It looks like previous plans will overlap with Day 2 of gymnastics nationals, so if you had looked forward to a sequel to Day 1 (Flo Davies, I'm looking at you), it may be delayed. But that's cool with me.
I'm here tonight to say that I'm back. Back to the YA nov, which I left shivering because I started to worry that maybe it was not the novel I thought it was (that is to say, good). But thanks to several days of avoidance and thought and simply letting outside forces shape what they will in their way, I think I have new paths that can be tunneled.
But there's one thing that keeps the headlights glowing: I know how it all ends.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Day 1 of the VISA Championships - Live Bloggin'!
Rice, gymnastics, and blogs -- what more do you need tonight?
Interesting leotards already. I'm kinda digging Shawn Johnson's black and blue number, though the see-through mesh on the back is a bit disconcerting. I feel similarly about the gray-and-pink number donned by WOGA. It's weird. But not in a bad way.
Who's the dude who's commentating with Tim and Elfi? He sounds uncomfortable.
Chellsie Memmel, bars: BIG Tkatchev. Nice, clean routine. Good extension throughout.
Shawn Johnson, floor: JK.
Gabby Douglas, floor: So cute! Such a baby. Liang Chow is always smiling. Clean triple twist. Interesting use of vocals in the background -- very NCAA. Flying out of bounds on double Arabian. I feel like Marta is not amused by "Me No Speak Americano" music. I feel like this girl will only get better with age.
As per Wikipedia, that song is actually produced by an Australian duo.
Break!
...
Alicia Sacramone, floor: Dislike the weird X on her leotard. Nice triple full. Tremendously high double Arabian. Really enjoy this music, though the choreography isn't really a revelation. So it goes. Aaaaand falls to her back.
Jordyn Wieber, beam: Freaked out by the yellow/gold leotard. I was never really a fan of yellow. Wobbly wobble out of the layout. Can't imagine too many "laymen" are watching Universal Sports right now. Nice switch-side-half. Seems to be becoming popular lately. Shakes all around. Nice 2.5 dismount.
McKayla Maroney, floor: Really casual 3.5 twist. This music must be so irritating to practice to day in and day out. Very clean. Looks like she could break in half, but she's a beast. The requisite (thus far) out of bounds. Will she make the double Arabian??? Nope. End scene.
Rebecca Bross, bars: Looks like she's about to fall asleep. Nice Khorkina to high bar. Off on the Tkatchev. Tim is shocked. Then again, Bross has a history of being a hot mess in major competitions on at least one event. I am not shocked. Big Pak salto. She has nice amplitude on her releases -- I have never truly appreciated it before.
Aly Raisman, floor: I bet Aly is a lovely person, but I fear she will win tonight. Egads. Man, though, she is an insane tumbler. Two Arabian passes. Random vocals in the background. Semi-sexy moves on the floor. Triple full. Must also be annoying music to hear day in and day out. But she stayed in bounds, so good for her.
Break!
...
Just realized that they're not telling us any scores. Ah, well.
Super neon green for Legacy Elite. Meh.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Neon Leotards for the Caquatto sisters? Maybe.
Lol, uh, commercial break again?
...
Bridgette Caquatto, bars: feet crossing on some handstands. Extra swing. Piked down double layout dismount.
Did unknown male commentator just say, "The sweat is dripping down her bra"???
Alicia Sacramone, vault: Leotard by Under Armour? Will check out that logo again. Wow, that first vault looked higher than ever. And that's def Under Armour. Really nice execution in the slow-mo replay. Pretty solid DTY.
Anna Li, bars: The much-hyped routine is happening. Some form issues and close to the bars on releases, but she's making it happen. Cool!
Jordyn Wieber, floor: Right now I'm guessing Aly 1, Jordyn 2, Rebecca 3 for the all-around finale. Just a hunch. Double-double to start. Crisp dance. I appreciate that her moves actually go with the music. Very clean twister. I feel like she has new routines at every meet. Or maybe that's just because she's always injured and does like 1 major meet per season. Nice routine! I liked it.
TOO MUCH YELLOW.
Mackenzie Caquatto, bars: Looks worried. BIG Church. And big Pak. (That's what she...). Very aggressive routine.
Rebecca Bross, beam: Stuck Arabian. She's going all the way here -- no hesitations. Yikes! Foot slips on the back tuck. Tim is shocked again. Valeri will not be pleased. And down on the dismount.
Aly Raisman, vault: I fear this Amanar. JK, she does a DTY instead. I feel better now. On the plus side, she looks nice in pink.
Sabrina Vega, bars: Break on the handstand and kicks low bar. Aw. And off on the Church.
So many falls!
Nastia is helping to make the selection for the World team? For why?
Do we really need to keep the camera on Sabrina Vega's face as she cries? Really?
And Steve Rybacki also chooses the World team?
So many questions, rhetorical and not?
Chellsie Memmel, beam: barani connected to back handspring. Not beautiful, but definitely admirable. Long pause pre-Arabian. Too many looooong pauses throughout this routine. Successfully 2 for 2 in not splatting.
Shawn Johnson, finally! vault: A serviceable DTY. Not going to change the world, but not embarrassing. She sprints awaaaaay. In the slow-mo replay, crooked but not terrible form.
Casey Jo Magee, standing: Her hair is cute. Also, a nice leotard.
Jordyn Wieber, vault: Wow, really nice Amanar. High, clean, and not scary. Win!
Anna Li, beam: Business-like switch-ring. Seems confident. I type this just as she wobbles majorly. Oops. A decent routine.
McKayla Maroney, bars: Extra swiiiings. Seems to be required along with the OOB on floor. This probably WILL spur on Nastia's comeback.
Mackenzie Caquatto, beam: Save on the side somi. Off on the layout. Hot dang, sons, I miss the days when you'd see very, very few falls at a big competition. I sound like I'm ninety.
Rebecca Bross, floor: I feel bad for her. She must hate life. Watched this routine in the training videos and found it to be a major step up from her previous routine. HUGE first pass. I really like this music. WOGA sure loves those violins in their floor music. Slow movements in contrats to high energy music. Lots of posing and standing. Haha, I like the landing of the last pass to the music -- very MIOBI in its conclusion. No disasters for her in that routine.
Aly Raisman, bars: Leg separations. Flexed toes. You know the rendez-vous.
Casey Magee, beam!: Broken connection in the double to single turn. She looks taller than the rest of the pack. I sense that Tim is rooting for her. I am, too. Yikes, didn't really complete that round-off pre-layout. Off she goes. Triple turn, saved. The crowd appreciates it. Love that handspring down to the knee.
Where did Gabby Douglas go?
Breeeaaaak.
...
Shawn Johnson, bars: Nice Geinger - big! Resists the extra swing. Nice dismount! Redemption from the CoverGirl Splatfest.
Chellsie Memmel, floor: Runs out of bounds, OF COURSE. High tumbling. reminds me of Kristen Maloney with better form. This routine is dragging. A fierce finish.
Gabby Douglas, bars: They found her! Holy Tkatchev. Wowzas. Nice extension. Wild dismount almost to her hands.
Bridgette Caquatto, beam: This group is still on beam? Man. Gets a lot of height in the aerial skills. And she's off. Tim calls these falls "infectious." The zombie viral apocalypse? The heralding of 2012? I digress.
That judge hit the bell with true relish. She too is tired of the nonsense.
Is it wrong that I'm looking forward for this comp to be over, but yet I can't look away?
...
I feel like there's no urgency to this competition. Everyone (for the most part) looks like a mess. Whoever survives will win. Kudos to Wieber, however, who has performed like a real champ.
Quite simply, it's boring.
But we'll see what the final rotation brings.
As Andrea Joyce talks about Gabby Douglas's family, does anyone else miss the days of fluffy montages and interviews? I lived for those. Again, I'm ninety.
Rebecca Bross, vault: High vault, scary low landing - bent knees in the air and chest down. Aw. She needs a long rest, and maybe something sugary.
McKayla Maroney, beam: I'd like to see her have a nice routine. Will she? Ah, yes, a fall on the layout. But of course.
Mackenzie Caquatto, floor: Will we see a techno FSU floor routine? Looks like it. Kind of a yawn.
Aly Raisman, beam: Aly looks slightly like a young Emeline, which is a supreme accomplishment. Stays on the layout. Hence why she will win (or place top three). An improved leap. Bent knees on the front pike. She's a tough customer. Whoa, a legit dismount/landing.
Chellsie Memmel, however, is not impressed.
She vaults: FTY. It's fine.
Sabrina Vega returns after the break. Floor: Out of bounds. Spicy music. Lots of energy and sweet ending pose.
J-Wiebs, bars: I suddenly fear a meltdown a la Vanessa Atler in '97 on bars. Legs apart. Seems to be muscling through. Low Tkatchev. That routine seemed really short. No meltdowns, however.
Shawn Johnson, beam: I'm excited. Stays on for the layout. She's very aggressive today. Big save on the aerial. The haters will love the low back leg on her switch leap. Honestly, this is one of the best beam routines at this meet. Over time. She and Raisman desire to be co-champs on beam at this rate, based on this telecast (maybe second to Wieber).
I'd like to ask SJ about her knee surgery. Which graft did she choose: patellar tendon, hamstring, or cadaver? The grand questions.
Gabby Douglas, beam: My goodness, she is tiny. Those damn layouts, man. Off she goes. And off on the back full.
Tim: "This is, quite honestly, one of those meets that's hard to recover from."
