MMX

Roman numerals make everything cooler. And a year that looks so good in Roman numbers has got to be a good one.

I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. I make plans. I break things down into lists and I start tackling things one by one until they're all done. Whatever I want to accomplish, I try to figure out how to do it and then I do it – step by step.

Sometimes plans get revised. Others get ditched. Sometimes despite best efforts things don’t work out as planned. Sometimes the plague strikes. Life happens.

I had grand plans for 2009. I planned on getting an agent and selling a book. That hasn’t happened yet, but I’m revising my expectations, refining my plan of attack and moving forward.

But I’m not done with that one. In MMX I’ll get an agent.

And I’ll do my best to run the New York City Marathon.

Those are my two big plans for the year. There are also some other smaller ones. There’s even one involving a tiny panda, but I’ll save those as surprises for you.

Happy New Year! Accomplish all you want in MMX.

Dream it. Plan it. Live it.

Olympic Aspirations

Winterloss

It was cold, it was early, I was in a rush. It was hours before I noticed, but when I did, I was full of grief and regret.

Dear glove, I found you in a desperate time. The stores were optimistically stocking bikinis while a blizzard waged outside. There were no gloves to be found anywhere. “Sorry, it’s the Spring collection,” they said without a hint of apology.

I had been looking for days for a pair before I found you. You were the last of your kind. Marked down. Final Sale. I couldn’t believe my luck. Though you had no lining, you had flair and you stuck by me for the rest of that season and a full season more.

We were going on two years – ten in glove years – and I shouldn’t have taken you for granted.

Yesterday I got up at five am. I had some coffee and bite to eat before heading out for my shift at the co-op. When I got there I locked up the bike, took off helmet and gloves, turned off the blinker, and headed inside to sign in.

When I came back out hours later you were gone. Inside my bag your partner was still resting next to the keys, alone. Oh, glove, where art thou?

7 Miles

Brooklyn. Bluejay skies. A day of rain has washed the air and the sidewalks. The temperature is in the 40s and pleasant. The snow has melted. Majo steps outside her apartment building and starts running along 6th Avenue.
ICMajo– Do we really have to do this?
MuyMajo – Let’s just try and see how it goes.
LeftKnee – Guys, I’m not sure this is a great idea.
MuscleChorus – One, Two, Three, Four, One, Two, Three…
MuyMajo – Don’t worry, knee, we’ll take it easy. Let’s see how you’re doing after a mile or two once you’re warmed up.


Mile 1: 4th Street

MuyMajo – Wow. 2nd Street. Didn’t even notice that first one.
ICMajo – Are we there yet?
MuyMajo – One down, six more to go!

6th Ave ends at Flatbush Ave. Taking a left, Majo hops on the sidewalk and exchanges nods and smiles with two separate women running in the opposite direction.


Mile 2: Atlantic Avenue Center

MuyMajo – Great job everyone! Only five more!
ICMajo – Can we go shopping? I bet Target is deserted right now.
MuscleChorus – One, Two, Three, Four, One, Two, Three…
MuyMajo – Don’t need anything right now, but thanks. How’re you doing knee?
LeftKnee – Ok, I guess. A little achy but no worse.
MuyMajo – We’ll just keep up this pace then. Let me know if you need me to stop.
LeftKnee – Nah. I’m all right.

As it moves away from Atlantic Center, Flatbush Avenue stretches in a landscape of shuttered storefronts. A few are starting to open but the sidewalk is mostly empty. Closer to Fulton Mall things start to get more gray and commercial.
Stomach – I’m not doing great here. Shouldn’t have had cereal for breakfast.
MuyMajo – Just relax. You’ll be fine.
ICMajo – This is ugly.
MuyMajo – It’ll be over soon. Look! A marathon poster!
ICMajo – Did you just high-five a poster? Dork.
MuyMajo – Look! The bridge!
ICMajo – You think I’m going to be excited about that? We’re supposed to be going up that thing.
MuyMajo – What do you think about running karaoke?
ICMajo – Would you please stop singing along? You’re making me run out of breath.


Mile 3:Tillary Street

The street has been rising in a gentle slope. The incline gets sharper with the proximity to the bridge. The pedestrian path is open.
MuyMajo – It’s so different on this side!
ICMajo – It’s the same thing. Same river, same city view. Seen it a thousand times.
MuyMajo - It’s so bright today. And from here you get a better view of lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge. And look at that sky! And the water!
MuscleChorus – Move as one everyone! Focus. One, Two, Three, Four. One, Two…
Heart – Thu-thump. Thu-thump. Thu-Thump.
Side-stitch – Hi, everyone!
ICMajo – Ugh! Who invited her? I told you it was a bad idea to sing.
MuyMajo - Don’t panic. Just keep breathing. Stay relaxed. We’re almost at the top of the bridge. We can stop for a moment there.

