I've been told by more than one person (thanks, both of you), that I've thrown off their morning routine in some way because I haven't been blogging. Flattery will get you everywhere.
The latest news from my life is not that riveting, but here it is for what it's worth.
I'm training for the Kaiser Half marathon in San Francisco, which means 3-5 mile runs during the week with interval training when I can, and about 6 miles Saturday and 8-10 miles Sunday. Why? Why, you ask? Because, I tell you. Because I really like food.
The girls are doing their thing in school. Parent teacher conferences were last week, and it's astonishing to learn that both kids, as different as they are in many ways, are described almost identically in terms of behavior by their teachers. Bright, but too talkative. Engaged and focused, but ONLY in what interests them. Thank goodness they're so sweet and lovable in general - I think it offsets the time the teachers have to spend getting them to stay on task. Honestly, I don't know where they get their susceptibility for distractio
Anyway. Where was I? Ah, yes.
D. has been working long days and will probably do so for a while, as the new employee in their 3 man shop spent too many days sick (here, the word "sick" means skiing in Tahoe until you look like a raccoon).
My mom is very, very slowly recovering from having surgery on her leg for a spot of skin cancer. My sister has been taking her to doctor's appointments and buying her groceries and generally trying to help her take care of herself so she can heal. I'd love to be there to help, but it's 500 miles away. I said to J., "I wish I lived closer," and she said wryly, "So do I."
The rain stopped long enough for us to remember that there's a sun out there after all, but today it is back. What a tease.
The novel is still being written.
Ahem. Let me rephrase that.
I am still writing the novel.
Where it took me 1 month to write 8 chapters, it may take me 8 months to write the last 2 chapters. But I still enjoy spending time with my characters, which is a relief.
There's more to say, but perhaps it's just as well that I'm out of time to say it right now. It gives me something for the next blog entry for those of you who have apparently become addicted to my compelling prose and amazing insights.
Friday, January 27, 2006
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
And speaking of intention...
At the end of the year, a coworker (you know who you are) mentioned that he appreciated some of my thoughts on living intentionally. I appreciate the comment. More than once, I thought about what was driving me to post blog entries in 2005. It looks like my motivation neatly sprang from most of the seven deadly sins.
There was rising to the challenge of the dare. (Pride)
And the promise of sushi (Gluttony)
There were the several positive comments I got (Vanity)
And my keen awareness of fellow bloggers' witty posts and the tons of positive comments they received (Envy)
I wanted the same kind of praise at the end of the day (Greed)
The only two that I didn't really cover were:
Sloth - although a number of posts were late in being written and bare-bones, and Lust.
That last one is pretty clearly absent. Try as I might, I just can't factor Lust into my raisons de posting last year. I mean, no one promised me any kind of pleasures of the body--and no, sushi doesn't count in this case--in exchange for my quotidian musings. It wasn't a case of "share your 2 bits every day and I'll share mine." Er. So to speak.
But I think that's just as well. I think the internet in general and the Blogosphere in particular has that one covered more than sufficiently without help from me.
But what about the seven deadly virtues? you ask. Did they play into the work at all? Let's see:
Faith. Well, it did take faith to believe the year would pass & I'd survive.
Hope. And I did hope that the habit of blogging daily helped me as a writer.
Charity. Hmm. My daily posts were free. Does that count?
Fortitude Okay, yes. There was some of this stuff involved. A lot, actually.
Justice Don't think so.
Temperance With the exception of the Evil Twin / Goth episode, I think, yes.
Prudence Not much of this, I'd say. Not much thoughtful, careful wisdom and consideration. Maybe that's what this year can be about.
Yeah. I'd say It's quality, not quantity, this year. While I redirect energy into poetry and finishing the novel & working on another draft of it, I expect I'll be writing just as much or more than I did in 2005. It just won't all be here.
There was rising to the challenge of the dare. (Pride)
And the promise of sushi (Gluttony)
There were the several positive comments I got (Vanity)
And my keen awareness of fellow bloggers' witty posts and the tons of positive comments they received (Envy)
I wanted the same kind of praise at the end of the day (Greed)
The only two that I didn't really cover were:
Sloth - although a number of posts were late in being written and bare-bones, and Lust.
That last one is pretty clearly absent. Try as I might, I just can't factor Lust into my raisons de posting last year. I mean, no one promised me any kind of pleasures of the body--and no, sushi doesn't count in this case--in exchange for my quotidian musings. It wasn't a case of "share your 2 bits every day and I'll share mine." Er. So to speak.
But I think that's just as well. I think the internet in general and the Blogosphere in particular has that one covered more than sufficiently without help from me.
But what about the seven deadly virtues? you ask. Did they play into the work at all? Let's see:
Faith. Well, it did take faith to believe the year would pass & I'd survive.
Hope. And I did hope that the habit of blogging daily helped me as a writer.
Charity. Hmm. My daily posts were free. Does that count?
Fortitude Okay, yes. There was some of this stuff involved. A lot, actually.
Justice Don't think so.
Temperance With the exception of the Evil Twin / Goth episode, I think, yes.
Prudence Not much of this, I'd say. Not much thoughtful, careful wisdom and consideration. Maybe that's what this year can be about.
Yeah. I'd say It's quality, not quantity, this year. While I redirect energy into poetry and finishing the novel & working on another draft of it, I expect I'll be writing just as much or more than I did in 2005. It just won't all be here.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
A soggy New Year
So the North Bay is much in the news the last couple of days because of flooding. We've been fine, although we've seen some street closures near us, and the waters came close to reaching the front door of D's work three miles away.
We spent the afternoon at the restored Victorian home of D's mother & her husband, and then tonight after tucking the children in bed, have been up late watching The Thin Man movies. D's Christmas gift to me was the whole boxed DVD set - so much fun! (And so much alcohol consumed on screen!)
Tomorrow the girls are back in school but I have the day off - a rare event, indeed. I hope to make good use of the time, which might mean just sleeping for four hours while they're in class. Hey, wouldn't you?
We spent the afternoon at the restored Victorian home of D's mother & her husband, and then tonight after tucking the children in bed, have been up late watching The Thin Man movies. D's Christmas gift to me was the whole boxed DVD set - so much fun! (And so much alcohol consumed on screen!)
Tomorrow the girls are back in school but I have the day off - a rare event, indeed. I hope to make good use of the time, which might mean just sleeping for four hours while they're in class. Hey, wouldn't you?
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