February 27, 2005 Try-athlon Though I was up late last night, I woke up at 7:30am. I tried to go back to sleep, but something in my body chemistry has changed, and now when I am awake, I'm awake, and there's nothing that can be done about it. I stumbled around, looking for something to wear and for my gym bag. I remembered that I'd left my gym bag downstairs, which meant that my wind pants would still be drippy with sweat. I dressed, went downstairs, and grabbed my wind pants to throw them in the washing machine. "Are you just going to wash those?" asked Mom. Oh, yeah. Wasting a couple of gallons of water on a single pair of workout pants is a pretty stupid idea. I went upstairs, gathered the laundry that would be most essential for the next day or two, and brought that down into the basement along with the pants. Started the washer, at which point Mom remembered that you can't take a hot shower with the washer going, so we sat down to talk. I brought up the idea I had yesterday, about buying the house from her, and having her live with me. Essentially, what it will do for me is give me a good price on a house that would be entirely out of my range if I didn't go through a relative. What it will do for her is to give her a good number of years without having to pay a mortgage, plus the profit she'll make from the sales. She gets to stay in the house she loves, with someone who's more than willing to do the chores (mow the lawn, take care of the pool, weed the gardens, etc.) without resorting to a "roommate." Her main concern is that I would grow tired of living with her ("Nobody wants to live with an old person," is how she put it), and would regret this decision. I assured her that, if worse came to worst, we could add on a second floor to the family room addition (which was meant to have a second floor anyway), and give her her own living room, bedroom, and bathroom. We'd still have to share a kitchen because the area in which we live isn't zoned for two-family houses or apartments, but a compromise like this was made by one of our next door neighbors, when his mother-in-law grew ill and had to move in with him. We also brought up the fact that Chris and Sean might feel left out of the deal. I assured her that I would, if appropriate, make restitution to them upon the event of her death, in terms of what they would have gotten from the sale of the house. Of course, that's assuming that she would keep the house the rest of her life, and not sell it for a condo or assisted living (which would be likely, as the house needs a lot of upkeep). So we're going to have to do a lot of financial planning in order to get this particular ball rolling, but I really believe it can happen. Mom and I agreed to think it over for the next week or so, but I see it as a win-win for both of us. She'll get a good sized chunk of money which she doesn't have to turn around and spend on a condo. I'll get a house for less than I'd have to pay for some rathole in a bad section of the state (I couldn't find somewhere in our home town which is in my price range...I've looked, and condos are the only thing even remotely close, and that's at the upper-end of the range). I can take care of her when she needs it, we both get the use of the pool, and the knowledge that the house will stay in the family. "What about entertaining?" she asked. "What if you want to have a lot of friends over for a party? Wouldn't I get in the way?" "Well, when you have Klub over, I usually go over to Laurie's house," I said. "We could work it out that you visit someone if I ever throw a party. Of course, I haven't thrown a party in about five years, and I have very few friends, so the likelihood of that is slim." "What about boyfriends?" she asked. "If you get a boyfriend, I'll be very happy for you," I said. "You know what I mean. What happens if you start seeing someone?" "Well, we're both adults, and I'd think that that would be my business. I'm not into taking random strangers home [anymore, I neglected to say], so you'd most likely meet someone I'd bring to the house before he stayed over." "Okay," she said. "It sounds good, I just don't want you getting into something you're going to regret later." And we left it at that. We'll both consult with real estate people and a lawyer and with my brothers, and see where it leads us. I'm excited by the concept, but I know that things take time to settle in, and later on, I might just decide that this isn't the direction in which I want to go. As long as that happens before we commit to anything, that should be fine. Still, right now, it seems like a good plan. Everyone I've talked to about it thinks it's a good plan. Mom would end up with me if she ever needed to be taken care of anyway (both my brothers have kids [or kids on the way], so that would seriously cramp their style to have Mom as a live-in), so we might as well set things up so that it's advantageous to us both at this point in our lives, rather than waiting for something bad to happen. We'll see. Could work out, could tank. I'm just glad she was receptive to the idea. Since it was exceptionally slow at work today, I futzed around with Chris' work website (coming soon!), and when I lost the concentration to do that, I started looking up training programs for triathletes. I mentioned yesterday that Sean took part in a triathlon last year, and while he didn't do so well, he felt good for accomplishing it. After hearing about his experience, I figured that the areas I need to focus on the most are the swim and the biking. Most of the sites I've looked at agree. The swim is almost always mentioned as the first area to work on; building up from short, leisurely swims to longer, faster swims. Also, open-water swimming is recommended, though how I'm going to manage that until, say, June or July is beyond me. (The lake allows swimming, but it's very cold until there have been several months' worth of hot weather. So the YMCA it is. Even if Susan can't get me a discount, I'm going to have to join, because there's no way I'll get in enough training to finish one of these races without the proper swim training. I have good technique, and was always disappointed that my high school didn't have a swim team (no pool), because I basically grew up in the water. The next priority is the bike, which again will prove a challenge until the weather calms down a little. I expect that by mid-March, I should be able to take a bike out on the open road, but until then I'll have to deal with the stationary bike at the gym. Oh, how I hate the stationary bike! I don't know what it is; the configuration of the seat or the shortness of the pedals, but it just isn't easy for me, whereas I can bike up steep hills and go for hours on flat land on a regular bike. I suspect that a lot of it has to do with the fact that you really can't stand up on a stationary bike (unless you're in a spinning class), which I do often when hitting inclines on a regular bike. Since today was a "mostly weights" day, I