sunset
Sometimes, like tonight, I'll hit the timing just right and be walking home from the parking garage at sunset. There is a magic moment almost every night when the light from the setting sun is caught by the windows of houses in the Oakland hills, reflecting red and orange and gold. And it looks like a thousand signal fires, burning across the Bay. It's breathtaking, and I stop to admire it every time.
Of course, people who lived here in the fall of 1991 might not relish the image of fires in the Oakland Hills, given the devastation they caused that October. I was away for college at the time, so the visual is not so immediate for me -- it takes me a moment to remember why I should perhaps not find it quite so beautiful. But invariably I do, and the view becomes more of a bittersweet pleasure. But a pleasure all the same.
Today was a better day -- some of yesterday's tensions have dissipated. I gave one class presentation that went badly, but fortunately it was followed by another that went quite well. Then a student who was finishing up her last day came by the library to say goodbye and thank me for all my help! Unexpected, but very sweet. She was a good student and a nice girl and I will miss having her around. Thursday will never be the highlight of my week, thanks to a regular meeting that could probably be finished in an hour and usually ends up lasting almost three, but at least this one went fairly smoothly. And of course Friday is approaching, my half-day, my joy. An afternoon off! Such luxury.
Of course, people who lived here in the fall of 1991 might not relish the image of fires in the Oakland Hills, given the devastation they caused that October. I was away for college at the time, so the visual is not so immediate for me -- it takes me a moment to remember why I should perhaps not find it quite so beautiful. But invariably I do, and the view becomes more of a bittersweet pleasure. But a pleasure all the same.
Today was a better day -- some of yesterday's tensions have dissipated. I gave one class presentation that went badly, but fortunately it was followed by another that went quite well. Then a student who was finishing up her last day came by the library to say goodbye and thank me for all my help! Unexpected, but very sweet. She was a good student and a nice girl and I will miss having her around. Thursday will never be the highlight of my week, thanks to a regular meeting that could probably be finished in an hour and usually ends up lasting almost three, but at least this one went fairly smoothly. And of course Friday is approaching, my half-day, my joy. An afternoon off! Such luxury.