Skip to main content

Solitude

I seek it.  I thrive with it.  It recharges me.

Amidst others of my species, even the near ones there is a limit.  While my most loved ones provide the emotional structure and scaffolding from which I nourish, they too can in return draw from me and in that it is tiring.

Solitude is blissful.  It allows the mind to wander or not at all.  One leg in front of another and nature doing its work is the best case scenario.

So I set out early this Sunday to a hill not far.  It was amazing to watch the early fog rise and then get chewed up as the thermals began to form and the breeze further broke up the clumps of moisture.

My hike began with meeting a horse.  A 15 year old and its 60 year old lady owner.  Grazing in the parking lot.  The horse I later would realize was having a morning snack before his partner rode him up the hill I was about to climb.


Not many folks out early although some ardent ones were returning by the time I got going.  It is a pleasant couple miles up to the summit, which is more like a plateau overlooking the valleys below.


Max altitude gain was about 1200 feet.  Not bad at all.

In order of audio appearance I heard a bunch of Jayz (not the singer but the blue kind); a flock of geese migrating somewhere, crickets up at higher altitude and a lone seagull quite far from sea.

I did witness some Koi at a 1000 feet.  That was a surprise, swimming in a water tank meant for the bovines that wander the hills.  Wonder if some pet owner just gave up.  Seems a steep climb to get rid of them though.


Mostly I did not see other humans except when I was almost done descending back to my car.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Of chocolates

I like chocolates. Godiva Dark with Almonds - not sure of the naked woman on the horse to be the icon of some choice cocoa based products but tastes good. Started in Belgium but now owned by some Turks. Cadburys - Fruit and Nut Milk Bars - awesome combination of dried fruit pieces along with a medley of nuts makes your toungue dance - started by a Brit now owen by Kraft USA. Lindt Hazelnut spheres - made by a Swiss confectioner are divine balls that melt in your mouth with a lingering nutty taste Ghirardelli Milk Crisp Squares - crunchy and light these milk squares are easy on the palate but pack some serious calories - all good I say! Originally founded by an Italian who moved around till he landed in SF Bay today also owned by the Swiss Lindt empire.

Columbia SC

 The Palmetto state.  One of the confederate kinds. History dating couple centuries back.  We visited the capital yet again this time to take in the SC State Museum. Occupying the former digs (literally remodeled) of an erstwhile cotton mill this structure is an amazing piece of reimagination.  Four floors of excitement for kids and young at heart alike. Located on the shores of the Congaree River formed when the Broad meets up with the Saluda River, this edifice is approx. 60 years old.  The front of the building has a more modern planetarium that was added about a decade ago.  The museum itself has different areas of interest segregated on each of its four floors. The first floor has gift shop and a diorama of some of the local geography including the swamps and the state beaches with audio guides to help understand what fauna thrives locally. The second floor is all about natural history and showcases animal kingdom that may have survived on this latitud...

Cost of entrepreneurship

Last night I attended a guest lecture on the subject of disruptive technology and entrepreneurship.  Lecture was free but it was used as a pitch by the University that hosted it to attract new customers. The speaker was somewhat respectable fellow who happened to hail from India and spoke eloquently.   One of the key message was around how the professors in this university were ranked among the very best money can buy. Cost of the MBA program mere $110,000 and oh we also buy some dinner if you have late class.  So now the math is simple-  is learning to be entrepreneurial worth the cost of entry? That is assuming you end up being one.   What of those that do not?  or the ones that are not successful at being the entrepreneur?  Is that being a pessimist before even being handed the glass. What I found strange is that people will bet big money on the glimmer of hope that they might just make a entrepreneurial debut and hit it big.  The unive...