Saturday. Lights out at ten and a decent night's sleep I suspect, not remembering awakening or getting up last night. Up with the alarm to head off to breakfast on another clear going to be sunny morning, taking a picture to document the twelve cent a gallon gas price increase at the station across the street as I was leaving. My, my. Twelve cents. Forty-six cents in these last three weeks. I'd bought a tank yesterday morning just in time, luck that saved a buck. Or a buck forty to be precise.

Whoop-dee-do for you!

Indeed.

Downloaded a picture I'd taken yesterday of the finished roof on the building across the street. Looks nice, they'll get a better idea of how the job went when next it rains. If it does. Rain again. Something going on at the Oakland museum tomorrow for pictures, so a lazy day today with pictures ahead. After last night's long rest a walk is in order if only to the farmers market down the street.

Later. A brief nap that would have lasted longer if I hadn't awakened because I'd fallen asleep in an uncomfortable position. Not unusual, I'm afraid. OK, up to walk to the ATM on Lakeshore, the Capoeira dancers active in the distance by the lake, the ladies displaying their bible study literature discussing the devil and the end of times. That's not as snarky as it sounds, they were indeed talking about the devil and the end of times in a way they might discuss the weather, although I'd passed them by before I could hear the when or why. On to find the farmers market crowded as expected.

A mixed fruit yogurt cup and coffee out at a table in front of Noah's Bagels after hitting the ATM, a photograph of the tax guy with his sign at the entrance to the freeway across from the theater and a picture of a “community sidewalk sale” sign over on Euclid on the walk back. Pretty exciting stuff for a Saturday, one might say, here in Oakland.

I should go downtown and walk over to the Asian Cultural Center to see if there are any celebrations going on for the Lunar New Year. They had dragon dancing and such on Wednesday when the New Year started, learning this through photographs found on Twitter, but we'll see what energy is left after our journey to the ATM.

Not much effort required in taking a bus downtown.

I know. I was thinking that as I was writing. Babbling. We've come to this? Why? Because the nose has been stuffed up all morning? Pollen in the air or air in the head? Hard to tell as one ages.

Later still. And so a bus to Washington at 10th to pass by this bike frame. They didn't leave anything but the frame. I know these things can cost up into the many thousands, the base model displayed on the web for this brand started at $1,200.00, so I assume people steal them wherever they're found.

A somewhat obvious observation.

I'm not sure why I stopped and took the photograph. It's in a well traveled area, but then my car was broken into a block from there when I'd taken BART to in San Francisco years back, returning that evening around ten. Makes you sensitive, I guess. The car side window was punched through, nothing inside of value and so nothing was taken, no damage other than the window and finding papers from the glove box on the floor. Two hundred plus for the window, though.

Anyway, a walk over to the Asian Cultural Center to find a childrens martial arts group sitting on the sidewalk at the entrance eating lunch, their adults packing up dragon consumes into their cars. I figured I was probably leaving too late to luck into finding anything going on after the noon hour had passed, but a decent walk to the center, before walking back to the City Center bagel shop for a butter nut muffin and coffee (out at a table). We are nothing if not predictable.

Back home now as it approaches three, the “get outside to take a walk” for the day done. Some suspicion this solitary routine of mine will get older as the time passes by, but time passes quickly and who knows if or when it will run itself into the ground?

Evening. A good day for a clear head or, at least, what I now call a clear head. Two movies on the public television station this evening, Broadcast News and His Girl Friday. I've seen His Girl Friday, a favorite, but admit I probably won't watch it. A movie made in a different time and in a different culture and I seem to tune out now to movies I once really liked. Not sure why, not sure if this a common function of age or I'm treading here on my own. If that makes any sense.

Broadcast News, though. More recent, one I've certainly heard of and I'm assuming I've seen, but we'll take a look. Released in 1987 when I lived in Napa. Did I rent it? Did it play in the local theater? Questions of substance to ponder this evening.