The Last of Fringe

I considered writing something more detailed last night as the evening began, but ultimately decided that it would not put me in the right mood to start the weekend, so I spent the evening reading and then watching the "Fringe" finale. It was excellent.  I truly enjoyed the entire run of Fringe and I'm going to miss it.

My plan this morning is simple, breakfast at the Hickory Pit, then probably a bit of a walk-about, followed by a movie.  I'm not sure which movie I am going to see, but finally we're running into a weekend where there are several options and I am sure at least one of them will be sufficiently amusing to keep me entertained.

I am planning on sitting down and writing a bit later in the day, so we will see how that goes, or if it becomes a day where I end up deliberately seeking nothing but simplicity.

Jack Reacher

I woke this morning to the sound of pouring rain, that heavy rush of a winter storm, with the deep and long rumbles of thunder providing a magnificent undercurrent. A wonderfully lazy hour with T.R. to start the day, then breakfast with Tony and Tyrone at the Hickory Pit, followed by a walk-through of Fry's, where I managed to only buy a Vitamin Water Zero and a package of mints.

Then, home for a few hours of  laziness and out to see an afternoon showing of the new Tom Cruise movie "Jack Reacher", with the wonderful Rosamund Pike and an excellent little supporting turn by Robert Duval. I was not enthusiastic about the movie, though Cruise is rarely bad - I had read the book and I just could not reconcile Cruise with the character of Jack Reacher in my head.  Still, I was willing to take a chance on the movie and I am glad I did.

I am happy to report that it was very enjoyable, Cruise was good in the role (was he Jack Reacher, uh, no - but I could accept him as an alternate universe Jack Reacher and ultimately that was good enough), and Rosamund Pike was absolutely luminous. All in all, an entertaining film.

From there, we grabbed a bite Buffalo Wild Wings, then drifted home. Tony stopped by and I helped him do a little research on his installation of dual video cards (sweet!) and then I settled in and watched the most recent episode of Fringe.  Excellent as well.

I am about to fire up the DVR and watch the guilty pleasure of my days that T.R. turned me on too - Ancient Aliens - and wander my way into the night, but I thought I would pause and make a quick entry out here.  I hope the rain pours all night so I can sleep like a baby.

A Sunday Morning Narrative

Yesterday afternoon I spent about two hours doing laundry, picked up an order of honey walnut prawns and combination fried rice from Tsing Tao in Campbell, then circled home and spent a lazy afternoon watching a movie.

I was in the mood for something very good that I hadn't seen in a while, so I opted to watch "Winter's Bone" again.  One of the things about a good movie is that they can be watched over and over and each time you glean something more from them.  "Winter's Bone" is one of those movies for me.

Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, and Garrett Dillahunt all turn in amazing performances.  When you compare Garrett's performance with his role in "Raising Hope" you come away with an awareness of an actor whose range is astounding. John Hawkes has that same ability.

After the movie wrapped up, I spend some time hooking up one of my early Christmas presents to myself, a sound bar for my television.  It was a low cost Phillips one, from Radio Shack.  Given the small size of my apartment I really couldn't justify a higher end system.  There is no sense in having a stereo that can go to 11...when 2 or 3 is actually about as high as you can set it without intruding on your neighbors.

Then, I watched an episode of "Elementary".  After it wrapped up I went to bed early, laying down about 7:30 PM with Orson Scott Card's "Ruins" and reading for about an hour before I fell asleep. I slept pretty soundly.  I woke up about 11:30 PM, briefly, then fell back asleep.  One of the things about living in an apartment is that, periodically, you wake up for no apparent reason. Every now and then you'll know the reason that woke you - some sound, some passage, some external thing.  But, usually, you don't, you simple wake up.

All in all though, I got a good night sleep.  On waking, I folded and put away my socks and underwear from yesterday, exchanged texts with my sister, and set up my iPad with iLapse to capture a time lapse sequence of sunrise. Then, a bowl of maple and brown sugar cream of wheat, a cup of black coffee, and I've settled in to watch an episode of "Fringe" as I contemplate the day.