Dad: "And hard to watch."
Yikes. Off on the switch ring. One of those times where you wish you could get off mid-routine and hide.
Her coach, however, smiles anyway. I'd like to see what he's like in the gym.
Seriously, who doesn't hate her life tonight? Raisman, Memmel, Wieber, ShawnJohn? That's it.
Alicia Sacramone, beam: Goin' big. No wobbles. Huge switch-side. She may need to be the national beam champ. Really good routine. The execution score should be high.
...
Parting Shots
Much like the CoverGirl Classic, that was one heck of a brutal meet to watch.
Is it really the open-ended scoring that encourages so much difficulty that the girls are a mess? If that's so, then, why did nearly all of the falls on TV come from layouts, a skill that Level 10's perform comfortably? Nerves about the rest of the routine? Nerves about Marta? Nerves about something else? Would we see these sort of routines at Russian or Chinese nationals? What happened to that supreme confidence of a Miller or a Zmeskal, or even Patterson? Is it the Code that makes the confidence impossible? Or is it the undercurrent of something else?
The standings thus far:
1. Jordyn
2. Aly
3. Chellsie
4. Bross
To conclude for the night, here's a beam routine to make you feel better about life:
Interesting leotards already. I'm kinda digging Shawn Johnson's black and blue number, though the see-through mesh on the back is a bit disconcerting. I feel similarly about the gray-and-pink number donned by WOGA. It's weird. But not in a bad way.
Who's the dude who's commentating with Tim and Elfi? He sounds uncomfortable.
Chellsie Memmel, bars: BIG Tkatchev. Nice, clean routine. Good extension throughout.
Shawn Johnson, floor: JK.
Gabby Douglas, floor: So cute! Such a baby. Liang Chow is always smiling. Clean triple twist. Interesting use of vocals in the background -- very NCAA. Flying out of bounds on double Arabian. I feel like Marta is not amused by "Me No Speak Americano" music. I feel like this girl will only get better with age.
As per Wikipedia, that song is actually produced by an Australian duo.
Break!
...
Alicia Sacramone, floor: Dislike the weird X on her leotard. Nice triple full. Tremendously high double Arabian. Really enjoy this music, though the choreography isn't really a revelation. So it goes. Aaaaand falls to her back.
Jordyn Wieber, beam: Freaked out by the yellow/gold leotard. I was never really a fan of yellow. Wobbly wobble out of the layout. Can't imagine too many "laymen" are watching Universal Sports right now. Nice switch-side-half. Seems to be becoming popular lately. Shakes all around. Nice 2.5 dismount.
McKayla Maroney, floor: Really casual 3.5 twist. This music must be so irritating to practice to day in and day out. Very clean. Looks like she could break in half, but she's a beast. The requisite (thus far) out of bounds. Will she make the double Arabian??? Nope. End scene.
Rebecca Bross, bars: Looks like she's about to fall asleep. Nice Khorkina to high bar. Off on the Tkatchev. Tim is shocked. Then again, Bross has a history of being a hot mess in major competitions on at least one event. I am not shocked. Big Pak salto. She has nice amplitude on her releases -- I have never truly appreciated it before.
Aly Raisman, floor: I bet Aly is a lovely person, but I fear she will win tonight. Egads. Man, though, she is an insane tumbler. Two Arabian passes. Random vocals in the background. Semi-sexy moves on the floor. Triple full. Must also be annoying music to hear day in and day out. But she stayed in bounds, so good for her.
Break!
...
Just realized that they're not telling us any scores. Ah, well.
Super neon green for Legacy Elite. Meh.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Neon Leotards for the Caquatto sisters? Maybe.
Lol, uh, commercial break again?
...
Bridgette Caquatto, bars: feet crossing on some handstands. Extra swing. Piked down double layout dismount.
Did unknown male commentator just say, "The sweat is dripping down her bra"???
Alicia Sacramone, vault: Leotard by Under Armour? Will check out that logo again. Wow, that first vault looked higher than ever. And that's def Under Armour. Really nice execution in the slow-mo replay. Pretty solid DTY.
Anna Li, bars: The much-hyped routine is happening. Some form issues and close to the bars on releases, but she's making it happen. Cool!
Jordyn Wieber, floor: Right now I'm guessing Aly 1, Jordyn 2, Rebecca 3 for the all-around finale. Just a hunch. Double-double to start. Crisp dance. I appreciate that her moves actually go with the music. Very clean twister. I feel like she has new routines at every meet. Or maybe that's just because she's always injured and does like 1 major meet per season. Nice routine! I liked it.
TOO MUCH YELLOW.
Mackenzie Caquatto, bars: Looks worried. BIG Church. And big Pak. (That's what she...). Very aggressive routine.
Rebecca Bross, beam: Stuck Arabian. She's going all the way here -- no hesitations. Yikes! Foot slips on the back tuck. Tim is shocked again. Valeri will not be pleased. And down on the dismount.
Aly Raisman, vault: I fear this Amanar. JK, she does a DTY instead. I feel better now. On the plus side, she looks nice in pink.
Sabrina Vega, bars: Break on the handstand and kicks low bar. Aw. And off on the Church.
So many falls!
Nastia is helping to make the selection for the World team? For why?
Do we really need to keep the camera on Sabrina Vega's face as she cries? Really?
And Steve Rybacki also chooses the World team?
So many questions, rhetorical and not?
Chellsie Memmel, beam: barani connected to back handspring. Not beautiful, but definitely admirable. Long pause pre-Arabian. Too many looooong pauses throughout this routine. Successfully 2 for 2 in not splatting.
Shawn Johnson, finally! vault: A serviceable DTY. Not going to change the world, but not embarrassing. She sprints awaaaaay. In the slow-mo replay, crooked but not terrible form.
Casey Jo Magee, standing: Her hair is cute. Also, a nice leotard.
Jordyn Wieber, vault: Wow, really nice Amanar. High, clean, and not scary. Win!
Anna Li, beam: Business-like switch-ring. Seems confident. I type this just as she wobbles majorly. Oops. A decent routine.
McKayla Maroney, bars: Extra swiiiings. Seems to be required along with the OOB on floor. This probably WILL spur on Nastia's comeback.
Mackenzie Caquatto, beam: Save on the side somi. Off on the layout. Hot dang, sons, I miss the days when you'd see very, very few falls at a big competition. I sound like I'm ninety.
Rebecca Bross, floor: I feel bad for her. She must hate life. Watched this routine in the training videos and found it to be a major step up from her previous routine. HUGE first pass. I really like this music. WOGA sure loves those violins in their floor music. Slow movements in contrats to high energy music. Lots of posing and standing. Haha, I like the landing of the last pass to the music -- very MIOBI in its conclusion. No disasters for her in that routine.
Aly Raisman, bars: Leg separations. Flexed toes. You know the rendez-vous.
Casey Magee, beam!: Broken connection in the double to single turn. She looks taller than the rest of the pack. I sense that Tim is rooting for her. I am, too. Yikes, didn't really complete that round-off pre-layout. Off she goes. Triple turn, saved. The crowd appreciates it. Love that handspring down to the knee.
Where did Gabby Douglas go?
Breeeaaaak.
...
Shawn Johnson, bars: Nice Geinger - big! Resists the extra swing. Nice dismount! Redemption from the CoverGirl Splatfest.
Chellsie Memmel, floor: Runs out of bounds, OF COURSE. High tumbling. reminds me of Kristen Maloney with better form. This routine is dragging. A fierce finish.
Gabby Douglas, bars: They found her! Holy Tkatchev. Wowzas. Nice extension. Wild dismount almost to her hands.
Bridgette Caquatto, beam: This group is still on beam? Man. Gets a lot of height in the aerial skills. And she's off. Tim calls these falls "infectious." The zombie viral apocalypse? The heralding of 2012? I digress.
That judge hit the bell with true relish. She too is tired of the nonsense.
Is it wrong that I'm looking forward for this comp to be over, but yet I can't look away?
...
I feel like there's no urgency to this competition. Everyone (for the most part) looks like a mess. Whoever survives will win. Kudos to Wieber, however, who has performed like a real champ.
Quite simply, it's boring.
But we'll see what the final rotation brings.
As Andrea Joyce talks about Gabby Douglas's family, does anyone else miss the days of fluffy montages and interviews? I lived for those. Again, I'm ninety.
Rebecca Bross, vault: High vault, scary low landing - bent knees in the air and chest down. Aw. She needs a long rest, and maybe something sugary.
McKayla Maroney, beam: I'd like to see her have a nice routine. Will she? Ah, yes, a fall on the layout. But of course.
Mackenzie Caquatto, floor: Will we see a techno FSU floor routine? Looks like it. Kind of a yawn.
Aly Raisman, beam: Aly looks slightly like a young Emeline, which is a supreme accomplishment. Stays on the layout. Hence why she will win (or place top three). An improved leap. Bent knees on the front pike. She's a tough customer. Whoa, a legit dismount/landing.
Chellsie Memmel, however, is not impressed.
She vaults: FTY. It's fine.
Sabrina Vega returns after the break. Floor: Out of bounds. Spicy music. Lots of energy and sweet ending pose.
J-Wiebs, bars: I suddenly fear a meltdown a la Vanessa Atler in '97 on bars. Legs apart. Seems to be muscling through. Low Tkatchev. That routine seemed really short. No meltdowns, however.
