"Hi, Sweetheart, I'm in Biloxi, now. It's nice to hear your voice, even if it is on the recorder. The weather here's pretty good, at least it's not raining, but it's windy and the plane ride was kinda bumpy.

"Where are you? It's 8 o'clock, now. That's eight my time; six p.m. your time. Well, I guess all of us in the universe are actually on the same time, but here it's two hours earlier than there, when this is my temporary here and you're at your usual there. So that's eight minus two, or six. Almost night time on Sunday. It already is night here, so it's later. That is, unless you pick up this message much later your time after you get back, in which case, it will be earlier then than it is now. I love you bye."

"Hi, Baby. What a day I had today, I had a guy from European put me down as just another asshole UniStatsian today, and almost blew the deal for me, but that's another story., It sure is hard traveling around for a couple of weeks, sometimes I don't know where I am. Well, I know I'm here, but I was also here earlier today as well, and now I'm not at the same place I was then. Except that both places are here, or were at the time. So now it's dinner and you're out with Stephanie, I guess, or actually in, because you're probably in someplace. Which is there, but not for you, because that would be your here, my there. While Id' be there, if I were you and also me at the same time I'd say that I was there, except then that would be here, actually. Anyhow, when you get back later why don't you give me a call here. Well not here where my voice is coming from now, because that's actually there for me and here for you, but here for me where I left this message originally at this hotel. At least it was here unless I'm not here later when you call me now. Okay? I love you bye."

"Hi, Baby, it's me again, calling from Boston, it's getting ready to snow, and I guess it will be falling later. Well, not later when you get this because it's getting ready to snow now and when you get this it certainly will be snowing or have already snowed and the ground here will be white wherever you look. Well, not where you look because that's the beach, but where I will be able to look, here. Unless it's night out in which case everything will be black except where there's a light.

"So, you're probably just getting in from work - I mean later when you get this message - and I'll already be finished with my dinner and reading before I go to sleep. Please call me later - I mean now for you - before I turn in, I'm not turning in now but I will be later, after I see the snow fall and eat, that is. So call me then, which is probably about now, for you. I love you bye."

"Hi, Baby, I got your message, but I'm not there yet. I mean, the hotel phoned my office and told them that the clerk took your message but didn't know that I wasn't scheduled to be there until later. Well, I'm scheduled to be there now, but I wasn't scheduled to be there then. That is, I was scheduled then, but not supposed to be there at that time, which is now but then it was to be later. So I won't be there until tomorrow, at which time you can call me but until then I'll have to call you since I'm not at a place you can reach me unless it's an emergency in which case, after five you can call the office there, or nearby you there, and they'll get a message to the board room in any emergency. Later on I won't be here, I'll be somewhere else that I can't get to a phone, but I'll check for messages. The best place to leave messages is here, however, except that the place I'll be is here, so this place will be there to me at that time. Got that? Good I love you bye."

"Hi, Baby, it's me letting you know I'll be there later. Please come and get me at the airport. Well, when I get there, that will be here and it won't be later anymore, so when you get this message later will be now and time to pick me up.

"It makes it a lot easier to have the luxury of our phone tape and this way of communicating with each other that doesn't mean you have to be there when I call from here, or from some other here which is there right now for me, and you too now that I think about it, and leaving message is a lot easier than always trying to call exactly when you know the other person is there. But what I mean by here, is the place which is where you're picking up this message later, which is now your time. So I'll see you in a few hours, which is a few hours for me but just about right now your time given the time zone changes and the plane trip. I love you bye."

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I feel the first beads of sweat trickle down the side of my face. Must have been about 15 minutes so far. I know because I have been doing this for ten years. I have become keenly knowledgeable about such things as sweat, cramps, fatigue, euphoria. I know it all yet I continue to monitor my responses. The warmth of the sun feels comfortable right now but soon it will be too hot. A woman in a tank top and stretchy shorts passes me going the other direction. Hmmm. OK shape. Not very pronounced muscles. I'm stronger than she. Good. This type of comparison is something of a habit for me. I size up other people's athletic build. Compare it to mine. Usually, I am motivated by the comparisons. They make me work harder. And so, I keep going. I notice my pace hasn't smoothed out yet and I still feel clunky. This is disconcerting because usually things even out after twenty minutes. Usually, my step becomes lighter and I feel like I am gliding down the path with minimal effort. Not so today. Not so at all. Don't pay attention. Keep going. People on skates pass me by. This is work. It has always been work. I concentrate and focus and devote all my attention to this grind but it is never less than work.

