An Apple a Day... Funny, that. I just finished re-reading The Metamorphosis [ DE | ENG ] for the first time since high school. This time around, I came to appreciate an almost breezy quality to the narrative, which is a deft touch that was lost on my younger self. How readily Gregor's mind drifts back to the mundane, and how earnest and genuine is his worry for his family and prospects. As a teen there was I found nothing sympathetic about Samsa, although I'm sure I thought that it would totally suck to have to be, like, this big grody bug. Anyhow, it's a much better story than I had remembered, and well worth re-visiting.
   I'm afflicted with my usual Autumnsickness. Having spent so many years Back East, it's hard to be satisfied with the tepid paling and scattering that passes for Fall here in Seattle. Where are the glorious oaks and maples, and foot-deep piles of leaves covering chipped slate sidewalks? The air should have a little sting to it, the first whiff frost that presages that first whiff of snow.
    I'm not sure I ever really adapted to an adult's schedule. For instance, until I was about 30, my brain would completely shut down at around 2.30 in the afternoon; I mean, I was completely useless. My limbic system still expects a summer vacation, and every September still arrives with its characteristic mix of dread and fear and excitement. I think quit more jobs in May and move house in late August than at any other time of the year.
   I've even caught myself drivin' by office supply stores... that weren't on the way home. (Wed 25 September 2002, 06.28 PDT)     @ #