I promised photos. But, sadly, Kate's camera is, without debate, faaar superior to mine, and so when it came time to take pictures - why wouldn't we use the better camera? Which means that the pictures we DO have are wonderfully megapixeled - but for the time being they are on her camera, which is traveling around Dubai at the moment. Siiiiigh.
The pictures I probably would have wanted to post would have been from Cinque Terre - a beautiful little string of five towns along the Mediterranean where Kate took me for my birthday. There were walking paths and hiking trails that connected each town, and stops along the way where we climbed down and sat right along the sea and relaxed. Gorgeous.
It was of a shock to come back here and find myself back within the confines of "the cage." But I am coming up on the last 21 or so days of this job - and have a lot of things to look forward to in the coming months: a trip to Montreal with Mom and Dad later this week, then less than two weeks working back here in the city before a week back home (Oregon-home) at the end of May, Everett to be with Steve, Adrianne, Ellie, and the new baby for most of June, and then Michigan to visit Kate after that. By the time I get back to NY in July my lease will be ending and I'll be moving into a new (nicer) apartment and gearing up for school.
As a parting thought, I'd like to comment on the new ad campaign by Reebok. I don't know if you guys have seen it, but I think it's kind of interesting. The basic premise is to encourage people to enjoy exercise and "run easy." One of its ads, in particular, struck me as interesting because it ran contrary to a Nike ad from my childhood that had always resonated with me. The Nike ad was of a runner crossing the finish line, black and white film, she is panting and out of breath, looking miserable - clearly just finishing somewhere in the middle of the pack. A voice-over comes on and tells you that if you cross the finish line and don't collapse, you could have run faster. Somehow I always found that inspiring. Give it your all! The Reebok ad that referenced that ad spun the situation to focus on how miserable the person was, trying to give 99.9%… and told the viewer that it wasn't worth that degree of exertion if they ended up feeling awful. And I guess I like that message too. Enjoyment through moderation. So now I'm torn. Nike and Reebok have caused me to question the kind of lifestyle that I aspire to lead =). Wonderful. I'm such a mindless consumer of media messages.
Ha! And with that, I wish you all well, and hope that you are finding time to get out and enjoy the spring/beginnings of summer! AND I hope that you are all able to take it easy a little bit.
September Review
6 days ago
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3 comments:
That's stellar that you got to see Cinque Terre! Aren't you glad you went to Florence again! I can't wait to see your pictures. You can start your slide show with, "And now it's time to live tttthhhhrrrrrrrough me..."
And yeah, if it doesn't make you feel good, it's too much trouble.
jk
I haven't seen the Nike or Reebok ads, but i think i will now run out to buy some Reebok shoes. :) Giving 99.9% IS cause for celebration. Besides, doesn't running make one "endorphin happy"? ... so where's the ad that touts running for the "natural high"?
Glad you had a great trip!!
If you want to have the same schizoid view of life without the taint of mindless media messages, you can say you're torn between Blakean and Delphic world views. Wm. Blake said, in his "Proverbs of Hell," that "the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom." At the temple of Apollo at Delphi, an inscription gave this pithy (or Pythian) advice: "nothing too much." Or, you could do what I do and just say you're confused and leave it at that.
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