Not much else to report -- last night I read half of the Cather, and then watched TV the rest of the night. Haven't done that in a long time, but I picked a good night, with a very interesting Babylon 5 episode (good thing I didn't catch on years ago to how good the show is or I would be utterly addicted and I don't have the time....) and a charming, if slightly heavy-handed DS9. The moment when Odo steps out onto the promenade...(if you saw it, you know what I mean, and if you didn't, I don't want to spoil it, so I'm being vague) near the end -- that was gorgeous. I knew *exactly* how he felt.... Also the bickering over the Kira baby was very amusing.
Hmmm...guess I'll putter around a bit more on-line and then go get some breakfast. I had planned to spend the next two hours in intensive practicing...but oh well.
9:45 -- Added a story, The Devouring Night and its review to my stories page.
1:00 -- Good class. I only was able to get the first five fingerings down before class, but I'm going to try really hard to learn them all by next Friday so we can play properly. It's very satisfying to realize that I can attain moderate competency on a new instrument much faster than normal at this point -- I hear much the same thing happens with languages -- that after your 4th or 5th language, you start picking them up much more quickly. I doubt I'll ever get to that point with languages (Tamil gone, Polish gone, Spanish going, sigh...) but I seem to have hit it with music, hooray. At least within genre (eg., I'm pretty safe with wind and percussion, but hopeless with anything stringed -- and even with wind, I don't really know how to cope with reeds -- not sure how hard that part is to pick up).
After class did my drop/adds (very last minute) and had lunch, then finished the Cather. Really liked it -- I'd read A Lost Lady years before, and all I remembered of it was that I ilked it and it was sad....The Professor's House had such startling moments of beauty in it -- was a real pleasure to read. I highly recommend it. (Also a fairly quick read -- her prose flows).
Feeling fairly lethargic now, and everything I have left to do involves a fair bit of drudge work (Sizzle story, interview editing, cleaning up and adding files to web pages).. I think I'm going to declare a holiday and go home early. Find something nice and fancy to cook for dinner, rent a movie to watch this afternoon -- generally be indulgent. Sherman's coming over for dinner at 8ish, and since his birthday was this week, I'm wanting to do something nice for him, so I think I'll spend some time cooking. (A big pile of dishes to do first, which isn't nearly as much fun. :-)
This weekend is a little busy -- Sherm and Cliff are having a small joint birthday party at my place tomorrow, and then there's a potluck on Sunday at brunch and a baroque concert I hope to attend at 4:00. I hope to get back to you guys, but you know how it goes -- if I don't talk to you, have a good weekend, and I'll see you all Monday.
When drudgery and care impose themselves,
Each request and promise a feather turned to brick,
Even the strong and stalwart plead for
Kind relief. What wise soul first decreed an
Ending to weekly trials? ...with Sunday comics,
Naps and leisurely brunch -- time to arrange flowers,
Dogs curled at your feet, and a stack of good books nearby.
*grin* Okay, silly, I know. But a five-minute poem, just for you.