Still a little numb...

Couldn't make myself get out of bed this morning. Was seven before I realized I'd lost the war and needed to surrender.

Day got better as it went along, though, and that's what counts. Took care of little things around the house, managed a successful trip to the dump (always exciting), then got some writing in at the office.

Was put on notice. New mss coming in from N. Quite a few from the sound of things. Look forward to digging in. Look forward to being buried, in fact. Need some time away from the media.

Good workout at the gym this evening. Cleansing, I'd say. Feeling strangely energized, and ready to steep myself in new work. Hope the feeling lasts. Fingers crossed.

The Day After...

Took a running start at the day, but fell behind almost from the get-go. Spent the morning looking after the small stuff. Got to the office around 2:00, and worked on some project details. Managed a few sentences on a new story, too. Still fighting off the hangover of an election that went way too long, got way too uncivil, and ended way too late. Would have loved to be inside Don DeLillo's head this morning. 

And even after everything that's happened, the sky was blue when I was driving into work, and the sun was shining. So it isn't like we have to guess who's really in charge. Gonna breathe deep, keep life out in front of me. Nothing else to be done.

Small changes, big adjustments...

Hit the gym early. Lots of new folks. Getting almost too crowded, mornings. As a rope-skipping, bag hitting, old-school chin up guy, I find I resent others who feel the need to spread heavy equipment around the workout area, then spend half their workout staring at themselves in the mirror. There. End of bitch.

Home early to new little responsibilities. The maiden voyage. Whole thing went smoother than expected, but there's no putting this one down. Not for a second. A hands-on operation all the way. Missed the Monday mornings I've been able to have through the summer, but who knows what the new routine will bring. Anyway, managed to read a few short stories while walking the floor.

Late to the office this afternoon. Made some project revisions, popped off a few emails, and wrote two critiques for N before heading out to the airport to pick up K. Crazy day all around. More tomorrow, it sounds like. 

Haverthorn came in the mail today. Contributor copy for "Beggar's Banquet enclosed. Others should follow. Nice to see something coming in for a change.

The best I can do...

Gotta stop making this late entries. Too tired to dig into anything substantive.

Up early. Or late, depending on how you look at it. A new Daylight Savings time to contend with. Don't care much for the early sunset, but definitely appreciate waking up to anything resembling light when heading off to the gym in the morning.

Spend a lot of time at the keyboard this morning looking for a new story to write. Didn't have a whole lot of luck. Then again, might have just been me. Been burned out on my own work for a while. Need to clear my head by getting into something new. Read J. Carol Oates's Omen today. Want to dig deeper into her work. Meanwhile, two new pieces in from N.

Cleaned the garage yesterday. Felt good getting things organized again. Looking ahead to making permanent changes. Makes a big difference knowing where things are, when you need them. Like having a well-organized library.

Talked to Mom earlier this evening. She sounded good for the most part. A few troubling bits of news, but that's always the case, isn't it?

Tomorrow, green woods and pastures new as Milton would say. 

Tomorrow Never knows...

Beat. 

Out of pocket the past two, three, four days. 

Projects coming in left and right. 

Woke this morning thinking it was Tuesday. Must be the Halloween hangover. Anyway, into the shop early, and hard at the keyboard. Projects in and out, letters written and sent, bills paid, invoices prepped. Hit the gym late afternoon, then home to dinner guests. Afterward, sent off N. reviews.

Not sure what tomorrow's going to bring.

Got a tombstone hand and a graveyard mind...

Blurred day. Up at a lazy hour, then off to the keyboard. Revised one manuscript, started in on another, then finished a critique for N. After, out to Starbuck's. 

Spend the afternoon and early evening attending to Halloween details. Graveyards look great so far. New skeleton worked out well. Zip tied a scythe to his hands. Have him lurking behind a tombstone, the new coffin and rotting corpse in the foreground. The dog is in the flowerbed, gnawing on a bloody rat. Lot of work to do yet, but a good start. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Gotta find more time to read. Gotta find more time, period.  

Oh, what a beautiful morning....

Another beautiful day. Early morning meeting with G. Good to catch up, as always. Good to see him in better spirits. 

Into the office earlier than expected for a session that never happened. But that's the way things go, isn't it? Got some revisions in, did some research on a new project, wrote mom a letter, then headed out to the gym.

Lot of work ahead. Need to find some reading/writing time in the midst of it.

Two kitties visiting. One conked out on the rug, the other in a trance, looking out the window. Nice to have them around. Good luck, I think.

Gains and losses...

