a nice weekend

Well, I finally made a small step towards creating the type of community I want. I had a half dozen close (though some are new) friends over for dinner. It was the kind of meal I enjoy being a part of. Lots of food, lots of wine, some simple dessert with good conversation, music and people. The kind of meal that can run on for a few hours and you don't mind because you like who you are with. Like anything it is always a bit delicate trying to pair up complete strangers (none of the four people I invited had met before that night) but it worked out pretty well. I hope to do this again every few weeks going forward. Hopefully the combination of free food, booze and good company will make it easy for others to want to participate.

I also forgot how much fun cooking is. I had fun pairing all the items together tonight. Yesterday I saw a chicken and I had been wanting to try to bake an entire chicken for sometime. On the way home from church I saw some guy selling rutabegas which I decided to cook along with the greens. I treated them like collards which meant slow cooking with a little vinegar and lots of bacon and onions. I took the roots and paired them with some cous cous, nuts, dried cranberries and at the suggestion of some recipe online, dill and vinegar (for which I just used pickle juice). I like how it forces you to be under the gun to balance all the competing cook times, to monitor things so they don't burn and the creativity that comes from being able to literally just throw things together and tweak them to get the flavor just right. It really is an art. It also really allows me to flex my intuition in an unrestricted way. I can put whatever I want into a dish as long as it tastes good. There are no rules. It's a free for all. Few things in life offer so many open-ended possibilities, immediate gratification and a way to share with others in a way that is easily accessible. I hope I can continue this. I think it would entertaining and could really enrich my life.

We also had a brief conversation about where people make eye contact. I am a mouth gazer, but all of my friends rely on the eyes. Didn't realize I was an oddity. On an unrelated note (though tied to odd habits) I also sit when I wipe, I didn't realize there was any other choice.

I also attended the Quaker church again today. It was nice. I felt very centered there. The small group who attend (1-2 dozen people) all seem very relaxed (no surprise there) and it tends to be contagious. I have left with a very clear sense of purpose after leaving each week. Silence is not native to me, was very hard to adjust to, but has illuminated how noisy my mind is. It's like a Manhattan street at 5pm on a hot summer day - one is constantly bombarded by exhaust fumes, the smell of garbage and urine, cars honking, strangers bumping into you, aching legs from walking everywhere, the low murmur of a hundreds of AC units, dogs parking, strangers chatting. It's a cacophony and not all that different from what is going on inside my head when I pause to listen. Slowly I am able to quiet the sources of each noise. Then I can slowly let the slightly deeper thoughts buried within, bubble up. Only then do I find a voice that actually provides some measure of peace, clarity and direction. Being in the presence of others seeking a similar goal makes the process easier. Even though we sit in silence I feel like we are strongly encouraging each other.

I also attended an interfaith gathering at the convention center. It made me happy to see so many familiar faces there. My journey over the past few years has involved meeting and interacting with people from a variety of faith traditions. Being there today and feeling the sense of community felt like it was a bit of a family reunion. It's also hard to believe there is that much potential diversity within our small city. There were probably 30 different groups there and hundred (maybe even a thousand) attendees.