Mette Ivie Harrison's Blog, page 134

Something new to say

I had a college professor whose opinion I really valued once tell me that he thought a particular author I admired had said "everything he had to say" already in the early books he had written, and that there wasn't much point in reading anything else by him. At the time, I was confused by this. I wanted him to explain to me what it was that had been said already and why it wasn't worth more reading. He didn't know how to do this or to explain it any further.

Ever since then, though, I ha...

500 Days of Summer

I don't see very many movies, especially not before they make it to blockbusteronline. This is my third movie this year (Star Trek, Harry Potter). I am surprised to realize it is three. I don't like sitting in a movie theater with other people there. I'd rather be in my own home, able to pause the movie as I wish, and to share it with kids if I think they'd enjoy it. Also, the vast majority of movies stink. Hollywood writes on committee and the writing is what matters to me. There are ...

embarrassing

I (or my children) have reached that age where everything I do, it seems, is embarrassing to them. For example, this summer when we went to the local amusement park, I decided to wear one of my triathlon outfits so that I could get wet at the log ride or even go into the pool and out again with no changing. It seemed eminently logical and practical to me.

But when I came downstairs with the outfit on, the three older children groaned loudly and said, "You're not going to wear that, are you?"...

depression conversation

A recent conversation with 12, who is struggling with the start of seventh grade and uses phrases like "doomed," "time to bail," and "doesn't bode well:"

Me: If I could give you a happy pill, would you take it?
12: No.
Me: Why not?
12: Because I don't believe it would work.
Me: (In stunned silence for a moment). Wow.
12: What?
Me: You have just shown me a really valuable lesson about depression.
12: I don't get it.
Me: (Kind of laughing).
12: Are you laughing at me?
Me: Not really. I'm laughing at mys...

forbidden questions

I seem to have a knack of asking forbidden questions. If there is a question the teacher does not want to talk about, I am sure to think of it first. If there is a question the teacher is uncomfortable with or does not know how to answer, I will ask it. I am not trying to be obnoxious. That is simply where my mind goes first because that is what I find interesting.

13 was talking to me about this. She has the same problem that I do. It does not seem to endear us to people. Or at least n...

tempting fate

I was trying to be good. I really was. I decided not to do the run on Saturday with my husband and did a long bike instead, to save my knee. That was the point of all this, right? To deal with the injury while it was still minor.

Only the rain and that sharp corner on the Legacy Parkway trail did not get the memo, apparently. One moment I thought--I'm going to do fine on this corner. The next, I was on the ground, thinking, ouch, this hurts. And then--I don't really feel like getting up...

photos from Jordanelle Tri

For those interested, here are a couple of photos from the Jordanelle Olympic Relay Tri that my daughter and I were in. First 15:



And her with a big smile:



Then me on my new bike with my cool aero helmet, no longer in yellow:



And me on the run:



And me at the finish line:

Injured

Just when I was thinking of writing a post about how if you train properly and don't overdo it, you don't get injured--I get injured. The last two weeks I have been struggling with stabbing, aching, burning knee pain. I've tried stretching and will continue to try stretching, but yesterday I was about 4 miles into a 10 mile run and I just was in so much pain I had to stop and walk for a while. That has happened for a couple of years.

What is so annoying is that today I ran a record setting ...

SYTYCD and one thing

I was watching So You Think You Can Dance last night, the fifteen best performances. It was interesting to me that so many of them were of dancers who did not end up being the winner. Mark, for example, had two dances, whereas Benji had only one. This led me to think about Mark and other unique dancers who were unable to excel in other styles. And guess what? Looking back on the tapes, it seemed to matter very little. Yes, there were some stinkers. But the good dances were just so supe...

Books Read August 2009

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles
Peace, Love and Baby Ducks by Lauren Myracle
Adventures in Cartooning
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen
Alive in Necropolis by Doug Dorst
Chandra's War by Allan Stratton
The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum
The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

As soon as I finished reading Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles, I gave it immediately to my 15 year old da...