Briefly, thoughts.

The effects of food poisoning is strikingly similiar to that of influenza. Your body goes into shock as the toxins spread, and it enters into survival mode.

It was the lamb.

(Funny how people nod knowingly when I say that, hinting that lamb is one of the foods - along with fish and pork- where disaster is just a microbe away if not prepared and cooked properly . *pshaah* Them's the same people who would tuck in with gusto eating raw versions of all of the above..)

Still have a residual headache, weakness days later. And my digestive system is still quite picky about what and how much goes in.

So, Ive been out.

Transitioning to a new environment.

I realized that Im not overly bothered by new noises and sensations if Im just passing through or travelling. But if Im laying my head down somewhere I might be awhile, then Im acutely aware of everything unfamiliar, good or bad.

It takes awhile for body and psyche to adjust.

Im so used to seeing movies by myself, that it often comes as a shock to me that seeing a movie through somebody else's eyes can definitely alter the experience.

Big Fish is a chick flick, I realized, when Mira started sniffling at the appropriate moments. (No spoilers).

Until then, I was more focused on the story and how it was being told, rather than the emotional impact.

The men around me were cued in as to what the emotional moments when the multiple sniffling started.

Sometimes it helps to be told these things.

Some New York socialite dismissed Oakland after visiting by saying "There is no there, there."

Truthfully, I thought that too upon the first, third and tenth visits.

I got that tidbit after reading Ishmael Reed's "Blues City: A Walk Through Oakland", his treatise on a long maligned city.

His point, after living there for 30 years, a New Yorker himself - is that there is a WHOLE lot more to Oakland, but only if you appreciate its sensibility.

Yeah.

But, I realized something after a year of being here.

To truly get Oakland, take the cue of all the people you see walking around Oakland with headphones and walkmans playing..

Tune in.

Oakland has a soundtrack.

Oakland is ALL about music.

Play it in your head as you go around, and watch the place come alive.

Lamb jokes that are still being cracked, have me doubled over in laughter.