On Saturday I went for a jog in Carly’s leafy Baltimore neighborhood. Ahh, happy brain chemicals! Exercise is the poor man’s Prozac.
On Sunday, the anniversary of 9/11, I treated myself to a trip to The Maryland Zoo. It’s not the same as the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. Not the same at all. For one thing, I’m positive that the New Orleans monkey and ape section is (was) much better, but Maryland has fantastic polar bear and giraffe exhibits. (They are not in an exhibit together, obviously. That would be crazy!) Hanging out in the Animal Kingdom (or a zoo facsimile) helps me clear my head, and these East Coast animals seem sympathetic. The penguins were clearly in a state of grief, their little flippers (wings?) and heads hanging dejectedly. I was certain the giraffes were telepathically trying to tell me to chill out. Later I drove to Silver Springs to meet Peace Corps friends at an African restaurant for fish and plaintains. It was great to eat piment again after all these years. That night, Carly and I saw The Constant Gardener, which was a real downer of a movie, but beautiful nonetheless.
These past days at school have been very challenging. I have trouble concentrating, difficulty articulating myself, I misplace things, and I miss appointments. I have frequent headaches and feel tired all the time. I’m supposed to be on the nice steady treadmill of life, with handy speed and incline controls at my fingertips. Instead I find myself each day in a rapid dryer cycle, tumbling around in confusion without knowing which side is up and no chance of reaching the OFF button.
On the brighter side, a new food has made it to Crystal’s Top 10 Favorite Foods:
the mouth-watering $4.00 gyros from the Greek man with the rolling food cart at the corner of Wolfe and Monument.
