5 pm
this weekend, taher and i began working out again after a one-month hiatus. however, this time, i am doing things a little differently. we both used to jog, but i hated jogging so much that, well, i let a month go by without doing it once. so now, i power-walk instead while taher runs laps around me :) i walk three miles, which is 12 times around the track. with the ipod and my visor pulled down low over my eyes, i am able to lose myself in the music and the three miles fly by.
it comes as no surprise that my music of choice is tracey chapman- sure, i listen to other stuff as well- i'll listen to a playlist for a while, or another album- but i return, by the 3rd or 4th lap, to tracey.
we get on the track by 5 so that we can be finished by maghrib, and therefore, by the time we begin our workout, the sun has let up and everything has a pink tinge. the evening breeze has begun blowing and people are coming outside onto campus for their evening walks. a small troupe of teachers' kids, five of them under the age of six, come outside and play in the grass. mothers walk babies along the paths. the hostel kids linger as they walk from school back to their rooms. teachers play tennis on the court. people begin to fill up the campus but are spread out enough so that i hear their voices faintly above my music.
i don't know what it is, but this 5 pm scene, every evening, has become, for me, a way to relax. i am working out but enjoying myself. it is quiet outside, peaceful- birds are chirping, the sky is turning colors... it is as though, here on campus, it is eternally springtime. maybe it's the endorphins from working out- maybe it's the fact that listening to tracey chapman always inspires me ( i can listen to "unsung psalm" or "at this point in my life" on repeat a hundred times!)- but whatever it is, being out there, i just look around and feel content. i see the good in everyone, i smile to myself, i lose count on purpose so i can do an extra lap and be out there for a few extra minutes.
when my parents visited, my dad spent a lot of time out on our front balcony- overlooking the campus, it's actually a very nice view. and except for student arrival and student departure, the campus is very peaceful and quiet- lately i am kind of seeing the campus the way my dad must have seen it- as i do my laps, i'm soaking it in the way he did from the balcony.
this weekend, taher and i began working out again after a one-month hiatus. however, this time, i am doing things a little differently. we both used to jog, but i hated jogging so much that, well, i let a month go by without doing it once. so now, i power-walk instead while taher runs laps around me :) i walk three miles, which is 12 times around the track. with the ipod and my visor pulled down low over my eyes, i am able to lose myself in the music and the three miles fly by.
it comes as no surprise that my music of choice is tracey chapman- sure, i listen to other stuff as well- i'll listen to a playlist for a while, or another album- but i return, by the 3rd or 4th lap, to tracey.
we get on the track by 5 so that we can be finished by maghrib, and therefore, by the time we begin our workout, the sun has let up and everything has a pink tinge. the evening breeze has begun blowing and people are coming outside onto campus for their evening walks. a small troupe of teachers' kids, five of them under the age of six, come outside and play in the grass. mothers walk babies along the paths. the hostel kids linger as they walk from school back to their rooms. teachers play tennis on the court. people begin to fill up the campus but are spread out enough so that i hear their voices faintly above my music.
i don't know what it is, but this 5 pm scene, every evening, has become, for me, a way to relax. i am working out but enjoying myself. it is quiet outside, peaceful- birds are chirping, the sky is turning colors... it is as though, here on campus, it is eternally springtime. maybe it's the endorphins from working out- maybe it's the fact that listening to tracey chapman always inspires me ( i can listen to "unsung psalm" or "at this point in my life" on repeat a hundred times!)- but whatever it is, being out there, i just look around and feel content. i see the good in everyone, i smile to myself, i lose count on purpose so i can do an extra lap and be out there for a few extra minutes.
when my parents visited, my dad spent a lot of time out on our front balcony- overlooking the campus, it's actually a very nice view. and except for student arrival and student departure, the campus is very peaceful and quiet- lately i am kind of seeing the campus the way my dad must have seen it- as i do my laps, i'm soaking it in the way he did from the balcony.
...Natural is the static
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