Today's been a quiet day for the most part, even though it has had its audible moments. I woke up this morning at the usual time, sluggishly getting myself to move in order to be to the cleaners on time to drop off my laundry for same-day return, only to find them out for the three-day weekend. Sigh. I took the laundry home, and felt it was time for a trip to the ocean, on foot, like I used to do on Saturday mornings before the counter staff I have at work decided that I needed to be their beck-and-call girl. I grabbed iPod, keys, and wallet, and went for a bagel sandwich and fruit juice in the Music Concourse before queuing up the podcasts for the week and walking the length of Golden Gate Park as a means to Ocean Beach.
I always feel a sense of accomplishment when I can kill off two or three podcasts in the course of a day--most of my subscriptions are for podcasts that average 45-60 minutes in length, and I'm lucky if I have 15 minutes to myself on most days. Most of the time what happens is I either listen to about 10 minutes and then switch to music to drown out an inert conversation on the bus behind me (example: "He was like, oh MAN"--what the hell is THAT statement supposed to mean?), or I start the podcast in bed and end up waking up two hours later having only heard the first 10 minutes before drifting off. But not today...today I heard all about national parks and superheroes and short fiction read by actors in love. It was nourishing to be outside with the only conversation being listening to something massively intelligent. Did you know that the artists who draw Wonder Woman recently gave her a new look? No? Me neither! :)
After I arrived home I continued with the short stories while I cleaned the kitchen, cleaned my closet, and did laundry. One particular story by Ring Lardner made me laugh, but that was my only contribution--all I had to do was listen. Then there was some brief time with a movie based on the Jane Austen novel "Persuasion," and then a nap, and before I knew it it was time for dinner. I went for a walk to retrieve dessert and Thai food to bring back, but I left the little magic box of stories at home this time--I wanted to hear the stories of my home, my little wooded neighborhood in the Park. At the dessert cafe where I was picking up a slim slice of chocolate cheesecake, the bored server by the counter was approached by a regular and asked if she made any of the desserts. She wittily said, "Nope, the only two things I know how to do with this stuff is serve and eat." I laughed before I could help myself, and she flashed me a grin. Later, as I had dinner and dessert in hand and was covering the last few feet before reaching my doorstep, a man and a woman called out to me from across the street, asking me if it was 7:30 in the morning, or 7:30 at night. What a question...I had to laugh again as I answered, "At night! Why, did you lose a day?" and the man smiled and pointed at the woman, who laughed and shrugged. I hoped that she lost it for a good reason--like she needed rest or that she was engrossed in the New York Times crossword or something. But being asked a question like that, with dinner and dessert in hand, was a wonderful story.
I'm glad I left the other stories at home.
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