Monday, February 8, 2010

Monday, February 8, 2010
Waning Moon
Mars Retrograde
Sunny and cold

Quiet day yesterday, which was a good contrast to the previous couple of days. First of all, I’m very disturbed — two deaths in the building in six months, two suicides (one overlapping with one of the deaths in the building) in two weeks in the neighborhood; something is not right. There are a lot of unconnected dots right now, but a general feeling of dis-ease.

As far as the harassing phone calls, it was quiet on that front yesterday, and, to give Verizon credit, they contacted me with a method to block the calls. However, I have to put the block into play online, and Verizon won’t let me access my account. So that’s useless. But, hopefully, the FCC will also do some ass-kicking, especially since the point of origin has a history of offshore scams.

Decent writing day yesterday and good reading day. I watched part of the Puppy Bowl and only the final two minutes of the Super Bowl. Glad New Orleans won, although I wasn’t particularly invested in this game. Lost a lot of respect for everyone involved when they just stopped playing in the final 44 seconds. Yes, it was obvious that New Orleans was going to win. However, play is supposed to continue until the bitter end. But then, we’re not talking the caliber that is a hockey player, who doesn’t give up until the final buzzer, now, are we? Yet another reason I greatly prefer hockey.

Excellent first writing session this morning,about 1700 words on REDEMPTION KILL. Most of today will hopefully focus on writing, switching between several projects. I don’t think I have to go out into the cold. This week, I want to take a look at the exercises for the workshop I’m teaching at the end of the month and polish them a bit. It’s been a couple of months since I wrote them; it’s a good time to look at it with fresh eyes and tweak whatever needs to be tweaked before the conference.

Back to the page. It’ll be a busy week, but hopefully a productive one and with less tumult than last week.

Devon

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Cape Cod View

From a landlocked country to an open sea view — and, more importantly, fresh sea air after a week of being in a place where 99.9% of the people around you are chain smokers.

I’m headed to the Cape today. On today’s agenda is The National Marine Life Rescue Center, hopefully checking into a hotel in Sandwich, and buying some fabric in Hyannis. I’m sure I’ll stop at the bookstores while I’m there.

And then, a no doubt early dinner at the Beehive Tavern, since I’m still ridiculously jet lagged.

I miss my father’s best friend, a history and linguistics professor who taught for decades at McGill University in Montreal. He was my father’s best man at my parents’ wedding in Montreal in 1952, and he and my father used to go out drinking. He spoke 7 or 8 languages, and had a wonderful personality, Even as a small child, I adored him, and he always was generous and humorous with me. I remember almost everything he told me, so I can only imagine how great he was with his students.

He was from Yugoslavia, and had fought in the Resistance. He was very politically aware and adept, and had a large circle of European ex-pat friends around him in Montreal.

He would have been a wonderful resource, both before the trip and after, helping process it.

I always thought he died of cancer. I was stunned when my mom corrected me– he committed suicide, slitting his wrists in the tub one day while his wife was at the market.

A bit of a shock.

Devon