writer
Crazy day. Which is strange insofar as much nothing happened. Worked all morning, looked after small stuff the rest of the day. Beat from the all the end of week drama, and looking forward to a couple of unencumbered days of writing.
Enjoying the Guthrie book. It ain't The Big Sky, but it's fun.
Caught the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre last night at the opening of the ENT Center. Best thing I've seen in years. Absolutely remarkable.
Snow quit today, still the cold lingered. In the twenties all day. Not bad standing in the sun, but when the wind picked up not a whole lot of fun. Guess winter's here. At least for a while. Man, but spring feels a long way off.
Spent the morning revising, the early afternoon running errands, and the late afternoon looking after small stuff. Slept pretty well last night after getting home from the show, but tired just the same. Maybe it's the weather. Or maybe it's the new sinus infection I can't seem to ditch.
Could have used a Starbucks today. Didn't get one.
Plugging away. Up a little later than usual, but the extra sleep was good. While gathering myself for coffee, I thought I'd lost my iPhone. Scoured the house and office, drove to the gym, came home and found it in my workout gear. Minor setbacks!
Light dusting of snow today. Not enough to write home about, but the temps dipped too and it felt like winter for a change. Read in the paper we're down 30 percent from the average. Not good. Hope we have a long wet spring. Summer, too. Don't want to be looking at anymore wild fires for a while.
Woke up late with a sore throat. Late start at the keyboard, too. Tried catching an early movie but it was sold out, so did a little grocery shopping and hit a different movie later in the afternoon. Kind of a get-nothing-done day. Did read a terrific short by Mary Gordon this afternoon, though. "Ugly." That was a high-point. Might catch more of the Olympics tonight, give my head a breather. See if I can't get up early tomorrow and get a better jump on the day.
A "working through" sort of day. Some reading, some writing, some dangerously-counter-productive thinking, and a brief trip to the gym. Didn't quite get around the new story I've had rattling around in my head, but hope to address that shortfall tomorrow.
Was thinking about my dad yesterday. Miss our talks on the phone. He was always funny, always a good sounding board. Best of all, when he was finished saying what he had to say, he'd tell me he loved me and hang up.
Got myself in a bad place yesterday. Math problems. How many times does an old guy travel to his cabin in Wyoming before someone takes away his watch and keys?
Think it might be nice to go to a movie tomorrow.
Whatever the hell happened to yesterday's post I guess I'll never know. Chalk another one up to technology. Christ.
Back and forth day today. A lot going on. Managed to get in a long overdue phone call to a friend back east, but the rest of the day is something of a blur.
Don't like to get political here--it's against my journaling policy--but have to say if I hear one more hypocritical SOB in congress say his "thoughts and prayers" go out the victims of a mass shooting I'll puke.
There. Aside aside, it was a fairly nice day. Boys still sick, but got some time with young J on a wagon ride. He looked like the survivor of some ancestral illness lying on his pillow, looking up at the sky. At one point I said, "Look! There's snow on the mountain!" He raised his head and say, "Yeah. Pikes Peak" and then he lay down again.
Weird dreams last night. Family stuff. Maybe it was the new sheets.
Day whizzed by. Lots of goings on. Wrote, edited, answered emails, looked after small stuff, and got in a quick workout at the gym. All before 4:00. Later, spoke to my sis and took the little one for a walk.
Juiced about the amount of work I've been able to get done this month. Hard to say how much of it is good yet, but the output is up and that's a start.
Watched the Olympics last night. A nice break from the news, for sure. Think I'll do this same this evening, then go to bed early and jump back into the Guthrie book. Gotta get some letters written tomorrow.
Settling in. Cold weather decided to stick around for a while. Snow, too. Had an inversion haze part of the day--Pikes Peak looked more like Mount Fuji than its usual self--but the sky came around to blue before the sun started to set.
Plugged away at the keyboard the better part of the morning, then turned to some research and submission work before heading off to the gym. Feels like things are moving forward, though that's probably wishful thinking as much as anything. Still, I'll take it.
Lot of sick folks hanging around. Glad I decided to get my flu shot early on, but not entirely sure I want to test its potency if I don't have to. Boys are down with the crud, so it's probably only a small matter of time before the defenses fall. We'll see.
Good day. Spent the morning writing, the afternoon hiking through Mueller State Park. Had hoped to snowshoe, but the ground was patchy and didn't want to grind down the crampons walking on rock. Still, a beautiful day. Sky was blue, the wind was down, and the wildlife showed up right on cue. Walked into a heard of about eight deer a quarter mile from the trailhead. Some were browsing, some were bedded down and determined to stay that way. Gave us a good long look, but never spooked. Pines were still carrying some of last night's snow, little white bolls balanced on the boughs like ornaments. Couldn't help but stop and admire them.
D texted last night with some pics of a nice rainbow he caught in the hills outside Austin. An eighteen incher, thick around the middle. Haven't nailed anything that size out here for a while, the closest coming on the South Platte out of Deckers a couple of years ago. Caught back to back browns on a buckskin in the same stretch of river, but released them both on the spot. Don't hear from the kid very often. Nice when I do. Glad he's been getting outdoors and enjoying himself.
Well, the snow finally came. Three, maybe four inches. A beautiful white blanket of light fleecy powder.
Got a lot of writing time today, and made the most of it. There's a story that's been rattling around in my head that I haven't put down on paper yet. Maybe I'll make that tomorrow's project.
Found a letter I wrote to my dad but never sent. It was supposed to be for his 90th birthday. He never got there, and I forgot I'd even written it.
Olympics began last night. Didn't catch any of it, but who knows. Maybe tonight.
