Jane and I wake up together. Usually I wake up first (I fall asleep easier, wake up harder). I come downstairs, put on some hotwater, or make Jane some coffee. I sit down at my computer. She follows about a half an hour later. We sit, mostly silent, at our computers. Sometimes she's in my office with me, sometimes she's in the living room.

This is the baseline for our life. Cooperative productivity - writing. And then, after a few hours of that, we have cooperative play - games and reading and talking. I've never had this kind of working relationship before, and it is exciting, exhilarating, sometimes frustrating, rewarding.

Imagine all the stimulation you might get from many screens of digital media. Then imagine living with another person. And working with that person. The latter is much more involving! How to work effectively? How to respect their wishes? How to draw boundaries? How to maintain love and admiration? Every day, all day long. Those are engaging issues. So I live and work with Jane, in an environment saturated with electronic entertainment and occasional travel. This is thrilling to the tips of my fingers and this is what I write about or work to transmit through my writing here and elsewhere.