The shoe vacuum made me cackle, partly because of the "Lonely Bull" background music but mostly because I have done the exact same thing. Sometimes bending over or bothering to get the vacuum cleaner is just too much trouble. And who's to say that the rubber shoe is not the better tool!
*So* on point. I am a person of faith, KV — Christianity, for all it's warts and abuses and power grabs — but I am convinced that God has little use for efficiency and 'productivity.' He would've created a much different world if those things truly mattered.
Instead, He created a world of irrational beauty and inexplicable mystery. I lean instead toward Rachel Held Evans, who said after a long night of wrestling with what to do with her life: "So what did God say to me in the silence that morning? I’m not sure, but I think God said something like, 'Don’t try so hard, little child,' and, 'Hey, check out this cool turtle I made.'”
I love this post. My dad would stay up late at night writing music and when I was in 3rd grade he recorded a single vinyl 45" and he sent me out to sell his music for 50 cents a record. I only brought a couple of bucks home to my parents each day. I had 2 older brothers but they (dad) sent me to promote and sell the record . I never minded doing it. My dad passed during COVID along with my his brother. My aunt gifted me a vinyl recording of the one that I sold in 3rd grade to the teachers and anyone that would buy one. I've become a sloth that is slowly catching up to the present and the past. Can't stop the world is my favorite Go-Go song! ❤️
you write so beautifully... your new sense of peace in your surroundings permeates the page. there is something very special about your writing, Kathy. thank you for sharing your gifts and magic with us. xxjim
There's a phrase oft-credited to Dorothy Parker that essentially goes, "I don't enjoy writing, I enjoy having written." (Apologies if this phrase has come up before and I've forgotten its prior discussion here.) Actually, Parker may not have been the one to say it, depending on how you research the origins of the phrase -- see https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/10/18/on-writing/ -- but the sentiment remains the same. Sloth days, as you ascribe them -- a.k.a. procrastination, rationalization hours/days, or "think days," in my own parlance -- often wrack writers like ourselves (or anyone, really; it's not "just" a profession-label-specific thing) with feelings of sedentary guilt to the effect of "why I am not doing MORE?" (Or just go right to Neil Young singing, "Why do I keep f#$@ing up?")
You may recall, in previous respective work/life lives, our discussions about vintage cars (like those owned by Jimmie Vaughan!) and car stereos for a magazine I was the EIC of back in your earlier Austin days, but FF'ing us more to the present day, as someone who writes/posts/edits anywhere from four to seven to ten (and sometime more) stories about music, musicians, and A/V gear/tech at a minimum every week, I recognize the inherent value of that "think time" -- my above-noted and preferred phrase for "sloth time," wherein i essentially force myself to take a break from it all even though I feel like I should be working on the next story (and the one - or ones, plural -- after that) no matter what. I still wrestle with this procrastination factor on a daily basis, but once I get into the groove of the writing, transcribing, and editing of it all, I'm back on a roll -- and, well, I have found that I actually DO enjoy both the process of writing AND having written. Perhaps it's the ramp-up-to-it-ness time that bogs it all down in our overthinking minds -- the anticipation, the dread, the "here we go again," the "can I keep doing this," etc., etc. . . .
At any rate, my rationalization (another cue: writer Michael/Jeff Goldblum's "juicy rationalization" sequence in The Big Chill) is this -- let us embrace and enjoy "think time," and make sure to enforce "think time" into our writing routines, because when the floodgates open -- something you've written about with great awareness in previous Motion installments -- you ride that wave to the very end. (and then you do it again when the muse strikes.)
And that's it for me for the moment, as I can now rationalize my way back to transcribing an interview I meant to get around to earlier, but chose to write this first instead. Looking forward to installment 49, and beyond!
Hi Mike! Nice to hear from you--thank you for imparting your process and thoughts. I do so much better with assignments that have to be done--even if the "assignment" is my substack. I respond well to accountability with writing, it's why I considered going for an MFA. I hope to get a better work ethic going for my next book, proposal, sample chapters etc etc. sigh. xK
I’m here at the Big Ears music festival, and I was thinking about AI and planning to post a comment asking on your opinion about the threat of AI to music artists. You beat me to it. I think for now the solution is to intentionally support small artists buy buying everything they can you vaguely vs paying $2k to see Taylor Swift (I LOVE that your guitar guy is still selling CDs). In fact, as part of Big Ears there is a prolific artist that does album covers (Steve Keene). I don’t think he does commissions, but I’m going to find an artists that does, so don’t be surprised if there’s a birthday present waiting for pickup at your local FedEx shop sometime this year based on one of your solo photos.
