estro

I seem to have hit a run of mild ill luck of late: petty thefts, misfortunately delayed mail, food poisoning yesterday, and today I am pretty sure I am dealing with the onset of being sick. But, given all that, let me share the little things I have been focusing on that make my world better.

Today’s joy was watching a Dane-mix, having escaped it’s leash along Lake Merritt, launch itself into the midst of a flock of Canada Geese. The beauty in that instance of grace and chaos as the geese took off and the clear canine-bliss of the running dog had me laughing. I caught up with the owner just as she was reattaching her dog to his lead and thanked her for that moment. “He has been wanting to do that for a while and finally found an opportunity”, she looked rather frazzled. The dog was entirely unrepentant; tail wagging he butted my hands with his huge head demanding attention.

Another silliness is the micro-relationships I have with people who are otherwise strangers. For instance, part of my weekend commute ritual is to race the train after I debark in Santa Clara. My goal is to reach the end of the station’s parking lot before it catches up with me. This is not really a competition as my success is determined entirely by how quickly the ushers get the other passengers sorted and what car I boarded rather than my speed. On occasion I look up at the engine as it passes and catch a glimpse of the engineer in the window. A week or so ago, while trying for that last futile burst of speed I glanced at the passing engine and noted the engineer watching me in the iconic pose of insouciance: casually leaning back, elbow on the window ledge, hand holding a cigarette which he idly ‘toasted’ at me. I was thoroughly amused though I figured it was a coincidental moment rather than intended communication. Since then, I look up every time the engine passes and invariably I get a wave or a blast of the horn.

Lastly, this week I received confirmation that I am now registered with the National Bone Marrow Donor Program. I originally found out about this through ladylonglocks and later was alerted to the free registration window by shoutingboy. Now it seems that registration is entirely free again (they used to have a fee to cover the lab costs).

At UCSC there is a tradition known as First Rain. Upon the first rainfall of the season followers of this tradition streak across their college campus in celebration. It should be noted that streaking, in this case, includes everything from mad dashes to leisurely meanders with occasional breaks to play frisbee. While charmingly sophomoric in that collegiate sort of way, it is unfortunate that most of the practitioners are neo-hippies. For many of them this is the first encounter their bodies have had with water in days and the moisture just aggravates their natural... redolence.

My issues with the hygienic values of the practitioners aside, I appreciated the idea of joyously acknowledging the first rain of the season. While running naked through my neighborhood would clearly be detrimental to my continued good health (and possibly my lifespan), I do want to give nod to my delight:

With this in mind, and much mirth and laughter I wish you all a wonderful First Rain.