A near-perfect day

I made it through my day. I must say, I am tired and ready for bed now, but I earned it.

1. All my meals were fresh and home-cooked.
2. My work day was satisfactory.
3. I committed to getting exercise, so despite learning that volleyball isn't starting until next week, I kept my word. I drove myself out to the mountain, layered like a mille feuille in clothes, and took a 50-minute walk to the lookout.
I'll get back to that in a minute.
4. I met up with a good friend for some really interesting conversation.
5. I took a bath and pampered myself a little, and my skin is looking good now that I'm eating well again.
6. I'm about to get what I anticipate will be a good night's sleep. Ahhh!

So about that walk...

If my toes (inside two layers of socks and some hardcore Caterpillar boots) had not been frozen solid, I would have kept walking for another hour. It was dark, but my walk began alongside the ice rink, where families were enjoying a brisk, late-night skate to the soft tunes of the moment under the glow of the Christmas lights that adorned the surrounding trees and chalet. On I walked along dark, barely lit paths, with stunning city-light panoramas peeking through the barren, crackling branches.

At first my mind was filled with thought. One on top of the other, moving to the forefront and fading back like fleeting black flies. Gradually, being completely alone, the chaos inside dissipated, leaving me just the space to hear myself in all of it. A big, goofy smile across it.

I got to the lookout and stood a mere moment to take in a more inspiring scene than the usual, ground-level, brown-washed, slushy landscape of my workdays. And as always, like a kid, I was perhaps more than deservedly excited about the seasonal lighting atop the highrise in which I work.

The silence is pure. I don't understand how anyone can fear silence. Feel lonely in silence. Feel threatened. Maybe it's the fact I have a certifiable imagination, but the quiet in those winter nights is an unparalleled escape and the only time I really get to feel like I am here. It may be surprising to you, but I don't have the words to describe it. You may have encountered the feeling before, but it is the silence that allows you to hear just one voice, and reflect properly on anything.

Alright, enough yammering. I felt like letting out some words today and got carried away. As a translator I end up using the same business-jargony bullsh-- volcabulary day in and day out, so having had some time for my mind to rest, I felt an avalanche of words coming on, and you were my unwitting victim.

I promise not to do it again :) And I take it back, the day was perfection.

***Note: I got to 140.8 legitimately this morning eee. Tonight I am going to a two hour class that combines one hour of spinning and one hour of yoga... wish me luck!