When in Rome, California....

"Do you meditate?"
"Not really, just breathing exercises."
"Well, you know the mantras that accompany meditation.."
"Sure."
"Ok, instead of repeating 'Nam Myoho Renge Kyo', use affirmations like 'I am strong, healthy, open to life'.. stuff like that."
"I'll try that."

Before I came to California, I woulda humored him and just considered him some misguided hippy.

Now I find myself willing to try this.

As well as other things.

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Just about every day:

"Yeah, I saw you at Peets in West Berkeley the other day"

"I saw you at the library computers.."

"I saw you in Chinatown yesterday at that restaurant on the corner.."

"I saw you in East Oakland.."

As a kid, my father would put me through his version of the favorite son routine and take me with him as he made his social rounds.

Invariably, I was profoundly bored.

Being a Libran, no matter how antisocial they are.. are born schmoozers. They cant help it. Theyve gotta socialize.

Not us Virgos. We might like people, but if we prefer to be around people, we prefer close friends.

Unfortunately for pops, he has a Virgo son, and I despised this being around people for the sake of being around people.

Getting me to a party is torture.

To center ourselves (ask any virgo), at some point in the day we need space and solitude. Dont give us this, and we start feeling unbalanced and then become MORE surly than usual.

Where we get our "hard to get along with" reputation.

Dont force us into being more social than we're comfy with. Trust me on this.

Pops never gave up, but he let me be more and more as I grew older.

Here in Berkeley/Oakland, its rare that I go ANYWHERE without being recognized and have to be social. Shit, its getting to the point where I dont even know them, and they know me.

No lie.

This... should be considered a good thing I guess, for (and Im necessarily generalizing here) folk here dont instantly warm up to strangers as people drop in on the California scene and dont always behave.

With this influx, there is a wary screening process, even if folk seem outwardly accepting.

But once youre accepted, you realize that the bay area is truly a small town.

It seems like everybody knows you and there is prolly only 2 degrees of seperation between you and every other denizen of the bay.

On one hand... great folk.

On the other... the anonyminity that is easy to achieve in New York is sorely missed.
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Im wearing sandals.

Tevas. They say you can trek cross country in these things.

They seem sorta thin and flimsy little thing, resembling roman sandals.

Whoo, the looks are deceiving. They are comfortable AND tough.

Im loving it.

My feet are loving ME now.

I used to kinda snicker at people walking around in these things. Not anymore. I consider them the height of practicality. (Although I keep a pair of shoes and extra socks in the backpack for wet weather.)

Im also wearing fleece.

Man, Ive changed.