Champing at the bit...

Looking at a short night. Gotta be up at 4:30 a.m. Good day making last minute preparations for the SF trip. Lot of paperwork. Lots and lots. And lots. Feel good about the work I've put in, but looking forward to getting started.

 

Cold snap...

A flip dark chill winter bastard, as Anthony Burgess would have said. Up early to a bit of editing, then on to the office for a voice gig, followed by yet another trip to the optical shop. (This time they've got it right!)

Home before noon to mark up two more SF mss. Have a pretty good handle on discussion material now, and looking forward to the first go-round. Should be an action-packed four days. 

Section material in the new 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories is absolutely fascinating. Learned, for instance, it was once fashionable to turn down reprint offers from BASS, certain authors seeing it as "selling out" to the establishment.

Looking forward to the weekend. Maybe a movie.

Weather, or not...

Up later than I wanted to be. Supposed to have been an overnight snow, but it came more toward noon and last a couple of hours. Big wet flakes. Just now back in from shoveling the walks. El Nino's here for a while, I guess. Should make for interesting coming and going in SF.

Didn't get much writing or revising in today. Spent the better part of the late morning and afternoon at the office, trying to catch up on one thing or another. Got away to the gym around 4:00 pm. Short workout, but good.

Feels like the spring doldrums, but I can't allow myself to go there yet with so many weeks of snow and cold ahead. Forecast for the weekend doesn't look good for the mountains. Temps supposed to drop into the teens or lower. 

City's digging up the alley. Not sure why. Sewer? Who knows. The sound of jackhammering is going on day and night now.

Here, there, and everywhere...

Up early making revisions. Have a working title for one of the new stories. "Unseen." Feeling good about its progress, though need a good chunk of time to make a beginning-to-end pass at it. Same with the other new piece. Into the office around 10:00, and back at work on the SF stories. Culled through notes from the second reading. Refined, simplified, and transcribed them to clean mss. Worked through two pieces, then went off for a turkey and dressing sandwich at Starbucks. Finished a third story, then left to do some grocery shopping. Home, gym, and Christmas tree to to Rocky Top recycling (fare thee well, old friend!) before close of day. Wish it weren't so dark, nights. Feels claustrophobic this time of year.

A semi-productive day...

Eyes itching like crazy. Must be some new pollen in the air. Or, maybe it's the higher temps? Nice day today after a nice night's sleep. Finished the last of the SF critiques this morning, and even got in a little revision work. Rest of the day went to computer and phone upgrades, dealings with the ophthalmologist, and a brief but much-needed trip to the gym. Think I'll try setting up my new tablet tonight. 

 

Briefly noted...

Up late. Restless night. Went to work on the last of the SF critiques today. No writing or revising. Finished all but two discussions, and hope to check those off my list by tomorrow. Went to the gym early afternoon, then came home and worked a little longer. Had a nice face-time visit. Rome as a backdrop. Hope to jump on the day early tomorrow and make some headway at the keyboard. Fingers crossed.

My baby, he wrote me a letter...

Up early, working on SF critiques. A lot of work, but a lot of fun, too. Or am I just being lazy, not wanting to face my own stories at the moment? 

Movie this afternoon. The Danish Girl. Heard talk about academy award nominations, but have to say I don't get it. Great production values wasted on an insufferably boring story. Spoiler alert: couldn't wait until the main character died. Most satisfying scene in the movie.

High note of the day: a belated birthday card from my son. Letter included!

Day one, 2016...

Got a good night's sleep. Hope that's a harbinger of what's to come in the new year. Put in an hour or two of writing/revising this morning, and got a start on another SF critique. Too nice a day to say in, though. Broke away from the keyboard around 11:00 and drove up to Mueller state park for an afternoon of snowshoeing. Temp was a little crisp, particularly when the wind kicked up, but the sky was a deep, New Mexico blue and the snow was as good as it gets. Ran across a doe, browsing for food on the return leg of the trip. Stopped and watched her for a while. It was one of those stop-and-enjoy moments. Perfect day, all things considered.

New Year's Eve...

Good day. Got some decent writing in, made progress with the SF project, hit the gym, and scrounged up goodies at the grocery store for New Year's Eve dinner. Don't expect I'll make it to midnight, but who knows. Been a while since I've seen the fireworks on Pikes Peak. Might make an effort to stay up.

Weather still on the chilly side. If it warms up this weekend, there might be an afternoon of snowshoeing up at Mueller. Feeling strangely energetic. Wonder why?

Hump day...

Wednesday? Already? Can't believe it's mid-week.

