On distraction...

I generally have a simple morning routine. That is, I drag myself out of bed after some kind of fitful sleeping, perform my morning ablutions (these differ somewhat when I have my portable 5_FU pump attached), eat something for breakfast, make my lunch, and head out the door to catch a bus ride halfway to work. The walk to my office from the transit mall is about five blocks, and I usually plug myself into my iPod for a little musical interlude prior to the workday. Kinda sets the tone for that section of the day...

During my walk from the bus stop to my office early one morning, I distractedly noticed that the sprinkler system for the Capitol Mall green space was on, and that it made a lot of interesting mist rainbows in the early sunrise. Quite pretty, actually, and the rainbows seemed to dance together every so often (or maybe they were combining front-to-back, I don't recall exactly). The music in my ears, the dancing rainbows, the warm sunshine... very mellow and distracting.

Chsssshhht... Chsssshhht... Chsssshhht... Sound familiar? The sprinkling system has a rhythm of its own, and was mildly noticeable over the music in my ears. But I really didn't pay much attention. After all, the landscape workers are very good about making sure that the water mainly lands on the grass and does not sprinkle the concrete. I continued to walk toward work, following the paving stone pathways, and even hesitated once when one of the sprinkler jets appeared to be headed my way. It stopped (appropriately) before I would have been hit and returned to its starting point with its staccato ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch chatter before resuming the steady chsssshhht-chsssshhht-chsssshhht rhythm.

I walked over some damp sidewalk/paving stones to await the crossing signal, paying little attention to the sprinklers, and waited for electronic permission to cross the street. The sun was still warm, and several cars were awaiting the light signal to proceed on their merry way to somewhere else... Imagine their occupants' surprise and delight to see a man (yours truly) take a direct hit from the sprinkler system. Jacket, tie, shirt and pants, were instantly not-dry... but I had a bemused smile on my face. Sometimes, it is just plain good to be distracted, and the minimal dousing with water didn't hurt me in the least.

So, I apologize to all you folks out there in the land of weblogs, who may have interpreted my silence over the past few days as indicative of some kind of trouble in my world. I am doing well, though the chemo-therapy seems harder these days. I am trying out some cancer-sensitive exercise and flexibility training, and have met a WONDERFUL trainer that I hope to be able to work with over the next several months. And work has been busy and challenging, which are both good things. In short, I have been distracted. :)


Chsssshhht... Chsssshhht... Chsssshhht...