In search of lost time...

Didn't know it until an hour ago--tomorrow's Good Friday. Need to keep better track of time.

Busy two days. Clients coming and going, repairmen coming and going, computers coming and going. Haven't been able to catch much of a break. Been working on a new ms but floundering there, too. Haven't quite been able to get the voice right.

Finished T.C. Boyle's The Terranauts a few days ago, and enjoyed it. A long but interesting read. Blew through a couple of new stories in the New Yorker, too. Want to hook up with a new novel, but have this crazy urge to go back to something McCarthy, maybe Delillo. Or scrounge up a copy of David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest. That'd keep me busy for a while.

Might have to cut the grass tomorrow. Seems early, but maybe not. Again, haven't been on top of things timewise. Maybe it happens this early every year.

 

 

 

Stray cat blues...

Fighting off the blues. Long night yesterday in the veterinary clinic's emergency room. Three hours of hard living. Thought I'd feel better today, but thought wrong. Can't seem to shake the cloud I'm under. 

Tossing in the towel...

Friday! Early morning meeting with an old friend, some catch up work on the new story, then errands. Lots of errands. 

Picked up a new Poulan chainsaw around 5:00. Gonna getting at the downed limbs tomorrow. Make a trip or two to Rocky Top.

Can't believe it's 6:55. Feels as if I didn't get anything done today.

April, come she will...

I guess it's official. Insane is the new normal. Woke up--yeah, I remember that much--and then what happened? It's all a blur.

Finishes critiques on three N pieces, witnessed a tech crash or two and--poof--the afternoon went up in flames. Tried to make some progress on the new story, but got stymied. Again. And in the same place.

Early morning meeting tomorrow. Need to settle in for a quiet evening and regroup. 

Pretty day. Almost all of the snow from the storm now gone. Grass is green and looks as if it needs cutting--already.

Limb from limb...

Big snow last night. Thought it would never come, but when it did it hit with a vengeance. Tree limbs down everywhere. Maybe a foot of dense, heavy snow. Felt like shoveling condensed water.

Built a snowman. Highlight of the day. Also the day's biggest accomplishment. 

Three new pieces in from N. Got my reading cut out for me tomorrow. Gonna have to get up early, and start reviewing. 

Need to get out the chainsaw, start cleaning up the yard(s).

Everything's coming up roses...

Long day, short entry.

Put in some good keyboard time today. New story coming along. Just under 7,000 words. 

Dug up boxwoods in the front yard, dragged home four bags of garden soil, and prepped the flower boxes for a new round of roses. 

Grass already needs cutting!

Beautiful sunny day. Looking forward to more tomorrow.

 

White noise...

Looked out the window this morning expecting the three to four inches the weatherman promised, and was greeted instead by a light frost. Things changed a little later when I went off to the cottage to write, and within an hour we were staring at a pretty good snowfall. Big, wet heavy flakes.

Did as much damage as humanly possible to my new draft, then hung it up and went to work on the new N stories. Interesting stuff. Haven't been enjoying the essays as much as the stories, but oddly, most of them are better written. Figure that.

Giant headache at the moment. Came on slow about an hour ago, and settled in good. Up too late last night watching Apocalypse Now. Still have a deep appreciation for that movie, and expect I always will. Coppola gave a nod to Michael Herr in the commentary. Was nice to hear. Seemed like more than a little of Dispatches ended up in that movie.

Snow, and more...

Weatherman says we're looking at snow tonight. Been saying it all week, and the most we've seen is a gentle mist. Been cool and overcast all day, but we'll have to see what the evening brings.

Got it a good morning of edits and rewrites. Managed to read three new stories for N as well. Spent the afternoon looking after little things, then killing time at the gym. Been doing some good work on the heavy bag lately. Combinations coming together with authority.

Keep looking for more production out of myself, but man, it's just not there. Not to complain. I can look back every day and see I've done something, but I'd like to find a higher gear. Tough to find a balance between the physical and the intellectual is all. Work too hard at one, you get tired. Work too hard at the other, you get tired.

Nearing the end of the Boyle book. Can't see the finish, though three different scenarios seem possible. Will just have to wait and see.

Been thinking about my dad. Next month, the 20th, is the anniversary of his death. Still hard to believe.

Dialing in on things...

Coming up on the end of March tomorrow. Hardly believe it. Then again, equally hard to believe we've come to the end of another week.