Another cold one. Felt like temps were in the 30s pretty much all day. But sunny, so there's something to be said for that. Dug deep today having the morning to myself, and managed some serious revisions on the newest of my untitled pieces. A long one, coming in close to 10,000 words. (Gotta do something about that.) Also worked on a standard format for the SF critiques, which should make the process better and more uniform. Took a break mid-afternoon and hit the gym, getting in a good solid workout. Went out later looking for hardware, and ended up misplacing my glasses. Sheesh. Good thing I have extras.

Wonder what the odds are of a good night's sleep? Been restless for a week now, maybe longer, and besieged by stupid, ugly dreams.

 

Sluggin away...

Cold start to the week. Slow one, too. Still, managed to get some good revisions going. One of the new untitled stories feels closer than I thought when I put it away. Knock wood, but it feels like it's got legs. Gotta keep pushing until I get it right.

Short workout at the gym. Crowded tonight. Expect it to get worse between now and the New Year, then peak and start dying off again. Should be cleaned out pretty well by the time I get back from SF.

And speaking of SF, got the first of the full page critiques drafted. Feels good knowing all the stories now. Who knows, maybe by the time I ship out I'll have something worthwhile to say.

Nice rejection from the Sycamore Review today of Working to Beat Hell. Figured it'd be a tough sell, so it was good to know it's not being dismissed out of hand. Keep plugging, right? 

On A midwinter's day...

Woke up early, revised a bit, had lunch at the Broadmoor (clam chowder), and said a few goodbyes. Another holiday season come and gone. Almost. Have no affection for New Year's Eve and never have. Except as a signpost it's time to move on.

Ready to dig into some new projects. With luck, score a few victories. Work tomorrow. Good to get back into a routine.

The night after Christmas...

Christmas in the rearview. One day past. Many fetes, as F. Scott once wrote, and now comes the inevitable winding down. Guests making ready to go home, or off to other places. 

Hard to believe the days and guests have come and gone so quickly.

Did some work on the SF stories today, then a little on my own. Went to a movie this afternoon. Enjoyed it. Chicken soup and a ball game tonight. 

 

 sitting back as 

Looking ahead...

Early to the office. Piecing together yet another new story. Something with a new-west flavor. Also working on critiques for the SF pieces. Second reading complete on eight of the stories. Notes compiled. Summaries begun. Still a lot of work ahead, but happy for the chance to hone my reading and editing.

Took care of little things this afternoon, then off to the gym for an early evening workout. Look forward to snowshoeing again one of these days. Got in a good walk this afternoon, but completely appreciate the nuances between a treadmill and simple shoe leather.

Looked over some old drafts today with a small degree of disappointment. Need to move along.  Get to a different place. Push for better, deeper stories.

Early coffee tomorrow with an old friend. Look forward to catching up.

 

Where has the time gone?

Good night's sleep last night. Good morning's work, as well. Like the direction my newest story is going. Ending seems perfect. 

Did a little Christmas shopping this afternoon out in Manitou. What fun! Love that town!

Read another of the SF stories and began making notes. Also read a fine story in the New Yorker, "Bedtimes."

Taking it easy today. Thinking ahead, wondering where my stories will go this year. Want to simplify. Get back to the modern westerns again. But don't want to think too hard in the process. Need to get back to the basics.

Getting in the spirit...

Early morning despite having stayed up entertaining guests last night. A good evening. No fire, no carols, but lots of interesting conversation, terrific hors d'oeurves and fine wine.

Revisions this morning, a brief jog to the gym, then off to the movies.

Home now, and ready for a bite to eat. Tomorrow, Christmas shopping. As always, the season takes odd turns, emotionally and otherwise. 

Bent by a wintry fever...

Bit of a cold snap. Temps never got out of the teens today. Sunny, though, making it all bearable.

Into the office early. Made some small revisions on my new story, then delved into research for a new commercial client. Later in the afternoon, began second readings of the SF stories. Enjoyed playing editor for a while. Home now, getting ready to do a little more decorating. Guests coming tomorrow evening. Need to have the joint looking tip-top.

 

Food, friends, festivity...

Busy morning at the homestead. Not much writing. Got out for an early walk, though, and couldn't complain about the cold, the sky being so clear and sunny. Been thinking a lot about Wyoming lately. Looking forward to getting back there, maybe earlier than usual. Like to get started on a long piece, and that would be just the place for it. Nice and quiet. No interruptions.

Had a nice time at dinner last night. Went to Summit at the Broadmoor with the gang. Nice seeing Mr. Jessop again. Always makes for a nice conversation. Had escargot for the first time in years. Couldn't get enough. Arctic char for the entree. Also splendid. The others had a proper dessert of profiteroles/creme brulee/etc., but your truly went for a tawny port. Much happiness all around.

More decorating tonight. Gotta get dinner going. Nothing special. Andouille sausage, wine. Whatever else finds it way to the plate.