Thursday. Up with the alarm, to breakfast and back by eight, the sun out, the sky clear. Just like that. No more rain for a while. They said so in the paper so it must be true. Right? I'd think so, here in Oakland.

Eric's band is playing tonight in Moraga and I'm wondering if I'll get my ass together and go. I've already thought about the timing, what the commute traffic will be like at six-thirty and, although that's a concern, it's hardly insurmountable. You know. So, we'll see. The Oakland Art Murmur in the early evening tomorrow, so stuff is coming and there are things to do.

Later. Another walk down by the bus stop, a bus due in three minutes, a failure to talk myself into heading downtown, so a walk then along the lake taking two photographs in passing, nice enough, but nothing worth putting up here unless that's all I've managed in a morning.

A mocha coffee out on the patio at the usual place, not sure why I've not had other than a straight coffee there before as I'm not shy at a Peet's or a Starbucks, but a mocha none the less before heading on to Safeway where I bought - what else? - cheese, crackers and sake. A decent walk anyway with that added detour on to Safeway Seems to be the beginnings of another rut, these lunch time walks down to the usual place for a coffee and the occasional bun or brownie, but we'll think about that later, not sure if it's a plus or a problem. These ruts.

This afternoon we'll see about practicing along with the song playing on the laptop. I set it up yesterday, as I mentioned, but didn't give it a try. Today we'll try and see how the practice sessions go and then see if I'm better prepared at the next guitar lesson after playing along daily for at least an hour. None of this dodging out by playing scales or going over chord transitions, we'll do the new stuff as assigned played along with the band. (hup, hup) Yes we will. (hup)

Later still. I played for about forty-five minutes, many of them along with the CD playing on the laptop, before deciding it was the end of the month and time to restring the guitar. Which I did knowing I was toying with fire, avoiding playing with the CD. Still, guitar restrung, more time practicing along with in this case John Lennon's Imagine. The chords are simple enough, but you have to get between them cleanly on the beat and, if you miss, you have to catch up in the sense of coming in on the chord that's playing, not the one that left you behind. I can do it. Sometimes.

So you'll get in at least an hour practicing along with the song?

Oh, yes. We will do that big time after admitting to our various forms of foot dragging. Once I'm there, I'm there, and I keep at it. Hup. I'm really tired of these hups. Hup, hup.

Evening. A good day's practice, affix the gold star. Let's see how I do tomorrow. And then the next tomorrow. Right now a glass of sake, I think. The day has been warm, the sliding glass doors to the balcony have been open all day with but only one brief thought to turn on the fan so the temperature's been good. At least the mood is good and, whatever's been going on these last couple of years, I'm upbeat at the moment on the idea most of it will skedaddle before too long. I believe that's one of the definitions of “optimist”, connected to the late afternoon sake no doubt.