Incredibly Satisfying

What an incredibly satisfying day! After waking up deliciously late I realized that I would not be able to work today as I had intended. So instead I cleaned (which was needed). But that's boring.

The fun part is that it was early afternoon and I was trying to convince myself to work and at the same time, just wanting to sleep or read but not really wanting to read any of the books I was working on. It looked kindof nice outside from what I could tell. My house is kindof sheltered by trees so sometimes it's hard to tell what the weather is like. But, I've been working on trying to get out of my room/house and I knew I should probably get out. If I got some fresh air I probably would feel more awake.

Sure enough, when I stepped out of my fairy-tale castle it was a gorgeous day outside! How amazing! I seriously live in an awesome area. I walked out of the gate (yes, it's a wrought iron gate!!), across the street, and immediately realized it was a good idea to get out. Across the street from my house is Lake Washington and a little waterfront park (very little). People were lounging in the sun and enjoying the day. I had planned on taking a book down to a coffee place I had seen to get coffee and read. I need to give myself some kind of goal so that I will actually do it. It's hard to believe I'm so scared to do something like walk downtown by myself, but it is. It was a great walk. Downtown Kirkland is just a short walk along the lake. I was just amazed! People were all over; getting some exercise, skateboarding, talking on their cell phone, sitting in sidewalk cafes (DEFINITELY something I need to do) all over, sipping iced lattes, eating ice cream, walking dogs. I was enjoying the scene so much (and honestly, when I got to the coffee place I was too chicken to go in because there weren't many people in there, probably because it was so glorious outside) that I just kept walking. I ended up at the waterfront park, sat down on a bench and people-watched for the first time in a long time.

Next time I will bring a camera. I ended up reading on the bench, walking around some more, and then settling under a tree with the sounds of children playing, boatmen calling and teenagers flirting around me while I devoured my book. It was so incredibly peaceful. I really wished I had a camera and now understand why Ryan and Dave wander around taking pictures so much. There were just so many kodak moments!

• a little baby crawling into the middle of a bunch of ducks, reaching out and squealing with glee when the ducks would stare at him
• a teenage boy walking what looked to be his grandfather all over the park, while the old man rambled on in Russian/Ukrainian
• three little Chinese girls splashing an playing in the fountain while their mother snapped away with her digital camera (I'm glad someone remembered one!)
  
• 27 sailboats drifting back and forth, weaving in and around each other, what a beautiful sight, especially as the sun started to set! Breathtaking!
  
• A man chasing his dog back and forth on one of the docks until the dog ended up falling off the dock, landing with a splash in the water. Hearty laughter and gleeful barking ensued.
  
• A bare-footed, though country-club dressed, elderly man in a reclining lawn chair (it was awesome!), sitting under a tree, very much engrossed in his newspaper

Families, couples, females, males, waterfalls, streams, the waves on the lake, the setting sun turning the grass a glowing lime green with the willow tree drooping lazily over the scene. Finally by 7:30 I headed back home after having finally managed to go into a coffee shop when it got too warm and almost finishing my book

Reflection: I did it! I got out of my house! I enjoyed the day!! I need to do that more often. I think I can really enjoy living here. Downtown is seriously a short walk, with lovely cafes and comfy coffee places. Maybe that will motivate me to get some exercise in too. I am very glad I did that today instead of work. I can work next week!

Oh, by the way, apparently "the google guy" lives next door to me. I don't know if that means the creator/CEO or just the head of the google office located here in Kirkland. Still, that's pretty cool.

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