I'm in the Humboldt area now. Another hippie town, the northern sister of my alma mater, Santa Cruz. More rural that I remember Santa Cruz.
I'm picking J up from the airport today. He will join me the rest of the drive, probably concluding on Sunday. I have mixed feelings about this. It will be nice to have company, but it also terrifies me. All the silent moments, the thinking, the spontaneous stops, the not-closing-the-bathroom-door... will these all be lost with company?
I used to write in a journal, sketching ideas, reacting to events. It was good material for ideas for projects, and good ventilation for a cramped mind. When I started writing online, I know I began to restrict what I wrote, but was also pleased that the writing suddenly seemed "useful" because it had an audience. I worry I do not ponder things as deeply now, because I am trying to compose them, bring a beginning, middle, end and theme. Do musings always have these things? Right now, I am using the blog to outline the days, while I decide how this whole trip will be assimilated into my mind. Will having someone to talk to pollute these thoughts?
I have been listening to books, which I have worried would be too distracting. When I look at certain fields, I suddenly see the scenes described in my book, on the other side of the world. Will I lose the American landscape, if I am listening to a Middle Eastern landscape?
May I use this for my composition class? The idea of an audience shaping your writing probably comes from your deep knowledge of the viewer/seen/scene dynamics of pictorial display.
ReplyDelete2. Your bathroom door won't close or you just don't bother without "J" around? How's a bathroom work in one of those things, anyway?
Certainly use it for your class! I usually have students keep a journal or sketchbook, and I always wonder how useful it is for them... for a class, a teacher will peak in to make sure they are doing it, so does it become as useful for them?
ReplyDeleteOh, the things I could write about the bathroom! I usually don't bother closing the door--it is an accordion-style vinyl thing that needs its track oiled. It is hard and slow to close. With J here, I am more modest and close it. I do pull the window shade every time, with or without company. The toilet is on a raised platform, so essentially, you drop your pants right in front of the rear window.