July 14
I have conjugated my laziness. That makes me feel very accomplished.
1966 (Mexico City)
What a surprise! I got home at 9:45, and found the apartment full of people - all the abuela’s relatives, coming to celebrate her 86th birthday. What a wild party! Mari’s sister was there, a real madcap. They played a gamed called cebolla (onion) where they piled on each other’s laps. Wild.
Can’t wait for Saturday. Didn’t go to the Museum again because Chris (Mrs. D.) is still sick.
Raul kept me company for the fiesta. I wonder who belongs to the bunny towel - Raul or Juan? Could be both.
Comment 2023
I looked up cebolla and I am not crazy; it did exist, and the picture looks a lot like Mari’s living room that night, only with grown women of all ages. The Playboy bath towel was a continuing puzzle.
1997
I have done the menus for the week - - now to see how it lasts. Jack and will arrive tomorrow for a 3-day visit, and I am a little concerned that it will mean getting nothing done. Oh well, we shall see. Other than that, it is a dangerously hot and polluted day, a good one to stay inside.
1998
Happy Bastille Day!I have ventured into the garden again, and feel a tiny bit achy but generally good. The result of an hour spent pruning and weeding is generally satisfying.
2003 Polson, MT
8:20 AM. The 4B’s restaurant - exactly the breakfast place I was looking for. Dinerish, with a view. And about the views here:
Oh
My
GOD
I just spent the last hour skirting a huge blue lake surrounded by mountains. If I was from here, I would never leave.
2005
The dean called to talk about the MITH position while I was in the shower. The shower was a good idea on two counts. First, I needed it after my hike and two, I have an appointment to talk with him and Randy Bass about it at 6 PM I need to clear my head and have my ducks in a row before I have this discussion. Of course there is also the possibility that they've decided to ditch MITH and not hire anyone, or tap someone else to be acting Director.2007
I am nearly finished with my Fulbright application. I am excited and frightened at the same time. On the one hand, living abroad is definitely on my bucket list. On the other hand, it’s far away in a very different country for a long time, and I don’t speak Norwegian. It will be good to have it done…and I should also have a plan B.
Oh, I hope to be a Roving Scholar.
Comment 2023
It was not to be. But if I had been a Roving Scholar in Norway during that sabbatical, I never would have finally written Pink and Blue. No Pink and Blue, no Sex and Unisex. No promotion to full professor. Sometimes you have to dump things out of the bucket to make room for other goals.
2016
Might morning pages calm my buzzy mind? It's entirely possible. Having Jim home has been disruptive. It's not so much having him home as having him stir crazy, and unable to drive. There's been an errand a day, and just when I think “Ah!! A full day at home”, he thinks of another errand. So off we go. On the bright side, it's been a good time to chat and interact. He's good company. It's just that for getting stuff done he's not so great.
Now I have done a stupid thing. I left a message and I'm waiting for a return call, but want to get today's errand out of the way before it gets much hotter. Oh well, the answer is not to pick up the return call. Ha ha. I have planned out my work for Age Appropriate, and books to read are arriving. But my glasses lenses are starting to delaminate or something. I need to spend at least a couple of hours a day reading, and perhaps an hour writing. 30 minutes exercising. That still leaves plenty of time for hanging out with Shah Rukh Khan and doing creative things. I am a lazy bear. I have always been a lazy bear. I will always be a lazy bear. There! I have conjugated my laziness. That makes me feel very accomplished.
Listening to my calming playlist is not conducive to productivity. Time to shift to the lively playlist. So!! From a sweet slow Ocean song to Tukur Tukur! Now will I be bouncing too much to write? So what? I just wish I could say Tukur Tukur. Too hard. Nor can I do the dance that goes with it. The number of Indian films I need to watch is overwhelming. I need to assemble a blog list for recommendations. After all, I have now watched more than half of Shah Rukh Khan's films: 49 plus Fauji plus a shit load of video appearances and interviews. He's a pretty fascinating person, himself, but the even cooler thing is being part of a gigantic global network of fans. That gives me energy and inspiration, even though I have no idea where it will take me. OK enough
Comment 2023
Jim has a few irritating habits and many fine qualities. So do I.
For the curious, here is the link to Tukur Tukur.
2019
No writing today, except this and editing the draft of my sermon. Yesterday was fun and productive: walking, writing, creating, correspondence, some junk TV and a delightful visit in Baltimore with Kiddo 1’s girlfriend. We went to Joy Davis's Waller Gallery, which turned out to be just around the corner from their place. I didn't understand all the art (I never do) but I did enjoy looking at it and talking about it with Joy. Then we went to a local beer garden for light fare (nachos and ice cream sandwiches). I had a cider which was quite lovely. Beer is just not appealing to me right now; too hot and muggy, even for beer.
The one thing I have been avoiding more than writing is reading. And I'm going to avoid it some more right now.
2023
A couple of days ago I got two interview queries on the SAME DAY. What’s going on in the world of gender/pink and blue? Is it the Barbie movie? Please, God, don’t let it be the Barbie movie.
Comment 2024
It was the Barbie movie.
2024
I just deleted a couple of years of voicemails on my phone, except from all the ones left by my friend Sandy, who died last year.