What a day. What a day it has been.

So shortly after getting the previous rambling up, I left my place. I was heading to a café where one of my favorite baristas work. Was going to catch the bus, decided to walk there instead.

Normally public transport would be fine, but in this particular instance I was able to do the walk in less time than it would have taken to wait for the bus, then walk from the bus stop. It was a walk slightly over forty minutes, too. Normally fifteen minutes to drive there, too. At most.

It was a nice enough walk. Good tunes playing, pleasant temperature, all those things. And it was quiet, too, which was also appreciable. Just a nice, quiet and easy walk.

I walked through Campsie and went past a place there a bunch of people I used to know lived at one point. This is going back years ago, and I spent a bit of time there. Probably not as much as I think I may have, but it was enough. It looked mostly the same, just a little bit older. A little bit more worn out. I’d been past the place a good few times over the years, and this time it was more just a place I had been to a few times than it was anything else, and I could appreciate that. I could appreciate it not being much of anything to me, but those memories will come back at some point, I imagine.

What affected me was walking past Cooks River. I saw the pathway that runs along it, and whilst I still live near the river, it’s not the same. I realised I missed the area of Croydon Park that I was walking through, and I missed being able to walk that bit of the river freely. Where I am now, it’s fine. It’s nice. It’s not the same. Never is, really.

But I thought about the space, and I remember during lockdown walking along there and seeing more birds out than I previously had, and it was quite wonderful to witness. It was incredibly pleasant. And the space was pleasant at almost any given time, anyway. A breeze blowing through felt better than in other areas, somehow.

But I found myself missing it heavily, and wanting to be back there, freely. Be back there with a person I no longer know, walking along, taking it all in. Appreciating the space for what it is and appreciating that time I’d have with them, and the only aim is to just head to a point and head back, and take it easy. Take it all in and be at ease in life, because that’s about all that would need to be done, walking along there, seeing some other people. Walking along and hearing birds and seeing some, and enjoying life as it is. It’d be wonderful. But things change, and the areas we leave are images we remember. They’re not the same when we return.

And so I got to the café and spoke with the barista a bit, and then I walked back, once again doing the walk faster than I would have if I waited for the bus. A bus I could’ve caught did go past at one point, but I still managed to get back to where I live faster than if waiting for the bus I was “meant” to wait for.

The walk back was as uneventful as the walk there. Nothing too interesting. Not many people around still. Just an easy walk back to where I live, albeit a rather sweaty one. I was pretty wrecked by the time it was all over, and then I head to head out once more, this time to look at a vehicle, and that was less eventful than the walk. Less draining, too, which was fine by me. I prefer to be less, rather than more drained. Not sure why I’d want to be feeling things more when I can be feelings things less, though I’m feeling the drain quite heavily right now. The way it goes and all that, really. And now I sit here, going on about nothing, trying to stave off fatigue for a little bit longer so I can try and make sure the day hasn’t been a waste of sorts.

That walk took it out of me, but it was necessary, I think. I’m feeling it. I’m feeling exhausted. I need more exercise. I’ve let myself go a bit too much, so it’s time to get back into the swing of things. Just get back into being fit and staying fit. And healthy. Need to stay healthy, too. Need to try, at least. Doing an absolutely awful job of that at the moment, but I will keep trying.

I need to probably stop thinking about the past so much, too. What was was, and I’m still here. I’m still alive, trying to get on with the getting on. Trying to keep my head above water. Trying to not slip into some sort of obsolescence. Just need to keep going and not think of times that perhaps I consider as being better than where I currently am. Just need to keep on going.

And so, what else is there to say? I was hoping to get a bit more out of talking about walking, but  maybe I should’ve written this earlier in the day. Had I done so, I imagine I would’ve gotten a better result. But sometimes these things happen. Sometimes you think you’re gonna get something done and then you don’t, and when you get to it the moment has passed. There are worse things in the world, really. This is okay. The day was good, it started well. There was some sadness and a good deal of joy, and now I’m here, taking it easy. And soon I will be asleep, potentially dreaming up some sort of experience.

The time it took to write one thousand words: 16:54:78

Bit slow and the writing is quite lacking.

Written at home.