decided that the cardio portion should be on the bike, just to get me used to it. I felt okay at first, but my thighs really started to burn about 15 minutes into it. I had it set on a hill program, and after the 15-minute mark, I bumped it down to a flat course. I went for 30 minutes, covering about 8 miles. Which isn't too bad, considering the triathlon Sean participated in was a 15-mile (or 12-mile, I can't recall) bike ride. If I can work on my speed and endurance (I'll actually have to start using the leg machines and doing squats during my workouts), I should be able to get through that part with a minimum of fuss. The run is the part that I'm least worried about. I know that it's going to be tough, running 4.5 miles after swimming and biking, but I'm very good at pacing myself. I'm nowhere near the level of dual-training (bike to run, swim to bike, etc.), but that's where I'll see whether or not I'll make it. Even if I don't end up participating with Sean, I have a fitness goal which isn't "look better," and that's much more motivation than wondering how I look in the mirror. I think the looking better part will be a fringe benefit to the type of workout I'll have to incorporate into my life to prepare for this event. After my workout (my legs are going to be aching tomorrow), I started digging through the journal archives I've transferred to my computer. Alyson Publishing currently has calls for submissions for love stories and erotica that I could easily write (their word counts are less than 5,000 words, which is an easy goal), and I can pull the love story ideas from some of the stuff I've posted here, tweaked into fiction. The erotica, I've been playing around with (that's the "unpublishable" stuff I've been writing lately, for kicks), and the people who have read my stories have found them to be pretty good. I worried about the sex scenes, because I'm pretty good at dialogue but fairly weak on description (which is why my stories are generally so short, and also why I prefer to write plays). I found that if I simply write out a scenario using simple language and not worrying that it's a sex scene (in the same way one tries to write a funny scene without consciously trying to make it funny), I do best. It would be odd if my first published story ended up being in an erotica anthology, because I've never attempted it before, and I don't read that much of it. Still, it's a legitimate genre, and trying new things is something to which I've committed myself. While dragging out old entries, I found a short script I'd forgotten I wrote. It needs some polish (it's a little too ambiguous), but it's a great film script, and I think it'd make a nice movie. I'm not sure if I could do it justice, but I'm sure there are companies out there who are interested in producing short non-documentary works. Saundra works with one such company, though I don't know if this script is right for that company. Still, if there's one, there are bound to be others, or else I could go looking for film students who are interested in the technical details of making digital films, and I could provide them with some content. I have this script, and "Icarus," and another, which I think I'm going to do myself as a lark, using only the video portion of my digital camera. I think that using the limitations of the media is as interesting (if not more so) than having unlimited resources and funds. It forces you to be creative. Hopefully, I can find a couple of actors who are willing to give this a go (I have two in mind). I already have permission to use a location owned by my co-worker Terry's mom, and the script is outlined, I just need to see how long each clip can be, so that I can write each scene to fit within those parameters. One more writing-related note: I'm seriously considering trying for an MFA in Creative Writing through one of the state schools (like UMass Boston, where the degree program is in English, but can have a creative writing concentration). The UMass program can be completed in four semesters, and if I have a mind to, I could try for a PhD in the same school. I need to have some formalized training in creative writing. Though I've been doing prety well on my own as a playwright, and there are lots of writing groups out there, I think I need the formalized exercises to help discipline my writing, and make reading the right sorts of materials an essential part of my day. I'll most likely look into what kind of continuing ed courses they have for the summer, and if I like what I see, talk about matriculation with an advisor. It's pretty much the same idea as taking some formal acting lessons. I've done okay as an actor, but I don't have the training to back it up. If I attend courses and training sessios, I think it can only be an improvement (and it will get me on a course of doing something I love with an "official" reason for doing so. Writing stories at this point is optional for me. To gain credits for something I've paid for would be mandatory, and I work better when something has a deadline, or is mandatory. After work, I went to Laurie's house to watch the Academy Awards. It wasn't as nerve-wracking as it usually is for me, because while I have favorite actors, I haven't seen a lot of the nominated films. I was very happy to see Morgan Freeman finally win an Oscar, as well as Charlie Kaufmann and Hillary Swank (who I think is one of the best untapped resources in Hollywood). The awards show did nothing to make me want to see The Aviator, however. Maybe for Cate Blanchett, but I'm sure she'll be brilliant in something else soon. One thing that pissed me off was the so-called technical awards (and whoever said they weren't technical, but were artistic was right on the mark) and the other somewhat "lesser" awards being given out in such a careless manner. If you've produced the best short film of 2004, you should at least be able to get up on the stage. I know the show runs too long most of the time, but to have the nominees either shuffle around onstage while their names were called or sit in their seats only to have some celebrity hand them an award like it was a raffle prize was nothing less than insulting. Move the show to 7pm EST, if you can't produce it on-time while keeping the dignity of these artists, please. Or perhaps you could split it into two shows, like they do with the Tonys, and have PBS or some other station take over the awards you don't think the audience is interested in. And finally, Chris Rock is one funny man, but he's a miserable host. Nothing like alienating your audience...the scene where he asks average people on the street if they've seen the nominated films was slightly amusing, but only served to underscore the idea that good films aren't meant to be seen by the general public. Good for Sean Penn to give Rock the smackdown for speaking ill of Jude Law (and any other actor he didn't consider a "star"). On my way home, Harry stopped in the window to say goodnight. Good night, Harry!