Wednesday JU!

Well, crap. It's Wednesday, and I'm supposed to write something today. And, uh, I also was supposed to write something on Friday. Normally, on Fridays I post a list of 5 things. Because I'm making up for lost time, I will write 10 things.

1. It's annoying that my neighborhood is not pedestrian-friendly. Even though I'm walking on the sidewalk and in crosswalks, cars pull all the way up to the curb, blocking my path. These are the same people, I can just feel it, who go to NYC and walk around Times Square and just suddenly STOP on the sidewalk to gape at something.

2. I walked past a McDonald's -- most of the cars cutting me off were on their way there. It smelled SO good. The last time I had McDonald's food was at Newark Airport in February, returning from my harrowing visit with my mother. I had my very favorite: the 2-cheeseburger meal. Now, I understand that it's not good for me, and I actually do know how many calories are in it, but it's what I wanted. I ate it, and it was so, so delicious. Every time I'm in an airport and I try to eat healthy -- thinking I'll have a turkey wrap or a salad with grilled chicken -- it ends badly. Chicken like latex strips and some sort of mucilaginous sauce in the sandwich. Also, I needed something to fortify me after my ordeal.

3. In fact, that was probably why I often ate very poorly in NYC. I needed fortification, whether from the cold, the miserable working conditions, or the stressful life I was leading. I remember so clearly, when deciding where we should go for lunch, my co-workers and I chose the burrito place. Oh, they're fantastic burritos, authentic and fresh, smothered in cheese and packed with rice and beans. We needed that food for sustenance, needed the feel of something nourishing, warm, and heavy in our bodies.

4. Florida's certainly good for that. It's hard to eat a heavy meal when it's 90 degrees out in October. Like at Oktoberfest on Sunday. There were probably 10 different kinds of -wersts, plus pork and chicken, mashed potatoes and various slaws. And, of course, the good German beer. Ja! I had a hot dog with sauerkraut -- I don't think I'd ever had sauerkraut before -- and mustard, a fantastic soft pretzel (being from Pennsylvania, I know me some good pretzels), and a pickle that was actually a whole cucumber. Yes, I could actually fit the whole thing in my mouth. I fear there are pictures, but I hope that they miraculously disappear. Can we change the subject now? I'm blushing.

5. I've taped the "race number" from my bike ride onto the back of my desk chair. As if suddenly my chair was going to go racing off! But I like it -- I feel very official. I am ready to get back on the bike too, now that my delicate sitting areas have recovered. After we went up the first hill (really the overpass to the highway -- there aren't hills in this part of Florida), I felt like an Ironman. It was such a great day, and such an amazing experience. I credit the Bike America people for being so patient and pleasant. And what great swag! A Trek water bottle, socks, a t-shirt AND I won a groovy prize in the raffle! So, yeah, well on my way to being an actual Ironman... though they probably don't need to ice their soft tissue.

6. This has been an odd week. Some days have staggered forward, others have zoomed past. I woke up nice and early yesterday and got so much done. Of course, by 9pm, I was completely exhausted. This morning, my body protested. "You starved me yesterday! Now it's payback!" It paid me back by binging on sleep for an extra two hours. Not sure what to make of tomorrow or Friday. Maybe my body and I can work something out. Or, I'll settle for not having my hands fall asleep during the night. I researched that... it's most likely a postural problem, or maybe carpal-tunnel, which would suck, but also wouldn't be shocking, considering I'm a writer who plays the drums.

7. On Monday night, we went to see The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later. It was the world premiere, and part of the "simultaneous opening night" -- it was being performed at about 100 theaters around the country. Sadly, the preshow from Lincoln Center featuring Glenn Close wasn't working, so we just launched into it. Overall, I thought it was well done. My background is in performance studies and dramatic criticism, and I find these sorts of productions very interesting. Definitely political, definitely had an agenda, but very creative and evocative. Saw a headline today for a Newsweek blog post calling this piece "theater-as-journalism." I haven't read the article yet, but that title concerns me. Journalism is unbiased... theater is not. I hope that blogger knows the difference.

8. Wow, doing a list of 10 things is exhausting. I'm drained already, and am only on 8. Glee is on tonight. I love Glee. Mostly because I am a giant musical theater dork. Ok, not really... because, sadly, I have seen and even know people who are just in too deep. The ones who have seen the play 20-30 times, who line up outside the stage door, who know exactly who's in the cast, even in each supporting role. But, admittedly, I'm a sucker for Andrew Lloyd Webber. Phantom rocked my world in junior high, and Miss Saigon was all I could think about in high school. I have seen Les Miz maybe... 3-4 times? And, yes, I know every word to every song on the Rent cast recording. So sue me. (Will stop now, before I start singing Guys and Dolls)

9. I am starting to work on the next play. I've actually told several people about it. This is huge for me. I know that all the productivity sites say not to overshare your goals, but in the past, I've been almost secretive about my work. Not exactly shame, but more like... waiting for the disapproval or for the comments indicating that I was incapable. But now, I've mentioned it, given a short 1-2 sentence thematic overview. It exists. I even told scary people! And you know what? Nothing scary happened. The scary people were nice. Everyone is actually nice.

10. Ok, super. Last one. And, also, luckily, time for dinner. I will have my regular Friday GO this week, because, damn, this is hard! Also, this weekend, we're going to roller derby, so there definitely will be much to discuss.