Room to Think

I have a confession: I've been putting off writing. Over the past 5 years, writing has become less and less a part of my life, and I'm realizing more and more that it's something I need.  I used to be an extremely reflective person. I prided myself on my introspection and as a result, I was more intellectual, patient, empathetic, open, and relaxed. I think I was a better person because of it. Now I'm impatient, with little time for wasted minutes, and feeling like I'm pressed for all the time. You know how people recommend meditation for health? To slow down in a sped-up world? That's what writing is to me. Mental yoga. And I do it about as often as I do yoga. Not often enough. There was a simple question in my  Spark Notebook  yesterday, and it made me think--as it should. That's what I paid for. It asked: What have you been putting off lately? Inexplicably, it made me sad. And, I had a rare amount of time that I had time to reflect on why.  ...

So...I don't know if you've noticed, but I've become rather irregular in my posting.  (yes, I've missed two whole Florence Fridays in a row! Shameful.)  But it's hard when you get so many priorities you can't think straight, and I think that's where I'm at right now. This quarter is going to be a busy one--I can already tell. I'm taking classes from two of the toughest graders I've ever taken classes from, but I think they're among my top 3 favorite professors here.  Editing and Publishing with Kate Trueblood , and Multigenre Dream Writing with Bruce Beasley .  They make up 10 of my final 15 credits. I'm also the new Outreach Intern for The Old Foundry, and Shadi will doubtless keep me very busy.  Knowing me, I'm going to volunteer for extra projects in my internship class, just so I can gain as many skills as I can in one quarter.  I wouldn't put it past me to turn this 5 credit class into a 10 credit class. ...

You know, I missed last Sunday's Sunday Scribbles, and I didn't even notice.  That's how busy I've been.  I hate dead week (Lovely teachers, I think you have it backwards...Finals week is supposed to be more difficult than dead week. >.<) I really ought to rename this day "Sunday Stresses" or "Stressful Scribbles". I was going to post a picture I drew on Illustrator today, but it seems as though my computer is deciding to be a jerk again.  Three weeks ago my Microsoft programs all got corrupted and needed to be reinstalled, putting me behind in my work for my 402 class.  Just now, InDesign crashed and decided it was going to take the entire Adobe Creative Suite with it.  I'm supposed to send that project to my client for review tomorrow, and I don't have the disks with me for a re-install. Life is sucking at the moment.  I'll figure it out, though. =/ What I probably would have drawn if my computer had decided to work. ...