Monday, July 19. Entering the second week of my fiction-writing residency. For the next couple of days I don't have editorial meetings, just open time to write and revise. I've reworked the last hundred pages of the novel, and am now combing through it from beginning to end, trying to sand down the rough edges and build in coherence.
Still in this dorm room with its suboptimal fluorescent lighting. Wearing Camellia today with a tee knotted over, so she's more of a skirt.
This is a good use for the Walmart tees I impulse-bought early in the spring. Again, again, I'm committed to not making those kinds of purchases anymore, but again, again I will note that for what they are, and without failing to acknowledge the human cost of generating cheap clothing for the Walmart shopper, these are not bad t-shirts. They're all cotton, good and heavy. They soften up nicely with washing. This pink is a very pretty color (its twin is navy). It's a large, because I wanted some extra drape, and I find that this size works well for knotting. In fact, I think they look better this way than just about any other way I've tried to wear them. Since I bought them, one way or another I am committed to getting a lot of wear out of them.
I like that I can create more of a fit-and-flare silhouette this way, even with an A-line dress.
I'm wearing my cut-off Under Armour legging/bike shorts underneath. The fabric of this dress is fairly thin – I deliberately chose that, as opposed to the heavier French terry of the Sierra dress, which I'd also considered. I think I'm mostly glad that I did choose that, but I notice that I have to be perhaps more careful about what I wear underneath, if I'm not wearing a long cardigan over it. Bike shorts seemed more . . . congenial? . . . to wear than a slip, and it's what I'd be wearing underneath if I were hiking. So bike shorts it is, and my thrifted Birk Floridas.
Off to daily Mass in a minute, then back to work.
Dorm lighting, man. And dorm mattresses. This is a portrait of some really bad sleep. Today I thought to try the mattress on the bed I'm not sleeping in, and it seemed marginally better, so I switched them out when I changed my sheets. We'll see. Mostly I'm enjoying my little hermitage here, but the nights have been pretty terrible, so much so that I've started putting off going to bed. Recurrent insomnia is a problem for me, anyway, as it is for so many people my age. Sleep: the holy grail. We'll see whether the switch in mattresses makes any difference.
Note: The weather has been hot and humid. I run the window-unit air conditioners in my room only when it gets noticeably warm, as in I suddenly realize I'm bathed in sweat, and I go for walks in the afternoons. In other words, I've been sweating a lot in this dress. What they say about merino is holding true so far: it's fairly cool, stays dry on my skin, and does not appear to hold odors. The dress still smells fresh-out-of-the-bag. I will hand-wash it periodically, but I definitely don't feel the need to wash after wearing on hot days, as I do virtually anything else I wear in the summer.