Friday. Yesterday's entry was an overly long ramble given the time and the state of the mind. One of those where'd this guy ever think he knew how to use a semicolon days, I'm afraid. A long day, in other words, but one that ended reasonably well. I finished out the evening with those two small bottles of sake I'd picked up at the supermarket after the guitar lesson on Wednesday, figuring I'd test to see if they brought on another ocular incident. They didn't.

I'm afraid, though, the sharp cheddar cheese I'd had that afternoon is now permanently on the forbidden list. Not such a great sacrifice as it's one of those foods that lost most of its flavor after that stomach operation two years back. Long time comfort food you sit down and start to eat without thinking and the stomach says you're an idiot.

So, up this morning with the alarm, to breakfast and back on a sunny morning, the papers saying we'd had some wind in the area last night. L.A. too, from the sound of it. I said it was gusty yesterday, but this was evidently more than a gust. Still, as noted, the sun is shining and the air is calm this morning with a Friday ahead, the attitude good and the head in shape. We'll be out taking pictures before the day is over I'd guess. Up and down, here in a town, where the winds can blow and get its trees in a mess.

Later. I missed a package being delivered by UPS yesterday, while I was at my dermatologist's appointment, the package or packages being delivered having no particular immediate need or value, but I sat here longer than I would otherwise thinking they might come. Why? Well, who knows?

A walk finally along the lake taping a little printed sign to my mailbox asking UPS to give whatever to the apartment manager. The walk was short, UPS didn't come and any thoughts about missing a delivery are gone. Silly me. Deedle-dee-dee.

Nothing much in the way of photographs. I brought along the D2Xs with the 18-200mm lens, the equivalent of a 27-300mm lens on a full frame camera, thinking I might want to get closer to a bird but finding the lake relatively peaceful, calm and birdless. Well, in close to the shore birdless. Not something you think about when you go out the door? Which camera, which lens, the birds might be in close to shore? I don't blame you, it seems another one of those things not worth thinking about, somewhat like taking pictures of a gas station sign when the prices change. Weird, perhaps, but not so weird yet as to get a pyschiatrist involved.

A picture of a seagull on a lamp post. There's usually a seagull up on a lamppost wherever you might walk along the lake and if you've been walking along the lake with a camera for as long as I have you've got a lot of these pictures somewhere in the hopper. The story I use is don't get too used to your surroundings, don't stop thinking or seeing just because you've been there before. Didn't help the picture, but good thinking, I'd think, for a photographer.

Back now to play some guitar. I got in a good day yesterday, went over the new lesson and seemed to pick up the string bending part really well, although the fingers still hurt a day later. Another month of screeching fingertips, I'd think, and they'll be tough enough and it will be over. A month isn't forever.

Downtown later to see what the Occupy people are up to, we'll not give up on them quite yet. There's an Art Murmur later this evening, haven't been to one of those in a while. And the Oakland Holiday Parade tomorrow. Good stuff, good weekend.

Later still. Well, the UPS guy never came. I know this as I've managed to stay here in the apartment all day after my earlier walk, taking a couple of naps and futzing with Mr. P's HereInOakland design that arrived this afternoon. Not a bad afternoon, the sky didn't fall or anything, although I do seem to have needed those naps.

So what the hell, to bed early, I think. It was too dark to go over to the Art Murmur area anyway, no loss in that. I'll see if I can't pick up some photographs in the Occupy area tomorrow before the parade starts, the parade starting near City Hall, to round out one last section on artandlife. So fine. It's eight in the evening now, we'll hit the bed by nine.