a walk in the sun
today, I walked home from work.
I work downtown on SW 9th. I live in (far) NE, on 137th, but my car was parked at 99th.
Almost 7miles and 2 hours but it felt fantastic.
Winters in Portland are usually dark, dreary, rainy and cold. But the last couple days have been SUNNY! It has been glorious and the whole city it seems is back out, enjoying it (still bundled, of course).
So when I got off work at 2:30, I took the longer route to the MAX, a public transit train; Portland's "subway."
I have this thing where I don't really like to wait for the traffic lights; I will walk whichever way the little florescent man is lit. Walking in this way, I didnt notice that the opportunity to cross the street was waning and, if I didnt cross, soon I would either have to stop or cross the bridge.
After a great conversation with a co-worker, stopping to help a man who looked extremely lost on the street, mixed with the brisk air and sunshine, I felt energized. Like nothing could stop me. I could walk home.
And so I did.
And what was at once just a fleeting idea became a challenge.
I had my ipod and the sun; the walk was great.
I knew it would take a couple hours. It was 110 blocks, after all. But it felt a lot longer than I expected.
Being a driver, primarily, I was mapping my route like a driver, and imagining it like a driver.
When you drive, it takes no time at all to go 20 blocks, but walking it took about 20 minutes to go those same 20 blocks.
There were times when I thought, I better turn in and catch the max so I dont get tired halfway to the next max stop. But I didnt. My legs wanted to walk and my A.D.D would just have to deal with it. And each time I would pass the turn for the station, I would get a feeling of excitement. I was going to do this!
But, although, I would have loved it much more without my purse, the walk was fantastic.
I love walking and have missed it, being such a 4-wheeled human lately, so isolated and far away from everything.
It was really nice to sort of space out; not be in a hurry, glued to my phone, or worried about what I had to do. I just walked and enjoyed my surroundings, observed the people around me and got a chuckle out of a few of them, and explored the streets I travel on almost daily but dont have a chance to really see.
While it doesnt make sense as a form of transportation on a normal basis, I will definitely be making the trek again. Next time with my camera!
I work downtown on SW 9th. I live in (far) NE, on 137th, but my car was parked at 99th.
Almost 7miles and 2 hours but it felt fantastic.
Winters in Portland are usually dark, dreary, rainy and cold. But the last couple days have been SUNNY! It has been glorious and the whole city it seems is back out, enjoying it (still bundled, of course).
So when I got off work at 2:30, I took the longer route to the MAX, a public transit train; Portland's "subway."
I have this thing where I don't really like to wait for the traffic lights; I will walk whichever way the little florescent man is lit. Walking in this way, I didnt notice that the opportunity to cross the street was waning and, if I didnt cross, soon I would either have to stop or cross the bridge.
After a great conversation with a co-worker, stopping to help a man who looked extremely lost on the street, mixed with the brisk air and sunshine, I felt energized. Like nothing could stop me. I could walk home.
And so I did.
And what was at once just a fleeting idea became a challenge.
I had my ipod and the sun; the walk was great.
I knew it would take a couple hours. It was 110 blocks, after all. But it felt a lot longer than I expected.
Being a driver, primarily, I was mapping my route like a driver, and imagining it like a driver.
When you drive, it takes no time at all to go 20 blocks, but walking it took about 20 minutes to go those same 20 blocks.
There were times when I thought, I better turn in and catch the max so I dont get tired halfway to the next max stop. But I didnt. My legs wanted to walk and my A.D.D would just have to deal with it. And each time I would pass the turn for the station, I would get a feeling of excitement. I was going to do this!
But, although, I would have loved it much more without my purse, the walk was fantastic.
I love walking and have missed it, being such a 4-wheeled human lately, so isolated and far away from everything.
It was really nice to sort of space out; not be in a hurry, glued to my phone, or worried about what I had to do. I just walked and enjoyed my surroundings, observed the people around me and got a chuckle out of a few of them, and explored the streets I travel on almost daily but dont have a chance to really see.
While it doesnt make sense as a form of transportation on a normal basis, I will definitely be making the trek again. Next time with my camera!
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