Sandy, Matt and the kids have been gone since Tuesday. Matt's littlest sister got married on Friday, so they all went to New Mexico to join in the festivities and congratulations. I stayed home. I had great plans for the week. I was going to do so many things.-- I had quite the list. But, alas, I can only do so many things in so much time. (As a public service announcement I will take this opportunity to let you all know that one of the things I didn't do was write and send the Christmas cards I had planned to write and send. So none of you are going to get one.
Well, not before Christmas anyway.) The whole week I've been torn between doing practical things and doing fun things. I've not been very good at fun for some time now, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to practice. It went well enough during the planning stages, but in practicum I found it very difficult to choose the fun bits over the practical bits. Between fits of mental polarity I did manage to pull off a visit to Chinatown to pick up a Christmas present (I tricked Practical Rebecca into going by telling her I was running an errand), and to Half Moon Bay in time to see the sun go down.
I've decided I don't love Chinatown as much as I thought I did. It's an interesting place, certainly. But I felt... isolated. Yes, I think that's the right word. There are some cultural behaviors of these shopkeepers that I don't understand. Perhaps it's my own sensitivities and insecurities, but I've never felt so judged by strangers, and I don't like not being able to communicate clearly. 
Sigh. I think to truly explain would require a face-to-face conversation. I would explain a bit, you would nod your head and say, "I get what you're saying..." and then we'd go back and forth on it until both of us were sorted out. You see?So anyhoo-- I went to Half Moon Bay afterwards. That's really more my speed. No people, no cars, no dirty city streets, no yelling, so haggling. Just the sand and the sky. Lots and lots of sky. I got there just as the sun was setting.
Now see, isn't that lovely? The camera didn't capture just how pink the sky and water were, so you'll have to imagine it. Toss in a few seagulls creaking on that salmon-colored light and a some sandpipers chittering in the surf and you'll just about have it right.When it was too cold and too dark to stand at the edge of the water anymore I went to the local grocery store to fill up on fruits and vegetables from the neighborhood farmers.
And as I'm typing this I remember a thing I already know: I need the wide world to comfort me. I need the sand and the sea, the trees, grass and birds. I am not one for city people and noise. I didn't like London very much, but I loved Wales. I loved the colors of that country, the pace of those people. And this is the part where I realize that I'm rambling. Just look at the pretty pictures. I'll stop talking.
