purposeful purposelessness

I'm at work. Yes, I'm on vacation this week. Don't worry; I'm not working. I'm just using the Internet access.

I stopped by today to take a co-worker out to lunch. She's the only editor on my magazine working this week. If it were me, I'd be close to certifiable. It's so quite in the office. Almost everyone's gone.

And one of my plants is about to wilt into non-life. Sigh. I give it another spritz with water before I go.

All this time away from work has been disorienting for me. Life without a computer. (I have 150 work-related e-mails wating for me.) Life without an inbox. Life without deadlines. It almost feels like a life without purpose. And I'm okay with having a purposeless life for another four days.

a day with mom

I'm at home today, my parents' home, spending the day helping my mom go through her closet. She's run off to the store, leaving me to type. Chester, the big grey cat, is sleeping in my lap with his cold wet nose pressed against my forearm, making typing a bit of an ordeal.

My mom has been on this organization kick, which means that every time I visit this feels less like home. The silverware is kept in an entirely different drawer, and my bedroom is no longer even mine. I know that I've only spent about seven-months' worth of time in this house in the last five years, but I'm not quite ready to let that idea of "home" go.

My right foot is about to fall asleep. It has that cold tingle. But to move it would disturb the cat. I'm going to chance it. Darn. The cat's now up and sitting in front of the monitor. Ah well.

warmth in a cold front

My ex-roomie came into town for the holidays, and she brought her cold Minneapolis weather with her. But she's leaving today, and warmer weather will return.

That's not to say her visit wasn't pleasant. I got to spend a lovely day with her and her nephew. I miss her spunk and her ability to talk me into doing wild and crazy things.

gmail, gmail, get your gmail here

The friendly folks at Google saw fit to give me a handful of invites for Gmail accounts. Let me know if you're interested.

scratches and markings

I'm in that lull of editing. I just ran my pen through an article. My scribbled writing, corrections, and notations fill the pages with color. It looks so scattered. Next, I begin typing all of that seeming nonsense. I’m always amazed what my crazy thoughts look like when transferred to the computer. Somehow a thoughtful, complete, organized story emerges. It’s just the coolest thing—or maybe I’m just high off of the ink fumes.

news bites

Book Update: Author JK Rowling has said that the next Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be published on 16 July next year. (Source: BBC News)
COMMENTARY: It's about freakin' time!

Web poll: What factor more often leads to getting ahead at a company? 44% said "connections"—in other words, family ties and other close relationships. (Source: Inc. Magazine)
COMMENTARY: Duh.

Single's Ad: SINGLE BLACK FEMALE seeks male companionship, ethnicity unimportant. I'm a very good looking girl who LOVES to play. I love long walks in the woods, riding in your pickup truck, hunting, camping and fishing trips,cozy winter nights lying by the fire. Candlelight dinners will have me eating out of your hand. I'll be at the front door when you get home from work, wearing only what nature gave me. Call (404) 875-6420 and ask for Daisy, I'll be waiting... (Source: The Alanta Journal)
COMMENTARY: Apparently, more than 15,000 men found themselves talking to the Atlanta Humane Society about an 8-week-old black Labrador retriever.

a life well-lived

a life
well-lived
is a
beautiful thing

One of my dearest friends sent me a card with these words when my grandfather passed away.

They seem right, now, too. My favorite writer, contributor, advisory board member, and thought igniter passed away over the weekend. His struggle is over. His lessons will guide my path for years to come.

Thanks, Don, for sharing your wisdom.

challenging myself

Yesterday I told my boss that I didn't feel like much of an editor anymore. So little of what I do seems to involve editing lately and even less is the intensive, down-and-dirty editing that I love.

Her answer: It only gets worse.

Yes, yes, I know this, but that's not my point. My problem isn't that I have lots of clerical, filing, and organizational work. It's that I don't feel like an editor; I feel like a glorified office assistant, and that's boring. I want to feel inspired. I want to feel connected. I want to feel something other than boredom. I want an editorial challenge.

I want to be happy at work.
I want to be happy away from work.

I want to go out for drinks with my co-workers this evening and not spend two hours bitching about work. I want to laugh over funny stories and debate the silly and pointless.

I want to be open to life. I hide; I know it. I like the safety of the old. The new may be better, but the old is safe. I keep safe; I avoid new.

my early christmas present

It was waiting for me in my chair at work this morning—a signed copy of one of my co-worker's new book, A Murder of Taste.

To my favorite all-time reviewer!
Happy Holidays—Sally

It seems she found the review I gave of her book on a Web site for her last book. A Murder of Taste is her second Queen Bees Quilt Mystery. The first, Murders on Elderberry Road, provided me with the homey feel of Lawrence, Kan., during a slightly homesick day in Singapore.

I loved that book, and I'm itching to read this one. (Yes, Jack, I'll finish the Fortress in the Eye of Time first.)



A Murder of Taste
A Queen Bees Quilt Mystery
by Sally Goldenbaum
Kansas City Star Books, 2004

It had to be resolved, to stop before it started. Right now. Tonight. Or a whole, careful life would be ruined, snuffed out in a single second. Everything lost. And for what? A whim, a faulty anger. A foolish indiscretion?

(I plugged her son's album release on my blog, I thought it only appropriate to give the same attention to her book.)