Wording.

Doug has been wording, which is what I call his complete and total devouring of vocabulary words. He consults word books, is keeping flash cards of words, and he's looking up all words he doesn't know from the books he reads in the dictionary. He's wording for fun, to continue on that righteous path of learning that seems to stop when one leaves school. I wholeheartedly encourage his wording, because through him and his inability to keep his words to himself I am expanding my vocabulary, too. And, surprisingly for someone who reads as much as I do, I really need help with my vocabulary. If I'm sitting and writing or reading, and have all the words in the world at my disposal in my Merriam-Webster, then I am as much a wordsmith as Samuel Johnson, or so I'd like to think. But when I open my mouth to speak, all those words escape me. Weird.

So I have learned (and retained) five words from Doug so far. Repine, used previously, and florid. Also dilatory and vituperative and soporific. It is my goal to incorporate these words that I learn into my every day thought and speech, so beware if you see them creeping into my otherwise colloquial blog posts (I knew that word already!).

Lest this post become too soporific, how about a photo? When I'm not learning words with Doug, I'm now playing my violin. I started a beginning violin class last week and I've practiced three times so far! I am so impressed with myself; for signing up for and actually going to my class and also for practicing at home. These kinds of activities take motivation, and I've lacked a lot of that in the past. But hopefully I'm on the road to recovery, recovering that old interest that I had in music way back when, when I considered myself a clarinet and piano player, and when I was actually somewhat musically talented. Doug has been the musical one throughout this relationship, with my musicality suppressed within a phase of uncertainty. But now that I'm encouraged by the turn my life is taking, with this new job and new direction and all, and am encouraged that I am emerging from that years-long phase, I'm trying things out again, and rediscovering. Doug can have the spotlight, like he did at the Great Molasses Flood anniversary show this weekend, and I will be content with sitting in front of my music stand, squeaking out notes on my (really, really cheap) violin. For now, at least.

And what of that new direction of mine? That change in career path that has lifted some kind of heavy, heavy weight from my shoulders? Well, it's going well. Every day I'm learning, trying to both remember and learn anew what being a librarian actually means, and I'm really enjoying myself. Sure, my new office isn't nearly as plush as my old one, but it feels so much more like me. Look at it! So much less stately, so much more down-to-earth. I have my own barcode reader (because I actually have to read barcodes - on real books and DVDs and such!). And I have my own window still. No name on the door, and no Director in my title, but my life is so much more me these days that none of that really matters.

One great perk of this new situation is that I get more time to read each day. I could have been upset or annoyed by my longer commute, but instead I'm turning it into a positive because it gives me more time with my magazines and books. I've read two so far this new year, and now I'm back to reading A Passage to India, which I started before I went to India but couldn't get into it and didn't want to spend what precious little time I had to read on something that I wasn't all that interested in. Now, though, I feel that I can take the time to read more slowly, to invest a little of myself into the book, and so far this investment is paying off.