Plans

The only thing I didn't like about Bright Star was that it made me hate a character played by Paul Schneider, otherwise known as Lars' kind brother in my beloved Lars and the Real Girl and Mark Brandanowitz on Parks and Recreation, which surprised no one more than me by turning into one of the funniest shows on TV. (I thought it was really dumb last season when it started, but now it makes me laugh a lot, and I love it.) I do not need Paul Schneider to put on a Scottish accent, wear strange plaid jumpers, and be mean to Fanny Brawne. I need him to be adorable, which he is. (Not that adorable on Parks & Recreation: Bright Abbott. I blame Anna Faris.) It's not that Paul Schneider wasn't good in the movie -- he was, and the realization he comes to in the end is very moving. I just wasn't crazy about his character. Or his outfit.

I'm only about 40 pages into Looking for Alaska so far, but I can tell it's going to be special. I love knowing this about a book when I still have most of it left to read.

Had a lovely get together today with ladyloo, whom I'd never met before. She is delightful, and we ate an abundance of pastries.

The big news around these parts is that I received notice about registration for an upcoming half-marathon that I was not even considering registering for until I noted that it is taking place on my 35th birthday. 35. 35th birthday. This is not really something I had visualized, and suddenly it is right around the corner. Well. It took me about five minutes to realize that one way to avoid deranged feelings of woe about this number that is supposed to arbitrarily mark some point in a woman's life span -- and one way to enjoy life more in general, which I always do by leaps and bounds when I have some sort of fitness event to train for -- would be to sign up for a half-marathon that day! So I did.

And I know I'm a big talker, and I decided to do this last year, too, and I quit after nine weeks of training. But all I can do is decide to do it and have every intention of following through this time. Happily, some friends are planning to come down and do it, too, and some of my triathlon gal pals are signed up, too, which is fantastic.

(If you want to come, too, just come! This is an event where thousands of people come, and it's expected to be bigger than ever in 2010. There is room for everyone. Also, to clear up any confusion, this does not actually happen on Mardi Gras weekend ... that's two weeks earlier. If you don't like running, there are people who walk it. Or people who cheer on the sidelines. So ... that's an option! I don't want anyone to feel left out, is all I'm saying.)

I know that the flurry of the excitement of deciding this yesterday will fade as I decide I hate running like I always do, but sometimes you've just gotta say WTF. In a very self-centered way, I am thinking of it as a great big birthday party for myself, ringing in 35 with a big bang in the Big Easy. Hopefully thinking about it this way will help me to actually show up!

Meanwhile, I also signed up for a 10-day, pre-dawn boot camp. I think maybe I have lost my mind.