Jan 23 2009
Reading, Writing, Teething and Talking
Tonight I am planning an early one after a relaxing bath, curling up with some books! I seem to be reading too many books at once again: a biography of John Lennon , by Philip Norman who wrote the brilliant ‘Shout’ biography of the Beatles; a book called ‘The Republic of Trees ‘ by Sam Taylor which I’m not really into yet, but is quite spooky, still finishing off ‘After the Ecstacy, the Laundry ‘, and just collected a book called ‘Atomised ‘ by Michel Houellebecq from the library, which is supposed to be a classic.
I did some writing in the library today, making a start on my writing course homework, one of the options being to write a piece of ‘flash fiction’ of not more than 300 words - a considerable challenge, to tell a story in such a short space! I feel exhausted because the Pibler is teething and has a cough again, therefore waking even more often than usual in the night. It seems like about ten to twelve times a night although that could be a slight exaggeration.
It is amazing how one adapts to the ongoing sleep deprivation, though, and still manage to function relatively well. But I have to keep remembering not to expect as much of myself as I usually would, in terms of productivity, because I am only working with a semi-conscious brain a lot of the time. I know that I’m particularly tired because my attempts to meditate this week have more often than not degenerated into a light doze.
The writing course last night was on the theme ‘humour’, which I found interesting. Humour is not something that’s been ostensibly part of my writing, although there are hints of it. I got some good feedback on my ‘Cats’ piece, the 1000-word story I’m writing for the Cats Protection writing competition (last week’s homework), but am undecided as to how to progress with it. Hopefully the tutor’s comments will shed some light.
The Pibler’s communication is coming along so beautifully: we really seem to have proper conversations these days! He is imitating words such as ‘gentle’ (which I say when showing him how to touch my face, rather than batting at it and scratching it as he often does) and ‘thank you’ - in a very rudimentary way - but it’s clear what he’s saying. He continues to be obsessed with ‘cooking’ and pouring water into and out of containers, making a lot of mess to clear up!
