Well, I had my first day missing a post in the Moon Cycle blog project, but I plan to post two today to make up for it. Yesterday I began drafting a relevant and timely piece, but kept having computer challenges and paragraphs were getting deleted. I must confess, dear reader, I decided to eat dinner and hang out with friends on my Saturday night rather than finish it! Ah, but that’s great about rules … sometimes they should be broken.

Here are some of the other things I did yesterday in addition to not posting a blog:

I got a ride through an eerie & unexpected hailstorm (that’s right, hail in Oakland! Quarter-sized slush balls!) to the Temescal branch of the Oakland Public Library for a Community Memoir writing course that author Frances Lefkowitz has been hosting for the past 6 weeks. We worked on a couple of prompts, and then read some of them aloud. What a way to get to know people from your neighborhood. The stories that were shared Saturday were poignant, moving, funny. They gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes.

I picked up my bike from the shop where it got a tune up, after being mailed to me from Indianapolis (thanks mom & dad!) and went on my first bike ride in months. Oh what glory to be alive and riding a bike! After dropping off my computer at home I rode up into Mountain View Cemetery, caught an image of the sun setting over the Bay, and meditated a brief while. Right as I was finishing, raindrops began falling between the boughs of the cedar I was sitting under. I hopped back on my bike and flew down the hill, in the rain, watching lightning in the distance. I felt so alive.

I had breakfast and dinner with housemates on Saturday – not on purpose, it just worked out that way. I’m reveling in our house community these days … like anything living in community has some challenges, but the advantages far outweigh them.

Yesterday was also significant for the weather – from the rare hail & lightning to moody clouds, there was something to pay attention to all day long.

Clouds over Telegraph Ave:

The view from the cemetery at dusk:

Panorama of 40th Street: