- Bookman surprised me with a copy of a new poetry book by Adrienne Rich. I surprised him by being completely clueless about its existence which made him quite giddy because as the years of blogging go by it gets increasingly more difficult for him to spring books on me that I don’t already know about. Rich’s new book, Tonight No Poetry Will Serve, Poems 2007-2010, promises to be marvelous as usual. I have only read one poem thus far and it is printed on the back of the book. It is the titular poem and it concludes thus:
Syntax of rendition:
verb pilots the plane
adverb modifies actionverb force-feeds noun
submerges the subject
noun is choking
verb disgraced goes on doingnow diagram the sentence
It is a slim book so I will parcel it out in single poems here and there.
- Waldo has been at the pet hospital all weekend. He went in Saturday morning for what turned out to be feline cystitis. He had a blockage and has had an IV and a catheter to help clear all the naughty crystals from his bladder. We have all been rather bereft without him and Dickens has been stuck to me like glue. Bookman has just left to go pick him up from the hospital and bring him home. He’s in for lots of snuggling and loving. Poor guy.
- School is going pretty well. This class (information architecture) is a curious one because it seems to be pulling in elements from lots of other classes I have already taken so in some ways it seems like I already know everything but just not through this particular lens. The material is not difficult but applying it differently is the challenge. It is kind of like transposing a song you know from one key into another.
- I finished reading the next Slaves book already. The Summer Book by Tove Jansson. There will be a blog post about it on January 31st and group discussion. It is a slim book that reads fast even when you try to read it slowly so there is plenty of time for anyone who hasn’t already decided to read it to do so and join the discussion if you feel so inclined.
- I am almost done with Alberto Manguel’s A Reader on Reading. Almost.
- In spite of starting and finishing The Summer Book in less than a week, and in spite of almost being done with Manguel, I have been feeling in a bit of a reading slump. Not the kind where there is nothing good to read, I am not having a problem there. No, it just feels like I’m not getting anywhere, that my reading is constantly interrupted by something and if it isn’t being interrupted I worry about it being interrupted which of course causes an interruption. I need to find a way to carve out some time soon where I know I really won’t be interrupted so I can sink into a book and feel better.
- I’m also a little stressed about searching for a new job. Now is the time to start looking even though I won’t be graduating until early June. But I just haven’t been able to bring myself to do it yet. It is all a bit overwhelming when I think about it, especially when I think about how few jobs there are likely to be and how many qualified applicants there are. I am lucky enough to have a job working in a library so I can apply only to jobs I am truly interested in. But I also feel like I am avoiding the whole thing so I won’t be disappointed that I can’t find a job working as a librarian. The whole thing is silly and I’ll get myself worked ’round the right way eventually, but at the moment the thought of it just makes me really, really tired.
There is my weekend in bullet points. Waldo will be home in a few minutes so I must get this posted and get ready to welcome him home.
Katie and Cleo and Thomas (and me and Terri) all send well-wishes to Waldo! Poor boy. And good luck job -hunting; that would be kind of stressful to think about.
I’m a stay-at-home mom at the beginning of my stay-at-home-ness and I don’t anticipate working for a long time but I frequently have stress dreams in which I’m trying to find a job and can’t find anything I want to do… All that to say, I sympathize with you and hope it all works out!
I am totally smitten by the bullet-points style of week summary. I’m going to have to try it out myself.
I’m in a bit of a pleasure reading slump myself. Right now I feel too frazzled by work to have time to start in on a new fictional world – what I wish was that I was already in the grips of some epic novel, with hundreds and hundreds of pages to go before I finished it.
But then, of course, I wouldn’t be getting nearly as much work done.
Having spent most of my working life studying and teaching grammar (not as boring as I’m sure most people think) that poem just finished me. The last line is superb.
Are your last two points related to the time of year? It is cold and it is dark and neither of those contingencies make moving forward particularly easy.
I do like a good dot point (bullet points to you – hmm, what does that say about our different nations? LOL!) and these are some good dot points.
