1. I have written here before about how blogging and writing (worky-type writing) are not zero sum for me. This remains true. Facebook and blogging, however, seem to be zero sum. I'm going to try to even the balance a bit more.
2. Speaking of worky-type writing, I've hit a good stride with that lately. I can tell when something is close to done because I start to itch for the next thing.
3. In preparation for the animals book, I have gone and gotten a Latin tutor. I audited Latin in grad school, but it didn't stick because I never had occasion to use it--I was still writing about greek fellows. My Latin tutor seems quite good, and his Greek is damn good too, hooray.
4. Something about working with a hard language (like Greek or Latin) helps to organize the rest of my daily life. I'm not sure why or how, but I think it has to do with the regularity, and the way memorization keeps one (or at least me) sharp. It reminds me a little bit of learning a new sport.
5. I xc skied today (around here, it's okay just to say "skied," because there is no such thing as downhill downstate), and it was really, really great. Everything was sparkly and bright--I think I might have gotten a sunburn in fact--and the existing tracks were smooth and straight.
6. Here is something very exciting: yesterday I bought tickets to see Animal Collective in Milwaukee in May, and train tickets to get there. This introduces the problem of needing to ease up a little on the new album, which I have been playing nonstop since January 20. My god, it is good. I took a break from it for the first time today on my walk to the public library, during which I returned to Bon Iver. And I haven't even bought *his* latest yet; I'm saving that. Is it just me, or is music pretty good these days?
7. I have finally found a good naan recipe that isn't ridiculously hard but IS ridiculously delicious.
8. I really, really hope that the education portion of the stimulus package makes it through. From what I can tell from talking to my sister, who is an elementary school teacher, and from listening to what's going on around here and in other states, a cash infusion for ailing schools could only be a good thing.
9. When I leave here I will miss the corn and bean report on our local AM station. There is something soothing about listening to technical reports about something I don't quite understand but that nevertheless affects us all. (that one is for you, cdg.)
10. I am fairly sure we will lose our capacity to watch television when the new FCC digital stuff kicks in next month. What I am not sure about is whether either one of us cares enough to do anything about it.
11. I recently joined our neighborhood association listserv, but had I known about its high, high entertainment value, I would have joined long, long ago. West Urbana is known for its uber-liberal ethos, and the posts are so over the top as to be almost parodies of themselves. A couple of instances include the message asking if anyone knows how to properly recycle those jiffy mailers because they are part paper and part plastic, and the one asking about whether it is possible to purchase an obama mug locally. Oh! And the one about how the new streetlights on Lincoln and Michigan are approved by the Dark Sky Association. Now, I'll admit, the last one impresses me. This is probably why I live here. Would you be my, could you be my, won't you be my neighbor?
