Three beautiful things from the past week:

1. Last night Amani, Sarah, and I met up for dinner and began the evening with dessert at Hello Cupcake! The specialized bakery opened over the summer, but their early closing time has precluded me from visiting them before last night. My triple coconut cupcake merits a return trip at some point.

2. There are a lot of “learn to speak a foreign language” podcasts out there just waiting to be downloaded to my iPod. A lot. What a great resource for the procrastinators amongst us.

3. Monday night after work, I went to a candidates’ forum for the at-large seats on the city council. This is not the first such forum around the city, so I was encouraged to note that while the hall wasn’t packed, more than half the seats had been taken by people of all ages. I haven’t yet made my decision, but events like this help me — and others — to hear directly from the candidates and to make up our minds. Democracy in action…