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Here In Oakland

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April 1, 2015

The End

Wednesday. Another morning going over yesterday's entry, learning in detail why I should either spend more time writing these things or drop the project altogether. How long have I been keeping the journal? How long ago did it become obvious I should move on to something else that would hold my interest? How many times do I need to ask the question before I give an honest answer?

You only go on like this to let people know you're aware of the problem. An attempt to avoid embarrassment.

Many things are done in life to avoid embarrassment.

Otherwise up with the alarm to set out for breakfast, crossing Grand to arrive at the bus stop five minutes too early, but catching the bus at the halfway point across from the Grand Lake theater to arrive at the restaurant not long after seven. Another clear sunny morning, another walk back to the apartment, another out of focus photograph on the way. (The flower pistil - we'll bring along a macro lens tomorrow.) Nothing happening at the construction site so we managed to avoid taking a picture.

Later. A bus and then a train to the San Francisco Embarcadero station arriving at eleven to find Charles Schwab had set up a large very corporate looking pile of black boxes by the fountain promoting something called their “Personal Investing Algorithm”, the Saint Stupid's Day people arriving nearby where they normally congregate on April 1st for the parade. A bit jarring, but perhaps appropriate in today's phone app San Francisco.

Still, off to shoot pictures, a fairly large crowd of participants cleverly costumed (and some in a sense not costumed at all) for the parade. I was dressed in my usual jeans, denim shirt and black wind breaker, bland as a personal investing algorithm. Had I the excuse of covering it for the press I could say you don't join the story you're covering, you don't wear political buttons or admit how you voted, but I don't as I'm not and so won't. He said.

A good hour and a half of shooting before heading back on the train to arrive at the 14th Street Station and just miss the bus, so a walk to the City Center to have a turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich and coffee at the bagel shop, totally lucking out and arriving at an outside table just as its occupant was leaving. Managed to miss the bus going home by something like two minutes - a twofer of sorts - but I'll trade getting a table for losing a bus most any time.

Caught the free bus to Grand and then walked home, taking but one picture as I passed by the apartment house construction site. Tired, a decent day but, for some reason I do not understand, nowhere nearly as tired as I was yesterday after a much shorter and easier outing. The ways of the world are not always obvious. He said.

OK, we'll start going through the photographs. Have no idea how many are good enough for posting, but I took more than a few and there should be enough for a couple of sections, but posting tomorrow, maybe the day following.

Later still. A good long session on the photographs. Again, feeling pretty good which brought back thoughts of yesterday and how tired I was with so little to blame it on. Hi, ho. Maybe it's just I'm able to lose myself when working with pictures, endorphins or something. Then again maybe I'm just here blowing smoke, finishing up an otherwise empty paragraph. Who knows?

The Shadow?

Now, now.

Evening. Enough with the photographs. Some time on the guitar while listening to Democracy Now, then to bed to watch The Good Wife characters screw one another over with dexterity, making hundred and eighty degree turns in their targets. One hour you're in someone's sights, blink and you find yourself a life long friend and ally, all done with clever asides and snappy patter.

Now you are off the tracks. It's not that late, pull it together.

Ah, well. Up to watch a Death in Paradise at eight that I hadn't seen before, evidently they've started a new season. Same structure and plot as always, but at least the people who are committing the crimes at the beginning of a program aren't getting off by hiring any Good Wife-like lawyers at the end.

The photo up top was taken at the Oakland Running Festival with a Nikon D4s mounted with a 70-200mm f 2.8 VR II Nikkor lens.


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