Forty-five minutes gone by. My shirt sticks to by back as I attempt to soak up any ocean breeze I can find. I want to sit down. I want to put my feet up but instead I put my feet forward. Sometimes I think I'm an idiot. Why do I bother with this? No one else I know pushes themselves like this. Oooh. There's a nice little bench right over there. I could sit just for a second and...What's the matter with you? I beat myself up in my head. Today is your long day. You have much more to go. You can't be tired yet, you wimp. Snap out of it. You will need your mental energy later on. Don't use it up now while you have only just gotten half way there. OK, fine. Fine. I keep going.

A hunger in my stomach manifests as I try and draw on energy sources that just aren't there. "You need to eat more food than what you are eating. You need nutrients." Maybe the chorus of my friends that keeps singing this tune is right. I should probably eat more healthily. Boy, sure don't want to admit that too loudly. My muscles tighten in my quadriceps and they begin to feel like a load of bricks. The breathing quickens. My step is more labored. Gradually I lose awareness of all the people around me. I concentrate only on getting there. I continuously use my right arm to wipe the dripping beads of sweat off my forehead so they don't get in my eyes. OK, just make it to the next palm tree down there. That's a good milestone. And I focus all my energy onto that one stupid tree. I wish I wasn't by myself today. Maybe a partner would tell me some stories and I could get my mind off this pain that is becoming unbearable. Shit. A cramp. The palm tree. Good.

Keep going.

I take deep breaths and release them through exaggerated, slow exhales. I make sure to swallow more often and I slow my pace just a bit. The cramp is attacking my right side. It is relentless. I could stop for just a minute. Maybe then it would set up camp in some other poor soul's body. Stopping is quitting. You cant stop now. Go. Keep on going. Just make it to the next palm tree. Come on. But the pain in my side is so bad I feel like collapsing and crying. I hate when this happens. I feel like a failure. I slow a bit more and notice that I can actually see my destination. Its only about ten minutes away. I curse and berate the cramp and eventually it gives up. No victim here. Good.

I notice my vision becomes fuzzy once in a while. Must be the sweat that evades my arm and slips into my eyes. I am not altogether conscious. Something or someone has taken over my body and keeps me pushing. I don't feel like it was a hostile takeover, merely a necessary one. I surrender completely as this entity wipes from my mind the repetitive question, "Am I there yet?" No, you are not there yet. You are here. Pay attention to here. This entity infuses levity into my stride and oxygen into my lungs. I notice the reds, oranges, and yellows of the beautiful California sky. Just a little more to go. You can do it. Amazingly enough, I accelerate, using every single ounce of energy I can find. I am moving faster, as if I hadn't just come such a great distance. Like I just went around the corner. No use finishing like a slug. The last palm tree is now right in front of me. I step off the path and collapse into the warm sand.

I did it. I raise my arms in personal triumph. Why is this feeling so good every time I finish? If I could bottle it and sell it I would. I survey my body. My legs, they are strong. my arms, they are sweaty. My heart, its beating rapidly but it will slow soon enough. I love this feeling.

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Continental Drift
Views on the Way the World Moves

The Human Theory of Relativity

Life is full of relative thoughts, places, points of view, values. We often think that they are all mutable, subject to the times, changeable based on situations, different for different individuals based on their backgrounds. But really most of us are after the same things: these things we need take the forms of: some form of security, some form of comfort, some form of respect, some form of love. The implementation really doesn't matter. We look forward to encounters that satisfy our needs, and avoid and detest encounters that detract from our needs.

The message this issue is to evaluate those who help you achieve satisfaction in your needs, and those who do not. Evaluate whether or not you help particular people in your life satisfy those needs for themselves, or not. Don't necessarily do anything about it, just think about it.

Your actions - in your long run - will take care of themselves.

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