When I woke up this morning, my right knee was sore and it’s gotten increasingly sore and stiff as the day has gone on. It started to freak me out, because immediately I started fretting that my running was causing it, and with the Broad Street Run only three weeks away I can’t stop running now. I’m so close to my goal!

But then I started thinking about what I did yesterday, and I knew. It’s not a running injury, it’s a kickball injury! (As Cindy pointed out, you don’t get to use that phrase in a sentence often). It still hurts, but knowing that it was the kickball that caused it and not the running has assuaged my anxieties. I realize I’ve become really dependent (in a good way) on running. It has become part of my life, part of my daily (or at least every other day) routine, and I depend on it for clarity, peace and a little calorie depletion.

Tonight I went to see “Our Naked City” at the Philly Film Festival. It was a collection of independent shorts (really, what shorts aren’t independent?) all done by Philadelphia Filmmakers and it was terrific. Seeing these movies tonight made me think about all the talent and artistry out there in the world that is going unappreciated and unknown. Rarely are we given a chance to see short films, and if there are these six (I think there were six) that were all made by people in this area in the last year, think of all the spectacular stories that people are telling with film that are out there. I want to see more.

Lastly (before I collapse into bed) I have to rave about solo movie viewing. I love going to movies by myself. It strangely makes me feel more like an adult than paying my rent or driving to my 40 hour a week job does. I like the thrill of never knowing who you’ll talk to or sit next to. I like that I don’t have to chat before the movie, but can instead sit and observe the people around me. Tonight’s crowd at the International House was young, hip and funky, very different from the people who attended “Rittenhouse Square” at the Prince on Saturday night. It was just fun.