Riding the Big Wheel

I noticed recently a dearth of posting material occurring in the daily activities of Your Humble Narrator. Nothing could be done about it. It just was. That usually means nothing out of the ordinary was presenting itself (although it most certainly was occurring). But this is not to say the wheel has not been turning, nor the hamster dead.

I have been cultivating. My son revealed to me The Modern Library, where one can find the list of the 100 Best Novels - as judged by The Panel, and a second list prepared by The Readers.

I decided my lack of literary exposure was yet another "symbol of a misspent youth" (a favorite phrase of my father's) and it was time to rectify the situation. I have embarked on a quest to read them all. Recent conquests include Ulysses, The Grapes of Wrath, The Sound and the Fury, Slaughterhouse Five, As I Lay Dying and Brave New World. Next up: The Great Gatsby.  So I'm making headway...on the list at least.

I've also been spending a little more time at work the last couple of weeks following a promotion. Just an hour here and there, but I have come to value those hours above all the others. I'm past the point where I feel the need to continue seeking 'higher employment' but I recognize that with complacency comes stagnation, so I stepped on the wheel yet again, but this time committed to do so on my terms.

So the antennae are extended against the resurfacing of some of my basic character defects: Obsession. Isolation. Detachment. Preoccupation. Aha! Probably the very reason I haven't noticed anything worth writing about.