By last fall, after running several times every week for six months, I was able to run 3.18 miles without stopping. This is my great lifelong pinnacle of running achievement. Then the weather got really cold in Chicago, and we moved, and I've only gone running a few times in the last several months. Though my 3.18 miles is piddly, I'll be damned if I'm going to lose it. To that end, I've started running again. After about 2 miles I'm maxed out, but at least I haven't been plopped back to the very beginning, where I can't run a quarter mile without sidesplitting pain.
So I work my way east, and the houses become more modest, although the neighborhoods are still neat and trim.
View 2-19, 2-22 in a larger map
And then last Tuesday, I was doing laundry in the basement. For some reason, I was taking two laundry baskets down at once. I stepped into my Privo "comfort" flats, which are not that comfortable and fit rather floppily. As I descend the steep wooden stairs, I think, "I should be careful. It would suck to fall down these stairs." And then, of course, I do fall down the last several stairs. I don't know what happened, except that I'm holding a huge bulky load, and the light is terrible, and my right foot twists and folds under me. Fortunately, there's now a large pile of laundry on the basement floor, and I crawl over to it and lie there a few minutes. As always with bad pains, I can't remember the exact sensation but it hurt like hell.
So I ice the foot, and keep it elevated, and a big bump forms, as if I have two ankles. For a couple days I mostly stay off it, and then start walking around again, feeling encouraged. It hurts less. Then I discover that it hurts sharply if I swivel my foot in a certain way, and now I just don't know. My left foot is bony and tendony as usual, and my right foot is not grossly swollen, but plump and bruised yellow and weirdly thick in a few places.
I research what to do about a sprained ankle. In the New York Times, Jane Brody freaks me out with her insistence on "immobilization." But then this article says the opposite, that stretching and strengthening the ankle speeds healing. Almost all the internet articles I read suggest tracing the alphabet with your big toe as a mobility exercise. It might be more fun to spell words. While doing this, I'm drawn to what hurts. "C" is quite painful, so I write Cindy Cindy Cindy.
My running days are over for the time being. Walking feels pretty okay, so I'm going out for a walk, although maybe not a long enough one to cover fresh ground.
Here is my current cumulative map:
View Portland Walk in a larger map
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Walks #7, #8: Zigzags
#7, 2-8-10: The Mind Rearranges Itself
On Tuesday, I got up, drank coffee, and sat in my office chair at my desktop computer. I read the news, surfed around a while, and spend at least half an hour writing a 2-line email to my friend R. in Canada, who wants to know why I have the glumpfs. I can't find a way to explain. I write a line or two and erase them, then write that I will write later. To R., who writes emails like fish swim in water. I spend another hour or two at the computer, doing basically nothing: writing another very short email or two, looking up online where should I eat buy jeans exercise work.
Nothing is bad. Everything is good. We have moved, the sun is shining, and being unemployed is not that abnormal. I manage to eat a late morning meal that is neither too small nor too large. If too large, I would probably retire to the bed or the living room floor, for reading or television watching. This would be soothing, and not that abnormal for an unemployed person.
It's not a day for accomplishments. To get through the day with a relatively normal level of activity is plenty, is doing great.
I get out for a walk. It is still sunny, which is a miracle. I walk in a repetitive S shape up and down the lovely sunny streets of Irvington. There is a house for sale for over $1,200,000. Adjoining lot, with mature trees, available more some hundreds of thousands more. It feels good to walk.
View portand walk 2-8-10 in a larger map
Later in the week, my mind rearranges itself. I am seized with guilt over my inactivity. I take care of some errands, clean the apartment, but am still bogged down with my email problem. I write a little thank-you note in less than an hour. I go to look up some piece of information online, and an hour later I am still there, idly reading New York Times articles or Yelp commentaries or Survivor biographies on wikipedia. (Did you know? A new season of Survivor has started. The cast is made up of contestants from previous seasons, half of whom I can't remember.)
Walk #8: Valentine's Day.
On Sunday, before making tofu stroganoff, I go out for a run, end up mostly walking. I continue to zig and zag my way through the pretty Irvington streets. West of 21th Street, it's not as posh. Pretty soon, I'm going to exhaust Irvington neighborhood and need to talk further afield.
