March 5 - Walk to the Peak, with a twist

Mar 5 – Monday

A very gloomy dreary day today, so perfect for doing computer & paper work. I spent a good part of the day doing the FAFSA application for each of the boys. If you don’t have kids in college you may not know what this is. This is the application that you have to complete if you want to get any money or loans from the government for education purposes. It is almost as bad as doing you taxes & since we haven’t filed our taxes yet, it was difficult to complete. Of course their deadline is sooner than the tax deadline, so it makes it complicated. Normally our financial situation from one year to the next is not that different, so this isn’t too tough, but this year with working overseas, well, we have no idea what the tax implications are. So mostly I just gave it my best guess & I can always go back & change it later. Bottom line is it took most of the day to get those done & take care of a bunch of other paperwork things.
John was occupied with the sales guys, so I was on my own. I opted for not joining the for dinner, I’ve had enough listening to business. So about 6:30 I decided that I needed some fresh air. It was still gloomy out & looked like it might rain, but it looks like that a lot here. I have learned that I can’t keep that from letting me do what I want to do or I’d do nothing. I decided I would walk to the Peak on my favorite road. It was light when I left & I knew it would be dark by the time I returned, but it is well lit & well traveled, so I was not concerned. HK is so safe, you really don’t need to worry as long as you are smart & have common sense.

I did better getting up, didn’t have to stop as many times as I did before. Felt good to be outside & getting some exercise. As I figured there were many other people out & about enjoying the evening. It was cool enough for a long sleeved shirt, but not a jacket. As I rounded the top it began to mist & actually felt good. I continued around the front of the Peak back to my road down & as I moved along the rain got harder & harder. By the time it was coming down pretty well, I figured it would be as far to go back to the Peak & take the tram down as it would be to walk. The rain felt good & it was actually very meditative listening to the sound of the rain. It eliminated the other city noises that you sometimes hear up there & you just heard the drops on the leaves and the frogs croaking & birds singing. There were some other foolish people out, a group dressed in suits & nice dresses, which obviously had not expected the rain either. They were having a good laugh about their situation. By the time I got home I was dripping wet, but very happy. The guard laughed with me about how I looked & said I should remember to bring an umbrella next time. Took a shower & had a very good night sleep.