Break.

I had some personal time this morning so I am currently sitting at the local Panera enjoying a nice lunch on a beautiful day. It’s cold since it’s still February and all but the sun is shining brilliantly and my mood is following that lead. This is a good thing.

Since I had some time off I took a ride through the local countryside to clear my head a little bit. I have mentioned before that I enjoy wide, open spaces. I like being able to see the neighbor’s house even though it’s a half mile or so away. It would be even better if I was looking across a lush, green pasture but I can handle a snow-covered landscape.

While the mountains and rock cuts and such are pretty to look at, they’re not really my thing when it comes to a living environment. I would feel very confined and cramped living in the bottom of a valley, especially if it’s a narrow passage; I liken it to living in the likes of a big city such as Downtown Boston, Center City Philly or Manhattan. I attribute this to growing up along the Lake Ontario lake plains at the foot of Tug Hill (along the eastern shore of Lake Ontario). Living on top of a mountain where I have a long view, on the other hand, would be very nice.

This Panera is emptying out a good pace. Because of this, the wi-fi is speeding up. On the other hand a woman just shrieked in glee (and it was a startling shriek) because they now have pasta at Panera. Um, it’s macaroni and cheese.

I like that Panera is posting calorie counts on the menu now. They should include fat grams but perhaps if they did that there would be more startling shrieks.