Wednesday, August 24, 2011

In the evening or after the rain

(Algiers)-"In the evening or after the rain, the whole earth, its womb moist with a seed redolent or bitter almond, rests after having given herself to the sun all summers long. And again that scent hallows the union of man and earth and awakens in us the only really virile love in this world: ephemeral and noble."

"In Algiers one loves the commonplace:the sea at the end of every street, a certain volume of sunlight, the beauty of the race. And, as always, in that unashamed offering there is a secret fragrance. In Paris it is possible to be homesick for space and a beating of wings. Here, at least, a man is gratified in every wish and, sure of his desires, can at last measure his possessions."


-Summers in Algiers-The Myth of Sisyphus- Albert Camus


(the photo of course is not Algiers)

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Needs so little

The Sunday passage:"A little warmth and a little food and he felt much better. Man needs so little, he thought, yet he begins wanting so much."
-taken from The Last of the Breed by Louis L'Amour

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Sky writing

For almost half a day I was attending a seminar, listening to talks inside the conference room.

! was car pooling.


Before we left I took 2 photos of a plane doing acrobatics in the air show. which happened to be across our conference building.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Walking,books, and sea food dinner

I walked to the gym, then stopped by the library read a few minutes and borrowed 2 books-one on Zen ( Eight Gates of Zen) and one on physics (Cycle of Time).

Had dinner of a small left-over jumbo squid, small slice of salmon, raw cauliflower and sauteed bitter melon and jasmine rice.

I will be reading the books in bed at bedtime.

I'm simply taking care of my body and mind.

There are things I can control and others I only imagine.

Seneca wrote-"...Life is long enough, and it has been given in sufficiently generous measure to allow the accomplishment of the very greatest things if the whole of it is well invested."



One can start being an auto-didact.



Thursday, August 18, 2011

Flowers along the way

Walking is my main form of physical exercise. It's easy and simple. I put on my Teva sandals, carry a cane (mainly to protect myself from aggressive dogs that come very infrequently) and walk out of the door. I walk at least 1 hour 4 days a week. There is no special outfit to wear.

I walk on trails, sidewalk and streets in the neighborhood.

There are lots of flowers along the way.

Since a week agoI started something I have not done before-avoid eating meat but not seafoods and dairy products. It's not a vegetarian diet.

Health is precious.




Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Rest

Yesterday, I had a long walk. From home I walked to the gym. Did 40 minute workout. Then walked to the library. Did light reading on Pascal and Nietzsche. Then home. About 2 1/2 miles walk.

Today,I

did very short walk just to limber my limbs. Stayed home and surfed the web.And read the Zen of Creativity and Presentation Zen.

Rested.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Walking and Patience

Walking helps me to learn patience. I walk with a pace of about 3 miles per hour. Accomplishing a certain distance is secondary to walking. The idea is to walk. The pace is meant to look and observe.

Someone advised that we should stop to smell the flowers. During one of my walks to the library I passed by a house with white roses in the garden and I stopped to smell the flowers. I heard a voice:"The flowers have no fragrance". It took me a few seconds to see the lady who was seated on a chair surrounded by rose bushes.

This morning I started my walk from where I lived, then to Maxwell Bridge that spans over Napa River, to the paved river trail in Kennedy Park. The river was at low tide.There were a few walkers, a few cyclists on the trail. There were



hobbyists playing with their model airplanes. I could hear and see the planes overhead with their droning sounds.

The air was cool but later the air became warm. The sun was bright and fog had cleared. After I arrived home I prepared an egg sandwich with a hard boiled egg inside half of a peta bread. A glass of no fat milk completed the lunch.

It's Monday. What's the hurry.It's a beautiful day.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Just married

Do you like the sound of it? More especially do you want to be the bride or the groom?
Why did you make me love you? Do you get that question often?

Love can be eternal or temporary.
Love is the surrender. Each one surrender to the other. Love with no ifs or strings. When you fall in love you don't question the other.

Love is not blind and lovers can not see. Your eyes are fully open and you are full of admiration.

Love is a story and is being retold everyday by people who are in love.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Waterfalls

Since I was a kid waterfalls always fascinated me. The sound of cascading water,sprinkles on your face, the touch of coolness, the never ending flow of water.

Above Fallen Leaf Lake in southwest part of Lake Tahoe is a waterfall that is vibrant and with full of energy. You have to drive on one lane road to reach it.



Sunday, August 7, 2011

Greetings

What do you say to the friendly

dogs coming to greet you?

I walked along a creek where the beavers constructed a few dams.There were wilds flowers and tiny falls.

Grasses that grew over the creek concealed the water underneath.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Summer

"Summer gives us the essential free time we need to sustain our spirit, to be imaginative, to rejuvenate. What would life be without periods of relaxation and rebirth? Would there be poetry? Would we be free enough to create music and art? Would we have the time to ponder and muse?

What would life itself be like if there were no summer? One could only wonder, if one could...kids learn best in summer..."
-Bruce Pandolfini (chess teacher)
taken from
PS9 Graduation Ceremony
Key Note Speech, June 23, 1996

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Poetry

I finished the Anthologist by Nicholson Baker. In collecting an anthology of poems the poet discovered himself and poetry again. The prose is nimble and light with subtle insights.

I'm still away from home and writing on an old laptop.

It's Tuesday and a new day with the sun climbing the mountain.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Rock formations

I forgot to bring the cable to transfer the photos from the camera to the laptop.

3 days ago we drove to Fallen Leaf Lake in Southwest Tahoe then continue farther on a one lane road that hugs the lake to see the lower falls. I had to stop the car now and then to allow the other cars going the opposite direction to pass.

I could hear the exuberant sound of the lower falls from a distance remembering the recent long winter with unusually huge amount of snow.

The grandkids loved watching thousands threads of flowing water with eddying bounces against the rocks.Everyone posed for pictures.

The photos of the falls are in the camera. My laptop is old and has no space for the memory card. I have an old photo of Bryce Canyon with me taking a photo.