At the blue canopy that marks the high point of the bridge, Majo nods at other runners coming from Manhattan. A red barge drifts along the river.

ICMajo – Hey! You forgot to stop.
MuyMajo – There was no need. We’re going downhill now!
LeftKnee – Oh, no! We’re going downhill!


Mile 4: Manhattan side of the Manhattan Bridge
ICMajo – Why is it windier in Chinatown than it was on the bridge?
MuyMajo – I don’t know.
ICMajo – Let’s call it a day and go for dim-sum!
MuyMajo – And skip the Brooklyn Bridge? Are you crazy?


Mile 5: Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge

ICMajo – The Brooklyn Bridge? You’ve got to be kidding.
MuyMajo – But it’s so pretty.
ICMajo – It’s full of tourists. How can you run in this mob?
MuyMajo – It’s like a race. Fun!
Heart – Thu-thump. Thu-thump. Thu-Thump.
MuscleChorus – One, Two, Three, Four …
ICMajo – Why are they taking pictures? They need to keep moving. And they should stay off the bike path!
MuyMajo – There's no need to police them. Just keep running.

Two guys on road bikes and full racing regalia slow down and duck to avoid being on a tourist’s picture frame.

LeftKnee – Oh, no! We’re going downhill!
ICMajo – Yes! Last hill!
MuyMajo – Bye, bye Brooklyn Bridge!


Mile 6: Bottom of the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Side
MuyMajo – Cadman Plaza! Let’s take the runner’s path.
LeftKnee – Yes! Rubbery and chushy!
ICMajo – We should walk to the subway from here.
MuyMajo – Why?
ICMajo – Just a suggestion.


Mile 7: Corner of Montague & Clinton Street.
MuyMajo – That’s it, guys! We’re here!
ICMajo – Huh.
MuyMajo – That was fun!
ICMajo – Can I have some coconut water now?

Meet Larry

Larry moved in about a week ago, courtesy of the same neighbors who let Santa retire in my planter.

Raccoons are not only common in South Brooklyn, it turns out that raccoons like the city. New York City has the densest raccoon population in the state and most of them seem to live in South Brooklyn. Can't blame them. With Prospect Park and all the bars and restaurants in this part of Brooklyn who wouldn't want to live here.

So far Larry has toppled the garbage can only once but he's been snarky all day because I watched Fantastic Mr. Fox last night and loved it. He said Remarkable Raccoon would have been a better movie, but I'm not sure about that. Mr. Fox was pretty fantastic indeed, and if Larry wants to be able to continue living here he'll have to lose the attitude, don't you think?

Secret Santa

Though Brooklyn is not the lawless place it once was, there are pockets of unruliness. You might be safe behind locked doors; the bolt keeping intruders out. But the minute you leave your apartment you may be ambushed in ways for which it is impossible to prepare.

Like finding Santa enjoying a tropical vacation under your cacti and succulents right outside your apartment door. I know who let him in. It was my downstairs neighbors. Can’t wait for them to return from Australia so I can get back at them.

For those of you who celebrate in more traditional ways, I hope Santa was nice to you before he retired in my planter.

Christmas Eve

With half the city doing last minute shopping and the other half traveling, I thought it would be the perfect day to go to the DMV and get my new license. The name-changing process that started with a judge, a mullet, and a coffin was finally complete last week. Now I have to go around alerting official entities, changing cards and accounts. I started with the driver’s license.

Last time I tried getting something done at the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles I was told to go across the river and have the New Jersey DMV help me. Today, with holiday spirit in the air, I was determined to smile and sing jingle bells if I had to in order to get what I wanted.

It turns out there was no need. I kept being shuffled from window to window and given slips with waiting numbers with a printed estimated waiting time of zero minutes. I actually had to hurry to make it from one window to the next, those people were in such a hurry to get things done today.

I smiled and wished them all a Merry Christmas, and now I have an interim NYS driver’s license to keep my wallet warm until the permanent one arrives in the mail.

It’s a state issued document with my name on it and it’s the best Christmas gift I could have given myself.

Merry Christmas everyone! Treat yourself to something that really matters to you!