work

Friday

I had my yearly performance review today, which I think went well. It was over and done with first thing this morning.

After that, it was pretty much just an ordinary day. I can’t tell you how glad I am that it’s a Friday, though.

This evening, on the train home, I finished reading Stephen King’s Carrie. Having only just watched the movie, and generally being a fan of King’s work, I was curious about the book. It definitely feels like a first novel; some of the themes and techniques that would later seep into King’s other books are on display here, but they’re handled less gracefully. You can see how the book would have struck a chord in 1974, when it was first published, how it could feel like the emergence of a new literary voice (which is what it turned out to be). But I also think you’d have a tough time arguing that it’s King’s best novel, or even one of his best.

I was also curious about it because there’s a new film adaption of it coming this year. And this, I should warn you, is where I venture deep into spoiler territory. The new movie purports to be “a more faithful adaption” of King’s book, but the thing is, Brian De Palma’s version isn’t unfaithful at all. Most of the differences between it and the book are negligible, and mainly slight differences in tone. Carrie, I found, was actually a much less sympathetic character in the book. She doesn’t deserve what happens to her there either, but she does learn to take a certain amount of joy in it, if only because it’s the only joy her troubled life allows. There are moments when she’s quite mean, and while it is the meanness of a wild animal backed into a corner, it doesn’t make her more likable. Sissy Spacek is very likable in the movie, on the other hand, and so what happens to Carrie at the prom seems all the more tragic — and not just inevitable — because of it.

The main difference, as I see it — and maybe the only significant one — between King’s book and De Palma’s movie is the number of people that Carrie White kills. In the movie, it’s practically everyone at the prom. In the book, it’s practically the entire town. And it’s that thought, that all we’re going to get out of a “more faithful adaption” is a higher body count, that worries me.

Oh sure, there’s also a lot more about telekinesis in the book, and about the town itself — the novel is framed as a patchwork of newspaper clippings, book citations, and interviews more than a decade after the fact — but none of that feels particularly vital to the heart of the story. (It is, in fact, where King’s book starts to feel a little creaky.) De Palma’s movie tells Carrie’s story mostly through her eyes; I don’t know that anything is gained by re-framing it through the eyes of her victims and survivors. Even if that is the author originally intended it.

And yet, the new movie was directed by Kimberly Peirce, the director of Boys Don’t Cry, which suggests it could at least be interesting. Carrie is the sort of character that might benefit from a female perspective. And the trailer doesn’t look awful… I just question how necessary it is.

Tuesday or Thursday, it’s all the same to me

Today was a lot like yesterday, only I couldn’t log into my computer for the first fifteen or twenty minutes in the office. Luckily, I sit right near IT so I was able to get the problem resolved relatively quickly.

And that’s it, really. A lot of work, some of it the same as yesterday, some of it new. Right now, I’m mostly just waiting on some twenty-two reviews that were supposed to have come in either while I was out on vacation or before.

It’s tempting to ask these instructors what they would do if their students handed in an assignment a month or more late.

Tempting, but I don’t.

Back to the same old same old

I went back to work today, after almost three full weeks off, and it was…pretty ordinary.

I’m almost disappointed by how uncrazy my day was — busy, yes, most definitely. But my in box was not at all unmanageable, and I had a pretty much average day. Sure, I managed without too much effort to get a seat on the subway this morning, and that’s almost unheard of, but the work day, after that? Yeah, nothing special.

I got a lot done, followed up with all the people who were supposed to have sent me reviews while I was out but didn’t, and then came home. Yes, I’m quite glad that today only felt like Monday, that the weekend is so close. And sure, the whole waking up early to get a train isn’t all that appealing compared to…well, not. But, by and large, an ordinary day.

Seconded

I have been off from work for eighteen days, and for at least a week of that I have been unable to check my e-mail. I go back to the office tomorrow morning, and that should be…interesting. I can’t say I’m looking forward to the early mornings and sensible bedtimes, but I am looking forward to reading more, since I don’t seem to do much of that while I’m home, sadly. I do sort of rely on my daily commute for that. And, if nothing else, at least it’s only a three-day week, to ease with the transition.

Last night, I went out to dinner with my parents. We had a nice time, and a good meal, even if the restaurant itself was a little pricey, the menu unexpectedly limited, and the service not all that great. (It took forever for us to get the bill, and credit card, back, for instance, and even then it was completely wrong.) After that, I came home and watched The Great Escape, which was pretty good — and certainly better than The World Is Not Enough, which is what I watched today. (Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist named Christmas Jones? Sadly not the most ridiculous thing about it.)

I also got the latest issue of Kaleidotrope up and running last night, with a few necessary tweaks this morning. (I’ve been having some issues, both here and there, with the latest update to WordPress.) If you like stories about trolls, magic, body swaps, other planets, witches, monsters, time travel, stories themselves, and true love, then I can’t recommend it enough. Or even if you just like free fiction and poetry! I’m always interested to hear what readers think.

Today, there wasn’t much besides the movie. I poked around a short story a little, though I’m not sure I can call what I did writing.

I think I’m just still reeling from the idea that I have to go back to work tomorrow after almost three weeks. Where did all that time go?