And, at the same time, trying desperately not to stall.
I have a lot of work to do and a list of things that I can race through. But during the semester when I’m teaching, I have trouble getting started for some reason on non-teaching days.
One of the personal weaknesses I’ll have to resolve before all of this is said and done.
— § —
I just called the school.
It’s such a pleasure to do administrative business (whether in person or by phone) with New Yorkers—I’d forgotten how direct, bullshit-free, and easy it is compared to the circular discussions, overwrought niceties, and incredibly slow and inefficient speech that prevails in the rest of the country.
What would have been a half our call to a Utah bureaucrat requiring note-taking and post-call analysis was about two minutes to the NYC bureaucrat, who gave me a simple, straight answer and a good day to send me on my way.
— § —
Sometimes when you start to get wild-eyed and jittery because you’ve too much work to do in too many different contexts, it’s best to just step away for a moment and get some clarity.
Take a walk.
Take a drive.
Look out the window.
Feed some goldfish.
Write a poem.
— § —
Redbox DVD rental kiosks all have air conditioning units built into their backs to ensure that the DVDs inside them remain cool even when the sun beats mercilessly down on the kiosk exteriors.
When you walk past a row of Redbox machines on a sunny day, the roar can be quite deafening.
— § —
The patterns of scratches and fractures left on the lenses of eyeglasses when run over by car tires on pavement can be surprisingly intricate and beautiful.
— § —
I used to laugh at those people that “self-enhance” with Ritalin or other drugs to enable focus, concentration, and stamina and gain a competitive advantage.
I’m not laughing any longer.
No, not taking the Ritalin either, but certainly not laughing.
— § —
I’d better get some stuff done; the day is half over already and I’m still “preparing” to work.