View portland walk 2-14-09 in a larger map
On Tuesday, I got up, drank coffee, and sat in my office chair at my desktop computer. I read the news, surfed around a while, and spend at least half an hour writing a 2-line email to my friend R. in Canada, who wants to know why I have the glumpfs. I can't find a way to explain. I write a line or two and erase them, then write that I will write later. To R., who writes emails like fish swim in water. I spend another hour or two at the computer, doing basically nothing: writing another very short email or two, looking up online where should I eat buy jeans exercise work.
Nothing is bad. Everything is good. We have moved, the sun is shining, and being unemployed is not that abnormal. I manage to eat a late morning meal that is neither too small nor too large. If too large, I would probably retire to the bed or the living room floor, for reading or television watching. This would be soothing, and not that abnormal for an unemployed person.
It's not a day for accomplishments. To get through the day with a relatively normal level of activity is plenty, is doing great.
I get out for a walk. It is still sunny, which is a miracle. I walk in a repetitive S shape up and down the lovely sunny streets of Irvington. There is a house for sale for over $1,200,000. Adjoining lot, with mature trees, available more some hundreds of thousands more. It feels good to walk.
View portand walk 2-8-10 in a larger map
Later in the week, my mind rearranges itself. I am seized with guilt over my inactivity. I take care of some errands, clean the apartment, but am still bogged down with my email problem. I write a little thank-you note in less than an hour. I go to look up some piece of information online, and an hour later I am still there, idly reading New York Times articles or Yelp commentaries or Survivor biographies on wikipedia. (Did you know? A new season of Survivor has started. The cast is made up of contestants from previous seasons, half of whom I can't remember.)
Walk #8: Valentine's Day.
On Sunday, before making tofu stroganoff, I go out for a run, end up mostly walking. I continue to zig and zag my way through the pretty Irvington streets. West of 21th Street, it's not as posh. Pretty soon, I'm going to exhaust Irvington neighborhood and need to talk further afield.
View portland walk 2-14-09 in a larger map
Friday, February 5, 2010
Walks #5 and #6: In Search of My Dream Coffeehouse
2-2-10, 4.6 miles.
I need to find a coffeehouse. Somewhere I can sit and work on my laptop, and consistently get a seat, and where the staff is pleasant. They don't have to be friendly per se, but helpful and nice-ish would be great. I'd like to not feel like a tool for ordering coffee that's 1/4 regular and 3/4 decaf. That's a slightly irritating order, I know, but aren't slightly irritating orders par for the course in a coffee house? I'd also like to feel okay about asking questions, like are there free refills, or what is the security key for wi-fi. (You're supposed to ask to get the key, right?) If a coffee shop counter person is not at all nice, I don't ask questions and I don't come back.
I'd like a good selection of baked goods, with extra credit for healthy or vegan options. The bigger the selection of food for sale, the better. I'd like an attractive space. I'd like silence or good music. I'd like some soft places to sit and read. I'd like uncrowded.
So, that's my wish list. On Tuesday, I went on a long walk up to Williams Street, to visit Ristretto, a much-praised coffee shop. They have prizewinning espresso. I thought it was a beautiful space, very architectural, but I didn't feel especially comfortable there. All the good seats were taken and seemed to be at a premium. I ended up sitting on a couch, and drinking my drink and using my laptop were awkward. I ordered a cup of decaf rather than a part-caf concoction because the counter staff was intimidatingly hip (though not unpleasant). I also got a biscotti. My decaf, an Americano, was kind of watery. There was nothing wrong with it as far as coffee shops go, but it didn't warm my heart.
After that, I walked up to Alberta, then back down 15th and picked up a few groceries at the Whole Foods on my way home.
View Portland Walk 2-2-10 in a larger map
On Thursday, I tried a coffee shop that I like a lot, World Cup Cafe on NW 18th and Glisan. It is a pretty space with lots of windows, not too crowded, not too hip. A lot of the clientele were middle-aged, well-off looking men who probably live nearby. I didn't try a pastry, but enjoyed my coffee. They had brewed decaf, so I didn't feel like a jerk asking for a decaf/caf mixture. Man, I wish this was closer to my house. I'd become a regular. Sadly it is across the river in Nob Hill, a neighborhood with challenging parking.
2-5-10, 4.4 miles.
