Health

I thought I would mention, should I need to refer to a date when asked, that I have lost my appetite. For the past two weeks, I've had no desire to eat dinner. I have had every desire to cook, though!

Suicide

I was driving tonight and came upon a group of three people walking along the sidewalk. I may have been driving ten miles over the 35mph speedlimit, but as I got closer, one of them stepped out into the street, her back to me. She was wearing tight jeans and yellow uggs. I swerved out of her way and honked furiously. I was livid. She was drunk. Maybe she was nudged a little by one of her male counterparts in play. Why die near Christmas? Why do that to me...

Meetings

I used to hate meetings at my old job in my old company. They were very unproductive and demoralizing. It was a lot of people enjoying the sounds of their own voices. At my new company, I love meetings. I want meetings every day. I wonder if this will get old.

Glean

I have been trying to use "glean" in a sentence for weeks. Will someone please give me an opportunity to explain that something may be gathered bit-by-bit or slowly?

Snow

I walked outside this morning to find it snowing in our driveway. The flakes were shining in the light of my yellow headlamps. I always remember the first snow. But it was not snowing anywhere else -- it was only snowing in our driveway.

The M-Word

My elderly step-grandmother asked me about m-- when I had the pleasure of seeing her during a brief family reunion. "Are you going to get m-- before your Papa dies?" she asked. My breath choked in my throat the way it always does, and I hope she took this to mean that I objected to the question both physically and metaphysically.

But with equal offense, I returned: "Well, when is Papa going to die?"

Happy

Why can I only write when I'm happy?

Productivity

I discovered a way to stimulate my brain during otherwise menial computer work: listen to the biography channel. I successfully formatted a manuscript while listening in horror and fascination to Lizzie Borden's life story. Did you know she was from Fall River?

Commute

I know I have I long commute because the rear view mirror need to be angled differently halfway home. Slouch.

In Love

I hope my career lasts as long as my relationship: I want to die in the arms of my beloved while editing a paper.

Socially Acceptable Caveat

We're clearly missing a caveat on the list of socially acceptable ways of starting a conversation:
"I don't want your advice on this issue, but I want to tell you about my problem..."
I'm led to believe that it isn't on our list because it's fairly modern.

Leaving

Would you rather be left for good, or left and returned to repeatedly? It's not fair that you mentally and emotionally disappear, but still sit there with that abandoning look on your face.

Honey

On the way to work, I pass a huge field with a huge house at the end. The grass is very well kept and a mist hovers over it in the early morning, which is very haunting. Especially when you don't try to see detail in the house at the other end. It looks like a large, gray-yellow mansion. At this end there are some very odd structures that could be abandoned bee colonies for honey harvesting.

I imagine photographing a child near them, sitting quietly on a small quilt with delicate China and teacups with a beloved stuffed animal. With the large mansion in the background and the abandoned bee colonies in the foreground, it would be as if she had taken a picnic by herself and needed honey for her tea.

I think that sort of image is timeless.

Ida, Ida-Ida

Staying in someone else's house alone is surreal. She is expecting this, I think. She has to. Otherwise she would take these things with her. I rifle through her closet, drawers, kitchen cupboards. Her bookcases are particularly noteworthy. I sample her perfume and unwrap fancy soaps; I take Ida off the shelf and start to read. I critique her artistic choices, and agree with almost all of them. I open one of her photo albums and it's clear that she's been to Asia. India or Thailand. I have no hope of narrowing it down, because I have not been to either one and she has not labelled her adventures. She has no need to. I'm sure she remembers where she's been.

Aside from the perfume and soaps, I've borrowed 3 eggs, a few tablespoons of butter, and I've spilled red wine on what appears to be a stain-proof couch. Very, very comfortable and forgiving, right in front of the fireplace. How lovely this place is.