Invisble Dogs...

I'd imagine that relatively few people have heard of "Improv Everywhere" but let me just say that those who haven't are missing out. These people create scenes of chaos and joy in public places... Aka: the most wonderful idea ever.

Some of their events have hundreds of people freezing or going in slow motion at the exact same time. Others have people riding subways with no pants. There is one where a simple Little League game turned into a near World Series experience as dozens of cheering "fans" showed up for each team. Concessioners passed out popcorn, programs with full rosters were handed out, professional videotaping came into play and a truck with a jumbotron came to display two live broadcasters for the game. Did I mention the mascots, the blimp, and that neither the teams nor the parents knew it was coming? Ridiculous!

I found myself completely in raptures while perusing their website. There are lots of videos and each are ridiculous. Their most recent venture involved "invisible dog leashes" and more than 2,000 people walked around this small portion of their city for an hour with leashes attached to no dog... The videos with large masses of people are my favorites. The ruckus that this must cause has to be nothing short of amazing, as so many bystanders watch hoards of other people do something so unexpected at the same time. It's crazy, it's silly, it's awkward and I love it!

That being said, here's a video of "Invisible Dogs":

On Eating My Peas...

Yeah, I had resolutions for 2008. Not many, but enough to give me a little push. Here they are and how they went...

1. Run 500 miles: I ran 345... but more than I've ever done in a year.

2. Learn Spanish: Rosetta Stone helped out a little on this one, but just a little.

3. Okay, so I can't remember my third one, just that I had it...

Anyway, a friend of mine recently commented that many people tend to believe, each New Years, that our lives will mysteriously change and life will suddenly be different. A conservative observation but a valid one... I mean, why not be content with who you are? It is a fresh beginning but most people do fail to live up to their resolutions. Look at me! Me llamo Joel. I can't even remember my last one!

Still, I admire resolutions and those who make them. To be honest, I think they make a huge difference. Some may consider them wishful thinking, but they seem to me, much closer to prayer. Eisenhower said, that "In preparing[...] I have found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." I love that, because what matters most is not that we change the world but that we change ourselves. We may not find the outcome to match our ideal but it's in those moments that we explore our selves that we are changed, a little here and a little there... enough to matter and to make a difference.

So, with that, here are my simple resolutions for 2009:

1. Run 1000 miles.

2. Read 12 books of my choosing.

3. Remember my third resolution...

A Wrinkly Dinky Dee, Dinky Do...

Some of my friends have said that I act like an old man. That's probably true. I can't wait until I'm old. Sometimes I wonder about what kind of old man I'll be. The coolest grandpa, for sure. I also can't wait until my ears droop this low.

"Age imprints more wrinkles in the mind than it does on the face..." So says Montaigne, anyway, speaking of the wisdom in growing old and how we are all moving toward our perfection and decay. But for some odd reason, here I am, looking forward to both.

So there I was...

I'd have sworn that it was deja vu all over again. After all, it happens every year and Walmart just so happens to be where I buy a lot of groceries. Anyway, a Walmart run isn't a Walmart run unless it's with your friends at 2 AM. It's just better that way. With the Supercenter to ourselves, I took the liberty to do my shopping in one of those 3 mile-per-hour motor carts, with comfy seat and basket. My brother and Daniel could have walked faster but we all tend to shuffle our feet in true slacker form so I kept up well.

My typical routine for shopping involves starting in the back, then working my way forward. So off I rode, on the way, picking up my leg and crossing it as if it really didn't work. There was one moment that I was very tempted to ask a worker to grab something for me off the top shelf... but I chickened out, just laughing at the idea. When I finally reached the back and passed the eggs and juice, I headed for the milk and suddenly without warning, a glimpse of heaven caught my eye! Could it be, so early in the season? I was nearly giddy with excitement and little could contain it. There, behind the hand smudged door to the refrigerator, sat bottle after bottle after bottle of cold, creamy, delicious egg nog!

Needless to say, I bought some... as did my brother and we all drove home happy and excited, reminded of the coming Christmas season.

It's the Season for Falling...

So, I recently signed up for eHarmony... and don't hate. I did it for the personality profile. It's a good one, measuring 29 dimensions of compatibility! Anyway, it asked me what three things I'm most thankful for and being my typical indecisive self, I took an hour to decide.

First on my list: Autumn and the change it represents. I know... It sounds so romantic and deep, right? I couldn't help myself. Seriously though? This is my absolute favorite season. I love this season more than any other season, as it flirts with me, seductively blowing that chilly air in my ear... And all week long, I've worn light jackets and sweaters. The past two days? Overcast, little to no rain, and need I say perfect?

Perfect!

It's late but it's finally fall and I feel that I'm falling in love, with life and everything in it. If the environment really does set my mood, maybe I'll just have to move up north again...

My Second Rhyme

What can be said of these feelings inside?

Born out of Beauty, chasing the night

Feelings of wonder, of love, and of hope,

But also of how I’ve adopted my rope

Bound to my fear, I’ve continued to be

No worse than before, still yet to live free

This someone in me, I’m hoping will bear

More wanting to know, to relate, and to dare

I want to step out, this time, to succeed,

If not to gain these, then only to bleed.

On Breaking Up With My Seasonal Girl

Lately, I've been getting that feeling that milestones are coming to an end, excitement is in the air, and Dick Clark is just around the corner. So, I've prepared myself to give a New Years kiss goodbye to my seasonal girl.

Summer's way too hot for me anyway. And being so, I know she'd leave me soon. Actually, for once, I'd like to up and leave her. If you ask me, I think she's noticed too... Because she seems to stick around longer nowadays, like the half of certain relationships that wants to feel wanted, that needs to feel needed, and takes it too far to get some attention. So she stays a little longer and a little longer and it's suffocating.

As a man who loves cycles, it does happen to be this time of year that feels most like New Years with its confetti made of falling leaves and textbook receipts. Summer is fun, don't get me wrong. Even when we're doing nothing, I enjoy it but I need a change. I need a change for camp-side moods, coats with hoods, and turkey-pumpkin-winter foods. You know? A change for Starbucks runs, college fun, and Bama football run-and-guns. For things that Summer barely knows and places that she rarely goes... but how do I tell her that?

It's not you, it's me?