Never Quite Got it in Gear

I didn't blog yesterday. I didn't get back to the clothes sorting. I was halfway through doing a lot of laundry and never took down any clothes from the clothesline or put any new baskets of laundry up. I'd planned to, but then I was startled to see it had gone from hot weather the day before to cold, windy, stormy weather. So why put up laundry if it was going to get rained on. Of course, following that logic, taking IN the laundry still outside should have been a priority.

Instead I just sort of .... puttered. Only not in a conscious take-a-day-off way. Or in a get-small-things-done way. I really just wandered in circles, answering the phone, picking kids up from spring football practice, buying a Starbucks, halfheartedly watching yesterday's primary results on television.

I did spend a good chunk of the morning on the phone with the IRS trying to figure out why they'd sent us a much smaller refund than we'd expected. Turns out it was their error, not mine, and we'll be getting another check sometime in the next decade. They said the problem was we didn't claim William as an exemption. There I was, phone to my ear, staring at a photocopy of exactly what I'd sent to them, with William's name, SSN, and relationship all neatly typed in the proper spaces. I don't know what they're smoking but.... sheesh. And then they said that the Stimulus Check that's presumably going to arrive some time this year, won't reflect William either and that there's really nothing to be done about it because it will be based on the original tax forms we sent in, which didn't include William. But, we did include William. GRRRR.

Since I can't go shove the proof of it in anyone's face, it's a stand off. They win. I'm not one who takes great delight in imagining conspiracies around every corner but, if they just "accidentally" don't see something on, say, every 100th tax return, and most folks don't feel up to figuring it out.... well, you do the math. I know that insurance companies regularly deny many legitimate claims the first go round because they absolutely know that a certain percentage of people will not pursue the matter - saves them millions. So, not a stretch, methinks. Anyway, my point is, I did deal with it and I figure just doing that one unfun thing gives me some excuse for piddling away the rest of the day.

And reading. That's really the crux of things. I've got all these half finished books sitting around the house and they're weighing down on me. I don't want to do anything but sit and read until I'm all caught up. Normally I only have one or two books going at a time. I don't know how I let things get so complicated. I've got some new books that I'm oooooooh so itchy to start, but I know if I don't finish these others first, I'll probably never get back to them. And it's not like I'm disliking the ones I'm currently reading. Au contraire. I'm just excited to get to the new ones. If you want to see the titles I'm reading, you can go here. And if you want to see books I've already read, go here. I've been stealing an hour out of the morning to read, an hour or so in the afternoon, reading instead of watching television, reading late into the night instead of keeping to my goal of getting to bed at a reasonable hour. I'd love to give the rest of the week to reading and nothing else but, I've got other things yammering for my attention too.

William once said he'd love if someone invented a way to simply download a book directly into a person's head, without having to go to all the trouble of reading it. And I suppose there's some appeal to that, if you were trying to make it through a college semester of thick reading, or needed the foundation in some new skill so you could move on to the fun part of using your new knowledge more quickly. But novels - the experience of reading it is part of the pleasure. A book by lamplight when the world is dark and quiet, a cozy chair by the window on a rainy day, a story that whisks you away from the boring waiting room or cramped airplane seat, the book you read at the coffee shop that causes folks to interupt to say "I loved that book" or "Is it any good?" Reading has pleasures beyond what the words on the page tell or teach you. In fact, I'm very excited, tonight I'm attending the first meeting for a new Book Club. It all started with a chance conversation about a year ago with a stranger at the local bookstore. So, that gives me something definitive on my schedule for today. And reminds me that it's not about how fast I read, it's about enjoying the process. (But, I want to read more books, so I still wish I could just read for the next week.)

Speaking of television (two paragraphs back), I watched American Idol last night. We're no way as addicted to it as we were the year before last, but we have watched it regularly, missing it only when we were traveling. I've always assumed, from the first, that David Cook would win it this year but after watching last night's show... I don't know.... Archeleta could be the one. I don't dislike Archeleta. In fact, if last night's show was the only criteria, I'd say he won without question. But I never could figure out his appeal through the middle episodes. I thought it was going to be Syesha and Cook at the end. Not that it really matters. If you follow past winners and almost winners, it's obvious all that matters is getting into that top handful. After that, it's more a matter of who's got the most marketable genre. Underwood had country western, Daughtry had rock. But what happened to Jordan? Nothing. I still stand by my Taylor Hicks though, I just think they mismanaged him, tried to make him into something he's not, tried to sell him to the wrong market. He's a performance artist, not a radio star. He should have been allowed to go back to his band and gone on a small and medium venue tour. Sort of like the Grateful Dead, although that's a stretch to compare him to such a huge phenomenon, but in the sense that it's about the experience, not the sound. I'm guessing I've just put 90% of my readers to sleep, rambling on like this. So, okay then.

Hopefully I'll get some mileage out of today. Which is half over. And I'm still in my pajamas. Shut up. I'm getting dressed as soon as I hit the "Publish Post" button. Phhhbttt.