I haven’t written much lately, I apologize…I don’t mean to slack. The weather has been brilliant, even summery, and I’ve been busy with both the dissertation and the end of the semester. I suppose, rather than trying to narrate the last week in linear fashion that a ten bullet post of the highlights would be in order.

1) I’ve been working in the garden a lot lately. Over the weekend I added organic matter to the area I cleared of grass last year. This weekend we’ll plant sunflower seeds and hope a sunflower garden sprouts. I also added groundcover near the garage. Yesterday I cut down the dying honeysuckle vine and replaced it with clematis. I also added bellflowers near the front of the house. I love working in the dirt, but I need to make sure I don’t blow hundreds on the yard, I suppose. On Friday we put in the vegetables, etc. I can’t wait.
2) Yesterday I attended, as part of the end of the year professional development crap at work, a pretty cool workshop on stress management. The guy was so mellow and effective, however, that I don’t think anyone wanted to ask questions. I felt badly for him. Ha. Anyway, I’m going to try a few of the strategies out when I can. Meditation has been powerful lately.
3) This weekend I saw both “Little Children” and “The Science of Sleep”. I thought both were good, although the former was the superior film, and not because Kate Winslet walks around without her clothes. I watched both on fast forward, really, except for the interesting parts. I have “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Volver” coming from Netflix. I’ve seen both before, but I’d like to see both again, and I thought James and Melissa, visiting from Chicago, might want to see them if they haven’t already.
4) T, S, and N are all immersed in soccer and baseball. Tonight we have pictures, then T’s first game. I tend to sit on the side, reading and listening to my mp3 player, during the games and practices. I don’t mind.
5) I finished Murakami’s “After Dark” over the weekend. Great book, although I don’t feel like I entirely understood all the nuances of the tv screen and the like. I think the book tries to address the distance between people, among other things, and I can’t help but feel like the story was intensely personal to the author. I’m nearing the end of “Wind-Up Bird Chronicle”, too. Brilliant.
6) Today I’m working on my dissertation defense. I’m supposed to work through approximately sixty slides in thirty-five minutes. How the hell do you do that?
7) Graduation was boring and stupid. Someday I’m going to have a job where I can’t walk out of meetings and gatherings that don’t interest me. God help me then.
8) I’ve been listening to Fiest a lot lately.
9) I’m looking forward to Memorial Day weekend. I’m going to turn off the computer, email-wise, Thursday evening, and I’m not responding to anything (except from my friends, of course) until Tuesday morning. I need a break.
10) Tristan has discovered some dirt bike trails in the woods behind the house. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him glow as much as when he’s riding on the trails. He looks happy, and that makes me happy.