Shawn Johnson, beam: I'm excited. Stays on for the layout. She's very aggressive today. Big save on the aerial. The haters will love the low back leg on her switch leap. Honestly, this is one of the best beam routines at this meet. Over time. She and Raisman desire to be co-champs on beam at this rate, based on this telecast (maybe second to Wieber).
I'd like to ask SJ about her knee surgery. Which graft did she choose: patellar tendon, hamstring, or cadaver? The grand questions.
Gabby Douglas, beam: My goodness, she is tiny. Those damn layouts, man. Off she goes. And off on the back full.
Tim: "This is, quite honestly, one of those meets that's hard to recover from."
Dad: "And hard to watch."
Yikes. Off on the switch ring. One of those times where you wish you could get off mid-routine and hide.
Her coach, however, smiles anyway. I'd like to see what he's like in the gym.
Seriously, who doesn't hate her life tonight? Raisman, Memmel, Wieber, ShawnJohn? That's it.
Alicia Sacramone, beam: Goin' big. No wobbles. Huge switch-side. She may need to be the national beam champ. Really good routine. The execution score should be high.
...
Parting Shots
Much like the CoverGirl Classic, that was one heck of a brutal meet to watch.
Is it really the open-ended scoring that encourages so much difficulty that the girls are a mess? If that's so, then, why did nearly all of the falls on TV come from layouts, a skill that Level 10's perform comfortably? Nerves about the rest of the routine? Nerves about Marta? Nerves about something else? Would we see these sort of routines at Russian or Chinese nationals? What happened to that supreme confidence of a Miller or a Zmeskal, or even Patterson? Is it the Code that makes the confidence impossible? Or is it the undercurrent of something else?
The standings thus far:
1. Jordyn
2. Aly
3. Chellsie
4. Bross
To conclude for the night, here's a beam routine to make you feel better about life:
Don Joy, mud pits, and retail soundtracks
The best part of a custom-made knee brace: the complimentary bag.
Bing Images doesn't have any photos of the duffel bag, which is a real travesty. I've made it to Europe and back by rolling up my clothes and fitting my life into that bag.
This weekend was no different.
Our journey began on Friday evening, when we drove to the town of Coxsackie (which has a body of water called "Climax Brook"). The requisite sing-along took place. But this was not a mere anthematic, "Don't Stop Believing" sing-along. This was an ode to the songs that played again and again and again as we each worked jobs in retail (Banana Republic, Journeys, and the Baby Gap, respectively). Songs that may have been decent but were ruined by memories of standing for hours and pretending to fold baby clothes (me). Or songs that we never knew the chorus to, such as this one.
After getting lost in our quest for a hotel that didn't exist, we found our correct habitation for the night. We went right to sleep, minus the fact that the room was 978786 degrees and very silent. You lie there wondering: Who else is awake? Does their breathing mean they're sleeping?
At 7:45 the next morning, Lauren and I waited amongst folks in Viking costumes and fairy skirts. We were dressed simply in blue T-shirts and black shorts. As music played down below, we worried about the big issues in life: Would we die? Would we have to pee while on the course?
Fire spewed from torches. We were off.
The first mile or so ran strictly uphill. That doesn't sound like a big deal, except for when you're running up a ski mountain. It kept going up, and up, and up...
After I saw jacked-looking men walking, I decided it was okay to join.
The first obstacles we encountered were nothing to write home about. Crawled under some wood and made our way through the junkyard of old cars and tires. However, we soon heard screaming in the woods. That's when we knew we were in for the good stuff: jumping into the water to climb over logs.
The logs spun toward us as we tried to climb over them. The water came up to my shoulders and my super-saturated sneakers kicked for the bottom. Some chivalrous boyfriends held the logs down for their girlfriends, so we tried to capitalize on that. Then they'd release just in time for us to fall back. I tossed one leg up and over and propelled myself to the other side. True gymnast form.
We exited that obstacle thoroughly muddy.
The other obstacles up on the mountain weren't too tough. There were ropes to climb and wooden A-frames to slide down. Lauren and I had some romantic Titantic-like moments where she waited to catch me, should I have needed catching.
The actual running course, however, was another story. After going uphill for that first mile, the two miles down were just as steep; it felt like you could easily fall over yourself and roll down the mountain. There were divots in the long grass and you had to watch your step. Parts of the trail wove through the woods, bringing back the cross-country days.
Down below, we could see the smoke and the parking lot. "I smell food," Lauren said, and thus we were motivated to run forth.
Three obstacles presented themselves at the very end of the race, as the spectators cheered and took photos: a slip and slide, fire to jump over, and a mud pit with barbed wire.
Now, there's actual video footage of me at age three refusing to go down the slip and slide in our front yard, because I was too scared of wet tarp, apparently. On this day, Lauren ran all gungho and leapt belly-first onto the slip and slide. I was more conservative, but still cruised down the tarp on my stomach.
We made it over the fire, and for the finale, crawled in the mud under barbed wire. The wire wasn't all that low, so I didn't live in fear of getting stuck. However, one had no choice but to go on one's hands and knees as the photographer snapped away.
Finally, Lauren and I ran through the finish line together. I threw up a fist in the air, but did not throw up. Which is an achievement.
Sure, the Warrior Dash was a silly time. But it brought back something I'd forgotten: the desire to work through unusual physical challenges and find that I am capable of accomplishing them. Like the Project Adventure courses in high school and trapezing last summer. Contorting not only my body, but my mind, in unexpected ways.
Bing Images doesn't have any photos of the duffel bag, which is a real travesty. I've made it to Europe and back by rolling up my clothes and fitting my life into that bag.
This weekend was no different.
Our journey began on Friday evening, when we drove to the town of Coxsackie (which has a body of water called "Climax Brook"). The requisite sing-along took place. But this was not a mere anthematic, "Don't Stop Believing" sing-along. This was an ode to the songs that played again and again and again as we each worked jobs in retail (Banana Republic, Journeys, and the Baby Gap, respectively). Songs that may have been decent but were ruined by memories of standing for hours and pretending to fold baby clothes (me). Or songs that we never knew the chorus to, such as this one.
After getting lost in our quest for a hotel that didn't exist, we found our correct habitation for the night. We went right to sleep, minus the fact that the room was 978786 degrees and very silent. You lie there wondering: Who else is awake? Does their breathing mean they're sleeping?
At 7:45 the next morning, Lauren and I waited amongst folks in Viking costumes and fairy skirts. We were dressed simply in blue T-shirts and black shorts. As music played down below, we worried about the big issues in life: Would we die? Would we have to pee while on the course?
Fire spewed from torches. We were off.
The first mile or so ran strictly uphill. That doesn't sound like a big deal, except for when you're running up a ski mountain. It kept going up, and up, and up...
After I saw jacked-looking men walking, I decided it was okay to join.
The first obstacles we encountered were nothing to write home about. Crawled under some wood and made our way through the junkyard of old cars and tires. However, we soon heard screaming in the woods. That's when we knew we were in for the good stuff: jumping into the water to climb over logs.
The logs spun toward us as we tried to climb over them. The water came up to my shoulders and my super-saturated sneakers kicked for the bottom. Some chivalrous boyfriends held the logs down for their girlfriends, so we tried to capitalize on that. Then they'd release just in time for us to fall back. I tossed one leg up and over and propelled myself to the other side. True gymnast form.
We exited that obstacle thoroughly muddy.
The other obstacles up on the mountain weren't too tough. There were ropes to climb and wooden A-frames to slide down. Lauren and I had some romantic Titantic-like moments where she waited to catch me, should I have needed catching.
The actual running course, however, was another story. After going uphill for that first mile, the two miles down were just as steep; it felt like you could easily fall over yourself and roll down the mountain. There were divots in the long grass and you had to watch your step. Parts of the trail wove through the woods, bringing back the cross-country days.
Down below, we could see the smoke and the parking lot. "I smell food," Lauren said, and thus we were motivated to run forth.
Three obstacles presented themselves at the very end of the race, as the spectators cheered and took photos: a slip and slide, fire to jump over, and a mud pit with barbed wire.
Now, there's actual video footage of me at age three refusing to go down the slip and slide in our front yard, because I was too scared of wet tarp, apparently. On this day, Lauren ran all gungho and leapt belly-first onto the slip and slide. I was more conservative, but still cruised down the tarp on my stomach.
We made it over the fire, and for the finale, crawled in the mud under barbed wire. The wire wasn't all that low, so I didn't live in fear of getting stuck. However, one had no choice but to go on one's hands and knees as the photographer snapped away.
Finally, Lauren and I ran through the finish line together. I threw up a fist in the air, but did not throw up. Which is an achievement.
Sure, the Warrior Dash was a silly time. But it brought back something I'd forgotten: the desire to work through unusual physical challenges and find that I am capable of accomplishing them. Like the Project Adventure courses in high school and trapezing last summer. Contorting not only my body, but my mind, in unexpected ways.
Monday, August 15, 2011
shorty shorts
I just wrote what may be the world's shortest screenplay. That's hyperbole, certainly, but it's quite brief. 358 words and just onto the second page.
Often I have glimpses of scenes. Usually they're comic sketches, over in a moment. The sort of thing that would probably lose its humor if extended beyond a few minutes.
This piece, I think, could stand to go a little longer. Maybe five pages, max. ::does a quick re-scan:: Maybe three. Or a full two.
There's nothing wrong with scenes, I believe, especially since so much thought lately goes to lengthy works. Scenes are the heartbeat. A quick inhalation of air, the hand on the doorknob, the voice that asks, "Who's there?"
