Arizona 2009 Blog Link Summary

A summary of an Arizona trip in the fall of 2009, blog links below

Time in AZ
AZ Sunday, on our own
AZ Monday
AZ Tuesday
AZ Wednesday
AZ Thursday
AZ Friday/ Conclusion

Today I went for a walk after work...

It was nice out. Well, it was nice, but not that nice. You know what I mean, it was so so at best, but I'll take that any day over cold, dreary, and wet. It was just dreary. Some people thought it was cold. I thought it was just fine. Just fine.

I coughed a bit. I've been coughing a lot lately. Caught myself a cold. What does that mean actually: "caught myself a cold"? What, am I running around with a glove on my hand? A basket in out stretched arms? My mouth open, gaping, hoping that an unsuspecting germ lands comfortably on my tongue? It's as though the phrase implies an expectation of acquiring the cold, as though I'm actually seeking one out. I'd like to think that my cold is entering its final stages. I think I had a fever early on last week. I actually missed a day of work. Now phlegm is minimal, but I still have a little cough.

When I concluded the first portion of my walk at the Community College T station, several girls were huddled in the stairway going down to the platform and the first thing that popped into my mind was "What are they doing?," followed shortly by "Why are they in MY way?" and this thought process was finally concluded by "Now, Now, George- they are just cold. Everyone is different".

Eventually my train came and dumped me out at Oak Grove where I proceeded to walk to my apartment. On the way home I saw two women walking side by side on the small sidewalk toward me. I prepared for the ritualistic dance of giving room so we each would adjust our trajectory with minimal changes. As the encounter approached it became clear that I did not appear to exist to them, and if I did, we were locked in a terrible game of chicken. Ultimately I cowered and yielded. I clearly am less important than they, and a less significant being. Now I am home, and I'm preparing for a new day's worth of coughing, observations, and near misses in the dangerous life of a pedestrian.

2011

Another that year I never really anticipated. What does that mean? Well, lets just when I was 13 or 14 years old I never really conceptualized life beyond say 2002 or 2003 at the latest. And yet here I am, a man with popping knees and grinding vertebrae, older than my parents were when they conceived me, and yet perhaps I am more wide eyed and directionless than they were at my age. Anyway, I can't help but feel like 2010 marked some sort of transition for me, as though reality has set in and the full weight of adulthood has finally descended upon me. I think this will be a year of many changes. And if I play my cards right, and stick with the game when my hand seems like it might not last the round, perhaps, just maybe, I can come out on the other better than the man I am today.