back in black
So far today I ran out of Tampax and Willa pulled me off the porch in order to say hi to a neighbor. I’m fine — some scrapes and bruises and paw prints literally on top of me, where she climbed all over me to make sure I was ok after I landed. Welcome to a rainy Monday at the beginning of a new semester as I scramble to prep courses, even as what I am teaching is still up in the air. However, as Pema Chodron writes, No one has it more or less together than you do. We’re all a mess — it’s part of the human condition. (I’m paraphrasing, but you get the gist).
And yes, I took a long hiatus from blogging over the winter break — a much needed rest and introspection during which I read tons of good things (and plenty of escapism too), watched old movies on DVD, walked Willa plenty, and tried to get into a yoga and meditation practice. Still working on that one.
Good things I read?
- Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking
- Powers, The Echo Maker (I think both of these first two won the National Book Award in their respective categories, a well-deserved honor)
- Chodron, Places that Scare You (still reading)
- Wright, Black Boy
- Didion, Play it As It Lays — truly excellent and remarkable writing
- Meyers(?), New Moon (part of a YA series I follow on vampires and teens)
- Little Children — I forget the author, the movie is very good as well
There’s others that I forget, or read a piece of, or whatever. Yes, this reading thing as both my hobby and obsession means I always have a list of books coming up — a few being:
- Calvin Trillin’s About Alice
- The Thin Place
- who the hell knows what else. Am getting tired of this list thing and should probably finish these syllabi…
You have something else you think I should read, just ping me and let me know. I’ll be here, in front of Alpha, my new iMac, waiting for the god of inspiration to strike.