Filler!

something random from a while ago...till the blog gets back on its feet :D

A Glorious Day
Sunday, April 5

Today was so bright and beautiful, with the sun streaming out. I woke up at my alarm at 8, but reset it for 9 and went back to sleep. I did some Physics in the morning, but I'm unsure about how much headway I made there. I'm going to say not too much. It gets really hard to swallow that stuff and keep it down there. Or at least floating around in my memory.

Around noon, Silpa called me and invited me to lunch with her family, which was super nice of her. I declined though because I was feeling a little awkward today and was feeling like being pleasantly lonely.

So I walked first to Drexel's library. I perused the new books section, which was filled with the awful, trashy looking books, amidst a few biographies, and nonfiction books. I knew what I needed. I meandered down to the basement where I found the "Teen" section. It was just one wall of books with some very old looking books, a few newer looking ones that had children's books from my elementary/middle school years. I smiled as I looked through every single shelf and made a few choice selections. "A View from Saturday," "The Golden Compass," and "Many Waters." I'd read the first and last before, but wanted to read the second.

I walked the 7 blocks to the Philly Diner, where the place was overflowing with people. Many of them were black, just fresh from church. I took a seat at the counter, because there was only me and there was no where else to sit. I looked briefly at the menu, but I got what I always get. The French Decision, (very officious) composed of scrambled eggs, 3 strips of bacon, and 6 wedges of French toast. This time I asked for cheese in my omelette. Of course, it took 3 or 4 cups of coffee to down the entire thing. It was so pleasant to sit there at the counter, eating breakfast in the middle of the afternoon, with a children's book in hand, and after-church babble encapsulating me. Not going to church myself, it was almost the most religious expereince of the day. The air was cool as the many ceiling fans ruffled the air, my hair, and cause my napkin to flutter down towards the floor.

I would look up, look around sporadically, as the door would open. I wouldn't see anyone there, although there was always someone there. A sense of looking up without seeing anything. How wasteful! Think of all those people without eyes to see what matters, what beauty surrounds us all.

The door opens and a well-dressed black family walks in, to the delight of the entire congregation in the diner. They all enthusiastically start singing "Happy Birthday." To which particular member they were singing to was a mystery to me. There was a grown mother, who looked very pretty, a dad, a little boy in his suit, and an adorable girl with her hair in those twists with Sunday barrettes and a little white sweater, with a finger in her mouth. I smiled at it all. How wonderful to walk through a door and have everyone greet you so warmly.

I tipped less than usual because I'm learning that my generous tipping combined with my compulsive shopping, is making me quite poor. So that's one corner I'm trying to cut. Eating less would also be a good idea. I bought a piece of Oreo cheesecake to go, upon leaving.

I wandered out, past the Penn frat houses, past and past, 'till I realized there was a little arbor area that I had passed on my way to the diner. I moseyed over there. It was so beautiful, with several green-metal tables and chairs that one finds in backyards, were under some tan stone columns, with vines climbing up. I took a seat in the warm sun, slouching in my chair so the sun would hit my neck and face, all the while placing my feet high on another chair. I read comfortably there, amongst the other students who were studying in the warmth. There was a car alarm going off for most of the time, that would hush silently, as if it had been gagged. But then it would start right up again, as if it had bit through the gag. I didn't mind, like I normally might have. The sun was too warm, I was so full, the book was so nostalgic. People passing by were complacently enjoying the day as well. I saw a dear old lady trying to keep up with her family as she querrolously piped "You're going to have to wait up for me." But they really were getting ahead of her, so she was completely justified.

I left as soon the sun stopped shining on me, and walked home. Silpa was back by then and I suggested a walk. We went down the stairs under the bridge that spans the Schuylkill. There was were all the cyclers, dog-walkers, and joggers convened. I assumed it connected to the walkways near the Art Museum. It was fantastic and so serene to watch that dirty river flow past. It was calming.

I'm back in the room now, thinking of starting my lab notebook for Organic. I have to sometime tonight; lab is tomorrow at 9 am. Hasta luego !