"[Olga] Mukhina's modern myth of sex, drugs and celebrity in post-Soviet Russia has acquired its own life and reality right here in Austin." -Graham Schmidt, director of "Flying." I heard about this play a week ago and, recognizing the playwright and subject matter as (severely) Russian, resolved to see it. The play follows a group of twenty-something "golden youth" of Russia, who are invested solely in their own superficiality, mixed with an attempt to escape their own ugly realities and demons. Caught up in the mix is a young, impressionable Siberian girl, who becomes irreversibly intertwined with this romanticized reality, all the while making her own illuminating impression on the golden youths around her. The play was unsettling, exasperating, and difficult to follow at times, but it was also stimulating and unique, which makes for a great evening.
Today was my first experience with genuine trail running. My brother and I met at the Greenbelt to run six miles this afternoon, as we're both training for some upcoming races. Since I had yet to run an actual trail, I was pretty nervous: Kyle has a faster pace than I, he has more experience running trails, and he knows this trail particularly well. Despite the unexpectedly challenging nature of the run, I was also caught off guard by my consistent pace and how fairly adroit I was in handling the varied terrain. Further, while obviously being physically challenging, it was also mentally stimulating as it required me to make pointed decisions immediately, and just as immediately move on to the next one. Ladies and gentlemen, I do believe I've found my new hobby.