To round out my testing, today I walked up to Concordia Coffee House on Alberta St. I didn't like it at all. The guy behind the counter had a contemptuous way about him, and didn't give me a saucer for my tea. I didn't know what to do with my tea steeping device (a little mesh cup, taking the place of a teabag), and ended up sitting it on a napkin, where it became a gloppy mess. Ordinarily, I would have gotten some more hot water for my tea, but I didn't feel like dealing with the dude. There were few patrons in the shop, so maybe other people feel the same way. A coffee shop just down the street, Random Order, is completely packed every time I pass by, so it's not lack of customer base.
Random Order sounds pretty awesome from its website.
Map of 2-5-10 walk (which didn't add much to my cumulative walk)
Cumulative Portland Walk:
View Portland Walk in a larger map
I need to find a coffeehouse. Somewhere I can sit and work on my laptop, and consistently get a seat, and where the staff is pleasant. They don't have to be friendly per se, but helpful and nice-ish would be great. I'd like to not feel like a tool for ordering coffee that's 1/4 regular and 3/4 decaf. That's a slightly irritating order, I know, but aren't slightly irritating orders par for the course in a coffee house? I'd also like to feel okay about asking questions, like are there free refills, or what is the security key for wi-fi. (You're supposed to ask to get the key, right?) If a coffee shop counter person is not at all nice, I don't ask questions and I don't come back.
I'd like a good selection of baked goods, with extra credit for healthy or vegan options. The bigger the selection of food for sale, the better. I'd like an attractive space. I'd like silence or good music. I'd like some soft places to sit and read. I'd like uncrowded.
So, that's my wish list. On Tuesday, I went on a long walk up to Williams Street, to visit Ristretto, a much-praised coffee shop. They have prizewinning espresso. I thought it was a beautiful space, very architectural, but I didn't feel especially comfortable there. All the good seats were taken and seemed to be at a premium. I ended up sitting on a couch, and drinking my drink and using my laptop were awkward. I ordered a cup of decaf rather than a part-caf concoction because the counter staff was intimidatingly hip (though not unpleasant). I also got a biscotti. My decaf, an Americano, was kind of watery. There was nothing wrong with it as far as coffee shops go, but it didn't warm my heart.
After that, I walked up to Alberta, then back down 15th and picked up a few groceries at the Whole Foods on my way home.
View Portland Walk 2-2-10 in a larger map
On Thursday, I tried a coffee shop that I like a lot, World Cup Cafe on NW 18th and Glisan. It is a pretty space with lots of windows, not too crowded, not too hip. A lot of the clientele were middle-aged, well-off looking men who probably live nearby. I didn't try a pastry, but enjoyed my coffee. They had brewed decaf, so I didn't feel like a jerk asking for a decaf/caf mixture. Man, I wish this was closer to my house. I'd become a regular. Sadly it is across the river in Nob Hill, a neighborhood with challenging parking.
2-5-10, 4.4 miles.
To round out my testing, today I walked up to Concordia Coffee House on Alberta St. I didn't like it at all. The guy behind the counter had a contemptuous way about him, and didn't give me a saucer for my tea. I didn't know what to do with my tea steeping device (a little mesh cup, taking the place of a teabag), and ended up sitting it on a napkin, where it became a gloppy mess. Ordinarily, I would have gotten some more hot water for my tea, but I didn't feel like dealing with the dude. There were few patrons in the shop, so maybe other people feel the same way. A coffee shop just down the street, Random Order, is completely packed every time I pass by, so it's not lack of customer base.
Random Order sounds pretty awesome from its website.
Map of 2-5-10 walk (which didn't add much to my cumulative walk)
Cumulative Portland Walk:
View Portland Walk in a larger map
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Walk #4, Teahouse on Alberta St.
Tuesday, 1-26-10. 3.57 miles.
Job searching is hard. After a discouraging morning, I go for a walk to get out of the house and away from the computer. Plus it is sunny, and I need a refreshing new perspective. So I head up to Townshend's Alberta Street Teahouse. Entering the teahouse, I can't figure out what to do. Do I order tea at the counter? Do I sit and be waited on? The people around me all have their tea and give no clue. There are small menus, big menus, different menus on different walls. When the guy at the counter asks if he can help me, I impulsively order a bottle of kombucha. The kombucha list is right in front of me. I collect my bottle of kombucha and sit at a table reading an odd short story by Miranda July. I don't really want kombucha.
