1.
Big sweatshirt flapping;
Peddaling quickly away
In stark morning sun

While in Kansas, I had a few moments to read up on my Everyman's Library selection of Beat Poetry. I have to admit I really dig the Beat Poetry. I'm sure my family appreciated my demented mutterings as I tried to read them to myself in the proper intonation while we ran my sister and brother-in-law to the bus station.

I am really getting into studying the cadence of speech and writings. It's a really refreshing perspective to take on storycraft.

So this past holiday break, I finished Generation X, the illustrious Douglas Coupland's first novel.

I liked it. There was a soul burning brilliantly from beneath the confused rubble of the narrative. Within the narrative, confused people sorted out their past while sorting out their present. And they did it with story.

Seems like Coupland is a fan of the story-in-a-story mechanic because this is the second thing I've read by him employing this device. And, while I find it a jarring reminder that I'm actually reading a story about people telling stories, somehow it manages to work just enough for me to put up with it.

As recommended, I'll be visiting Shampoo Planet next after I finish up with the Gaiman/Vess edition Stardust, thoughtfully gifted me by Andrea.

Well. Now I am home in Kansas. And it's over dial-up.

Playing The SIMs and reading Generation X.

I find Generation X interesting. But not nearly as mind-bogglingly enthralling as Microserfs was. I blame this on the lack of computers in GenX. The presence of computers in any story has the potentialy to make or bomb a story for me because so much of my life revolves around computer use.

If addressed in a realistic and uninvasive manner (such as it's done in Microserfs) the presence of computers can establish for me a rapport with the story. If computers are used unrealistically, it can completely destroy the enjoyment of an otherwise strong story.

Curse of the lifestyle, I guess...

So this is most likely my last entry before leaving Michigan for the Christmas Holiday. I'll be kicking around for New Years' so It's not going to be too long an absence. Just long enough to get some rest.

In any case. I saw The Two Towers this week and it was an excellent film. I'll definitely be seeing several more times to say the least. Any time Peter Jackson wants to adapt one of my favorite books to film, he's welcome to.

Ironic how the blogging activity of the world has dwindled around the holidays when people are out having experiences worth writing about. That isn't to say I'm not just blowing hot air here. But, like the rest of the world, I am the special case.

In less than a week, I will be climbing into my Jetta (presumably in still drivable condition) with my brother (who was presumably benevolent enough to wait for me) and drive the 16 hours (presumably to the serenades of choice audiobooks) to Kansas (presuming my ability to stay awake for the whole drive).

Any one of those things can not happen to make the experience less pleasant for me. Some are more extreme issues than others.

But, you see, I'm a "Half full or half empty, the glass is sitting precariously close to the edge of the table and near your elbow" sort of person. I keep expecting something to go wrong. Because if I've mentally prepared myself for disaster, then it won't upset me so much.

But the truth of the matter is, whether I worried over it or not, it still upsets me. And I've allowed it to doubly distract me if I worry about it ahead of time.

I need to learn to be more accepting of the situations I am handed. I need to stop taking everyting personally.

*sigh*

Well, I intended to make this post from the actual device, but every time I start playing with it, I get sidetracked...

In any case, my [new] iBook arrived Tuesday evening. So far it's been a great deal of fun to tool around with. Warcraft 3 runs smoothly. Savegames transferred flawlessly from my PC laptop. The Sims is all installed and seems to be running without err. 10 Gb of mp3s transferred. I'm still sorting through them in an attempt to weed out the duplicates and redundancies. I expect I'll be able to pare it down to 7 Gb. Email, multi-IM client, dev tools, browsers and various worker apps all installed. I'll work on getting the VGA Planets JAVA client installed when the dust settles.

Moving in is a laboriously slow and complex process. But it must be done.

There is the small issue of being mouse-less. But I intend to rectify that soon.

I’m going to begin dabbling in poetry, I think. I’m going to dabble in poetry because of Billy Collins, Orson Scott Card and Pedro the Lion. I’m going to dabble in poetry because I often have thoughts that don’t have enough content in them for a whole essay. I’m going to dabble in poetry with the intent to improve my literary brush-strokes. I will dabble because I always start with a grand idea and end up with a trite, forgettable little narrative, a mere shadow of the vivid tale in my mind.

I’m going to see if I can improve my style. I’m going to see if I can load more into my words.

I’m going to see if I can make something I love out of something I hate:

Poetry.

And besides, I want to celebrate the majesty of Carrothenge.

I must admit, I've become a big fan of Mr. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins.

I'm normally not one for poetry, because it's so very easy to do it badly and a small enough commitment that most anyone who fancies themselves a writer tries it (including myself), often with criminal results.

However, Mr. Collins finds a way of weaving mundane activities, simple images and metered lines that do not often rhyme into something special. Something evoking a chuckle, a sigh and sometimes an internal restlessness. And most often something worth revisiting later.

Perhaps I like poetry after all...

My iBook is ordered.

I should have it in a few weeks, in time to take with me back to Kansas for the Christmas holiday. This will be my first new machine since 1998. I am, as you may guess, very excited.

Also. Here in Michigan, it snowed today. It snowed a whole lot and it's making like Christmastime everywhere!

Chris and I put up the tree this weekend and Jiji engaged in his own holiday tradition of stealing ornaments. Which is cute until you find one of the ornament hooks in the carpet with your bare foot.