Sunday. Another Sunday out here in the wheat fields of Oakland, up at six easily enough with the alarm, off to breakfast and back now at eight, the forming up for the Cherry Blossom Parade coming this morning toward noon. Another photographic sojourn into the city with cameras. Sounds like, feels like, summer. More and more opportunities for pictures.

Hup? Hup?

Well, we're not thinking of this as a “duty”, this trip to photograph the parade, although there's an element of that. We've got more to do on the medical bills and the taxes, the taxes due today if I'm at all sensible. I'd done most of it by the beginning of February, enough of it to know what the damage was going to be, so there's not that much left to accomplish. Nail down a deduction or two. Much easier to do if you're willing to bend the rules, but uncomfortable. I prefer comfort. Pay the damned taxes. Just not more than you undoubtedly owe. As in oh!

Now, now.

Life in twenty-first century America. Death and taxes. Wars both domestic and foreign brought to you in the flickering light of an ever more depressing television portal to the wasteland. At least getting out and taking pictures (like an idiot) gives you an upward jolt, gets you out of bed in the mornings, a bit of hope and a smile.

Now, now.

Later. Oof! I believe that's the correct technical term: Oof! Out the door before eleven, back to the apartment three and a half hours later with sore muscles and pictures of the event. The fellow who was running the costume contest I mentioned yesterday said it was an anime contest with a rather long name that included the sponsor and no, he didn't have a printed handout or a web site, but it was indeed part of the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade and so Cherry Blossom Festival Parade it will remain and I will call it. Anime makes sense, of course, but I'd include Harry Potter, Star Wars and half a dozen other off the wall influences. Maybe there's an anime Harry Potter. Licensed by the author, of course.

I didn't get as many pictures as I've gotten in the past. I'm not sure they had the same turn out as they've had in the past, the number of floats and such. Could be wrong. More than enough though for a section on artandlife, but no more than one. I've said that in the past and then found I had more than I'd realized and eventually put up, but this time, given the smaller number of photographs taken, one is all there is, and one, come to think of it, is enough.

Later still. A walk down the way to hit the ATM and then, maybe, get a slice of pizza at one of the local outlets. Not a great choice, given my now weird stomach, but all that I could think of. Walking by the sushi place I noticed they had their sign out on the sidewalk and (my goodness) they were open? When did that start? Open on a Sunday? So a bit of sushi and a flask of sake and the world feels much better this evening. In going through all the photographs (and an hour's nap) I discover I almost have enough for two sections. I'll keep it to one and post the rest next year. Unless I don't.

Some more guitar, I think, the taxes almost finished, the money required to pay the bastards having been moved into the checking account last week, so once it's done it's a matter of pushing the button. Not a bad weekend, not a bad week. The emotional temperature rose a bit this last week, I'm more than curious how this next week will end.