The AirRam MK2 is a small but effective vacuum, by the way. But you do you. :)
Hi Steve, Thank you for the vacuum rec! I use the one the place came with that I'm subletting. Also a big Thank you for supporting the work of artists.
Your early birthday present is enroute now. Held in your name, pickup is at Mailboxes Etc in StA. 17 Hollywell Hill. Enjoy! Just reply to let me know you got this. I'm guessing it will arrive Friday or Monday.
Super relatable~ I just seem to have a “head start” with so many autoimmune issues. Even (and especially) when I’m too drained/sick to move, I’m so freaking hard on myself. Curious is my essence and I do and learn what I can, still that culture of traditional “productivity” has its grip on me. Working through all of that is rough sometimes & I totally empathize.
*going through it now~ my blood pressure has been in the 70s/40s and I feel (and probably look) like someone drained my blood 🥴😵💫
So happy that the busker is back and that you got to chat with him ❤️❤️
Ah Emily, I hope you've gotten you BP sorted and feeling a bit more vibrancy. You project it in spades even if you aren't always feeling it physically! xK
"Sometimes at the end of the day I have to write a list of what I “accomplished” so that I feel good enough to lay down and rest." What does it say that I'm writing this comment on my laptop while sitting in the lobby of Margaritaville Lake Conroe (about 3 hours east of Austin) where hubby and I came for a three-day respite before a long spell of no days off?! In my defense, it's cold and rainy, so hanging out by the pool is not an option today, but the fact that I brought my laptop demonstrates that I have a hard time unplugging from the accomplishment/productivity cycle. As always, thanks for being a "coming of aging" friend to me and others. Big love from ATX. 💜
I can relate to vaccuum-dislike, because I HATE ironing, so I developed all these hacks that really didn't work but I did them any way. I'd spray the garment with water and hang it, or try drying it for 3.7 minutes, or burn sage over it, etc. It was all ridiculous, I knew it was all ridiculous, but I really, really hate ironing. Seriously, if I go to the Bad Place, I'll just be eternally ironing, and the only thing on TV will be "Hogan's Heroes." Oh, and Ben Shapiro will be at the next board, feeling chatty.
As always, bravo! I do so very much enjoy these dispatches from across the Atlantic. You're a very talented writer (but as a Go-Go's fan, I've known that for years). All the best from the upper Midwest!
What a great dispatch! I think it is perfectly fine and normal to take some time to not do anything in particular. Our bodies and minds need the rest occasionally. Or is that my 64 year old self talking? 😁 I am looking forward to retirement next year but that doesn't mean I won't be busy with maybe a part-time job that has nothing to do with Healthcare, babysitting Henry, or traveling.
I am a sports fan, but, for some reason, I don't follow the NBA. Do you have a favorite team?
I do enjoy your writing. I am looking forward to your next book. You certainly have a literary gift.
I loved this SO much!! Your use of “coming of aging” makes me so happy (as I’m less than three weeks away from turning 50 and realllly getting going on my own coming of aging - can’t wait!!) - and I am so happy that you’re loving your new life in St Albans. I left my tiny hometown in Canada for my UK adventure and ended up in the Luton-Dunstable area (just up the train line from you!) for a few years before heading to San Antonio…those UK years were the BEST and I so hope to go back once my kid has flown the nest. Thank you for your writing and your honesty - I appreciate you so much. ❤️✨☀️
The shoe vacuum made me cackle, partly because of the "Lonely Bull" background music but mostly because I have done the exact same thing. Sometimes bending over or bothering to get the vacuum cleaner is just too much trouble. And who's to say that the rubber shoe is not the better tool!
*So* on point. I am a person of faith, KV — Christianity, for all it's warts and abuses and power grabs — but I am convinced that God has little use for efficiency and 'productivity.' He would've created a much different world if those things truly mattered.