I have a stack of work in front of me and I will tackle it at some point in the day, but most likely later in the afternoon. This morning my plan is a bit of writing (here and in a few emails) and then breakfast, perhaps a bit of wandering, and a movie. I am thinking about seeing Daniel Day-Lewis in "Lincoln", but the jury is still out on whether or not I am inclined to a serious drama today.

I do have a bit of inner work to do, mainly in consideration of my inner turmoil, so I may tackle that today, setting aside some time later in the day for meditation and contemplation. The recent changes in my personal relationships have left me...I don't know how to describe it, but with a certain degree of emptiness.  I need to contemplate that emptiness.

The Tides of Life

Well, it has been a day. The tides of life are flowing strongly. I am still too close to the events to write about them in detail here, in fact, many of the details are still actively swirling around in my mind.  My monkey-mind is reaching out there and grasping at various things that are flowing by and I am in a constant struggle of trying to not let it fasten on things.  Additionally, I have always respected the privacy of other people, so I am sticking to that, even though half of the story is mine.  It was an emotional morning and those emotions rose and fell through the day. This evening was melancholy, so I picked up my guitar and wrote for a while.  I have set that aside for now to let it age a bit, but I do have to say I was happy with the outcome.

It is strange to me, but I think all of the reading I have done in the last year in Zen has influenced me.  I am - not grasping. When I feel my hands grasping I take a deep breath and I relax them.  It helps. I try to be as open and honest as I can in this world, and as tough as this time has been for me emotionally, there is no guilt associated with it.  It is an emotionally tough time, in which I am an active participant, but they are the emotions that arise from being attached. Buddha himself left a wife and child to seek enlightenment (which is always a weird thing to think about, in my book).  I haven't left a wife and child, so it is just something to think about.

I had breakfast with Bob, then wandered a bit, through Fry's and Home Depot, then I came home and took a nap.  After the nap,Tyrone and I drove up to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  Here, in the evening, as mentioned, I spent some time playing and writing, and then watched a pair of Fringe episodes.  I may watch an episode of Haven next, since it is a little too early to go to bed, and, I am fairly certain, that once I crawl into bed the monkey-mind is going to run berserk for a while before it lets me fall asleep.

Oh, that reminds me, I finished reading William Gibson's "Zero History".  I would highly recommend it, it was thoroughly enjoyable.  I am not sure what I am going to start reading next, but I have some other books in line.

A Day and Dark Shadows

A simple morning, a nice breakfast at the Hickory Pit, Johnny Depp and Eva Green in Tim Burton's "Dark Shadows" (excellent movie by the way). A stop at Target for incidentals and some groceries. Then a stop at the clothing store for five pairs of pants (two cargo, three casual) and five shirts (business casual). Lunch at the Race Street Fish Market. Home for "Fringe" and now "Midnight in Paris". A short, simple and beautiful day.

Daily Life: Wednesday Morning Rambling Thoughts

I had a strange evening last night. The winds were very high, strong gusts that rattled windows and shook the building, and it put me in a strange mood. It wasn't a good mood or a bad mood - it was just "a mood". Edgy might be the right word, though I am not sure.

I had a pleasant enough evening. I got home from work and had dinner (garlic mashed potatoes and a spicy beef dish that I do), followed by a bowl of ice cream. I tried reading but wasn't into the material, so I set that aside. I came online for a while, checked a few sites, peeked into chat, watched for about ten minutes and decided I just wasn't into it. I watched some History channel but couldn't get into it. I washed some dishes. I cleaned the bathroom.

It wasn't until later in the evening that I started to settle out - about the time the wind died which is why I am blaming the wind. From there, I enjoyed a telephone call that included ruminations on love - no conclusions, just thoughts and observations.

Then, I watched "Fringe" (excellent TV by the way if you are not a Fringe fan), and curled up and read another chapter in William Gibson's "Spook Country". I've read two chapters in Spook Country so far and I am "trembling at the gate". I want to find a quiet day and devour the whole book in one setting, but I am pacing myself so it will last at least a couple of days.

