Random Thursday

Today is my late day at work. Arrive at 11, go home at 7. I don’t mind putzing around in the morning, except on Thursday, the only day I can really sleep in, is the only day our complex brings the yard maintenance guys in at 7:30 in the morning. So I’ve been up; listening to them blow around the white blossoms that have already popped and fallen from our tree outside. I wish I was better at naming plants – my mom is good at that. She’s also good at keeping them alive, which I am not. The good thing about the desert is cactus do well here and cactus I can keep alive. They are like cats – they don’t need a lot of pruning and walking. I provide; they do what they want. Sunny spots are key.
I made eggs this morning with queso fresco and avocado. The avocado was too ripe and I preformed surgery to remove the cancerous brown. I’m usually so good at picking my avocado. I’ll stand over the fruit plucking them one by one, testing their skin and give. A good avocado is very important to me. A bad avocado is like opening a Christmas present you hate and will never use; such a waste of time, energy, promise.

I’ve been sleeping a lot lately. I don’t know if the trip took it out of me. It’s strange to come home from trips, for as long as you’re away you get to be a rogue puzzle piece and of course when you’re found, beat up and covered in cat hair under the couch, you fit exactly into the spot you were made. What no one saw was how content you were going rogue.

Tuesday, the day before the Phoenix blizzard of 2013 (It hailed yesterday), I watched a man painting a mural on an apartment building downtown. The sun was shining over him, but a soft lamp, not harsh 4 o’clock sun. He was painting oblong blue circles around a window. Aqua to periwinkle to royal to deep sea and I thought how amazing it is that this was his job. To go around Phoenix painting buildings; to scale in and out with each stroke while traffic flies oblivious around him. It made me feel like I was walking down a Main Street anywhere in the world: the postmen delivering their post; cops patrolling their wards; bakers kneading fresh batches of dough; to see this artist working in the sun on a Tuesday morning made me feel like all was right in the world.