February is rough on all fronts..winter has lost every single bit of it's charmingness if it ever had it, my apartment is chilly, and I'm tired of dressing in so many layers. My skin is dry, my hair is dull, and sunlight isn't terribly easy to find most days. We've been lucky that winter started early, but was actually pretty mildish, until this past week of super-cold and more snow. I am also drowning at the library in hiring committees, reserves processing, and a few weeks of a bit more activity than the last in terms of exhibits and programming. Even my little sketchbook with it's post-it notes looks chaotic and frightened. I am still chugging away on the order backlog at home each night, but have scarce had time to work on new layouts or releases during the day, let alone write a poem myself.
Nevertheless, we are over the hump and headed toward the end. I went with my sweetie to see Parasite on Valentines Day, and it was so, so good, but left me in a mental slump yesterday thinking about money and class and the ultimate futility of always struggling on the lower end of the economic stratosphere. I was watching a commentary video yesterday and they mentioned the death of the daughter as esp. important--the one who seemed to fit in most with the wealthy family and significant in that she was the artist, who historically have, according to that Queen Victoria quote about their danger, mixed in all levels of society. The flood scene absolutely gutted me, so it's hard to climb out of those feelings this weekend.
I've been working on correcting my leaning bookshelf problem by tearing them down and integrating all the poetry into the lower set by my desk and preparing to weed out a lot of Barnes & Noble bargain bin fiction I've been holding on to for two decades I really don't need. If I can fix the shelf supports there with pieces from the tall one, it it will be much more functional and better to hold more. There are also a ton of reference volumes that can go..because, you know, internet...Since I've been storing boxes of books and larger things like folding tables and chapbook racks in the entry way closet and it's tight in there, I bought a proper wardrobe rack ( a smaller, pipe version of what I have in my bedroom) and put it where the taller shelves used to sit near the door to hold coats/jackets in a more easily accessible way. (which means my tendency to throw attractive outerwear at seasonal depression has a bit more room for new additions should I find anything to my liking as these late-season sales begin.) It also gave me an excuse to find something to go above it, which resulted in the above awesomeness.
Luckily, it's a short month and March is on the horizon, which will still be cold enough and prone to bits of snow, but much more forgiving...
