November 20, 2011

As per a kind reader's suggestion, I'm trying a daylog. From others I've read, the content varies, but I had thought it more like a journal entry place.

That being said, I'm no longer at my mother's house but back to my usual reality after my husband got in a car accident when a woman in front of him on the highway fell asleep at the wheel, hitting a light pole, and dragging a large chunk of it under her car. Miraculously, she was not hurt.

The chunk dislodged from her car and my husband couldn't swerve to avoid it, so it ended up under his car, breaking the front axle. He was not hurt either, and managed to steer his car to a narrow shoulder to wait for the State Troopers and tow truck to arrive. He doesn't have a cell phone since he's quite hard of hearing, so the tow truck guy called my son saying, "Yo, yer Pop's been ina accident. He's shook up, but okay. Canya pick him up?"

I get a text "Dad was in accident. Going to get him."

This all happened as I was still at my mother's keeping an eye on her rising blood pressure, while she kept trying to plan Thanksgiving. I don't believe in signs from the Universe or whatever, but this was the car we use to go camping, so I'm re-thinking that plan, which two months ago sounded fine.

So I packed my bag, hugged my mom, and said, "if you need me, just call and I'll be back."

Home, where there are endless things to get done before winter: dig up forgotten potatoes in the garden, deal with the insurance company, cook and clean and be wife/mother/grandmother. Home, where a large part of my heart is. Time to paint the house, put away the summer kites, bring the houseplants inside. Time to remember the holidays are coming, when all is cheery and bright.

Despite being very busy, I've managed to find time to start a Skyrim playthrough. Skyrim is sort of like an unfathomably large Bob Ross painting that you can explore, with or without the aid of a horse that defies the laws of physics. I'm playing a battle-harded swordswoman, decked out in Very Sensible Fullplate natch. There are beautiful landscapes, picturesque ruins, scary underground dungeons and a series of distinct forts and cities, some of which you literally need to stumble upon to ever know about. Something that really put me off Oblivion was how generic everything felt, and Skyrim is a definite improvement on that front. I only really have time for a few hours a week, so my Skrim Goals aren't very ambitious. Find a cool hat, steal the Jarl's sword, continue to penetrate the inhospitable wilds.

Back in real life, I've got a couple of major papers due next Monday, exams to prepare for, a graduate studies open house to attend at a nearby school, a scholarship certificate to claim and a handsome olive-coloured suit to have tailored. There's also a lot I should be doing but will probably put off for a couple of weeks - revising my statement of purpose and writing samples, reading the work of the faculty at my prospective programs.

I wish I had more time to pursue other things! I have a pile of science fiction novels and Nero Wolfe mysteries sitting in my bedroom that I haven't had the chance to read. My German is getting worse every day, and I've forgotten all the Greek I once knew. There's a beautiful old dollhouse in a friend's basement that is promised to me, and it would be nice to establish that in my apartment and begin the process of restoring and furnishing it.

Iron Noder is going really well and bringing me a lot of joy, but I'm also worried about completing the quota myself in light of how busy my next two weeks appear. I think I will finish, ultimately, if only because my supervisory role lays down a decent amount of pressure to do so. Not that I'm really Noding For The Ages with a day log like this, of course, but I'm optimistic that I've got some substantive content up my sleeves yet.