Suburbia
I live in a middle-upper-class section of town, complete with an elementary school, church, restaurant, and easy access to the main shopping area. It's a very nice area, clean, well-kept, etc. etc.
Following the (awesome) thunderstorm two nights ago (and the dreary day that came before it, which taught me an important lesson: don't take an alternate route home from an unfamiliar area in foggy weather ... oops ... I think I made it halfway to Minnesota before I changed my direction), the weather brightened up considerably, hitting at least sixty today. I took a nice long walk in my new suburban wonderland today and was very happy with what I found.
First, there actually IS some variety in this moderately new neighborhood, as far as the houses go. I'm pretty used to Sioux Falls' serially built suburban hell (okay, okay, I'm not a big fan of that aspect of SF); the houses here differ by more than just color, and I was thrilled by that discovery. I also noticed that houses here have steeper roofs than back home, perhaps due to more snowfall ... or because they collectively like how said roofs look. I suppose there doesn't have to be logic behind a trend.
Now, picture me standing across the street from a house, trying to estimate the slope of a roof by using my hands as a protractor. It's no wonder I frighten people sometimes. At least this time I wasn't talking to myself ... audibly.
I also realized that the smell of rain can actually linger over more than a few hours ... Wonderful. Something about the faint scent of dirt and grass ...
I'm a fairly private person, as far as some things go. For instance, my shades are almost always drawn. Around here, people don't seem to worry too much about others being able to look in on them, which is both comforting and disconcerting: comforting because that implies a communal sense of safety, disconcerting because you never know what you'll see if you're walking past a house and your eye wanders. It was a reminder to not walk much after dark.
About halfway into my walk, I started having flashbacks to the loooooooong midnightish walks I took back in Rapid. It doesn't matter where you are -- it feels the same. I miss those walks (I think I mostly miss having people to walk with), but I can honestly say I like the new locale. And hey, with any luck, I won't have to go alone all the time.
Well, I jumped around a bit on this post, but somehow I don't think that matters too much.
I'd love to hear a bit from you all ... I was reminded yesterday that people DO occasionally read this thing (thanks Brian!), but sometimes I wonder. So how about another question that you can answer in comments. This time, how about ... Name your favorite TV show as a kid and what it was that made it awesome to you. (Mine, I'm sorry to say, was "Square One," mostly because of the Mathnet section at the end of every episode. Oh yeah. I've been a nerd all my life.)
Have a great weekend, everybody!
Following the (awesome) thunderstorm two nights ago (and the dreary day that came before it, which taught me an important lesson: don't take an alternate route home from an unfamiliar area in foggy weather ... oops ... I think I made it halfway to Minnesota before I changed my direction), the weather brightened up considerably, hitting at least sixty today. I took a nice long walk in my new suburban wonderland today and was very happy with what I found.
First, there actually IS some variety in this moderately new neighborhood, as far as the houses go. I'm pretty used to Sioux Falls' serially built suburban hell (okay, okay, I'm not a big fan of that aspect of SF); the houses here differ by more than just color, and I was thrilled by that discovery. I also noticed that houses here have steeper roofs than back home, perhaps due to more snowfall ... or because they collectively like how said roofs look. I suppose there doesn't have to be logic behind a trend.
Now, picture me standing across the street from a house, trying to estimate the slope of a roof by using my hands as a protractor. It's no wonder I frighten people sometimes. At least this time I wasn't talking to myself ... audibly.
I also realized that the smell of rain can actually linger over more than a few hours ... Wonderful. Something about the faint scent of dirt and grass ...
I'm a fairly private person, as far as some things go. For instance, my shades are almost always drawn. Around here, people don't seem to worry too much about others being able to look in on them, which is both comforting and disconcerting: comforting because that implies a communal sense of safety, disconcerting because you never know what you'll see if you're walking past a house and your eye wanders. It was a reminder to not walk much after dark.
About halfway into my walk, I started having flashbacks to the loooooooong midnightish walks I took back in Rapid. It doesn't matter where you are -- it feels the same. I miss those walks (I think I mostly miss having people to walk with), but I can honestly say I like the new locale. And hey, with any luck, I won't have to go alone all the time.
Well, I jumped around a bit on this post, but somehow I don't think that matters too much.
I'd love to hear a bit from you all ... I was reminded yesterday that people DO occasionally read this thing (thanks Brian!), but sometimes I wonder. So how about another question that you can answer in comments. This time, how about ... Name your favorite TV show as a kid and what it was that made it awesome to you. (Mine, I'm sorry to say, was "Square One," mostly because of the Mathnet section at the end of every episode. Oh yeah. I've been a nerd all my life.)
Have a great weekend, everybody!
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