Movies 2008
Netflix entered my life in force this year...

1. Enchanted
2. D.E.B.S
3. The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
4. Chariots of Fire
5. Berkley in the Sixties
6. North by Northwest
7. Casa de los Babys
8. The Spirit of the Marathon
9. Secretary
10. 27 dresses
11. Atonement
12. Definitely, Maybe
13. LA Haine
14. I think I love my wife
15. Brokeback Mountain
16. The Pursuit of Happyness
17. The Ten
18. Charlie Bartlett
19. The Simpsons Movie
20. Persopolis
21. The Prestige
22. The Darjeeling Limited
23. Dan in Real Life
24. Becoming Jane
25. Alvin and the Chipmunks
26. The Hours
27. American Flyers
28. Roger Dodger
29. I'm a Cyborg, but that's ok
30. Smart People
31. Swing Time
32. Southland Tales
33. Lars and the Real Girl
34. Iron Man
35. Raging Bull
36. No Blood for Oil
37. P.S. I love you
38. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
39. Into the Wild
40. Music Within
41. Sex & The City
42. The Hustler
43. The Holiday
44. The Greatest Game Ever Played
45. American Teen
46. The Other Boleyn Girl
47. Better Off Dead
48. Saint Ralph
49. Cash Back
50. Pistol: Birth of a Legend
51. August Rush
52. 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days
53. 21
54. Without Limits
55. Son of Rambow
56. Prefontaine (review)
57. The Duchess
58. Burn After Reading
59. School for Scoundrels
60. Body of Lies
61. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
62. Against the Ropes
63. Good Luck Chuck
64. Be Kind, Rewind
65. Rachel Getting Married
66. The Aviator
67. The Departed
68. Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny
69. Slumdog Millionaire
70. Charlie Wilson's War
71. Seven Pounds
72. Hancock
73. Harold and Maude
74. Opportunity Knocks (review)

I would say Atonement and Lars and The Real Girl were my favorite movies this year. I'm a Cyborg, but that's ok was memorable for sure. Spirit of the Marathon gets a special mention because it was part of and helped recall a great experience.

The Midas remote control

You've seen Click and read up on your Greek mythology, but if you'll indulge me for just one moment, I'll tell you about the time my remote control was pure gold. Literally. Except, not literally at all.

Last night, I found myself stumbling around the digital air waves. (What are these now? They aren't air waves, are they? Where do we stumble when we're flipping channels; why it's not even a flip anymore, maybe a blip...) In a New York minute, I can never remember if those are fast or slow, but I want the fast ones here, I went from having nothing to watch and very little meaning in my Monday evening to having three sporting events that I cared passionately about. When I say passionately here, I mean the sort of passion that one might feel for his third favorite pair of pants- that's the passion I'm talking about. First, I found Georgetown upsetting Connecticut in some Big East basketball. I don't know when I became a Georgetown fan exactly, but I think it happened. It might be because they are good and nearby, some sort of beacon of awesome or something. Between channel blipping, I found that G-town was able to hold off Connecticut for the victory. Yay! recently adopted team. Then, through the telepathy of ESPN and the rippling facebook status updates, I found that Missouri was battling the vastly inferior except when they weren't which was like all night Northwestern team. Missouri escaped with a victory. All right. That actually concluded after the Washington Wizards went on their first winning streak of the season. These 2 recent victories bring their record to 6-23. Needless to say, that's been fun to cheer for.

All of this through the magic of my remote control. And I want to get rid of cable...

Live a life of a modern person with a classy watch
There is much to say and someone else is probably saying it.

I'd had a low level Christmas buzz going since about December 9, so I figured that I wouldn't have the energy to really take that up many notches. Why, I'd even won the door/cubicle decorating contest edging out 8 others for the high honor. I was right about my energy, but had a good Christmas anyway. I enjoyed a planned and a surprise visit with some FARCers early on and then really dug into the family stuff. My niece didn't think much of the magnificent beard. She seemed to be avoiding most men and it took her all week to warm up to me. She did get around to petting my beard and saying "woof," which is exactly the hollow sort of victory that it sounds. With hair in my mouth, and the reaction of my niece, I was having some beard doubts until I stumbled onto a site celebrating facial hair as "nature's bib" and then discovered the magic of Beard Science. Never fear, beard fans, my facial hair resolve is renewed.

