I can't see anything that can go wrong with a plain waffle, strawberries and bananas, although I'm often suspicious of the coffee. Organic, grown in well tended groves by not quite so miserably paid agricultural workers near the equator. I have it every morning. With breakfast and sometimes lunch.

Anyway, again, a nice day after yesterday's nice clear headed turkey pizza day. I have no idea what I might do today (or any other day), although it's essentially another holiday weekend day without a whole log of people on the streets. I don't think. It is black Friday, after all, and they do have a big shop local campaign going. Maybe it's best I go out and see.

I did clean up quite a bit of old stuff yesterday stacked up on top my printer (you have to do something about stuff piled on your printer if you want to print), so we've made some progress there. I'm having an interesting reaction to the rooms becoming, well, “different”, less crowded with junk. Brings a wry smile, lightens the gait.

Have you done any shopping?

I ordered some not overly expensive camera doodads yesterday online when I responded to a black Friday email pitch from B&H, a couple of things I quite honestly don't need. But the price was right. A superfluous purchase. I opted for the free shipping option which means they'll get here in another superfluous week.

Later. A bus downtown and a decent walk through Old Oakland over to the Asian Cultural Center. There'd been a free Thanksgiving affair yesterday at the Frank Ogawa Plaza entrance to City Hall at 14th and Broadway. I'd heard about it, but then forgot about it as I wouldn't normally photograph something like this. I'd have liked to, if the street world were less complicated, but many of the participants wouldn't have liked a photographer present. Don't blame them of it.

Anyway, a cup of coffee and a bagel with cream cheese in the City Center as I watched them putting up their annual tree, a walk then over to the Asian Cultural Center (for an ice cream cone) taking one or two pictures I thought I might like, at least I was amused when I took them, they don't always turn out as you thought they might, but still, some life in the art, always a good sign.

The day is warm enough, but the light, the temperature and the fall colors give a nice edge to the day, how to capture it with the camera? I suspect our autumn here comes later than most, but this looks and feels like fall and there were city people out in force raking leaves. So good, as said, a nice walk.

Evening. I often eat the Nissin Cup Noodles with shrimp in the evening. No more. I've wondered, as I've felt these damned ocular migraine symptoms often come after eating one and they definitely did come late this afternoon, early evening. Looking it up on the web there were many links saying stay away for the MSG content. MSG is a big no-no for ocular and regular migraine sufferers, so one of the bandits has been caught. This is good. Two unopened cups into the trash under the sink. Hup!

I'll ask to see if my morning restaurant that serves primarily standard (oversized) American breakfast fare uses MSG in cooking their meals, particularly the various meats. I'm willing to bet they do, although I'm not sure a lunch consisting of, say, an egg salad sandwich, ice cream and coffee would contain MSG. Would you add MSG when making egg salad? I guess you could. I may learn many novel and new things I've not known before when this is over. Hup!

Oh, some time on the guitar, but it's hard to play guitar in the middle of one of these things. Maybe later, we're feeling OK now, but after lying down for about twenty minutes which alleviated most of the symptoms. I watched the six o'clock Wallander (not the British series, but the Swedish series) and sitting a little buzzed sans guitar in one of the new chairs. It is better now, this wasn't a major episode, but we'll see. I am a little pumped after identifying the noodles, maybe we can cut these back if I start, well, cooking actual food at home on the stove in the kitchen again.