Instead, He created a world of irrational beauty and inexplicable mystery. I lean instead toward Rachel Held Evans, who said after a long night of wrestling with what to do with her life: "So what did God say to me in the silence that morning? I’m not sure, but I think God said something like, 'Don’t try so hard, little child,' and, 'Hey, check out this cool turtle I made.'”
Talking about vacuum cleaning, with The Lonely Bull from Herb Alpert, how do your cats react to cleaning? :)
My cat was always afraid from vacuum cleaner and run to highest place in the flat :)
I love this post. My dad would stay up late at night writing music and when I was in 3rd grade he recorded a single vinyl 45" and he sent me out to sell his music for 50 cents a record. I only brought a couple of bucks home to my parents each day. I had 2 older brothers but they (dad) sent me to promote and sell the record . I never minded doing it. My dad passed during COVID along with my his brother. My aunt gifted me a vinyl recording of the one that I sold in 3rd grade to the teachers and anyone that would buy one. I've become a sloth that is slowly catching up to the present and the past. Can't stop the world is my favorite Go-Go song! ❤️
you write so beautifully... your new sense of peace in your surroundings permeates the page. there is something very special about your writing, Kathy. thank you for sharing your gifts and magic with us. xxjim
THank you so much Jim!! I love hearing this
Great idea to cleaning with The Wrecking Crew, I'll try that I 🤩
❤️🎸❤️
Herb Alpert!
There's a phrase oft-credited to Dorothy Parker that essentially goes, "I don't enjoy writing, I enjoy having written." (Apologies if this phrase has come up before and I've forgotten its prior discussion here.) Actually, Parker may not have been the one to say it, depending on how you research the origins of the phrase -- see https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/10/18/on-writing/ -- but the sentiment remains the same. Sloth days, as you ascribe them -- a.k.a. procrastination, rationalization hours/days, or "think days," in my own parlance -- often wrack writers like ourselves (or anyone, really; it's not "just" a profession-label-specific thing) with feelings of sedentary guilt to the effect of "why I am not doing MORE?" (Or just go right to Neil Young singing, "Why do I keep f#$@ing up?")
You may recall, in previous respective work/life lives, our discussions about vintage cars (like those owned by Jimmie Vaughan!) and car stereos for a magazine I was the EIC of back in your earlier Austin days, but FF'ing us more to the present day, as someone who writes/posts/edits anywhere from four to seven to ten (and sometime more) stories about music, musicians, and A/V gear/tech at a minimum every week, I recognize the inherent value of that "think time" -- my above-noted and preferred phrase for "sloth time," wherein i essentially force myself to take a break from it all even though I feel like I should be working on the next story (and the one - or ones, plural -- after that) no matter what. I still wrestle with this procrastination factor on a daily basis, but once I get into the groove of the writing, transcribing, and editing of it all, I'm back on a roll -- and, well, I have found that I actually DO enjoy both the process of writing AND having written. Perhaps it's the ramp-up-to-it-ness time that bogs it all down in our overthinking minds -- the anticipation, the dread, the "here we go again," the "can I keep doing this," etc., etc. . . .
At any rate, my rationalization (another cue: writer Michael/Jeff Goldblum's "juicy rationalization" sequence in The Big Chill) is this -- let us embrace and enjoy "think time," and make sure to enforce "think time" into our writing routines, because when the floodgates open -- something you've written about with great awareness in previous Motion installments -- you ride that wave to the very end. (and then you do it again when the muse strikes.)
And that's it for me for the moment, as I can now rationalize my way back to transcribing an interview I meant to get around to earlier, but chose to write this first instead. Looking forward to installment 49, and beyond!
Hi Mike! Nice to hear from you--thank you for imparting your process and thoughts. I do so much better with assignments that have to be done--even if the "assignment" is my substack. I respond well to accountability with writing, it's why I considered going for an MFA. I hope to get a better work ethic going for my next book, proposal, sample chapters etc etc. sigh. xK
I’m here at the Big Ears music festival, and I was thinking about AI and planning to post a comment asking on your opinion about the threat of AI to music artists. You beat me to it. I think for now the solution is to intentionally support small artists buy buying everything they can you vaguely vs paying $2k to see Taylor Swift (I LOVE that your guitar guy is still selling CDs). In fact, as part of Big Ears there is a prolific artist that does album covers (Steve Keene). I don’t think he does commissions, but I’m going to find an artists that does, so don’t be surprised if there’s a birthday present waiting for pickup at your local FedEx shop sometime this year based on one of your solo photos.