Often I have glimpses of scenes. Usually they're comic sketches, over in a moment. The sort of thing that would probably lose its humor if extended beyond a few minutes.
This piece, I think, could stand to go a little longer. Maybe five pages, max. ::does a quick re-scan:: Maybe three. Or a full two.
There's nothing wrong with scenes, I believe, especially since so much thought lately goes to lengthy works. Scenes are the heartbeat. A quick inhalation of air, the hand on the doorknob, the voice that asks, "Who's there?"
Friday, August 12, 2011
Happy Family Friday
I touched upon writing preoccupations back in May - what is the story we were meant to write?
As someone who enjoys writing about the inversion and struggle in relationships, I appreciated this quote from writer Kevin Wilson:
"I'm most interested in the way that people are put together and told that they're connected and how they make peace with that and make a life together. I think I'll write about family forever."
As someone who enjoys writing about the inversion and struggle in relationships, I appreciated this quote from writer Kevin Wilson:
"I'm most interested in the way that people are put together and told that they're connected and how they make peace with that and make a life together. I think I'll write about family forever."
Monday, August 08, 2011
I wanna hold your hand
As I write, I hear the words of the workshop: Why is she saying this? I want to know more about this character. What is their relationship? Why is she acting this way? Tell us more.
Many times those questions have been helpful. I probe into areas that I wouldn't have gone into otherwise. I think through all the why's and why not's.
My brother's advice for writing a cover letter is to make things as obvious as possible for the prospective employer. "You need to add a little more here about how your experience relates to the position," he says on the phone.
"Yeah, but isn't that clear already?"
"Yes, but sometimes you have to hold their hand a little."
However, I hear those same workshop voices when I read a novel and see a slip of a character that I know, I know, somebody in the group would jump on and say, "I'd like to see you develop this more."
But maybe that person just doesn't matter much beyond their one appearance. Maybe we don't need to know everything about his background and her interior monologue and what they wore when they sat down to breakfast.
Maybe a little mystery's good for you, and if you want that relationship developed further, well, keep on wishin'.
///
#220: Keith Urban, "Long Hot Summer"
#221: Pitbull & Marc Anthony, "Rain Over Me" (beyond ridiculous...to the point where I kinda love it)
#222: Enrique Iglesias, "Ayer"
#223: Lykke Li, "I Follow Rivers"
Many times those questions have been helpful. I probe into areas that I wouldn't have gone into otherwise. I think through all the why's and why not's.
My brother's advice for writing a cover letter is to make things as obvious as possible for the prospective employer. "You need to add a little more here about how your experience relates to the position," he says on the phone.
"Yeah, but isn't that clear already?"
"Yes, but sometimes you have to hold their hand a little."
However, I hear those same workshop voices when I read a novel and see a slip of a character that I know, I know, somebody in the group would jump on and say, "I'd like to see you develop this more."
But maybe that person just doesn't matter much beyond their one appearance. Maybe we don't need to know everything about his background and her interior monologue and what they wore when they sat down to breakfast.
Maybe a little mystery's good for you, and if you want that relationship developed further, well, keep on wishin'.
///
#220: Keith Urban, "Long Hot Summer"
#221: Pitbull & Marc Anthony, "Rain Over Me" (beyond ridiculous...to the point where I kinda love it)
#222: Enrique Iglesias, "Ayer"
#223: Lykke Li, "I Follow Rivers"
Sunday, August 07, 2011
You love the thunder
People have always come to me with their stories. They find me empathetic or sympathetic or maybe quiet in the "I can count on her to keep a secret" way. I'm not sure.
For the most part, I enjoy the stories. But there's a particular variety that I enjoy above the others: disastrous relationships.
To be clear, I'm not talking about abuse or stalking or real danger. But I am thinking of stories before those points. The relationships that seem lovely on the surface but, after the fact, turned out to be a hot mess of missed phone calls, inexplicable silences, public fights, drunken texts, and a whole lotta he said-she said.
In college, Lena and I reunited with our friend Natalie one afternoon for lunch. Natalie had been in a relationship for several months and, as far as we knew, things were just peachy.
"How are things going with you guys?" I asked.
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, God."
To me, that just screamed, Tell me more!
I love the denouement. The undoing. I can spy it coming now in stories. He's been a little weird lately, but I think he's just stressed. Watch out, girl. It's on the way down.
But to be fair, I also enjoy beginnings. Quite a bit, in fact. I love learning how people in the randomness of life and humanity and coincidence find one another, start talking, connect. The chance encounters, the nothingness that becomes something.
Then there's "everything is great and we're thinking about buying a dog together" in between. It's great and I'm happy for you.
It just doesn't make for as good of a story.
For the most part, I enjoy the stories. But there's a particular variety that I enjoy above the others: disastrous relationships.
To be clear, I'm not talking about abuse or stalking or real danger. But I am thinking of stories before those points. The relationships that seem lovely on the surface but, after the fact, turned out to be a hot mess of missed phone calls, inexplicable silences, public fights, drunken texts, and a whole lotta he said-she said.
In college, Lena and I reunited with our friend Natalie one afternoon for lunch. Natalie had been in a relationship for several months and, as far as we knew, things were just peachy.
"How are things going with you guys?" I asked.
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, God."
To me, that just screamed, Tell me more!
I love the denouement. The undoing. I can spy it coming now in stories. He's been a little weird lately, but I think he's just stressed. Watch out, girl. It's on the way down.
But to be fair, I also enjoy beginnings. Quite a bit, in fact. I love learning how people in the randomness of life and humanity and coincidence find one another, start talking, connect. The chance encounters, the nothingness that becomes something.
Then there's "everything is great and we're thinking about buying a dog together" in between. It's great and I'm happy for you.
It just doesn't make for as good of a story.
Friday, August 05, 2011
silent stories
Ideas for the novel keep rolling. Thoughts on Mexican sequels. Even a poem inspired by reading posts for adjunct instructors.
But when friends ask about my life, I've got nothin'.
This evening, Lauren and I had a laptop party. In the past, we would have stalked boys online. Tonight, we researched carousels and pirate-themed races. The adult things in life. Then we each settled into work mode and got cracking.
And...that was my night.
Some friends still have stories of nightly shenanigans. Others talk about husbands and homes. I'm in a sort of no man's land.
From what I gather, I'm not the only one experiencing this phenomenon. The dry spell. A general lack of life stories worth sharing. But fortunately my imagination's still crackling, and so long as you don't mind that the fictional world is more interesting to me right now, a story should come 'round again one day.
...
#216: Darius Rucker, "Alright"
#217: Darius Rucker, "It Won't Be Like This For Long"
#218: Regina Spektor, "Us"
#219: Regina Spektor, "On the Radio"
But when friends ask about my life, I've got nothin'.
This evening, Lauren and I had a laptop party. In the past, we would have stalked boys online. Tonight, we researched carousels and pirate-themed races. The adult things in life. Then we each settled into work mode and got cracking.
And...that was my night.
Some friends still have stories of nightly shenanigans. Others talk about husbands and homes. I'm in a sort of no man's land.
From what I gather, I'm not the only one experiencing this phenomenon. The dry spell. A general lack of life stories worth sharing. But fortunately my imagination's still crackling, and so long as you don't mind that the fictional world is more interesting to me right now, a story should come 'round again one day.
...
#216: Darius Rucker, "Alright"
#217: Darius Rucker, "It Won't Be Like This For Long"
#218: Regina Spektor, "Us"
#219: Regina Spektor, "On the Radio"
Monday, August 01, 2011
Young and true and free
Back around the ages of seventeen/eighteen (and right around when I began this blog), my friend was trying to date this dude. We were talking online and she copied/pasted what he had said to her, which was to the effect of: "I like you, but I want to stay young and true and free, you know?"
Both of us could get the "free" part, but "young and true"?
You'll be glad to know that these youngsters eventually did date and did not seem to age each other beyond repair. But that phrase came to mind last night. I spoke with another friend about careers in writing and the kind of writing that is useful to people, not just to sell magazines/publications. Not changing majors or going to law school, though certainly either option would have been practical.
His response was, "You know what, at least you're true to yourself and what you want to do. Most people never get there."
And that is, well, true. Though I don't always know what to do with myself, I'm pretty clear on who I am.
Both of us could get the "free" part, but "young and true"?
You'll be glad to know that these youngsters eventually did date and did not seem to age each other beyond repair. But that phrase came to mind last night. I spoke with another friend about careers in writing and the kind of writing that is useful to people, not just to sell magazines/publications. Not changing majors or going to law school, though certainly either option would have been practical.
His response was, "You know what, at least you're true to yourself and what you want to do. Most people never get there."
And that is, well, true. Though I don't always know what to do with myself, I'm pretty clear on who I am.
night hymns
This article reminds me of how I felt as I began my first year of grad school, immediately out of undergrad. Just not so extreme, and sans the eating disorder. And not just about gymnastics, but about, well, everything.
Even now, a year out of grad school -- which turned out to be two fantastic years of my life, those hallowed academic and residence halls -- I still feel like something is missing from those six years of higher education. Now I feel that I should have walked into rooms that I chose not to enter. I should have had conversations that I didn't. But what those rooms and conversations were, I don't know. It's not specific, this "it." It is a vagueness that grows.
Which year did it steal out of it? Did I never have it at all?
What is it that I feel I have lost, and where did it go? More importantly, does it matter if I know?
...
