Writers are often asked, “Do you write everyday?”

My answer: “No. But I think about writing everyday. And some days, I do everything I can not to write”…

Today. I awoke with only one obligation: a 6:30 am call with my editor. After that my day, all day, was clear for writing. I woke at 6, took a shower, make a cup of coffee and:

6:30 Made the call

7:30 still talking (second cup of coffee)

8:00 almost off

8:37 hung up the phone

That done, I sat at my desk and pulled forward the revision folder I wanted…needed to work on. The computer was on, but e-mail, internet, everything was minimized. My finger hovers over the Outlook icon. “Later,” I promise. “You checked it last night before you went to bed. Nothing important has happened since then…”

9:18 after receiving and sending 11 important e-mails, I take matters in hand and carry the folder over to my work chair—a round ottoman perfect for spreading out on and spreading out files.

9:22 should have gone potty before…

More coffee and vitamins and water….3 glasses. I haven’t been drinking enough water…

Forgot to feed fish…better feed fish

Bing…incoming mail

Respond.

I push send…Bing Bing 2 more come in. I didn’t open them, but I couldn’t help glancing at the top few lines which automatically pop up on my split screen layout. One is a note saying I’d sent my writer’s group check in note to the wrong “Jen.” Stupid, stupid, stupid me. I have to send an apology. Now, or I won’t stop thinking about it.

My stomach clenches…the vitamins. I took them on an empty stomach. If I don’t eat something, they’ll make me sick…

May as well send my editor that note we discussed while I eat, no sense in waiting…

Bing

Bing  Bing

Quick answers to those. Post that birthday before I forget.  Finish the last bite of cereal. Carry my dish to the kitchen.

10: 08 It’s smells stuffy. I hate it when the house smell stuffy, stale. I light the candle in the entry….while I’m at it. Carry the candle to the bedrooms, hall, baths to light others.

Bing

It’s not that I don’t know what I’m doing. I know. I can define procrastinate. According to the Free Dictionary.com: “To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness.” …so close to procreate [from Latin prōcreāre, from PRO-1 + creāre to create]. They share the same prefix “pro” from Latin, meaning “in favor of.” So, it’s like being in favor of “crastination” whatever that might be…I better look it up…

Google procrastinate. Land at  Podictionary, “A Podcast for Word Lovers” hosted by Charles Hodgson. “There three parts to the word and two of them together are almost redundant.  The prefix pro- has a sense of forward about it so in the context of procrastination, one is pushing that chore, maybe cleaning out the garage, pushing it forward until some future time.  The second syllable, cras, means “tomorrow” in Latin and the “tinate” part means belonging.  So it means push it off because this is a task that belongs to tomorrow. “

So “cras” means tomorrow… Tomorrow? What am I supposed to do tomorrow? I know there’s something…did I write it on my calendar?

“Stop it, buckle down!”

It’s the danged computer, my blessing and curse.  I carry my folder to the other room.

I’ve just settled down when Aan, our driver, comes in with the orchid’s I’d sent him to buy. Cymbidium orchids, angrek bulan, moon orchids, full, white, gorgeous. But their leaves are all dusty and spotty. Why doesn’t anyone every take the time to wipe off their leaves?

Maybe I should get in the mood first, by reading a little first. Reading inspires me… Spread out the pages, so many revision comments…more than I thought. This should be good. Plenty to work on…

It’s so quiet. It will just take a minute to turn on some music…nothing new. Set the folder aside. Push play, adjust the volume.

On the walk back to the table, I happen to glance into my office at the monitor on my desk. A new e-mail? It’s Sarah’s blog entry. I love her blog. I just peek at the intro. So cute and sweet and sad. I need to tell her, right now. It will just take a sec. If I don’t I’ll forget later…

One of the orchids falls over. A stem breaks. Dang. There goes a whole stem of flowers.

Don’t want it to wilt.

Better put it in water.

It would look lovely in the tall clear vase…

With some rocks…

In the bathroom…

Say, these old flowers don’t look so bad….all they need is fresh water…and their stems cut…they might look good mixed with the white orchid. They do! That’s lovely…lovely. Straighten the towels. There.

The dining room table has insurance papers laid out along one end. I’d left them there to remind myself to work on them. I could sit at the other end…. Or, I do hate filling out the forms, and my handwriting get sloppy when my hand gets tired. The best thing to do would be to fill out a few forms at a time. 2 now, 2 later, 2 later…. Okay 4 now.

12:32 I am crazy. If anyone knew, really knew what I do all day…

I should write this. This would be a really funny blog entry… It’s procrastination, I know….what are the rest of the words? It was fascination I know, dah dad a dad ah dah, dad ah…maybe I could write a parody about procrastination…I’ll bet I have that song on CD…

With photos! Where’s my camera?

Oh, but first, a little soap and water on those dusty orchid leaves…