shifting gears

My attention span has never been what we'd call "long." I get a lot more done if I have a lot more going on. With that in mind, I've shifted gears a bit. Here's why: those twelve books I checked out the other day: well, they've more to do with literature and culture or history or postmodernism or the Cold War or what have you, and I think it's important not only to get this stack looming over my laptop taken care of but to have my more comprehensive readings done before I really get into my close readings. That being said, I'm also going out of town for a few days. And I'd rather not try to get everything done tomorrow because I'll just whip myself into a frenzy.

So here's my to do list:
1. print maps
2. pack
3. clean out closet (I'm making a goodwill run while I'm there)
4. litter box
5. cut hair (I already cut my bangs - there's no going back now)
6. library run (two books I have on hold have come in), (by 6:45 if I go today, by 8:45 if I go tomorrow)
7. grab booze (my friends are having a party tonight), (though technically, I can stop at the deli or bring something from my stash here)
8. make roadtrip cd (this is very important!!)

Is that it? I think that might be it. I love how item two - "pack" - reduces what will take me at least an hour and probably two goes (I forget things) to a four-letter word.

And if there's time left over, I'll continue reading the book I spent hours and hours on yesterday (in between googling and wikipedia-ing little references or events or people or what have you), which contains a chapter on Cat's Cradle which I don't agree with. Maybe it's just that any way you read something, you have to ignore something else. Which is a little frustrating, but also completely liberating because it means there are no right answers, there is no exhaustive reading, there is no last word. Hooray for postmodernism. Because it was a revolution or something? Uh, no.

I need a sunny vacay, and it's colder where I'm going than where I am. Blagh. Soon. Never soon enough, though. Sand between my toes. Salt on my skin. Sun. Mmm. If that's not motivation, I don't know what is.