I love William Gibson's writing - I don't always enjoy his novels, for plot reasons, but he is a very talented writer. I mentioned previously that his "Mona Lisa Overdrive" is one of my favorite novels, and I also have a very dog eared copy of "Neuromancer", which I have read multiple times.

I slept pretty well last night, waking at sunrise from a strange little dream. I dreamt that I was in a store and back in one of the corners I found a small stack of little metallic helicopters. I bought one as a gift for a child, thinking that it was an unusual gift because that particular company actually never made that particular helicopter. I have no idea what the significance of that is, other then I may have been channeling the news about the potential discontinuation of the Presidential helicopter and the withdrawal from bid of the CSAR-X helicopter as the new administration re-draws their defense spending priorities. All in all a strange little dream though.

So, the office is quiet this morning and I am anticipating a productive day. I'm contemplating taking a little leave this afternoon and maybe heading out to see a movie in mid-afternoon. I haven't done that in a while and if today is quiet like yesterday was it may turn out to be a perfect day for it.

One Notch Back

One of my New Years Resolutions has been to try and take things one notch back.  What I mean by that is to try and slow down a little, try not to be multi-tasking all the time, try not spent too much of this moment in the next moment.  So far, I have been fairly successful at it.

I had a solidly good day at work today - it was busy, in and out of different meetings, dealing with customer issues, the usual stuff of the working world - but it was the good kind of busy the kind where the day passes quickly and when it closes you feel like you accomplished something.  That is always a good feeling - feeling each moment pass fully.

I got home tonight and had a simple dinner, then watched a little TV (the new show "The Beast" with Patrick Swayze), did dishes, and am now waiting for Fringe to start.  If you are not watching Fringe, I recommend it.  It is an excellent show.  As I wait, I thought I would drop online and make a journal entry.

I don't think I had any particular insights today other then to recognize, internally, the value of my approach of one notch back.

Cinnamon Altoids

Cinnamon Altoids. If you haven’t tried them yet I highly recommend them. Like all Altoids they pack quite a punch and I have become semi-addicted to them over the last month.

It is late in the evening here in California and I am sitting in the living room, writing this entry and watching Fringe on Fox. I have been enjoying the series and I hope it lasts for a while. I tend to enjoy those offbeat television shows like Fringe, and I was a huge fan of the X-Files.

I almost tipped over and went to sleep earlier tonight, but in the process of moving around and getting ready to go to bed I kind of woke up. LOL - that almost always amuses me when it happens - except - when you are at the end of a long day and you are tired and you crawl into the warmth of your bed - and your eyes pop open and you are wide awake. Fortunately that is not what happened to me tonight - tonight I just was not as tired as I thought I was.

I am definitely in the mental countdown to vacation - six working days to go! I always hesitate to call my trips to South Dakota in the winter as “vacation”. It is not like I am going there to take the waters or something. Visiting family is always great - but to me, a vacation is someplace nice, preferably in a nice hotel, with cable TV, internet, pay per view, a pool, a spa, a restaurant, a bar, room service and Euro trash. Visiting family is relaxing but it is most decidedly not a nice hotel.

I always have my fingers crossed at this time of year and hope that I am not going to fly into the teeth of an early winter storm, and I do mean teeth! Two years ago I flew back at Thanksgiving (I usually alternate between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with the summer or spring visit tossed in every other year or so) and I flew into one of the worst blizzards in twenty years. That was quite an experience - being chewed by the teeth of that snow storm.

Tonight has been a very pleasant evening. I got home and had a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner. The evening was cool and gray and it ached for comfort food. I chased it down with a bowl of chocolate ice cream. I settled in and watched some TV on DVR (I watched last nights Terminator and Heroes). I strummed my guitar for a while. I took a very nice phone call. I took a bath.

I popped online for a bit to read and write some email, popped into Spiritual Insights chat room on AOL to see how the evening was going (quiet), and then popped off to go bed. Seems like there was a lot of popping involved! All in all, I would have to call it a good day.