writer
Young J's birthday tomorrow. Got him a fly vest and had his name embroidered over the breast pocket. Hope he likes it.
No gym today. Up late and at the keyboard late. Just tired, I guess. Did some good things revising a couple of older pieces, then went off to see a movie. The Death of Stalin. Which took me completely unexpected. What a hoot.
Started raining lightly on the way home. Looks as if it might keep on into the night. Hope so, anyway.
Man, oh man. Where did the day go?
Up early to the gym, home in time for a cup of coffee, then the rest. Out the door, up the stairs, in the shower, at the keyboard.
Wrote and edited into the afternoon. Took a late break and went to Starbucks, downtown. Came home and wrote critiques for my N stories. Some near misses this time around. Finished sending them off and found three new ones in my inbox.
Hoped to get more reading in, but didn't have time. Tonight maybe. Still have another story or two in the Sea Maiden collection.
All that hope I was feeling at the beginning of the week is starting to wane. Why is that?
Out the door early to the gym. Been crowded there for the past few weeks. Didn't know that many people could talk themselves out of bed at 6:00 am. Gotta do the alter-ego drill sergeant routine to rout myself out of the sack.
Little guy came early. Barely had one cup behind me when the front door popped open. Spent most of the day going back and forth between the cottage office and the house, but managed some decent revisions before hanging things up. Went for a nice walk late in the afternoon with M in tow. Wagoned around the neighborhood for about an hour. Weather was crisp when the wind came up, but not bad for early spring.
Grass is beginning to green up. All looks good except the patch I begged off replacing last fall. Don't know what I was thinking, but it's gonna take some serious elbow grease to bring it up to par with the rest of the lawn.
Penance.
Got run down by allergies today. They decided to ride the coattails of my chronic sinus infection, so I've been hiding behind the keyboard (and a generous dose of Sudafed) most the day.
Managed to finish the draft of another new story. That's two in less than two weeks, and both pretty solid efforts for early efforts. Hope the final revisions come as quickly and neatly.
The long haul projects are coming along, too, but it's still too early to guess whether they have any merit. Important thing is to keep plugging.
Cold weather expected tomorrow. Not sure what the rest of the week is supposed to hold. Whatever it is, as long as it isn't hail I'm okay with it. Like to get the sprinkler system up and running before the weekend. Maybe get some yard work in.
The big one. Easter! Pretty nice day given the cool weather that drifted in. Put in an hour or so writing, then went off for a late brunch with the younger set. Good food, good conversation. Lollygagged around the keyboard most of the afternoon, but got some good work done in the process. Took a walk around the neighborhood around 4:00. Called Mom when I got back and caught up on all the family happenings without having had to be subjected to them in person.
Haven't been to the gym in two days, a rarity! Gonna have to hit the rack early if I want to talk myself out of bed tomorrow morning. Gotta start working toward my summer regimen.
Not sure what it is, or why, but feeling good about the new week's prospects. Looking forward to whatever comes. For starters, the temps are supposed to get into the seventies. Who knows, maybe I'll get an acceptance, win the lottery, and strike oil all on the same day. It could happen, right? Right?
Up later than usual this morning, feeling a bit under the weather. But put in some long hours at the keyboard just the same. Hope I'm heading in the right direction with a couple of these projects. Sometimes it's hard to tell until you're well into them. Anyway, pounded out some words, put in some research time, and read a little. Went out grocery shopping this afternoon. Came back and cooked up a batch of home-made beef vegetable soup for tonight's dinner. A definite contrast to last night's affair at the Penrose Room with S and K.
Starting to look like spring out there. Still daylight and it's well past six. Grass is beginning to green up, too, thanks to the recent snow. Won't be long before I'm back out with the lawn mower, but for now it's just nice to see the sun and feel the warmth.
Easter tomorrow. So far no word of what the day's supposed to bring other than salvation. Dropped some stuffed animals off for the boys, anonymously, this evening but don't have any plans to get together tomorrow. Might try and get up early to write, then steal away to a movie later on.
Digging on the Johnson short stories. Big time. Need to find a new novel to climb on soon. Got a couple of ideas but nothing firm. Meanwhile, two new treatments came in from my buddy G. As always, looking forward to reading them. Never a disappointment there.
Back in Denver today. The Aquarium with young J. Quite a change since the last time I was there, a lot of it good. Some (piped in music, sfx), not so much. Saw some beautiful animals, and had a nice lunch on the patio.
Drafted a new short. Haven't done that in a while. Calling it "Woke!" Think it's got legs, but as always will have to wait for the final draft to find out. Got word over the weekend that "Dancing with the Devil" has made it to the final round with one of its potential suitors. The editor said they'd be in touch in two weeks. We'll see. Been down that road too many times to think anything's a done deal.
Weather folks are talking snow tonight. Or rain. I think they're leaning toward snow, and it wouldn't surprise me. I was forced to take the scraper to the windshield this morning before going to the gym, so maybe winter isn't finished with us yet. God knows we can use the moisture.
Reading Sam Shepard's Spy of the First Person. Almost finished with it, actually. Quite the piece of work. Glad I picked it up.
D's birthday today. Have a good one, son.
Back from a day off in Denver. Kicked back at the Oxford Hotel, had a terrific dinner at Rioja, and slept through the night for the first time in months.
