Possessing Nothing

It was quiet and gray when I woke up this morning.  I had dreamed the night before, but I don't recall the contents of the dream, only the memory that I dreamed.  Outside, the sky was fog-shrouded, with the promise of heat later in the day. I stood by the window for a while and watched the dawn unfolding on the street below, then padded barefoot into the kitchen and started the morning coffee.

The saying "possessing nothing, we are possessed by nothing" is running through my mind this morning. My sister had sent me an early morning text that commented on the lonesome feeling that comes with the dawn. I happen to like that feeling.  Dawn has long been on of my favorite times of the day and what I love about it is that sense of lonesomeness, that sense of quiet and stillness.

Then, as the day unfolds, that feeling usually slips away and we slide into the normal hurly-burly of the day, the things that have to be done, the tasks and the errands, surrounding in the clutter of noise and sight that make up modern life.  Somewhere, in between those two points, we find a balance. Possessing nothing, we are possessed by nothing.

My music choice this morning this morning is Flogging Molly's "Laura".

"I could have danced on the sun,
but my world came undone..."

Daily Life: Dawn & The Amazon Kindle 2

Dawn was a thin ribbon of lighter blue on the horizon when I woke up this morning. There were birds singing outside, as if their songs were summoning the sun. I left my apartment and walked through the quiet courtyard. The moon was hanging over the Santa Cruz Mountains, a brilliant white orb all alone in a pale blue sky. It was an excellent start to the day.

I had a reason for waking up early this morning, for coming into the office almost two hours early. I had something I wanted to do this afternoon, so I was planning on flexing out two hours early. But, now, as I am sitting here, I cannot remember what it was. I checked my ubiquitous list of things to do and I don't see anything on it that sparks my memory. (I do see that I need to stop at a furniture store and look at getting two new kitchen chairs, but I am pretty sure that one is not it.) I am trusting that the reason will come to me as I move through the day. It wasn't something that I had to do - it was something that I wanted to do, so it didn't make it into the list. I hope it doesn't start to bug me.

On a different subject, a few weeks ago I bought an Amazon Kindle 2. Reading is a huge part of my life and my book collection tends to grow until it starts to crowd me out and then I purge books by donating them to the Friends of Library or another charitable organization. On top of that, I am a bit of a technology buff - I like to have the new technical toys. I am not of the opinion that whoever has the best toys wins in the game of life, but I do think that whoever has the best toys probably has a lot more fun on the journey.

Since I tend to read I lot I usually have three or four books stacked up in the hopper, waiting to be read. The same was true when I bought the Kindle - I had a couple of other books already stacked up waiting their turns, so I had to move through them before I got to actually sit down and read something of substance on the Kindle. I finished the last of the books in the hopper the other night (Gibson's "Spook Country") and started reading my first novel on the Kindle Sunday night.

I started reading "Assassin's Apprentice" by Robin Hobb, a fantasy novel. As a novel it is pretty good so far and so that might be influencing my impression of the Kindle. I have to say, I am fairly dang impressed. Up until now I had mostly read magazines, blogs and newspapers on the Kindle and found I liked it (no messy stacks of magazines and newspapers).

There are a couple of things I really like about the Kindle 2. First, the size and heft of it are, for me, almost perfect. It is light, but it has just enough heft to have substance. The screen is very easy to read, grayscale, and clear. Navigation is easy, a few clicks and you are on your way. Turning the page is simply pushing a button. I like very much that you simply stop reading, turn the device off (or set it down and it turns itself off), and then when you turn it back on - you're exactly where you left off. That is cool. I always used a bookmark before and sometimes the bookmark would slip out of the book and then I would have to figure out exactly where I was. With the Kindle 2 there is no doubt as to where you were, because you turn it on and you're there. So, for that first crucial novel reading experience on the Kindle, let me say - I am duly impressed.

The only drawback with the device I have found so far is the finish - I would like it if it had a more rubberized feel, more of a texture to grip onto. It is (like the I-Phone) just a little on the slick side and it has slipped out of my fingers a couple a couple of times. Of course, I take that in context of once, lying in bed, reading, I dropped Edward Rutherford's "The New Forest" right on my face as I nodded off and managed to give myself a bloody nose. Yes, we are injured for the things we love!

Morning Sky

We have had a parade of beautiful fall mornings the last couple of weeks and today was no exception. I was on the highway on the way to work this morning in the hour before the dawn. At one point in the commute I turn to the north east for about ten minutes. The sun was rising off behind Mt. Hamilton and there were high wispy clouds. The clouds were shades of soft red. The sky overhead was dark and there was a ribbon of light blue on the horizon, fading quickly into deeper blues. I reached the office and parked behind the building and then sat there listening to Annie Lennox and drinking my coffee and thinking just how damn beautiful the world is sometimes.