Got out to the office early and got in some good work on the keyboard. Making nice progress on the new story, which is coming in a little under 7,000 words. First half feels pretty together, second half needs work. We'll see how it comes along.

Sun came out somewhere along the way. Felt nice. Hear we're looking at rain or snow this weekend. Lower temps either way. 

Lunch at the Vietnamese place. What's it called? Haven't been out to sniff the sidewalk in a coon's age. Felt halfway human again. Made the P.O. later, and the gym, but had no energy--I mean none at all--and eventually called it quits.

Turned the corner on T.C. Boyle's The Terranauts, and am coming into the home stretch. Only a hundred pages or so left. Good story. Really good.

Promises, promises...

Brief one tonight.

Soundproofing in cottages complete. Amen. Critiques for N out the door. Second amen. Now on to other things. 

Snow we've been waiting for since Sunday still hasn't arrived. What else is new?

More to come tomorrow.

Nature's first green...

Behind by days. What's up with that? Trying to keep my head above water, but not having a whole lot of luck. Keep getting waylaid.

Spoke to S on Friday, had a nice chat. Says he might come out and pay a visit this fall. That'd be nice. Been a long time since we've gotten together. Spoke to Mom, too. Sounds as if she's doing well, and even considering another quick visit. Wish we could get this cottage/office thing put to rest before she comes.

Putting in a lot of time on the new story, working through the rough patches in the narration. Think it's going to be a strong piece. Meanwhile, reading some new stories from N, doing my best to turn them around tomorrow. A good batch of work, though maybe not good enough to push ahead. We'll see. Also looking forward to re-reading MB's Phylacteries. Eager to see what he's done with it.

Temps dropped again. Might be snow tonight. Fertilized today, following this weekend's aeration job. Looking forward to things greening up.

Digging my way out...

Late one.

Heading to bed after a long day. Some good revisions this morning. Getting used to the new office. Got pulled away for a couple of hours, but that's par for the course. Be back on track tomorrow. Build up a head of steam going into the weekend.

Looking at rain and snow here the next couple of days. Need it. Gonna have to scrounge around the garage for the fertilizer spreader. Get a jump on things before the aerator folks show up.

Looking to score a victory. 

Let's call it a night...

Up with another cold. Geez. Was hardly out of the woods with the last one. Snorting zinc and hoping for the best. We'll see what happens.

Still noodling with the new offices. Worked out there most of the morning and into the early afternoon. Getting the hang of it, I think. Still a bit awkward, but that should go a way with the first story I finish out there.

Speaking of such, the new one's coming along. Voice is still uneven, but the narrative's coming together. Should be a decent piece, providing I don't horse it up.

Ghostwriting job on the screen treatment now up in smoke. But it's all for the best. Client was a special kind of nutty.

Jeep had some kind of malfunction this afternoon. Got it going after a few tries and escorted it to the shop. Praying the bill will be this side of reasonable, but not counting on it.

 

 

Green without envy...

Another day closer to normalcy--whatever that is.

Made it to the keyboard, though not for long. Mid-day errands to the plumbing supply store, together with St. Pat's day cooking took a bite out of the afternoon.

Guests for dinner. Corned beef a bit tough--haven't had that happen in a while--but the occasion was well served, so no complaints.

Tired tonight. Still trying to get in the swing of things after the time change. Still looking for that higher gear.

An endless progression of progress...

Must be daylight savings time burn out. Can't seem to get started. Or maybe going is a better word. Miss that hour, man. Miss that hour.

Got my project out the door today. Felt good. Also got the speakers mounted in the cottage, and came close to finishing the assembly on the new desk. Whole deal's still two day's out from completion owing to the wiring of the tech equipment. Should've seen that coming, right?

Policed the back yard in anticipation of better weather. Flower boxes need to be tended to, and a shrub or two replaced, but overall the place doesn't look too bad. Nice to have most of the big projects behind us so we can ease into spring this year.

Read an interesting piece by George Saunders in the Guardian this afternoon. Bit on poetics. Interesting how different writers come to terms with the craft.

Another Saturday Gone...

Up early. Went hard at the commercial stuff and made some okay progress, but ran out of steam mid afternoon. Interrupted by phone calls. Should have seen them coming, but didn't. Spoiled the rest of the day. Could say more, but why bother.