Running in Seattle

I went down to Seattle this past weekend, both to see Emily and to run the half marathon. It was my first major race and it felt rather daunting but I really enjoyed it in the end. Apart from the tunnel of the I-90, the course featured some beautiful scenery including Lake Washington and the downtown skyline.

I finished the race in a personal best of 1:36:00, which put me 10th / 839 in my age category, 34th / 4025 women and 276th / 7067 overall. I'm definitely pleased with the result and look forward to beating my time next year!

An Afternoon At The Belfry

Life changes fast.

Life changes in the instant

You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.

The question of self-pity.

These words open Joan Didion's memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking, which chronicles the year after her husband, John, dies at home from a massive heart attack while her daughter, Quintana, is in hospital with septic shock (Q. ultimately dies as well). The Belfry Theatre is currently running Didion's stage adaptation of the book, a 90 minute monologue delivered by Seana McKenna.

The play is a lesson in survival and loss, reflections on a terrifying departure from sanity and control. Didion tells a deeply tragic story but also reveals a character so pithy and so human that one can't help but relate. She talks about her refusal to give away her husbands shoes because of his need for them "when he comes back"; she admits that her training in words, research and intellectual thought cannot conquer the void left by overwhelming grief.

McKenna does a brilliant job of portraying a refined, profound and ironically self-deprecating woman; she leaves her audience deep in thought, heartbroken and remarkably uplifted.

It's Official!

When I got accepted to do my Masters back in 2007, I felt like I was embarking on a daunting journey; I couldn't believe I'd ever come out the other end of the tunnel. But two years of course work, a thesis and an oral defense later, I can finally say: Ta-da!

More Bookish Thoughts...

Listening to CBC over Thanksgiving weekend, I heard Margaret Visser interviewed about her newest book, "The Gift of Thanks" (2008), and thought it sounded fascinating. Indeed, Visser has produced a thorough and engaging look at gratitude, embodied by the deceptively simple "thank you." These two words launch an inquiry into all aspects of thanksgiving: how and why children are taught to give thanks, the difference between speaking words and feeling them, and how different cultures (especially the Japanese) understand grace. Reflecting on North American customs, Visser argues that notions of gratitude underlie everyday conventions including wrapping gifts and exchanging compliments.

Visser provides an extremely detailed account of reciprocity and rejection in the contexts of folklore, mythology and history; this results in some ennui and makes various sections "skimable." However, the book is ultimately insightful and thought-provoking with a central theme that rings true: thankfulness is a choice and a source of happiness that can be shared and cultivated.