The weather, like my beard, was up to some other good tricks this vacation. I went for a run in 6 degree weather. There were beard-cicles, frozen mustache pops, and for a moment or two I thought my eyes might freeze. Days later, I was running in shorts and a t-shirt at some 60 degrees warmer. To prove the weather was crazy, the Midwest threw in snow, a thunderstorm, and both sleet and rain for good measure.

I'm back home now with the vague sense that something important needs to be done. I'll have to save any life-altering decisions until after the soup.

A Sunday status race

David is wishing for more time between social life and alarm.
David is cold.
David is preparing for an abbreviated warm-up.
David is waiting for the 2-letter command.
David is going.
David is going out slowly.
David is in the top 40.
David is letting the leaders go.
David is feeling ok.
David is moving up slowly.
David is feeling neither good nor bad.
David is without his watch.
David is racing without enthusiasm.
David is focused forward.
David is still seeing the leaders.
David is in the top 20.
David is done with more than a mile.
David is joined by blue hat.
David is moving up with blue hat.
David is lost in his stride.
David is feeling ok.
David is passing.
David is being passed by blue hat.
David is still looking up.
David is in the top 15.
David is done with 3 miles.
David is not interested in losing to a girl in pink.
David is sorry for being sexist.
David is not so sorry that he slows down.
David is closing on another group.
David is not losing the blue hat.
David is not gaining much on pink.
David is a fan of front door fans.
David is in a new group.
David is exchanging places with blue hat.
David is joined by blue hat as we give chase.
David is less than a mile from the finish.
David is making his move.
David is regretting making his move.
David is slowing down.
David is being passed by blue hat.
David is being passed by a big guy.
David is struggling.
David is removing his gloves.
David is considering chucking them.
David is passing a big guy.
David is being passed by a big guy.
David is no longer interested in this pursuit.
David is done.
David is recognizing his surroundings.
David is not done.
David is kicking.
David is passing a big guy.
David is closing on the end.
David is 29:43 for 8k.
David is pained, tired, pleased, frustrated, and out of breath.
David is eighth.
David is an age group champion.
David is being greeted by the runner-up.
David is enjoying the company of his competition.

David is not sure this is the most enjoyable way to communicate.
David is glad he tried.
David is crediting Daimon for the inspiration.

Miracle in transit

Friday night a cosmic event occurred and I was there to witness it. Traveling from a party sometime around 2 AM, I prepared for the long Metro ride home. Across town, out late, I knew I was destined to log some serious waiting minutes, complete with long platform-hugging times for my train and my transfer. Instead, with the full moon looming thirty percent larger, I descended the escalator to find my train arriving. At my transfer, my wait time was less than a minute. I was at home and in bed before Santa could even make a pass at mom. Also, it wasn't Christmas, but I was getting into the spirits, just like my favorite North Pole rapper- E double G Nawg.

Hittin' the egg nog

Yesterday I began constructing my entry into the office door-decorating contest. My vision includes a window lit by twinkling lights, potentially with the shadows of Dickensian carolers outside. The piece-de-Christmas, though, will be a small tape recorder stuck to the door and a sign that says "Press play for carols."

On the tiny tape of the tape player will be the recorded voices of carol singers. The hitch in my plan is that I have not come across any singers. I considered some Internet stealing, but wanted something closer to the genuine experience. At least it needed to be as genuine as tiny tape can be. Two of my coworkers politely declined my entreaties to form an a capella trio. Alone and buzzing from the energy of an idea, I decided to take matters into my own larynx. I hesitated, considering that I might sound better with bathroom acoustics or muzzled, but decided to press on by pressing record. Standing in my office, reading song lyrics from my computer, I belted out an off key, "Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?"

As I was finishing up my fourth mangled carol, I could sense some energy in the air, a cheeriness, a feeling that curled the ends of my mouth skyward, and made me fight off a chuckle. It wasn't from me; I've mangled many a song before. It was something else, not Christmas spirit exactly, more like two coworkers laughing at me.

