Friday. A decent night's sleep ending at quarter to six, sleepy enough when I awoke to think it was Saturday, not Friday, but checked KPFA anyway to find their five minute news cast at five minutes to six, followed by the Friday edition of Democracy Now. So, it's Friday, sleep gone, head clear, getting ready to head out to breakfast. The East Bay Times was late again, but I found it sitting at the apartment house front door. The late arriving paper, so far, being the excitement of the day. No complaints, given what kinds of other excitement there are out there that could have taken its place.

One thing about waking up, even briefly in the middle of the night, it gives you time to think about your situation without the mind numbing distractions of the day, of the news programs, tablet movies, walks with a camera, alcohol and everything else we use to clutter up your existence. Thoughts along the line of what in the fuck am I doing with this routine of mine and how might I nudge to into a somewhat different direction.

The end of all musings is coming soon enough, every day a day closer, but other than a few necessary tasks to get the paperwork and such in order, it's not something you need to dwell on. How to trick the mind, tweak the habits and hobbies to make the days roll along better. How to get off our butt is the usual thinking. Anyway, I generally just wake up and immediately forget, but we're kidding ourself at the moment into thinking we might try something today and see if we can't finesse a small change in our direction.

No one has any idea what you're talking about, other than people go through similar thoughts in the middle of their nights as well.

One hopes without fretting.

As usual, a picture or two on the way home. The flower pictures are still not right - lighting, depth of field and color - but ways to tweak them to make them better do eventually creep in. Give us another year.

Any of this a part of your middle of the night thinking?

The need for attention to detail and perseverance does creep in.

Later. The Weather Underground says it's eighty-seven degrees here in Oakland, although their map says it's in the lower seventies in my area near the lake. Which I appreciate. So a walk to the lake in a t-shirt, guessing the temperature to be indeed in the low seventies and so quite comfortable, deciding to sit for a bit in the direct sun.

I'd walked by another photographer who'd been absorbed in shooting along the lake and so I took one or two pictures from the bench where I was sitting for the hell of it. Feeling quite crappy at that point, unfortunately, the sinuses misbehaving, a second dose of pain meds taken an hour earlier only now kicking in.

Evening. Worked on a couple of pictures with Democracy Now playing in the background. Thinking of watching the Giants game later this evening. Might do that. I've followed baseball (to some degree) in the past, just haven't been all that interested since, well, since the 80's. Nice evening for baseball, the temperature is quite nice for the moment.

Inside the apartment.

Inside the apartment.