Love the poem, but librarian that I am, thought I’d comment on the information architecture one. I love your way with words – I think you know you are learning when you can apply what you’ve learnt in one place (transpose, as you so beautifully say) to another. I love making those connections and feeling the lights come on!
PS Hope Waldo is fine.
There’s plenty of time to job hunt, and after all, luck and coincidence are involved. I am a firm believer that life unfolds just right if you don’t try to control it all the time. The tiredness tells you that this is not the moment to add one more stressful thing to your long list of stressful things to achieve! Much better to find the time you need to get some reading done which will clear your mind and reenergise you and then you will be ready for the next step. And after all, that Waldo cuddling will take some time and attention, no? Poor Waldo – I had cystitis last summer and remember it well. Do hope he feels better now.
By now Waldo is home and I hope he’s doing much better. I’m sure you gave him an extra scratch under the chin. The job thing can be quite scary, but I have every confidence that you will stand out in a crowd of applicants. Can you believe you’re almost finished with school?! You should feel proudly of yourself, and rightly so.
My four cats send their best wishes to Waldo. Having a sick pet is so stressful. Just taking them to the vet is stressful for everyone. I keep asking my vet for some Valium – for me! So far, no luck!
I agree with litlove: don’t take on more than you comfortably can. Otherwise, you’ll make bad choices and be unhappy. Take your time. My husband just had a stress / fatigue related incident caused by never saying ‘no’ to anyone in his job. He’s realized he must slow down.
Best wishes.
I hope Waldo is home & feeling purr-fect! Good luck with job search…. I’m guessing you have the resume together. It’s definitely a process – one that I am certain, at which….. you will excel.
Daphne, thanks all around!
Rebecca, thanks! I am lucky I have a job I like but yeah, stressful. Hope your stress dreams disappear!
Ariel, glad you like the bullet points. Sorry to hear about your reading slump. I hope work gets better and you find a ripping good read soon!
Annie, glad you like the poem excerpt! I usually don’t get the blues in the winter but this year’s winter has been a corker and no doubt it does play into how I’m feeling.
whisperinggums, interesting liguistic difference and kind of scary when you think about it. Perhaps I’ll start a grassroots movement of change to dot points
It is nice to have those lights come on though I wasn’t expecting it so I worry a little like I’m missong something. And thank you, I got the idea of transposing from my boss who was mentioning recently how her son likes to transpose songs on the piano. And Waldo is glad to be home and recovering nicely.
Litlove, you’re such a dear! Thank you for your kind words. I will take your advice and just not worry about it. All things in their own time, yes? Waldo’s tummy got upset from the antibiotics this morning but otherwise he is feeling much better and so glad to be home.
Grad, yes, Waldo is home and doing better though he smells of the vet and Dickens won’t have anything to do with him. Silly cats. And thanks for your kind words and encouragement as well as the reminder that I am worry about finding a new job becasue, yes, I am almost done with school which is a great thing to celebrate
Joan, heh, it is harder on the humans than it is on the cats, isn’t it? And thanks for the good wishes. I hope your husband is feeling better!
Helen, Waldo is feeling much better, hungry and begging for cuddles. And thanks for the good wishes. I have to add a somewhat recent publication credit to my resume but otherwise it is good to go. It’s the cover letters and the selling of myself that I hate most.
Poor Waldo! My cats have been pretty healthy with the exception of a few pulled teeth, which I think was almost more stressful for me than her! I hope he is back to his normal self. I know that feeling of ‘not getting anywhere’ with your reading–I feel that way all the time–especially when I can only read in fits and starts. Hopefully we’ll both get more reading time. I’m glad the Jansson reads fast as I just started it this weekend. As the vignettes are so short I’m limiting myself to just a few a day. And don’t worry too much about the job search–you’re in a good position already by working in one–I’m sure something will come along when you’re ready. Are you going to try and find a job locally?
I hate job hunting like the plague. I really feel you there.
