five different countries are all stung by bees. This is their story as they create stories, try to make sense of their situation, and the world. I am going to immediately read it again.

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running is my true love

i'm in absolute love with rachel toor's new book, personal record: a love affair with running. here are a few of sections that really spoke to me:

How many times have I met a guy who offered nothing in terms of mate potential only to hear his PRs and think, My, you're rather attractive. I find out that someone who seemed stupid, old, and short can still run a 2:30 marathon? Come on over, big boy. You broke four minutes when you were in college? You're cute. Some will say you're only as good as your last race. I don't agree. I'll never run a 2:30 marathon or a 3:59 mile. I am attracted to people who can or did.

I love what Toor is saying here...I totally know what she's saying. But while I'm not necessarily evaluating potential mates, I'm impressed. Like when I met Dan...wow, a fast runner! Wooohooo, taking down 22 runners!

It's possible that Khalid Khannouchi, Don Kardong, and Ian Torrence are not attractive men. I wouldn't know. They look darned good to me. Last summer I met a guy I wouldn't have talked to in a bar. Then I found out he was trying to break 2:30 at the St. George Marathon. What first seemed like skeletal geekiness was transformed int, well, you know. Speed goggles.

Yes, fast times are impressive, and somehow, make the runner seem cooler.

In regards to a first ultra...
But, but, but, I said. I've never run that far. I don't know if I can do it. It's up a mountain and back down. It's the first year of the race--things always go wrong the first year. I could get lost. I often get lost. It's desolate and deserted up there. There are no previous times to try to gauge how long it will take. It could be wet. It could be cold. (I am always cold.) I will fall. (I always fall.) There might not be enough -- or the right kind of -- food at the aid stations. I haven't trained enough. I'm scared.

She has all my doubts.

The best way to get quick and easy calories during a race is to eat candy or cookies. Race organizers know this, and ultras all over the country often have aid-station buffets that are McDonald's -like in their uniformity--M&Ms, Chips Ahoy, Oreos, Fig Newtons, and gummy bears. No matter where you're race, you'll find these staples. Many races also have volunteers who will bake brownies or cookies.

My last ultra I ate four "Fun-Sized" Snickers bars, five gels, and lots of pretzels. For me, ultra food is gummy bears, pretzels, pretzels with peanut butter (my absolute favorite snack!), cakes, brownies, cookies. Yum!

This book is a must for an ultrarunner, runner, or anyone who wants a laugh and isn't sure what the allure is in running so far for so long. I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

girl, by blake nelson

'...thinking how incredibly stupid I was if I expected life to be anything else but failed love and mindless sex and crying all night in bus stations.'

This is one of my favourite books. I've re-read this so many times, yet still adore it. In high school, it held so much meaning for me (especially as my preppy friend Darcie dissed me and I got involved in the underground culture of indie rock and riot grrrl and hardcore shows and raves (diverse, I know)). Right now if I hadn't lent it to Crista, I would re-read it. Instead, I'll know that life is beyond long plane rides, choking back tears, eating chocolate after extremely long runs, sitting in corners, wiping dust bunnies and tears away with the same hand.

the savages: my version of a book review

i just finished reading joe kane's THE SAVAGES today. it's the story of the huaorani and their fight against the oil companies that are ruining great expanses of the amazon. when i finished it today, tears were in my eyes (and i was on the train, so i'm sure i looked bizarre, but that ought to tell you how powerful it was) and i am so glad i don't own a car. oil is dirty, dirty business, and the way that the oil companies have ruined the lives, health, and civilization of these people disgusts me.