Suckiness. Or "Suckage," as Tom Gerencher called it. That's been the theme of the last few days, as I've dealt with a mild fever in June. Still, I got some salvaged moments of less suckage.

It turns out that the work I did last week on the book project has sent Kevin through the roof, with him calling it a breakthrough of significant proportions as I began to model aspects of spiritual development, and their flipside problematic aspects or possibilities. Kevin can slip into hyperbole, like anyone, but until he pointed out a few things that I had done (and, naturally, some of the neuro-cognitive aspects of it, which I'd not really considered), I didn't realize entirely quite some of the dimensions of what I'd put together, and why (I think) it actually is kind of significant. And more directly applicable to the book project than I thought it had all been. I'd say more about that, and more clearly, and how it might actually be breakthroughish, but I should get it all copywrit, first. Anyway, suffice it to say that our long telephone conference today, while he was driving one of the family cars up to Jackson Hole for the summer, was really quite profitable.

Tonight (in just a half hour) would be the midnight showing of New Orleans' own summer blockbuster, Green Lantern, over at the famed Prytania Theatre. I was intending to go over there by myself, if I wasn't feeling too sleepy, even though I don't particularly care to go to movies by myself. The midnight premiere showing seemed like a fun way to celebrate the "localness" of the movie, not that I'm not jazzed about the film by itself, given I've read Green Lantern since sixth grade and since Michael Green was one of the script writers. It would be more fun with friends, of course, but I still don't know many people down here, and those I do are all traveling, and it still wouldn't be the same without the Barnes Posse, really, and it's too expensive to fly them down from Milwaukee for the showing. That, and the fact that I'm still getting over my fever, of course, and am "kind of wobbly," as Thumper put it. I'm still just looking forward to it enough – and not feeling that the midnight showing was really so critical – as to relieve some of the suckage of the last few days.

I gave Mom a brief scare and good laugh the other day when I talked to her on the phone, starting out by saying I was kind of bummed by my recent discovery that the house was suffering an infestation – as I had learned that houses with hardwood floors are prone to do – of... dust-bunnies. My upgrading from broom to dust mop has been an improvement in the constant battle.

I called Leslie because I hadn't caught up with her in a while, and Grace very quickly commandeered the phone and once again stole up to her room to engage me in a long contest of world geography quizzing. So I'm being used as a gaming partner from a thousand miles away, it seems, but I'll take it if that means it keeps my niece interested in being chatty with her uncle.

I'm re-reading The Hobbit for the first time in probably half a decade, at least. And all I can do is imagine reading it out loud to Grace and Haley, who are old enough for it now, I think. Reading it to them is so dominating my imagination that I have to restrain myself from actually reading out loud, and from trying different voices and such for the different characters. I had thought about bringing it up over the Easter holiday to read to them, since Leslie usually lets me sub for her and take the reading shift before bed when I'm visiting, but it slipped my mind when I packed, and when I got there they only wanted me to read more Diary of a Wimpy Kid to them, anyway. So the dream remains.

Ugh. Now I'm tired from just typing this, which probably more sums up the last few days than anything else. Naps and medicine are good things, too, but I'm looking forward to giving them up in a day or so, I hope!