So Sugar Daddy has been working for the past couple of days in Guelph, while Swee'pea and I have remained with the grandparents. I have to say, I really miss Sugar Daddy. And not just because of the spare pair of baby wranglers (Grandma and Grandpa don't do baby wrangling). Being away from him has reminded me that I just really like having him around, to talk to, to be teased by, to hug. This is a good thing for me to remember.
Today was supposed to be a real-life Flashback Friday. I have plans to meet some old high school friends for dinner tonight, one of whom I haven't seen in nearly ten years, apart from two random sightings on the street. It has probably been longer since the four of us were in the same room together, probably since the death of one of their mothers in 1997. I say supposed to be, because Swee'pea and I developed colds overnight. He was very grumpy yesterday and last night, and I thought he was working on another tooth, but in the night both of our noses started and I think we're both feeling a bit under the weather today. So I'll have to wait and see how we're feeling tonight, before I decide whether to go. Sugar Daddy is due to come back tonight too, which I'm really looking forward to. At the very least, I need his baby wranglers. The last two nights have been rough, with at least 5 wakings a night, and the days have involved endless wrestling matches to get clothes and diapers on and off, and to get Swee'pea to nap.
I have had the opportunity to do a bit of reading though. My sister gave me a copy of Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures for my birthday, which I was a bit disappointed by at first because I'm not really into literature or award-winning books these days. But I started it, thinking it might be like Grey's Anatomy, and was immediately drawn in. Then I realized that it was a collection of short stories, which I also found disappointing because for some reason, I am really not into short stories. But then I discovered that they're about the same characters who I already care about and don't want to leave yet, so I'm happy again. I like that it seems to have the time frame of a novel, but is more a series of vignettes then a constant narrative. For that reason, it reminds me a bit of Hemingway's In Our Time, which I read back in university and loved. Three vignettes in, I have to say I'm disgusted that the author, Vincent Lam, is both an MD and an exceptional writer. These stories are REALLY well-written. Some people get all the talents.
Speaking of talent (ha ha), I have discovered some boxes of my old papers, letters, and assignments, which may provide some blog fodder when I get a chance to go through them. I found my old grade twelve English journal that we were required to do, and some deeply embarrassing letters I wrote to various celebrities. I didn't have a diary, really, when I was growing up but I wrote letters to people I had crushes on and didn't send them. I discovered a letter I wrote to Kish, a not-even-one-hit-wonder from 1991. I listened to his song a few days after writing 13 songs I loved when I was 13, and it's not even catchy like Maestro Fresh Wes and Young MC. It's really not worth listening to. Anyways, I couldn't even finish reading the letter I wrote to him, it was so embarrassing.
So that's all the news that's fit to blog. Swee'pea is still asleep so I'm off to read more Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures.
Hello 2024
10 months ago
5 comments:
As someone who teaches short stories for a living, I have to say - I'm totally with you. Short stories ask a lot and they have to be really, really good to pay off the investment of concentration and mental energy. And really, not very many of them are good enough.
With a novel, at least you know that you've got a few good days' worth of reading once you've gotten through the initial stage of sorting out the who/what/when/where. And for some reason, novels tend to lay those things out a bit more plainly, right off the top (maybe short stories feel they need to be stylish - they can't be simply informative when there are so few words within which to make a good impression). The best short stories, like "A Rose for Emily," make the figuring-out the whole point of the story.
I figure the reason fantasy books are, like 1000 pages long (and that's not including the six sequels) is that the figuring-out phase is that much more demanding - if readers have to sort out who/what/when/where in a novel where all the places are located on another planet, and all the character names are totally unfamiliar, we need to be able to keep reading about this world for at least a year to make it worthwhile.
I sometimes really like a short story, especially when I know that I'm time crunched and can't read all of a novel - I like to read something in as few sittings as possible, you see. I got my husband a big Flannery O'Connor collection for his birthday and plan on, um, reading it soon.
I hope you are back with Sugar Daddy now: but it does feel nice to miss him, doesn't it? Very reassuring, even when you miss the baby wrangling, to recall that your husband is someone you actually enjoy spending time with. I recognize what you are writing about here. And also, Miss Baby's G + G are not much of a help either ...
I cannot read short stories. I just can't! Further to B&P's description, I am a fantasy reader, and for me, it's all about the setup. Short stories just don't fulfill that need.
I know what you mean about an extra set of baby wranglers. I am loving staying at home with The Boy this holiday - much more than my maternity leave. I thought - why don't I stay home all the time? I realized that it's more fun because Mr Earth is here too. It's the three of us all together that makes it great. And not so exhausting...
I am actually really looking forward to that book ... but I didn't know it was a collection of short stories ... hmmm ... I am still looking forward to it.
I hope you and yours have a very Happy New Year!
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