I did look.
I looked high and low for an early medieval woman that inspired me. And then as my reading took me further and further afield I had a revelation. Just because I am a woman does not mean that only women can be my role models. I had been being sexist in my search for inspiration.
Hrabana, then, is the feminine form of Hrabanus, student of Alcuin. If Hrabanus was called Maurus after the student of benedict, why cannot I in turn, as an admirer of Alcuin, be like his favorite student.
This can be a repository of my scholarly writing and thinking as well as space for commentary on the writing and research process. I find the blog environment is quite conducive to my writing persona, and though this is perhaps an unusual format for formal work, if it produces good results then I am willing to be unorthodox.
Welcome.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
WrB: "Ribbies for Nerds"
It took me a LONG time to figure out that "Ribbies" were RBI's in baseball [That's a player's Runs Batted In statistic for those of you with no baseball knowledge whatsoever.]
So then I realized that us academics, authors, writers, inventors - nerds - need our own Ribbies.
Well, actually, I was thinking about how to describe a state of Writer's Block that isn't quite as blocked as it was before, but still blocked a goodly amount. I propose a percentage. WrB 0 - 100. WrB 0 means "ain't nothing comin'", "Blocked as hell", "effing blocked", and "H E L P". WrB 100 is "I got my mojo going", "Leave me Be! I'm writing here!", "I feeeeel good {na na na na na na na}The way that I should now, ba-yay-by", and "Praise Jesus!!"
I had printed out the article that I recommended in my previous post on writer's block, and it was lying on the desk upstairs. My husband said to me this morning, "umm, dear? I saw the article on the desk about writer's block...Are you trying to tell me something." HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA. Oh my. No I wasn't.
Outloud I said, "No, I wasn't trying to tell you anything, but didn't you already know??" I could tell from the look on his face that it in fact had never occurred to him, but he didn't want to tell me because in retrospect he could tell how easy it is to see. He hedged. "Well, myself I have completely written off the month of September. October will be a brand new month."
Oddly, that is just what I needed to hear. Not to trivialize someone else's grief, but this process seems a lot like grieving. It is not because I do not like Springfield, I just was not ready for all the extra stress that impending joblessness, job hunting, house hunting, house packing, house moving, house unpacking, new place, unsettled precious baby, etc. would bring. Even to me it seems like I am whining. I hear millions of well-meaning people saying "get over it already," "it could have been worse," "at least he has a job," "I'm sure this is the best thing for your family." When people say those things to me it makes me feel uncharacteristically violent. Grieving people often feel pressure to be "handling it" and "moving on."
So I am sure this block is temporary.
Actually, this blog has helped me from WrB 0 to WrB 5. Great strides!
This whole blog format is a big help, so I am wondering if perhaps using a blog to work on my work writing is worth trying?
This week is a new week. We are just days away from a new month.
See I make all things new, says the LORD.
So then I realized that us academics, authors, writers, inventors - nerds - need our own Ribbies.
Well, actually, I was thinking about how to describe a state of Writer's Block that isn't quite as blocked as it was before, but still blocked a goodly amount. I propose a percentage. WrB 0 - 100. WrB 0 means "ain't nothing comin'", "Blocked as hell", "effing blocked", and "H E L P". WrB 100 is "I got my mojo going", "Leave me Be! I'm writing here!", "I feeeeel good {na na na na na na na}The way that I should now, ba-yay-by", and "Praise Jesus!!"
I had printed out the article that I recommended in my previous post on writer's block, and it was lying on the desk upstairs. My husband said to me this morning, "umm, dear? I saw the article on the desk about writer's block...Are you trying to tell me something." HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA. Oh my. No I wasn't.
Outloud I said, "No, I wasn't trying to tell you anything, but didn't you already know??" I could tell from the look on his face that it in fact had never occurred to him, but he didn't want to tell me because in retrospect he could tell how easy it is to see. He hedged. "Well, myself I have completely written off the month of September. October will be a brand new month."
