It was a most excellent Friday.

A few of the high points.

Breakfast at Goodies II on Bascom Avenue.

A couple of productive meetings, even though I had the day off.

A wonderful evening spent web surfing and conversing with T.R..

Then, in the slow hours of the evening...a classic...Kevin Costner's Waterworld.

Yes, a most excellent Friday.

Into The Ordinary Day

I slept pretty well last night.  I dreamed, but now, four hours after I woke up, I don't really recall what the dreams were about.  I woke up, showed, shaved, and then headed over to Goodies II for breakfast.  I have my usual, the Huevos Mexicanos, and sat near the window, watching the scenery on a gray and cool morning. I often find it interesting just to sit and watch people, wondering who they are and what they are all about.

From there, I stopped at Chevron at Saratoga and Prospect, filled the tank with gas and ran the car through the automated car wash.  (There was a direct hit from a big bird at some point during the previous week.) From there, I came home and watched the Special Features from the Hobbit movie Blu Ray, since I'd watched the movie last night. Now, I am just sitting in the relative quiet of the living room listening to the birds on the patio chattering alone.

My main bird visitors for the last couple of weeks has been a small group of sparrows, numbering about a dozen or so, and they've been pretty amusing.  I've enjoyed their company.  I feel the need to spend a little time writing emails this morning, so I think that is going to be my next task. Beyond that, I am going to head out and shoot some pool with Don at Edgies.  It seems like a perfect day for it.

Normally, when I have some extended time off, I like to spend my time watching movies - however, for reasons known only to the universe, this holiday there just haven't been any movies that I really wanted to see.  There are a lot of loud and pretty movies out there, but I am not really in the mood for the pretty movies. I think I am craving something substantial, in more ways than one.

Ah well, let me fill the morning with some substantial email writing and maybe a substantial pool game or two, then ease into the evening. I am looking forward to the work week, largely because it is going to be a short work week. Friday is my 9/80 schedule day off, so that means I only have to work three days this week.  That will be nice.  With that note, let me head out into the ordinary day.

Dreams and Breakfast

I am sitting in the quiet living room, listening to the drone of an airplane overheard, laying down a carpet of sound periodically punctured by the tweeting of the English sparrows on the deck.  They'r gathered around the bird feeder and as nearly as I can tell they are mostly consumed with kicking seeds at each other.  It seems to be a pastime they all enjoy very much.

I slept well last night, through I dreamed of surviving a tsunami. The Ewan McGregor movie popped into my mind of course, and the Matt Damon one, though my dream had minor variations on theme.  I thought it was an appropriate set of subconscious images hurled at me, especially in regards to the craziness of the project I just spent over a year of my life on - surviving the tsunami.  Every project has casualties - this one had a lot of them. Poor leadership can do that.

Today though, it is a beautiful California day. I am going to take off in a few minutes and meet Ty and Tony at Goodies II on Bascom for breakfast, then we're going to head over to AMC Cupertino to see the new Star Trek movie on IMAX 3D.  I am actually pretty ambivalent going into it.  The first re-imagining by JJ Abrams and crew was outstanding - unfortunately, that sets a pretty high bar for the second one. My fear is that it is going to be more of the same, except louder, flashier, and nakeder.  Not that those are bad things.

Then, after that, I think I am going to circle back home and do some things around the apartment.  I've been feeling the spring cleaning urge for the last couple of weekends, and I've done  a little bit, but I am actually in the mood for a pretty serious shuffle, with trips to the dumpster and the donation center.

Vacation - Day One - Evening

It was an easy day to start a vacation on. I lingered in bed, then met Tony for breakfast over at Goodies II.  Breakfast inside me, I swung home and spent an hour or so tinkering around, then joined back up with Tony and ran a couple of errands while getting ready for vacation.  I am basically set to go and tomorrow I just need to throw the incidentals into my bag and I am ready to hit the road - or the air, as the case may be.

We had lunch at Pasta Pomodoro at Santana Row and then took a wandering walk through Best Buy, just to see what the newest tech toys were.  From there, I swung back home and spent the afternoon printing off documents for the trip this weekend, called the ranch, did some incidental things around the house and then settled in to watch "Master and Commander" with Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany, an enjoyable movie.  I followed that up with several hours of watching my TomTom update.

Then, I finally heard from my nephew, who was transferred to the hospital in Rapid City, SD.  He is recovering from internal bleeding, as side effect of his illness.  Still, it was good to talk to him and he was going to call the ranch after he talked to me.  A close one, and we can only hope that he learns the lesson about staying on his medication and taking care of himself.

Keeping The Day Simple

It was the first off Friday I've had in a long time that I actually took off.  I did work a bit twice in the day, reading and responding to email on my work Blackberry, but otherwise it was a clean day off.  I woke fairly early and started the day with coffee and toast and a quiet hour reading.  From there, I went to Goodies II for breakfast, followed by a stop at the bank, then a stop at Office Max. That was chased by a regular doctor's check up (all is well), then a bit of a wander checking out a different laundromat then the one I usually go too (I wasn't impressed). A pause from noon to 2:00 PM to see Emperor (with Tommy Lee Jones and Matthew Fox - enjoyable, interesting, well done - but all in all a light narrative). Anther two hours at the laundromat, doing several loads of laundry, then dinner from Tsing Tao (Tsing Tao Fried Rice and Honey Walnut Prawns). Home at about 4:00 PM, a call to my step-dad, and then a couple of hours watching "Letters from Iwo Jima" and now "America Unearthed". I guess I would have to call it an enjoyable, busy and productive day. But simple. Pure and simple.

