Day 136: "[She was] fluent now in the language of grief."

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After reading Sonnet 136 this morning, I gave Mama a "lesson" in organizing and editing digital photographs. As she freaked out on Facebook, I wrote a thank you letter to Jessie Conradi, my friend and guru from Sasha Bruce.

In the afternoon, I accompanied Mama to work, where I read some short stories and "supervised" her as she worked on a portfolio for one of her new real estate clients. Erik had suggested that I explore the work of Amy Hempel, so I first read "The Harvest," which is structurally captivating and full of delicious irony. I then texted Erik to ask what his favorite story of hers was, and so went on to read "In The Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried." This too is beautifully crafted, and piercingly painful -- the reader automatically imagines herself in the same situation as the author, but with her own best friend.

Having run some errands, we touched down at home before Papa and I set out for my evening recording session with Melvin Taylor. As Mr. Gill and Mr. Pope discussed marketing strategies, we began recording. After 1 grilled cheese sandwich, 2 cups of tea, 4 time-outs for Monroe, 7 retakes, 9 cough drops, and countless jabs at my new hair and glasses, we finally succeeded in laying down my vocal track for our newest song. I really like this one and can't wait until it's finished!












Now home after a fairly long day, I look forward to a good night's rest.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 16, 2012 at 6:39 PM

    I love the letter you wrote for your friend! What program did you use to make it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ratna GillJanuary 16, 2012 at 6:41 PM

      Thank you! She deserves so much more. I used Pages, which is the Apple version of Microsoft Word. I can send you the original if you like!

      Delete

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