"Chillerts . . . ."

That's how my wife would say "We're just chilling." We've practically developed our own language. Our four-year-old has about twenty-five names and likes every one of them, but prefers just two. My nickname doesn't fit but I can't shake it like a childhood that's somehow stuck around and isn't going anywhere. We've even considered t-shirts. In fact, I've been thinking a lot about t-shirts. At SDSU, one of my teaching strategies manifests itself when I tell students that I want to have t-shirts made with this or that printed across. For instance, my latest brainstorm concerns the slogan Stay Focused or Change Your Focus. I know, it's brilliant. I'm having some success with it in the instruction of paragraphing. The shirts have been ordered.

I'm pretty focused right now on aerobic running. Besides a good dose of chillerts with the family and friends, I've been very consistently running aerobically. It's a focus that seems to address so much of what might be possible in my life. I have to focus even more - visualizing a tiny pin point, or speck of sand - that kind of focus that EXPLODES with benefits and meaning, huge, maybe transcendent. But that's just a vision. Right now, I'm trying to run as much as I can intelligently, which means not too much. I know, this sounds pretty haphazzard. But it's not. It's base I guess, but like I said, the sense is definitely that such a focus, such a disciplined and simplified approach to something feels like it will yield very specific results. I'm starting to see results after about two weeks. My aerobic pace is getting faster. And I'm burning fat like a twenty-year-old. If I could eat like a sixty-year-old I might be really flying; the improved metabolism has instead given me a little more margin for error. But on the whole, it's healthy so I'm thrilled with the athletic side. I'm sure this t-shirt's already been made: Go long. That's how my particular focus feels. Pack for a long trip. Be efficient. Travel light. Leave it behind. Another t-shirt: I'm a flat leaver. Just go. A race, life in general, my aerobic fitness, my anaerobic potential, my life experience: Flat leave and go long and along the way stay focused or change your focus. That's the long-sleeve t-shirt.



In the next two weeks I'll sign-up for a mid-summer 50k. I'll stuff that in the pinhole. To make room, I might have to give-up some more. What can I give-up? There's probably something deep inside that I don't need. Something that's just taking-up room. I'll have think about that one. 50k. 50k.

In May I run a 21k, so that's next. But for now, I'm just going to focus for another 3-4 weeks on the aerobic run, eating better and getting another acupuncture - that whole gig has turned-out fairly insightful, as much from the therapist herself as from the therapeutic approach.

That's it. "Check my t-shirt."