Forty By Forty

Number 16: Bet on a Horse

   My old friend Julian came up with this a few weeks ago when he kicked my ass in bowling. I hadn't seen him in a while, and was disappointed to see he didn't need the side rails anymore since I've been relying on them secretly for so many years. I was telling him about the Forty By Forty project and he said; "this would make a GREAT movie...and I think you should add to bet on a horse...it could be fun." When I explained to him how it works; that if you add something to the list, you might be called upon to do it with me, he said "cool."

    

Younger Julian and Marika

   When I say Julian is an old friend, I don't mean age wise, although he is very mature for his age and I talk to him like I talk to any of my other friends. I've known him since he was a couple of months shy of his second birthday. We've had a lot of good times together; summers "at France" as he used to say, the Chupacabra obsession, our two month stint at the Regency Hotel in NY, tons of bowling, the sad day they took the Kraken game out of the arcade, and many sweet kisses. 

   I worked for his Mom Lisa for five years...had some of the best and most fun times of my life and still love and cherish not just Lisa, Michel and Julian, but the whole clan complete with Nana and Papa, aunts, uncles, the beautiful French in-laws, and the tallest and coolest cousins anyone could ask for. 

     

    When we started bowling together, Julian sat in the back of my car in a toddler car seat and we listened to Justin Timberlake's first solo album. Then, the car seat got replaced with a booster...still JT in the CD player with us singing along, his second album. This last time, he sat up front with me with braces and long rock 'n roll hair, requesting 97.1 (Hip Hop and R'nB) on the radio. 

   I emailed him and officially invited him to go to Hollywood Park with me for Number 60: Bet on a Horse after having coordinated with Lisa. It was the last Sunday they were doing races so we just made it. I wore a dress and Julian a polo shirt and khaki shorts. The most handsome date I've had all summer. When we got into the car and Justin Timberlake came on the radio, we both laughed and knew we were about to have a great day.

   In 'n Out was up next. First great idea of the day and it was Julian's. Having run a 5K a few hours earlier, I was famished and itching for some meat and cheese. A couple of double doubles later, we took off for the races. 

 The Hollywood Park equivalent of First Class

As we pulled up to Hollywood Park, Julian said "I hope we're in First Class." I laughed and told him of course we were. We went into the Turf Club and got seated at a nice table overlooking the race track. We ordered drinks and a fudge brownie Sunday and started going through the program. 

 

         

                                         Betting, racing, and winning!

    We didn't have any sort of system for how we selected, we just read the names and if we thought they sounded like winners, we picked them. And we did pretty good. Our picks included Jacob's Tiger, Diplo, Alley Handro, Big Burly Boy and Wolfgang, but the pick of the day turned out to be Luv Dragon. We bet $10 and got $39 back!

   In between the races, we talked about Julian's assigned summer reading, our favorite scenes from Indespicable Me, sampling in rap songs (!) and we also filled each other in on our various summer activities; Forty by Forty list stuff for me, video game and film camp for Julian. Julian is smart, interesting, attentive, kind and really funny to be with so there wasn't a dull moment. And I'm not just saying that because he tells me I look 25 every time I see him. 

   All in all, a day of fun with a sweet old friend.  Thanks Julian, for a great day at the races, and especially for the crazy rap song on the way home! 

  
 

Number 15: Run a 5K

   Jews don't run. Don't know where I heard it but it makes sense to me, since I'm Jewish and I don't run. There are a lot of things Jews do well but I don't remember ever having heard of a famous Jewish runner. I googled "Jewish Runners" so that I could really speak with authority. Because I love to speak with authority (be right.) Turns out I was wrong. Just like there is J Date, there is an organization called J Runners.

   In spite of my feelings about running, I started training for the 5K a couple of months ago. And yes, if you've never run anything before, you actually do train for a 5K even though it's just about 3 miles. My friend John, of Burgers & Sisters fame, had offered to run it with me and found the race itself, in Playa Del Rey. I started by walking or jogging the Silverlake reservoir, sometimes with Maya, sometimes with Wei-ning, and sometimes alone. 

