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October 31, 2008
Scariest Hallowe'en Costume
Posted by dave at 05:25 PM | Comments (0)
October 21, 2008
Get Out of Your Own Way
There I was, lying in savasana at the end of today's rocking-awesome Bikram yoga class. A cold front blew through town today and cooled everything dow - at last. The humidity seemed to evaporate by mid-morning. The class had been a good one, challenged only by the jitters, caused by a post-Whole Foods, pre-work Cafe Grumpy soy latte fix. I worked hard. I was focused. I was in the moment. I felt good. My body was humming, buzzing softly with that sweet yoga high. My mind was clear. I felt awesome. Above everything. Beneath nothing.
And then Corinne said "sometimes you have to remind yourself to get out of your own way".
Which set my mind into a spin. What does THAT mean?
Well, I got it almost immediately. I've been running a lot, and I have noticed lately that my lower back, neck and hamstrings are really tight. This is the nature of distance running, and it is the yoga that keeps me, well, nimble. As nimble as I can be at my age and after all the running. I take these aches and pains into yoga every day with me, and they are my excuses. My barriers. The reasons why I don't do things. The reasons why I hold back.
I stood on my head for 5 minutes, let the blood rush to my brain, and pondered it further.
Everywhere around us, there are reminders of our constraints. Stop. Do Not Enter. Line Forms Here. Rules. Laws. There is a good reason for the ESC key on your computer. And, when all else fails, CTL-ALT-DEL.
Then, there are the things that make us DO less. Elevators and escalators when there should be stairs. Buttons that open and close the rear door of our cars.
We THINK too much. Modern ingenuity shouldn't make us less mobile. Our minds get in the way, telling us we can't do things (big red stop sign), or that we need help (escalator). The reality is that the more we exercise our minds and our bodies, and connect the two with our breath, the better off we will be. The mind is for entertainment. We CHOOSE what we do. How we approach things.
So, tomorrow, when my mind says STOP and my hamstrings scream at me, I am going to breathe deeply, clear my mind, and kick out. Because if I can, I must.
Get our of your own way.
Posted by dave at 08:09 PM | Comments (0)
October 18, 2008
Watershed Day
Today took some careful planning.
The challenge?
1. Consolidate two Manhattan storage rooms into one Stamford, CT storage room.
Since our new storage will be 35 miles away (and we don't have a car):
2. Negotiate with the Superintendent of our condo for space to store our bikes.
3. Move redundant furniture and art in our apartment into storage.
4. Relocate Christmas stuff to our apartment.
And finally, Prana:
5. Remove, fold, roll and store Prana's sails.
6. Store everything that cannot freeze (cleaners, batteries, etc.).
7. Vacuum seal storage bags of clothes, linens, etc.
So here is how it went down:
STEP 1: 6:30am Make breakfast (and lunch to take on the road)
STEP 2: Pick up U-Haul truck rental at 23rd Street & 11th Avenue
STEP 3: Drive 50 feet to Manhattan Mini Storage
STEP 4: 3rd Floor storage room, remove and load all items into the truck
STEP 5: Basement storage room, remove and load all items into the truck
STEP 6: Finalize lease cancellation and details for refund of the security deposits - $1,000! Score!
STEP 7: Drive to our apartment at 20th Street and 6th Avenue
STEP 8: Illegally park in front of fire hydrant, fetch redundant furniture & art from apartment
STEP 9: Forgot the vacuum. Got the vacuum.
STEP 10: Drive to Stamford.
STEP 11: Check in at Uncle Bob's Self-Storage.
STEP 12: Unload truck into new storage room.
STEP 13: Drive to marina.
STEP 14: Lunch.
STEP 15: Vacuum pack clothes and linens.
STEP 16: Load sails, cleaners, freezables in the truck.
STEP 17: Empty fridge. Turn off fridge.
STEP 18: Dispose of trash (shit, I forgot to do this last weekend, and it smells like a baby diaper).
STEP 19: Lock up Prana. (See you, sweetheart, in two weeks).
STEP 20: Drive to Uncle Bob's Self-Storage.
