The Chronicle Of The Day

The Chronicle Of The Day

I woke, as I mentioned earlier, to the sound of a solo piano, either in real life, or from a dream.  It could have been real life, since it was the early hours of the morning and the windows to my bedroom were wide open.  I didn’t hear a song, at least not one that I recognized, but I did hear a several bars.  It also could have been from a dream.  The more I think about it though, the more I suspect it actually was piano music – perhaps a stereo or a radio alarm turned to a classical station.

I took a walk in the hour before day, as the eastern sky was turning gray, under the low foggy clouds that are typical here in the mornings. A yellow cat followed me down Will Rogers Drive, never approaching close enough to be petted, but always close enough to be right behind me.

I got back home and fired up the computer to play on line for the morning, fired up the stereo for a little music, and fired up the coffee pot for some morning solace. My brain was not really engaged for the first hour or so, LOL, but that made chat just that more amusing. It was a good morning chat, filled with people I like, so that was frosting on the morning cake.

About midway through the morning, one of the roommates mentioned sushi, so my brain fixated on salmon sashimi.  That is what prompted the posting of the picture in the previous entry.  If you have never had salmon sashimi, there are various kinds.  Some are just pure salmon. Others are marinated in a variety of mixtures.  The best is marinated in a light teriyaki and saki sauce.  If down right it is a wonderfully delicate and rich taste and it melts on the tongue like ambrosia.

The morning conversation that sparked that particular desire in me was a mixture of two desires – I imagined a chilled piece of salmon sashimi laying on a woman’s abdomen just behind the navel.  Sushi is perhaps one of the most sensual foods, IMO, in part because it is small portions and delicate flavors.  So lunch was a stop at Sushi Boat, for salmon sashimi, alas not off the abdomen of a beautiful woman, but I am sure that thought contributed to a smile as I enjoyed lunch.

From there, I caught the light rail at the Winchester station and went downtown for the San Jose Americas Festival, specifically to see San Jose Taiko play.  It was worth the trip – I love Taiko drumming – it is raw acoustic power, reaches inside of you and thrills you at the pit of the stomach, and it is also a visual spectacle.  That drumming, pure and powerful, also plays a large part in the music Bear McCreary composes for Battlestar Galactica on the Sci Fi Channel.

I wandered the festival for a while, had a pair of cold beers, and then caught the train back home in the late afternoon. I had deliberately left my camera behind today.  I love photography, it is one of my principal hobbies, but sometimes I like to just leave the camera behind. I tend to look at things with a different eye constantly casting about for that combination of light, shadow, position, and object that make for a good photograph.  Sometimes, I just like to leave the camera behind and enjoy what I am enjoying.  I may make another trip down the festival tomorrow or Sunday and take the camera.

I had considered staying downtown for the fireworks display, but getting out of downtown, even on the light rail, after the festival is always a zoo.  For the first hour or so after the festival ends there are literally tens of thousands of people swarming out.  Each train is packed standing room only and because of that, the fifteen minute right to the Winchester station can take upwards of an hour, not counting time spent waiting to get on the train.

Crowds sometimes can get to me, so I am watchful of my mood.  Getting in and out early can save me some unnecessary anxiety.  Today was good, but I could feel the edge of the crowd tickling at my subconscious, so I decided it was best to get out.  On the train home I ran into some friends of mine who live in Campbell, so after we got to the Winchester station we went to a coffee shop in downtown Campbell and caught up.

I drifted home to check on The Nephew, who is currently laid up with a bad sinus infection and the accompanying headache.  I fixed a light dinner, ramen noodles and shrimp and pepper skewers.  Then, I popped back out to stop by O’Connor Hospital and visit a friend who is in for a couple of days for surgery. She is doing well and should be out tomorrow.  She had surgery to repair a torn ACL in her shoulder.  Definitely not fun.

Then, once again, I drifted home.  I love these three day weekends – Friday always feels like a “free day” to me that I can spend relaxing and unwinding, and that allows me to enjoy Saturdays as truly relaxing days, and then have Sunday’s  as a day of rest and small errands getting ready for the week to come – grocery shopping, laundry, etc.

So, the California sun is just starting to set, the night coolness is getting ready to slide over us, and I am home.  I heard on the news that drunk driving arrests are up twenty percent this weekend, so I most likely will stay home for the evening.  My neighbor Rose is hosting a small gathering tonight, some friends, for board games and movies, so I might swing over there later in the night for the company and conversation, or I may elect to stay home, to spend the evening in the quiet comfort of my own space, reading and writing. 

I have a couple of pieces that I want to work on, so I might do that tonight.  They are the gems of stories or poetry and I have been working them around and playing with them and polishing them like small stones. Perhaps I shall polish them a little more tonight and see what comes of them.