{"id":1856,"date":"2017-03-23T18:34:39","date_gmt":"2017-03-24T01:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/?p=1856"},"modified":"2017-03-23T22:36:47","modified_gmt":"2017-03-24T05:36:47","slug":"ah-those-times-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/?p=1856","title":{"rendered":"Ah . . . for time away!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lately I\u2019ve been longing for a time away but haven\u2019t managed to pull one off for way too many months. So, inspired by my friend Mary, I\u2019m trying to create a short one right here, where I live.<\/p>\n

Mary and I go a long way back. In the \u201870s and early \u201880s, she and I each headed up an artist-centered organization, she in New York City, I in Seattle. From time to time we\u2019d threaten to exchange jobs, each convinced that it must be easier in the other\u2019s city. Today she\u2019s an artist in her own right, a writer of poetry and librettos who often collaborates with composers, video artists, and others.1<\/sup> Once, when we were talking about my need for retreats and times away, she declared, \u201cWhat I want is a retreat right here on Montague Street!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Montague Street<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today, my calendar opened up with at least three, maybe four, absolutely blank days. With no time to plan a trip out of town, it was finally time to take up Mary\u2019s challenge.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on what makes a rewarding\u00a0time away brought back memories of the one\u00a0I consider to be my first. In early 1989, I had just finished two large projects that ran consecutively,\u00a0each of which alone could have been all-consuming. \u201cI deserve a reward,\u201d I thought to myself. After events involving many smart but strong-willed people, project deadlines, and financial pressures \u2013 the gift I gave myself was a retreat, a chance to get away, to be quiet and alone for a while, to think and walk and read. My partner of the time thought I was a little nuts, wanting to go off and spend time by myself.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Madame Marie’s Suite\u00a0(from Palace Hotel website today, it’s a little fancier than in 1989)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I didn\u2019t go far. I got a room for a week at the Palace Hotel in Port Townsend. Built in 1889, the Capt. H.L. Tibbals Building housed the hotel, which, according to the hotel\u2019s literature, operated as a brothel from 1925-33. I spent the week in \u201cMarie\u2019s Suite,\u201d named for the Madame of the house. From her corner room on the second floor I had a nice view down to\u00a0the intersection\u00a0of Tyler\u00a0and Water Street,\u00a0Port Townsend\u2019s main downtown drag. I moved the furniture around to put\u00a0a\u00a0table in front of the window. Natural light and some sort\u00a0of view, I now know, is an important aspect of my times away.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Palace Hotel with Marie’s suite on the corner behind a tree that wasn’t as big in 1989<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Among the essentials I packed up to take along was the first computer I ever owned, a Mac 512 acquired in 1985. Weighing 16.5 pounds, it was fondly called \u201cthe luggable\u201d back then, as “portable” was not yet an adjective used to describe\u00a0computers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Other essential materials\u00a0for a time away are a few books, paper and pens, and good walking shoes. Without having to pack them in, I\u00a0have all these things, albeit slightly updated, here at home.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What I don\u2019t have here is the\u00a0focusing\u00a0isolation offered by being\u00a0in a different space and a less familiar community, away from the many daily little tasks that are always present at home.\u00a0My will power will be tested.2<\/sup><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00ab\u00ab\u00ab\u00ab\u00ab\u2022\u00bb\u00bb\u00bb\u00bb\u00bb\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n

1<\/sup> Mary Griffin and \u201cBlue\u201d Gene Tyranny, \u201cRecollections: Songs from Aphasia<\/a>,\u201d presented at Roulette last year.<\/p>\n

2<\/sup> Of course, now I’ve used up most of one of my\u00a0days making this.\u00a0Is this how\u00a0I meant to spend\u00a0my time away? Or am I procrastinating? \u00a0Hard to say.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lately I\u2019ve been longing for a time away but haven\u2019t managed to pull one off for way too many months. So, inspired by my friend Mary, I\u2019m trying to create a short one right here, where I live. Mary and I go a long way back. In the \u201870s and early \u201880s, she and I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-time-away"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7pXN0-tW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1856"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1891,"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1856\/revisions\/1891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}