writer
Yow. Early to the gym, and the rest of the day looking after small stuff. Everybody sick again! Yahoo!
Supposed to be an ugly afternoon, but the weather held and except for a stiff breeze every now and then not a bad day. Rain tomorrow, I think. Good thing. Summer's already shaping up into a hot dry mess, and with Manitou committed to watering restrictions, I figure we're not far behind.
Looking forward to getting back to the keyboard tomorrow.
Really looking forward to it.
Serious progress all around. Up early to the gym, the keyboard, all the rest. Broke from the manuscripts mid-afternoon and dismantled the teak deck on the side of the house with the help of the neighbor. Didn't actually need the help, but it was nice to have. Pickup's loaded and ready for the dump. Side yard's ready for a concrete slab. Be nice to have the fountain permanently in place, and a little more maneuvering room for the mower, wheel barrow and everything else that comes and goes through the gate.
Pushed a new story out the door. Happy about that. Picked up a rejection, too. One in, one out.
Home again.
First time in Albuquerque since my dad's death. Glad it was to celebrate my mom's 88th birthday. Had a nice time seeing everyone. Nieces and nephews are growing up. Beginning to resemble real people. Good weather there and back, but didn't see a lick of wildlife. Nothing. The San Luis Valley was just starting to wake up, though the countryside was still ochre and umber and only a little touch of gold.
Got some writing done this morning. Came reluctantly after the hiatus, but all in all the effort bore fruit.
Pretty day today. Beautiful, in fact. Cool, sunny and nothing but blue skies.
Early again to the keyboard. Hard at it. Took a break around 1:00 and hit the gym for a couple of hours. Time to think. Reflect.
Got a notice from another publisher. They've held my short story collection "The Outskirts of Nowhere" for fourteen months, and wrote today to say they'd been having some kind of internal shakeup and were returning all mss that had been under consideration. Seriously? Fourteen months? There are people in this industry who need to be lined up against a wall and...well. Never mind.
Cut the lawn--both lawns--for the first time this year. Felt good. Looks good.
Off to see Mom tomorrow for her 88th birthday. Maybe a nice long road trip will tip the scales toward sanity.
Switched things up today. Got up early and went directly to the keyboard. Saved the gym till later in the afternoon.
Working on a passage that's been difficult and unwieldy. Made it better today, but it's a long way from where it needs to be. Think I've figured out what's causing the difficulty and how to fix it, but can already see it isn't going to be easy. Look forward to taking it on. If I can slap it into shape, the effort will bode well for the rest of the piece.
Pretty day. Snow flurries off and on. No real moisture to speak of but what did come was welcomed.
Little guys were fun today. Had a nice time with them.
Woke around four, but took it to be a lot later. Sun's up by the time I get to the gym anymore. Makes me wonder if I should get out of bed a little sooner, although I'm not sure what that would mean come the back end of the day. By 7:00 I'm dragging. 8:30 I'm beat.
Put in what felt like a lot of good work today. Hope so. Each pass seems to get closer to what I'm after. Nothing to do but forge ahead and find out. Been a slow open to the new year with regard to the short fiction, and I'm not sure why. Don't remember having this many pieces in the mail before. Presumably I'm writing better stories than I did five years ago, but the acceptances seem to be slower in coming. Nothing to do but keep writing.
Weather was nice again today. Temps are supposed to drop again tomorrow, but it looks like we're staring 80 in the eye come Thursday in New Mexico.
Gonna hang back and take it easy tonight. Eat an early dinner and relax with the kitties.
Beautiful day. A little cool early on, but bright and sunny and clear.
Worked at the keyboard until late morning when a couple of little visitors dropped by. Goofed off for a while, then helped the neighbor dig up his lawn. Tried to get back into the writing, but by then the timing was lost so went on an errand run instead.
Yard's looking pretty good for April. Best in a long time. Gonna have to break down and give it a cut here soon.
Need to make reservations for the road trip to Albuquerque.
Gone two years, but not forgotten.
Rest easy old man.
Well, can't say much for this one. All over the page today, but serious doubts whether anything was accomplished. Gym early. Small stuff. More small stuff. Brief walk around the block, wagon in tow. Phone call to the lawyers in Cheyenne. Some market research. A couple of errands. Man, oh, man. What I wouldn't have given for a trip to Starbuck's today.
Weather's getting cool again, but no complaints. At least the wind died off. Supposed to rain tomorrow, and with any luck the meteorologists will get it right for a change. Lord knows we need the moisture.
Came across an old Joyce Carol Oats story today. "Affliction." Best part of the afternoon.
Last night's concert extraordinary. Branford Marsalis everything I'd hoped, and then some.
Forewent the gym this morning, knowing I'd be up to my eyes in yard work later. Wrote early, then went to the sod farm. Lawn finally in place. All of it. Nothing to do now but water, fertilize, cut and repeat. Christ, what an odyssey.
Finished the day at K's. Moved furniture, hung paintings, etc.
Hoped to get a haircut today, but didn't make it. Tomorrow, please!
Ugly-ass winds all day. Drove me crazy. Woke up at 3:00am and never really got back to sleep. Surprised I made it to the gym this morning.
