Why am I so good at procrastination?

I shouldn't even be sitting here asking that question.  I should be doing some ironing, completing an accountancy problem that's been hanging over me for some time, finishing knitting a scarf I started at Christmas (it's not even very long!), writing something for my OU course.  Basically I SHOULD BE DOING ANYTHING BUT THIS!  Honestly, if I had sat down this morning intending to write a little blog post, I would be upstairs right now wrestling with the ironing board.
I've always been inclined to put things off but I occasionally get a burst of energy that sends me off to complete the task.  Unfortunately I just as often get an impulse to read about what I should be doing, rather than doing it, or to write about what I should be doing ... well, you get the picture.  So, does anyone know how to stop procrastinating and start getting on with things?  Of course not, you wouldn't be browsing the blogosphere would you?

Badentarbet, Wester Ross

Beware of the cat

I used to have a cat with a large personality and mildly homicidal tendencies.  This one's for Spike.

Beware of the cat
First, purge yourself of free will.
There is no rule book
but, seeing one, he would ignore it.
Don't attempt to take control, 
he will stare you down.

His hiss dictates
when meals are served.
when sleep can happen,
when doors will open.

And then, 
When you have lost all pride,
all sense of yourself,
and you are wholly subjugated,
he will crouch on the stairs,
in the fetid darkness,
and, stretching suddenly,
will catch your feet.

Grab the bannister
If you still hope to survive.

A poem about fireworks

I was working on this poem for my OU module but decided not to use it in the end.  It's inspired by a display on Lake Como.

The Trace of Fireworks

The sharp, percussive bark,

then the fading pitter-patter

retorts from the mountainside.

Lights spray the night

in coloured fountains,

shooting through the darkness.

In your worn, lacklustre face

I see the child at her first bonfire;

Shivering with expectation,

jaw hanging, eyes alight.

The flares reveal the path

as I take your hand and lead the way.  

Looking for inspiration

I think poetry is starting to get the better of me.  I've been reading lots and thinking in images but struggling to find the right kind of inspiration.  The next assignment for OU is a forty line poem on a theme of our choice.  I have been racking my brains for the right theme... sometimes it helps if they are a bit more prescriptive.  A free choice can trigger a lack of inspiration and a lot of thinking in circles.  The best thought I have so far is based on fireworks and frankly it's not looking too promising.  The picture is from our holiday last year on Lake Como.  We had a lovely apartment in Varenna and the night we arrived there was a festival of fireworks on the lake exactly opposite our balcony.   Just for background, every other holiday we have ever been on, we have been told by the locals, 'Oh you should have been here last week/next week for the festival/wine tasting/free food.'  or 'What a pity you're leaving just before the festival, etc.' (you get the picture).  On this occasion we not only arrived at the climax of the celebrations, but the fireworks were accompanied by a food festival at the lakeside where we jostled with the locals for freshly cooked food prepared by the women of the village.  A great night all round.  To be honest the photo doesn't even come close to doing the fireworks justice but it shows the barge from which they were launched.  It was anchored about 100 yards from shore.  We sat there for nearly half an hour with our jaws literally hanging open as we watched the display. It might not make the best poem but it truly was a beautiful night.

Strange day

This was one of my strangest days for a while. I received a really good mark for my short story assessment with some excellent suggestions for improvement which I am going to consider at length. I received a polite rejection for a novel idea. It's ok - on reflection, it needs a lot more work! I received a job offer which ticks most of the right boxes (details to be negotiated). All in all, more ups than downs but you really don't expect to get them all at once!

Poetry Generator

I've been having fun with this on-line gizmo William Carlos Williams poetry generator .  Just fill in the missing words for some surprising results.

This is just to say
I have walked
the beaches
that were on
the way

and which
you were probably saving
for others

Forgive me
they were empty
so wide
and so bleak

Creative Writing course

I'm now nearly three months into a Level 2 course with the Open University which is stretching me in all sorts of ways.  It's not the first time I've studied - someone asked me at an interview recently if I was 'collecting qualifications'.  I didn't think I was but I can see how it might look that way.  Anyhow, the Creative Writing course is the first one I've done in a long time for no better reason than I wanted to do it.  It's not for a job (although I would love to earn some money from it).  It's not Continuous Professional Development (a phrase to make your heart shrink). It's not anyone else's suggestion, just my own personal interest.  I have to say that I find the OU materials, tutorial support and peer support absolutely brilliant.  I quite often find myself engaged in exercises which I would never have dreamt of doing on my own and I know that I am definitely learning from the experience.  I have been writing on and off all my life but I have never felt comfortable sharing what I have written.  Now I'm hoping to break the mould and, for the first time since the school magazine, have the confidence to show people what I want to write.