It’s the little things in life....
Yesterday, I left the house with every intention on joining Jacq at Edgwood Park in New Haven for the yoga and chanting. Really, I did. I even ended up in New Haven. For some reason when I got there, I just wasn't feeling it. So I just kept on driving.

I decided to go up the West Rock Ridge and go to the overlooks and possibly take some pictures. West Rock has an incredible view towards downtown New Haven and the Sound. The day was a little hazy, so it really wasn't the best day for taking good pictures.

As I sat at one of the pulloffs, a state Department of Environmental Protection vehicle drove by, on a routine patrol, I assume. When I drove to the bigger parking lot at the end the vehicle was parked there, with the ranger sitting inside. I parked a couple of spaces away and started looking for something to get pictures of.

"Your first time here?" the ranger asked me through the open window. I expalined that I had been up to West Rock several years ago when my job took me to the radio transmitter site on the "closed" side of the park. I hadn't been up there since.

He got out of the vehicle to talk with me, and as we stood there talking, several predatory birds started circling overhead. Apparently, the ranger had studied up on his birding, because he was able to identify several different species of bird. We spotted Red Tail Hawks, Osprey, and Turkey Vultures to name a few.

We stood there, watching the birds riding the thermals, and the pair of Red Tail Hawks "flirting" with each other. The male was riding the breeze, stationary, and the female was flitting by him, chirping what I interpreted as a happy song. I tried to get a picture of this, but the shutter delay of my digital camera didn't make it possible for me to get a shot of what I wanted.

The ranger said something to me the kind of reminded me of one of my mantras. He said "Sometimes people don't take the time to appreciate the little things in life." Just standing there watching the birds hovering and circling in the breeze made realize how right he really was.

I have a lap cat...

When I first "adopted" my cat Freya over a year ago, she was a very scared, timid little kitten. Her first week or so of her life here was spent hiding under the loveseat in my living room. The very fist time she ventured out on her own was the day that I brought my daughter home to meet her.

Freya is still skittish to this day, but she's come out of her shell quite a bit. I recieve a warm welcome from her every day when I arrive home from work, and most times when I'm on the computer, she takes up residence next to the keyboard.

I recently have started doing a bit more reading-- which is something I keep intending to do, and usually put off. I noticed something while I was reading the last few times. Freya insists in curling up in my lap while I read. She will stay there the entire time, until she hears a loud noise or I have to get up.

It seems that I now have a lap cat.....

Over the last couple of weeks, I was wondering if anything I do really matters to anyone at the end of the day. Besides my daughter, does it all really matter?? I mean, what am I really doing on this planet besides being the best father I can be??

At the end of the day, does what I really do matter?? I mean, I fix coffee machines!! Not exactly a world-changing occupation.

Let me tell you a story. The other day at work, one of the other partners (that's what we're called in Starbucks terminology) was having a shitty day. I was not in the best place either (both physically and mentally), but I was trying to make the best of the situation.
When I'm feeling stressed or depessed at work, I usually try to just act a little silly and crazy. At least I try to keep my chin up and a smile on my face. Well, me and the other partner kept joking back and forth and we got to the point where we were almost in tears from laughing so damn hard.

When I was leaving at the end of the day, my coworker was handing me my drink and told me that even though he was having a crappy day when he came in, that he felt better because I made him laugh. On my drive home, I thought about it, and realized that I, indeed, had made a difference in someone's life. Maybe not an Earth shattering difference, but a difference nonetheless.

In addition, last night, I read this from the list of acknowledgements of Tom's new website: "Paul, friend of so many years, for being there when it really counted. I'll never forget how you've helped me get to where I am now." Wow. Nice words from a longtime friend.

So, I guess I really do matter to someone out there.

Yup, I was at the laundromat again tonight. I heard "Margaritaville" on the radio as expected. That happens every time I set foot in there, regardless of the day, or time..

Though today, I was in a really good mood, and I wasn't in the usual funk that had been accompaning my recent trips to get my wash done. Things are being put into their place in the past. That's a good thing :)