Azaleas

[xaara]

The azaleas are blooming all up and down my street. They're the most incredible colors, too - pink and red and white, rich and pale and shining. People stop to take pictures, but I just stop to look, because anything that comes out on film will inevitably be disappointing. It's not the beauty of the flowers that makes it a wonderful day, not really. It's more the beauty of the flowers, the breath of a breeze, the green scent of freshly cut grass, the subtle humidity, the birdsong, the rustle of new leaves, and the absence of motor vehicles. A picture would only capture a tiny piece of that, and would only capture it flat, so I figure it's better to spend my time outdoors, enjoying my day while it lasts.

Model Arab League kicks off tomorrow, so I have to brush up on my History of the United Arab Emirates (otherwise known as Opinions of a Ridiculously Rich Country in the Midst of Grinding Poverty). Fun.

I'd like to write, but I have a newsletter to finish, so that obligation supersedes whatever else I wish I could do. I really liked editing the newsletter, but I can't say I'm upset that I'll be turning it over to someone else. I need to sleep occasionally.