Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Like a patient etherized upon a table

Being another dose of dailyness.

Blogging for a break from translation. It's going well, I started earlier than usual today and so will be finished here at 7 p.m. despite doing an hour and a half more than my daily target of five hours. That's actual constructive working hours, by the way: we self-employeds don't get paid for taking coffee breaks or stealing paperclips or discussing football around the water cooler like you office-worker types do.

The weather is changing: the day has turned overcast and windy, and the temperature is dropping fast. The forecast is to return to just-above-zero for the weekend. It's both a good thing and a bad decision, that I seized the opportunity to wear my leather jacket today for the first time in 2008: it'll be a while before I get another chance, but let us hope that I don't freeze solid on the eight-minute walk home.

It amuses me to watch myself becoming part of the neighbourhood of Rose Street, to be on nodding terms with the pram-pushing moms and their kids, to be recognized by the mailman and the UPS guy when we pass. I am glad that I made the decision to move my office here, and extremely fortunate that G and U are so seldom here. Their presence is far more distracting and interrupting than the view through the window; even when they leave me in peace I am disturbed by their actions and interactions behind me.

Spoke to a friend from London last night, who phoned up to invite me to his fiftieth birthday celebrations in three weeks. I am inclined to go, just for a weekend, even if both time and money are short at present. Makes me think again about my own upcoming birthday, and think that I should really consider doing something celebratory-ish about it. At the very least, I should delve deeply enough to establish why it is that I feel such a reluctance to celebrate, and deal with what I find under that particular stone. One step at a time, dear grasshopper.

[Updated a little later] I've just re-read "Prufrock," having googled it to be sure that I'd quoted correctly in this post's title. Damn, but it's good. I had forgotten what a fine poem it was, and what a superb voice Tom had; and I had definitely forgotten that it was rhymed verse. It's been many years since I last read this, because I gave away my copy of the Collected Poems and have never found a replacement.

Read the poem and the Wikipedia article, and enjoy.

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5 Comments:

Blogger Pacian said...

*Taps on the goldfish bowl.*

February 26, 2008 at 11:36:00 p.m. GMT+1  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is a wonderful poem, isn't it?

February 27, 2008 at 2:04:00 a.m. GMT+1  
Blogger Zhoen said...

I was about to mention the etherization (don't use that stuff no mo') but then I think, in the poem, it's being used recreationally. Which boggles the mind.

February 27, 2008 at 3:47:00 a.m. GMT+1  
Blogger Udge said...

*Looks up, startled, and shakes a fin.*

S'toon, it is indeed all that. But if one has the time and peace of soul to explore them, Ash Wednesday and the Four Quartets are IMHO even better. (Nice to see you commenting, thank you)

Zhoen, I'm surprised by your suggestion which had never occurred to me. I shall re-read and consider.

February 27, 2008 at 8:59:00 a.m. GMT+1  
Blogger Jean said...

Care to meet for a drink if you come to London?

February 27, 2008 at 1:15:00 p.m. GMT+1  

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