A ton of fiction writers and some who write true life stories about the afterlife speak of the in-between. To most it is that place we go after death and prior to judgement–a halfway house for the determined to be damned. The Matrix symbolized the place as a train station where Neo found himself waiting to be in one place or the other. For me this is the best possible term to describe the upcoming few weeks. As finals roll in I am no longer in ‘teacher mode’ yet I am not on vacation (which will only last perhaps a week) I am in my own in-between, trying to capture a few moments of solitude and self reflection before I am thrust headlong into the the next thing.
While I am here I can note that last year was sub par. The work I did at the office was way below what I am capable of and while I did produce some decent fiction in my soul’s line of work, I could’ve done more and more efficiently and effectively. In some ways I am still learning how to be a writer. I think I always will be.
More tomorrow. My ten is almost up…
Some Thoughts:
- Interesting tidbit about 1830. On one particular fateful trading day only 31 shares moved across the NYSC. Compare that to now where 10 times that (at least) move every microsecond.
- I’ve been reading some more Neal Stephenson and have come to identify with his remarks about how science fiction writers often become inordinately familiar with history. I’m paraphrasing here, but the man has a good point. You have to know history to understand how it effects and often creates the future.