Had a croissant and a latte at the new Union Station. They did a beautiful job with the remodel. Made me want to hop on a train back to San Francisco. Pick up some new material to write about. Hit the Tattered Cover before checking out. Picked up a hardcover collection of Denis Johnson's last stories, and a hardcover of Sam Shepard's final work. Two of my all time favorites. Gone.
Dropped by the Denver Art Museum to see the new Degas exhibit before going home, and spent half an hour or so at the WWII monument in the March for Our Lives rally. Funny. Haven't been at a gathering like that since the 70s in Washington.
Home now. Gonna do a bit of reading. Nice to be back.
Beat. Absolutely useless, and don't know why. A lot of bad dreams last night. Maybe that had something to do with it.
Out the door early to the gym, then off to the office. Bludgeoned my way through piece after piece when I got back, until I finally felt as if I were making progress.
Hard afternoon with the boys.
Maybe tomorrow's the thing. We'll see.
Beginning to feel more like spring every day. Still dark in the morning when I leave for the gym, but the light comes on fast, and sticks around long after five. Saw some daffodils and crocus popping up around the block. Silver maples have begun to bud, too. A little cool most of the day, but not bad. Looking forward to seeing the trees leaf out.
Put in some decent time at the keyboard, though still not where I was before all the visitors. Not sure why it's taking so long to find the groove this time around. Picked up a new commercial project today. Fingers crossed it's the start of a new trend.
Dropped a letter and card in the mail for D this afternoon. Big birthday coming up. Hard to believe how much time's passed since we saw one another. Like to have a long sit-down one of these days, but don't expect it will ever come. Don't figure to win the lottery either.
Mom off to Albuquerque this morning after an an action-packed four day visit. Spent Thursday with the little guys, Friday down in Canon City touring the old Holy Cross Abbey, Saturday up in Denver at Uncle J's wedding and Sunday at the movies.
Never did get into the swing of work this morning. But that's what happens when you take four days off.
Not to gripe any more than usual, but found a rejection in my email this morning from Salt Hill Journal. This after holding the manuscript for fourteen months. Fourteen months. The lack of professionalism in this business is simply astonishing at times.
Many goings on. Been leaving early for the gym now (6:00 am) and hitting the keyboard when I get home. All over the place with projects. Mom coming in tomorrow for four days, so work will go a bit sideways for a while but there's nothing to be done about it. Tomorrow figures to offer the biggest surprises, what with the boys hanging out here, too. Looking at a day trip down to the old Holy Cross Abby in Canon City. Uncle J's wedding in Denver on Saturday. Maybe a movie on Sunday. If I survive all of that, an early coffee on Monday with G.
New story in from N. Looking forward to reading it.
D's birthday coming up fast. Need to get a package out the door.
Tough day. Got word from my buddy, G, that his father passed on Friday.
Yeah. Off the grid for a couple of days. Lots of doings. Lots more to come. Saw Oklahoma! earlier this week at the Ent Center, and later in the week caught J.S. playing keyboards at Stargazers with his new band. Last night had young J for a sleepover.
Writing time was scarce most of the week, but maybe that's the way it was supposed to be. Managed to do okay in spite of the crunch, and am still steaming forward.
Stole away for a little fishing time down on the Arkansas yesterday afternoon, and brought home a nice brown. She jumped when I first hooked her and I thought she was a rainbow because of the deep silver flanks, but it turned out otherwise. Didn't have another bite the whole afternoon, so no complaints. Wind aside, it was a good outing.
Mom coming Thursday. Uncle J's wedding on Saturday.
Woke up to cold this morning. Winter's been so mild, it took me by surprise. Put in some decent time at the keyboard, despite a few minor distractions. Never surprised at how long the creative process can take, but I'll be damned if I've ever seen anything as pathetically lethargic as the academic literary review process. How can a manuscript languish in a system as long as six months? A year? I don't care how many submissions you receive, there's no excuse for it. It's unprofessional. Restrict your submissions and learn how to respond in a timely manner. Jesus.
There is a long list of people in this world who need to be buggy whipped, and/or publicly caned, but they shall remain unnamed for the moment.
Struggled with words today, but stayed with it and the effort paid off. Not my best work, but a step forward.
Went to a movie later, Call Me By Your Name, which after all the hoopla turned out to be something of a serious dud. Tried the gym afterward, but it was late and I was tired and that didn't work either.
Academy Awards tomorrow night.
A taste of summer. Temps into the 60s, blue skies, sunshine.
Best day at the keyboard in a while. Didn't set any distance records, but put in some good work nonetheless. Managed to get a little housekeeping out of the way, too.
Got to the gym late, but made the most of it. Came home, did a little research, made a few plans. We'll see where it all goes.
Augered in early on. Wasn't able to dig myself out. After a while, I just stopped trying. Ah, as Robert Bly once said, how strange to give up all ambition!
Winter tried for a comeback, but didn't quite make it. Temps went down and the sun hid out and that was about it. The rest of the day tanked on its own.
A new month rolls in tomorrow. Something to look forward to.
So. Another lost post. Or two. Where are these damned things going?
Long, long, long day. Many comings, goings, doings. Weather was beautiful, spring like, but didn't spend enough time outside to get the full benefit of it.
Need to dig in and get an early start tomorrow. Hit the reset button and try to move forward.