Another rejection after a year's wait.
Quote: "Thank you very much for sending your story to REDACTED for consideration (such a long time ago). We read it many times over and unfortunately are going to pass. It's not quite right for us. It's an intriguing piece and you're a fine writer. I hope that you'll consider submitting to us again in the future. Thank you again for your great patience and support."
This is the writer's life. A year...waiting for the rejection of a short story. I can't do the math anymore, I really can't. At my age, it's too frightening. At least these guys were nice about it. I'll give them that. The other clowns, they deserve whatever Dantean end eventually comes to them.
Out to a concert tonight. Branford Marsalis. Wish I weren't so tired.
If the winds calm down tomorrow, I'll install the new sod.
Rolled out of bed with a bit of reluctance this morning. For some reason a 6am appointment with the gym didn't look as rosey as it usually does. Fought through it and went anyway, and as is often the case, it wasn't near as bad as imagined. Had a good workout, then came home and hit the keyboard. Worked until one, then drove the pickup load of yesterday's sod out to Rocky Top and unloaded it. Hope to put in the new sod before the end of the week so I can take advantage of the alleged snow and rain that's coming. Worked a little more when I got back, took care of some correspondence, and went for a walk. The new round of prednisone and amoxicillin is doing its stuff. Feel like I'm getting my breath back.
Long day at hard labor.
Up a little later than usual, but managed the final revisions on "Woke!" and turned it out the door. After, helped K move some furniture around in anticipation of the carpet layers. When we finished there, came home and dug up the grass on the west and southern sides of the house. Gonna lay down new sod sometime in the next couple of weeks and start the whole yard fresh. With luck it'll be the last major work on the lawn I ever do.
Tired now. Looking to clean up and relax for a while.
Up early, straight to the keyboard. Got in some good writing, including a near-finished draft of a new short, "Woke!"
Did a little shopping (grocery and otherwise) this afternoon. Gonna help K move some furniture around tomorrow, so picked up dolly at Lowes to save some wear and tear on the back. Winds were high again today, otherwise might have been tempted to get some work done on the yard. Weather people say things will die down later tonight. Hope so.
Hit the gym late, but found a sudden burst of energy I didn't expect. That was nice. Went out shopping again afterward but couldn't find a chive to save my soul. Defaulted to Chinese, instead. Kung pau chicken, California style.
Thought it was joke yesterday when the DJ said eastern Colorado was looking at a blizzard warning. The temps were in the mid-to-high seventies when he made his announcement. Tonight I'm looking out the window at snow flurries and a big-ass wind.
Got some good work in today. Around the house as well as at the keyboard. Didn't make it to the gym, but will try and remedy that tomorrow. Gotta get at that garage, too. God, what a disaster!
Found myself slowing down in the reading of the Denis Johnson book. Don't want it to end.
Raucous day. Started early with a trip to the gym, then back home playing tag-team looking after the little guy. Managed some decent writing on a couple of pieces, and while I didn't quite get as far as I wanted, I think I may have a reader draft of a new story tomorrow. Have to wait and see.
Nice morning until the wind kicked up. Not sure what tomorrow's supposed to bring but it'll be Friday, and that in and of itself is the great equalizer.
Boys stayed for dinner tonight. What a zoo. Young J comes back tomorrow morning for an adventure to Canon City. Theres a new dinosaur exhibit he's hot on seeing. Don't know much about it, but figure to learn.
Down to the last story in the Johnson book. Have enjoyed the whole collection so much I feel like starting all over again and I'm not even finished. Still can't believe he's gone. What a writer.
All right, all right. At last. A nice long uninterrupted day. Progress on all fronts. Even the gym was light a few regulars this morning, translating into a nice quiet workout for a change.
A stiff wind blew in during the afternoon, but the sky stayed blue and the air was warm and everything was okay. Starting the new regimen of pills tomorrow. Should be a good day to test them out.
Been drifting through a lot of pages wondering why I can't find more wrong with them. I know from experience they can't be as passable as my mind is currently making them out to be, but what's the cause of the lazy eye? Am I tired? Distracted? I don't feel like I am.
And what's up the rest of the literary world? Are there no rejections to send out? I must have ten pieces in the mail, some of them months and even years in the works, and haven't heard a word about any of them.
Busy day tomorrow. Best to leave things as they are.
Up early. To the gym and back by 7:30.
Spread the day thin looking after small stuff and finishing the last of the N reviews. Not much else. Seemed like a nice spring day from what I saw of it, and maybe the last for this week. Pretty sure there's rain in the future.
Asthma seemed to back off today. That was nice. Starting on a new round of antibiotics and steroids tomorrow. Three weeks worth.
Back at it.
Gym. Work. Doc.
Polyps galore. Need surgery, or so I'm told. Could use a winning lotto ticket, too, when you get right down to it. Stuff to think about, for sure.
So, yeah. I was looking for more. Today. But you get what you get.
Tomorrow, the ENT specialist. Expectations? I expect not to get fixed, but hope to get out of the clinic before my whole day goes down the drain.
J's birthday party today a revelation.
