moments of nothing

At the end of the day, I stopped by my colleague’s office. Having the room right next to mine forces her to listen to my sudden and extravagant recounts of … whatever I need to recount.

She was sympathetic. She admitted that I had a lot on my plate. I felt better and retreated to my own room.


What I think is toughest for me right now is that I have no time just to stare and interpret. It’s my way of passing time. Many watch mindless TV or do Sudoku. I would if it would calm me. What does calm me is doing absolutely nothing at the same time that I throw an occasional glance at others doing something.


Tonight, I have my chance. My classes end at the usual evening hour and for the first time in months Ed and I have arranged to eat dinner out. (Lest you think this is a sweet moment of romance, think again. It is merely the 30th of September and our coupon for a free entrée at Brasserie V expires after today.) In between, I have time to kill.

I stroll (briskly; it continues to be rather chilly here) to the café-bar on Monroe Street and settle in for a period of watching.




After, I walk over to Brasserie V and, while waiting for Ed, I look around some more. I make mental notes of one thing, then another...





All this isn't perfect. My head doesn’t clear, the work for the rest of the week doesn’t diminish, but I feel I have had at few profitable minutes of doing nothing at all.

Really. I highly recommend it.