Oddly, that is just what I needed to hear. Not to trivialize someone else's grief, but this process seems a lot like grieving. It is not because I do not like Springfield, I just was not ready for all the extra stress that impending joblessness, job hunting, house hunting, house packing, house moving, house unpacking, new place, unsettled precious baby, etc. would bring. Even to me it seems like I am whining. I hear millions of well-meaning people saying "get over it already," "it could have been worse," "at least he has a job," "I'm sure this is the best thing for your family." When people say those things to me it makes me feel uncharacteristically violent. Grieving people often feel pressure to be "handling it" and "moving on."
So I am sure this block is temporary.
Actually, this blog has helped me from WrB 0 to WrB 5. Great strides!
This whole blog format is a big help, so I am wondering if perhaps using a blog to work on my work writing is worth trying?
This week is a new week. We are just days away from a new month.
See I make all things new, says the LORD.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Just One Car
It doesn't happen very often, but it did today, for just a moment. I briefly wished.
"This is one of those moments when having two cars would be nice."
Bill was going to swim at Y, and I would have loved to have gone, too, and brought Nico along. If it were just me, I could still have gone with even though our workout times and needs differ. But Nico doesn't do two hours at the Y when its edging in to nap time. He lasts max of 30 min in the pool. Then he would be so tuckered that home to nap would be necessary.
This moment of wishing last about 10 seconds. But it would not be worth having two cars.
The benefits of having one car:
"This is one of those moments when having two cars would be nice."
Bill was going to swim at Y, and I would have loved to have gone, too, and brought Nico along. If it were just me, I could still have gone with even though our workout times and needs differ. But Nico doesn't do two hours at the Y when its edging in to nap time. He lasts max of 30 min in the pool. Then he would be so tuckered that home to nap would be necessary.
This moment of wishing last about 10 seconds. But it would not be worth having two cars.
The benefits of having one car:
- Fewer trips, fewer emissions, fewer reasons not to walk more! As a matter of fact, when we bought our house in Quincy and our new house in Springfield, we purposely located ourselves so that one of us could WALK to work. We are town dwellers, so that makes sense. [I would say city, but Springfield is not big city. I characterize it as a town.] I grew up in a rural area, so I'm not sure that would work there. But one thing I have trouble understanding is why people would choose to live in a town or city and not take advantage of living in it. Suburb people baffle me.
- Sharing isn't just for babies and children. It is for us big kids, too. Far too many adults have forgotten the manners and social lessons of our youth. I've seen this scene a bazillion times now: one kid has a couple of toys. Another one wants to use one of the toys. The parent of the "stealer" rushes in to make sure that her/his child has not caused a problem with child with the toys. The parent of the toys child says, "No, it's okay. It's good for her to learn how to share."
I am trying to imagine adult saying that about themselves.....squeeze eyes shut....grunt.....Nope. Can't do it. I can't remember the last time I heard other adults say that it was Good to Share. Ususally when I say something to my husband about Sharing, he replays that scene from "A Fish Called Wanda" where the guy is trying to say "Sorry."
"I'm so very, very, ssssssssssssaaaaaaaggghhhh!!! 'F'! 'U'! !!!!"
[I tried to find the clip on You Tube, but to no avail. If you finds it, let me know so that I can add it!]
Any-hoo, sharing is good, doing things as a family is good, and adults really should continue to do things that build character! Having just one car is one of those things for us right now. - Money. First, we have no payment on the one car, so getting a second car would mean a car payment for a little while. And car insurance for sure. When we are ready for a second car, I hope that we will be close to buying it outright. We save up now in preparation for that. If you always have a car payment and never give yourself time to SAVE MONEY, then you spend your life paying A TON in interest. Also, Bill and I are BIG believers in living within your means. This means not buying things you do not have the money for, using a credit card only as a temporary convenience so that you can pay the bill from your savings for items that you've budgeted and saved for but do not necessarily keep that money in your regular bank account. And, for certain, anything beyond the most necessary items and plain vehicles are extra expenditures, and you should never go in debt for fun and perks. Vacation? Perk. Fancy Motorcylce for weekend fun? Perk. New Wardrobe? Perk. Game and Concert Tickets? Perk.
