I planned to just, well, eat. Dine al fresco, at that. Went to Centro for an early lunch, then Glam Doll (hadn't been there in a long while) for a mid-afternoon snack (it was a shake; bought donuts to bring home), then Bebe Zito at the new Eat Street Crossing to eat cheese tots as, well, another mid-afternoon snack. Had Glam Doll in the car as I waiting for my psychiatrist to call, but he was an hour late, and by the time he called, I was about to get my tots at ESC (I think we have rescheduled for tomorrow). But Centro and ESC were both outside.
I used to not be a fan of eating outside. The wind, the bugs, the sun beating down on you -- didn't seem to be an ideal combination to eat, you know? The pandemic changed my perspective some; I was wearing my mask, but I now seek dining out as an excuse to take it off and keep it off. Also, I keep remembering the winters we have, not just with the cold but with the snow. Because of that, over the course of a year, we Minnesotans don't have too many days in which we can dine al fresco. Moreover, there are some days when it's too darn hot, and that narrows down the days you can do what I did twice today even further.
Because of all that plus the (for lack of a better term) perfect storm of summer conditions, I made it a point to eat out. And there are a few things I noticed about myself today. First of all, I am still way too in my head for my liking. At Centro I was scrolling through my phone; at Bebe Zito/Eat Street Crossing I was lamenting how my therapist missed our appointment again and when I could reschedule. I had to be conscious of what I naturally do, basically wipe my mind of these thoughts, and just look up and around me. And when you just unplug from your phone and your brain and just look up at the sky, then around at the other people fortunate enough to enjoy the workday (some of whom are gorgeous women showing off their flat bellies), it's pretty nice.
So it hit the mid-seventies this afternoon, I think. No chance of rain; not great for our deepening drought, but I selfishly take today without it. Dewpoint in the forties, so it was not humid at all, and that's huge. No wildfire smoke from Canada nor activated ozone, so the air quality is as good as it can be, and that will be an important factor to mind as, unfortunately, knowing what the Air Quality Index is during the summer will be a part of Our New Normal. Those pretty much are the reasons why this was a Top 10 Weather Day.
But ...
Well, it wasn't really windy, but there was a rogue gust of wind that blew a few of the scraps on the tray of cheese tots off my table at Eat Street Crossing. That's a reminder of the dangers of outdoor dining. Moreover, while eating under the sun sounds great, I was reminded that actually eating under the sun isn't. The patio at Centro put up these triangular-shaped shades that only caught parts of the chairs and tables under them. I was standing near a table, figuring out if I wanted to sit there and, if so, which chair to sit on when the sun's rays started to bother me a tad. I figured out a seat where the rays would be blocked by the shade the whole time I was there. Better yet, the patio at ESC has a lot of trees. Still, I took a seat while a stray cloud passed in front of the sun. When that cloud cleared, the sun warmed me and made me uncomfortable enough to find a part of the table that would be shielded by the branches of a tree.
Also, there were more clouds than I thought there were going to be today, especially around 11:30, when I was at Centro. And actually, that was great. In those several minutes I had the temperature and the dry air and the good air, but I didn't have to worry (at least as much) of getting shot with radiation. That's why, for me, my perfect weather would be sixties (maybe even fifties), no humidity, good air and overcast skies, but with no chance of rain. Today was fantastic, but my little, downcast heart would be ecstatic over a fall-like day such as that.
I finished up my afternoon out with a brisk walk at a nearby park. I have seen many articles, especially the last couple years, tout the underrated health benefits of walking (such as this one), especially walking in nature (such as this one). And while I think just being outdoors in this type of weather is beneficial, I don't know if walking down a street next to buildings is the same as walking in a park, so I made a point of doing that. Got lost in it, though I found my way out to get home for dinner in time. But again with the sun. Walking underneath the sun's rays is, well, acceptable. You are pushing yourself through air, which cools you down. Also, if you want, you can walk under shade, and I was in the park most of my time there and so I was under tree cover. But standing in the sun is like being a sitting duck. When I was stationary, I just felt the radiation infiltrating my body. That thought doesn't thrill me, so I kept walking. Does not liking standing underneath the sun mean I should in fact hate days like this?
This might be a ponderous, navel-gazing blog post. But still, this was a perfect weather day, yeah-yeah ...
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