tentacle head

from rebecaa solnit's infinite city--a text i'm reading for the mapping salt lake city workshop.

i loved what julie wrote the other day about her new commitment to putting all her eggs in one basket.

i have a tendency, too, of putting many eggs in many baskets.

am i hedging my bets?

afraid of going all in and not succeeding?

bored?

distracted?

these are all things i'm trying to tease out.

one thing i know for sure:  when i decide to focus on one thing, i suddenly develop an almost irresistable  urge to do something else.  as soon as i get, for instance, some success with publishing, i suddenly want to open a restaurant.  i'm writing a book of poems, and an idea for a screenplay tentacles out of my brain, wraps around that crazy organ, and squeezes.

what is this?  a psychological hang-up?  adhd?  something i should try to tamp out?  or a phenomenon i should try to embrace and work with rather than against?

this week, i'm working on many disparate, but somehow connected, projects:

1) final draft of poetry manuscript--in progress for five years now.

2) revision of non-fiction piece for a rad workshop i'm taking on mapping salt lake city for my ph.d program (another project that has given me about a million ideas that i'm trying to reign in.)  here's a link to infinite city by rebecca solnit, a text that inspired the creation of this course.

3) setting up interviews with publicists for sundance.  did i mention i'm covering the film festival for toronto's the gate?

4) finalizing my intro to creative writing course on canvas.

5) and, with ingrid in town, another tentacle-brained gal, i'm being urged to write a cookbook and start a youtube series.

okay, all you smart people.  what does a person do with flailing tentacles?  i'm feeling way out of control.