"Groove" type petroglyphs

I've included the above photo because I was writing about the petroglyphs this week in Altar of Dead Pets, about how no one knows what the petroglyphs mean anymore, if they were language or art, ceremonial or practical, supplications to the gods or simply graffiti. Whatever their original meaning, they have acquired a new meaning in our age and through the stories we make up to explain them.

Anyway...I have finally gotten myself back to work on Altar. Just in time, too, I've got to turn pages into my professor on Tuesday so we can talk about them the following Wednesday. It's the nice thing about being in school, having deadlines. It's probably why I'm going to take the plunge and apply for the Stegner Fellowship at Stanford for next year. I'm not sure I'm ready to go out there on my own and maintain the same sense of priority for my writing without some structure.

One of the reasons I haven't been maintaining my 9 to noon writing schedule is the sudden profusion of construction going on in our town. I can see four, count them four, construction projects from my deck. They range from a complete residing of an apartment building to an extensive second floor addition to brand new construction. And it means there is hammering. Lots of hammering. Our town is shaped like an amphitheater, sound carries. And the hammering happens before noon. If someone can explain to me why all construction hammering occurs before noon and almost never after, I'd really like to know.

After attempting to readjust my writing schedule and failing (I find it almost impossible to be a nocturnal writer while classes are in session - I can't seem to stay awake past 11), I finally packed up the laptop and started heading to libraries. It's been working so far. I go to the library, set up and start writing. There are no distractions, no dishes to wash, no tea to make, nothing but the writing.

I will be continuing my library habitation next week. My goal right now is modest: 2 pages a day. That's all I'm asking. And so far, it's working.

We'll see how long it takes for the construction to follow me and the libraries to start remodeling.