Walks #7, #8: Zigzags

#7, 2-8-10: The Mind Rearranges Itself

On Tuesday, I got up, drank coffee, and sat in my office chair at my desktop computer. I read the news, surfed around a while, and spend at least half an hour writing a 2-line email to my friend R. in Canada, who wants to know why I have the glumpfs. I can't find a way to explain. I write a line or two and erase them, then write that I will write later. To R., who writes emails like fish swim in water. I spend another hour or two at the computer, doing basically nothing: writing another very short email or two, looking up online where should I eat buy jeans exercise work.

Nothing is bad. Everything is good. We have moved, the sun is shining, and being unemployed is not that abnormal. I manage to eat a late morning meal that is neither too small nor too large. If too large, I would probably retire to the bed or the living room floor, for reading or television watching. This would be soothing, and not that abnormal for an unemployed person.

It's not a day for accomplishments. To get through the day with a relatively normal level of activity is plenty, is doing great.

I get out for a walk. It is still sunny, which is a miracle. I walk in a repetitive S shape up and down the lovely sunny streets of Irvington. There is a house for sale for over $1,200,000. Adjoining lot, with mature trees, available more some hundreds of thousands more. It feels good to walk.



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Later in the week, my mind rearranges itself. I am seized with guilt over my inactivity. I take care of some errands, clean the apartment, but am still bogged down with my email problem. I write a little thank-you note in less than an hour. I go to look up some piece of information online, and an hour later I am still there, idly reading New York Times articles or Yelp commentaries or Survivor biographies on wikipedia. (Did you know? A new season of Survivor has started. The cast is made up of contestants from previous seasons, half of whom I can't remember.)

Walk #8: Valentine's Day.
On Sunday, before making tofu stroganoff, I go out for a run, end up mostly walking. I continue to zig and zag my way through the pretty Irvington streets. West of 21th Street, it's not as posh. Pretty soon, I'm going to exhaust Irvington neighborhood and need to talk further afield.



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