The ups and downs of XC
I can't tell how much of my running is mental. Somewhere, yesterday morning the usual jitters disappeared for reasons that I can't explain. It made me a little nervous, but not in the right way. To add to the mental/emotional roller coaster I stumbled into a negative cloud thanks to the Internet. I may not know how much running is mental, but I knew I didn't want to race under a dark cloud. I spent my few spare moments seeking out something positive to counteract the cloud. I turned to music to cheer me up. Even though I knew I was doing it, it seemed to work.

I set out without nerve or cloud, with friends on the starting line, through the woods. Learning from Tuesday's two-mile, I held back. Working into single file as we ran on a path beneath and between leaveless trees down toward an unfrozen creek and lake, I worked my way into about fifth place. Openings appeared where I could have moved to fourth or third or up further, but I was reigning myself in, trying not to move too soon. Single file continued for quite some time. I worried about rocks and tree roots twisting my ankles. I grew momentarily annoyed when an s-curve in the trail slowed our pace, but still I held back. As we crossed a path above the lake that may have been a reservoir, space opened up around us. I moved onto the heels of the leaders, but didn't pass. I was waiting for at least the 3k mark, the halfway point. We took the turn, but I was not ready to move immediately. A little further down the trail, I saw my opening. I can't remember what the opening was. It may have been the slightly wider trail, or it may have been just a half-step of pace, or it may just have been that I was looking to open things up a little more. Whatever it was, I moved to the front. I don't like races to come down to wild sprints at the end. To win, I like to have a lead. I tried all the tricks I could think of as we moved back through where we'd come. I crested hills hard and made turns strong, hoping that those behind me would lose sight of me for a moment and be demoralized with the ground they'd suddenly lost.

The sounds in my ears were breath and footsteps, but most of the noise came from inside. The personal battle was waging as I crossed the three mile mark. Soon after, I mentally lamented the 6k race, wishing that I'd already broken the proverbial tape in a 5k. At the previously annoying, s-curve, I slalomed through with jerky hips and powerful steps. I bounded onto bridges and hoped for the finish to appear. It did not. The battle wasn't over and the trail turned upward. I don't recall bounding down so far in the beginning, but here I was climbing up. Hills at the end of races, seem to be a club hallmark and yet I'm usually unprepared. I pressed up the hill, but most of the pressing seemed to be taking place against my chest. My heart and lungs were burning as I fought on. I didn't want to look back, but I sensed my competitors gaining. Halfway up the hill, I thought to myself, if I can clear this hill, I can win. I cleared the hill, and found more hill. With another push of painful steps, I crested that next part of the hill and saw the finish line. Finally. I may have sprinted, but there wasn't much left in the tank. Chest heaving, I crossed the line and waited just a few seconds before being followed into the chute. Victory tasted of cold air.

My new shoes now sit on my bedroom floor undefeated. They are the only shoes I've ever owned that have held that honor. They are considering retirement, but more than likely they will be back to better that (probably inaccurate) 6k time of 26:27.

There's a whole other world out there. They call it morning.

For much of the past three months, I've been waking up early twice a week to make some Ultimate. It's been tiring at times, but it's also been very rewarding. Playing and thinking Ultimate before work is confusing to my system, but freeing in many ways. It frees my evenings. It frees that part of my soul that likes to see the sun rise on a crisp fall morning. It frees my alarm from the snooze button. There have been a number of good practices and some not so good practices along the way. I may be biased by the passage of time, or the recent break in the action, but one of the best practices of all took place on Tuesday.

With only a slight chill in the air, we took to the track to run two miles. There were no moans, only a small group of Ultimate players willing, if not ready, to run. I started out too fast, but wound my way around to a time of 10:56. Fortunately the others ignored my efforts. They all run pretty well, some even much better than I expected. It was exhilarating to put down those miles before many went for coffee. Then, to add caramel flavoring to the day, we chased the disc around in a silly game of boot that brought out tired smiles. Running and disc chasing are great ways to start the day.