Small pleasures

Over the course of two decades-plus working in a downtown office building, I've fallen into two patterns around lunchtime.

One, head out the door, as if on autopilot, to one of several casual restaurants within walking distance. Two, eat at my desk.

In the first instance, the pattern is exacerbated by my taste for bento. Not that that's a bad thing, when there are so many tasty options nearby, led by the Saigon Kitchen food cart just outside the Portland Building.

In the second instance, it's nearly always a time saver when I eat in. It's not a problem to edit a story or respond to a writer's email between bites of a sandwich.

So on those still too-rare occasions when I actually take time to eat outside, I always come away mentally refreshed, physically relaxed and wondering why I don't do it more often.

Monday I ate in the South Park Blocks, pictured above. Yes, it was a bento -- but the experience was so nice. Sitting in the shade, with a bench all to myself and watching the noon pedestrian traffic pass me by like so many inner tubes on a lazy river. In that part of downtown, lots of folks are heading to or from the Portland State campus, wearing backpacks and serious expressions or, just as often, chatting on cell phones, seemingly carefree.

I've packed my lunch today. The forecast is for 66 degrees and mostly sunny. Sounds like another good day to break out of the mold and enjoy the fresh air. It's a small pleasure. And it's free.