#214: The Black Keys, "Tighten Up"
#215: The Black Keys, "Howlin' For You"
Even now, a year out of grad school -- which turned out to be two fantastic years of my life, those hallowed academic and residence halls -- I still feel like something is missing from those six years of higher education. Now I feel that I should have walked into rooms that I chose not to enter. I should have had conversations that I didn't. But what those rooms and conversations were, I don't know. It's not specific, this "it." It is a vagueness that grows.
Which year did it steal out of it? Did I never have it at all?
What is it that I feel I have lost, and where did it go? More importantly, does it matter if I know?
...
#214: The Black Keys, "Tighten Up"
#215: The Black Keys, "Howlin' For You"
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Pacing
A decent amount of my writing time is spent, for lack of better words, gallivanting around the Internet. Sometimes, roaming into Word documents other than the one I'm working on. But mainly gallivanting.
I don't look for anything in particular. I surf but my mind's still on the text. I'm stuck on who says what next or what this place looks like or how this beat connects to the next. So I cruise around, if you will.
You could say that it's the downfall of being connected to the Internet. But when I was ten, eleven and writing on the family laptop downstairs on Saturday mornings, the Internet wasn't too exciting (I remember searching for gymnastics info, which yielded results for lawn care companies).
Instead, I'd stand up mid-scene and walk around. Past the table and into the living room. Move in circles while I mentally worked through the scene. As soon as I left the computer, the ideas opened up.
So that's what I'm doing tonight, as my peers hit up the scene after a long week or perhaps hit the sack. Writing, mentally pacing, music(ing). But mostly the first two.
...
#210: Shawn Colvin, "Riding Shotgun Down the Avalanche"
#211: Sugarland, "Fly Away"
#212: Sugarland, "One Blue Sky"
#213: Red Hot Chili Peppers, "The Adventures of Raindance Maggie"
I don't look for anything in particular. I surf but my mind's still on the text. I'm stuck on who says what next or what this place looks like or how this beat connects to the next. So I cruise around, if you will.
You could say that it's the downfall of being connected to the Internet. But when I was ten, eleven and writing on the family laptop downstairs on Saturday mornings, the Internet wasn't too exciting (I remember searching for gymnastics info, which yielded results for lawn care companies).
Instead, I'd stand up mid-scene and walk around. Past the table and into the living room. Move in circles while I mentally worked through the scene. As soon as I left the computer, the ideas opened up.
So that's what I'm doing tonight, as my peers hit up the scene after a long week or perhaps hit the sack. Writing, mentally pacing, music(ing). But mostly the first two.
...
#210: Shawn Colvin, "Riding Shotgun Down the Avalanche"
#211: Sugarland, "Fly Away"
#212: Sugarland, "One Blue Sky"
#213: Red Hot Chili Peppers, "The Adventures of Raindance Maggie"
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Compulsions
Heat wave central, and I drank hot chocolate. Yeah.
...
Left instead of right. Down the road and around the corner. Maybe not. This seat, not that one, on this particular side of the table, facing that way. That cookie, not the one it's stuck to. Fine, maybe both. Red instead of blue, in some instances.
I am chronically indecisive, but in some moments, the decision has been made so stubbornly that I can't budge. An unconscious decision: why do I feel I must sit there? Why do I need to move from the left turning lane to the right to go to a deli I've never been to before? Why that cookie out of the delicious-looking sea?
It would be convenient to hold these convictions in other walks of life. Instead, I vacillate. But in those moments, I am thoroughly pulled. I have no choice. Destiny tugs me.
...
#204: "Beth/Rest," Bon Iver
#205: "The Chain," Fleetwood Mac
#206: "Stone in Love," Journey
#207: "Passarim," Tom Jobim
#208: "Fly Me to the Moon," Sinval Fonseca
#209: "In the Sun," She & Him, as recommended by Emeline. The video earns a true "lol...wut?"
...
Left instead of right. Down the road and around the corner. Maybe not. This seat, not that one, on this particular side of the table, facing that way. That cookie, not the one it's stuck to. Fine, maybe both. Red instead of blue, in some instances.
I am chronically indecisive, but in some moments, the decision has been made so stubbornly that I can't budge. An unconscious decision: why do I feel I must sit there? Why do I need to move from the left turning lane to the right to go to a deli I've never been to before? Why that cookie out of the delicious-looking sea?
It would be convenient to hold these convictions in other walks of life. Instead, I vacillate. But in those moments, I am thoroughly pulled. I have no choice. Destiny tugs me.
...
#204: "Beth/Rest," Bon Iver
#205: "The Chain," Fleetwood Mac
#206: "Stone in Love," Journey
#207: "Passarim," Tom Jobim
#208: "Fly Me to the Moon," Sinval Fonseca
#209: "In the Sun," She & Him, as recommended by Emeline. The video earns a true "lol...wut?"
An image of the process
Many times I have read descriptions of the writing process, the personal sensation of committing words to screen or page, the feeling of the pen, and so on.
For me: an ear against the door, listening.
For me: an ear against the door, listening.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
USA CoverGirl Classic - live bloggin'!
Because I can, yo!
Tim's intro commentary is really awkward with. Truncated. Sentences.
Shawn Johnson's warm-up is solid.
(Scoping out leos for the kids this season. Seeking inspiration. Chellsie Memmel's looks like a leader so far.)
Aaaand...break!
...
A decent beam routine for Mackenzie Coquatto. I like her ponytail.
Everyone at this meet looks like they want to die. My boyfriend is chuckling at how SJ keeps turning away from the camera.
Jordyn Weiber -- a confident start. Really aggressive on the connections. Split leap/jump not so strong. Switch-side half -- pretty cool. WATCH THIS, says Tim. Pretty good.
Looks like a decent crowd tonight, at least in the lower levels.
SJ- nice Geinger. Solid handstands. "Awwwww" on the landing -- from all parties, including me. The dominatrix leo isn't super flattering, but I like it. My college coach would have killed her for that dismount: "You can't think you have it, you have to KNOW you have it!"
Break!
...
SJ looked "not too nervous," Tim? I beg to differ.
Aly Raisman - sloppy transition. Flexed toes and extra swings. Better off forgetting this one. Whoa, awkward Stalder moments on the high bar. Looks like SJ wins that round. On the plus side, I like the floor music that was playing in the beginning.
McKayla Maroney - she's so tiny! Boyfriend laughs again at "beautiful knees and toes." Really liking the white-and-purple leotard, even though the top right is a little weird. Some hesitations. She is indeed pretty to watch. Oh, that gosh dang full turn! A jaunty wave to the crowd.
Gabrielle Douglas - have seen some vids of her and kind of love her. HUGE Tckatchev, wow! Legs apart but stuck dismount! That was excellent.
Chellsie Memmel, the grand dame of the night - the standard sleek ponyatil. I like the sparkles quite a bit. Team Sparkle Motion here. Low chest on the barani. "More height" than usual? Yikes. Good save on the Arabian (though the best attempt at a save belongs to Bross, of course). Lots of long pauses. Ugly leap. Never been a huge fan, but she pulls it out.
They are showing a record amount of gymnastics right now.
Jinx? Now the fluffy times of watching Chellsie eat something. I hope it's chocolate.
Why are they showing nonsense? (Alas, the perpetual question.)
Bross looks exhausted.
Sabrina Vega -- Newww Yooork! Really like that luxuriously long side aerial. Got a case of the shaky-shakes. Pretty split jump - sissone. Huge legs apart on the dismount.
Break away.
...
Mag Seven!!! <3<3<3 My friend Danielle: "I feel like I had never seen gymnastics before that Olympics and I thought they were the best things ever."
At this rate, is Chellsie the only all-arounder left?
Bridgette Caquatto - she's such a wee thing. How come we haven't seen anyone vault yet? Just wondering. Clean first past. Jai Hoooo. Not a huge fan of this particular cut. Choreography doesn't really do it for me. Solid tumbling. Ooof...and on the butt out of bounds.
Shawn Johnson - ponyatil tucked into a bun. She's doing business now, biotches. Real weirdness happening down that right arm. Also looks like duct tape down the right arm. But whatevs. I secretly hope she'll bust out floor and vault. Also, I want to hang out with Liang Chow.
I like that mount. BOO, off the beam on the layout. I feel emotionally devastated. Ew to the sheep jump. Standing full to back handspring one day, methinks? One of those times where you want to just get off mid-routine and hide somewhere. Beautiful connection out of the switch leap. You can tell the fans/little girls are relieved.
Now she can go hide.
After a weirdly intimate camera angle of her cutting out the knee tape, of course.
13.5 - generous.
McKayla Maroney - beautiful twisting form (re: no Mustafina legs). Frenetic music makes me feel out of breath. Pretty good choreo. Yikes, an ambitious double Arabian on the last pass. Not so much a success.
Alicia Sacramone - wearing a buttload of make-up. The aggressive hands are out and about tonight. I think this leo would be pretty ugly if Alicia wasn't pretty. Bent knees on those pikes. I like that she doesn't pause for lengthy periods before big skills or the dismount.
Chellsie Memmel - HUGE Arabian pike. I like this intense music, though I'm not sure I can hear it clearly with the AC going in here. Lots of slowww poses. A good routine!
A special guest? Oh, man, I thought it would be Nastia for a hot second.
...
Aly Raisman - flexed feeeeet. Leap flexibility still meh. Doesn't look like her usual self -- seems to lack confidence.
Sabrina Vega - Exotic music. Boyfriend says, "Wow, that was clean." Liking that floor section after the second pass -- nicely done. She looks like she could be on Team Romania - something about her face. Good stuff!
