2000-12-06 - 0:50

Down to the bottom of the river

Not too much is new and exciting so far this week. Work is going normally. My only noteworthy change was managing to shift back to an earlier schedule, so that I won't end up staying past 6:00 anymore. We'll see if I can keep that one up.

I can't stop listening to Hallowed Ground, the second Violent Femmes CD, which was finally reissued after being criminally out of print. I think that it might be my favourite Femmes disc. In a way, it's odd that some of my favourite music has such stong religious overtones (Cave, PJ, Sabbath, etc.). (Do people who don't believe in love still get into love songs?)

Maybe I relate the way that the writers sing about religion to how I feel about other aspects of life. It's possible to understand emotion without relating to the object of the emotion. Something in the music makes me want to scream along to, "I stood right up in the heart of Hell, I never tell!"

My other kick lately is Hubert Selby Jr's Song of the Silent Snow, a collection of short stories. I've read the first five stories, and I'll probably tear through one or two more before I go to bed. I love the way that everything can change for the protagonists simply based on how they decide to view the world.

It was very interesting how Harry twisted everything around in "Hi Champ," first building up one action higher and higher in his mind before finally going through with it, then analyzing something special after the fact, until it was reduced to nothing. I have total respect for an author who can write an engaging story that rings completely true and gives you something to think about, all in twelve pages.

I find that I go in fits and spurts with my reading now, depending on how work is going and whether I've fallen into any other late night routines. I think that the way that everything is going now, I'll probably pick up the pace again. Christmas break at home will probably be pretty quiet, too, so maybe I'll go through a couple of books there.

Speaking of which, it still hasn't sunk in that in about two weeks, Maneesh and Scott will be moving out; and Mandeep and Tim'll be taking off at work. Four-month intervals definitely go fast. Then again, it does not at all feel like it's been long since I was home, so maybe one year goes fast, too.

J.