Parking it

Taking a cue from yesterday's successful adventure-for-one, I decided to make today my own and make part of the city my own as well. One of the things I miss about my last apartment back in San Francisco, was that it was central to everything. I didn't have to drive to go grocery shopping, or to get take-out, or to go to the movies. One of the advantages of a city like SF is that it's compact, growing vertically rather than spreading horizontally like the sprawl taking place all around it. Some of the sprawl can actually be a good thing when it's put to good use, or should I say spared from being put to use. There's a great park that I knew existed but up until last night I didn't realize could soon be a place to hang outdoors and just chill with a good book. So for nearly four hours today I sat on a (rather uncomfortable) bench beneath a shady tree and got lost in the stories of David Sedaris' latest book, sometimes laughing out loud with only the ants milling beneath my feet, sometimes on me, around to hear. It was so nice and relaxing, the occasional runner, cyclist, and overhead plane the only distraction and even then just barely. If the bench was more comfortable I would have stayed longer, but alas, there were errands to run and another movie to see—though not solo this time around.

As for tomorrow, I think I'll be heading back to finish up the tome, hopefully on a more comfortable seating surface. I may also bring my running shoes and make use of the great trails that border and sometimes overlap the rivers and creeks which quietly make their way on the outskirts of the highrises. I set a goal on Nike+ to burn 2000 calories in 30 days so I'd better start working on that. Time to stop parking myself on the couch and start getting myself to the park instead.