The AirRam MK2 is a small but effective vacuum, by the way. But you do you. :)
Hi Steve, Thank you for the vacuum rec! I use the one the place came with that I'm subletting. Also a big Thank you for supporting the work of artists.
Your early birthday present is enroute now. Held in your name, pickup is at Mailboxes Etc in StA. 17 Hollywell Hill. Enjoy! Just reply to let me know you got this. I'm guessing it will arrive Friday or Monday.
oh wow! I'll check tomorrow, it's dreadful out today!
thank you Steve
Some customs hang up. I think the artist didn’t add goods description. Hang on,,, FYI ups tracking # 1z5rt5l56820019017
Shoe vacuum!!
Super relatable~ I just seem to have a “head start” with so many autoimmune issues. Even (and especially) when I’m too drained/sick to move, I’m so freaking hard on myself. Curious is my essence and I do and learn what I can, still that culture of traditional “productivity” has its grip on me. Working through all of that is rough sometimes & I totally empathize.
*going through it now~ my blood pressure has been in the 70s/40s and I feel (and probably look) like someone drained my blood 🥴😵💫
So happy that the busker is back and that you got to chat with him ❤️❤️
Ah Emily, I hope you've gotten you BP sorted and feeling a bit more vibrancy. You project it in spades even if you aren't always feeling it physically! xK
thank you- that means a lot!
Got my bloodwork back- anemic AF & deficient in a couple of things. Overall feeling a bit better!! ❤️
"Sometimes at the end of the day I have to write a list of what I “accomplished” so that I feel good enough to lay down and rest." What does it say that I'm writing this comment on my laptop while sitting in the lobby of Margaritaville Lake Conroe (about 3 hours east of Austin) where hubby and I came for a three-day respite before a long spell of no days off?! In my defense, it's cold and rainy, so hanging out by the pool is not an option today, but the fact that I brought my laptop demonstrates that I have a hard time unplugging from the accomplishment/productivity cycle. As always, thanks for being a "coming of aging" friend to me and others. Big love from ATX. 💜
THank you Lyn! loved this!!
I can relate to vaccuum-dislike, because I HATE ironing, so I developed all these hacks that really didn't work but I did them any way. I'd spray the garment with water and hang it, or try drying it for 3.7 minutes, or burn sage over it, etc. It was all ridiculous, I knew it was all ridiculous, but I really, really hate ironing. Seriously, if I go to the Bad Place, I'll just be eternally ironing, and the only thing on TV will be "Hogan's Heroes." Oh, and Ben Shapiro will be at the next board, feeling chatty.
haha!! I won't iron either. the water spray isn't too bad!
As always, bravo! I do so very much enjoy these dispatches from across the Atlantic. You're a very talented writer (but as a Go-Go's fan, I've known that for years). All the best from the upper Midwest!
thank you!!
I needed this today. Thank you, always-my-favorite-member-of-The-Go-Gos, now one of my favorite writers.
how nice to hear! thanks Suzan!
You put it into words well! I feel it too.
What a great dispatch! I think it is perfectly fine and normal to take some time to not do anything in particular. Our bodies and minds need the rest occasionally. Or is that my 64 year old self talking? 😁 I am looking forward to retirement next year but that doesn't mean I won't be busy with maybe a part-time job that has nothing to do with Healthcare, babysitting Henry, or traveling.
I am a sports fan, but, for some reason, I don't follow the NBA. Do you have a favorite team?
I do enjoy your writing. I am looking forward to your next book. You certainly have a literary gift.
I loved this SO much!! Your use of “coming of aging” makes me so happy (as I’m less than three weeks away from turning 50 and realllly getting going on my own coming of aging - can’t wait!!) - and I am so happy that you’re loving your new life in St Albans. I left my tiny hometown in Canada for my UK adventure and ended up in the Luton-Dunstable area (just up the train line from you!) for a few years before heading to San Antonio…those UK years were the BEST and I so hope to go back once my kid has flown the nest. Thank you for your writing and your honesty - I appreciate you so much. ❤️✨☀️