Ennui Central

          The best word for the work I'm doing is "torpor." It doesn't take much strength or thought, but it's a perseverance test for the brain. Imagine listening to a buzzing engine for eight hours; this is my job, minus a few details. Thankfully, today went more smoothly than yesterday since the heat finally broke. I entertained myself by listening to Bill Hicks for most of the day; my favorite sketch is "Burning Issues." "No one, and I repeat, no one, has ever died for a flag. A flag is a piece of cloth. They may have died for freedom, which, by the way, is the freedom to burn the flag." Hicks is delightfully funny and sharply political in a twisted sort of way, if one can handle his vulgarity. I should also mention that my father was unusually speedy in fixing my swing, happily enough.