spynotes ::
  March 07, 2006
Lexicon

Words have not been coming to me easily lately. I worked and worked yesterday and succeeded in thinking a lot, but writing very little. This used to worry me a great deal, but I now know that when I am writing at least 90 percent of it is frittering around figuring it out in my head. I think I'm wasting time and cramming everything together at the last minute, but that's not exactly how it works. One of my college professors observed that when I finally get around to sitting down and just writing, it's like taking dictation. I am my own secretary. Last night, after AJ went to bed, I wrote nearly 18 pages (including footnotes) in less than two hours. They're messy, of course, but coherent and logical. I can't explain why or how I work this way. I end up beating myself up for being lazy when no writing is getting done. Then I speculate how much I could accomplish if I wrote 10 pages an hour every day. But of course I couldn't do that every day, because it is omitting a key part of the process.

AJ and I went to his last storytime at the library. The last one ever. It ends next week, which we'll have to miss thanks to the scheduling of his kindergarten screening tests. And by the time it starts up again, he’ll be too old and in school. It's making me very sad. I like our Tuesday mornings at the library. I'm sure we'll still be going, but it will be different.

The best part of our regular library attendance has been that the children's librarians have all gotten to know AJ. This morning when we walked in, one of them came over to us excitedly and said, "Oh, I've been waiting to show you this. I think AJ would love it." She had saved aside a new book on how assorted items in everyday life are made. AJ did love it. We checked it out immediately. I had to wrench it from his hands at naptime so that he would go to sleep instead of reading about how pencils are put together. I think AJ and I will be writing a thank you note to our librarians to leave for them next week.

After we got home, AJ's aunt came over to watch "March of the Penguins" with us. The images are almost heartbreakingly beautiful. I don't even really listen to the text. The music is soothing, but sounds strangely like an instrumental version of Morrissey on valium. I think it's the melodic line -- a lot of moving between sol and mi with a lowered seventh scale degree. I am haunted by it, though, which may put me to sleep. Better than the earworm I had this morning, however -- XTC's "Season's Cycle," specifically the phrase where they willfully mispronounce "umbilical" to rhyme with "cycle."

4 people said it like they meant it

 
:: last :: next :: random :: newest :: archives ::
:: :: profile :: notes :: g-book :: email ::
::rings/links :: 100 things :: design :: host ::

(c) 2003-2007 harri3tspy

<< chicago blogs >>