Yes, I love technology...

I was going for my little jog tonight. Nothing special...like 2.5 miles down the block, around the Castle Island/Sugar Bowl loop in Southie for those of you who are familiar. The weather today was pretty rough...chillier than it has been in a few weeks...like mid 40s at best. Real overcast, very gray...and with a bitching wind whipping up something fierce. It was one of those days where prior to heading out, I sat around in my house in my running shorts and sneakers with my headphones in and no music playing for a good 20 minutes or so before I finally convinced myself to stop being a piece of shit and get it over with. I was hungry after all and dinner wasn't making itself...at least not until I ran.

So I took myself outside and it sucked. The wind was in my grill the whole way out. Usually it is in my grill on the homestretch...which sounds shitty but is actually better because by the time you get to the end you are warmed up and feeling pretty decent...and even though it is harder with the wind in your face, you know the whole way that it's almost over so you stop being a pussy and suck it up. Today wasn't like that, like I said. The whole first mile and a half were into this crazy ass wind that made it feel like I was running with a brick in each pocket. It was one of those deals where if it had been a little bit warmer out I may have actually turned around and walked back home...but if I tried that shit today I know I would have wound up freezing my balls off.

Anyway, as I was running I was listening to my iPod as I am wont to do. This thing is a fucking piece of shit. I originally got my iPod on Christmas 2003. That one lasted just under a year before it shit the bed...lucky for me it was still under warranty so I brought it back and got a "new" one. By the time I went to get my replacement, they were no longer making the kind that my original was...so I was hopeful to get a newer/cooler iPod. Not so. They hooked me up with another vintage 10GB clunky piece of shit. The thing at this point can last just about the length of my run before it farts in my face and tells me the battery is dead. I am getting a new one soon I swear. Anyway, as I ran, I was listening to The Bends by Radiohead on shuffle. A quality fucking album by any estimation. I usually run to a mix I made of songs that get my adrenaline going, but for some reason today I decided to go with the Radiohead.

Bobbing along, the only one out on the loop at 6:30 on a cloudy, windy, old night I turned the last corner at the end of the long jetty and headed toward the end. Just as I did so "Bones" was ending and I was kinda wondering what was going to come one next. I typically will click until I get a real good song for the finish...you know, to help me gut out the last bit. "Fake Plastic Tress" came on and I came this close to passing it by. It starts slow and is kinda calm and quiet and I didn't think I wanted to hear it...but I let it go and just settled in for the last straightaway. The calmness of beginning relaxed me as I went. Just me and the soft smooth tones of Thom's voice. Taking in the dimmest beginnings of what would be a mostly obscured sunset on a cloudy night with the wind pushing at my back. I found myself becoming completely enveloped by the song...feeling the building emotion as it continued, I became so much more aware of where I was, what I was hearing, and where the song was bringing me than the repetition of my pumping legs and gasping lungs. Not once for the last two minutes was I aware of my foot hitting the ground and bouncing off again. Although I am sure my breaths were heavy, it was as if I wasn't breathing at all. As the song cascaded through its unbelievable climax, I looked towards the steadily approaching "finish line" and wasn't surprised at all as a tear came to my eye. It was the most beautiful feeling I have had in a very long time...possible only through the magic of an aging, clunky, and miserably finicky batteried iPod.

&Ry