A Late Update from Headquarters

After two eventful days which constituted the first part of my weekend, today was a rather sedate affair by contrast. It's good to have a break from constant stimulation and memorable anecdotes, even if they at times border on the prosaic. Tomorrow I'll keep to the unit and not trudge out again until Tuesday. I've had my fun for a few days.

Meeting this morning was very powerful and spiritually grounding. I spoke first on the subject of spiritual perfection, thoughts which had been running through my head for most of half a week and had even found my way onto my political-oriented blog. Nine other people rose to speaking during worship, three of which in particular were very instructive and quite memorable to me. One man's testimony was itself a one part spiritual reflection and two parts Quaker history lesson, and as a recently Convinced Friend I had not heard the precise story before. It was very interesting. As I have mentioned before, I enjoy a vocal service, since silence by itself is so less rich than when fellow Quakers raise and layer their voices upon the testimonies of others--in, of course, the spirit of seeking greater meaning.

I engaged a woman my own age in conversation, mostly on the subject of unremarkable small talk. The conversation was polite and obligatory, but I wouldn't call it spirited in the least. Have you spoken to a stranger and had nothing unpleasant to say about them or about what was said, but also acknowledged at the same time that the crucial spark that separates a good conversation from a perfunctory one was severely lacking? I was a little disappointed, personally. Sometimes it's difficult to draw extremely introverted people out and as I've mentioned before, Quaker meetings are overwhelmingly comprised of introverts. Someone someday will do a study about the introversion spectrum and I'll be the first to read it.

Yesterday I prided myself on finding a Target not far from a metro stop and purchased a wool knit hat (Southerners call it a "toboggan") and gloves. DC winter started early this season. I also shopped three places for a heavy coat, which I am going to need ever more so as winter chill increases daily. A pea coat ranges anywhere from $250 at a department store to nearly $100 at Target. I'm going to look a few more places before I shell out the cash. One of the patients on the unit says she knows a place where I can get a good quality coat for even less than that.

Then I will look exactly like everyone else.

To conclude, the food at the diner at White Flint was fantastic, though I wish I'd known the milk shakes cost five dollars a piece. In complaining about the milkshakes, I felt like John Travolta's character in Pulp Fiction.