Friday, September 25, 2009
We Found First Street
One time around the block: Oh, right, there's no river here to shape the city so as we come into the city the streets don't start with 6th, then fifth, etc. We're all backwards. No, turn here, we'll have to come around again because Cook only goes one way in the other direction.
Two times around the block: I see the restaurant. Big yellow sign. Is there any parking? What was that sign? It said parking for the "Mall" only. What mall? Oh. There is a sign on the restaurant building calling it a mall. Crap. Only metered parking here. How about this lot? Nope that says it for the diner only. Can we get through the alley to come around? Probably not, and it is impossible to tell, anyway, because there is a utility service truck in the way. In. Out. Three point turn. Turn again.
Third time around the block: Into the lot. Cross the brick street, which is closed off to make it a pedestrian zone. Still has the street sign, though: First Street. A view a little further down shows that it is dead on with the State Capitol Building. This little closed block is probably the one of the stretches of first street left. And into the restaurant for yummy pizza. My huband looks up at the sign and sighs, "I'm so tired of being new here and not being able to find my way around."
Amen.
DH and I have been doing a Springfield Pizza Tour, trying out pizza joints all over town. This was PJ #3. I will eventually post some results of the Duffield's Springfield Pizza Tour.
Besides being yummy, Pizza gives us a purpose for tooling around town and getting to know the ins and outs of the place that we live. And eventually knowing all the pizza places will probably make us feel like we actually live here and can call this place home. My nostalgic memories of living in Regensburg and Paris feel like that those places were an adventure. I explored, I trapsed, I tried new things and pushed my boundaries.
But when I am more precise in my remembering, I remember the lonliness, too. The not-knowing-where-I-am-or-sometimes-even-who-I-am. I think I chalked those feelings up to being a foreigner from another country, and I am surprised to find that they have surfaced here in familiar culture and not unknown place. And everytime someone says, "So, all settled in yet?" I want to laugh, howling laughter with a bit of derision. I usually manage a polite, "ehhh, no. Not at all. So, how are you?" Because I have a feeling that since they could even ask that question means that they are not prepared to hear how dizzyingly unsettled I still feel here. I mean I still can't find anything in my pantry, and everytime I vow to spend the three hours that organizing it will take, something else really needs to be done first before it makes sense to start that project. So, no, 24 days in and we are most definitely not settled in. I am guessing it will take about a year before we feel like we can even start to settle.
So bear with me, if I seem a little edgy about the whole thing. This, too, shall pass, y'all.
Two times around the block: I see the restaurant. Big yellow sign. Is there any parking? What was that sign? It said parking for the "Mall" only. What mall? Oh. There is a sign on the restaurant building calling it a mall. Crap. Only metered parking here. How about this lot? Nope that says it for the diner only. Can we get through the alley to come around? Probably not, and it is impossible to tell, anyway, because there is a utility service truck in the way. In. Out. Three point turn. Turn again.
Third time around the block: Into the lot. Cross the brick street, which is closed off to make it a pedestrian zone. Still has the street sign, though: First Street. A view a little further down shows that it is dead on with the State Capitol Building. This little closed block is probably the one of the stretches of first street left. And into the restaurant for yummy pizza. My huband looks up at the sign and sighs, "I'm so tired of being new here and not being able to find my way around."
Amen.
DH and I have been doing a Springfield Pizza Tour, trying out pizza joints all over town. This was PJ #3. I will eventually post some results of the Duffield's Springfield Pizza Tour.
Besides being yummy, Pizza gives us a purpose for tooling around town and getting to know the ins and outs of the place that we live. And eventually knowing all the pizza places will probably make us feel like we actually live here and can call this place home. My nostalgic memories of living in Regensburg and Paris feel like that those places were an adventure. I explored, I trapsed, I tried new things and pushed my boundaries.