                  
                                     A few of the albums on my 80's playlist

    When I run alone, I listen to 80's music and let my mind go wherever it wants to. All those thoughts that I keep in check for the rest of the day (so I can be productive and happy) can roam freely; hopes, dreams, fantasies, and sometimes an evil thought works its way in. If I'm with Maya or Wei-ning, it's more of a good catch-up session then an actual workout. 

Me and Wei-ning on graduation day last month

   July 18th, which once seemed so far away, finally rolled around and I got up early, put my running shoes on and headed to Playa Del Rey with Wei-ning, Nate and John. Wei-ning is a close friend and an extraordinary writer, and she's been my saving grace at the AFI. For those of you who were with me through "the split," you know that it happened the week before I started the AFI, so there was some personal unraveling the first few months of school. Wei-ning was there for all of it; listening, being sweet, kind and offering sound advice. We also had the good fortune of being in the same writing workshop both years so we're incredibly familiar with each other's writing which makes for really good, constructive critique. 

 Nate "Show-off" Crocker, finishing in 6th place!!!

   Nate Crocker is another AFI screenwriting fellow, and I'm really impressed with his writing, which is way beyond his years. He wrote a great original TV pilot about boxers this past semester, which helped me not look entirely stupid when I started my training for Boxing Match a few weeks ago, incidentally at the boxing gym Nate also frequents, Fortune Gym. He is an all around athlete; runner, swimmer, boxer and I had a feeling he was going to put us all to shame. At least Wei-ning and I, since John has already completed various half-marathons and most recently, the LA marathon. Stay tuned for a biographical essay on John in next week's blog.

The organizers jumped the gun on my age...

   We got there, quickly checked in and got our numbers. Then the race started and Nate took off because he's a serious competitor. I needed to go to the bathroom right that very second, so I did. John and Wei-ning thought I was kidding at first, but when you gotta go, you gotta go. Of course, as I took off towards the bathrooms, people laughed at me, cheekily pointing out that I was going in the wrong direction, but Wei-ning and John waited patiently. So we got a late start, meaning we were actually the last people starting. 

   It quickly became clear that everyone served some sort of purpose on this beautiful day. Nate, who passed us by a couple of times was the carrot. Dressed in orange, he inspired me to keep going. Wei-ning, who had been sure she would be walking most of the way, quietly ran without whining once. So how could I? After all, this was my race... 

   John was the champion of positive energy and optimism, irritatingly so at times. Seriously though, he could have run ahead, but stayed back with us and kept me running with his positive reinforcements. After I told him I had hit my wall, about five minutes into the race, he enthusiastically declared "look we're already at 1 mile!" He also negotiated harshly with me when I wanted to slow down or power walk, telling me I could only do it until the next cone. 

  I won't lie to you. The race was HARD for me. Really HARD. What I thought was going to be easy was not, and quite tolling for my body it turns out. I had all my excuses ready to go; the blister, the asthma, my age....I only used the short legs one. "My legs are shorter than yours so I'm doing more work..." I said to John who rolled his eyes. Finally Wei-ning tapped into her evil side and said, "See that fat lady? You gonna let her beat you?" and off I went. 

   The Finish Line, which once had seemed so far away, all of a sudden appeared and I felt elated, happy, energized and proud. I sped up. John ran ahead to get the photo of me crossing it, and it was such an incredible feeling. My time? 38 minutes and 2 seconds, so certainly not medal worthy or ground breaking. But shave off a couple of minutes for my potty run...and yeah...it's only slightly better. 

   A minute later I got a little teary eyed. The thing about me and crying is that I cry more when I'm happy or moved, then when I'm upset. And I know, 5K isn't a lot. But it was a lot for me and my short legs. I accomplished something today. Something I honestly didn't ever picture myself doing. And I learned something about myself, as with so many of these challenges...that my strong will and stubborn mind takes over where my athletic ability falls short. And that if there is something that I really want to do, I can do it.     

   As long as I have good friends to cheer and support and train and run with. So thanks to my friends John, Wei-ning and Nate for today!