The unexpected quiet

its quiet enough that i can hear the cat darting back and forth downstairs, listen to its tentative pitter-patter before it evolves into a rapid burst of speed. up in my loft(?) or 4-walled enclosure at least, I hear the occasional car going down the street and the chirrups of birds i don't recognize.

this is my unexpected quiet, something i didn't foresee for the summer. i had expected it to be a busy summer, what with planning to go on the job market and getting ready to present at conferences and filling up applications. but in this foreign city, i find myself waiting. always waiting. waiting for code to finish, for the day to end, for the weather to clear up. and though there's so many things to be done, i find myself stuck, trapped, slightly frustrated and panicking that nothing will get done on time. 

and yet all i can do is bide my time in this unexpected quiet, work on the pieces that are available to me. and hope that something will come to fruition. 

how the hell did those monks survive all those solitary retreats