Thursday's List

READING: Brother Odd by Dean Koontz. I liked Odd Thomas so much, I decided to go back to the library and find the second book about Odd, although it turns out that it was really the third. Somewhere along the line, I missed the first book in the series, titled Odd Fellow, but oh well. Just something to read later, right? Brother Odd is set in a monastery and very Catholic are its themes. The monastery is peopled with a number of delightful characters, including a Mother Superior of the nearby convent who was so real, I could nearly see her. Plus, the explanation of the three portraits on her office wall (George Washington, Flannery O'Connor and Harper Lee) made me cry. It's a great book, but I would definitely recommend reading the other books in the series first, so you'll understand the back story.

LISTENING TO: The sound of schoolwork going on around me.

FAVORITE NEW FIND: Insight's combination digital cable with DVR, telephone service and broadband internet, which will cost less than we're currently paying with our phone and DSL service through a well-known provider and Insight digital cable all by it's lonesome. Plus, it will cut us down one more bill per month.

FAVORITE THING TODAY: Going to the scrapbooking workshop today! Yippee!!!!

HOURS OF SLEEP LOGGED LAST NIGHT: I've been sleeping really well in the past week, which is very, very good. I've been drinking water or milk at dinner instead of a diet soda, hoping that a little less caffeine in my system would break that annoying cycle of insomnia I was experiencing last week.

THE CAUSE OF MY STRESS: I somehow, in a manner unbeknownst to me, became the person who is organizing the volleyball sports banquet in mid-November.

THE CAUSE OF MY JOY: The Hamlet Workshop is nearly over -- all we have left to complete is seeing the production at IRT and then the "wrap party" one week later and it's all done. I think it has gone really well and I'm proud of how has turned out. I have an enormous sense of accomplishment. And boy, will I ever be relieved to be done with the work! Each class is three hours long and requires at least four hours of preparation each week, if not more. I am exhausted and see Hamlet, Gertrude and Claudius in my dreams with alarming frequency. (The other night I dreamed that I was trying to haul Ophelia out of the pool at our swim club while screaming for a lifeguard to come save her - she was so heavy and I couldn't get her out of the water because, naturally, she was dressed in the clothing of the twelfth century instead of a bathing suit.)

But the good news is, if I ever teach this particular workshop again, I'll have it all right from the start.

LOOKING FORWARD TO: The Fishers Renaissance Faire on October 6 and 7. My friend Gloria is playing the role of a Spanish Infanta and I can hardly wait to see her. She's not allowed to break character, so that's going to seem strange, but how cool is it that she's part of the cast?

PRAYING FOR: Paul, Barb and their family, who gave us an enormous blessing recently.