Just past the full moon, still early in the month and really, really way past time to learn into what the month requires of me: focus, outreach, not just drawing small cups from the endless well but getting the water up and out and bearing it to others in need. Dude, can you do that?

Tried staring into a spreadsheet, but far too late in the day to town anything meaningful from it. Saw paw prints from one of the feral cats who must’ve spent an hour or two warming itself on my hood of our car after getting home last night. Got some songs in, and still scattershot.

Once again, singing my lungs out, sipping non-alcoholic beer and trainspotting songs I know or don’t know or hey that sounds familiar. Once again, gleefully howling backup with a couple dozen of my closest friends I’ve never met before, and feeling safe and sound on a Saturday night.

Watched the rain this morning give way to cold gray in between bouts of monthly bill paying and other kinds of processing. Later came unexpected inspiration, a little bit of planning and even some couch time, better this time around then last night, until my laptop battery ran out.

A very strange day, creative but also destructive, accomplished but also slothful, staying mostly at home except for ducking out for takeaway, and mostly about work of several kinds and then not. Things seemed ominous, odd and out of order; if it never happens again, I won’t miss it.

I spent almost a half hour today gawking at a special section of our newspaper printed a year before I was born, and brought in by a local. The paper is so wide, the artwork is so intricate and yet so dated and the version of history it relies on land so differently five decades later.

Had a little bit of deja vu (the bad kind) after looking this morning at a photo of a strip mall in my old ‘hood where there used to be a chicken spot and bakery a decade or so ago, then driving past it now to see at least three separate restaurants creamed into the same space.

This week’s cold snap may have been why the cat was friendlier this morning. We’ll see if she stays that way up until this weekend’s expected showers. In the meantime, more than ready for a long month of feeling just slightly off to grind (or wind: whatever moves faster) to a close.

I spent the afternoon and evening following protesters who came out for a rally for Tyre Nichols and marched along several downtown blocks after hearing speakers lay into forms of systemic social violence. Often, I found my eyes drawn to passersby or residents looking out from windows.

I don’t miss my desk until there’s some piece of paper I’ve misplaced and need to get ahold of, so I spent the day slowly sifting for it through receipts, envelopes, user manuals, old newspapers and wires. What I was looking for didn’t turn up, but now I know I owe a few folks letters.