The End Is Nigh

Soda tastes better from a cup. As opposed to the can or bottle from whence it came. I don't know if this is some sort of divine design, or just a mental fabrication of my own. A psychological trick of sorts. Or maybe it just needs to breathe, like a fine wine. In any case, pour it in a glass or mug and sip it slowly! It's just. Better. 

Yes, I'm using phrases now like "from whence it came", inspired entirely by my most recent leisurely reading of Tolkien's The Simarillion.

I don't drink soda very often anymore, but as the temperatures heat up and business is booming at work, sometimes a refreshing bubbly is just what the mid-afternoon needs. And there was a single can of Dr. Pepper in my fridge, having sat there for untold months, just waiting to be consumed.

So I drank it. From a ceramic coffee mug displaying the old state seal as the symbol of the University, back in the days before CSUS had an identity crisis and became Sacramento State. And yes, as I finished the last drop, all was well with the day.

Here's a sand dollar. It's from Ocean Beach, on the western most edge of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, just south of the Cliff House and Land's End. I went to the coast again last weekend, this time with a new girl (pronounced "woman") I've been seeing, one from a past long ago. For an adventure. And good times. And soaking in the cool ocean air, and the majestic sound of the waves beating tirelessly on the sand. There's lots of sand dollars there, so much so that even with the known fact that a majority of sand dollars found on the beach will be broken, cracked, damaged in some way - you can still find a good handful of them intact and unspoiled. I flung this one, much like a frisbee, allowing it to be free to find its own destiny. It plopped on the moist sand near the edge of the grasping waves, where perhaps it still sits, or else it has likely been drawn back to the sea. From whence it came.

I'll admit, one of the highlights of that trip was finding the gravesite of the ashes of Wyatt Earp, famous lawman of the late 19th century, further immortalized in the late 20th century in the movie Tombstone. Yes, I have gazed upon the burial site of Kurt Russell! But what an interesting character Mr. Earp must have been! The life he lead and the stories he inspired are truly things of legend. And the quote on his tombstone: "...That nothing's so sacred as honor, and nothing so loyal as love!" Ponder that one awhile.

And yes, the end is nigh now for the spring semester at Sac State, with just two more weeks and seventeen concerts to go. Plus a music festival and several other outside group events. We will have had 91 concerts this semester by the time it's all done. 91! I'm not sure if that's a record actually, but boy, here at the end of April it certainly feels like a lot. And it is, it is. And this weekend: two outside group orchestras will take the stage. More work for yours truly. Work work work.

I'm ready for the semester to be over now. 

Birthday Come and Gone

It's early morning, April 1, and my birthday has come and gone. Actual birthdays seem more surreal or at least the concept is more abstract these days, partly because of our long history of celebrating them on the nearest weekend where the family is all free, regardless of the actual date of the celebration. (Hence we celebrated my birthday two weeks ago). And partly because I never quite feel like celebrating my birthday, per se. Not that it's any sort of Peter Pan Syndrome or anything, but I really don't want to get older. I've had enough of aging, the body slowly wearing out, greying, and all the other fun things that naturally come with aging. I don't want to get older anymore. 

Of course, it beats the alternative.

So the State of California saw fit, several years back, to make my birthday a state holiday. Apparently my birthday also corresponds with the birthday of labor leader and civil rights activist, Cesar Chavez. That's okay, he can share it with me. But frankly I was more excited, as I often am, about having a day off from work than about having another birthday, than about ticking off one more year of existence on this rock. Making another trip around the sun, as my father would say.

I followed the best course of action I could think of: I went to Chili's for margaritas. And they've brought back the Margarita of the Month, after a brief hiatus in January, for some unknown reason. Good for them. Good for me. And now I've entered the first day after clicking over to year 48 of my life, I can't help but wonder: what is this month's margarita?? Inquiring minds want to know.

And of course I did what I typically tend to do when I have days off, aside from taking the kid to school (K-12 schools don't see fit to honor Mr. Chavez, or me, by taking this holiday). I ran errands, did some shopping, caught up on laundry, and did my usual walkabout. Steps! It's a rare treat to get over 15,000 on a weekday of a week in which I have my son.

And now here it is, Saturday morning, the weekend just opening up before me, full of possibilities. I'll probably do little, but read and play Minecraft, and walk some more. That is, after the kid's 9:00am soccer game. Oh and also, after needing to stop by work to reset the stage for tonight's guest artist concert. Who plans concerts on a holiday weekend?? Apparently we do. Or I do, at least - I'm the one who coordinates the schedule, so I suppose it's fair to say I keep shooting myself in the foot, as it were, with that one. And yes, it's April, one of the busiest months of the year. 38 concerts this month, plus festivals and other outside group events taking place at Sac State. Sigh. This month is going to be rough. As it always is. 

But for now, here's to the dawning weekend! The sun has risen and it's nearing 7:00am. The boy should be up soon, and it will be time for breakfast soon. And the day will go on. And oh yeah, it was my birthday yesterday. Did I mention that? Well anyways, birthdays come and birthdays go, and if not for the frequent pinging of my Facebook app from people wishing me well yesterday, it probably would have gone by with but little thought from me. 

Just another day in the week, right?