And I’ve been seeing so many posts on reading slumps of late! At least you’re not alone. I think it’s a totally natural time of year to feel that way – the weather’s gray and cold and dark and there’s no big event or break to look forward to in the immediate future. Still, at least the days are getting longer again. Hope you manage to carve out some satisfying reading time in the near future.
I just finished The Summer Book as well and I am glad I have a bit of time to reread a few of the vignettes before posting about it. It is a sly sort of book, I think, and thought-provoking. I am in more of a writing slump than a reading one: I am finding books kind of piling up in my head! but when the wind chill is -28C I figure it is natural to hibernate mentally if you can’t escape in reality…
Job hunting is the pits so sending some good luck vibes your way, Stefanie! And, poor Waldo, how’s he doing?
I’m really enjoying The Summer Book! Just started it so haven’t gotten very far but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I won’t flake out at the last minute.
And, how cool that you got that Rich book. Mr. Bookman is awesome!
Poor Waldo. Will he have to be on a special diet? I’ve had a number of kitties with similar problems – some had to eat c/d. My three kitties and three dogs send their best to him and you and Bookman.
Danielle, I think it is definitely more stressful for us than our pets. We are currently worrying over the fact that we can’t get the pills or the liquid antibiotics into Waldo. Yes, it’s the reading in fits and starts that is currently making me a bit bonkers. And thanks for the job search encouragement. I’m going to stay local for now. I don’t relish the idea of moving even less so in this economy!
Emily, there is usually a reading slump at least once during the year. Most of the time it happens in March but it came early this year! And hopefully this time next year I’ll be in a good librarian job and wondering why I was so stressed out about the whole thing.
Rohan, oh, yes it is a sly book, you are right! I always think humans should be allowed to hibernate in January. It would make the worst of the winter easier to bear.
Iliana, thank you! Waldo is doing well. He’s pretty much back to his old self. I’m inclined to think Bookman very awesome
Glad you are enjoying The Summer Book. I’m sure you won’t flake out 
Bonnie, yes, we have to change Waldo’s food to one with a lower ph. We got a couple different ones from the vet to try and so far he doesn’t seem to like any of them. Hopefully we will be able to find one that has a tempting enough flavor that he will like. Thanks for the good wishes!
To get my kitty to eat her low ph food, I put a little dab of (low ph ) Special Diet Friskies or even (kitty junk food) Fancy Feast on top.
Bonnie, you’re tricksy!
I think I’ve yet to read a single Adrienne Rich poem I didn’t like – she is amazing. I’m sure you will enjoy the new book. And maybe she’ll be able to get you out of your reading slump. I find those very distressing, and tend to read like a maniac to find a way out…
Hang in there as you prepare for job applications, such a tough business.
Michelle, I am always happy to know other fans of Rich.
And thanks for the encouragement!
A Rich book that you didn’t know about? Wow! What a nice gift. I hope Waldo is okay!
I totally get it about not wanting to look for a job. That’s no fun at all. I’m glad, though, that you already have a job in the library, which puts you in a good position to be on the job market!
Dorothy, I know, it was a nice surprise and a nice gift. It is nice that I already have a job in a library and hopefully that will help give me a leg up.
Poor Waldo! I hope he feels better now. One of my cat is prone to cystisis since he has been young enough and is constantly on a special diet. It seems to work well…
I thought about you this morning while I was reading Adrienne Rich for the first time. An essay… I’ll be posting on it later on in the week.
I hope Waldo is feeling better, lounging around or chasing things, whichever is his preffered cat activity. I also hope you’re feeling a little more confident about the moving job situation. Applying for jobs is so time consuming and full of points that just beg a line of unhelpful what ifs to skip through your head, but you can bet the process and will end up with a fab librarian job.
PS Yay excited for the SoG discussion next week.
Sounds like you’ve had a lot going on. Glad to hear your kitty is better. I can’t stand when my little doggy is sick. Good luck with the job search. That is a process that is always so stressful! I’ll be sending positive thoughts your way.