More Free Time Than I Can Shake a Stick At

Everyone wishes they had more free time, until they find themselves in a position where they have more free time than they know what to do with. I used to jokingly say that being put in prison wouldn't be so bad, because at least you'd have a lot of time to catch up on your reading.

Well, here I am "between jobs" (nervous laughter) and I have 24 hours a day to do what I want. You may be surprised to hear it, but I have been using my time somewhat less-than-effectively. I watch a stupid amount of television (90% of it completely forgettable) and waste most of my time that way. Perhaps the only useful thing I've been doing has been studying Japanese. I'm focusing on kanji (Chinese characters) because I want to take the next level of the Japanese Proficiency Test in December.

In addition to studying, I have been doing a lot of reading. I've started reading Ulysses again, and this time I made it to about page 50 before giving up. Someday... someday... I've also been doing some drawing, painting, and model-making. My latest project has been a bust of my great-grandfather, based on a photo of him when he was in France in 1916 as an engineer in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. I made the bust out of a kind of modelling clay that you can harden in the oven. Now I just have to track down some clear pictures of the insignia that he would have been wearing and I'll be able to start painting. It's been going well so far, and I'm pretty pleased with the results. But I've been experiencing a mounting feeling of dread that, with every consective step, I'm running a greater risk of ruining the work I've done so far. This is the curse of perfectionists everywhere, and the reason why we rarely finish what we start.