STEP 21: Unload sails, cleaners, freezables into new storage room.
STEP 22: Drive to New York.
STEP 23: Double park in front of condo, unload vacuum, napsack full of boat fridge stuff, laptop.
STEP 24: Fill truck gas tank.
STEP 25: Drive to U-Haul to return truck.
STEP 26: Fill gas tank again (is THAT what they call FULL SERVICE in New York?!)
STEP 27: Drive to U-Haul to return truck.
STEP 28: Do 3 u-turns to get the truck back to the not-so-obvious "RETURN HERE".
STEP 29: Pay for the truck. A lot.
STEP 30: Walk to the apartment.
STEP 31: Wander past Chelsea Meat Market and decide to spontaneously buy a roast for dinner.
STEP 32: Arrive home. Unpack backpack of boat fridge items. Put vacuum away.
STEP 33: Pour red wine.
STEP 34: Pour more red wine.
Posted by dave at 06:46 PM | Comments (0)
October 05, 2008
Fall Sailing in the Sound
Friday was a beautiful day. Bright sunshine, a little breeze, a perfect fall day. The forecast for the weekend was for plenty of wind and cool, especially at night. As we count the remaining weekends available for sailing on the fingers of one hand, we decided to make the best of it. Last weekend we were rained out, but spent the weekend at the dock anyway.
I arrived at the boat around 5pm and got things opened up, groceries put away, etc. I finally sat down around 6:30 and decided to take another stab at Ken Follett's epic take "Pillar of the Earth". I climbed under a fleece blanket and curled up in the corner. By 7pm I was chilled. We have heat and air-conditioning on the boat, which I find slightly unworthy of true seamanship. But I caved and turned it on. It warmed up quickly. Chis arrived around 8pm and agreed that the heat was a welcome spoil. We turned it off to have dinner and watch a movie on the laptop.
In addition to the winter duvet on the berth, we added a quilt. Without the heat, the thermometer in the boat said it was 62 degrees. Perfect for sleeping.
I awoke Saturday morning around 5:30 (this happens everyday, partly age, partly the way my clock is wound.) It was cold. Wanting to be a puritan, I added a second layer of fleece, long underwear, and hovered over the stove while I boiled the kettle for coffee. I ran hot water into the sink, added some suds, and washed a few dishes. The hot water felt wonderful.
The breeze had started picking up, and we decided to head out for a sail. The clouds started to clear, and we put up the sails. It was fabulous. Chilly, but wonderful sailing conditions. The sound was calm, the wind picked up to 10 knots, and we sailed all the way into Oyster Bay on Long Island. We dropped the anchor and sat in the cockpit with our books, enjoying the cool autumn sun. As the sun set, the air cooled instantly. We ran below like mice.
On anchor, we have no heat or air conditioning. It got cool fast, but we simply layered up and enjoyed it.
We woke Sunday morning to driving rain. This was not in the forecast from Friday, and I admit I was remiss in checking the forecast again. I checked the morning's weather forecast, and the rain was expected to stop by 9am. At 9:01, the rain stopped. Around 11, the skies still threatened rain, so we put on our foul weather gear, pulled up anchor and set out for Stamford. The winds were incredible again, and we had a fantastic sail.
There is something wonderful about fall. The long shadows, the stiff breeze, the cool air, and the warm sun. It takes a day or two to acclimatize, but once you've done it, it is so enjoyable. This was our weekend to acclimatize, and I can tell from the warmth in my face, and the tingle in my toes and fingers that this is a magical time of the year to sail.
Next weekend is the Columbus Day long weekend, and we plan to sail again.
The following weekend we do the newfie shuffle of our Manhattan storage room, a few things from the apartment, and a few things from the boat, to a new storage locker in Stamford. For about one-fifth the cost of the Manhattan storage room. The weekend after that we are in Washington, DC to cheer Chis' sisters Katie and Juli do the Marine Corps Marathon.
And the weekend after that, Prana comes out of the water to hibernate for the winter.
I miss her already.
Posted by dave at 07:04 PM | Comments (0)