There's something about summer.....

Since I turned in my grades Wednesday morning (right on time, thank you very much -- I bet the registrar is shocked), I've officially had 5 days completely to myself. Thanks to a lot of very (in my opinion often overly) specific rules about online classes and application thereof, my summer school online course in business writing has been all set to go. A quick welcome letter and answering the 6 question quiz at Kingdomality (our "get to know you icebreaker," not that that's redundant) meant I'm ready to jump into summer school tomorrow.

I know, on the outside, 5 days off sounds like a dream, but apparently I'm not cut out for it. Don't get me wrong -- I know how much of a blessing 5 days off would be for someone with children or vacation plans, but I have neither of those. Frankly, I'm too unstructured and the result is that nothing is getting accomplished except for way too much time on Facebook and resulting carpal pain nightmares.

So, in an attempt at forcing structure where none exists, I dragged the laptop up stairs and plugged it into mission control, finally. A few printer drivers and software bits later, and I'm actually at a desk writing. It will look like structure, even if it isn't. Fake it til you make it, right?

I ask my students every semester what they would do if they won the lottery. Would they stay in school? Would they work? Would they do something other than their planned career path. I've always been amazed how many of them say they would quit school and do nothing. I can officially say now that it sucks. No... really.

My first day of unemployment (right after I typed in grades and hit "send") was amazing. I did nothing. I tuned in a little Maury AND a little Oprah. I took the dog on two walks and to the dog park. I finished The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher in peace and quiet. When my partner in crime came home and asked what I did that day, I got all Office Space and said, "I did nothing. And it was as good as I thought it could be."

Then came Day Two. Incapable of sleeping past seven am (and not wanting to learn since I do have 8 o'clocks in the fall) I made coffee, kicked some ass in Mafia Wars on Facebook, gave an old friend whose daughter is looking at colleges some advice, and walked the dog.

It was 8:30 a.m.

I went to the gym, planned a menu and bought the groceries. I potted the remaining of my heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers. I rearranged the ENTIRE upstairs bathroom closet (see former posts about reed baskets and matching cloth liners).

It was barely noon.

I started - and finished - the book on Generation Y. It just made me mad.

I started and finished a Miss Julia book. It just made me realize that a sassy Octogenarian in North Carolina has a more culturally stimulating life than mine. Then again, I know a whole bunch of octogenarians from the South, and I think more than a bit of Ross' fiction is just that.

I know there are things I could do. I have some basement organization that desperately needs to get done, but I was saving that for the middle of July when the basement is the only place worth being in the heat.

I could finally put all that stuff up on ebay I've been meaning to get up there.

I could scan the 30 million pictures I have in a box before I forget who they are of.

The point is that I have the whole summer to complete the things I have to do (and I will), but I find that hard to get started on when I still hold on to the thought that there ought to be something I really WANT to do. We spend so much time rushed and hurried thinking "if only I had the time."

Maybe that's just wishful thinking, because I HAVE the time, and without having to "fit" it all in, I'm getting a graduate degree, already, in the lost art of time suckage.

I need a schedule. My thought was "one crappy thing I have to do every day and then one fun thing." Unfortunately, I can't really seem to get enthused about even the "fun things."

What scares me is that before I know it, I'll be parking in renaissance garage, printing out my syllabus, and this summer won't have one good story to tell my friends at our start of term meeting.

So, here's one more thing. 5 more books I've finished that are up for grabs. Most are OK, if not stellar, and they are something to do while I get back to Maury and the search for inspiration.

The Book of Joe (Jonathan Tropper) -- think October Road, the book. It's better than the TV show, but that's sort of like being the valedictorian of summer school.

Obedience (Will Lavender) -- big overture; little show. Know how sometimes you struggle through the book until the end makes the struggle worth it? This is kind of the opposite. The entire book had me on the edge of my seat, and I found the end unsatisfying and forced. But you might not. If I taught creative writing, I might assign all but the last three chapters to students and have them write their own endings. I bet one would be better.

Hero (Perry Moore) -- superhero book. I thought it was a hoot. Thom Creed is the son of a pair of superheroes. Mom has vanished (which has a lot of potential meanings in superhero world) and Dad was disgraced when he bungled a save many years before (think the opening scenes of The Incredibles). Now, the book's version of the Superfriends wants him..... but for what?

The Age of the Conglomerates: a novel of the Future (Thomas Nevins) -- dystopian future where "Coots" (those whose age makes them a social and financial burden on society) are all relocated to government designed communities in the Southwest. Kids can be dumped into the sewers and replaced with genetically superior (and better behaved) specimens. Cahoots and chaos galore! I liked it, but then again I'm a dork like that.

Keeping Faith (Jody Piccoult) -- if I'm in a Jody place, I love her books. I'm not in a Jody place all that often. I liked this one, and I really liked Plain Truth but I really have to be in the mood.

MY READING:

Just finished Non-fiction : Rich Like them: My Door to Door Search for the Secrets of Wealth in America's Wealthiest Neighborhoods (Ryan D'Agostino)

I liked it -- It's not so much a "how to be wealthy" book as a "how to make your life more enjoyable and stop being so hung up about money" book. Bottom line: most of the people who make a lot of money don't do it by making money their primary focus. Interesting.

Just Finished Fiction: Unplugging Philco (Jim Knipfel)

Imagine if George Bush had his way..... very Wag the Dog. Full of a lot of pop culture references, although they could be a little more subtle. Dystopian future where the government (really a corporation) enacts its will by convincing the populace that they are under threat of namelss, faceless terrorists. You know.... after The Horribleness (and who created that is up for discussion). Sound familiar?

NOW READING Fiction: Fire Study (Maria V. Snyder) Currently: p. 68

Third in a fantasy series -- not blown away by it, but it's the final in the series, and I feel compelled to see how it ends.

NOW READING Non-fiction: The Empathy Gap: Building Bridges to the Good Life and the Good Society (J.D. Trout) Currently p. 56

Interesting look at combining what we know about people's psychological makeup and how we can explain the lack of compassion an increasing lack of real empathy in some and almost hysterical levels in others. Attempting to define what it is we feel or should feel compelled to do to support our fellow man -- nice addendum about how we look at life differently from Western Europe/ Scandinavia.

The first 5 are free to you to keep if they look appealing. The four on my current list are all library books. Hoping to turn both in by Wednesday.