You know who's awesome? PJ Harvey.
That, for now, is all. Hitting the road for Ohio this afternoon. Patti's M Train tucked in my bag. And a backpacking book and (of course) Stegner - Remembering Laughter.
At my desk now, listening to Ryan's Ten Songs from Live at Carnegie Hall (11/15/2014), part of that sublime fall 2014 string of shows that kicked off that night at the 9:30 club.
Back from a work trip to the swampy wilds of South Florida. Spinning through the Everglades on airboats. The river of grass teeming with spoonbills, and cormorants ("shags"), and egrets and great blues. Gators on the banks and in the streams. A 99-mile wildnerness kayaking trail that's calling me.. Getting a case in south Florida in the winter isn't a bad deal at all..
Pushing forward into the unknown. A surreal mix of emotions - from relief to regret to joy to exhaustion and back again. We told J on Saturday. The house won't be on the market until late-February at the earliest, giving us time to sort out paperwork and repairs and logistics. And to make the transition smoothly, amicably.
Oh. One more thing. I was watching Master of None on Netflix the other night when the Arthur Russell version of A Little Lost played over the opening credits and, for a second, I was.
Everybody sees you're blown apart
everyone feels the wind blow
It's been far too long. My last post references the trip my dad & I took on the Appalachian Trail - an incredible 4 days along Maryland's South Mountain ridge. A chance to just be. Walk. Breathe.
Then the roller coaster. Starting a chain of events that led to a long-inevitable conclusion. And feeling free and loose and confident. But raw and vulnerable. Real. Alive.
Now sitting in Compass Coffee. Organizing. Researching. Writing. A good mix of class Velvets and Jeff Magnum and hipster coffee-shop fare. Spent the morning at the Portrait Gallery with J's Kindergarten class. The questions. The curiosity. It's a truly magical age.
Now reading: Purity.
On repeat: Airless Midnight - Ezter Balint.
I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of inflections
Or the beauty of innuendoes,
The blackbird whistling
Or just after.
A deliciously grey rainy day. The kind that melts the sky for hours. Sleeping with the windows open, recovering after 3 days of knock-down-drag-out mid-week flu. An impulsive trip up the parkway to B-more. To explore a new museum.. impressive modernist collection (a surprising Schiele, copious amounts of Matisse, a great late-Cezanne Mt. St. Victoire painting) and a good contemporary collection as well. But nothing that took my breath away - except sliding past the Louise Bourgeois tucked in the corner of the Cone Collection and staring at the rain through the plate glass windows..
A fun dash through the rain for a burger and beer and then to Normal's. Where I picked up Writings and Drawings. Probably to send to JA.
Benicio del Toro as Pablo? Shots of the gorgeous Colombian countryside? Sign me up. The rest was fine and exciting and suspenseful - but I'll take Pablo playing in the pool with his grandkids, or the mountains outside Medellin any day.
A six mile hike to, and along, the rushing Potomac. Blissfully quiet, empty, serene. Stinging nettles. Puddles. Mud. An out-of-date guidebook. Delicious.
My favorite bike loop: Start on Benning Road, heading east to the Anacostia River Trail. Over the muddy Anacostia, full to the brim. Through the playgrounds and cookouts and basketball courts of River Terrace, under the tall trees on the CSX access road. Over the bridge across the train tracks, through Anacostia Park. The view of Navy Yard and the ballpark from the 11th Street Bridge:
Back across the Anacostia on the South Capitol bridge. Left on P to the Titanic Memorial, along the bricks of Ft. McNair. Then through the radical deconstruction of the SW Waterfront (my god!) to the Jefferson Memorial. Over the 14th Street bridge to the Mt. Vernon Trail. Left to Gravelly Point. Then doubling back to the Memorial Bridge. [NB: Ride can be expanded in either direction here, depending on weather / human conditions]. Swoop south along West Potomac Park back to the Jefferson Memorial. Then re-trace steps through SW / SE / NE (I generally prefer 11th Street), ending at Bardo..
And that. Is a weekend. I could get used to it.
Now playing: Frank Ocean, Channel Orange. Of course.
I've been listening to this a lot lately. And it's like White Dress in a way. That sample. Gill Scott-Heron as looped by Jamie XX. And the simplicity of the promise.
We all have our nights though
don't be so ashamed.
I've had mine,
You've had yours,
we both know.
And good news from the Cool Grey City of Love.. we won our motion. A win is a win and I'm happy my first argument went well. And now that the decision is out, I feel like a weight has been lifted.
Meanwhile, my old team at HHR is back in Paris indefinitely and YB has been asked to move there (even if temporarily). I'm a bit jealous. Missing my favorite spots. The exploration. The adventure. The long walks at night.. And, the thing is, if I wanted to go back I likely could. Though I'm not sure the trade-off is worth it..
Planning a solo overnight hike to the backcountry in Shenandoah on the 27th-28th. Some options here. I'm leaning towards Hannah Run (Nicholson Hollow) or Overall Run.. something about swimming holes and cascades and elevation.
