The Lull

Januarys suck, especially if you are at university. It's that odd time when one is recovering from the holidays (mine is still going on w/ a couple of folks), the weather is iffy, the sun doesn't exist, and all one can do is either read or drink. Now, if you are a professor like yours truly, it is also that odd nadir in which you really don't want to go back to teaching but you also cannot wait to get in the classroom again and warp young minds. It's an exhausting job but somebody's gotta do it.

The syllabus will be finished and ready for classes over the weekend but the lull is deadly. Anxious and curious about the vibe of my classes this time. Once I'm in that first class on that first day, though, I hit the ground running and I'm fine.

Now, mind you, I am still plowing very delightfully through Roberto Bolano's 2666, and one would think I would spend every waking hour trying to finish this puppy by my self prescribed deadline of January 15th. Ain't happenin'. I will discuss the particulars of this massive tome later, but suffice it to say I bought the three volume paperback edition, for it seems less intimidating, and I am about through Book One/Part 3. Thus far, it is one of the best books I've ever read, and I am devouring it very slowly. (Funny, you give me the uber academic article and I can fly through it, but give me fiction or poetry and I read at a snail's pace. Go figure). Language, baby, language!