Oldbie.org

Getting out of bed at 7:15 is horrible, for the most part. The sun has a bleary and squashed look about it. Outside, there's a fug to the neighborhood that doesn't seem to go away until nine o'clock or so. In North Carolina, even morning in September (which is still considered summer by my standards... if I'm sweating at 7:30am, it's still summer) is hot and humid.

But then there's the whole part about having a ton of time to yourself. Which makes waking up early worthwhile. Today, which is my "drive-to-Greensboro-for-school-alone" day, I did the following, all before leaving the house at 12:45:

• ate a bowl of cereal
• made an iced Americano
• sent my Congressional Representatives a letter regarding cuts to student loans, medical care for the elderly and misfortunate, and (once again) the Center for Public Broadcasting
• watched more "Desperate Housewives"... shut up...
• downloaded more "Desperate Housewives"
• read the latest additions/editions to Natania's story
• cleaned the kitchen
• walked a couple of miles with the dog
• scanned six Shakespeare sonnets
• made lunch

Lately, time has been occupied by a number of things. Getting my Tau army painted is taking up a big chunk of free time, but I don't mind. Painting miniatures is one of those things that just lets me get my hands to working, and then get my mind to wandering. It's great. I'm not the world's best painter, but I'm learning.

Also, I'm reading Neil Gaiman's latest, which has been great fun so far. I've moved along, too, from one writerly-inspirer, Bag of Bones, to Stephen King's little memoir on writing... On Writing. Duh.

And when I'm not reading or painting, I'm scribbling my own ideas in my Moleskine, reading sonnets, and trying to be patient with Calli.

Life is good when you wake up early, I suppose. In a few weeks, God willing, the humidity will be gone, fall will be here for sure, and when I take the dog out back to do her business, I want to see steam, damn it.

Posted by Michael Harrison at 9:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mondays are good. I wake up, late if I want, but usually at or around 9, and I have three and a half hours before it's time to go to Greensboro, for classes. I can read, catch up on homework, surf the web, and play with my doggy.

This past Monday, I went out with Calli, let her do her business, and saw the fig tree sitting by our bedroom window.

Upon closer inspection, I realized where all the butterflies have been coming from. They've been all over the place.

There the butterflies were, crowded around the fig tree, eating its rotting fruit from the stem. A very intriguing sight, as they were accompanied by what appeared to be representatives from every member of the insect world. Green flies, wasps, yellow jackets, bumble bees... there were thousands of bugs converged on our fig tree. From afar, it seemed like the tree was moving.

I can't wait for autumn to finally come. The heat is starting to get very annoying, and it's September already. Almost October. Smells of woodsmoke and the need for pullovers are requisite! I want to see my own breath when I go outside in the morning, and a frost (which, yes, I understand would probably take out a good portion of the Fig Tree Crew) would be splendid.

Posted by Michael Harrison at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today, more life occurred. It seemed to crawl by at a snail's pace, but then I was driving home, listening to my iPod in the car, and looking forward to a relaxing evening alone. Natania and I spoke on my way home, and we're going to the Apple Store tomorrow. I need a laptop PC for school, because I am there so often, and also for any traveling I do at work. And since she has Cuthbert, a 14" iBook, I figured I'd steal it from her and she'd never notice.

But she did! She said, "Michael, I see that you have taken my computer. Hand it back, please." And I pouted and continued in vain to hide it from her behind me, but that wife of mine is no fool. So we came up with a compromise. I get the iBook and she gets an iMac. And the free iPod mini that comes with it. We're heading to the Apple Store tomorrow to scope out the scene and see how much this will impact our pocketbooks. We're doing well enough right now, our debt is under control, and all checks to lenders are in the mail.

So, tomorrow, Apple Store and probably the Farmer's Market, and then we're both working tomorrow, 3-ish to whenever-ish. If I get a chance, I'll do a spot of lawncare on Sunday, and there will be homework and exam preparation. Tonight, I'm going to work a bit on scanning my photos, our new webpage (IbidIbid.org, which is a sort of online writer's workshop with magazine, but it isn't that right now; just our homepage), and possibly burn some DVDs for the watchin' pleasure. I'm almost done downloading the first KTMA Mystery Science Theater 3000 season... should be intriguing.

We got rid of World of Warcraft. So I'm gonna log on and send my gold to our friends and say goodbye. The end of an era, I suppose. C'est la vie. This too shall end.

Posted by Michael Harrison at 9:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We slept in this morning, which was all right. I did my homework last night, and despite the fact that I knew I had a chem test today, I realized that I really didn't need to do any studying. True, last night I was posting on how I'm trying to do more work and skipping out on studying is certainly the opposite of that little promise I made. But, seriously. Intro Chemistry. This stuff is ridiculous. I think it's the same cirriculum I had back in high school. Remember how to do exponential numbers? You're set.

I handed the exam back to the professor thirty minutes after sitting down to take it. She had four different exams (all color coded...) and had made a seating chart so to dissuade us from cheating. That thing about high school chemistry... cirriculum and discipline. Awesome.

Anyway, I'm really confident in the test. No worries there. I got out of class forty-five minutes early, strolled down to the student union, where I sit now, connected to the school's nascent wireless network. It's been about two and a half hours. I finished up an essay due on Monday for my American Lit class, and now all I need to do for next week is get an outline together for the British Authors exam. It's good to have things done.

I haven't had much of a chance to write for pleasure. I am, however, reading Stephen King's Bag of Bones, which is reading for pleasure. It also has the strange ability to inspire the hell out of me. And, yes, inspiration is like 1% of the equation, but it helps considerably.

I've got a few projects up my sleeve, and after work tomorrow, I think I'll sit down somewhere... maybe the back porch, if it's cool enough (and dry enough... Ophelia needs to get to her drowning, if you ask me), and write 3 pages minimum on the story about the dead girl who meets the living boy on the playground, and they play detectives to figure out why the girl is dead. Sound like something you'd want to read? Perhaps I'll push it off on you.

Posted by Michael Harrison at 9:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

(And I think I know who you are.)

Here are 11 Tips to Surviving a Day Job With Your Creativity In Tact.

I haven't even read it yet, but I know it's gotta be beneficial.

Discuss?

Posted by Michael Harrison at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)