My Spanish Pipe Dream

She was a level-headed dancer on the road to alcohol
And I was just a soldier on my way to Montreal
Well she pressed her chest against me
About the time the jukebox broke
Yeah, she gave me a peck on the back of the neck
And these are the words she spoke:

"Blow up your T.V.
Throw away your paper
Go to the country
Build you a home
Plant a little garden
Eat a lot of peaches
Try and find Jesus on your own"

Well, I sat there at the table and I acted real naive
For I knew that topless lady had something up her sleeve
Well, she danced around the bar room and she did the hoochy-coo
Yeah she sang her song all night long, tellin' me what to do

"Blow up your T.V.
Throw away your paper
Go to the country
Build you a home
Plant a little garden
Eat a lot of peaches
Try and find Jesus on your own"

Well, I was young and hungry and about to leave that place
When just as I was leavin', well, she looked me in the face
I said "You must know the answer."
She said, "No but I'll give it a try."

And to this very day we've been livin' our way
And here is the reason why:

We blew up our T.V.
Threw away our paper
Went to the country
Built us a home
Had a lot of children,
Fed 'em on peaches
They all found Jesus on their own.

-John Prine

I think the fact I've had this song in my head for the past three days is probably related to the Studio preparing to move out of the city next month. If all goes well, we'll be taking up residence in a big house with an enormous yard in a quiet neighborhood that smells like warm toasted cereal when the wind is right and everythign is in walking distance.

Anyway. John Prine is awesome, but this song strikes a kind of strange contrast when played while I read ghost stories and look at photos of Chernobyl the way I've been doing all morning instead of working on the damn comic.

I've been having a really hard time keeping my attention on my work lately. All I want to do is veg out and read travel blogs, walk my dog, and cook. I've lost track of time and bedtime rolls around before I know it. I'm like, "Sweet norns! I've frittered the whole day away!" Over and over again.

It's most likely just the usual end-of-summer burnout. I want to be out there digging up rocks, not in here sitting at my computer. It's not as bad as con burnout, at least. There were only two conventions this summer. Still, I've been going full tilt on the comic to make up for my lack of productivity outside the home, and this has been having an effect.

In particular, I'm concerned by how easily I've been blowing deadlines on updates that have been subsidized by donations (making timely updates not just polite, but VITAL).

The blown deadlines also set up a nasty cycle. If I finish the comic late, I don't get any days off that week. So I don't get to rest, can't work with full speed or skill, and tend to zone out. The delays might have been excusable the first time around, but it sets off this nasty chain reaction. I've been thinking about scheduling a few short breaks throughout the year in the future, just to keep me fresh. Lord knows I'd enjoy having some time off right about now.

Sure, I'd just spend it working on the comic, but at least I'd be pulling 20-hour shifts for reasons other than "because it's got to be up by tonight and I'm already late enough as it is."

In domestic news, my dog is lying in his little kennel with his head sadly slumped over one paw, occasionally sighing or groaning a little. He's bummed because there are three delicious dog treats on the floor and I've instructed him to leave them alone.

The Captain is amazingly clever for a dog. He picked up the basics of the "Leave It" command after the second session. If he continues to progress at this pace, he'll be ready to meet (and IGNORE) the cats in no time. I am very anxious to get him and the cats integrated and the whole rivalry over with as soon as feasible.