Day by day�
2:20 p.m.
This morning Hubby and I loaded up the trunk with the hazardous wastes lying around the house and garage and unloaded them at the special collection held at the university campus every fall. Dead batteries, used motor oil, paints and paint thinner, as well as an old computer monitor were disposed of. It�s Homecoming weekend and the campus was hopping (this would also account for all the noise coming from that direction last night) and we passed a white stretch limousine parked in front of the chapel just in time to see a bride in frothy white emerge, and I realized that this was the wedding Jenn and Mark and Patsy were going to.
After getting rid of our hazardous wastes, we drove to the Pr0vig0 where we divested ourselves of the beer and pop bottles and cans which had been accumulating in the garage for many months. We also picked up a few comestibles, and on the way home I noticed that the chapel was discharging people through its arched oak doors. We drove onto campus, parked and went in search of Mark and Jenn, who had just emerged from the gloom of St. Mark�s along with all the other wedding guests. It seemed like quite the affair. I�ll have to get all the details later.
Once home, I hung out laundry, watered plants, and trimmed the red currant bush while Hubby and Buddy Boy moved bricks and the cement blocks which had previously lined the driveway into the backyard. We made our maiden trip on the new asphalt, and I must say that it is very smooth. You can still smell that tell-tale asphalt smell though. I suppose it�ll take a while for it to fade. This new surface will make it much easier to shovel in the winter, and we won�t get gravel on the lawn anymore. We�ll also be able to get around the Volvo parked thereon much more easily than before, since it is now wider by almost a metre.
On MSN just a little while ago, zitagsd reminded me that today is Yom Kippur. See, even that escaped my notice, and yet it still marks another repetition in the yearly cycle. I think I need to find something to be passionate about. Any suggestions?
from harri3tspy :
I have been experiencing a little of the same deja vu feeling for year two of the diary. But for now, anyway, I�m committed to the project of writing daily. I find that when I feel like I have a lot to write about, often I have more ideas than I can cover and I keep a list of the extras for those times when I get stuck. I also collect links for such purposes. Sometimes I give myself writing exercises, choosing to focus on something in particular. Often I try to focus on AJ, who is an ever-changing factor in my life. My favorite exercise is to come up with two things (ideas, objects sitting on my desk, world events, works of literature or music, etc.) and try to connect them in some way. Also, if you haven�t visited pieces of you (p-o-y.diaryland.com) you might get some ideas there. Looking through others� survey topics or memes can sometimes yield some ideas too.
from teranika :
my dear elgan, I understand exactly what you are saying, and go through this myself. The only suggestion that I might make: never underestimate the importance of �audience�. I had a terrible time writing my thesis until I realized that I could express myself 10 times better if I perceived each chapter as a very long email to my advisor (a very kind, thoughtful man). I wrote my thesis as if I were explaining the world of planktonic foraminifera to him and him alone. I find that as I change, so does my audience. Sometimes, I am inspired to explain something so that my mother will understand. Sometimes, I write so that my ex from Russia will see New York through my eyes. Sometimes, I want elgan to know. This keeps me interested, and makes me realize that what is mundane to me is something that others may not be able to imagine, were it not for my words. If it helps, I wasn�t reading your diary a year ago, and so your everyday life is new to me. What I find most interesting are your reactions to people and situations, and descriptions of your travels, and quite frankly the everyday goings-on in your department. I like to hear what is normal for someone else in the academic world! Yes, sometimes I skim...but I am not your editor. I�m reading your diary so I expect myself to do that. We write for a number of reasons. Sometimes to report. Sometimes to think. Sometimes to communicate. Sometimes to relive through our own words an experience that we never wanted to end...And sometimes, just because. In this strange, slightly voyeuristic community that has developed around the �blog�, one cannot predict what is mundane and what is wonderful. Imagine instead that you were conveying your life to me over a cup of coffee. Would you write the same things? What would you want me to be excited by? Just some thoughts, and some encouragement.
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