Sunday, January 4, 2009

Why my legs want Saturday renamed "the day of needless torture"


Yesterday: Gave the car a day off, (because not driving 500 miles a week anymore isn't enough of a break), took the bus into town, (with the added bonus that you can read on buses not really happening since I forgot to bring "The Plague" with me). Saw a creepy dead rat oozing red in an alleyway parallel to O'Connell's St, (extra creepy because I know from the book what happens next). Left Mr Variouscushions-to-be in the region of Boyers to find a tablecloth (which I really like now we have it, but couldn't stand being around so many curtains long enough to help with). Went to the famous Winding Stair to correct the bookless situation (a bit intimidatingly cool, and I couldn't see the stairs, maybe they're behind the curtains? but I managed to find something). Reunion - then lunch, followed by a long walk out along the quays to IMMA - (saw some cool stuff - todays photo is of an urban drawing that kind of reminds me of a living organ). Followed by another long walk.... all the way.... home. About 8 miles in all, another couple of stops along the way, first time ever to cross the M50 on foot - on a bridge, (not that I've crossed it by foot any other way).

I always used to think that wherever you go in life you leave a shadow, an outline of yourself, that is stronger or weaker depending on the time spent, so in a car the trail left would be of your body floating along in a seated position, fairly faint where you've gone fast, or solid in the parts where you got caught in traffic. I used to be obsessed with making sure I had covered my house completely in this way, that I had sat in every possible corner. I imagined sometime in the future you could flick a switch and see the shape of everywhere you had been, or even where you'd crossed paths with others, taken the same journey or whatever. Anyway, as of yesterday, it feels like for the first time ever I have a solid line (cos you only get a solid line when walking) going all the way from here right to the city centre: Kind of feel more connected.

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