Day Off, Day Two

Today was my second day off and I started it out perfectly. I slept in and didn't roll out of bed until about 9:00. I started the coffee, then took a long hot shower, and then I was ready for my breakfast—coffee, orange juice, and Eggo waffles. I lounged around for most of the morning, drinking more coffee, and goofing off on the computer. At about 12:00 or 1:00 (I lost track of time!) and with the weather looking beautiful, I felt motivated to move a little bit, so I decided to take a nice long walk. The weather was wonderful—it was about 65 degrees and it was partly cloudy. The walk was brisk, and I even made some halfhearted efforts to jog a few times. The last time I ran seriously was a little over 15 years ago and back then I was living in California at around sea level. Running feels much different 15 years later and a mile higher. But, still, it felt pretty good. Even though I didn't run far or fast, I was proud of the fact that it didn't feel like my heart or lungs were about to explode. It would be nice if I could keep up this walking and halfhearted running routine. I bet I would be feeling better, eating better, and sleeping better. We'll see.

After my walk/halfhearted jog, I came home to rest a bit, then I had to go out to run some errands. Then I came home, relaxed a little bit more, watched some TV, then made my dinner. For most of the day the weather was beautiful. It was cloudy and cooler than the past few days, but it still felt wonderful. Then at about 7:30 it started to rain. Because my balcony is closed-in, I can sit on the balcony and enjoy the rain without getting wet. The rain was falling really hard, and then came the lightning and thunder. When I was younger, I used to be terrified of thunderstorms, but now I absolutely love them. We had a lot of lightning tonight and there was a steady rumble and crash of thunder. It was wonderful.

The storm lasted for about an hour, and now things are calm and quiet. You can feel the humidity in the air, and you can smell the wet grass and trees and leaves. So now I am back inside, and, with the exception of taking a moment to write this post, I'm sipping some cognac and relaxing. It's a wonderful and beautiful evening.

Current mood: rested and relaxed
Current music: iTunes on shuffle—Faith Hill "Breathe"
Current drink: Remy Martin VSOP Cognac