I was talking to Kevin a bit yesterday about what I'd go back to school in, if I went back (not that I'm considering going back soon; the horror is still too recent...). And while a Ph.D. in English (with a concentration in Writing) seems to make the most sense, five years is an awful long time. It would be tremendous fun to get another Master's in Sociology or Psychology. Or even computers. :-) Not sure how constructive/sensible those would be, but definitely fun. Although the prospect of piling on still more debt is *not* appealing...
Ah well...pipe dreams for now. I'd be very surprised if I applied anytime soon, which means that I probably wouldn't go in Fall of '99...which means I have a good year before I really need to think about it again.
To go back to the mouthorgan column -- well, let me know what you think. Am I nuts for saying all this stuff? Am I nuts for saying it publically? I'm a wee bit nervous about it -- I've aleady seen a message on my old Chicago bi group mailing list referring to it...I don't know how many people read mouthorgan, but almost certainly more than read this journal. :-)
Anyway. Today's a work day, my chickadees. I may check back in with you periodically...or I may be virtuous and work straight through. A lot to accomplish in the next two days -- Saturday I go back down to the South Bay and won't come back 'til Monday morning...and I leave for WorldCon on Tuesday night, so ideally, I'd like to finish all the time-dependent stuff by Saturday morning. That's finishing the novella for Puritan (which I really rather like this time around), finishing the FrameMaker tutorial, and doing some research and sending out a bunch of letters for Clean Sheets.
I had some bad dreams -- vague anxiety dreams -- all night. I think it's 'cause I haven't gotten anything accomplished in too long (though I did manage to squish "Melusane" into some sort of shape yesterday, finally. I'll send it off to the readers' list for your comments/enjoyment shortly), and my subconscious is itching at me as a result. Kevin thinks I should go get my thyroid levels checked (I've also been more tired than usual recently). Both of us may, of course, be right.
But my tea is steeping (Fortnum & Mason Royal Blend today), Bill Staines is singing to me from my stereo, I had a lovely day yesterday with Jed (saw Armageddon and ordered Ethiopian food for dinner, yum), I'll see David tonight, and generally, life is good.
Oh he told her he was free;
He was as free as any wind.
"Don't you count on me --
for I may not be back again."
Then she touched him oh so easy,
as if he were but a child,
and she whispered soft as willows do --
looked at him and smiled.
She said:
"I have known the wind;
it's been a friend all of my days.
I have seen it dance,
across the prairie when it plays.
I have known the freedom too,
of a wheatfield's rolling seas,
And they have never left me blue,
so play your song for me.
-- Bill Staines, "Prairie Song", _First Million Miles_
10:04 -- Well, still working through e-mail. But getting some small stuff accomplished. One thing I did do was send a note off to Salon Magazine, asking them to present a column from those who do not feel totally scarred by their experiences of multiple relationships. They've recently run a few columns from some ex-Mormons who left abusive polygamous marriages, and though their interviewer was fairly neutral, the respondents were pretty vehement about how impossible they felt it was for a woman to be happy in a multiple-relationship situation. Clearly, the Mormon method is not the kind of thing I practice...and I think it's worrisome that the Salon readership (large!) may get the impression that the Mormon method is the only way to do multiple relationships. If any of you feel strongly about this as well, I encourage you to drop a note to Salon asking them to run a column presenting some other perspectives.
1:15 - A new poem, my dears, sparked by a request from a friend who has a new website, Clematis. It's in my 98 poems, but I encourage y'all to stop by Clematis, read it there and add a poem of your own. My only quibble with it is that it doesn't allow for tabs -- and I love tabs in my poems...