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ARCHIVED BLOG: MARCH 2004
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03/30/04
Less than satisfying workout today. Georgia only
had about an hour, and it was very crowded at the gym. So, we
stuck to lifting. It was good, but not as good as doing cardio
too.I am having coffee w/ Doug tomorrow am. I can't believe he's
been here since Sept and we haven't found the time to hook up.
Better late than never, I suppose.
I found the New Yorker that I misplaced. And this
week's New Yorker showed up in the mail yesterday, so I have plenty
to read this week. There is an interesting article about A.J.
Liebling in this week's issue. He's one of Russell & Volkening's
authors, and it's always neat to read about something or someone
that you have a personal connection to. It must have been thrilling
to be involved in publishing back in the day when it wasn't about
the next big million dollar deal. One of the best books I've read
in this program was one about the editor for F. Scott Fitzgerald,
Hemmingway and Thomas Wolfe. The book is called Max
Perkins, Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg. Fantastic insight
about the industry. Maybe not so fascinating if you aren't interested
in those particular authors & the editing process.
There are thousands of books at work (literally).
Russell & Volkening represents many famous authors, many of
whom I haven't read. So I am working my way through (very slowly).
This week I chose an Anne Tyler novel.
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03/27/04
It was 20/70 degrees today. Beautiful. Debated going
for a run outside, but opted for the gym instead. 45 mins elliptical
trainer, 5X30 second sprints on the treadmill and a short ball
ab workout. Not bad. That makes 4 days in a row at the gym. Tomorrow
I am limiting my workout to yoga with my favorite teacher and
maybe some pickup in Red Hook. Ian is trying out for the masters
team this weekend in Ottawa. I am dying to know how well he is
doing, but he won't break it down for me. Everytime I talk to
him, he just says it's going well. What does WELL mean? I need
details.
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03/26/04
Recently I was in the Virgin MegaStore (it's a good
place to browse before yoga starts) and I came across this book.
The title immediatly caught my eye. A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING
GENIUS. What a great title. It immediately draws you in, because
it's professing to be a work of not only genius, but staggering
genius, Dave Eggers is the author and from what I can garner,
a pretty young, hip guy. He has a new book coming out soon. Anyway,
it's one of those autobiographical fiction books. I stood in the
middle of the store reading part of the prologue/introduction.
He really reels you in. I rarely read the introductions to books
because often they reveal too much about the author or his situation.
I think the first ten or so pages of this book really were genius.
And the rest isn't that shabby. But about 200 or so pages in,
the first person narrative starts to grate on you. But, it's something
a little different, and it makes you think, and feel not quite
right about things, which I think is good. So rarely do books
make you uncomfortable in a way that entices you to keep reading.
Anyway, type in Dave Eggers into Google and you get some funny
links pop up. I particularly liked this blog called coldbacon.
It's funny that I always think I have nothing to
read if I don't have a work of fiction on the go. I actually have
about five non-fiction books that I've been reading for months.
Somehow I just take longer to get through those. Well, truthfully,
they are all very large non-fiction books. They are:
HIROHITO AND THE MAKING OF MODERN JAPAN by Herbert
P. Bix (fascinating. hard to read for long periods of time and
too heavy to bring on the subway).
THE MAP THAT CHANGED THE WORLD by Simon Winchester
(easier to lug around because it's in paperback but requires concentration
that I just don't usually get on the subway between here &
midtown).
A TERRIBLE BEAUTY by Peter Watson (this book I have
been reading for a very long time. Ian Schnee recommended it-of
course-and I immediately went out to buy it. It is huge. 700 pages
with about 250 pages of indexes in the back. I am ashamed to admit
I am not too far along in this one. It is hard to absorb. But,
Schnee always chooses books that I would never select--THE GLASS
BEAD GAME, anything by Milan Kundera, etc.--and I appreciate that.)
I am hard-pressed to find people that can recommend
books that I haven't already read. Tom was great for recommendations.
I read a ton of historical fiction, including most of Harold Lamb,
at his suggestion. Ian is always reading technology or computer
books, but some of them are interesting. I did make it through
CRYPTONOMICON by Neal Stephenson. I believe Jus' exact words,
when he heard I had read it, were "good girl." Appropriate.
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03/25/04
When Ian was in town, we went shopping at Barnes
& Noble. (Why does everyone always say Barnes & Nobles?)
He found this book called
LOST IN A GOOD BOOK, by Jasper Fforde. Apparently there's
a series, and the most recent one has just come out in hardback.
The newest one is called WELL
OF LOST PLOTS. I don't really want to wait until it comes
out in trade paperback, but it's just that much cheaper. Anyway,
LOST IN A GOOD BOOK was great! It's billed as HARRY POTTER for
adults, but to my mind, it's more like a Douglas Adams version
of the world. Any bookworm would love it, as the main character,
Thursday Next, becomes Miss Havisham's apprentice and she can
travel through books. It's a brilliant idea. I wish I had thought
of it.
