Day 18 – Favorite beginning scene in a book. Off the top of my head, I’d probably have to go with Gandalf dissecting Bilbo’s “Good morning.” That shit is hilarious. Can you imagine some (apparent) total stranger walking up and responding to your polite greeting like that? “All of them at once!” is just proof of how very good-natured Bilbo is… I mean, I’m a rather passive person myself, and I think even I would turn it into a debate. Some might respond with something along the lines of, “Who the fuck are you and what are you on about?”

So in an unfamiliar bed, my insomnia is really in her element. Last night it only took me a couple of hours to fall asleep, but the night before it was almost six. I keep waking up exhausted and having the hardest time getting any sort of energy worked up. Fortunately, HTML is the absolutely perfect pastime when I am feeling dull and tired, and then if I do manage to wake up eventually I can work on story at that point.

There is a bookshelf at the foot of the bed in this guest room, about the same size as mine at home only a little more woodly-looking. A few of the books on it: Ingenious Mechanisms volumes 1-4, The Home Depot: Built From Scratch, Handbook of Electric Power Calculations, The Ultimate Encyclopedia of American Cars, The Great Tool Emporium, Machinery’s Handbook (21st Edition), Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Auto Repair Manual 1975. I think it’s safe to say that there has never been a more interesting bookshelf in all of life.

P.S. My interview is today. Still not entirely sure about how I hope it will go.