galactic

A plate at the center with toasted turkey sandwiches, cut fruit, gouda and kulshan brews. Sitting in a circle with Galactic on the stereo, a cat on the lap, talking about wine and entitlement and identity crises. Fly guy from seattle, Red & I went to see them live at the Wild Buffalo. The band started in '94 as an octet to sextet with names that even sound like Louisiana honey on warm buns - Raines, Mercurio, Stanton Moore, Rich Vogel, Ellman. Back when, enamored in the funk scene of New Orleans, by The Meters, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Professor Longhair. Influenced by hip hop, electronic, world, rock, bluesnjazz. Moore, the drummer was a major point of visual appeal, in slight part because we had just watched Whiplash & were all electrified in the power of the wrist & sticks, but mostly because he commands it; his presence seemed greater than the physical stature that rose between sets above the bowls. Though each member pulsed a sort of story, for me, two were the kind of nonchalant shiver-makers - Ben Ellman on sax and Corey "Boe Money" Henry on trumps. Ellman's like some jason stathom brother/SVU stoic, and Boe Money's like I-wear-my-sunglasses-at-night talented. It was Rainier & sways till 2 am.

After 12 hours at the helm of adulthood, I had poptarts & tea in bed over a book, purposefully positioned to just sit in order to have leg strength for a big workout the next morning. The wind was ranking the flag against the pole, the glass lanterns from the bars of the balcony. A wind which carried into the morning and made the workout a lesson in mental acuity & a toss of number specificity. At (whatever this point is) in my training, I would have loved to set the workout aside, save for another day, one with more forgiving elements, but moreso, I felt like it was the lesson I needed to overcome that day - if I accumulate time specs & emotions over perfect settings, then what kind of a situation do I set myself up for come a race where I can't control all the factors? Also, chicks from the team were braving the wind at the Smelt 5k, both nabbing incredible PR's & somewhere else in the world Rowbury was wearing hot pink lipstick as she cut the tape in honor of her grandmother...how could I puss out? I want to continue to choose mental strengthening, a factor I consider to be weakest in my training.

Photo by Mck.

After said workout I zombified, took a walk, waiting until LB & Mck came from Seattle for another in the series of girls weekends. This one more sacred than the rest, in that it was LB's birthday week. Compliments of Red we had a many-featured red tasting while wearing birthday cones, nibbling on cheeses and salts, had a glass on the deck of the Morrison's new home, watching the sun fall, fajitas and sickly sweet tequila drinks at Jalapenos, and tumeric-flavored ice cream at Mallards before falling asleep in a puddle at my small studio apartment.

Sunday morning, a largelarge group of the team + met outside the apt for a long run - LB's favorite, to the urb's end, full in colors, brands, sponsors, long ponytails, like a grossly cute ad campaign for all-inclusivity. We showered, all together, had pillowfights against the porcelain, braided each other's hair, gathered the surprise flowers & gifts and surprised LB with a polish/european breakfast at Magdalenes in fairhaven, sharing french presses, foam lips from lattes. I had a savory crepe of egg, asparagus, tomato, arugula and brie. We talked dreamy sun-filled plans & then they were gone.