So I don't forget
I've been catching myself making a mental note not to forget nice things that happen, because I often find that when I have time to read the internet and do internety (i.e., not work-related) things, I'm usually in a bad mood due to the necessity of doing non-internety (i.e., work-related things) up until then. This is (fortunately) not an exhaustive list of all the things I've enjoyed over the past few weeks, but it's a fair sampling.
- Interesting combinations of sun and light. The rainy season has started, which means that not only do I get to spend quite a bit of time cuddling on the couch with a cup of tea while the furnace runs and rain beats against the roof and wind rattles the metallic components that vent carbon monoxide from our gas furnace to the outside world, thus contributing to global climate change, but I also get to see the sky as a storm cloud moves on. Since weather patterns usually move from west to east, and since I'm usually home and able to see the sky only in the evening, this usually means that when the storms pass I get exquisite views of the dark clouds covering the sky and looming over the hills to the east, while a clear evening sun illuminates that whole picture from the west. Right before sunset this view is particularly striking, because the sunlight is clear and direct, but not very bright, and so low that the angle of the rays resemble nothing so much as theatrical lighting, rather than natural light.
- Cats. I really like cats, and there are several in my neighborhood that I occasionally get to pet. One is called (by the Philenas) Long-Legged Tabby Cat. He lives in the apartment complex next to us, so we see him skulking down the driveway to start on his day's prowls in the mornings, and skulking back up the driveway to return home at night. Farther down the street is a cat named Pepper, who is a calico and lives in a very nice brown-shingled house with a pretty garden. He's usually peering out the windows, but sometimes he'll perch on a post by the front steps, and occasionally Mr. Philena gets to pet him. Note that I use "he/him" as pronouns. In truth, we have no idea what his sex is, and Mr. Philena refuses to make a decision or use "it," so he always refers to Pepper by name. This tends to lead to amusing Principle C violations: "So I stopped walking and crouched down and asked Pepper if Pepper wanted to be petted. So Pepper curled and stretched and walked down away from Pepper's house and the rolled over and I petted Pepper. Then Pepper's owners came out and said hi, and Pepper scampered back up to them and they petted Pepper." There's also a very sleek black cat that I saw and petted just yesterday, but we don't see him often enough to give him a formal moniker. My petting also was cut short because a dog was walking up the sidewalk, and the black cat didn't think the sidewalk was big enough for the both of them, so he deserted me and scarpered up a nearby garden fence, where he perched with great dignity.
- Watching the flow of people at the bus stop. My bike has recently decided not to hold any air in the back tire, so until I get that repaired, I've been going to the local public transport station and catching a bus. While I wait, I get to see lots of cars pulling up and people dropping off spouses, picking up carpools, as well as individuals walking down the block and into the station. It's somehow comforting every morning to see an affectionate kiss between spouses again and again in the twenty minutes I wait as two scheduled buses fail to show up. It's a nice reminder that there are lots of people who love each other.
- Classes in which everyone is engaged and eager. Actually, I'm not talking about my sections, although we had a good time deciphering Hieroglyphic Luwian yesterday. In fact, I'm referring to my Polish class, in which I am the student, not the instructor. People are constantly asking questions and trying to phrase things in Polish, and we independently all agreed to ask the instructor for extra work over the winter break so that we don't forget stuff before next semester, when we'll all be back again. Then today we all decided to have a potluck dinner at the house of one of the students. It's really nice to be a part of that class.
- Curling up on the couch with my laptop and a cup of tea and watching movies on Netflix. In fact, I think I'm going to home now and do just that. Happy Friday!