Can you blame me for being utterly smitten by this little boy who walked an entire mile to the bottom of the trail and then ran back for more?
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
My Nephew, the Aspiring (and Adorable) Mountaineer
Can you blame me for being utterly smitten by this little boy who walked an entire mile to the bottom of the trail and then ran back for more?
Monday, June 29, 2009
Digging Out and Digging In
Inspired by a much needed hiatus from school, I have been spending my days of late as part-time archeologist, part-time writer. A rather rhapsodic quest for adventure and meaning, don't you think? I thought so.
My first archeological dig was the top of my bedroom dresser. I've always maintained that the degree of chaos in my house is a precise reflection of the degree of chaos in my life. Based on the state of my dresser, one can safely conclude that I've had months of extreme chaos. The piles that had accumulated were stunning, both in their magnitude and the way they managed to defy gravity ala the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Finding very little of historical value, I gleefully filled three sacks slated for removal to a landfill. I salvaged a few artifacts, but only a very few. (The older I get, the more I embrace the mantra, "leave no evidence.") Dusting the surface area of the dresser was deeply satisfying, due to the amount of dust I collected and the fact that I could now, at long last, see some surface area. I have now moved my dig to the back bedroom aka The Place Where Piles Abound. I fear I'll be digging out at that site for a multitude of days.
When I'm not digging out, I can hopefully be found digging into my dissertation. Unfortunately, but also fortunately, I have to dig in daily with a tablespoon. I'm learning that the only way to sustain an enormous, ambiguous task is by going at it consistently, but in bite-sized chunks. There are days when I'd like to go in with a bulldozer, but then I'd just find myself demolished. (I know this from sad experience.) With any luck, my dissertation will be finished easily before my 75th birthday. And when the happy day arrives, you're all invited to the celebration!
My first archeological dig was the top of my bedroom dresser. I've always maintained that the degree of chaos in my house is a precise reflection of the degree of chaos in my life. Based on the state of my dresser, one can safely conclude that I've had months of extreme chaos. The piles that had accumulated were stunning, both in their magnitude and the way they managed to defy gravity ala the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Finding very little of historical value, I gleefully filled three sacks slated for removal to a landfill. I salvaged a few artifacts, but only a very few. (The older I get, the more I embrace the mantra, "leave no evidence.") Dusting the surface area of the dresser was deeply satisfying, due to the amount of dust I collected and the fact that I could now, at long last, see some surface area. I have now moved my dig to the back bedroom aka The Place Where Piles Abound. I fear I'll be digging out at that site for a multitude of days.
When I'm not digging out, I can hopefully be found digging into my dissertation. Unfortunately, but also fortunately, I have to dig in daily with a tablespoon. I'm learning that the only way to sustain an enormous, ambiguous task is by going at it consistently, but in bite-sized chunks. There are days when I'd like to go in with a bulldozer, but then I'd just find myself demolished. (I know this from sad experience.) With any luck, my dissertation will be finished easily before my 75th birthday. And when the happy day arrives, you're all invited to the celebration!
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