webdevmatt

Well, it’s apparent what peeps want to read, or at least comment on, and I guess that’s why jirc got so much traffic back in the day. So, do I play to the crowd, HELL YEAH. We will still have musings of the therapy of running, the purity and impurity of technology, but I think we are just going to see a lot more TAR, and those of you who don’t know what that is, you are in for a ride :).
If you keep commenting I will try harder to write more often. Until next time, it’s Friday, may you all have a defiled liver before we start a new

“How are you this morning?” Standard answers : fine, good, OK, I got out of bed didn’t I, which is your favorite. I identify best with the last one as in most cases, it’s honest, and you rarely hear it, unless it’s from an older person. Every morning we wake up, we have many decisions to make, but in our most primal state, there is just one, “Will I just BE or will I BE MORE.”

So you know this isn’t just coming out of left field, today, in the Cuse, there was a heat advisory with OZone warnings, people being pulled off of outdoor work sties, yada, yada, yada. All the signs tell those who are just going to be to stay indoors, but the be mores will do what they always do, go running on this steamy evening. With people brining up all the negatives, health risks, etc., is the be more mentality wrong? We have committed to our sport (passion) and our mates, and how about the people of ancient times, our soldiers in Iraq, the list goes on? Are we special, or are we just being?

I really don’t know anymore. Why do we do more is it to be more or is it just to be who we are? Is there a difference from being and being more or is it just a state of mind, a reflection of ourselves in the mirror of society? Where will the line be drawn in this day and age of technology, excuses and convinience?

BE, BE MORE, BE YOURSELF.

Well, it’s been a few years, but I guess it’s time to go back to my roots. Yes, it’s a post about poo. Yesterday, while on a run with a friend of mine, I was completely consumed by the “The Trots”. At mile 4 we had a chance to stop and use the facility, but we pressed on. At mile 5 I asked if we could turn around and at mile 6, I had to stop. I walked gingerly the last quarter mile until there was a facility available.

I think we have all experienced some form of the trots before (lone synonym is “The Shits”), but there’s something about the regular meter of bouncing up in down while running that makes it quite difficult to control. With each stride the proverbial turtle attempts to poke it’s little head out of it’s shell. Couple that with the inevitable force of gravity pulling it to the warm pavement below, I thought I would loose this battle.

Despite the drama, I did make it to a facility in time and I will spare you the detail of the movement, but the resulting output did not disappoint the definition of “The Trots”. The relief I felt after wiping, many times, was unbridled, and there was almost a sense of pride that I didn’t crap myself. Then I reflected a little and realized the run was supposed to be at least 1 more mile, and I was hurled back to earth by the running gods.

Moral of the story: Chicken Philly, baked beans and mac salad for lunch is a bad idea before a run. (Maybe it was just the beans :|)

I got a new bank account recently and I was ecstatic that my credit card had blink on it. How great, now I can walk around in vibrant colored stores and purchase to the beat of happy rhythmic music until someone comes up with cash and breaks our happy, contactless party.

Well, come to find out, all vendors don’t have blink readers :(, so it appears that cash might still be faster. Vendor after vendor, still no reader, and then, WEGMANS DEWITT. I rolled up to pay and sure enough I saw the familiar icon for those who use wifi on their computer or maybe the signal strength indicator on your cell phone, a blink reader :).

This first experience with blink wasn’t as great as I expected as I had to tap the reader twice with my card to get it to read (so much for the “Sound of Music” shopping trip). My heart was a flutter though when, only 2 days later at the Home Depot self check, I was able to scan my merchandise, as if I were reaching out for a woman’s hand for the dance, my transaction was complete. Blink at it’s finest.

I will try to report back each time I run across a new station. If you have a blink card we can go get our groceries together, because at this point in time, unless we have a full cast, I don’t thing our shopping trips will play out like a Broadway musical.

Another town inspected on foot. This morning I had the pleasure of running through the towns of Elmwood Park and Fair Lawn NJ. I can’t be to accurate on my findings of either as I didn’t realize until afterward that there were 2 different towns, but both were quiant to say the least. These “suburbs” of NYC (30 mins north) reminded me of my home town suburb of Boston. There were old strip malls occupied by homy shops ranging from a hardware store to a “farmers market” and new vacant strip malls under construction.

There were many questions going trough my head while trotting along the well sidewalked, runner friendly roads. The most lingering question being, “Who goes to River Road “Hot” Bagel, and who goes to double D (Dunkin Donuts). I’m sure River Road was the place to be even though my roots bring me to DD, and with the glowing, TheWorld Runs on Dunkin, endorcement by the Central New York native Rachel Ray, I’m sure it’s a toss up in this town. It was a bit dissapointing that when asking my host, a big time DD fan, “how’s River Road Bagel?”, she replied with a quick what’s that place (my host had DD waiting for me when I got back, and she has only lived in her new apartment for a week. I believe River Road Bagel is in her future:)).

Finally, after getting lost, and probably doubling my miles, all I could think of was Italian food. If I were Anthony Saprano, where in Elmwood Park would I get an authentic Italian meal, and sure enough, it appeared infront of me Italia on Fair Lawn. Who knows what it will taste like, but until my next vist, it will have the best Italian food I’ve ever had.

The sport of running for me, is more than just a way to exercise. It has turned into a way to see the world we live in from a new perspective. We find ourselves in new cities and towns every day, and our only guide is our hosts in an automobile. The street level inspection allows us to explore with all our senses what we would miss from the front of a car. If you can find the time, get out on hoof and walk, run or bike your next destination.