Autumn in SoCal?

This is the view from my apartment balcony.  Usually, it depicts blue skies and sunshine.  Today...it's overcast.  Finally, a real autumn day. Nice to know that even Southern California gets 'em once in while.... 

And how am I spending it?  The best way a nice overcast autumn day can be spent: sleep in, go for a run, do errands (and I was going to take a picture of the laundry mat for ya, but...there were people there, so...I chickened out : )), e-mail, drink coffee and enjoy a good book (which, luckily, I have - here's the picture to prove it).    

And last night was even better than overcast - it was raining.  'Twas a great evening altogether, actually.  My pal D made some excellent chicken curry, and then we enjoyed Pasadena "Art Night."  Basically, it's an event that the city has a couple of times a year when museums and music houses that usually charge entrance fees let everyone in for free...which pretty much means that they take away everyone's excuse for not getting a little culture now and then.  Quite clever, in my opinion.

So, we listened to some jazz and visited some art exhibits (one of which was a "stripe room" - which, yes, is just what it sounds like: a room decorated in nothing but stripes) and even saw some...interpretive dance?  I'm not sure if that's what you would call it or not - it was actually pretty impressive (physically - I mean, as physical as you can be in a museum room, I guess), but I'm not sure if there was any kind of "message" or "interpretation" going on.  It was sort of similar to those floor routines they do in the Olympics...but without all the flipping and springing.  Anyway, it was art and expression to them, and it surely took a lot of training and practice, so...I think can respect that.  Plus, did I mention it was free?  : )

And what better way to top off an evening of culture than by watching a movie (which was unfortunately not free...but worth it just the same).  We saw the newest Wes Anderson film (who brought you, among others, "Bottle Rocket" [still my favorite] and "Rushmore" [still my next favorite]).  This one takes place in India (which makes sense since it's called "The Darjeeling Limited), and much of it happens on a train (which I like 'cause it reminds me of China).  If you don't like his other stuff, you probably won't like this (which is why I'm not giving a broad endorsement), but regardless, the cinematography capturing the sights and sounds of India is pretty cool.  Makes me want to drink chai tea.  : )

Anyway, I guess that's it for this weekly (actually, this week it was bi-weekly - yay me) : ) installment of life in SoCal.  Enjoy your autumn day...rain or shine.   

Comments

[daphne]

Did you get used to calling people by their first initial in China?

I'm ready to see Darjeeling again. Already, I know. And for a trip to India. Or maybe I'll just settle for some chai.

See you in a few! I'm gonna try to get some mad homework done before church : )