So the Week Begins . . .

Didn’t run in the Army Ten Miler this year – I had toyed with the idea of just starting and then seeing how much I could do, but I had a bout of insomnia Saturday night and didn’t fall asleep until after 2 AM – not enough sleep to run 10 miles on. Mr. Random did run though, and was involved with the big snafu this year . . . they rerouted the race an extra mile longer because of a suspicious package found under the DC 14th Street Bridge. Because the race was rerouted at the last minute, it became an “unofficial race” (considered a “recreational run”) and therefore they were not counting anyone’s completion times. Mr. Random didn’t mind – he just runs to run – but some folks who were competing for money or to register a personal best were quite upset about it. Mr. Random said that it was a small price to pay though, I mean, would you rather have been blown up on the bridge?

Reading of the week: Daniel J. Boorstin’s The Image: A Guide to Psuedo-Events in America. This book was written in 1961 and is incredibly contemporary. I started it on Sunday morning and am already halfway through. Explains how a lot of what we consider “news,” isn’t – rather it is stuff made up to seem important and fill space & time in newspapers and on newscasts. Makes some interesting points, although not all that I agree with, but it does get your mind working. I will give a full review when I am finished.

Went to Art on the Avenue on Saturday. Talked to several B&W photographers who had booths and whose work I was very interested in. All of them use film, have their own darkrooms at home, develop their own negatives and create their own prints. One guy was saying that the equipment is pretty cheap now that most people are moving to digital and getting rid of their darkroom stuff. I would LOVE to have my own darkroom at home, and when we were house hunting I was trying to find a place that would allow me to do so, but the only place I could have a darkroom is in the half bath, and the fan doesn’t work in there at this point. Maybe if I got it fixed I could set something up in there, but I think the room is still much too small to have an enlarger in there.

The art was really blah – more crafts than art, and yes I do make a distinction – and nothing stood out to me, besides the photos. However, a vintage clothing store on the Avenue was having a sidewalk sale and I think I fell in love with a few of the things in there. There was a black velvet cape with a hood which would have gone lovely with the black and white Audrey Hepburn-type 60’s dress I saw inside. There was also a velvet hat that would have gone lovely with the cape, too. Everything was very reasonably priced for the styles and condition they were in, but still a little too pricey for me right now . . . although I still have them on my mind. What are the odds that those items will still be there a month from now?

I also had about 5 cokes with lunch. I rarely do that, but the Mexican restaurant we went to didn’t have any of my alternatives, and I didn’t feel like water. The waiter refilled my glass a ton of times, and I just kept on drinking . . . so with all the caffeine and sugar, I was pretty wired for the rest of the day. And THEN we got frozen custard at the Dreamery. I was fairly spinning in a sugar haze that afternoon . . . but I did have a very good afternoon, overall!

There goes the neighborhood: This article caught my attention in the WP on Sunday - Chevy Chase's Conflict of Size and Sensibilities: 'Mansionization' Pits Old vs. New
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/01/AR2005100101470.html)

Now, I’m kind of torn about this type of thing. It always makes me very sad to see little bungalows torn down and made into those monstrosities, because (a) it means that the character of the neighborhood is changed (b) it means that someone else will not be able to buy what should be a starter size type home (c) it gets rid of an architectural type of housing that no one is building anymore, and that there IS a demand for . . . it’s just that those of us who would want those type of houses can’t quite afford them yet. However, I understand people wanting more space than these houses can provide, while still wanting to live in a really close in neighborhood . . .

That lady is blocking the sun of two of her neighbors, though. That’s kind of rude. There are ways to add on the space you want without towering over the entire neighborhood – you just have to work with the architect to get the desired result. To build something SO out of the character to the neighborhood takes a bit of ignorant willfulness on the homeowners part. I know enough about design, architecture and renovation to know that making updates and expansions to houses in the character of the present neighborhood has been successfully done in the past. Some people DO just want to show off their wealth . . .

Today’s Poem: Seems to fit so well, I just had to share.

To Waiting
by W. S. Merwin

You spend so much of your time
expecting to become
someone else
always someone
who will be different
someone to whom a moment
whatever moment it may be
at last has come
and who has been
met and transformed
into no longer being you
and so has forgotten you

meanwhile in your life
you hardly notice
the world around you
lights changing
sirens dying along the buildings
your eyes intent
on a sight you do not see yet
not yet there
as long as you
are only yourself

with whom as you
recall you were
never happy
to be left alone for long