1:28 pm - Sat 8.30.2008
Walking To China (Town)

Still feeling physically-and-emotionally "out-of-sorts" today, but what are ya gonna do...?

Anyway...

There's a SAG-organized Labor Day picnic later this morning, relatively near by (Meaning it's a short Metro ride/moderate bike ride/long walk, away).

And it's a thing I kinda/sorta think I should attend, but it's a thing I kinda/sorta don't want to attend.

(SAG is providing some entertainment, and drinks of a non-alcoholic persuasion; the people attending have to bring their own food and what-not.)

But moving on...

Went to Chinatown yesterday, the first time I've gone there in a couple years (Since I went a couple times with Tim and Joe and Donald C., back when I worked at Borders).

I left the apartment at 9:25, the earliest I've gotten out of my apartment on a day off without having a specific appointment to keep.

I walked there (Which is a pretty fair jaunt. Which was kind of the point), and looked around for awhile.

Then, as much to get off my feet as anything, had lunch at Hop Louie's (Which tasted good - Lemon chicken, friend rice, broccoli w/mushrooms, and tea - but was a big mistake, Weight Watchers-wise; I'm sure I went over my daily points, on the fried rice alone, and I didn't have the weekly points left to cover it).

After lunch, I looked around some more, bought a couple of inexpensive little "Buddhas" (to add to my inexpensive little "Buddha" collection), then made my way back home, getting back to my apartment around 3:00.

A couple observations, reflections, what-have-you:

1. Chinatown, in one respect, reminds me of Venice Beach (Which, in turn, reminds me of the Hollywood & Highland area) - the main order of business in each place are tourists, and making money from same. And after the initial novelty wears off, the whole place starts feeling like one big "store", because everyone's essentially selling the same crap.

But that said, as a "tourist in my own town", I find Chinatown's "crap" more interesting than the other places' "crap" (If I had more "discretionary income", I would definitely have bought more "crap" yesterday).

2. As a recovering action-figure guy, I'm always amused by the terribly made, "Who cares about trademarks or copyrights?", Made-In-China action figure knock-offs; I've seen Spiderman figures packaged as "Spader-Man" (I wonder if anyone's sent one of those to James Spader...?), Batman packaged with an Uzi, or sometimes a whole assortment of guns (!), and characters from rival American companies routinely packaged together.

And as I was looking at them yesterday, I noticed they had something in common with an old girlfriend's "Occupied Japan" collectibles - they both look like they were made made at gunpoint.

3. Even though they're illegal, you can buy a switchblade in Chinatown (They also had knives with fold-out blades longer than the legal limit, which I believe is 4").

And I was tempted (to buy one), but for various reasons - the illegal-ness, the possibility of having to stab someone (Or the waste of money if I never have occasion to stab anyone), the previously-mentioned "discretionary income issue", etc. - I did not.

4. As I looked in the various shops, and had lunch at Hop Louies, I found myself alternately feeling lonely, regretting there was no to share the experience with, and feeling that freedom you have when you're out-and-about by yourself, and can look at what you want for as long as you want, think your thoughts, and leave whenever you get tired or bored (As opposed to having to stay for the other person or persons, or feeling guilty because you're pulling them away).

The outing made me think about my entry yesterday, and how I made fun of myself for feeling like, with the Weight Watchers job approaching, I had to "get my fun in while I can".

But while Weight Watchers isn't going to be an 80-hour-a-week commitment, "having the time" to do things is almost never the issue with me.

"Having the energy" to do things is.

For example: I recently went to the museum (I hadn't been since I went with my friend Kevin, when he visited from MI some years ago).

I'd wanted to get back there for years, didn't have anything else planned that day...and I left in less than three hours because I was just so tired.

(I enjoyed what I saw; I just would have enjoyed seeing more.)

The long walks I've been been doing lately have only been possible because typically, they're the only energy I have to expend in a given day; If it was a question of fitting them into and around a work schedule...I don't think they'd be happening (So I'm grateful I've had the opportunity to not work the past couple months, so I could do those long walks, and keep my weight loss going).

But speaking of energy...While it hopefully doesn't seem like it on your end, hours have passed here - I didn't do the SAG picnic - and I'm getting tired, so I think I'm going to lay me down to sleep for a bit, before getting up to walk the neighbor's dog.

Then I'm going to clean myself up, and get myself out of the apartment to walk...somewhere...and do...something.

(I've gotta burn off yesterday's fried rice...)

Oh, one thing before I forget - yesterday I cracked the $100 mark on my "Characterman" blog! Which means I'll be getting my first check next month.

So thanks, all of your who are visiting and clicking on those adds :)

And now to bed...

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