so many beginnings

So, I'm learning, after 9 semesters, that university has a funny way of causing me to forget about, or feel enough pressure to set aside, certain endeavors toward which I feel a certain momentum. (This blog being one of them.) Now that school's taking its winter hiatus, I'm coming back to these things. For instance, the walls in my bedroom presently lay bare, though back in September I went through the process of acquiring the materials necessary to paint a series of paintings to hang on them. Now that it's winter break, I can finally set to taking the canvases, paints and brushes out their large, brown-paper bag, and realizing those visions of working and sleeping whilst surrounded by lines, arrays and splashes of colour. Among the others neglected are: building my sound sample library, adding to and finishing my Septet (for 2 Bb Clarinets, 1 Bass Clarinet, Violin, Violincello, Piano, and Celesta), finishing Helen DeWitt's The Last Samurai and a few other books I've received or started, practicing electric guitar, planning harmonies and textures for my next acoustic composition, really learning Abelton Live 7 and using it to make sounds for my surround-sound piece which utilizes recordings of Zukofsky texts. (Also, making a comprehensive Google Calendar, and to a reasonable degree, sticking to it.)

Speaking of Google, I've been using Google Documents to make a list of all these things I've set aside or forgotten. I've also been exploring all Google's apps and features (gmail, tasks, documents, reader, maps, calendar), and they've really been helping me sort and quantize the things I want and need to do. They've even been making me excited about not only being organized, but experiencing the process of becoming so. A few days ago, a Theodore Roethke quote I once read came up in conversation: "Talent talks; genius does". I think Google is helping me implement the genius part.

On another note, I just finished the most delicious cup of coffee out of my new Bodum travel press, which R- got me as a Christmas gift. Just wonderful.

I think the coffee is kicking in now, so I'm going to get back to working on the Zukofsky project (more info soon).