a brief respite

Avoiding your coworkers is not the only reason to walk home.

Do I want to talk to them? Do they want to talk to me? How long will we be talking? Have I ever actually seen this person one-on-one before? How is my breath? Are they coming on to me? Should I be discouraging this? You know, all those things you don't want to have to think about after you clock out for the day. I'll save the bus for when it's raining and I can pull my hood over my head.

But it's not just that, I love the fresh air. A nature hike always sounds good but after being glued to a chair for eight hours its downright blissful. The enjoyment is so great, I will often use it to cover up the misery of something I hate- like talking on the phone. God, I hate talking on the phone.

Not today. Today was a free day. Nobody was waiting for me and nothing weighing on my mind. I watched the birds, and picked out my favorite trees, and planned what I would do if an earthquake struck while I was walking across the Steel Bridge. I even smiled at a stranger or two- I know, it was weird!

Maybe it was the sunshine, or the perfectly cool air, but God damn if today wasn't a great day. Just beautiful. When I saw that rainbow break out over the river I looked over my shoulder to see where that looming catastrophe was. Nothing is ever that perfect.

But it was. So, for at least a while today, I had a moment of perfect contentment.

It took two and half hours to get home from work today but it was worth it (the Panda Express I had for dinner was not). So these photos are my humble offering to you as I will have to put off the Crab Bowl story for just a bit longer. I promise it is coming soon, but believe me that this epic tale requires far more energy than I currently have in my reserves.

Thank you to everyone who put up with my Facebook spamming as I went along.

If anyone wants to Google it, my walk was from OHSU to the MODA center in Portland.