But when I am more precise in my remembering, I remember the lonliness, too. The not-knowing-where-I-am-or-sometimes-even-who-I-am. I think I chalked those feelings up to being a foreigner from another country, and I am surprised to find that they have surfaced here in familiar culture and not unknown place. And everytime someone says, "So, all settled in yet?" I want to laugh, howling laughter with a bit of derision. I usually manage a polite, "ehhh, no. Not at all. So, how are you?" Because I have a feeling that since they could even ask that question means that they are not prepared to hear how dizzyingly unsettled I still feel here. I mean I still can't find anything in my pantry, and everytime I vow to spend the three hours that organizing it will take, something else really needs to be done first before it makes sense to start that project. So, no, 24 days in and we are most definitely not settled in. I am guessing it will take about a year before we feel like we can even start to settle.
So bear with me, if I seem a little edgy about the whole thing. This, too, shall pass, y'all.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Writer's Block
Maybe if I make this post the first in a series on Writer's Block, then THAT would kick it.
But this is kind of cronic, reappearing, and really just one big block since, oh, 1998. Seriously.
But I am working on it, working through it. Well mostly.
I have been kind of stuck again lately. The impending job loss of my husband, and then job search and then house sell and house search and house move and now eternal unpacking and being in a new place and kind of lonely has all really piled the stress on and now trying to unwind and the get the office set up and create both physical space and mental space while assuring that the bébé is being cared for in such a way that whining and fussing do not completely derail my work... in short it is like I need a vacation from myself.
So, peeps, I need to get back in the groove.
I need to read it again, but this article is helpful:
http://www.writing-world.com/life/block.shtml
My favorite quote: "McHugh's rule of writer's block: Writer's block is not the inability to write, it is the feeling as you are writing, that what you are writing is shit. The only way through it is to give yourself permission to write shit. (You may replace 'shit' with colorful euphemisms like 'cow dung' or even boring ones like 'crap.')" -- Maureen McHugh
I can do this. I'll report my progress, y'all.
But this is kind of cronic, reappearing, and really just one big block since, oh, 1998. Seriously.
But I am working on it, working through it. Well mostly.
I have been kind of stuck again lately. The impending job loss of my husband, and then job search and then house sell and house search and house move and now eternal unpacking and being in a new place and kind of lonely has all really piled the stress on and now trying to unwind and the get the office set up and create both physical space and mental space while assuring that the bébé is being cared for in such a way that whining and fussing do not completely derail my work... in short it is like I need a vacation from myself.
So, peeps, I need to get back in the groove.
I need to read it again, but this article is helpful:
http://www.writing-world.com/life/block.shtml
My favorite quote: "McHugh's rule of writer's block: Writer's block is not the inability to write, it is the feeling as you are writing, that what you are writing is shit. The only way through it is to give yourself permission to write shit. (You may replace 'shit' with colorful euphemisms like 'cow dung' or even boring ones like 'crap.')" -- Maureen McHugh
I can do this. I'll report my progress, y'all.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Marching Band Season
That's right, I said it. Marching Band Season. Not Football Season. Marching Band.
Now I do like football. Wow. It's hard to believe that I just said that out loud. It sure did take me a while to come around. I mean I attended EVERY football game in high school, home and away, as a member of the band, of course. And I played four years in the band at Vanderbilt where we played all the home games + 1 or 2 away games. But it was not until my SENIOR YEAR in COLLEGE that I turned to the other brass players and said, "Can someone please explain to me WHAT is going on?" By the end of the season I could actually enjoy the game. I kept up with college ball over the couple of years, and then when I met my husband, he was able to take my game knowledge to whole new level.
But I LOVED playing in the band. I mean LOVE. Watching the band at the HS Football game tonight made it feel like fall had finally arrived. You could tell that this band was preparing for festival. The excitement as four minutes to go in the second quarter as they made final uniform and instrument adjustments was tangible. Everbody checks their fancy feathered hat. Unfortch, we were standing on the hill in the endzone on the visitors' side and I could only hear some of the percussion. But I could see the formations.
So afterwards I have the opportunity to talk to a parent from the school where my husband teaches, which is a private catholic high school. Nico wants go towards the field. He thinks that is the way home - he was so ready to leave! The woman says, I'm sure he wants to play football. I say, I'm hoping for the band. Her: Well, you'll have to pay extra tuition. Me: WHAT?!
