Here we are at work for the last day for a week. I must admit I’m not having too much success, you know, working.
The cycle of respiratory illness in Iowa, evidence gathered empirically from many students and associates who have their own flavor of this bug, is as follows:
1. Be super sick for three days.
2. Begin to come out of it the next day.
3. Feel like you’re making progress the following day.
4. Crash.
5. Return to 1.
My immune system has decided I only get one day this time. I want a refund. Seriously, as much as I regret having to stay home for a week, I believe I’ve made the right decision.
Next week is planned as a sick week, and rest is number one. Rest and relaxation and treatment. But there will have to be more, as I progress toward wellness. So, as I feel able, of course there will be:
1. Writing. I have a fantasy of putting Hartford, Alone (formerly Mark Twain’s Daughter) back together. I have a fantasy of riding the inspiration of the new The Winter the Troll Danced with Old Nick.
2. Reading. I have no particular goals, but a large row of books (I measure my booty horizontally–um I mean like pirate booty) waiting to happen. I’m currently reading Ilona Andrews On the Edge, and I might get to Boneshaker and Lynch’s sequel Red Sea Under Red Skies. A friend has also lent me the annotated Wizard of Oz to look through. Oh yes. And Chris Kastensmidt’s serial in Realms of Fantasy for sure.
3. Watching. I could re-watch some favorites. Maybe Lord of the Rings. Deep Space Nine. Battlestar Galactica.
What suggestions do you have for a woman of leisure who has a relaxing week ahead? I’m stocking up this weekend, and if you think there’s something I shouldn’t miss, clue me in.
Catherine
This sounds like what I was going through earlier this winter. For a couple of weeks there I was incapable of reading prose or watching movies due to brain failure. I went nuts at first, then realized that comics were still doable.
I’d suggest the Dungeon series of graphic novels, masterminded by Lewis Trondheim and Joann Sfar. Unlike a lot of Eurocomics they have real stories with engaging characters, and beautifully scribbly art works perfectly.
The basic idea is to make the inhabitants of a D&D-style dungeon the protagonists in fantasy stories ranging from the seemingly mundane (unclogging the dungeon’s sewer system) to the epic (the whole danged planet is blown to smithereens.) Like all the best satire, it’s simultaneously a comment on and a good example of its genre. The writer’s have a real knack for balancing the silly with the serious — there’s a lot more here than meets the eye.
I’ll have to ask my comics guy and see if he can lay his hands on these. In theory, we see him on the 27th.
Thanks for the recommendation.
Catherine