Journal

Positivity

Class Gathering

The reason I don’t appear in many photos (apart from my semi-ninja skills) is that they remind me of how awful I look in them. Usually as if I walked into the photo by accident.

But thanks to everyone who dropped by, whether or not you see them in this photo. Much appreciated, and I hope it wasn’t too bad.

Work Ethic

Sometimes I have nothing to do for the day and decide that I can focus entirely on my work. So I sit in my chair and try to start writing and the whole thing is a struggle.

Sometimes I have plenty of things to do, like on the gathering morning, and I place my hands at the keyboard and I just fire away like nobody’s business.

It’s just the way the world is.

Award-Winner

Before I forget, a couple of links. First, Cormac McCarthy has won the PEN/Saul Bellow award. [via cbcnews.ca]

Science!

“Why is the immune system able to fight off some viruses but not others, leading to chronic, life-threatening infections like HIV and hepatitis C?” [via PhysOrg]

Good Vibrations

Monday morning, things look sharp. The gathering for instance went pretty okay (I think). The River looks like it’s in a bit of trouble but at least Bukit Merah is faring better, and I’m actually having fun getting stuff done. Making friends, talking to old friends, sustaining existing friendships, all seem to be going smoothly, so it’s all provided a dose of fresh air. Oh and my jukebox has been very happy with a healthy variety of music.

(Speaking of friends, many are going off for work-and-travel programmes, foreign university education, and exchange arrangements, so I think I won’t be seeing a number of them for quite a bit. Stay safe, all of you.)

On the flip side, haven’t really started with Ulysses. It’s heavy. I brought it out one day, and reading the introduction alone made my wrist tire. I’m also supposed to meet with a couple of people, but those arrangments have failed to work themselves out so far, and I’ll probably have to step on the gas a bit. The River, as I was saying, is kind of in no man’s land. Sometimes I stare at it and it looks terrible. Sometimes I stare at it and it looks terrific. The usual disease. I suppose that actually means it is terrible. Oh I don’t know. I want to get back into a bit of a groove first by writing some of Bukit Merah first.

Still, all things considered, it’s a reasonably good start to the holidays. Let’s hope it stays that way.

d

© 2009 a modest odyssey.