I was also an English major, emphasis in writing. I have wanted to go back for a MA, money/time permitting. I was never much into literary criticism; D.H. Lawrence’s ‘Studies in Classic American Literature’ is about the only example I can find of something that is more fun to read than many of the works it cites due to hit insight and plain-spoken wit.
I think I am suffering due to lack of having internet access at home. I am cut off from communicating with so many people this way, especially my friends in the furry fandom, not to mention just cut off in general. I hope the phone company can come out like they said and get things working this Friday. No phone or no net for over a month……kept wanting to call somebody, but no way to do it. So I took some long walks, tried to keep busy, but found myself going put to seek human contact. Coffee shops have changed so much since the time I frequented them…..no longer very social, just a sea of lap-tops and text messaging, I try going to them to meet people and hang out like I remember them being back in school, but they are such quiet, sterile places now. So I headed to the Tavern where I know many people, from professional to bum, and got very loopy and then blacked out Saturday……combination of prescription pills, booze, weed. At least I only paid for the booze, and that was magnified by the other stuff, such that I didn’t drink so much as I might have.
I am often reminded how lonely I feel, how much I seek meaningful human contact, and how hard this is to find at my age, with so many folks married and what not, with families, and settled down. Very hard even to find ‘groups’ that share my interests: old pinball machines, the furry fandom(people who have an affinity to/dress up as animals), folks who like to read, but not the latest fluff, serious things…..often it seems that the local Tavern has yielded the best conversations about authors I enjoy, about art, politics, so many things that I enjoy discussing.
Deprived even of my virtual connections to others, I have gone a bit mad. This, with my night time working schedule has been hard on me.
So I am on day three, partly out of will-power, partly from being broke.
Has seemed very quiet here……have been tempted tp post elsewhere, but am still scared of the steppers.
Zen, all, hope you are well,
HP