Enjoying city parks

After the blues of the last 2 days, the crips autumn weather was perfect today for a little outdoor outing.



In Cary, the Koka booth amphitheatre hosted the Indian Diwali festival, an all-day celebration of Indian culture with music, dances, food, drinks, merchandise and kids activities. It was the perfect entertainment for us and Kevin, not just because I love Indian (and Thai) food, but also because the scenery and multi-cultural event seemed the perfect antidote to the polital right-wing moral high-ground stuff you hear so often on the airways these days and which gives me the chills. Growing up in a pretty liberal country, I'm a fervent believer in the 'live and let live' motto.


It was the second time in a couple of weeks we went to the Koka booth amphitheatre. The previous time was for Hopefest, a musical fundraiser for Aids research, featuring Aimee Mann and the Indigo Girls. This is something this area can be proud of: the city parks and family amenities are excellent. There are playgrounds, parks, lakes, picnic areas, museums, etc. which are well-maintained and mostly free. When the weather is good - which it usually is in autumn and spring - it makes it easy to find places to go to with a family. It's not something you'd want to do all the time - lest you want to feel like the waltons, but it makes for a nice change of pace now and then.



Kevin discovered today he loves Indian 'mango lassi' drinks (mango pulp, yoghurt, milk & sugar), but prefers ice-cream over samosas. He also preferred the ducks in the lake over the indian dances - though the shiny rhinestones on the dresses did meet with his approval. He's funny.
All in all, it was a nearly perfect day, and allowed me to forget for a bit that I just lost my job....or actually, forget isn't the right word...it seemed less importance. In the grand scheme of things, eventhough we often let ourselves be defined by what we do at work, when all's said and done, family and friends are so much more meaningful.