And It's Not Even Noon

Some of my favourite things in this new day:
::: Getting up after a terrible night's sleep. The fight is over; the day has come.
::: Warm rain on my face and in my clothes.
::: A new running route through the neighborhood: change is afoot.
::: Counting down the sleeps to a long awaited adventure: 2 sleeps!
::: The steam that rises out of my French press after I pour boiling water on freshly ground coffee. It says with warm trustworthiness, "Here you are."

Stranger

It happened again.

Winding my way back through my neighborhood after having coffee with a friend and feeling a little spaced out, I managed to meet the gaze of a rough-looking man. He gave me a sly smile and said, "You're looking GOOD today."

My response got stolen by the bus roar as it pulled away from its stop. I said, "Thank you."

Later in the day I was hanging out over the phone with my good friend Holly. I was laughing about this story and how it is a very strange new form of attention in my life. She laughed with me, but also provided a helpful peek back into my younger days when I was a "hider."

I guess it's good to come out of hiding, even if it means I can simply accept a strange form of appreciation from a rough East Van character in my beautiful neighborhood. I guess it's good to fill out the space in which I live more fully, more wholly, and more surely. I guess it's good.

Cultural Brilliance

My good buddy Jian Ghomeshi on CBC radio 1 tipped me off to this Barack Obama moment from last week. First you should watch the speech from Raleigh, North Carolina, here. Then, if you need a little help with the reference, you should check here. It's a Jay-Z nod and the people, as you can see, get it. One simple gesture and BAM . . . connection. Love it.

My Uniform

I've been wearing the same thing for 3
No, 4 days
I can't stop.

I get up
Take a shower
before or after I run, slowly.

I put on the same night-sky jeans
Same unwashed sweater
Same Converse shoes as I go out the door.

This dark uniform
wholly
sustains

I change inside of it
blend smiles and sadness
into these homestead fibres.