reflective sunday

ok, it's actually saturday, but it's one of those cloudy, windy days without a specific plan. back in cupertino, a day like this called for hours spent letting my mind wander on unpredictable tangents. also known as zoning out.

driving along the 580 today, i remembered the first time i saw the signs for harrison st. and grand ave. and the uneven pavement of oakland streets. it was my first time going to le's place to pick him up for a dancesafe event. this must've been 3 years ago. little did i know, i was wandering down into central oakland right off international with my brand new jetta. not that there are gangs ready to jump you, but it's not the best part of town. what did i know about oakland except the murders they report on the news? it was trying to navigate the streets that curve around the lake i didn't now existed. liquor stores on every corner, run-down homes, locked gates on the doors of every building, fried chicken restaurants everywhere! i lived in berkeley, but this was a different level. there were other times when i took the lakeshore exit because we were lost on the freeway.

how ironic that i ended living here after graduation. how lakeshore is now the road to home. how much i love lake merritt now, despite the havoc it wreaks on the street layout. how the liquor store on the corner was a convenient refreshment replenisher for our party. how i frequent the lakeside farmer's market now along with the old hippies, new families, and everyone in between in the community.

i'm going to miss oakland.