November 17: Too Much in My Head, Essay, "Web" Dip

I'm still struggling with my Christmas essay.  I know what my problem is:  I'm over-thinking everything.  I'm trying to throw everything AND the kitchen sink into it.  Irving Berlin.  Bing Crosby.  Marcel Proust.  Merriam-Webster.  Baked ham.  Death.  World War II.  It's just a mess.

When I get too much in my head, I can't write.  I have about five or six pages of false starts and mind vomit in my journal.  I keep waiting for that moment when I know I've finally found my voice.  It feels like I'm almost there.  Like a breakthrough is within my grasp. 

Which brings me to a little announcement:  until I've finished my Christmas essay, I'm only going to be posting once a day.  The Poet of the Week will return next Monday.  Stick with me guys.  I have to concentrate on another writing project for a little while.  I will be back in full Saint Marty mode in seven days.

My Web dip question this evening is pretty simple:

Am I going to be able to finish my Christmas essay by next Monday?

And the answer from E. B. White:

"It is true," said the old sheep.  "Go to the Fair, Templeton.  You will find that the conditions at a fair will surpass your wildest dreams.  Buckets with sour mast sticking to them, tin cans containing particles of tuna fish, greasy paper bags stuffed with rotten..."

So, whatever I write is going to surpass my wildest dreams.  I like that answer.

Saint Marty's ready to dream big.

Looking for my breakthrough

 

February 27: Spring Break--Not Soon Enough

Next week is spring break for the university.  Despite all of the days this semester that have been canceled due to inclement weather (translation:  all this friggin' snow), I am totally ready for some time off.  Spring break can't come soon enough for me.

I have two more days of teaching left.  I have a lot to accomplish in those two days.  I have to finish a portion of my faculty evaluation.  I've been putting it off for quite some time.  Having two jobs really gets in the way.  My 40-hour-a-week, part-time job interferes with my part-time university teaching responsibilities.  At this point in my life, I've had this work schedule for so long that I don't know what I'd do if I had a full-time position at the university.  I can't imagine having all that extra time.

Maybe I'd write a novel, or finish one of the novels I've already started.  Perhaps I'd start fixing up my house instead of falling asleep on the couch after my son is in bed at 7 p.m.  I think I'd visit my son's classes more often.  I'd volunteer at my daughter's school, as well.  I'd love to be a music booster or some kind of poet-in-residence.  I know I'd go running every morning, and then I'd take up oil painting.  I've always wanted to do oil landscapes.

Yes, I drifted off into fantasy in that third paragraph.  It's fun to dream every once in a while.  I know I should be more realistic, but, if you're going to dream, dream big.

Saint Marty's dreaming the impossible dream.

Where's my windmill?