late night rambling pt 2

On a different theme, I am sitting in the dark in my office looking out my window, solidly 85% satisfied with my overall life state.  Perhaps that missing percent is attributed to a sore hip and not being able to fall asleep, combined with some unsettling creaks in a dark house and construction dust.  It is nice to glance to my left, however, and take in an unusually quiet Boston night.  The sky is purple with no stars, but more like a nice blanket instead of a hazy foggy star-smothering mask.  Everyone's house lights are out, and I can see straight through the lots and backyards of the three blocks to the North.  If we were at the top of our street, I would have a perfect view of the nearby downtown skyline, but its okay because I can visualize it.

Nights like these and being home (NH) for the past two weekends make me remember all of the dark drives I've been fortunate to partake in.  Cold crisp New Hampshire nights, dotted with stars...  sitting in the car somewhere street lights wouldn't illuminate waiting out those last few minutes before it was required to return home.  When it began getting warm in Western MA during college I always looked forward to sleepless nights because it was the perfect excuse for hopping into the Geo Tracker at 2am and getting completely lost on farm roads, back roads, swampy roads... always with the windows down for the benefit of sounds and smells.  I don't get a lot of time like that anymore, mostly because I have so little time for myself.  Or, when I do but am in the mood for company, no one wants to go adventure.  Or (part 3) because I live in the city, and there is a significant lack of ways to get lost (safely!).  I've found it fun to traipse through Brookline and surrounding towns... hills,  reservoirs, sneaky secret paths and the like, all pretty close to home.  Unfortunately I feel the need for something brand new in my life, a new adventure to add on/explore.  Things have been fairly stagnant for awhile in the realm of adventure, thrill and surprise... maybe that's where that 15% went.