It's seasonable cool this time of the year. Within the next 2 months it will reach over 100 degrees and then stay there for several months. We've still got some time and we might as well enjoy the present. I open the french doors and walk out onto the courtyard and take a deep breath. The air is fresh and crisp. The neighborhood is super quiet. It's mostly second homes or nice quiet couples. It being located on a quiet street in a quiet neighborhood was the reason we moved here. Los Angeles was too much for too little. The moon is coming up and my dog wanders around sniffing the air. She wanders off around the corner towards the pool.
The property is large, so I wander around it. Strange desert weeds grow out of the wall and I light fire to them to prune them back. It's not the optimal way to take care of these things, but it works. It also makes for a nice fire display in the dark.
I hear the neighbors laughing and talking now. It's been so long since the noise of Los Angeles that I actually miss it. It's fun to hear people having a good time, and I even dream a little bit that I'm there with them. Instead of just me and my dog in the courtyard, I'm hanging with smiles and listening to stories and then telling my own stories. I laugh at funny things and boo at bad things and make new friends. Soon, my laughing neighbors get in a car and drive off and I'm left by myself again. Wandering the courtyard.
Trying to figure out the next move.
What am I going to do with my life? I need a profession. I need something that will make the people that have signed up for my bullshit, something that will make them proud to have signed up for it. I need to figure something out fast.
I wander about the yard, unconsciously following my dog around as I stare up into the stars. Orion stands right up on the horizon of the St. Jacinto Mnts. as if protecting the Coachella Valley. Leo is racing into space as the Twins are taking a more central role. Taurus and Libra sparkle. The Big Dipper spills it's contents all over the rest of this galactic arm. Things are so clear out here.
Not as clear as things in Pioneertown, but they're pretty clear.
I think I know what I have to do.