Another day out, another night in. It has been a while since I felt relaxed. I have been more or less content for a while, but relaxed? Not really. Right now, with Beth Orton in the background and orange juice on the side I feel I deserve it and I feel relaxed indeed. How is the feeling generated? Well, opinions clash on the hot topic, yet I will put my experience on the table for dissection. My day started early, at 6:45 I was up preparing for the trip to campus. It was a pleasure lecturing today. Yes it could have been more seamless, yet some parts of it were positively flowing. I could leave the podium and the notes and just present a narrative in a seamless manner. Why is it that this is possible in front of an audience and so much harder with a keyboard before me? I guess writing is not performance, and I will always veer towards performance.
(Picture to the right: Sunset Conversation by Elif Eren)
I guess that is the reason I like McMullen’s prose. It reads like conversation with an audience. It gets you in the know, it shares secrets and feels as if he can see your approval. In any case I felt I did a good job and my students regaled me with a good discussion section to make me feel even better about everything. I am not sure once again why it is that today they did better: maybe they started reading at last, maybe they just stopped being threatened by my immense physical and academic stature… maybe the material was really good, maybe all of the above. In any case it was all good, and it felt good doing it. Then I returned home, had time to have a siesta and moved to a café to edit the pope article for the New York magazine. Had a beer and a steak sandwich and then at home I finished all the work I have for Thursday. I practically just gained a day. Tomorrow can be real work on keeping abreast of the game, or research; hence relaxation.