A Sort of Urban Silence

Okay, I am winding down at the end of the day. I’m sitting in the living room with the patio doors wide open listening to the neighborhood kids play in the courtyard. Most of them are pretty good, but we have one whose volume seems to be stuck on scream at the top of his lungs. The wonders of youth! I remember very well running and screaming at the top of my lungs. At that age that is about the only volume you have. It is not like you have any control over it.

I started the day to day with breakfast with the guys at the Hickory pit. I had a wonderful Santa Fe omelette, which is their special this month. Amusingly enough I just discovered that Dragon NaturallySpeaking and Microsoft word disagree on the proper spelling of the word omelette. For some reason I find that very amusing. In the world of voice recognition software that is just a small example of how difficult the task it is.

After breakfast we made a swing through Fry’s Electronics where I picked up a tiny set of torx drivers to try and fix one of my pocket knives that has slipped off the rail. I am hoping it can be repaired because it is one of my favorite little knives. It may just be worn out though I will know in a short while since I am going to work on it after I finish this entry for my online journal.

From there I swung home and picked up my laundry. I contemplated doing it here at the apartment complex since one set of machines were free but all in all I had six loads so I decided to go down to the laundromat and just do them all at once. That way it only takes about an hour to an hour and a half regardless of how much laundry I have. While I was sitting at the laundromat I wrote a long email to Tony about storytelling based on some questions he had asked during breakfast.

After laundry was finished I came home and folded and hung my clothing. Then, I drove up to Union City, to the Texas roadhouse, to meet Ty and Tony for a steak launch. It’s been a while since I’ve been up there. They have truly excellent stakes. I had a 10 ounce ribeye with a bowl of their chili and a mixed green salad. It was everything I wanted it to be, which is saying a lot for a steak. After that late lunch I headed home and slid into the evening.

I tinkered around the house a bit, but the patio furniture back out onto the patio, set out a new type of bird feed, did dishes, and then settled in with an iced decaf coffee. I watched in episode of mad men, that I watched an episode of the good wife. I love both of those shows. That brings me right into this moment, where I am writing this entry, and getting ready to move into the next task of the evening. It is a truly beautiful Californian night and I’m going to segue into the next part by doing 10 minutes of meditation on the patio. The small army of screaming children has vanished into their own homes with the setting of the sun and so a sort of urban silence has fallen. I’m going to enjoy it.

Seeking An Easy Evening

It is near the end of the day and I am thinking of it as a conflicted day.  The conflicted part arises because I was unable to get work out of my mind.  I dislike it when, no matter what I am doing, work is never far from my mind and never far from my imagination.  It is an unwarranted intrusion.

But, other than that particular conflict, it was a pretty nice day.  I slept later then usual, until about seven a.m.. I am sleeping late due to work, in my opinion.  The long hours have been taking it out of me and when I get a chance to sleep, I tend to sleep longer then usual.  I don't think I am sleeping deep enough, I think my mind is always spinning, trying to be overwhelmed with all the stuff going on. Sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night I have to remind myself that it is the middle of the night and there is next to nothing I can do about work.  So much of what is going on in my current work world is completely out of my control.

Anyway, after waking, I showered, had a cup of coffee, and then met Tony for breakfast.  We actually had a plan for the day.  Tony is looking for a cheaper place to live - a tough challenge here in San Jose where the cost of living is rather high to start with.  After breakfast we drove up to Fremont to check out some lower cost apartments Tony had found online.  Since neither one of us is all that familiar with Fremont, it was a bit of an exploration.  I wasn't terribly impressed with what we saw, though I credit part of that to the fact that it was a gray and gloomy day. 

There was one apartment complex that I instantly like for the ambience. It was old, ratty, and run down - but it had character.  When it comes to apartments, character counts. The cost savings, to me, isn't that great - he'll add to his commute time and he may only make marginal savings.  Ultimately though, it is his call since he has to live there - and I definitely understand the urge to save money.

After a few hours of apartment scouting, we stopped in Union City and had lunch at Texas Roadhouse, then from there, drove down to the AMC theatres at Cupertino Square and saw the new Stallone movie (directed by a favorite of mine, the very talented Walter Hill).  It was entertaining and it was definitely a Walter Hill movie, which was kind of cool and unexpected.  There were a few false notes in casting, but other then that, it was a pretty entertaining bit of popcorn.

After Tony dropped me off I got in my car and drove up to a health food store in Mountain View to get some Paleo Bread (low carb or net zero carb bread) and a few other low carb treats - some cookies and some health bars.  With all the hours working I am spending too much time sitting and not watching my diet as closely as I should, consequently my blood sugar is creeping up. It is still in the excellent range, but it has been consistent ten to twenty percent higher that I like it. It is going to take a fair spot of discipline to pull it back in the very excellent range.

Then, back home, and I settled in for the evening and watched "Spartacus: War of the Damned" off the DVR.  A nice guilty pleasure that is.  After a simple dinner I took a short and brisk walk around the neighborhood, then slipped back inside to this moment, where I am sitting here writing in my blog.

My plan for the evening is, I think, a little correspondence. I am going to write to T.R., then to my sister and brother, and then, perhaps, watch another show off the DVR before curling up and reading.  I didn't work today, on purpose, because I figured the sixty one hours I worked last week was sufficient to earn me a day off.  I don't know if that was a mistake or not since I could never shake the work thoughts.  Tomorrow though, I am definitely going to have to feed the beast.  I've got what I am estimating is between six and eight hours of work that I want to have done prior to Monday.  Tonight though, I am going to continue just trying to relax and have an easy evening.

A Year Gracefully Slips Away

Another quiet day. I spent most of the morning just lazing around the house, then went to the Texas Road House with Tony for a steak, then drifted home.  I watched a truly excellent movie to wrap of the year - The Fifth Element (Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich). That movie sits high my list of classics that I love - it is easy to watch and re-watch, which is one of the traits of a great movie.

I've also made a series of telephone calls and texts into the evening, wishing a variety of people a Happy New Year - T.R., friends and family.  My plan for New Years this year is to do exactly what I am doing - feet up, relaxed, and easy.  It is a good way to the end the year.  Tomorrow, I am going to start thinking about my New Years resolutions for 2013.  But tonight, I am just going to let 2012 gracefully slip away.

The Temple of Steak

This is the Texas Roadhouse up in Union City - the best steak in the area.  Truly outstanding and well worth the drive if you're not from Union City.