a...z

my ninety-nine-year-old grandfather passed away yesterday. he went politely, as was his style. the last thing he said to me was "take good care of the British language now, won't you."

guess i'll give it a good Aussie try.

i recently finished the alphabetical reading challenge which has incidentally provided me with almost four months' record of my reading habits. considering the restrictions - traveling, rarely with ready money, finding books to borrow or shopping in op shops in remote towns - i read more slowly and more broadly than usual. it was great to re-read a few things, notably David Malouf's Johnno. if i was a creative writing teacher i'd pontificate about how it's the perfect novella (as a CW autodidact i guess i should be waving it at myself). it's also interesting to note how often i read books that i don't actually like, and how desperately homesick i get for the wonderful alice springs library while i'm away (i know, i am a sad nerd).

no more reading books i don't want to read. life is too short, even for those like frank who almost make the century with eyesight and intellect intact. i have returned home laden with UQP titles and wielding my library card. i also have a little more time than i thought because of editing schedule shifts, so i can wallow in unrestricted reading. there's even a hammock in the yard of my housesit. things appear to be settling in the right order. saturn's going out of retrograde.

it's all so tidy and comfortable, i keep forgetting i'm leaving the country in a couple of months for more senseless rambling... perhaps my next alphabet challenge will be geographical.

there are Xs and Qs over there. i've checked.

ps the car is fixed, cleaned, leaking oil but not desperately, and sitting in the driveway, where i wave and grin at it... but i'm happy riding my pushbike.