I flew back yesterday to the bay area to see my cousin’s graduation.  Of course, the ceremony is on Sunday, which left Saturday free for a day hike.  So I was up at 6:00AM and off to the carpool at Page Mill Rd.  The forecast was rather dire – high of 105 degrees in Portola Valley – but we decided to give it a shot anyway.  There was a good crowd at the carpool spot.

Route was mainly in Corte Madera open space.  Nominally we were following directions left by Charlie, but in spite of Francoise’s best efforts, we managed to deviate fairly significantly.  We did keep to the trees though, which was the important part, so even when the temperature reached into the high 80s in the afternoon, it wasn’t unbearable.  The last ascent to the parking was fairly brutal though.  After four weeks of no hikes, even sixteen miles feels like a lot.

It was particularly good to see some of the folks I missed on my May visit.  Looking forward to resuming the Saturday hike routine again.  In California.

Of course, when we got home, I discovered the rear window wouldn’t roll back up (it was down to cool off the car).  Can’t even pull it up manually (it’s all the way down).  Bugger.

Moving from one apartment/house to another is one of those tasks that seems to always take more effort than planned.  Still, in between two final exams, I managed to pack up most of my things, so that when I finished this afternoon, I could drive down from my grandmother’s place and start hauling bags and boxes.  I kept things pretty minimal throughout my stay at ‘the Arbor’ (the university apartment building in the Bronx, where I’ve been since October), but between the kitchenware, computer paraphernalia, books, papers and clothing, I pretty well filled up the car.  The whole process took around two hours.  Thank goodness there was no furniture.

I’ve always thought that it would be nice to live in a way that if you needed to, you could pack all your belongings into two suitcases and be ready to hit the road on an hour’s notice.   Not that I necessarily want to move frequently mind you, but the freedom to do so would be quite welcome.  In practice, that’s proven just about impossible.  I did live that way in Paris for 5 months, but I depended on my hosts for a good deal.  The difficulty in general though is that living minimally requires sacrifices that in the medium and long-term are not so fun.  A small computer screen.  No cooking at home.  Very few photographs or mementos.  Etc.

Now all my things are packed in my grandmother’s attic, save for the few I’ll need this summer.  I’ll probably have to make my next move at the end of the summer.  Hopefully that one will be relatively painless as well.

Today I went to the memorial for Carol, one of my grandmother’s best friends.  Carol passed away last month after a long illness.

It’s hard to know what to say at such an event.  Words seem painfully inadequate.  She was an extraordinary person in many ways, but above all she had a knack for bringing cheer and joy wherever she went.  In our hurried, impersonal world, that is indeed a rare gift.

One of the more poignant moments at the memorial came when her close friend explained that Carol had said previously that she didn’t want any memorial to be held.  “I know.  But it’s not for you.  It’s for us,” the friend replied.  And it was.

Goodbye Carol.

It’s hard to believe that I made my first post to this site’s predecessor (myownlittleworld) exactly ten years ago.  The site has had its ups and downs since, much the same as its author, but I’m hoping it will still be going strong ten years from now.

Looking back at old posts and the memories they conjure up, I recognize the skinny, sharp, cynical, occasionally confused kid who posted his musings on these digital pages.  I’m not sure quite what he’d think of the current version of me, but I hope wouldn’t be too terribly disappointed.

And if I could send a message to that fellow (not that he would have listened!) what with hindsight being a benefit and all, it would have been: Don’t take yourself (or anybody else) so seriously.  Life is just too short.*

*Seriousness is a leading cause of chronic overcautiousness among other damaging neuroses.  Such a condition, if untreated by ample quantities of levity and silliness, frequently degenerates into a state known as ‘being a tiresome bore.’

The leaves are about to ‘peak’ here in southern New York state.  I made a short detour to Rockefeller State Park this morning (Westchester, near Briarcliff Manor).  It was a scenic but crunchy walk.