Bloggin' On: Odds and Ends

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Hello again and welcome to another installment of Bloggin' On, the section of A Certain Point of View where I don't feel compelled to review movies, books, music, or computer games. I love reviewing; it's something that I have done since I was a 10th grader at South Miami High, and I'd like to think that I'm pretty good at it. But sometimes I wake up in the morning and I have no freakin' idea what I'm going to write about...and today is one of those days.

As I write this, it's 3:21 PM Eastern Time, and it's a nice sunny afternoon. Outside, the temperature is 82℉ (31℃) under mostly sunny skies. I have not ventured outside today; I should, but going for walks and meeting the neighbors is a habit I eased out of once I left my hometown of Miami for another part of Florida in early 2016. Maybe I'll start walking around the block at some point in the future...just not today. My heart's not in it.

I am, however, thinking about changing my routine, at least a little bit. I like sitting in my office and spending time in front of my computer - writing, hanging out on social media, getting some news (although I do miss reading the morning paper every day), and gaming. But I have come to realize that that's all I do now in my corner of Florida. In my past life, even before Mom got sick and eventually passed away, my routine was far more varied. I went out to hang out with friends and neighbors; I went to the movies on my own; I went to one of the two pools in East Wind Lake Village, a book in hand, and would lay back on a deck chair and read out in the sun. Sometimes, if I had to go to a client's house and do some writing work. I would do that. Or, more prosaically, if I noticed that we were running out of milk, eggs, or cereal, I'd walk to the nearby shopping plaza off West Flagler Street and 97th Avenue and go grocery shopping.

A view of the canal that runs north-to-south parallel to North West 97th Avenue in Miami. (Photo Credit: Alex Diaz-Granados)

Where I live now, the distance between home and the nearest shopping plaza is ginormous. I've never attempted it, but it's quite a long walk. Heck, the nearest Winn-Dixie is 2.1 miles away; according to Google Maps, it would take me between 43-48 minutes to get there on foot. (In contrast, the Winn-Dixie near my old house was a third of a mile away.)

I suppose that I am feeling more than a little homesick today. I've always been someone who doesn't mind staying at home most of the time, but until I left Miami, I was more independent and could go out if I wanted. Here...it's not the same.

So, yeah...I do think that my routine needs some changes.  Maybe I should start by spending more time outside my office (unless, of course, I am working on a writing project) and in other parts of the house, such as the TV room or maybe the living room.

Well, that's it for today, Constant Reader. I think I'll wander out to the kitchen and fix myself a snack. So, until next time, I'll catch you on the sunny side of things.