Ask me how much reading I did today, Jacqui. Baseball practice, and two soccer practices, plus a meeting tonight. All starting within at hour of each other, at four different locations.
Go ahead. Ask.
Summer Vacation, Day 5: Big To-Do
Today was not like yesterday. No photo shoots. Today I shoveled rocks – the odd-shaped, slate-colored rocks that surround our house as “landscaping” and attract and show all manner of debris – dried leaves, stray grass clippings, acorns, you name it. They are impossible to clean, and so we’ve decided to remove them in favor of flower beds and shrubbery. Because flowers and shrubbery are far lower-maintenance.
And since Jodi, in her wisdom, pointed out truthfully that summer was not the time for reading challenges, I must devote my time to these appropriate summer chores … which means I’m still reading Don Quixote, a delightful, if overlong, tale, which vexes me because, although I’d like to rush headlong for the end, when I read quickly I miss much of the wit and humor. Coach finished it a week ago and will begin her third novel shortly, if she hasn’t already. At the pace I set for myself, I should’ve finished yesterday. I did not.
Thankfully I have a couple short novels on my list that may enable me to catch up with my peers. Ah, well. The ache in my shoulders and back may also serve to keep me awake, so perhaps I’ll read on tonight (and be oh-so-awake for work in the morning).
Here’s my list for 15 weeks:
- Don Quixote by Cervantes
- The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald
- East of Eden by Steinbeck
- Moby Dick by Melville
- Pride & Prejudice by Austen
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Vonnegut
- Blood Meridian by McCarthy
- Anna Karenina by Tolstoy
- The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway
- The Odyssey by Homer
- Ulysses by Joyce
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Wilde
- As I Lay Dying by Faulkner
- The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky
- The Violent Bear It Away by O’Connor
If I can knock out Fitzgerald in a couple of days, I may be able to get back on pace … but soccer starts for Gabe and Emma tomorrow, running the same days as Bren’s baseball. So, yeah. Whose bright idea was this?
Summer Vacation, Day 4: Kung Fu & Old Books
Took the older boys to taiji (or tai chi) classes this morning at Dark Raven Studios in St. Paul. Jodi and I and the little kids ran a few errands, then picked the boys up and grabbed lunch. We picked up some landscaping supplies, then stopped by Midway Used & Rare Books,* before returning to Dark Raven for … get this! … a kung-fu photo shoot!
I’ve been working with Dark Raven shih-fu José Figueroa for a few years now on various articles and publicity pieces pertaining to his school; his particular art, the relatively rare and explosive Chen style taiji; and Chinese martial arts in general. The latest article, and the one I’m most proud of, is a piece on José’s unique Chen curriculum for children. This article, and photos shot professionally today, will appear in Inside Kung Fu magazine this summer or fall. Bren and Gabe will be instant kung-fu legends, no doubt!
Of course, in Chen village, lots of kids learn this stuff. Search YouTube using the words “taiji Chen Pengfei” to see the young son of Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang tearing it up. He’s cute as a three- or four-year-old, but the video of him as a “tween” (date-stamped August 2000) shows the slow grace of taiji, and later, the explosiveness of Chen style. Beautiful.
*Midway’s site only appears to show the rare books. They have three floors of used books and comics. I picked up Ulysses, East of Eden and Pride and Prejudice for Coach’s Remedial English Lit Summer Project.
Summer Vacation, Day 3: A Calling
For awhile at my last job, friends came to expect haiku on special occasions in their lives. Often I obliged …
lazy summer moon
lingering by the river —
that sweet plaintive cry
“a calling”
for m. upon the birth of her second son
19 april 2005
My friend M. lives on the Mississippi not far from us. She loves to be outdoors, but sometimes babies have other plans. Tell me: Does the river call the woman out from the house, or the baby call his mother back in?
Summer Vacation, Day 2: Random Thoughts
Random observations:
I saw a bald eagle on the way to work today. Funny how uplifting that is. It cruised, low and easy, over the highway, not necessarily oblivious to the traffic, but certainly unfazed. Reminded me of this early post.
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I did get up and out a little earlier today. Only two extra kids, and one more on the way, when I left. I don’t know how Jodi does it … amazing!
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A couple of mock words that have seemed appropriate these past few days:
- parannoyed: the persistent feeling that everyone is out to bug you.
- normallacy: the fallacy of normalcy, or the misconception that things will ever get “back to normal”
Tell me, did I make these up? I think I did, but sometimes this stuff blurs together.
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Musicheads: I hear Springsteen in Arcade Fire. Do you?
