to see or not to see

It's hard to miss all the buzz in the media about the anti-God message of the story, the boycotts by churches, and the allegedly sinister motives of Philip Pullman, the author. I've received a few emails warning me about this soon to be released series already.

I got the books as a Christmas gift two years ago. but I only made it through the first, "The Golden Compass", so far.

Some questions that arise from all this seem to be: whether there's an "appropriate" Christian response, whether this hype can actually be seized upon as an opportunity for dialogue, and our responsibility to impressionable children.

I find it interesting how some friends of mine (including Christians) are huge fans, while others, will now probably never go near them. In my "research" for this post I found that some people out there argue that boycotts will only blow up in churches' faces--like the boycott of "The Da Vinci Code". Other people have said it's important to protect children whose faiths are developing, from a story about characters who want to kill 'god'. Others also say that rather than being so "reactive", churches should focus their energy turning people's attention to GOOD films.

My thoughts aren't that deep. I will probably see the movie. If I had children, I probably wouldn't forbid them from seeing it--out of a (possibly errant) desire to have them engage with culture in a thoughtful way. I do think that Christians consume boatloads of questionable material that just don't happen to garner the kind of sharp attention that "The Da Vinci Code" or "The Golden Compass" get. I think it could be argued that seemingly harmless or less blatantly anti-God movies are just as dangerous for us and for children. In fact, they've got the potential to do much more damage since we are happily lulled watching them for distraction and cheap thrills.

"very happy and very sore"

-In the words of our very own Accidental Runner.

The day before the half, I was so antsy I gave myself tension headaches and a nearly sleepless night. Next thing I knew, it was 5:30 AM and with grim determination I managed to stick contacts into my eyes and force myself to eat half a Clif bar which tasted like four layers of sugary cardboard.

Mile 0: We walk to the starting line behind a guy dressed up as a keg. (Lori A's prescient comment: 'The sad thing is, the keg will probably finish before we do.') There's a lot of checking out of the other runners' gear: the people donning garbage bags, the banned i-pods, the leopard print leg warmers...

Mile 1: After some false starts and repeated playings of the "Rocky/Eye of the Tiger" intros, the horn is sounded and everyone is off! I realize I'm with the 7-8 minute milers and feel very, very slow. MUCH too soon, the annoying, but definitely UN-ignorable need for a Porta Potty (Potti?) hits.

Mile 2: We round a corner just in time to pass a row of peeing men at what will now be known as the Peeing Wall. Then! Porta Potty in sight! There's a freakin' long line! Lori runs on, I wait 5 minutes with a super tense group of runners who are obsessively checking their watches. Potty break over--what a wonderful world!

Mile 2-5: I run into a friend who's doing the full and say the stupidest things because it's 7 in the morning, and I am stupid at the time. I'm feeling great, since the 5 minutes waiting in line pushed me back to the 10 minute+ milers. People are shedding their hats, gloves, garbage bags and extra layers everywhere! Someone is blasting "Life is A Highway"...whoooweeee I'm flying!

Mile 6-7: BLECH, that Gatorade is nasty! Hmm...I really hope they use biodegradable cups, cause damn that's a lot of soggy paper cups. Feet are starting to hurt--it's only mile 6??!! Mile 7 SUCKS. Can't go on. Must walk. Can't walk. Have to be running when I finally see Jo, Tiff and Justin. Don't want to do this anymore. Can't do this. I see a runner whose shirt reads, "18 weeks ago, this seemed like a good idea." That's what I'm sayin' sistah!

Mile 8: Did I miss the sign? This is taking forever! How nice of these frat boys to wake up early on a Sunday and bang their pots and pans for us! Ack! There's an incline, a bridge (I know it's not that steep..but geeez...they said the course was FLAT and FAST!

Mile 9: FLAT MY a$#! Hills, hills mean death! Forget it! I hate this! Why?! Ooohh, at least the fall foliage is pretty! A volunteer passes me a Clif shot, strawberry. It's disgusting. Wash down with water. Gross. Blech. Who uses this stuff? Ok. Mile 9!!!! 4 more to go...crap! Look at how far ahead those people are, I'm never going to make it. I think of Dory in "Finding Nemo"...just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

Mile 10-12: Mile 10!!! Ok. I will ignore the pain! Mile 11!!!!!! The scenery is awesome! DOWNHILL!! Thank GOD FOR DOWNHILL stretches!!! Whoooooo flying again! There's a sign for free beer...silly people...almost there!!!

Mile 13: I can see the Art Museum! The tents! I don't care that I'm kinda running up a hill again! The museum (finish line) is the most glorious sight in the world! Curving, curving, where the heck is that finish line? I hear cheering for the marathon winner...rounding the bend, rounding the bend...and there Lori is waiting for me at the finish. A daze. I think I'm temporarily insane because I'm talking really loudly and laughing at everything. Medal. Mylar. Water, pretzels, banana.

Besides keeping fit and answering competitve drives, I think people must do marathons for the drama. It's all in there. Fear, loathing, heartbreak, hopefulness...disbelief and bliss.

Enormous thanks to WC for inspiring this. To Jo, Justin, Tiffany for being there, shuttling us back and forth, feeding us loads of carbs, waking up at 5 with the signs and love! And of course to DH for coming up on Saturday even though he had a 24h shift on Sunday.

for real now

So I decided to do this 1/2 marathon in late August.

I think we were stuck in traffic and I was probably stuffing my face with shrimp chips when I finally OD'ed and said, enough is enough. This body needs to get back in shape. For real now.

You know how sometimes you commit to something (going to China, going to grad school, getting married...hehe) without really realizing what you've gotten yourself into? Then the big day inches closer and closer. And then, you frantically ask yourself what in the world you were thinking. And then you really realize that it's really for real now.

Well after my last 'long run' in Central Park (I feel bad to call 10 miles a 'long run' because of all the real marathoners out there, but oh well), with my glutes and hamstrings killing me, knees wobbling and ears icy red...I couldn't help but think, there's NO way I'll be able to run 3.1 miles more. NO WAY NO WAY NO WAY NO WAY.

I guess we'll see how it all goes next Sunday. I wish it didn't start at 7 AM!!!!

amnesia

Thanks to fellow Uganda Trip teammate Jas for sending some photos out of the blue. The timing was probably perfect.

I once saw a skit at church where two 'junior' devils were trying their darndest to dissuade an enthusiastic person from following through on a commitment to do something good. They failed miserably, but then along came the senior devil, who effectively kept the good intentions as just that--intentions--by using one sentence: "Do it later..."

It's so disturbingly easy to forget my good intentioned grand plans. Time to follow through!