"I asked them what their favorite event is, and I kept getting distance freestyle, distance freestyle," she said.
"I really like what I'm doing, I got my distance back, and everything is good.
"I waited so long to make this movie, because I needed to get distance from life, my story as a mother, as a woman, as a director," she says.
Then by two more short lifts from local people I got within walking distance of my destination.
Once we caught up with one, it was heart-stopping stuff: I got within touching distance of this awe-inspiring animal, and saw manta rays, turtles and dolphins.
My wife was driving me to the airport and as soon as I got a short distance from my home, and no longer on wifi, I tried it by accessing a web page (using Safari on my iPhone 4) and observing the progress bar.
And when I get some distance away, people say, 'You live there?' They think we live in an industrial area".
Or "How can I get more distance out of my spud gun?
Over the marathon distance – probably a lot of distances – I got close to running as fast as I was capable of doing".
Whether looking at the fish long distance, or controlling a robot long distance, I got a taste early on of how technology could mediate everyday life in strange, unexpected and compelling ways… including the feeling of being somewhere faraway and interacting with remote environments.