Apparently, in the elementary schools, if you want to be in the band it is an extra $600 in tuition for the catholic elementary schools!?! The woman said she priced out private lessons for the WHOLE year and it would not have cost any more, plus you do not pay for the weeks you cannot make it. So, when the students get to high school, there aren't so many who have been in band, and not many want to start as newbies their freshman year. So the band is small. Unbelievable.
Maybe Schools with small bands should consider allowing community members to join in, like some universities do. I'd be happy to march in the band, and I could probably learn all my charts and drills more quickly than most of the students. Of course, that would make festival hard for them, but maybe there would be a way. I would love almost nothing more than the chance to march again.
I think tomorrow I need to play my horn for a little while. I know where it is, and I think I even know where the box with my music is. I need to keep up my skills, just in case! Who knows, maybe I will eventually be able to join a community band here!
Keep music in your life, y'all. It is never too late to take instrument or voice lessons and connect with creation through musical vibration. It's good for the soul.
Now I do like football. Wow. It's hard to believe that I just said that out loud. It sure did take me a while to come around. I mean I attended EVERY football game in high school, home and away, as a member of the band, of course. And I played four years in the band at Vanderbilt where we played all the home games + 1 or 2 away games. But it was not until my SENIOR YEAR in COLLEGE that I turned to the other brass players and said, "Can someone please explain to me WHAT is going on?" By the end of the season I could actually enjoy the game. I kept up with college ball over the couple of years, and then when I met my husband, he was able to take my game knowledge to whole new level.
But I LOVED playing in the band. I mean LOVE. Watching the band at the HS Football game tonight made it feel like fall had finally arrived. You could tell that this band was preparing for festival. The excitement as four minutes to go in the second quarter as they made final uniform and instrument adjustments was tangible. Everbody checks their fancy feathered hat. Unfortch, we were standing on the hill in the endzone on the visitors' side and I could only hear some of the percussion. But I could see the formations.
So afterwards I have the opportunity to talk to a parent from the school where my husband teaches, which is a private catholic high school. Nico wants go towards the field. He thinks that is the way home - he was so ready to leave! The woman says, I'm sure he wants to play football. I say, I'm hoping for the band. Her: Well, you'll have to pay extra tuition. Me: WHAT?!
Apparently, in the elementary schools, if you want to be in the band it is an extra $600 in tuition for the catholic elementary schools!?! The woman said she priced out private lessons for the WHOLE year and it would not have cost any more, plus you do not pay for the weeks you cannot make it. So, when the students get to high school, there aren't so many who have been in band, and not many want to start as newbies their freshman year. So the band is small. Unbelievable.
Maybe Schools with small bands should consider allowing community members to join in, like some universities do. I'd be happy to march in the band, and I could probably learn all my charts and drills more quickly than most of the students. Of course, that would make festival hard for them, but maybe there would be a way. I would love almost nothing more than the chance to march again.
I think tomorrow I need to play my horn for a little while. I know where it is, and I think I even know where the box with my music is. I need to keep up my skills, just in case! Who knows, maybe I will eventually be able to join a community band here!
Keep music in your life, y'all. It is never too late to take instrument or voice lessons and connect with creation through musical vibration. It's good for the soul.
Monday, September 14, 2009
The Da Vinci Code
So I read Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code over the weekend. I know, it is shocking that I have not read it before now. I saw the movie twice, and the end when he kneels at the site of the Grail is truly breathtaking. Tom Hanks rocks, of course.
Astonishingly, the Movie stayed very close to the book in plot, vocabulary and style. But there was some tweaking. The movie seemed to remove all true culpability from Opus Dei, and there was nothing about its status as personal prelature of the Pope being rescinded. Yet, the movie made people entirely VERY curious about Opus Dei.
The movie seems to have made people considerably less curious about the role of women in church and society.