Casey Jo Magee - totally loved her NCAA beam routines! Wowza, what a save on the side somi! I like that she brought out the cool tricks. Good for her, I say. "A really low dismount," however, says the BF.
...
You know it's not a real meet until Tim calls something "tremendous."
Alicia Sacramone - big fan of this music. Don't think the choreography is a revelation, but it's nice. The crowd claps along. Woof, low front layout. Gotta love an epic chorus chanting in the background. Still has supreme power in the tumbling.
Bridgette Caquatto - finally, someone vaults! Full-twisting Yurchenko.
Aly Raisman - honestly, didn't really watch because I was trying to figure out how to make a TinyURL. I figured it out in time to see a nice and easy double pike finale.
Chellsie Memmel - very high vault.
Amanda Jetter - I forgot she was going to be here. Super thin. Wobbles and hesitation. Nothing to write home about.
Hmm. Not too many highlights from this meet so far. Where is Jordyn Wieber hiding? Hopefully protecting her body?
Sabrina Vega - good height on double-twisting Yurchenko, but not great form.
McKenzie Wofford - she is WAY TOO CUTE. And short. Sounds like Tim said, "You have to be sixty" rather than "sixteen." Low landings. My mind isn't really blown by this routine. But I'm intrigued by her gymnastics future.
Sophina DeJesus - silver eyeliner. Hip-hop dancer? Can we see her floor routine? Unless she's not doing one, which seems to be a theme here this eve. The eyeliner and her bio are the most interesting parts of this routine for me. Her coach hates her now. You can tell.
Taking a stir-fry break because, frankly, this meet is kind of boring. Let me know if something exciting happens.
Sabrina Vega has the lead! Cool.
Alicia's vault - as ever, pretty awesome with a hop back. "Did she even touch the vault?" wonders boyfriend, looking perplexed.
Not gonna lie - the stir-fry I'm making smells awesome.
Second vault - pretty FTY.
Sooo hungry!
The feed freezes. Possibly good timing.
Anna Li - I knew there was a reason I was still watching! Nice handstands. A little close to the bars. Long routine. Oops - and the splatfest continues.
Aly Raisman - ugly Amanar. Not so good. I don't care what Tim says about "just making it."
Chellsie Memmel, who has not bombed out yet today - Nice bar routine! Nothing to be ashamed of today.
Highlight of this meet: definitely the stir-fry.
Man, and just when I thought Sabrina Vega was going to win this thing. Egads. Somewhere, Marta shakes her head in shame.
So what do we do for the next twenty some-odd minutes until the meet officially concludes?
Ah, Mackenzie Coquatto on bars - short on a few handstands, at least from the camera angle. Good routine. Looks like she has improved with age (at the ripe old age of, what, 19?).
Jordyn Wieber comes out of hiding for a bar routine. Really like the composition of the routine. It's something different. I feared for her knees on the dismount! No injuries today for her, which is always a victory.
Bridgette Caquatto - a bit of a labored routine. Anna Li looked super psyched as she landed the dismount.
Aly Raisman pulls out a win, as she's one of the few people to do all-around. And they don't interview her. Clearly, a prestigious title.
Aaaaaand we're outta here!
Tim's intro commentary is really awkward with. Truncated. Sentences.
Shawn Johnson's warm-up is solid.
(Scoping out leos for the kids this season. Seeking inspiration. Chellsie Memmel's looks like a leader so far.)
Aaaand...break!
...
A decent beam routine for Mackenzie Coquatto. I like her ponytail.
Everyone at this meet looks like they want to die. My boyfriend is chuckling at how SJ keeps turning away from the camera.
Jordyn Weiber -- a confident start. Really aggressive on the connections. Split leap/jump not so strong. Switch-side half -- pretty cool. WATCH THIS, says Tim. Pretty good.
Looks like a decent crowd tonight, at least in the lower levels.
SJ- nice Geinger. Solid handstands. "Awwwww" on the landing -- from all parties, including me. The dominatrix leo isn't super flattering, but I like it. My college coach would have killed her for that dismount: "You can't think you have it, you have to KNOW you have it!"
Break!
...
SJ looked "not too nervous," Tim? I beg to differ.
Aly Raisman - sloppy transition. Flexed toes and extra swings. Better off forgetting this one. Whoa, awkward Stalder moments on the high bar. Looks like SJ wins that round. On the plus side, I like the floor music that was playing in the beginning.
McKayla Maroney - she's so tiny! Boyfriend laughs again at "beautiful knees and toes." Really liking the white-and-purple leotard, even though the top right is a little weird. Some hesitations. She is indeed pretty to watch. Oh, that gosh dang full turn! A jaunty wave to the crowd.
Gabrielle Douglas - have seen some vids of her and kind of love her. HUGE Tckatchev, wow! Legs apart but stuck dismount! That was excellent.
Chellsie Memmel, the grand dame of the night - the standard sleek ponyatil. I like the sparkles quite a bit. Team Sparkle Motion here. Low chest on the barani. "More height" than usual? Yikes. Good save on the Arabian (though the best attempt at a save belongs to Bross, of course). Lots of long pauses. Ugly leap. Never been a huge fan, but she pulls it out.
They are showing a record amount of gymnastics right now.
Jinx? Now the fluffy times of watching Chellsie eat something. I hope it's chocolate.
Why are they showing nonsense? (Alas, the perpetual question.)
Bross looks exhausted.
Sabrina Vega -- Newww Yooork! Really like that luxuriously long side aerial. Got a case of the shaky-shakes. Pretty split jump - sissone. Huge legs apart on the dismount.
Break away.
...
Mag Seven!!! <3<3<3 My friend Danielle: "I feel like I had never seen gymnastics before that Olympics and I thought they were the best things ever."
At this rate, is Chellsie the only all-arounder left?
Bridgette Caquatto - she's such a wee thing. How come we haven't seen anyone vault yet? Just wondering. Clean first past. Jai Hoooo. Not a huge fan of this particular cut. Choreography doesn't really do it for me. Solid tumbling. Ooof...and on the butt out of bounds.
Shawn Johnson - ponyatil tucked into a bun. She's doing business now, biotches. Real weirdness happening down that right arm. Also looks like duct tape down the right arm. But whatevs. I secretly hope she'll bust out floor and vault. Also, I want to hang out with Liang Chow.
I like that mount. BOO, off the beam on the layout. I feel emotionally devastated. Ew to the sheep jump. Standing full to back handspring one day, methinks? One of those times where you want to just get off mid-routine and hide somewhere. Beautiful connection out of the switch leap. You can tell the fans/little girls are relieved.
Now she can go hide.
After a weirdly intimate camera angle of her cutting out the knee tape, of course.
13.5 - generous.
McKayla Maroney - beautiful twisting form (re: no Mustafina legs). Frenetic music makes me feel out of breath. Pretty good choreo. Yikes, an ambitious double Arabian on the last pass. Not so much a success.
Alicia Sacramone - wearing a buttload of make-up. The aggressive hands are out and about tonight. I think this leo would be pretty ugly if Alicia wasn't pretty. Bent knees on those pikes. I like that she doesn't pause for lengthy periods before big skills or the dismount.
Chellsie Memmel - HUGE Arabian pike. I like this intense music, though I'm not sure I can hear it clearly with the AC going in here. Lots of slowww poses. A good routine!
A special guest? Oh, man, I thought it would be Nastia for a hot second.
...
Aly Raisman - flexed feeeeet. Leap flexibility still meh. Doesn't look like her usual self -- seems to lack confidence.
Sabrina Vega - Exotic music. Boyfriend says, "Wow, that was clean." Liking that floor section after the second pass -- nicely done. She looks like she could be on Team Romania - something about her face. Good stuff!
Casey Jo Magee - totally loved her NCAA beam routines! Wowza, what a save on the side somi! I like that she brought out the cool tricks. Good for her, I say. "A really low dismount," however, says the BF.
...
You know it's not a real meet until Tim calls something "tremendous."
Alicia Sacramone - big fan of this music. Don't think the choreography is a revelation, but it's nice. The crowd claps along. Woof, low front layout. Gotta love an epic chorus chanting in the background. Still has supreme power in the tumbling.
Bridgette Caquatto - finally, someone vaults! Full-twisting Yurchenko.
Aly Raisman - honestly, didn't really watch because I was trying to figure out how to make a TinyURL. I figured it out in time to see a nice and easy double pike finale.
Chellsie Memmel - very high vault.
Amanda Jetter - I forgot she was going to be here. Super thin. Wobbles and hesitation. Nothing to write home about.
Hmm. Not too many highlights from this meet so far. Where is Jordyn Wieber hiding? Hopefully protecting her body?
Sabrina Vega - good height on double-twisting Yurchenko, but not great form.
McKenzie Wofford - she is WAY TOO CUTE. And short. Sounds like Tim said, "You have to be sixty" rather than "sixteen." Low landings. My mind isn't really blown by this routine. But I'm intrigued by her gymnastics future.
Sophina DeJesus - silver eyeliner. Hip-hop dancer? Can we see her floor routine? Unless she's not doing one, which seems to be a theme here this eve. The eyeliner and her bio are the most interesting parts of this routine for me. Her coach hates her now. You can tell.
Taking a stir-fry break because, frankly, this meet is kind of boring. Let me know if something exciting happens.
Sabrina Vega has the lead! Cool.
Alicia's vault - as ever, pretty awesome with a hop back. "Did she even touch the vault?" wonders boyfriend, looking perplexed.
