Today is the first day during this project that I am blogging somewhere other than home. In fact, I am in Oakland, California, staying with my wife at a friend’s AirBnB near Lake Merritt because today my brother is getting married at the Camron-Stanford House, a big historic building on the lake. I am typing this post on my iPad without a physical keyboard attachment, so the experience is definitely interesting as I type onto a flat screen. It’s kinda of like how playing piano would be if the keys were completely flat and did not move at all when you touched them… A little weird but it will get the job done.
To commemorate this special occasion (I have noticed that I often commemorate special occasions in this manner), I got up at 7am this morning and jogged around Lake Merritt and up Grand Avenue to Mountain View Cemetary, a sprawling public cemetery that one of my brother’s friends, Will, recommended as a running destination. This was a formidable yet enjoyable run, round trip 7.5 miles. I thoroughly enjoyed running around the lake, something I haven’t done in over ten years.
This was followed by a delightful breakfast (isn’t breakfast ALWAYS delightful after a long workout?) and return to our quarters. Not surprisingly, It seems that my mind is mostly focused on the wedding, where I will not only be playing piano at various points before, during, and after the ceremony, but also seeing many relatives and family friends I haven’t seen in years.
Speaking of which, last night after the wedding rehearsal we had a lovely time at a nearby public brewery (because evidently that is the type of place my brother and his beloved enjoy gathering folks the night before their wedding). Happily, there was actual food there and not just alcohol, and non-acoholic drinks for children and weirdos like myself who don’t drink. I had two ginger beers, which were spicy and delicious. I also enjoyed meeting many extended family friends and members. It reminded me of how fun it can be just to mingle and meet people. I came away saying to my wife, “I’d like to do that more often!”
I do not have much more I wish to say except that I am present to a thought that other people truly are what make life worth living. I am looking forward to a day filled with love, fun interactions, and smiles.
That’s it for now cuz I’m on the go and the day is waiting!