Pursuing Calefaction

Fifteen minutes, that’s all I’m allotted to blog with. It sets a time limit so blogging doesn’t eat up other time, and also constrains me so I don’t waste time thinking about what I should be writing. I have so much to tell you all, but really, it’ll come out eventually, so I’ll start with the fact that I’m doing NaNoWriMo again. Yes, I’m still crazy.

I have more or less stopped writing, and that’s a bad thing. I am living, so that’s good, but the whole point of this blog is the kindling of personal effort. I have a nice bed of coals, but without supplying fuel they will go out. NaNoWriMo is a conveniently arbitrary point to re-kickstart my writing. I have been brewing beer this past year, and I have acquired the habit. I have a nice stovetop setup, and enough knowledge to whip up a recipe any old time I want. Now I want to do the same for my writing. The worst part: I have plenty of knowledge for writing. But, like a muscle, it has atrophied with disuse.

To recap the summer: I have brewed a metric f-ton of beer. (That’s quite a few imperial units, by the way.) Most of it was for Rob Carlson’s wedding, which is this coming weekend. I have even entered a couple of the samples into a local homebrewing competition, and they received quite satisfactory marks. I didn’t place, but my first foray into actual adjudicated beer assures me that I have sufficient handle on the basics to craft truly award-winning beer. I must simply improve my understanding of water chemistry and style elements. The water chemistry is less important for stovetop brewing, as I’ll be using malt extract, but my all-grain batches will afford me plenty of opportunity to learn. And as I brew and play with different hop and yeast varieties, my understanding of the intangibles of brewing will come together as well. Like a fire, the base materials only contribute part of the necessary elements. Another aspect is the breath of life that brings the greedy flame forth to illuminate.

Being a best man is bloody hard work. I thought I was just going to be good bringing the beer, but I am Rob & Caitlin’s happy gopher, too. Lots of errands before the wedding, and then I’m Rob’s go-to the entire time. It’s a way to serve, which is oddly comforting to me. I’m not fond of leadership; I prefer to work from behind the scene. And being the best man requires all of that–for the day is not about me in the slightest. So I have been learning how to get things done invisibly, without causing too much stress on the bride & groom.

Grad school continues apace. I am registering for next semester, which will involve not one but three methods & materials courses. But the best way to learn is to do. Having left the vet clinic, I can now focus solely on teaching myself to teach.

And….time.