I had lunch with Claudius today. He is going to
Kenya for 7 weeks, and then he'll be moving to Providence to do
his residency in Pediatrics at Brown. It is so funny how friendships
develop. When I was a senior at Middlebury,
James put together this team for Get
Ho Get Leid that consisted of a bunch of hotshot players from
the North East. I was pretty intimidated to play on the squad,
but James made me promise I would about 3 months before the tournament.
Anyway, several people, who I would have never met otherwise,
have become good friends since that weekend. Claudius is one of
them. He was telling me how he has to bring an HIV kit with him
in case he gets stuck (with a needle). He has 5 days to get back
to the States if he does get stuck before his medication runs
out. Unbelieveable.
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03/24/04
Everything is all about "product" in this
city. My Web Marketing class was moved Drumbeatdigital
yesterday to meet the CEO/Founder. Located in SoHo, I felt remarkably
out of place wearing sneakers & jeans. I mean, I was not wearing
the right type of jeans or sneakers to pull off the trendy dressed-down
look. And within 2 blocks I had passed about 6 stores that focused
exclusively on selling product. Hair. Face. Body. Very expensive
things in little bottles and jars.
But, I have to admit product is alluring. I remember
the Whelans spending time explaining to me how they loved to shop
for product, specific brands, specific packaging. I thought they
were nuts. Then Ms. Julie McGill got me onto the hair product
bandwagon. It hasn't really "stuck" since my hair is
longer, now. But I must have learned something by osmosis because
I often find myself looking at different types of product these
days. Maybe it's just being in NYC. I love everything that FRESH
makes, for example.
Anyway, I finished PATTERN RECOGNITION. It got better
towards the end. But it still isn't something I would recommend
as a good read. To reward myself for making it through that book,
I bought a paperback at Indigo for $21. That seems ridiculously
expensive. Even in Canadian dollars. It was a great read. Highly
recommended for anyone who's trudged through Dante. If you haven't,
it will make less sense unless you get some background first.
The book is called THE
DANTE CLUB.
On Sunday, we had our first day of spring league.
It was about 45 degrees and windy. Cold wind. Very cold. We had
2 games on a field disguised as a mud pit. The first game was
good. Team8 (say it a few times) didn't have too many players,
but we managed to pull out a win in the wind. Our second game
didn't go over too well. We couldn't break free of their zone.
I think we just were too tired and cold and sick of trying to
slog through 6 inches of mud on every cut.
I really miss reading the New
Yorker when I am not in the city. It keeps me in touch with
what's happening in the world with such complete and in-depth
articles. I remember years ago we used to get the New Yorker in
Vermont. On weekends, always looking for something to read, I'd
try to read an article or two. I could make it through the fiction,
but I just didn't like reading the articles. Now I can't imagine
why. I can't wait for it to arrive every Monday so I have something
to read on the subway. If I savour it a little (and only read
it on the subway) I can usually make it last till about Thursday.
It keeps me from buying more books.
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03/15/04
What is it about cold weather that makes you sluggish?
If I splash cold water on my face, I am invigorated. If I jump
into an icy river, I definitely do not feel tired and or sleepy.But
as soon as the temperature dips below 0 (or for you American folk,
32) I have absolutely no motivation to get to the gym, run outside,
work out or lift. Even yoga seems like a stretch (pun intended)
if the weather is frigid. I better snap out of this mentality
as tournament season is quickly approaching and perhaps more than
any other year, I need to be in shape for this one.
I was doing some research today for Ian's website
and came across this site (ok, I wasn't exclusively doing research
for Ian's site). It is called monkey
yoga and it has these cute little animations of monkeys doing
yoga poses. Silly. But worth a peek.
We played in this indoor tournament over the weekend.
Well, actually it was just Friday night-Sat am. I don't know why
I always say yes to these things. I mean, our team was fun (Spark,
Spark, In The Dark) but it is brutal on your body. By 5 am, you
really just want to go home to bed. It is probably dangerous to
play in an overnight tournament. I wonder if there are any studies
about doing exercise through the night and if your body is more
prone to injuries. Hmm.
I am currently reading PATTERN RECOGNITION by William
Gibson. It comes through a little bit forced, as though the words
used and the style in which Gibson writes is trying just a little
too hard to be techno-geeky. Anyway, it is really Ian's book,
but I didn't bring any books with me on my trip home to Montreal.
So. I am stuck reading it. I just wish something would happen.
It's a novel. There is supposed to be some sort of action. None
yet. I'll keep you posted though.
Ian and I watched MATCHSTICK MEN last night. It
was good. But, too predictable. Within 5 minutes (before the daughter
even showed up) I guessed what was going to happen. I am not sure
if these movie plots are just too simplistic, or I have seen too
many con artist movies. Ian thinks I should write movies (or,
we should write movies) because I always guess what is going to
happen. I don't know. I think it'd be difficult to cater to a
general audience.
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