7 October 2006

Finished a few days ago the sofabench, my attempt to avoid finding somebody else's tired couch . . . and while the final product is not very comfortable, but it does look pretty cool, and it was fun to build. Doing so required two essential actions: turning screws, which hold the join between back and seat, and pulling thread through the pillows that, sewn together, are the seat cushion.

The two actions, though equally important, were essentially different: turning a screw as hard as possible focuses the body's whole energy on a single motion. Sewing the cushions, meanwhile, requires a more patient effort. I wonder what habits of mind each cultivates, when done regularly.

5 October 2006

Today was one of those immaculately crisp and bright early fall days, a little essence of which you want to capture in a (green glass) bottle and inhale on a cold short winter day, or an airless summer night.

A friend's nephew was shot in the arm last night by his ex-girlfriend's new crew. (They also shot his new girlfriend in the leg.) Fortunately the injuries are not serious. Asked by my friend how he got himself into a place in life where relationships begin and end, as one is obligated by the law of unavoidable puns to say, with a bang, he replied: "I guess I have to stop dating strippers."