Art and Fear

Been reading a lot lately. I just finished Art and Fear, by David Bayles and Ted Orland, and I highly recommend it. I was really happy to see it avoids getting into the self-help side of things, and sticks generally to a sardonic, realistic, and mostly optimistic, view of the topic.

I also just put down Growth of the Soil, by Knut Hamsun, a Norwegian author who won a Nobel prize for this book (first published in 1917). I randomly came across it in the "Just In" section of the library, as this is a recently released new translation. This was one of those books that surprised me just as much on the shelf as it did while I was reading it, and I have this weird feeling that the book picked me (and cue cheesy music *here*). Anyway, it provided a very real and much needed glimpse-of-the-forest-through-the-trees moment for me. Definitely check it out if you're looking to move beyond your current beach-read.

Back to hunting for jobs, which, surprise surprise, is proving to be slightly more of a labyrinth these days. I just had my first pivotal moment where I realized that all of the issues we discuss on NPR and complain about over beer, or coffee, really do affect me. Drat!

One thing that is pretty cool--I've got my place settled, am feeling pretty comfortable in my routine, and now that I don't have a job (temporarily, please), I have the perfect opportunity to make coffee, stay in my pj's all day, and practice as I please. I remember thinking this summer that I should really enjoy my no-classes-not-many-hours-working-a-job-summer lifestyle, because it was the last time I was ever going to be able to live in such a manner, and I am very happy to note that I was wrong.

Now, let's see how long I have to practice overtones before the bulldog next door starts barking at me.