Soon after, more customers enter. A pretty woman wearing a chic puffy vest takes the table next to me, and then orders herself a milky looking tea (some sort of chai?) and a cookie. The correct protocol, I now see, it to place your order at the counter, and the staff will bring your drink to your table if it requires time to prepare. I am jealous of the woman's tea and cookie. I am jealous of her clothes and importance--she receives several phone calls that appear to be business related. I sip my strange-tasting kombucha. Next time, I resolve, I'll take as long as I like to place an order. It's not as if the laid-back counter staff cares, or is paying any attention to me whatsoever. I could stand staring at the menu for many minutes with a stoned and glazed-over expression, and they would not care.
A young woman wearing flats and dress slacks sits at a table without ordering. After a few minutes, a slender man in biking gear meets her, and says, "Shall we order some tea?" I can't tell if they are meeting on a blind date, or if he is interviewing her for a job. Most likely the latter.
I want a friend to sit and laugh with, who will share the uncertainty of how to order the tea. Maybe two friends. Four would be too many.
Sometimes getting out is refreshing; sometimes it just amplifies my anxiety.
View Portland Walk 1-26-10 in a larger map
Job searching is hard. After a discouraging morning, I go for a walk to get out of the house and away from the computer. Plus it is sunny, and I need a refreshing new perspective. So I head up to Townshend's Alberta Street Teahouse. Entering the teahouse, I can't figure out what to do. Do I order tea at the counter? Do I sit and be waited on? The people around me all have their tea and give no clue. There are small menus, big menus, different menus on different walls. When the guy at the counter asks if he can help me, I impulsively order a bottle of kombucha. The kombucha list is right in front of me. I collect my bottle of kombucha and sit at a table reading an odd short story by Miranda July. I don't really want kombucha.
Soon after, more customers enter. A pretty woman wearing a chic puffy vest takes the table next to me, and then orders herself a milky looking tea (some sort of chai?) and a cookie. The correct protocol, I now see, it to place your order at the counter, and the staff will bring your drink to your table if it requires time to prepare. I am jealous of the woman's tea and cookie. I am jealous of her clothes and importance--she receives several phone calls that appear to be business related. I sip my strange-tasting kombucha. Next time, I resolve, I'll take as long as I like to place an order. It's not as if the laid-back counter staff cares, or is paying any attention to me whatsoever. I could stand staring at the menu for many minutes with a stoned and glazed-over expression, and they would not care.
A young woman wearing flats and dress slacks sits at a table without ordering. After a few minutes, a slender man in biking gear meets her, and says, "Shall we order some tea?" I can't tell if they are meeting on a blind date, or if he is interviewing her for a job. Most likely the latter.
I want a friend to sit and laugh with, who will share the uncertainty of how to order the tea. Maybe two friends. Four would be too many.
Sometimes getting out is refreshing; sometimes it just amplifies my anxiety.
View Portland Walk 1-26-10 in a larger map
Monday, January 25, 2010
Walk #3, NE Broadway
Thursday, 1-21, 3.09 miles
A beautiful, sunny day. I walked along Broadway, a main commercial drag, stopping in stores now and then. There is a Goodwill, with decent selection and fairly high prices. Note to self: Never buy a new, expensive basket, because thift stores always have tons of baskets. Then I stopped at The Mountain Shop (ski and outdoor sportswear) and a store called Natural Furniture. Then the preciously named Furever Pets, which has big cans of Wellness chicken cat food. I've never seen these before, but oh, the savings! I'll be back, Furever Pets.
View Portland Walk 1-20 in a larger map
My cumulative walking map
A beautiful, sunny day. I walked along Broadway, a main commercial drag, stopping in stores now and then. There is a Goodwill, with decent selection and fairly high prices. Note to self: Never buy a new, expensive basket, because thift stores always have tons of baskets. Then I stopped at The Mountain Shop (ski and outdoor sportswear) and a store called Natural Furniture. Then the preciously named Furever Pets, which has big cans of Wellness chicken cat food. I've never seen these before, but oh, the savings! I'll be back, Furever Pets.
View Portland Walk 1-20 in a larger map
My cumulative walking map
Walk #2, Irving City Park
Last Tuesday, 2.25 miles.
From 15th and Tillamook, I walked up 14th Street, then west on Klickitat, which narrowed to a series of alleyways, to the Irving City Park. I intended to visit Rerun Thrift Store located at Fremont and 7th, but it was closed.
