What I've Been Reading & Not Doing

The last couple of days I've been a permanent fixture on my sofa, doing my best not to barf acid. According to my doctor I'm holding my lovable spawn higher than most gals and his canned ham of an ass has been crushed against my stomach for weeks. Every time the doc inspects my belly she says "You're all baby!" No shit.

When I'm not trying to sleep or playing Warcraft III, I've been reading the following:

Poetry Debates, Manifestos & Criticism on the Academy of American Poets site (link found on BookNinja)

Dyske's Suematsu's White Paper on Fatherhood (sent by peterb). Yep, I've spent more time this past month organizing the drawers in the nursery than I have writing poetry. On the changing table/dresser the top drawer is devoted to diapers, the middle is 0-3 month outfits on the left, 3-6 month outfits on the right. The bottom drawer is 6-12 months. The cabinet top shelf is diapering supplies, the bottom is medicines, thermometers, wash clothes and other bath time items. In the chest of drawers, the top shelf is tops and bottoms (hats and socks), the second to the top is receiving blankets and burp cloths . . . hmm, wait a minute, you don't really care about any of this do you? This is boring fucking reading. Sorry.

No Tell Motel submissions. Amazing the legitimacy a few sentences in Poets & Writers can bring. Now everyone feigns respect. It's OK! Keep feigning. Lots of good subs. I'm glad we're suspending our reading period for two months starting next week. After we work our way through these we'll probably be set through at least part of April. Maybe all the way until the end.

Since my bamboo blinds ordered in September still haven't arrived from "Next Day Blinds" I spend a lot of time watching my elderly German neighbor who lives in the house behind us. She just undecorated her Christmas tree and and placed it on her back deck. When I'm not feeling like a piece of lazy crap reading all the neat poems and notes other poets post on their blogs, I feel like a piece of lazy crap gazing at this old lady's immaculate lawn or her crystal clear windows. The dust bunnies remind me I haven't swept my floors since the 26th. I keep telling myself, I am working, I'm building a person, but it doesn't feel that way.