The shame of not posting to your own blog for three weeks...

Good news is, I've been busy with the very sorts of things this blog is supposed to be about. Bad news is that not blogging it defeats the other purpose of this blog, which is a kind of informal psychological survey of what conditions do and don't lend themselves to productivity in things artistic. So, I'm going to try to blog daily (oh why did I ever put that word in the title of this blog?) until the end of the quarter, because that will mark a crucial turning point from academic/poet, back to mason/poet.

First, the gritty:

-going to practice drums when I finish this blog. Have been doing that very not daily- blaming students and their thick. messy portfolios needing grading for that situation the past two weeks
-writing: producing steadily for collaboration piece. less than steadily for oakland piece. Had to compile, rework some things for a reading at CCA last weekend, and that was good. Even got a review on Barbara Jane Reyes' blog. Printed some proofs for Debts.
-building: I'm thinking of adding this as a category I track up until I start doing it again for a living, at which point I will reevaluate it. Mostly because any building I do know is for non-economic motivations. Specifically- little wooden boxes to house poems that make up Debts in. Need to get on that, can't figure out when I will, but need to.

Just got back from seeing a presentation about books on Oakland at the library. Anh-Hoa Thi Nguyen, who many Millsians know as just Hoa, was there pimping new art/literary book, As Is. Beautiful design, will continue enjoying content and say more later. But recounting the panel from last weekend made me recall, A.) how hilarious it is that Mills is going to pay me $50 for telling the audience of potential students that MFA's are financial suicide, and B.) that I should think about this whole work/poetry issue again. In all, it seems like this quarter, where I was working only one job and also actively incorporating creative writing into my course, had a good effect on my own work- I'm doing more of it, and compelled and even obligated to do more of it (I told the kids I'd do every assignment related to their big creative project along with them). So, as much as I trash it, adjuncting has been pretty good to me. Downsides are over 300 miles of driving a week, and the fact that my body has completely atrophied (read gone to shit and uselessness) now that I spend most of my day in front of this infernal machine. Looking forward to spending it in front of machines that have diamond blades and two-stroke engines. In fact, toying with the idea of dropping in on the crew and working a day tomorrow (in part because I need the money to buy some new shoes- how classic is that?).