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Here In Oakland

Art & Life


   



May 24, 2016

Madness

Tuesday. Awoke a couple of times last night with trouble getting back to sleep, although I'm not sure how much sleep I may have lost. Awake at quarter to six wondering if I was going to feel last night's restlessness, but up feeling just fine. Overcast and so a winter coat, but a comfortable walk to breakfast without the eyes tearing up over the indoor to outdoor temperature change. So good. A start.

A haircut at eleven and so a ten-thirty downtown bus, no need to go by the ATM as I took care of that yesterday. Again, overcast, grey, not sure how the day's weather will evolve. A chance of showers? In drought stricken California? Looks like it.

Later. The ten-thirty bus to Latham Square to take a quick set of pictures before the haircut appointment at eleven, still arriving ten minutes early to good effect as the chair was ready and I was finished and able to get out the door to cross Broadway just as a bus arrived. Still overcast with intermittent rays of sun.

Off the bus to photograph progress at the lake. They're clearly there to extend the paved walkway, putting in the required forms. All this so there's no dust kicked up when walking along this stretch? I guess.

You guess.

Yes.

Home by noon, still grey and overcast. Don't want to stay inside, don't want to go outside, might as well choose one or the other and see what happens next.

Later still. A walk finally over by the lake, taking another picture and then on to the café by the fitness center to have an apple pastry and coffee. They make pretty good coffee, although I'd like it better cut with a little water. Such was our afternoon outing.

I've found, when I'm half awake at night, particularly when I've awakened and having trouble getting back to sleep as I did last night, that I think about doing things I avoid thinking about altogether when awake. Getting rid of the crap I've accumulated over these last many decades, for example. I don't need the books. Hundreds and hundreds of books. Get rid of the books and the book shelves. Similarly with the studio gear. I'm not going to use any of it again, I'm not a studio photographer and, even if I did want to do a studio shoot in the future, all that stuff can be rented. Get rid of the crap.

Similarly with all the old file folders and papers sitting in boxes and in the filing cabinets. I'll never look at any of them again. Cut it all down to the cameras, the computers (get rid of the old ones gathering dust) and clothes (that no longer fit.). Dump the photography magazines (maybe keep some of the photography books) and a long list of other stuff I'll never look at, let alone use again. How would I pack, where would I put any of it when I need to move?

And then?

And then I wake up and push it way to the back of my mind. Still, I could junk some magazines later today. Just to see. Test the waters.

Evening. Watched Democracy Now (what else?), did some reading while lying on the bed and then remembered there was a Warriors game this evening, dialing in to find them down, down, down. My, my. Life and basketball are equally unpredictable. Surprises abound.

Nothing on television, the Charlie Rose interview didn't appeal, but the Travis Smiley conversation with Bernie Sanders was a pleasant surprise I wasn't expecting. Listened with interest and then went to bed, the day done, tired, ready for a decent night's rest. None of this “clean the apartment” madness.

The photo up top was taken Saturday at the San Francisco Asian Heritage Street Celebration with a Nikon D5 mounted with a 70-200mm f 2.8 VR II Nikkor lens.


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