Murse!

If it seems like I've fallen off the face of the earth the last few days, well, it's been pretty crazy. For once though, it's been in a good way.
I started my new job as a news reporter last week, and have been running around trying to learn everything I need to know before my head completely explodes. It's going to be a tough race for that one.

But that brings me to what really is on my mind.

As a reporter, I need to carry stuff. I need to carry notebooks, usually more than one. I need to carry pens, I carry my passcard, I carry a digital camera and possibly a small tape recorder. I also tend to carry a small Leatherman tool, because I'm that kind of guy, an address book and, this time of year a pair of gloves. I have a nice tweed sportcoat that has lots of pockets to carry some odds and ends, but, lets face it, if you're in a jacket-and-tie kind of world, having stuff bulging out of your jacket pocket doesn't look all that professional. Backpacks are out too. I've got a briefcase to carry my laptop, but that doesn't leave my hands free and is relatively bulky.

Enter the murse.

Not, in this case, a male nurse. I'm talking about the male purse. AKA man-bag, man-purse, satchel, shoulder bag, european carryall, possibles bag, courier bag, whatever. In this particular case it's the bag I used to use to carry my fishing stuff, a greenish-khaki canvas bag styled after a military map case. Pretty macho, really, lots of pockets and brass and all sorts of rugged looking. It was sold in the men's department at Target.

But it's still a purse, dammit. It's just so much easier to deal with than the big briefcase, and cramming everything into pockets would be impossible to do neatly. So I've got my murse.

I would feel like I was selling out and turning into a flaming metrosexual, but there will always be one reason why I can still feel macho with a shoulder bag...

Simplicity

I Run.

One of the shortest possible sentences in the English language (not the shortest, that's another blog though). However, this simple subject-predicate pairing has taken on a lot of personal meaning lately.

I've been a runner for many years. Once upon a time I was even fast and in good shape, and I dreamed of the New York Marathon.

After a long time of making excuses and avoiding it, I've started running again. The usual excuse, although I never articulated it, was that I was too busy and didn't have time.

Of course, the fact that I'm busy, stressed and don't have the personal time is probably the biggest reason that I need to run more than ever now.

Running isn't really a way of escaping my problems. It's more of a tool for dealing with them. Somewhere in the simple repetition of one foot in front of the other, I'm finding some sort of balance. I'm becoming more grounded in physical reality, which is giving me more mental clarity.

I'm having an in-body experience.

As I get in better shape, my mood and attitude are improving. As I gain better balance between my body and mind, I'm better prepared to seek balance in the rest of my life.

In motion I am finding strength and peace of mind.

The funny thing is, it's always been there, I just forgot about it.

So, with all the complicated sentences I sort through every day, the one that I'm finding more and more important is the simplest sentence in the English language. Good advice, short, easy and to the point.

Go.