It's 11:45am and I'm at the computer and a Public Television cooking show is on the TV and I'm sipping on a beer. Soon I'll shower and dress and go out and do my shopping for the week. Outside, the sun is bright on the green of the leaves of the tree over the shed beyond my window and insects are calling to each other.

I have cleaning supplies in the bathroom. I have to con myself a step at a time to clean the apartment. I'd really like to start work on a long story but once I begin a story it always seems better when it's shorter.

My personal blog is getting me to write every day. Which means I'm thinking about writing every day. Pitt begins it's football season today. Now when I walk through Oakland, students of the University of Pittsburgh are everywhere. Last year I was a Pitt grad student myself teaching a fiction writing course. All kinds of emotions come to me.

"Be true to your school."
--The Beach Boys