Sunday. Although I got to sleep after eleven I was up this morning just before the alarm feeling just fine, thank you, off and back from breakfast at the usual time and the usual place, sitting here now at the computer, the sun peeping through what seems to be a high overcast. The weather people were saying a twenty percent chance of rain this afternoon, so who knows how it will go? Right now all options seem open, the only restrictions inside my head. But then it was ever thus.

Anyway, yesterday was interesting, the ocular migraine in the late afternoon coming on while working on the SantaCon pictures. Not much to say, otherwise, it took a good two hours to completely pass on through, two hours not so much of confusion, I knew what was going on, but two hours of having to throttle way back and let things take their course.

Still things to prepare for, some thoughts running through my head as to where this photography thing has to go (I need something to jog me out of my rut), some plans to make if I'm really going to get up to Portland and then Seattle over the coming Christmas holidays. The usual stuff.

Well, let's see. I did decide to make some setup changes on the cameras, program in a choice or two assigning them to the function button. There are a number of situations, particularly in back lit situations, where I need to make it easier to make adjustments. It's easy enough to do, I just haven't done them. The technical side of photography. A lot of it comes from practice, you learn from your mistakes, but some of it comes more slowly than it should through sloth. There's only so much you can correct in PhotoShop, better to make the corrections as you shoot.

And that's your deep thinking for the morning?

Better than no thinking at all, having much experience now with the many outcomes possible with that particular pair of dice.

Life is a “pair ’o dice”?

Indeed. You're allowed to wince.

Later. A quick walk down and along the lake carrying a camera with a long lens thinking I'm still right in the middle of my habitual routine: a walk outside once the first couple of paragraphs are done. No thought to go downtown, if I go downtown or somewhere else it will happen later. Still, a definite need to skedaddle, get out of this place for a brief period. Once done I'm happy to return. Hmm.

Anyway, there were a number of coots feeding on the lawn by the lake. I've often wondered what it is the geese and now the coots find to eat in the grass, but I guess it's the grass. A varied diet. Probably a lot better than mine.

Passed by these two practicing one of the fighting arts. I assume that's what it is, the wooden “swords” leaning against the tree. Looks a lot more sensible than boxing, the movements, the centering bringing peace to the mind and the body adding some P.C. aspects. Interesting to see, nice to have the long lens so I could take their pictures without getting up close and in their faces. Not that that would necessarily matter, they being so centered and peaceful and all.

We've had a number of canvas back ducks lately. I assume they're canvas backs, the white wings. I haven't been able to find anything else in the book with white wings like these. We're slowly learning. Maybe.

I've now consumed all of the drugs I take on my morning schedule, the inhaler to take care of allergies, if they're allergies. The mouth is a little dry, we'll see if that means anything. It will have to be a lot drier before I think about ocular migraines, although I'm wondering about them now. I've blamed some of these symptoms on these inhalers in the past, more suspicion than fact, it's easy to fish in the wrong pond for an answer. Having just inhaled the one I take in the morning and in the evening, the mouth feeling, well funny, I'm suspicious. We'll leave it at that: I'm suspicious. In Oakland.

Later still. An hour's nap. There are rain looking clouds up there now as it approaches noon, best I got my short walk in earlier. The mouth feels like an alien haystack, but I suspect it has to do with that inhaler earlier, I took the two prescribed hits as I was writing here and didn't wash my mouth out (they're very clear about doing that after you inhale it) for some ten minutes rather than right on the spot. So maybe that's what's up.

I suspect I can use all this grousing as an excuse to take a long vacation. How to get out of your environment, see if it's the problem? Well, drive over one of the bridges and just keep on going. Actually it's San Francisco you have to drive over the bridges to escape unless you're headed south. Something else to reconsider. Where, though? An RV trip to Florida, see how the fishermen are doing with the oil disaster? Bring the cameras and all the rest? Treat it like a story and post, post, post? Old man, on the road, with camera, out grousing along the coast?

You're totally babbling. There's no way in the world you're going to do that. You're stretching it just heading north for Christmas.

True, true, but it's overcast, I'm here inside avoiding my first session of the day on the guitar (did I mention the guitar is going well?) and my mouth is an alien haystack.

Real men don't complain about such stuff.

Real men don't have alien haystacks sprouting in their mouth.

Much later. Overcast or not I set out on another walk to the morning restaurant (where else?) having a small cup of coffee and an apple turnover, a walk back to take a look in what looks to be a very carefully designed and executed coffee bar and, I discover on going inside, art gallery where pieces range from a hundred or so on up to fourteen-fifteen thousand dollars.

Whoever has taken a flier on this is indeed taking a flier, as the market for fifteen thousand dollar exotic wood tables, cubes and such is, I suspect, limited. Here in Oakland. But then what do I know? Its market is narrow enough that people who are interested in such will come. Diddle-dee-dum.

A walk back taking a little different path. Lakeshore between Trader Joe's and Noah's bagels was busy, many people out at tables on the sidewalk, overcast or not. I sat on a bench next to the Trader Joe's entrance, a set of benches and a chess board table tucked over in a corner that's usually taken by the homeless and I figured now was my chance. And I didn't want to walk any farther. And whatever, I sat down and took a picture or two to mark the spot.

A little different route back home taking a picture of a piece of graffiti I hadn't seen or noticed before, crossing the street to end up passing the usual place, back home now just before three. Guitar now, I think, the attitude good. Yes, I go on and on, but the attitude is usually upbeat, even during times when I'm thinking maybe a major move, a total change of direction, would make sense. Not much danger I'll do something until I do, of course, but such is (my) life.

Evening. Enough for one day, I think.