window things

I was in my kitchen this morning making pancakes for Erin. Our kitchen is my favorite spot in our apartment, because you can see all of the other people in all of their kitchens in all of the surrounding apartments. I like the feeling of everyone cooking at the same time. Now that it's winter, I especially like to look out the window and see all of the windows steaming up at once. When the sun is setting, this look the best, but I can never get it to come out in a picture very well. One of the reasons the buildings are all constructed the same way is because the gas for the stoves is piped to the same place in each of the units. I think the uniform construction of Chinese apartment buildings is beautiful and pragmatic. At least, it seems that way to me. I'm sure that I'm missing a good deal of what is happening around me on a daily basis. My interpretation of events is wonderfully askew. For example, this morning when I was making pancakes, I looked out the window and there were these flower arrangements in front of the door to the opposite apartment building. I looked at these for a long time trying to figure out whether they were for a wedding, or for a funeral. I'm still not sure. "I'm Waiting For My Man" by the Velvet Underground was playing on my Ipod in the kitchen while I was cooking, which would be appropriate for either occasion.