.
I said that I wanted to read more and write more and cook more. I haven’t been cooking much here because I’m being low-impact in the kitchen and because I’m enjoying my yogurt – eggs - salad routine, but I haven’t bought a whole lot of prepared or packaged food and I have been eating more fruits and vegetables, so I feel I’m keeping to that. I did have lunch with a couple of friends here, but since I don’t have many friends out here it’s easy not to be tempted to go out – but I did go out a lot on my Drive Across America. I think I am being more mindful though either way. I'm doing yoga and exercise, especially now that it's getting warmer - walking and biking and taking walks on the beach. And I’m starting to write more now, which feels good, but when I got here I had pent-up reading demand.
My first month or so here I was absorbed with Annals of the Former World, the Pulitzer-Prize winner by John McPhee. In it, he traces the geology and geologic history of the country by traveling along I-80. It’s a compilation of four previously-published books, many of which were excerpted in The New Yorker, plus an addition for this edition. It’s what I first read of his – for years I thought he was a geology professor who wrote well and then I realized he’s a writing professor who likes geology. The books are Basin and Range, In Suspect Terrain, Rising from the Plains and Assembling California, and the new addition is Crossing the Craton, which basically covers the middle of the country, the part that wasn’t interesting enough when he started the series because the rock is so buried, but in the 20-plus years since he started, there were enough advances in science that it became more interesting to write about. When I realized that I had a lot of friends clustered near I-80 who I wanted to see, the Drive Across America trip idea was born, and I had my sister send the book to me in California so I could read it as I went. I did start it – in fact, I wrote a fan letter to John McPhee when I was about to hit Basin and Range (and I got a handwritten response! What a thrill!) – but I didn’t have much time to read! So I read the bulk of it when I got to Part III. Now I want to drive across all over again and take a closer look at the roadcuts! Though I don’t know how much I’d get out of it without having a geologist with me, as he did. I loved that book! I’ve read some fun mysteries as well and some New Yorkers and a couple of other books – and still think I want to leave more time for reading in my life than I used to allow for it.
Sports though – well, I did miss them but I also knew that sports can be a time-eater, so I decided that I would de-emphasize them when I got back. I got an mlb.com subscription while I was in Morocco and had a friend send me printouts of Tuesday Morning Quarterback, a fun column on ESPN.com (I’m not that much of a football fan but I am a fan of the column! While I was gone I wrote a letter to the writer and he mentioned my name in it – another thrill). But I had decided that when I get back I’d scale back. So when I got to Southampton in March and realized that I would be in Virginia and Chicago for the first two weekends of the NCAA tournament, I tried to keep up with the scores but didn’t lament what I wasn’t able to watch; I was back here for the Final Four and national championship and I was happy to see them live (though after all this time in Central Time, it was late to stay up to watch them in Eastern Time!). I went to Yankee Stadium the day after it opened, and this past weekend I went to new Citi Field (my niece had chosen to go to a game there for her birthday celebration – I’ve had some influence after all!). I do want to note that when you buy something at the shop (say, a foam finger for the unbirthday girl) you get one of those eco-friendly bags (do they have a name?). The use of those has definitely increased since 2006!
On the way there I saw the National Tennis Center and thought it would be fun to go to the U.S. Open now that I’m back – oh, maybe next year (I did go just before I left in 2006, for the first time since – could it be 1978?). I also realized this past week that the Stanley Cup Playoffs were starting – in other words, I finished Annals of the Former World just in time! I do other things while hockey and baseball games are on, but, just like the good old days, I like having sports on in the background. I was watching the Rangers game yesterday afternoon and it dawned on me that Madison Square Garden was within my reach! Not that I’ll have a chance to go (I was thinking more that maybe the Blackhawks will still be playing when I get to Chicago in a couple of weeks, but again, not that I’ll have a chance to go – glad I went in February to see an exciting team and full house there again). Will the playoffs be over before I leave? I can’t think that far ahead but it is nice to see some hockey. I’ve already thought about the time difference and listening to baseball games – might be easier there than it was in Morocco. So – am I de-emphasizing sports? Doesn’t seem like it, though I am not getting back in the habit of watching Sportscenter every morning, and I don’t see myself going to games as much as I did. I guess it will depend on where I live next. All of it will. For now, though, I’m happy to be here at a good sports time of year! And happy with the balance of eating, writing, reading and doing – of course, the big question is how will I be able to balance everything when I get a real job again?
And that's not to mention friends! I feel I saw most of them just once (there are some I haven't even seen once yet) and thought I'd see again soon - maybe it would have been another six months anyway but I feel I was just settling in there too. I haven't made a lot of phone calls - after two years of texting, it feels strange to talk on the phone. Friends and keeping up with them are important - but that too can take a lot of time. And in addition to the extracurricular things mentioned above, I'd want to integrate wherever I move next, getting to know a place and getting involved. What about arts and culture? Again, I wonder how I will balance it all and still keep it simple - especially with work!
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