Scatterbrain

...and that's what it's all about, folks. Getting all excited about something, then getting distracted and doing something else. My last post was in April. Since then, I've become a runner, running my very first Bay to Breakers race. I got tired of that, so I traveled a bit - went on a cheesy but much-loved Carnival booze cruise to Mexico, took a road trip to LA and played at Disneyland all day with my husband, rode a train up a mountain in Colorado (and subsequently came to some marrow-jarring realizations about my Dad and his ilk), attended a medical conference in Chicago (art! food! old friends!), started smoking again in Las Vegas, saw my brother get married on the beach in Costa Rica, quit smoking on the way home from Costa Rica (if only it was as easy as typing it is), and went camping.

A bit on running. WTF? I have now taught my body how to feel like shit and become severely depressed when I don't run. Why do people like this? I get the feeling good part. But hours of running to nowhere, with no conversation, no ability to form actual thoughts, and then, when you get tired, you have to run all the way back. I feel pretty douchey, too, because not so long ago, I was the hungover 20-something smoking a cigarette on the curb, feeling superior to dickheads in $200 fluorescent orange and blue running shoes. I finally figured out that I can wake up 30 minutes early, watch a pirated movie on the iPad while mostly walking on the treadmill, and that satisfies the bare minimum needed to not feel like a psychopath. I decided to set my sights high and run a 'Progressive Marathon' on the day of the SF Marathon. I ran a little here and there, kept track of it, and did the last 5K of it, equaling 26.1 miles total. I had never run 5K without stopping before. I felt awesome and lame at the same time. When I saw the normal marathon runners coming in, I just felt lame. Until the guy with the blood pouring down his legs ran by. And what's up with the barefoot marathon runners? It's like being vegan, or straight-edge, or Catholic. Hardcore self-flagellation.

On a more positive note, I recently worked a show with Rock Medicine, the Power to the Peaceful with Michael Franti & Spearhead. What a lovely day. The weather in Golden Gate Park was beautiful. Everyone was smiling, dancing, and apparently, eating pot cookies. We saw 4 or 5 people who had eaten or smoked too much marijuana (they always think they're dying, for some reason), one head laceration which was quickly stapled up by a NP on site, a bee sting, and a few scrapes. I loved catching up with the Rock Medicine volunteers, and promised (much like my blog writing, learning to juggle, painting, and mosaic-making), that I will do much more of it in the future. I hope I can. Related - Pearl Jam, Modest Mouse, and Elvis Costello are doing Bridge School Benefit this year. la la la!