beautiful days

this past weekend i've had some of the nicest days in houston that i can remember. starting on friday, i treated myself to a delicious sushi lunch and an afternoon in the park. this time, the piece of grass i drove a long way for was the park next door to the menil collection. it was mid afternoon when i arrived there so that the western edge of the park was shaded by trees while the open center was still brightly lit. i set myself down on the cool grass near the shade. there were plenty of other people in the park sitting on blankets having picnics, reading books, or playing with their dogs. i made a mental note that i should start carrying a big blanket in my car for occasions like this. i sat in the warm sun reading chuang tzu for a long time. after that, i stretched out on the grass and stared up at the sky and let my mind wander.

i had stayed out late with some friends friday night, so saturday i stayed in bed for a long while. i didn't really sleep but was somewhere between dozing and fully awake. again i let my mind wander and thoroughly enjoyed it. after i finally got out of bed, i made my way down to starbucks where, despite my best efforts, i'm now recognized as the guy who buys the smallest coffee, leaves the smallest tip, and wastes the most afternoons. well, i'm not sure about all those titles, but i've certainly been recognized as someone who comes in often enough to warrant recognizing. after some time there, i had a craving for some greasy chinese buffet food so i called my friend pablo and we met up for an early dinner. we had a pretty good conversation about how to approach life. our outlooks are vastly opposed. he likes to have a long term plan while i like to drift about. after this, we met up some more friends and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and evening out on a patio sipping margaritas telling old stories.

finally, today i enjoyed the afternoon by taking a nice long walk around my neighborhood. i used to do this back in high school and would hardly see anyone else walking. today i'm happy to see that there are some trails put in and more people out enjoying the afternoon this way. it might sound like a small thing, but living in a sprawling yet sparse, hot, humid, swamp like houston makes walking not nearly as practical as it should be.

since coming back to houston, i've been meaning to write every day like i was doing when i started this in colorado. for most of the month i've been reading a lot and thinking but not really forming any ideas. i've also been relatively care free these days, not worrying about losing a job, finding a job, or where i'm going in life. finally i've started to be able to just enjoy each day as it happens. however, as orlando's biographer complained, "life...has nothing whatever to do with sitting still in a chair and thinking...therefore...there is nothing for it but to recite the calendar". not having so much on my mind, i haven't been writing much, but whenever my mind starts churning again, i suppose i'll start to air it out here again.