projects

I am feeling the need for projects, for outlets for energy. This is largely in anticipation of the waning days as an interloping TA at NU. I have, after final grades are sent in, a mere month to go. So what kinds of projects am I considering?


1. Starting a writing group: I tried this once before but never really followed through. Instead, I joined an already existing group in Chicago but my interest quickly waned.


2. Writing project: I would like to lay my Cora novel to rest one of these days. The damn thing has been lingering in my brain for so long now in its finished/unfinished state. But this seems too charged to tackle. I have been thinking about writing something that would deal with the way that meaning is created retrospectively, each episode would make the reader reconstruct what happen due the jumps in time. Not particularly new, but interesting nonetheless.

3. Research something: I've always liked research. It's one of the reasons why I wanted to be an academic. But follow through is the problem. In any case, I would really like to look in on something. Recently, I have become interested in John Evans' (afterwhom Evanston is named) tenure as territorial governor of Colorado during the Civil War. Perhaps I could read more about that.

4. Crafts: I have several craft projects that need completing including making a scrap box from Europe trip materials and binding a story I wrote for my wife. This category could also, and why not, include home repair projects like stripping our doors, which are caked up with paint. I don't think that the cold damp weather we've been having is conducive to this though (as I would have to do said stripping in the basement). Maybe best to wait on this one.

So, many projects to pursue. But where to begin? Maybe I'll post a notice on Craigslist now for a writer's group.