What I most enjoy about writing is being in the zone, that place in which I am working, oblivious to what’s going on around me. It isn’t that the writing is easy, for problems present themselves, but that I have the patience needed to solve these problems.

This morning Pete printed up a justification for our working with VCRS; it was several years old. I was to use it as a template for a justification of our working with the PPL. I read it over then got to work – actually paying no attention to the VCRS document. I knew what I had to do.

Rainbow

I didn’t get that far because we were soon to head for town. So at best, I put twenty minutes into it.

I’m to come up with a document for Pete to revise, so for me, the stakes are low. I just have to get some ideas on paper. But the further along I am, the further along Pete will get. I also just have to come up with a single page although I suspect that I’ll end up writing two pages.

This morning, I was in the zone. I am now at the hotel. It’s 7:04 p.m. The question is, will I, at this late hour, be able to get in the zone? I am tired. Once again, I worked hard, getting this place in order. I don’t even remember what I did today. It’s a blur.

Pete is at a meeting of the Bikers and Hikers. He took four boxes of travel/adventure books with him. I did not feel like going because this is a group whose interest is exclusively in hiking and biking. Their title does not indicate that they are interested in horseback riding. This is because there is a user interest conflict.

Pete is an avid bicyclist and would much rather ride a bicycle than ride a horse. He claims he gets more exercise this way. So I have lost yet another horsey friend. I should count my lucky stars – he’s not into hunting. But it would not surprise me if someone materialized who said they’d take him out and together, they’d get a moose or two or three.

We all think that human nature being what it is, that it is possible to know and predict what others are thinking. The older I get, the less inclined I am to believe this. This is because none of us disclose fully what we are thinking to others, and maybe less so to those we most care about.

Of course, I’m the exception. I tell all. Har har.

Had I written this dispatch after I worked on the proposal, I would have the answer to the question, was I able to be in the zone? I will have the answer of course, fifteen minutes from now, that is unless I blow off working on it and instead categorize more boxes of children’s books. This, indeed, is tempting.

Next: 334. 12/8/24: Out of the Zone