The There Blog

Because Gertrude Stein said "there is no there there."

Monday, July 25, 2005

To the lighthouse

Adam and I went to Point Reyes yesterday as a sort of get out of town excursion. We drove up the TT, and it was a fun, beautiful drive. It was cool at the coast (which was part of our reason for going) and the very tip of the point was shrouded in fog and below 60 degrees. I was really moved by the strange, desolate beauty of the windswept headlands, the plump succulency of ice plant, the brightness of the red alga. The wind-carved swirls of sedimentary rock within which pebbles and stones were trapped. The lighthouse itself was less interesting, and certainly not worth the 300-step climb down and back. Not that you shouldn't hike down to the lighthouse, but the journey itself is the point. The vertigo, the precariousness, the waves crashing on the rocks below, and the gentle boom of the foghorn. It's an amazing place, and the view is spectacular. As we were leaving, with wobbling legs and labored breathing, a flight of seven pelicans, larger than you think, circled the point.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

feeling better

I was feeling well enough today, that I was able to walk down to Piedmont Ave. to get some work done at my "outside office." I'm at Rooz, and I've been able to get more done than I expected. I feel like this new project is really making some progress.

One nice thing about working here, is that I'm known to hang out here. I just had a nice chat with Monte, who was in the area picking up his mail and having a late lunch. We talked about how difficult it is being a writer, because the writerly temperament is completely unsuited to the "hustle" required to sell work. I've just sent out a mass of emails trying to get people to be interviewed for the new project, and it always leaves me a little nervous. From reading Joan Didion, I'm glad to know that I'm not the only writer who needs to work up her courage before making a phone call.

Monday, July 18, 2005

new project

I've started work on another freelance writing project, which I should finish up by mid-August. The good news is that I will be able to make more money this summer. The timing is perfect, and I should finish up just before I go to work at the Grad Studies office. The bad news is that I will continue to have my head full of real estate, and I'll have trouble doing anything creative. I find I just can't switch back and forth between two headspaces.

I'd hoped to do some writing between projects, but I've been so sick the past week or so, I haven't been able to do much more than nap, drink juice, and watch the original Star Wars trilogy. And my reading program has completely fallen apart. I re-read Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea in quick succession, which were interesting in juxtaposition, but I have no idea how that fits into my thesis plans.

Friday, July 15, 2005

God, meth, and placing blame

I've been following the Zavattero killing in the Chico papers. Why he did it is still somewhat obscured. (Whether or not Nick killed his father is less of an open question, what with the 9-1-1 confession). Here's the district attorney talking about the case:

"He has claimed that God told him to kill his father as a test of faith," Ramsey said. "God had spoken to him or given him a sign through the TV the day before."
Zavattero told sheriff's deputies he is Jesus Christ, Ramsey said.

There's been some confirmation of drug use, and possibly what they're calling "methamphetamine psychosis". There's the report that Nick had attempted suicide a few days before the killing, but was not held by county behavioral health because it was drug-related and not mental illness-related. Apparently there's a new statewide policy. A tragedy, perhaps, but it seems the state doesn't have enough money and has been forced by budget cuts to limit all sorts of services.

the healing power of puppies

My mother has a new puppy, a Jack Russell terrier with a black face and two spots on his back. He's still unnamed, but she sounds pretty pleased with him. I hope it goes well with them, but I'm not sure he can ever replace Libby, aloof and haughty bitch that she was. Mom says Libby would be turning over in her grave to see him sleeping in her basket.

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

travel, and other stuff

It's been such a long time since I've posted. I went to New York City last week, and it was amazing. Manhattan is so much bigger than I expected, and all the buildings so tall, and the streets crowded with taxis. I think the highlight of the trip, for me, was spending a day at the Met. looking at so much art, sculptures and paintings and suits of armor and decorative side-chairs and a whole Egyptian temple complex, and the Chanel exhibit, and so much too see and not enough time.

So much to see and not enough time should be the motto for the whole trip. Which is why now I am home with a bad summer cold and only now feeling up to turning on my computer and trying to write something.