justing.net

The Daily Bits 50

By Justin G. on 25APR07MON

I’ll be taking the rest of April off to regroup on my blogging/writing goals.

Almanac / outlook, Mar 31 to Apr 06

Chance of rain at the beginning of the week, followed by sunny yet cool temperatures. A bit warmer on the weekend.

Sunrise has fallen below six in the morning, and sunset is fast approaching half past seven. There are over twelve and a half hours of daylight¹ now. The moon is very fresh and will wax to over half full this week. Nights will continue to be dark².

Day Bits

Trying for more small observations this week.

1. MAR31MON
   • I saw the sky shredding itself while out for my run. The clouds tore, twisted, sheared, and whisped in roiling whorls.
   • This morning I noticed that the neighbor’s loquat tree had slyly snuck its annual crop into the deep green leaves again. I’m caught off guard by their sudden appearance every year.
   • The rain started just after we turned around, just short of the furthest distance from home. We anticipated this; we had our umbrellas, but we still ended up wet from the shower. Especially the dog.
   • The air this morning is filled with a damp vegetal scent, growing plants wet from the recent rain and anticipating more soon. It’s not that wet dust smell, spring is sprung, all the plants have donned their finest greenery.
2. APR03THU
   • Just a quick health note: not feeling great in the afternoon.
3. APR04FRI
   • We received the devastating news that a friend’s dog has a very aggressive cancer. The feeling echoed, reverberated, all throughout the day, returning suddenly after moments of calm forgetfulness.
4. APR05SAT
   • The chronically empty light rail station nearest to my house is astoundingly unpleasant. This platform is between the two sides of a busy freeway. Well, it’s not as busy in the middle of the night, I’m sure. But neither does the train run at that time either. The reigning feature of this location is the complete lack of any sound barrier between an infinite stream of cars and the riders waiting for the next train to arrive not soon enough. These patient, surely hypothetical, patrons are rewarded with a sonic tapestry that is one continuous and endlessly loud rush of cars passing at 75 mph not more than 20 feet away. No wonder this station is abundantly under utilized.
5. APR06SUN
   • Warmed cloth is truly a sensuous pleasure. It can be in a sunbeam on a cool day, by the fireplace after coming in from the rain, or inside a hot car on a windy day at the beach. Today it was while folding sheets right out of the dryer.
   • Chainsaws in the medium distance, with the accompaniment of a roofer’s nail gun. The usual lawn mowers, airplanes both jet powered and prop propelled. All this drifting in through the open back door on a perfectly temperate spring afternoon. Cars whooshing close by. The highway has a particularly loud murmuration when the wind direction wanders more our way. There are soft moments too, when the conductor lowers his wand and all the sounds of this warming orchestra simultaneously silence. I’m surprised at how often I hear an engine oscillating at its rev-limit in the distance. Now the neighborhood dog is barking its common lamentation again, and a horn is honking at the intersection a few blocks away. Our own wind chime plays softly in the occasional breeze. I will not say that it combines to make a particularly pleasing din.

While it looks like a lot of words, it was a real struggle this week. There were a lot of things going on, and my fitness activities suffered. I’m declaring a pause for the rest of the month of April; I’ll be back in May.

Outside Events

It appears that fatigue is setting in. There were plenty of events this week, but the main standout was the tariffs.

• What fourth branch of government?
• Cory Booker held the floor of the Senate for more than 24 hours.
• More tariffs announced.
• And markets dropped significantly in response.
• Many protested against the administration around the country
• Did you know that the Pope was in the hospital?

To Reply: Email me about your days.