Not gonna lie - the stir-fry I'm making smells awesome.
Second vault - pretty FTY.
Sooo hungry!
The feed freezes. Possibly good timing.
Anna Li - I knew there was a reason I was still watching! Nice handstands. A little close to the bars. Long routine. Oops - and the splatfest continues.
Aly Raisman - ugly Amanar. Not so good. I don't care what Tim says about "just making it."
Chellsie Memmel, who has not bombed out yet today - Nice bar routine! Nothing to be ashamed of today.
Highlight of this meet: definitely the stir-fry.
Man, and just when I thought Sabrina Vega was going to win this thing. Egads. Somewhere, Marta shakes her head in shame.
So what do we do for the next twenty some-odd minutes until the meet officially concludes?
Ah, Mackenzie Coquatto on bars - short on a few handstands, at least from the camera angle. Good routine. Looks like she has improved with age (at the ripe old age of, what, 19?).
Jordyn Wieber comes out of hiding for a bar routine. Really like the composition of the routine. It's something different. I feared for her knees on the dismount! No injuries today for her, which is always a victory.
Bridgette Caquatto - a bit of a labored routine. Anna Li looked super psyched as she landed the dismount.
Aly Raisman pulls out a win, as she's one of the few people to do all-around. And they don't interview her. Clearly, a prestigious title.
Aaaaaand we're outta here!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
In the depths of winter,
I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.
-Albert Camus
On the hot days, I choose the route to drive to work based on which roads have the most shade.
...
A winter memory: At each x-ray place, we performed the same ritual. Park the car. Turn body to the open door. Take crutches. Swing forward, left foot first. Carry the manila envelope with the original x-rays of the break. Be careful not to bend the envelope.
It was because of my broken foot that we really became friends, I think. Otherwise I would have been able to walk home instead of eating lunch in the cafeteria. I wouldn't have needed you to carry the tray with my pizza panini to a table where we'd sit together, and many times others in the previous class would join us, and we'd laugh.
Apparently this town had more than one x-ray office. Ice slicked the roads that morning and you drove slowly, both hands clenching the wheel, and I was glad to see that although you were an upstate girl and I a downstate one, we were equally nervous about driving in the snow.
'90's rock played on 105.1, and we were just realizing how much we liked the same music. That music would become essential the next year (Scenes and Arms Races, anyone?). Right then it kept us calm on slippery curves. We found something to laugh about, even later, after we parked the car in PER and waited for the bus up the hill, and it was so cold that I couldn't feel my toes and swore they were frostbitten when I took off my socks and wiggled them painstakingly. They were yellow.
It occurred to me that although we hadn't known each other long, you had no trouble being there for me.
...
#203: The Killers, "Human"
-Albert Camus
On the hot days, I choose the route to drive to work based on which roads have the most shade.
...
A winter memory: At each x-ray place, we performed the same ritual. Park the car. Turn body to the open door. Take crutches. Swing forward, left foot first. Carry the manila envelope with the original x-rays of the break. Be careful not to bend the envelope.
It was because of my broken foot that we really became friends, I think. Otherwise I would have been able to walk home instead of eating lunch in the cafeteria. I wouldn't have needed you to carry the tray with my pizza panini to a table where we'd sit together, and many times others in the previous class would join us, and we'd laugh.
Apparently this town had more than one x-ray office. Ice slicked the roads that morning and you drove slowly, both hands clenching the wheel, and I was glad to see that although you were an upstate girl and I a downstate one, we were equally nervous about driving in the snow.
'90's rock played on 105.1, and we were just realizing how much we liked the same music. That music would become essential the next year (Scenes and Arms Races, anyone?). Right then it kept us calm on slippery curves. We found something to laugh about, even later, after we parked the car in PER and waited for the bus up the hill, and it was so cold that I couldn't feel my toes and swore they were frostbitten when I took off my socks and wiggled them painstakingly. They were yellow.
It occurred to me that although we hadn't known each other long, you had no trouble being there for me.
...
#203: The Killers, "Human"
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
retractions
After the first thunderstorm yesterday, I took to the track for speed workout, week two.
I ran through the plague of tiny bugs that bobbed through the air like tufts of cotton. I braved the failure of my iPod. And I rounded the first 800 meters in 3:30.
My best time ever? I thought so, and decided to stop right there and get dinner.
Except that, oops, I must retract that other post. Because apparently my best effort was in the 2:40's in high school, not the 3:40's. Also, even though we'd all love to pretend that we're naturally super gifted without trying, there's no way I busted out a best-ever time in this situation without training.
I texted my friend Jill to confirm. We once ran an 800 in the pouring rain. Sure, it's only two laps. But I can assure you that for those racing on that afternoon, it was absolutely the longest, soggiest two laps we'd ever experienced.
Me: "Do you remember the ballpark of your 800 meter time?"
Jill: "Psh. Absolutely no idea. I remember wanting a life jacket!"
...
#194: Mos Def, "Mathematics"
#195: Middle Class Rut, "New Low"
#196: Jerrod Niemann, "What Do You Want"
#197: Zac Brown Band, "As She's Walking Away" (seems to be a common theme in songs...do that many people really fall in love with folks during chance encounters? Explicame, por favor.)
#198: Brand New, "Daisy"
#199: Taking Back Sunday, "El Paso"
#200: The Boats, "Raindrops"
#201: Coldplay, "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall" (not a Coldplay fan, but I like this song)
#202: Hammock, "You Lost the Starlight in Your Eyes" (PBJ test, DMG approved)
I ran through the plague of tiny bugs that bobbed through the air like tufts of cotton. I braved the failure of my iPod. And I rounded the first 800 meters in 3:30.
My best time ever? I thought so, and decided to stop right there and get dinner.
Except that, oops, I must retract that other post. Because apparently my best effort was in the 2:40's in high school, not the 3:40's. Also, even though we'd all love to pretend that we're naturally super gifted without trying, there's no way I busted out a best-ever time in this situation without training.
I texted my friend Jill to confirm. We once ran an 800 in the pouring rain. Sure, it's only two laps. But I can assure you that for those racing on that afternoon, it was absolutely the longest, soggiest two laps we'd ever experienced.
Me: "Do you remember the ballpark of your 800 meter time?"
Jill: "Psh. Absolutely no idea. I remember wanting a life jacket!"
...
#194: Mos Def, "Mathematics"
#195: Middle Class Rut, "New Low"
#196: Jerrod Niemann, "What Do You Want"
#197: Zac Brown Band, "As She's Walking Away" (seems to be a common theme in songs...do that many people really fall in love with folks during chance encounters? Explicame, por favor.)
#198: Brand New, "Daisy"
#199: Taking Back Sunday, "El Paso"
#200: The Boats, "Raindrops"
#201: Coldplay, "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall" (not a Coldplay fan, but I like this song)
#202: Hammock, "You Lost the Starlight in Your Eyes" (PBJ test, DMG approved)
Thursday, July 14, 2011
DIY, Diana-style
After brainstorming and reading a running forum for thirty seconds, I created my own speed workout.
You see, after the entry about my casual courtship with running, followed by a race that wasn't terrible, I decided to maybe try. To actually attempt to improve my times from race to race. It might be good for me. It might be fun?
I'm not sure, but I do know that I like running 800 meters.
I hit up the track after work in a cacophony of colors: orange T-shirt, red shorts, purple socks, pink iPod, blue watch. The only other person out there was a man in jeans, walking while reading a book. I admire that.
My workout, should you want to mimic it, which you probably won't, went as follows:
-400 meter warm-up (I never warm-up for running, but thought that if I'm now trying, I should also warm-up)
-800 meters, timed
-rest for the amount of time it took to run the 800
-x 3 (the forums said x 6, but I didn't want to get too crazy on my first day out)
-400 meter cooldown (see note on warm-up)
A solid excursion. It felt good to run at a brisk clip without worries that I'd throw up at the end. Which happens.
The posters on the forums, whom I believe are middle-aged men, suggested running the 800 in three minutes. I did not want to be so bold, and instead aimed for four minutes.
As I rounded out the first two laps, I thought that four minutes was depressing. I'd broken three minutes in the high school pentathlon, where I'd managed to place last overall because of a lackluster long jumping effort. I must have been swift and sassy then, a shorter ponytail and sleek sneakers.
And as I finished the final 800, I suddenly realized: I never broke three minutes. That was a complete lie. I broke 3:50 on that final day of the pentathlon and celebrated it, and still placed last overall, and still had ice cream after. Which meant my 3:57 was in fact not far from my prime. Which means that even with a longer ponytail and clunky sneakers, the sass is still in tact.
...
#183: Gorillaz, "Revolving Doors"
#184: Lady Antebellum, "Just A Kiss"
#185: My Morning Jacket, "Outta My System"
#186: Thurston Moore, "Blood Never Lies"
#187: The Farewell Drifters, "We Go Together"
#188: Little Dragon, "Shuffle A Dream" -- hmm, no link
#189: Simon & Garfunkel, "At the Zoo"
#190: Bob Dylan, "Meet Me in the Morning" -- everything on YouTube is a cover, and I'm not really a Bob fan anyway, so you'll just have to imagine this one.
#191: The Infamous Stringdusters, "Love One Another" -- heard this at Starbucks but can't find a link, which is sad, because I was diggin' it.
#192: Dave Matthews, "Grey Blue Eyes"
#193: Keith Urban, "I'm In"
You see, after the entry about my casual courtship with running, followed by a race that wasn't terrible, I decided to maybe try. To actually attempt to improve my times from race to race. It might be good for me. It might be fun?
