A Conversaton with Elizabeth
1998
Energy

From:          Elizabeth
To:            larry.m.maxson@bvs.com
Date:          3/2/98 4:11pm
Subject:       Energy
 
From the description of your weekend, you must have more available energy than I. Are you working full days, however? I don't recall how old you are. Is your wife younger than you? I thought she must be if you were still speculating about having a child. Even though the age keeps being pushed higher, the late 30's and early 40's seem to be the cut off for women, although with genetic testing, it's possible to know ahead about problems which might arise.
 
Does your daughter live with you? It sounds as if she does. I've heard that aquariums can be self maintaining if they are well set up and in balance. I tried a small tank in Tampa, but one morning I found the fish dead. That distressed me and I let it go. I only had a few, but seeing them dead without explanation was unpleasant. I had a friend in Gainesville who had massive salt water tanks, they were something else. Also, there was a Chinese restaurant in Tuscaloosa that had enormous tanks with enormous (12 inches at least) fish. I imagine they were carp or koi. It seems I read somewhere though that goldfish will grow quite large as well. In Chicago I visited the aquariums there which are something else. The best part was going below water level and watching the dolphins swim. They would often swim very rapidly on their backs underwater. It was amazing. I still recall Lilly's books[1] which I enjoyed very much. New Orleans and I think Memphis are also supposed to have good aquariums.
 
I find I often need to get in a rest on the weekends, usually on Saturdays. It's rather a strange pattern, but I will nap late on Saturday, then awaken early in the evening, then sit up late reading, then sleep till 8 or 9 on Sunday, when I feel "normalized." One advantage of living alone is being able to lead an aberrant schedule. Sunday I put together another bookcase, which I had bought sometime back but never assembled. My apt. is slowly coming into order. One of the most frustrating things is to have a book, but not be able to locate it when I need it. I want to get that corrected.
 
I thought it was interesting as well how Fox and Scully have switched roles. I finished assembling my bookcase just in time to sit down and watch x-files. The station here has started running another older episode right after the new episode. Usually I will have seen it as I have missed very very few. However, last night, there was an episode I didn't remember, about cutting down an old growth forest tree and releasing some tiny green bugs that wrapped people in cocoons when they swarmed at night. Fox and Scully looked really different, more dorky. Their image has been much more glamorized as the show has moved on. Well, this workday is finally nearing a close. I have Contracts class until 9:30. I would like it to be on Tuesday instead, but its not. Tomorrow.

[1] I had read John C. Lilly's "Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer” back in 1973. See Human Biocomputer.

Re: Engery