Pleasant Surprises
Life is actually full of pleasant surprises. They await in hiding for the right time to jump out at you and make your feelings of unpleasantness disappear. Sometimes, the result is a moment. Moments are more than just moments (note the lack of italics). Moments are little pieces of happenings that occur in your life that you keep with you forever. If you carried around a little jar, you could put moments in it and then them out whenever you wanted to and relive it.
What makes a moment different from a moment (besides the italics) is that moments happen when you least expect them to.
This past Friday, I went to see Jackson Browne with my dad -- who is a big Jackson Browne fan. I remember hearing most of the songs he played Friday when I was younger. The concert was really quite great and I had a great time. I ran into a friend from a while back, who -- randomly -- was sitting two seats down from me. It was a pleasant surprise.
I took a bunch of pictures:
Another pleasant surprise that popped up, happened yesterday. I decided -- randomly -- to go to Saratoga. I had no plan. Just figured I'd walk around, have lunch somewhere, check out the book store, and maybe play guitar in the park.
It started out as a dreary day and it sprinkled at times. When the rain became steady, I bolted for the book store. I went straight to the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section -- as I always do. The surprise was one of the first books I noticed. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson was sitting on the top shelf. It was a surprise for a couple of reasons: 1) I didn't know Brandon Sanderson had another novel in the works (I did know that he was writing the final Wheel of Time novel after the original author died) and 2) I wasn't expecting to find a book that screamed "OH MY GOD! READ ME!!" because I haven't found a book that screamed like that in quite a while. Actually, the last time a book screamed at me, it was Hero of Ages, which -- coincidentally -- is by Brandon Sanderson.
I bought the book with a gift card I still have left over from my birthday/Christmas. And found that there is still some money on it.
I had lunch at Uncommon Grounds and read a couple chapters. Then, I started to get annoyed by all of the loud voices in Uncommon Grounds. At first, it all jumbled together to provide decent background noises while I read; however -- after a while -- some voices began to rise above the others and I found myself hearing conversations rather than listening to that quiet, somber voice in inside my head reading to me.
So, I left Uncommon Grounds and found that the dreariness had turned into a beautiful blue sky/white clouds/light breeze. I grabbed a blanket out of my car and headed to Congress park, where I found a shady spot on a hill and read for about three hours.
It was awesome. And the book, so far, is pretty awesome.
Today is looking quite lovely (after a brief shower). I may click "publish post" and head outside for some more reading. It's Monday. But, I took today off from work to do nothing.
What makes a moment different from a moment (besides the italics) is that moments happen when you least expect them to.
This past Friday, I went to see Jackson Browne with my dad -- who is a big Jackson Browne fan. I remember hearing most of the songs he played Friday when I was younger. The concert was really quite great and I had a great time. I ran into a friend from a while back, who -- randomly -- was sitting two seats down from me. It was a pleasant surprise.
I took a bunch of pictures:
Another pleasant surprise that popped up, happened yesterday. I decided -- randomly -- to go to Saratoga. I had no plan. Just figured I'd walk around, have lunch somewhere, check out the book store, and maybe play guitar in the park.
It started out as a dreary day and it sprinkled at times. When the rain became steady, I bolted for the book store. I went straight to the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section -- as I always do. The surprise was one of the first books I noticed. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson was sitting on the top shelf. It was a surprise for a couple of reasons: 1) I didn't know Brandon Sanderson had another novel in the works (I did know that he was writing the final Wheel of Time novel after the original author died) and 2) I wasn't expecting to find a book that screamed "OH MY GOD! READ ME!!" because I haven't found a book that screamed like that in quite a while. Actually, the last time a book screamed at me, it was Hero of Ages, which -- coincidentally -- is by Brandon Sanderson.
I bought the book with a gift card I still have left over from my birthday/Christmas. And found that there is still some money on it.
I had lunch at Uncommon Grounds and read a couple chapters. Then, I started to get annoyed by all of the loud voices in Uncommon Grounds. At first, it all jumbled together to provide decent background noises while I read; however -- after a while -- some voices began to rise above the others and I found myself hearing conversations rather than listening to that quiet, somber voice in inside my head reading to me.
So, I left Uncommon Grounds and found that the dreariness had turned into a beautiful blue sky/white clouds/light breeze. I grabbed a blanket out of my car and headed to Congress park, where I found a shady spot on a hill and read for about three hours.
It was awesome. And the book, so far, is pretty awesome.
Today is looking quite lovely (after a brief shower). I may click "publish post" and head outside for some more reading. It's Monday. But, I took today off from work to do nothing.