This got me to wondering. There are positions, jobs, ministries, etc. that both men and women are physically capable of doing but women are not allowed to do. Are there any that Men would be physically capable of doing but are not allowed? I can not think of any off the top of my head, but maybe one will come to me.
Astonishingly, the Movie stayed very close to the book in plot, vocabulary and style. But there was some tweaking. The movie seemed to remove all true culpability from Opus Dei, and there was nothing about its status as personal prelature of the Pope being rescinded. Yet, the movie made people entirely VERY curious about Opus Dei.
The movie seems to have made people considerably less curious about the role of women in church and society.
This got me to wondering. There are positions, jobs, ministries, etc. that both men and women are physically capable of doing but women are not allowed to do. Are there any that Men would be physically capable of doing but are not allowed? I can not think of any off the top of my head, but maybe one will come to me.
Friday, September 11, 2009
National Day of Service and Remembrance
Do Unto Others
Did you know that today was the first federally recognized September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance? I did not. I found out through FACEBOOK, thanks to a link from Vanderbilt:
That is something that I can support. Americans pulled together in active love and support of one another during that time of fear, crisis, and uncertainty. I lived in St. Louis eight years ago, and all regular air traffice was halted, but there is a military airfield nearby. I, too, remember cringing unintentionally at the sound of aircraft. I remember being scared. And I am sure that it was much worse for those close to the sites of destruction or who lost people they loved or knew.
But I do not understand why this day of remembrance must automatically gravitate towards a day of glorification for the military, like the Springfield Christian Music station is promoting. I'm not here to knock the military. I simply do not understand why so many Christians, in particular, cannot seem to view the use of force and violence as, at best, a necessary evil rather than as the hallmarks of heroism. Why am I asked to celebrate a day of great sadness with Patriotic Pomp and Circumstance?
Trust me, I am proud to be an American.
I am not always proud of how "we" have behaved, however. I am not always proud of the choices that Americans have made throughout history. I certainly do wish that our national heroes were modeled on servant leaders instead of "might makes right."
So please, join me in praying for a more just and merciful world. Find a way this week to serve others in honor of those who served then and in memory of those who died. Need ideas and inspiration? Try this website!
http://911dayofservice.org/
Checking it Out
Today was my first trip to the library in a long time. Nico was blessedly cooperative (although he is not so excited when I sit down to the computer to tell you all about it!). Honestly, I did not know how to find books I like any more. I hope that in time the public library will begin to feel like a familiar place again. So, Expect reviews of the books I read in the evening, dear hearts! The first reviews will probably need to be a little commentary on the Twilight series which I have ravenously devoured in multiple readings since May and am now trying to break from.
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
Ciao for Now!
Did you know that today was the first federally recognized September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance? I did not. I found out through FACEBOOK, thanks to a link from Vanderbilt:
Sept. 11 is National Day of Service and Remembrance
Vanderbilt University’s Office of Active Citizenship and Service encourages members of the Vanderbilt community to participate in service and volunteerism this weekend in observance of the first federally recognized September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance.
Vanderbilt University’s Office of Active Citizenship and Service encourages members of the Vanderbilt community to participate in service and volunteerism this weekend in observance of the first federally recognized September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance.
Students who are already members of a student service organization on campus are encouraged to participate in their regular ongoing service activities. Students and Vanderbilt community members who would like to join the citywide effort are invited to participate in the opportunities listed below, hosted by OACS Community Partners: [Food Delivery for United Way, Documentary viewing and letter writing, Habitat for Humanity, Hands on Nashville, etc.]
That is something that I can support. Americans pulled together in active love and support of one another during that time of fear, crisis, and uncertainty. I lived in St. Louis eight years ago, and all regular air traffice was halted, but there is a military airfield nearby. I, too, remember cringing unintentionally at the sound of aircraft. I remember being scared. And I am sure that it was much worse for those close to the sites of destruction or who lost people they loved or knew.
