doldrums

the air in los angeles has been scrubbed clean of late by plenty of rain and a bit of wind. driving along the 10 freeway and gazing north toward the hills and mountains of the san gabriel and santa monica ranges, one can almost imagine the untouched beauty of this place before man descended with asphalt and steel and concrete and plastic. and a few measly strips of sod here and there. of course, there is a beauty to the metropolis as well: the gleaming office towers lit aflame by the setting sun, the streaks of red and green reflecting on rain-soaked streets, etc.

fridays, while certainly welcome at the end of a long week, have a malaise about them, a tendency to let each minute slip away begrudgingly, clinging to every moment until the last gasp of the afternoon gives way to darkness.