Restless

[pegkerr]

I have been restlessly flitting between a bunch of different works of fiction today. Read two Internet LOTR fanfics, finished a murder mystery and started the next in the series. Then I remembered in some embarrassment that I'd promised Lois a month ago to beta read her new manuscript, so I printed off the nine chapters she'd sent me via e-mail and started reading those. (This is Lois McMaster Bujold's next novel, her sequel to The Curse of Chalion. Sorry, this not meant as gloating, but yes, I am one of the lucky few that gets to read Lois' books in manuscript, and believe me, I know how lucky I am. No, I will not spill the beans. Please do not firebomb my house in retaliation.) I was just a couple pages in when I decided that I needed to refresh myself with the events and characters of The Curse of Chalion before starting, so I pulled that off my shelf and skim-read the last half of it.

Lord. I'd be afraid to count up how many characters I've about read today. It's a bit dizzying.

It's also been hot, and I didn't eat right today, so I got a bit hypoglycemic. I suppose this might help account a little for how "off" I've felt today. *Sigh.*

I talked with Kij (kijjohnson) tonight. Our discussion was wide-ranging, touching upon topics as various as her move to Kansas; some of the professional invitations we've received lately; motives that fuel writing; writing teachers who dole out toxic advice versus teachers who guide their students well; the tie between writing and other psychological characteristics, some useful and some not (such as depression, well-honed powers of observation, resilience); the nature of midlife crisises; mothering; reasons for my fiction writing block; LiveJournal, the nature of collaboration in writing and friendship. A rich, rewarding talk, as it so frequently is. Our friendship has certainly been a remarkable journey since that memorable day we met in our freshman college English class. Gad, almost twenty-four years ago, now.

For those willing/inclined to answer: how did you meet your best friend? How long ago did you meet? Why did you stay friends, even as your lives each have changed from year to year? For Kij and myself, I suppose we stayed best friends because we are at once so much alike and paradoxically so different. And we've learned to be honest with each other and never gave up on each other, even when we've become angry (I'm proud to say we've had some remarkable fights over the years). When you've invested so much into a friendship, it eventually gathers its own momentum. Can't imagine life without her as my best friend.

Cheers,
Peg

Comments

[corinnethewise.livejournal.com]

I met my best friend in seventh grade, she was in eighth grade and sat third chair symphonic band, I was sixth chair. We both played the flute. We actually weren't very good friends, but I admired her a lot. She played very well and I thought she was the epitome of a flutist. She's the one that inspired my now trademark hairstyle. We actually became friends when I was a freshman in high school. She had quit playing the flute by then, but we became friends through her twin sister, Theresa. I worked with Theresa on the Mock Trial team and we became friends. When I became interested, then obesessed with Harry Potter, she decided that Katie and I should be friends, so through that we became good friends. We found that we had other things in common and worked really hard over the summer to stay friends and stay in touch. Then as the next year progressed we became better and better friends. Now we're best friends and I feel closer to her than anyone. I tell Katie everything, and I know I can tell her anything and she'll still be my friend. I am going to miss her so much when she goes off to college, even though I might even be going to the same college the next year, but I'm going to miss her so much. I don't know what I'd do without Katie.