Can't believe it's been five years. This page sums it up for me. Literally. I wish the world was a better place. All we can do is keep trying to improve it, however we can.

Which leads me to this brief article, which reminded me to keep on trying. Because "if you remember everything else and forget your true work, then you will have done nothing with your life."

And I'm looking forward to reading this book. Just like I can't believe the past 5 years have flown by, it's hard to believe that almost ten years have passed since his first novel came out. I'll definitely buy this book and read it as soon as it comes out. Looks like not only do we get a curmudgeonly old narrator, but we'll also get some great insight into life early in the 20th century as well as much of the 19th. Looks fascinating (if a bit sloooow paced thus far).

There's an accompanying article about Mr. Frazier, but it sort of annoyed me with its focus on all the money he's making. Hey, he worked his ass off. Let him enjoy it. Sure, he may have almost crippled his first publisher with his success, but how could he know that? It's not like he's mass-producing crappy books.

And finally, just got word from Lizzie that Drew had a great time at his first day of preschool -- last week was just a practice run, as she left him for just 45 minutes on Wednesday. Today, it was for the whole three hours. He had a ball, and no tears were shed (by Drew or his mama). I was a little worried, myself. I have a feeling he'll still be sleeping by the time I get home tonight... I'm so proud of our little fella!

Oh, and almost forgot -- finished an incredibly rough draft of a new story, one I'd been trying to write all summer. It's out there, man. But finishing it allowed me to start making notes on the revision to Sixteen Miles, which I was dreading for a while (for many reasons), but now I'm looking forward to it. I think this book could be quite awesome. That's a great feeling. Later!