clutter

Lots of clutter in the old brain these days. Much to do in the next five or six weeks, including two trips out west, one for 4Cs and one for my pal Nate's wedding. Going home for Easter weekend. In the midst of four or five writing projects, as usual. Revisions of my article for Community College Journal of Research and Practice. Second draft of a paper I'm co-writing about Million Dollar Baby (more on that project later). Final changes to next week's 4Cs presentation in San Fran. Productive weekend--read and marked set of term paper prospectuses from grad. students, got some reading done, cleaned basement and ended up listing a bunch of old stuff on ebay, raked leaves in backyard, broke away from work long enough to see "Be Cool," which was painfully mediocre (can't believe Elmore Leonard really had a hand in the adaptation).

Today, feeling jittery from a morning/early afternoon of paper grading (critical responses to Eve Ensler's "Necessary Targets") and from a lousy night's sleep. Last night woke up at 2 a.m. and couldn't sleep (rare for me), so I read most of Mark Haddon's novel "The Curious Indident of the Dog in the Night-Time," which I love even though at times the narrative becomes a parlor trick. It's a murder mystery of sorts, narrated by an autistic teenager in suburban London. Powerful characterization, but, again, the authorial trick becomes hokey at times. Good read though. Went to YMCA at 5:30 and actually felt wide awake by 7:00. But I'm gonna crash soon...Better get through rest of the papers while I can.