View Portland Walk 1-19 in a larger map
I'm lax about recording locations, but somewhere along my path I passed this enormous, bushlike rosemary plant.
No kidding, it was as tall as me. I picked a single needle of rosemary, and it tasted of butter and pine. I intend to grow some rosemary like that when I have a yard.
Also, a house with a bold color scheme:
From 15th and Tillamook, I walked up 14th Street, then west on Klickitat, which narrowed to a series of alleyways, to the Irving City Park. I intended to visit Rerun Thrift Store located at Fremont and 7th, but it was closed.
View Portland Walk 1-19 in a larger map
I'm lax about recording locations, but somewhere along my path I passed this enormous, bushlike rosemary plant.
No kidding, it was as tall as me. I picked a single needle of rosemary, and it tasted of butter and pine. I intend to grow some rosemary like that when I have a yard.
Also, a house with a bold color scheme:
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The first walk
So, there is a guy who walked every street in Manhattan. His website is www.newyorkcitywalk.com, and he got a lot of publicity for it, including a write-up in the New Yorker's "Talk of the Town," back in 2005. I can't find the archives on his website, so I'm not sure if he wrote about each walk or what, but it struck me as a cool project. I must have read about it in the New Yorker, but at the time I was living in Chicago and working full time, and it didn't seem practicable to start a Chicago Walk. Chicago is huge, and there are neighborhoods that might be a little bleak or unsafe to walk through. Plus, I was working all the time.
Now I've just moved to Portland, OR. I'm starting a job search pronto, but thought this would be the ideal time to start a walking project. (Need an academic book editor/webmaster? Call me.) Portland is not small but it's not enormous either, and the weather is lovely and balmy and mild. (Sure, it rains a lot, but at least it's warm.) In mid-January, it's like April in Chicago; I feel like I fast forwarded through winter by moving here. I love to walk, and it will help me get to know the city.
I began the walking project with a 5.19-mile loop. Up NE 15th Street to Alberta, west to 33rd Street, then jagging down to NE Tillamook Street and back to 15th. It took me a couple hours. I had intended to stop by the Albert Street Food Co-op and use my $5 off $25 coupon from the Chinook Book, but it was closed.
View Walk Portland 1-18 in a larger map
Alberta Avenue is trendy, lined with restaurants and coffeeshops and little boutiques. I stopped at a shoe store called Shoe Shangri-La and found some shoes that I might buy if and when I get an office job. I then stopped by the New Seasons Market on 33rd Street and bought some crimini mushrooms and a bottle of kombucha. Then I returned to the start, near my apartment, cutting through a hilly neighborhood called Alameda.
What am I noticing as I walk along? Stores and businesses, other people walking along, houses, colors, trees.
Here is a house with a terrific color scheme, somewhere along 20th Avenue:
Here is a useful Portland neighborhood map:
http://www.movingtoportland.net/maps/map_pdxneighborhood.pdf
Now I've just moved to Portland, OR. I'm starting a job search pronto, but thought this would be the ideal time to start a walking project. (Need an academic book editor/webmaster? Call me.) Portland is not small but it's not enormous either, and the weather is lovely and balmy and mild. (Sure, it rains a lot, but at least it's warm.) In mid-January, it's like April in Chicago; I feel like I fast forwarded through winter by moving here. I love to walk, and it will help me get to know the city.
I began the walking project with a 5.19-mile loop. Up NE 15th Street to Alberta, west to 33rd Street, then jagging down to NE Tillamook Street and back to 15th. It took me a couple hours. I had intended to stop by the Albert Street Food Co-op and use my $5 off $25 coupon from the Chinook Book, but it was closed.
View Walk Portland 1-18 in a larger map
Alberta Avenue is trendy, lined with restaurants and coffeeshops and little boutiques. I stopped at a shoe store called Shoe Shangri-La and found some shoes that I might buy if and when I get an office job. I then stopped by the New Seasons Market on 33rd Street and bought some crimini mushrooms and a bottle of kombucha. Then I returned to the start, near my apartment, cutting through a hilly neighborhood called Alameda.
What am I noticing as I walk along? Stores and businesses, other people walking along, houses, colors, trees.
Here is a house with a terrific color scheme, somewhere along 20th Avenue:
Here is a useful Portland neighborhood map:
http://www.movingtoportland.net/maps/map_pdxneighborhood.pdf
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