Monday, January 23, 2012

Weekend Update

Happy Monday. I'm sitting here waiting for the coffee to hit my system. No formal post this morning, so just some rambles off the top of my still-not-very-awake head.

My writer's circle met three hours earlier than usual yesterday. I'm not sure if it was the change in time that did it, or something else, but it was a disaster for me. How bad was it? I changed pens in an effort to spark something - and wrote about it. My best line of the day: "He touched the match to the corner of his notebook and let the night take all his thoughts away." That shows you where my brain was at yesterday.

I was feeling fine yesterday, too, until I left my writer's group. I had to stop at the store for a few items. By the time I was done, I felt like I'd been run over by a truck. Totally exhausted, and with a back ache. I don't feel sick, exactly, but I feel worn out. Blah.

During the weekend I finally started reading The Great Gatsby. For whatever reason, my teacher never had us read that one (we also didn't read any Dickens, or The Catcher in the Rye - that's another one I've got to get one of these days). I remember kids complaining about Gatsby, but so far, I'm loving it. Unfortunately, I can't get the image of Robert Redford out of my head as Gatsby, even though I never actually saw that movie. As you may recall from an earlier post, I used to live in this building, which was the summer home of Marshall Field, III, and was part of that whole Long Island Gold Coast scene depicted so vividly in Gatsby.


Last week I made some headway on revisions to Parallel Lives, and made a lot of headway on the new, still untitled WiP. It's very strange, thinking in terms of a 'new WiP'. And I've thought a lot about the things you all have said (I Need to Know) relating to the new WiP. I'm still skirting that issue.

That's about all I've got for today. The coffee's kicking in, but the body still isn't feeling so hot. Blah, again. I'll leave you with this rather subdued bit from Jimi Hendrix, one of my favorites, and rather appropriate given my mood today (3 and a half minutes).



Have a great week, see y'all on Friday.

14 comments:

  1. Sounds like you need to take a beat. Sit down and watch Pulp Fiction with an Icy Hot pack on your back.

    Sending healing vibes your way :)

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  2. Sorry your wagon is draggin'. I hate days like that. I use a heating pad. Hope you feel better.

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  3. Sorry you're feeling blah. But that buildings really cool looking. I know I've read The Great Gatsby but I can't remember it. Maybe I will have to take a trip down memory lane.

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  4. Ugh, I know the feeling! Coffee tends to help. In fact, it's 5pm and I just made another cup :) I read The Great Gatsby in high school and don't remember much of it, but I do remember that I liked it. Also, new novels are so fun :) Good luck with it, and I hope your blah day gets better!

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  5. Bleh. I hate that feeling. Sounds like you need to take some time to read/escape to another world for a few hours. Maybe you'll feel better (and more inspired) afterward. :)

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  6. Tsk, tsk, JeffO, you've got no contact info on your blog, so how am I supposed to tell you that you won a prize over on my blog? Well, anyways, you did! Hope that makes your Blah Monday a little better.
    Stop on by and shoot me an e-mail if you'd like to claim your awesome prize!

    I was having a blah day too. The cure? Hanging out your Jammies all day watching a good movie or ready a great book :)

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  7. Hope you feel better! I love Gatsby. So good.

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  8. I don't know if I've ever written about changing my pen (this made me chuckle), but I've definitely had that feeling. Hope your week gets better from here.

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  9. Thanks, everyone. I'm feeling marginally better today, though I foolishly stayed up too late last night (dope that I am). The heating pad helped a lot. Not sure if this is a potential cold coming on or just one of those low energy things. Hey, anyone remember when Biorhythm was the rage of the age? I think it was the 'next big thing' just after Transcendental Meditation and Pyramid Power, hah hah. Hey, thanks, Avery, I'll have to fix that, and I shot you an e-mail.

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  10. I hope you're feeling better and beat whatever is ailing you! Blah is the worst for writing.

    I laughed when you wrote that you can't get Robert Redford out of your head while reading Gatsby. I always associate the two. It's kind of bizarre, but I guess they are a good match.

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  11. JIMI!! He's a local boy, you know. Lived and is buried just a few miles from where I live now.

    Anyway, I sure hope you feel better, Jeff. Sometimes you just have to ALLOW yourself time to be human, to feel pain, to not be motivated, to just be a blob if that's what your body needs. If you just let it be, you'll get through it and feel better for it. We all need time to do nothing, to melt down then recharge. So just let your body veg. You'll come back stronger than ever.

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  12. Ugh, I hope you feel better. I've been sick for most of January, so I can sympathize. Hugs!

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  13. Thanks again, all. Physically, I'm definitely much-improved over earlier in the week. Mentally, too. Just in time for the weekend!

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