No News Is Good News: Part 1

Day One

I took the news folder completely off my computer’s bookmark bar last night.  Wow! That was foresight. I’m sure I’d have clicked over this morning. Here’s something I didn’t think about: the NYT summary is delivered to my email.  First thing this morning, it downloaded. I closed my eyes and hit delete.

One of the things I promised myself was I’d work on the WIP for at least 15 minutes before 10:00 a.m. I did it. In fact, I had more than 10 new pages before noon. I celebrated with a shopping trip to The Gap where I purchased new Yoga pants. It rained this morning, and I froze to death walking in the park in jean shorts. It’s fall in San Antonio–at least for today.

Day Two

It was easier to avoid the major news outlets this morning, but since checking my blog is not illegal, I’m tempted to peak at the media blogs on the wordpress.com dashboard. Specifically, Mudflats is hard to avoid. It’s the Alaskan Anti-Sarah blog. I haven’t clicked over, but I’m curious as to why she cancelled her appearances for the day. Gotta keep writing. I can’t stop to contemplate.

I’m prolific on the WIP. I had no idea how I was going to connect the events I’m writing about, but I managed five pages this morning. Bacon was correct. Canceling the entire block I was spending on CNN and Talking Points Memo has opened doors to a new world.

I took the girls to their first Chinese lesson of the school year. While Cherry and Coco sat at Lao Shi’s kitchen table reciting their numbers and colors in Chinese, I sat on the couch, reading a book and petting Lucky, the Jack Russell Terrier. The first thing I saw was the San Antonio Express-News. I admit it. I grabbed the front page, ready to devour the latest from the Associated Press. Then, I read the date on the masthead, Tuesday, September 16, 2008. I read it already! I ditched the newspaper to read my book.

Day Three

I spent most of the day at a writer’s workshop. It’s amazing to me, now that I think about it, how no one talks about news in polite company. Speaking about politics is almost a taboo. I’m positive my friends think I’m awful when I talk about the economy.

At 6:00 p.m. I felt chills up and down my arms. Jackie Ortiz’s voice wafted through my house. Jackie is the local NBC affiliate’s weekend anchor. Almost as soon as I recognized her voice, Bacon’s trigger-finger flipped the channel. He was back to watching three college football games at the same time. 

To Be Continued