A very pleasant day, with traffic. I slept in a bit, then showered and watched a couple of episodes of Ben & Kate off of the DVR.  Breakfast was the huevos Mexicana's at Goodies II, then Tony and I headed up to the Cache Creek Resort and Casino for a day trip.

The traffic was a little heavy getting out of the bay area, but once we hit 505 north, it lightened up and was a quick enough trip.  We gambled and lost a bid of money, had a great lunch at the buffet, and then scooted home. The whole trip was pleasant and enjoyable, though there was one white knuckle moment.

We were just across the Benecia bridge when Tony went to shift from the left most lane to the next lane to the right - at the same time a semi-was moving into that lane.  The angle of it blocked Tony's view of the trucks blinker (which was on) and made for a purely adrenaline fueled couple of seconds.

After that, the rest of the drive home was gravy.  So, here I am, with my feet propped up, watching a movie called "Catch .44" with Forest Whitaker, Bruce Willis, Malin Akerman, Nikki Reed, and Deborah Ann Woll.  It is an interesting little film noir shoot-em-up that Tony recommended.

Simple Notes from Simple Days

It's been a good Christmas vacation so far.  The holiday itself with simple and quiet - Mass, an easy morning, lunch at Holders Country Inn with Don and Tony, then Django Unchained at Century 22.  The faint echoes of A Very Tarantino Christmas echoed through my day.

I can definitely recommend Django Unchained - I'd go so far as to say one of Tarantino's best, technically. Story-wise, I think he will be hard pressed to beat the pair of Kill Bill movies.  But, Django Unchained is definitely worth the price of admission.

Today has been just as easy going - I had breakfast as Goodies II on Bascom, then ran a couple of errands, then came home for a lazy afternoon of movie watching on television and incidental house cleaning, with a focus on the living room, which is not reconfigured into my final winter configuration.

I've spent most of the evening so far watching "RED" with Bruce Willis, which is an amusing movie with an excellent cast.  I may watch another movie off the DVR tonight, or I may settle in and read some more in "The Prince of Thorns".  I haven't made that decision yet.

I had a nice little exchange with T.R. tonight, who is safe in the bosom of her family, telling stories into the evening.  Story-telling is an art and it is carefully nurtured.

A Very Low Key Day

I did my best to simply disconnect today. It was what I needed, just a simple day of wandering and doing nothing and trying not to think to much. I slept late (about 7:00 AM) for me, the sun waking me as it flooded the bedroom.  A shower, a muffin, a cup of coffee and I blinked my way awake.

I met Tony for breakfast over at Goodies II on Bascom.  After breakfast, I drifted over to the car wash and ran the car through. Then, I stopped at Target to pick up some odds and ends. John D. Morgan park was next on my list.

After a nice, long, wandering walk I met Bob for lunch at Kirk's (again, oddly enough, on Bascom).  From there, I wandered over to Best Buy and picked up a copy of "Snow White and the Huntsman" on Blu-Ray. Then, back to Westgate, for a stop at Starbucks and then just pointless wandering, during which I picked up a couple of shirts on sale and Melissa Etheridge's latest album "4th Street Feeling".

Dinner was a stop at Sushi Boat, then home, feet up, watching a classic movie (this has really been the summer of classic movies for me).  "Paths of Glory" with a young Kirk Douglas.  I wrote a few email and then simply settled in for the evening with my feet propped up.  I think, in about fifteen minutes, I am going to slip into the bedroom and read myself to sleep.  Tomorrow should be as low key as well.

Salt and Pizza

It's been an easy kind of day.  I slept in until about 7:00 AM, then had a telephone conversation with my step-dad, then met Tony for breakfast at Goodies II, then popped out and got a car wash, then, finally, stopped at Target and picked up a towel and a pack of underwear.  From there, I came home, finished reading "Earth Unaware", took a short nap, talked to my mother, napped again, a bit longer, and then woke up a short while ago.  I called in a pizza order and I've settled in with a stack of magazines and the movie "Salt" on DVR.  So, the afternoon is going to be an afternoon of Salt and Pizza.  My thoughts today, though lazy, have been thoughts of transformation and transition, in part inspired by my other favorite TR, T.R.  It's been a good day so far and I am looking forward to a quiet evening.

A Day With The Animal Kingdom

Today was a simple and quiet day.  I got up at about my usual time, just shy of 6:00 AM, then had a simple cup and coffee and bowl of cereal. I spent the morning writing and reading, then met Tony for breakfast at Goodies II on Bascom Avenue for the most excellent Huevos Mexicana.

After breakfast I had to stop at the car wash. Yesterday evening I made the mistake of parking under a big tall tree - and was rewarded with a dedicated saturation bombing raid on my car by birds of unknown type but sizable scat.  After the car wash, I swung over and got a trim on the hair. From there, I ran a few incidental errands, then circled home for the afternoon.

I spent a quiet afternoon reading "The Buddha Walks Into A Bar" for a while and then watching an excellent film I had heard about but hadn't seen before, called "Animal Kingdom", about an the disintegration of an Australian crime family.  It was a wicked and well done film noir. I would highly recommend that.

From there, we popped over to my friend Bob's, where Brandy had cooked a coq au vin for a simple little dinner for Tony.  From there, I scooted home and have just now seated myself for an evening of Tumblr, StumpleUpon, and writing. Hopefully I will get a chance to spend some quality time with T.R. as well, which will round out the day nicely.