I’m currently sitting in the Redmond Town Center Mall, which is this very rich, very ritzy outdoor mall. It is in the mid to upper 50s, and sunny, which means that it is mildly busy with housewives and small children. Not horribly by any means, just enough to be noticeable. What is remarkable about this to me is that none are screaming, crying, or having tantrums. It reminds me that children can in fact be delightful fun when they are happy, playing in the fountain (one obviously meant to be played in, no less). There is a collection of 3 or 4 children, none of whom are over 5, playing in the water (the fountain is flush with the ground, and rather remarkable, with a large brass bear (and two smaller cubs playing) sitting guard over it all.

Teenagers have also started infiltrating the mall, as school is out. They are well dressed and pretty clearly the children of some of the wealthier denizens of the area. They are also hanging around the fountain, and are being remarkably well behaved and friendly to the small children. After visiting east coast malls, this is a refreshing change, and I’m fairly impressed. I’m a big fan of people behaving respectfully to everyone around them, leaving the chipped shoulders elsewhere. After all, the sun is out, now is not a time to be pissy.

I can smell chinese (I THINK… could be Thai, the aroma is one of those middling scents that doesn’t quite place ethnicity), and it is making me hungry, despite the fact that I ate before coming here. I don’t know, I think it may be that I miss home, especially right now for some reason. I miss Vermont springs, mud and all. I miss my friends, and I’m painfully aware of how little I’ve gotten out and about in Seattle to make any new ones out here. Because so many people out here have strange work schedules and are so busy all the time, I do think that more of what goes on out here is rather than a small group of close friends, everyone tries to accumulate a broad spectrum of friends (none of whom are as close as far as I can see), so that there is always someone around to hang out with when you are available.

Mickey HAS managed to make a friend or two (through work), and has other friends that are out here… whom we almost never see. That is part of where this idea of keeping a whole bunch of friends on tap comes from — it’s not that they’ve stopped being friends, it’s that they’re all busy, almost all the time. Not that we’ve really made as concerted an effort in hanging out as I sometimes think we should, but… I don’t know, I still think there is a ring of truth to the many friends theory.

In traditional Nabil style, going back to the smelling of chinese and it making me think of home: my favorite restaurant back home is Panda House. I ate there nearly every day for months (years?), and have yet to find a restaurant that tastes even remotely similar. Frustrating! Ah well — I do enjoy “fast food chinese” (a guilty pleasure if there ever was one), so it’s not like I can’t at least have something that’ll satisfy a craving. I think after I finish this ramble, I may seek out the origin of these smells and get a quick snack to eat. Nothing huge, appetite ruining… just something.

The sun has shifted past the awning I was under, and is now in my eyes… I kind of like the feeling, especially when I stop, close my eyes, and just soak it up. I can feel the sunlight soaking into my hair, and it feels really, really good.

Here is a remarkable observation I just had: I’m in a fucking MALL. An outdoor mall, yes, but a mall nonetheless. That said, it doesn’t feel any more active or bustling than, say, 7:30 in the evening in May in Hanover. I’m not saying “Ooooh yes, I must start hanging out here all the time, this is IT for me, baby!” but I am saying that the vibe is there, in some small amount. If I could find a place to steal wifi access from, I probably WOULD hang out here more. It’s not that hard to get to, and if I time myself, I don’t even have to worry about the Microsoft traffic that should be starting… oh, real soon now if not already. I may take this as an opportunity to figure out how things connect via the non-major roads. Of course (unless by some miracle, a wireless hotspot appears shortly), you’ll probably reading this after I actually get home.

This is all actually in response to wanting to get out and enjoy some of the beautiful weather we’ve been having, while still getting my schoolwork done. I wrote further in another essay for my semester while out here, and then decided to do my “thousand words” for the day. Mostly because of a sign that is sitting below me (I’m sitting at a table that is on one of the bridges over the road) that says “SLOW: Children at Play”. I needed to write it out of my system, and I think I’ve largely succeeded.

I’m trying to determine what do now. I think I’ve been sitting here long enough (about an hour), and I really am starting to get a craving for some food. I suppose I should ask myself the question: is it comfort food, or is it because I’m ACTUALLY hungry? Hard to tell, some days.

Wow, I’m vaguely offended. This woman with a baby carriage was walking along, saw me, and immediately veered down a different path. Maybe I’m misperceiving it and actually she’s just an abrupt direction changer (I know I am sometimes). I really shouldn’t think poorly of her just because of that one act. It just kinda cheeses me off, though, the thought of it. I’m wearing a black hoodie (my NINJ4 hoodie), beige slacks, have my leather jacket draped over my chair, and I’m sitting at a freakin’ computer typing. Give me a damn break. It’s not like I look like a horrible freak or something. (Or do I?) Maybe I should go back to “my kind” and visit the EBGames that is three stores down from where I’m sitting. Not that I’d be buying anything, mind you, but because it might be nice to just sit and talk games for a bit.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll likely continue saying it til it ceases to be true: teenagers are such weenies. It is kind of disturbing watching 15 year old girls strut around like the own the world. But then, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe they actually DO.