Sunday, October 11, 2009

Short anecdotes of odd happenings recently in my life.

Once upon a time, I was working at the video store. A customer came out of the back room, and, chuckling, says to me, "I could get lost in here, it's like a candy store."
Maybe I'm wrong, but that's just a little odd. Certainly not the oddest thing, or even close to the creepiest thing that's ever been said to me at work, but odd nonetheless.

I was driving down the street in Burlington, down Shelburne Road. In the middle of the afternoon, amidst quite heavy traffic, and between two lights (and hence between two crosswalks) three women stepped out into the road. Well, as much as I recognize that's a dumb idea, they clearly had plans to go ahead and cross four lanes of busy traffic without so much as a second thought about it. Naturally, my own survival instincts kicked in, aka, I didn't need a lawsuit for running over a jay-walker, and so I slowed down my car. Then, the strangest thing happened, one of the women stopped, dead center in my lane and just stared at me for a few seconds. So I gestured, somewhat impatiently for her to hurry up and get the hell out of the way. When she finally did, she screamed at me as I drove past her. I replied in a louder-than-normal voice, "Well don't stop in the middle of the road." To which she responded by throwing her coffee at my car. Normally, I get very irritated by such things, but at this point, an interesting thing happened, I realized two very important and highly amusing things. 1. No matter how angry I get, she's still going to enter the Darwin competition day after day. 2. Though she may have gotten her aggression out a bit, she is still without coffee. Oh, and for the hell of it, 3. It was going to rain that night, so I didn't even have to worry about cleaning it off my car.
Poor stupid woman.

And also, I hope my ficus is recovering... I trimmed off some branches that just couldn't seem to grow more leaves. And I gave it another shower. So, hopefully it's all good. You see what happened was that it got thrips. So I used some pesticide to kill them, but I had to let the tree dry before I could bring it inside so that the cats wouldn't get poisoned.
But, I left it on the porch to dry, and while I was at work, the temperature dropped. So I think it got a bit of temperature shock. So... hopefully, it's recovering. It looked really happy after the shower, so... And my viney thing... I think I need to re-pot that. I think I'll do that Tuesday. I'll just pull them all out, wash off the whole vines that are still healthy, and put it in new sanitary soil. I'm pretty sure it has spider mites, so...

Anyhow, there you have it. Odd happenings. I posted more than once this month.
You're welcome!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Hello there

Is there anything more pleasing than the sound of crisp leaves racing across the pavement? There is something so unique about that sound. It is made possible by us, by the human race. Without us, across what similar surface could leaves scuttle? They might blow over a rock outcropping now and again, but really, it's not the same.
I love the country, and I love Vermont. I really really do. Driving up the road today, the mountains were finally coloring. The trees have been changing for a little while now, but even when they first start, the mountains still look green, overshadowed by the conifers that refuse to change. As the season progresses, though, there becomes a point when the horizon just bursts into color. The mountains come alive!
Alright, sure, it's cheesy. But if you live here, you know what I mean, and whether or not you'll admit it, you feel the same way.
It's a time for fuzzy sweaters and scarves, hats and gloves. It's the time of the year where you more and more often find yourself saying, "I have got to remember to start my car in the morning. Brr." Or, at least if you're out the door by 8:00, you're saying that.
But the city has it's own draw, doesn't it? Even at the crack of dawn. There is a mystery about the city. You don't know what lies ahead because your view is obstructed. The city, it forces you to look more closely in front of your face, both physically and metaphorically.
While the country inspires us, reminds us to stand in awe of nature in all her majesty, it is the city that reminds us to stand in awe of ourselves. And our cities are becoming ever more sustainable. With increased awareness of our own carbon footprints, we are taking steps to bring a little bit of country into the city. First we thought up green roofs, which help insulate a building while also providing a nice landscape. Then we thought of rooftop gardening. Now we can keep ourselves warm and put dinner (or a contribution thereto) on the table. Standing on a quiet street corner in the foggy evening, the only thing you can see in the city is what's right in front of you. The only concern to which you can attend is yourself, and the magnificent creations of man that surround you. And if you're lucky, you are smart enough to appreciate that.