Got a chance to crank away at the keyboard today. Made the most of it. Had a bit of a detour toward noon after finding out my AMEX card was compromised, but other than that, the day went pretty well. Even got a nice workout at the gym.
Trying to keep eyes forward and not get tangled in the extraneous. When did my expectations swing so low, I wonder, that a little bit of peace and quiet became the monumental achievement of my day?
Olympics start tonight. Weather people are predicting up to four inches. Between the two, something ought to look different tomorrow.
Up early, busy day. Some time at the keyboard, then on to small stuff for most of the afternoon. Brief trip to the gym.
Another warm-ish day. Hope we start looking at snow soon or it's going to be a tough summer. High country's been getting some moisture, but nothing down here. Or next to nothing, anyway. With luck we'll have a long, rainy spring.
Pushed a handful of mss out the door the last two days. Now need to catch up on drafts and long overdue letters. Don't know what happened. Fell into a funk, I guess. Never have a problem with revisions when that happens, but starting anything new is always rough.
G.O's new script a bang-up treatment. No surprise there. RR's story/poetry collection also a terrific read. Wish I could say the same for the N piece that rolled over the transom yesterday.
Didn't get out today, except for a quick run to Staples to pick up office supplies.
Day was overcast. No snow last light despite meteorological predictions to the contrary. Peak looked like a silver print with the cloud cover and gray skies. They say sunny tomorrow, so go figure. Fine with anything as long as it's not another night of wind.
Coming close to the end of Lincoln in the Bardo. Wish I liked it as much as everyone else, but I'm sure it was me, not the book. Bad timing, or something.
Close to ready on the new short. Calling it "Kings of Exile" for the moment. A nod to G.K. Chesterton.
Off the radar again. Visitors, obligations, chores around the house...and oh, yeah, time at the keyboard.
Was rummaging the garage the other day with young J. and found a flyrod I didn't know I had in an old rod caddy stashed in a corner. Bonanza! Thought I was going to have to fix him up with my antique bamboo rig when we go fishing this summer. Nice to know I can make due with something a little more expendable.
Bashed away at the new story yesterday and managed to come up with a readable draft. Still needs help. Maybe some serious cutting, too. But for the moment it's finished. On to green woods and pastures new, as Mr. Milton would say.
Wind blew hard last night, but managed not to peel the roof off the house or knock down any trees. Tonight, they're predicting snow. Doesn't look like it, but one of these days they're going to be right. We'll see if this is their lucky guess.
Got the Jeep out of the shop tonight. Nice to have it back. Really nice.
Working on fumes. Young J here for a sleepover last night. Pizza, popcorn, and a special screening of Horton Hears a Who. Late to bed, early to rise, and not a whole lot of shut eye in between. Even so, managed to get some decent writing in, and later, a short trip to the gym.
K coming for dinner tonight. Chicken and dumplings. Figure it to be a short night as she's recovering from the flu. Not sure what tomorrow's gonna bring, but I hope it sees the last bit of revisions to the new story. At least for a while. Came within a page and a half of getting it where I want it to be, but couldn't quite put it to bed.
Maybe try for a movie tomorrow.
Temps dropped today, but the sun came out and kept everything cheery. Had a good morning at the keyboard. Spent the afternoon looking after small stuff and researching new markets. Made a few submissions, then hung up the laptop and went off to pick up young J. Close to finishing with the revisions on the new (untitled) story, and hope to have a reader draft by tomorrow evening. Meantime, want to jump into G.O.'s latest treatment and get started on R.R's debut story/poetry collection. Nice to have talented friends. Keeps me in reading material. Now if I could only pal up with some sort of time-travel wizard who could add a few more hours to my day!
Slept through the night last night. No bad dreams. I'll take that.
Hid out most of the day. Didn't accomplish as much as I would have liked, but still managed to move the needle forward.
Another warm one for January. Need snow. Not sure if or how we'll catch up before summer, but I guess there'll be time enough to worry about that come July and August.
Successfully avoided the State of the Union address last light. Just wasn't up for it. Went to bed early and forged ahead with Lincoln in the Bardo.
Up and out the door early for a meeting downtown. Back home before nine. Didn't sleep for beans last night, but everything turned out fine. Did some okay work at the keyboard, picked up the package, and the rest went according to Hoyle.
Got a few minutes at the gym, then back home to watch after small stuff. Not too exciting, but there it is. A day in the life.
Tired and looking forward to tomorrow. Tomato basil soup on the burner.
Later than usual start on the day. But made up for it at the keyboard with some solid revisions on a couple of old manuscripts. Unseasonably nice weather, though I didn't get as much of it as I would have liked. Did manage some time at the gym.
Been having a lot of family dreams of late. Wonder what that's about? A lot of dark dreams too, but I expect that's winter fatigue as much as anything. Ready for some time outside. A trip to Wyoming.
Miss Huck Out West. Lincoln in the Bardo's been all right, but I'm not as enamored of it as everyone else I know. Feel like there's a strange, unhealthy sentimentality to it. One I'm having a difficult time getting around.
Early appointment tomorrow morning. Gonna hit the rack early.
Made some headway clearing out the storage unit. Still a ways to go, but at least a start. Been missing a number of books for a while, most notably a hardcover copy of Thom Jones second story collection, Cold Snap. Hope it turns up one of these days. Like to see it back on my bookshelf.
Had some good revision time this morning. Wrestled with a couple of pieces, one of which I'd like to get in the mail before week's end. Like to figure out what's happening with the health insurance, too. Be a good week if I could get both out of my hair for a while.
