23: Stardust

I just ran a lethargic 2 miles down at the gym. This doesn't make for much of a dazzling report. If I were a celebrity, it might equate to having been caught by the paparazzi coming out of Ralph's in West LA with a cart full of Poland Spring. Light bulbs flashing from every angle! Here she comes! ...Oh wait, she just bought water.

Having a blog is the tiniest slice of celebrity. Not that anyone's ever going to pay me to endorse their products or put me on the cover of a magazine; but I feel slightly set apart in that there are people out there who know much more about me than I know about them. Sometimes these are people I've never met. I'll give you some examples.

This one was the best! I once walked into a trendy boutique jewelry store down in SoHo and, upon seeing me, one of the 6 or so gals behind the counter burst out at the top of her lungs, "Michelle Hates to Run!" She was a friend of a friend and had been following the story for months. Anyway, it was right before Mother's Day and about 12 good husbands on their lunch breaks turned to check me out and chat. That was a rush... and little bit surreal.

Here's another example. Two weeks ago I was crossing 14th street, rushing to get to a sneaker store before it closed, and a woman stopped me in the middle of the street and had a mini freak-out, "Oh my G-d I read your blog!" I have to admit I didn't recognize her at first; she was a work contact more than a year ago and I probably only met her a handful of times; but she was very nice and we chatted a few minutes. Actually, I mostly felt bad that I didn't really know anything about her life and we were just talking about me. I was going to ask, but then I realized I had to get going. At least, she'd understand why. "Sorry, as you know, I'm running a half this weekend; I'm on my way to buy new shoes." She nodded. We parted. I could almost feel myself vaporizing back into her virtual idea of me, my reliable counterpart who shows up every day with a neat musing, insight or report. In real life maybe my appearance wasn't quite such a digestible hit.

Sometimes the encounters leave both parties feeling a little bit spooked. Like last night. I was out in the suburbs for work and was sent to an obscure restaurant I'd never have otherwise been at, let alone on a Wednesday night at 7:30. But there I was. By coincidence - though there are no coincidences it seems - so too was a woman I went to high school with, named Suzanne, whom I've seen once in the last 21 years. Thing is, she's been reading my blog; and just the night before she'd been talking to her brother about it, asking him if he remembered me. So when Suzanne saw me suddenly there in her home town, 20' away from her at the bar, of course she thought it might be a mirage.

We caught up and it was fun, though I think Suzanne remained marginally disconcerted until I left. I do understand how she felt. I'm learning though to just roll with it and understand that "chance encounters" often lead to something interesting. Maybe she'll start running. Maybe I'll take the suggestion she gave me and hike over to the Luxembourg Cafe with my crossword. Maybe it's something entirely different and we can't know yet.

So when the blog is working at its best, it keeps me committed to my running, gives me some practice at writing, but moreover, it creates connections. As long as I maintain privacy about my deep personal self, I don't feel over-exposed or invaded. So, I ran two miles. I've got awesome snot. There's a lot of ice in my freezer. These things I feel comfortable sharing because they're a public persona. You want to know what else I thought about all day today? Don't answer so fast. You might not!