Isn't that Your Job?

Rarely am I at a loss for words (figuratively speaking). However, since B’s car windshield and a random stone made sweet highway love three weeks ago, trying to find a company who is a) willing to replace her windshield glass, b) has the materials available to do so, and c) is willing to do said activity at an agreed up on price is nigh impossible it seems.

One glass company treated her like a stereotypical woman; needless to say, B was quite upset (re: pissed). The glass technician (let’s give them a high-strung name) said that she would be better off to wait until the glass spidered or at least until next month when her inspection sticker runs out. B insisted that she get it replaced as soon as possible, which was the original plan. The fellow simply restated his position, walked inside, and left B fuming. Glass company two quoted us a price and said they would repair it in our apartment’s driveway. Cool beans, I thought, until they did not call the day of the appointment to confirm when they would arrive. Upon calling them, they claimed that they did not have the adhesive / sealant necessary for the windshield b/c B’s car is new (07 model). If we would run by the dealership and procure the adhesive / sealant, they would be happy to install it. Not that they should be responsible for procuring said product or anything.

Finally, glass company three originally matched the quote of class company two and said they would install B’s windshield tomorrow. However, upon confirming the appointment today, their representative quoted me the original price sans discount (about $60 difference). I stated that I was quote a discounted price; subsequently, I was put on hold for about five minutes only to have the representative state that they could take about $10 off the original price, leaving them $50 higher than my agreed upon quote, and that was as low as they could go. I told them it obviously wasn’t as low as they could go and that I would take my business elsewhere.

Glass company four is scheduled to arrive tomorrow at some point, and they have matched the quote from glass company two. We’ll see what happens. It shouldn’t be this hard to get a windshield installed for a reasonable price.

* * *

As my readership may have surmised, I have finished A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History, which ended on a mixed note. De Landa took more responsibility than most pomo authors by stating that heterogeneity for the sake of heterogeneity is not necessarily the supreme good considering the amount of turbulence caused by radical change. He also provided a nice overview of how the world is becoming increasingly homogenized linguistically, biologically, and culturally. Needless to say, he believes there are many problems with uniformity in these spheres.

My biggest problem, though, was De Landa’s insistence on waving his pomo phallus around by conjuring the Body without Organs (BwO) from Deleuze & Guitarri. Yes, using a phrase like that makes De Landa appear smart, but the currents, matter flows, and intensities he discussed earlier made plenty of sense without the injection of a new phrase accompanied by a painfully abstract vernacular. In some places, it read like a sophomoric attempt to combine geometry with marijuana-inspired philosophy. One of the first lessons I learned in college English was to avoid introducing new material in a paper’s conclusions. While this is a generalization, De Landa’s musings on the BwO were unnecessary and would not have been missed if omitted.

I also managed to start and finish Mao II by Don DeLillo this weekend. Absolutely fabulous fiction, and his observations regarding the voice of terrorism, the human desire for community, and the search for anything to believe in were done masterfully. At first, the book seemed disjunctive at best, but he weaved all the themes – Rev. Moon, terrorism, a reclusive writer’s life, the homeless in NYC, etc. – into one intense, unhappy collage. As much as I love the work of Ian McEwan for pure story telling pleasure, DeLillo succeeds on many deeper levels.

I’m currently reading a book on options trading. I won’t bore you with any reviews.

* * *

I am happy to announce that I’m about ½ way through revising unpublished Palsy Aria poems. My biggest find: how many times I sacrificed a difficult to express observation to mediocre language. Rather than take the time to craft the line(s) appropriately, I hurried through, thinking the idea itself would work on its own. Some of this occurred b/c I fell in love with sentence fragments; others b/c I’m just not a great writer. My other realization is that I often used excessive language b/c it sounded pretty rather than adding anything worthwhile to the text. I’m becoming increasingly comfortable with my voice, the realization that I’ll never craft extremely long, lyric poems. I don’t want to write minimal poems, but I do recognize that I’ll write short, terse, (seemingly) disjointed poems without sacrificing language or structure. I hope that difference is clear. I just don't want to have poetry length envy any more.

Anyways, I hope to finish revising the poems by this weekend and then pass them off to my editor (B). I’d like to give each of the poems another round or two in front of editors before deciding which ones to cut and which ones to include from outside material before putting this together in a somewhat finished format.

* * *

Recent additions to my bookshelf: the newest issues of Lungfull!, The Denver Quarterly, Fence, New Ohio Review, and 580 Split. Recent books include Atonement by Ian McEwan and Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism by Daniel Bell.

I’ve only made it through Lungfull! and Fence once, and I enjoyed both. Lungfull!’s poems are, for the most part, fun and whimsical. Wry, witty observations and observational pieces that provide a sharp moment of insight and a chuckle. I’m on the fence about Fence. None of the poems stick in my mind just yet (not usually a good sign), and the zine contains a hefty fiction presence, which means the poetry better be extra good. Sometimes it takes several read-throughs to fully appreciate some poetry, and I’m hoping that’s what happens here. NOR looks like it has a nice mix of traditional and chance-taking work, and I know 580 Split and The Denver Quarterly will push the boundaries a little, so I’m looking forward to settling down with these new issues, especially as I start concentrating on new writing in the near future.

* * *

B is back tonight after two days with her parents.

Golf Wednesday and a scramble Saturday. I’ve had the snap-hooks and club-throws. Needless to say, the club-throws are a direct result of the snap-hooks.

Until next time,

-j