I'm not sure, but I do know that I like running 800 meters.
I hit up the track after work in a cacophony of colors: orange T-shirt, red shorts, purple socks, pink iPod, blue watch. The only other person out there was a man in jeans, walking while reading a book. I admire that.
My workout, should you want to mimic it, which you probably won't, went as follows:
-400 meter warm-up (I never warm-up for running, but thought that if I'm now trying, I should also warm-up)
-800 meters, timed
-rest for the amount of time it took to run the 800
-x 3 (the forums said x 6, but I didn't want to get too crazy on my first day out)
-400 meter cooldown (see note on warm-up)
A solid excursion. It felt good to run at a brisk clip without worries that I'd throw up at the end. Which happens.
The posters on the forums, whom I believe are middle-aged men, suggested running the 800 in three minutes. I did not want to be so bold, and instead aimed for four minutes.
As I rounded out the first two laps, I thought that four minutes was depressing. I'd broken three minutes in the high school pentathlon, where I'd managed to place last overall because of a lackluster long jumping effort. I must have been swift and sassy then, a shorter ponytail and sleek sneakers.
And as I finished the final 800, I suddenly realized: I never broke three minutes. That was a complete lie. I broke 3:50 on that final day of the pentathlon and celebrated it, and still placed last overall, and still had ice cream after. Which meant my 3:57 was in fact not far from my prime. Which means that even with a longer ponytail and clunky sneakers, the sass is still in tact.
...
#183: Gorillaz, "Revolving Doors"
#184: Lady Antebellum, "Just A Kiss"
#185: My Morning Jacket, "Outta My System"
#186: Thurston Moore, "Blood Never Lies"
#187: The Farewell Drifters, "We Go Together"
#188: Little Dragon, "Shuffle A Dream" -- hmm, no link
#189: Simon & Garfunkel, "At the Zoo"
#190: Bob Dylan, "Meet Me in the Morning" -- everything on YouTube is a cover, and I'm not really a Bob fan anyway, so you'll just have to imagine this one.
#191: The Infamous Stringdusters, "Love One Another" -- heard this at Starbucks but can't find a link, which is sad, because I was diggin' it.
#192: Dave Matthews, "Grey Blue Eyes"
#193: Keith Urban, "I'm In"
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
That makes you larger than life
Re: The Warrior Dash
Lauren: "I figured if I didn't hear from you by tonight, I'd just sign you up anyway."
...
Like fire and gasoline, we draw together opposites in our poetry.
...
It's no secret that I've searched for other athletic opportunities, and still search now. I need to break out the bicycle. Kayak on the bay with lifejacket pressed close. Wade into the Sound and stroke at the water with my face below the surface.
But I've come to see that this running thing, this simple act of one foot in front of the other, draws the greatest common denominator. You see the race T-shirts of people who walk past you on the sidewalk. The numbers pinned to their chests on the subway at 6:49 am. The war stories: those hills, that humidity, the people who started walking in front of you just as you got in the groove.
We have something to talk about.
...
#176: Santana & Everlast, "Put Your Lights On"
#177: Cirque du Soleil, "En Ville" (can't find the full version, so this shall do)
#178: The Shins, "Caring is Creepy"
#179: Native American water healing song, "Crystal Clear"
#180: Tierra Cali, "Si Tu Te Vas"
#181: Matt Nathanson, "Faster"
#182: Mat Kearney, "New York to California"
Lauren: "I figured if I didn't hear from you by tonight, I'd just sign you up anyway."
...
Like fire and gasoline, we draw together opposites in our poetry.
...
It's no secret that I've searched for other athletic opportunities, and still search now. I need to break out the bicycle. Kayak on the bay with lifejacket pressed close. Wade into the Sound and stroke at the water with my face below the surface.
But I've come to see that this running thing, this simple act of one foot in front of the other, draws the greatest common denominator. You see the race T-shirts of people who walk past you on the sidewalk. The numbers pinned to their chests on the subway at 6:49 am. The war stories: those hills, that humidity, the people who started walking in front of you just as you got in the groove.
We have something to talk about.
...
#176: Santana & Everlast, "Put Your Lights On"
#177: Cirque du Soleil, "En Ville" (can't find the full version, so this shall do)
#178: The Shins, "Caring is Creepy"
#179: Native American water healing song, "Crystal Clear"
#180: Tierra Cali, "Si Tu Te Vas"
#181: Matt Nathanson, "Faster"
#182: Mat Kearney, "New York to California"
Monday, July 04, 2011
Put the light on
Running and I have the relationship where we don't talk about our relationship.
It's a casual courtship that is striking in how long it's gone on for more or less the same degree of affection. At times, I'm all about it. At other times, I kind of wish it didn't exist.
Ever since I had an affirming dream at age twelve about cross-country practice taking place in the water (??), I decided to give it a go.
I ran one glorious season. By November, I was the only girl left on the squad. I didn't exactly love running without knowing where I was going or how long it'd go on for, but I did enjoy the woods and the feeling of hitting a comfortable stride.
Cross-country fell away in the face of varsity gymnastics and so I turned to winter and spring track. I loved both of the running seasons. But the part I loved was racing and competing at meets. Practice was all about frolicking with my friends in the woods and coming up with infinite inside jokes.
Gymnastics was where the real work lay. Track, that was the fun sport. We'd take the ferry and travel to overnight competitions, and finish second-to-last in the shuttle hurdle relay, but that wasn't the point. There were more important matters, like getting Blizzards at the mall and finding out how many of us could pack into one hotel room.
But you can't really keep up the high jumping and the relay racing as easily as you can long distance. So I've done 5K races since seventh grade. Not with any regularity. And not really with any improvement.
Sometimes, I prepare. I build up my endurance. I attempt a warm-up run on race day. I stretch my legs. Other days, I just show up.
The thing is that I have a hard time taking running seriously. I have no problem with solitude or repetition. I know them well.
But I cannot find the same passion in running that I have felt for gymnastics. It would be nice if my times were faster, and certainly the ability and the work ethic are possible, but so far, nothing has really driven me to tap into them.
Yet I know that regardless, I'll keep running, and racing intermittently, and wanting to die at the end of the race, and then thinking, "That wasn't so bad."
There is one phenomenon, though, that I don't quite understand. At gymnastics meets, I could not stop thinking. My mind worked as hard as my body as I moved on beam, except it tried to work against me.
During a run, whether or not I'm listening to music, I zone out to this place and that place and the stories I imagine telling people.
But in the race, they all go silent. I think about nothing. I try to think about something but it doesn't stick. I want to distract myself into running faster. But everything turns quiet.
It's a casual courtship that is striking in how long it's gone on for more or less the same degree of affection. At times, I'm all about it. At other times, I kind of wish it didn't exist.
Ever since I had an affirming dream at age twelve about cross-country practice taking place in the water (??), I decided to give it a go.
I ran one glorious season. By November, I was the only girl left on the squad. I didn't exactly love running without knowing where I was going or how long it'd go on for, but I did enjoy the woods and the feeling of hitting a comfortable stride.
Cross-country fell away in the face of varsity gymnastics and so I turned to winter and spring track. I loved both of the running seasons. But the part I loved was racing and competing at meets. Practice was all about frolicking with my friends in the woods and coming up with infinite inside jokes.
Gymnastics was where the real work lay. Track, that was the fun sport. We'd take the ferry and travel to overnight competitions, and finish second-to-last in the shuttle hurdle relay, but that wasn't the point. There were more important matters, like getting Blizzards at the mall and finding out how many of us could pack into one hotel room.
But you can't really keep up the high jumping and the relay racing as easily as you can long distance. So I've done 5K races since seventh grade. Not with any regularity. And not really with any improvement.
Sometimes, I prepare. I build up my endurance. I attempt a warm-up run on race day. I stretch my legs. Other days, I just show up.
The thing is that I have a hard time taking running seriously. I have no problem with solitude or repetition. I know them well.
But I cannot find the same passion in running that I have felt for gymnastics. It would be nice if my times were faster, and certainly the ability and the work ethic are possible, but so far, nothing has really driven me to tap into them.
Yet I know that regardless, I'll keep running, and racing intermittently, and wanting to die at the end of the race, and then thinking, "That wasn't so bad."
There is one phenomenon, though, that I don't quite understand. At gymnastics meets, I could not stop thinking. My mind worked as hard as my body as I moved on beam, except it tried to work against me.
During a run, whether or not I'm listening to music, I zone out to this place and that place and the stories I imagine telling people.
But in the race, they all go silent. I think about nothing. I try to think about something but it doesn't stick. I want to distract myself into running faster. But everything turns quiet.
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Hello, world
I return.
There has not been enough writing this week, but there has been plenty of work and equal parts living. I think it's all right to have scheduled outages sometimes, for all of the above.
At 3:17 with shenanigans and spots of Coca-Cola on the sink,the perpetual sense of responsibility was not a bother but a friend. My protagonist might feel this way when she's older, but not yet. Tonight, my eyes are bright. I can take it.
There has not been enough writing this week, but there has been plenty of work and equal parts living. I think it's all right to have scheduled outages sometimes, for all of the above.
At 3:17 with shenanigans and spots of Coca-Cola on the sink,the perpetual sense of responsibility was not a bother but a friend. My protagonist might feel this way when she's older, but not yet. Tonight, my eyes are bright. I can take it.
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