Spend a whole day reading a great novel.

So my original day was supposed to be tomorrow, a day my wife had said she’d be out of the house and would give me a lot of space. Which was good, because she kind of thinks spending an entire day reading is kind of silly (plus she’s getting stir crazy after only one week’s vacation). HOWEVER. My friends called a couple of days ago and said that they couldn’t move on the 28th (i.e., today) but needed our help on the 29th. So I simply planned on changing the day: read today, help move tomorrow.

So I was trying to do my reading, but my wife kept sticking around the house. She didn’t want to go out. Not that I mind her being around, you understand, but it made me feel uncomfortable. Because I wasn’t just “being silly” any more; I was being silly and she was around to see it. Which made me self-conscious and on edge, and because she was stir-crazy but didn’t want to leave either, she was on edge as well. So we were uncomfortable and irritable all day. Plus my book is hard to read without giving it my undivided attention, which I couldn’t do thanks to the self-consciousness.

So long story short: I probably read for a good 5.5 hours of my day today, but it was awkward and sometimes painful and I now kind of have a headache. And on top of all that, I don’t really think that my day qualified for “spend a whole day reading a great novel”, because 5.5 hours does not equal “a whole day”. So I’m keeping this one on and I hope I can grab a free day before I go back to work, one where my wife isn’t around and we can both not feel bad about my “waste” of a day. Yeah, not a great day.

I have to change my reading day. It’s still going to be in December; I’m getting this done before 2009 rolls around. But my very good friend is leaving on vacation, and the 22nd is the only day we can get together. But I’m drawing the line: December 29th is the new day for reading. And my wife says we have no plans that day, so I’m sticking to this one!

In order to successfully tackle this goal, I need to find a day that meets the following criteria:
1) I don’t work that day
2) My wife is out of town or similarly occupied
3) No pressing family concerns or rehearsals

After consulting my calendar, I have discovered that no such day exists until after New Year’s. But, considering I have two weeks off during Christmas vacation, and I figure that my wife will need to do some Christmas shopping and/or family business during that time, I have picked December 22 as my reading day. It’s on the calendar and everything!

Right now I work three days a week, but starting in the middle of September I’m at full-time, so I have to pick a day before then. And this week I’m busy with The Fringe, so my “free days” are taken up with rehearsing, performing, and trying to see a few shows. So that leaves either a day next week or a day in the beginning of September before my trip out East. I have a book in mind – Infinite Jest, killing two goals with one stone – but the days are fast disappearing, so I need to pick a day and soon.