I know that it is almost two months since everyone was supposed to make life changing resolutions, but what can I say, I'm a slacker. My theory has always been: make no resolutions and you won't feel guilty when you break them, and that has worked for me in the past. Today though I found myself thinking that changes were in order. Nothing specific mind you, a person can't change overnight, but I have decided to be nicer to myself. That might seem obvious to you, but I've come to realize that about 90% of the time I put myself last. Over the years this has meant that I have barely gotten enough sleep because I was up making something or doing something for someone else. Sometimes the "tasks" were requested and I couldn't say no, but a lot of the time they were just things I thought people would like or appreciate. I planned my weeks around these projects and as a result I left me waiting on a bench miles behind, patiently waiting to be remembered and for my turn to come. Today I took the first step in that direction. It was all about me and what I wanted to do. After hitting the snooze button a few extra times I had a small bowl of cereal from this pretty box as I checked my email:
I drove to Chinatown for the parade, but stopped at the beach on the way because it just looked too pretty in the sunlight not to stop and take a few pictures:
It was still over an hour before the parade was to start, but Chinatown was packed to the gills, so I scoped out the shops for good photo ops and popped into a bakery for a sausage bun and a winter melon moon cake:
It was too cold to just stand there and wait for the parade, so I walked around and took pictures of the tiger/dragon dancers, the drummers, the people and the floats because it'd be hard to do that once the parade started and a throng of people blocked the view:
I met up with a friend and her family right as the parade was starting and spent an hour chatting and cooing at her daughter, who was all bundled up against the cold and looked like a pouffy marshmallow:
The street filled up quickly and where a moment ago I had staked claim to prime curb real estate, when the drums signaled the parade was coming I found that a throng of people packed the space right in front of us. To get any shots at all I had to hoist my camera over my head and hope for the best. This one reminds me of something straight from an old karate movie(if you ignore that cell phone that is):
My friend left after the parade, but I stayed behind for a while longer, trying to get some bubble tea, but there were too many people absolutely everywhere and since I really didn't feel like standing in line, I just walked around and watched people as they packed every space to the gills. Still not ready to call it a day I headed to downtown Evanston (where parking would be much easier) and had a late lunch at Mount Everest. I've lived here for several years now and despite hearing great things about this place, I still have never been there, which is too bad because it was lovely. I ordered a tiny cup of Turkish coffee, almost chocolatey in it's richness and full of cardamom, and a chicken kafta pita, which came perfectly moist and steamy with a subtle spicy heat that lingered. Yum! I would have taken pictures, but the pita required two hands and it was gone before I even thought of my camera.
I walked around window shopping for a while and then ducked into Argo Tea and settled into one of their cushy armchairs with a cup of tea and the book I'm currently reading: Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise
. This is a fabulous book for an afternoon like this, but it's probably best not to read it in public. I kept giggling and letting out loud bursts of laughter as I read, which is acceptable when you're chatting with a group of people, but makes you look a bit loony when you're all by yourself. On my way home I picked up a small pint of ice cream and a bunch of tulips. I curled up on the couch, put on the new Bitter:Sweet - Drama
CD I had just pilfered from my sister's car a few days ago (a wonderful way to seduce someone, or put yourself in a romantically inclined mood) and finished my book. I'm looking forward to more days like today. Stay tuned, I also had time yesterday to swing by a winter market and I will be making something tomorrow from the loot.
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