A little more than a year ago, I bought a pair of running shoes. I had a room in Leeuwarden at the time and, since my life as a student was starting to develop some physical evidence, I figured it would be nice to do some running in the evenings. Before I knew, the summer holiday arrived and I had to look for an internship for the following year. I soon found one at a small record company in Den Bosch. This company was run by one man and had no other employees accept for two interns. There was also no such thing as an office or something, business was done at the kitchen table or standing around the computer in the attic. Together we decided that the two of us could do our work from our homes, and we would meet in Den Bosch once a week. Having no need to stay in Leeuwarden, I gave up my room and went back to living with my parents.
With not a lot of work in the first 7 months of my 10 month internship, I found myself hanging around the house, wondering what to do. It would have been great to do some running a couple of times a week, but I ended up spending most of the time behind my computer and slightly too much time in bed. I found our bumpy quarter-of-a-mile driveway quite discouraging, as well as not having someone to run with.
The year went by and I got this feeling of guilt every now and then, when I came across my shoes. Until I decided to wear them whenever I had to go somewhere. This summer, my running shoes have taken me to pubs in Utrecht as well as beaches in Biarritz, France. Most of the time not faster than your average grandmother. If so, on the throttle of my car.
Last week, the moment was there. Me and my girlfriend drove to the forest and ran (with intervals) for about 45 minutes. She turned out to be the perfect running mate. It all went great and when we got home we decided we would really like to do this at least twice a week. Now here's my situation:
I live in the country-side near Meppel, Drenthe. The Imagineering Academy is in Breda. In between is, well, the Netherlands. I get up at 6 AM to go to school, and when I get home around 9 PM, I'm too tired to do anything else but to have something to eat and go to sleep. I spend 3 hours in the train to get to Breda and another 3 to get back home. It's hard to describe what it does to ones body, to be sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a train that accelerates and stops every ten minutes, but I think it can be summarized as constantly feeling the urge to move. To exercise. To run… BUT NOW I CAN'T!
The Imagineering-way of thinking includes the idea that people buy certain goods in order to achieve a certain personal transformation. I bought my shoes with the goal to lose some weight and work on my stamina. In my experience, the effect was rather, let's say, limited. Now I often get the chance to think about them, think about the opportunities I had to use them, and the chances that will come. Is their value lost? No. It's just a different kind of value. Somewhat… spiritual.
My name is Niels van der Haven and I will be posting on this blog this week. Tomorrow will be my second day at my application company, I'll tell you more about that later.
With not a lot of work in the first 7 months of my 10 month internship, I found myself hanging around the house, wondering what to do. It would have been great to do some running a couple of times a week, but I ended up spending most of the time behind my computer and slightly too much time in bed. I found our bumpy quarter-of-a-mile driveway quite discouraging, as well as not having someone to run with.
The year went by and I got this feeling of guilt every now and then, when I came across my shoes. Until I decided to wear them whenever I had to go somewhere. This summer, my running shoes have taken me to pubs in Utrecht as well as beaches in Biarritz, France. Most of the time not faster than your average grandmother. If so, on the throttle of my car.
Last week, the moment was there. Me and my girlfriend drove to the forest and ran (with intervals) for about 45 minutes. She turned out to be the perfect running mate. It all went great and when we got home we decided we would really like to do this at least twice a week. Now here's my situation:
I live in the country-side near Meppel, Drenthe. The Imagineering Academy is in Breda. In between is, well, the Netherlands. I get up at 6 AM to go to school, and when I get home around 9 PM, I'm too tired to do anything else but to have something to eat and go to sleep. I spend 3 hours in the train to get to Breda and another 3 to get back home. It's hard to describe what it does to ones body, to be sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a train that accelerates and stops every ten minutes, but I think it can be summarized as constantly feeling the urge to move. To exercise. To run… BUT NOW I CAN'T!
The Imagineering-way of thinking includes the idea that people buy certain goods in order to achieve a certain personal transformation. I bought my shoes with the goal to lose some weight and work on my stamina. In my experience, the effect was rather, let's say, limited. Now I often get the chance to think about them, think about the opportunities I had to use them, and the chances that will come. Is their value lost? No. It's just a different kind of value. Somewhat… spiritual.
My name is Niels van der Haven and I will be posting on this blog this week. Tomorrow will be my second day at my application company, I'll tell you more about that later.
3 comments:
Hi Niels,
Of course I do not know the brand of your running shoes, but here is a website to help set you goals when buying your running shoes: http://www.myasics.nl/nl/about-us/start_myasics20.php
To find people to run with as well.
Enjoy running!
Great story ^^. I think everyone can identify with it in one way or another. It makes me think of the time I bought a graphic tablet for my computer, so that I would start drawing in Photoshop. I bought the best brand, of-course - Wacom - the brand that all my Game Artist friends used. My tablet has been sitting on my shelf for a year, loved and unused, and everytime I look at it, I feel a mixture of guilt for the past and inspiration for the future. It doesn't really say "I am an artist" about me, but it does say "I want to be an artist", and I never regret buying it. I think that what we wish to be is as much a part of us, as what we are in present.
Great story, Niels!
Now I finally know why your shoes are that white (and seemingly new) ;).
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