Our daughter Leah is spending a semester studying in Florence, Italy. Tomorrow night, we’re leaving to spend 10 days with her in Rome, Florence and Venice. Then I’m going to go to Paris, Hamburg and Milan over the course of three days, talking with businesses and some media about corporate blogging, sponsored by Edelman PR, to whom (disclosure) I consult.

Things have been busy around here so I haven’t really focused on the trip, but it should be pretty fabulous, although it’ll probably take me a good eight days to escape the psychic grip the book I’m working on has me in. I’ve been consumed by it, from morning until night. 25% of my time is devoted to fretting about it. Another 32% goes to reading stuff on the Web that I can’t remember how or why I got to. I spend 11% of my time unwriting what I wrote the day before. Then there’s the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ 8% Attention Tax. Nevertheless, the book is with me all the time.

For those who are keeping track, I am starting chapter 7 out of 9, although I am done with chapters 1-6 only in the delusional sense that the paper has passed through the platen of my typewriter. I’m not done with them until the fat lady sings, the fat lady being in this case my editor who is not fat and would surprise me by singing. (And, no, I’m not really using a typewriter.)

Chapter 7 is about the importance of the implicit in a digital world that tempts us to make everything explicit. Now I just have to figure out what that means, why anyone should care, and how to write it. But nooooo, I have to gallivant off to Italy. You’re right, I should stay home and work on chapter 7 at least until I know what it’s about. Absolutely. I don’t deserve a 10-day break, much less in Italy. You’re right. I’ll stay here and write more. Thank you for that tough love.

(Will someone please pry my fingers off the keyboard so I can pack? Please?) [Tags: everything_is_miscellaneous EverythingIsMiscellaneous italy travel obsessive_compulsive]

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