casually inspecting the universe

Ok, so I'm mildly paraphrasing Irwin Shaw but that is sort of one of the joys of not being trapped in a car, and I think I'm going to miss that in Southeast Asia where I've been able to tromp around the world and "casually inspect the universe" There's such a great joy of just sitting and watching people, seeing what they do in that in between sphere of being completely open in the public, but with that anonymous feeling of being lost in the crowd, people letting down their guard, taking a short nap, gettting lost in music, texting away, or playing on their PSPs. I'm going to miss that when I get back to the states. Our cars create our own little private universe, separate from others. We don't intersect much with the rest and unless we're being driven it's hard to catch it. Ever notice that familiar roads look different when you're being driven by someone else? That abiity to go at a pace where I can soak in the world around me is going to be something I'm going to miss.

Oh yeah, I guess I'll miss watching the "Girls in their Summer Dresses" as well.