Fight and Flight
June 30, 2008 | Filed under: Va-cay-cay-cay, Whoopdie Doo
“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.” ~William James
Last weekend my brother, mother and I ventured out to Martha’s Vineyard for the weekend. This will probably not be the most pretentious thing I have ever said but dear Lord, I am so thankful for my mother’s second mortgage on an ISLAND. It’s why every time I step off the ferry I feel the need to kiss the ground then tell my mother how nicely her hair frames her face.
One evening G and I were walking around and he took this deep breath and said that he feels better here. Without the congestion and constant ambient noise and the yelling over the din of sirens every 14 seconds, it’s so damn peaceful. And once you get over the tiny army men that have been deployed to battle your sinuses, it really is lovely.
I returned home so full of love, flowers and happiness that by Monday I gave a shit about nothing. Not in an apathetic way but when shit hit the fan every single day last week, I didn’t get upset or irate or threaten to quit or even threaten violence. I was totally chill. Like being on Martha’s Vineyard turned the LOSE YOUR SHIT switch in my brain to the off position. I shrugged my shoulders when met with adversity and handled things the way normal people handle bullshit that they can’t help; with class and a modicum of dignity.
By Friday, when I normally would have been ready to toss my body in front of an oncoming vehicle, I laughed because the absurdity of the entire week was just so fucking funny. I was literally powerless towards everything that was thrown at me during the week. And because I couldn’t fight it – one cannot be responsible for the stupidity and general harsh behavior of others – I went to Denver for a faux vacation.
As I’m thinking of it now, I’m pretty sure that my relative calm was because my week was sandwiched by two weekends of tranquility. Denver is another one of those places that prides itself on its placidity and full of the nicest people who are less than aware that in two months their city is going to be swarmed by several thousand people. In fact I found their naivety towards the rampage of self-important people to be downright charming.
The added bonus to my past travels and the travel that is to come over the next 60 days is that in every city I go to someone greets me with open arms. During this trip to Denver Aimee and Julie were ever the most gracious hosts. With Aimee pointing me towards sushi restaurants in Cherry Creek so that I wouldn’t have to go through withdrawal from my eel sashimi addiction. And Julie being…well…Julie. If you’ve ever met the woman you know what I mean; you know those people who are just nice? That’s how Julie is all I can think is “Oh my God, is it possible to be that fucking nice?”
Last night while Aimee was putting her son to bed, Bryan, her husband, and I played the WII. I had eyed it earlier in the evening and had to keep myself from telling Aimee that while it was nice of her to invite everyone over for dinner, I would rather sit down here and play tennis against myself. Bryan and I golfed and then boxed. After I had thrown my entire body into protecting my Mii from any oncoming left hooks thus rendering me covered in a film of sweat, he mentioned that you don’t really need to put so much effort into the WII. In fact you would get the same results by gently maneuvering your body while sitting on a couch with a cold beer but flinging yourself around just gives it that added authenticity.
I return to Denver in two months at the very end of a 60 day slug fest with my senses. Bryan and Aimee have already offered me an opportunity to come over and box the shit out of the air to get out the aggression that will have eaten me alive and spit me back out by then. So while I like to give myself a generous pat on the back and tell myself that I’m handling so much shit so well and my, do I look gorgeous today; I am pretty well aware that this is just the calm before the storm. But unlike every other time when the clouds roll in (just to keep up with the analogy) this time I feel a little bit more prepared; like I have my umbrella nearby.
slynnro says:
1. Can already tell I probably love that white shirt.
2. Don’t you think that boxing guy kind of looks like the Ghost of Jesus?
It’s actually a dress! Sans pockets sadly but still cute and completely boobtastic.
slynnro says:
As it should be. I have a pocket dress planned for BlogHer. Just one though. Which is actually kind of shocking if you think about it.
Angella says:
You look FIERCE in that photo. Seriously.
Jezer says:
I’m jealous of all of it. Especially the dress.
Mary Beth says:
My great aunt used to joke that, coming from NY, her body shut down when she hit Long Beach Island because of all the freshness. Knowing there is that oasis waiting at the end of every week really does alleviate a lot of stress. I hope you get lots of weekends at the Vineyard:)
Aimee Greeblemonkey says:
OK, peeps.
Proof of the boxing match:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/greeblemonkey/2627445118/
It was 1 - 1 when I had to pull them off each other.
Thursday says:
You have some seriously nice beads lady.
Bryan says:
We are even at one to one. I am starting my training and we WILL meet again. With the right promotion and a little luck, maybe we can both retire after the next fight. But fight, we will.
Lori says:
I’m trying to convince the hubby that the wii is necessary for our physical fitness.
We were on MV too - the fireworks were awesome. Packed a bottle of wine, sandwiches, got the kid sugared up at the arcade and then had a picnic on the lawn just before they started. Pure bliss.
Momo Fali says:
Holy gorgeous pictures Batgirl! And, why not cut down on travel expenses and buy your own plane?
Leah says:
When you were in (at?) Martha’s Vineyard, I assume that you wore your pearls. What I want to know, though, is did you wear them while Wii boxing? Because that would be awesome.
The Over-Thinker says:
“Like being on Martha’s Vineyard turned the LOSE YOUR SHIT switch in my brain to the off position.”—Friggin’ awesome sentence.
I’m so glad that Aimee posted the boxing frames–my favorite is the one around 0:20. You totally don’t look like you’re about to lose your shit. At all. Truly
Susan says:
An umbrella is a must. Always. Or so I hear.
Jennifer says:
I need to go to Martha’s Vineyard.
And a great mirror shot.
amanda says:
Loved this. I played the Wii…played Wii (??) at about 7 months pregnant. Could not get over how sore my ass was the next day. And, I loved that they all told me I shouldn’t do it being so pregnant and all, yet my pregnant self ranked a 41 on the fitness thing while they were all in their 70’s and 80’s.
Please go the Vineyard again and start writing books about “turning off your inner lot shit button,” ok?