But I do not understand why this day of remembrance must automatically gravitate towards a day of glorification for the military, like the Springfield Christian Music station is promoting. I'm not here to knock the military. I simply do not understand why so many Christians, in particular, cannot seem to view the use of force and violence as, at best, a necessary evil rather than as the hallmarks of heroism. Why am I asked to celebrate a day of great sadness with Patriotic Pomp and Circumstance?
Trust me, I am proud to be an American.
I am not always proud of how "we" have behaved, however. I am not always proud of the choices that Americans have made throughout history. I certainly do wish that our national heroes were modeled on servant leaders instead of "might makes right."
So please, join me in praying for a more just and merciful world. Find a way this week to serve others in honor of those who served then and in memory of those who died. Need ideas and inspiration? Try this website!
http://911dayofservice.org/
Checking it Out
Today was my first trip to the library in a long time. Nico was blessedly cooperative (although he is not so excited when I sit down to the computer to tell you all about it!). Honestly, I did not know how to find books I like any more. I hope that in time the public library will begin to feel like a familiar place again. So, Expect reviews of the books I read in the evening, dear hearts! The first reviews will probably need to be a little commentary on the Twilight series which I have ravenously devoured in multiple readings since May and am now trying to break from.
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
Ciao for Now!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Withdrawal
I LOVE Reading. I love it so much that sometimes it is painful.
First, I read too fast, and too obsessively. So if I want to check out a book from the library, I either have to find a book long enough to prevent my reading it all in one sitting or I have to get books in a series and get all of them. And sometimes I have no intention of actually staying up all night to finish a book, but once I enter the other Realm, time stands still.
I'm not kidding. When I am Off-World, people talk to me, I take phone calls, I walk and talk and interact, all without really being there. Out of body experience.
I do better on the 3rd and 4th reads of a book. Better about putting it down.
But what do I do when I have finished a book, or series in this case, and have nothing else to read (that isn't work reading) and am still kind of lost in the other Realm. If you have never experienced this, it feels like being homesick.
I am an addict.
For a while I gave up reading poetry and fiction because I finally admitted to myself that reading was interfering with my ability to be a human being on the planet earth. But I have taken it up again, recognizing that a reading me is the real me, but I am trying to find balance.
This agony feel sharper right now perhaps because the Realm has replaced good local friends of late. Moving preparations kept me too busy and created an inability to remain connected with people from whom I was about to be parted, and here in the new place I do not know anyone yet. Connection takes time.
So I will do two things, three will bring me into balance:
1. I will go the public library tomorrow and get a library card and come home with a book to read that is longish and that I have not read before and I will strive to read it judiciously.
2. I will throw myself into my work, which has too long sat fallow.
3. I will write more, blog, poetry, fiction.
Any other tips for book withdrawal are welcome, y'all!
First, I read too fast, and too obsessively. So if I want to check out a book from the library, I either have to find a book long enough to prevent my reading it all in one sitting or I have to get books in a series and get all of them. And sometimes I have no intention of actually staying up all night to finish a book, but once I enter the other Realm, time stands still.
I'm not kidding. When I am Off-World, people talk to me, I take phone calls, I walk and talk and interact, all without really being there. Out of body experience.
I do better on the 3rd and 4th reads of a book. Better about putting it down.
But what do I do when I have finished a book, or series in this case, and have nothing else to read (that isn't work reading) and am still kind of lost in the other Realm. If you have never experienced this, it feels like being homesick.
I am an addict.
For a while I gave up reading poetry and fiction because I finally admitted to myself that reading was interfering with my ability to be a human being on the planet earth. But I have taken it up again, recognizing that a reading me is the real me, but I am trying to find balance.
This agony feel sharper right now perhaps because the Realm has replaced good local friends of late. Moving preparations kept me too busy and created an inability to remain connected with people from whom I was about to be parted, and here in the new place I do not know anyone yet. Connection takes time.
So I will do two things, three will bring me into balance:
1. I will go the public library tomorrow and get a library card and come home with a book to read that is longish and that I have not read before and I will strive to read it judiciously.
2. I will throw myself into my work, which has too long sat fallow.
3. I will write more, blog, poetry, fiction.
Any other tips for book withdrawal are welcome, y'all!
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