Looked after little things this morning. Managed a walk through the neighborhood, too. Quite the day. Sunny, mild, blue skies. Park was empty except for a few joggers. Got that longing, that tug at the heart that comes this time of year. Reminds me of when I was a kid, growing up in Wisconsin. All those long hikes in the park. The oak trees. Plum orchards. Farm houses.

Late to the office, and a little spent by the time I arrived. Still, managed to get some work out the door. Made it to the gym late, but pushed through. Learned one of my long time buddies had his truck stolen two days ago. Was in the shower when someone lifted his keys and made off with his ride. Felt for him. Had my house burgled many years back and was homicidal over it. Took my dad, a federal law enforcement officer, to walk me back. Gutless stuff, stealing. Hope B. gets his vehicle back and learns to make peace. It's all you can do.

Early morning meeting tomorrow with an old friend. Looking forward to it. Tired tonight. Think I'll settle in and let things go which way they will.

Wednesday Evening, 5:40 pm...

Bunch of crazy dreams last night. Bit my tongue, hard, in the middle of one of them, and it's been smarting all day.

Put in some good time at keyboard, caught up with an old friend for a quick hello, pushed a couple of projects out the door, the went off to the gym. All in all, a productive day. 

Still looks like fall. Trees are a bit more bare than they were last week, but the colors have hung on. Skies are still a deep blue, too. Be nice to get up in the mountains and do some fishing this weekend, but don't expect it to happen, what with all the work that needs to be done. We'll see.

Read today that 80 some percent of all Americans are ready for the election to be over. Gotta say I'm one of them. Have I felt that way every election year and just forgotten?

Colors...

Rapid fire day. Here, there, and back again.

Didn't make it to the office until a little after one, but got a lot of things in play even so. Editorial work. Script revision. Billing. It all figured in. 

Hit the gym around four, and came out to a light sprinkle and double rainbow. How good is that? Haven't seen a rainbow in ages.

Feels like fall tonight because of the rain. Smells like it, too. Weather forecast says to look for a warm weekend. I will.

Got that bittersweet autumn feeling in my heart.

Monday, Monday...

Awakened by phone just before six. Forgot I'd set the alarm. So dark now in the mornings, need a little help getting up and off to the gym. Anyway, made it in, and back, in time to get in some revisions out of the way, along with a bit of office work.

Pretty morning. One to remember. Wish the day could have lasted even longer.

Coming up on crunch time for the Halloween display. Found the perfect "remains" for the new coffin. A hooded cape for the Grim Reaper and graveyard west ought to be ready for the check box. Porch display's another animal altogether. Still not sure how the witch's crystal ball will fare. Good part about having her on ground level is I don't have to clamber around the rooftop this year. Gets kind of dicey up there late a night, especially with fog machines pumping out smoke.

Braces come off exactly one week from tomorrow. Not saying anything more until then. Except WHOOHOO. Twenty-six months. A long twenty-six months.

Where did the day go?

Found my way to the keyboard early this morning and put in another good round of revisions on "Dancing with the Devil." Guess I'll let it cool for a while now and get on to something else. Story's in place, just needs time to settle.

Spent the rest of the day outdoors, building a coffin. Turned out well. Needs some upholstery and a few finishing touches, but is ready for its maiden voyage in the Halloween graveyard. Gotta go to work on the Wicked Witch's crystal ball now, see if I can't find a way to light it and feed it full of smoke. Gonna be a bit of a challenge, that one.

Lovely fall day. Trees have been thinned of their leaves by two days of blustery winds, but not completely denuded, and what's left is still fine to look at. Hope it stays this way for a while. A long while.

Word to Bob Dylan: Call the Nobel Prize people. Seriously.

Exodus...

Mom off to Albuquerque late this morning after a three day visit. Had a nice time kicking around together. Envy her drive home. New Mexico beautiful this time of year. 

Not a bad day here, either. Beautiful light, cool temps, and a light breeze. Managed a couple of hours of revisions, then off to the lumber yard to pick up material for a coffin. New prop for the halloween graveyard tableau. Made the styrofoam template when we got home. Looks like it'll work.

New shoulder bag arrived to day from Buffalo Jackson. Cooler than my old Orvis bag in some ways, but weaker in others. Sorry to have to move on. The old satchel had a lot of heart, but it took its hits over twenty years and eventually wore out. Will miss it.

Tired. Never made it to the gym today. Tomorrow.

Under, over, sideways, down...

Short day, quick post. Rolled out of bed at seven, drank a couple of cups, then ran off to the office. Got some decent edits in, and a bit of housekeeping. Then off to gym, home again, a stroll around the block, and back to the keyboard--where there was no Internet, thanks to a change in service providers. Gotta love technology.

Got some reading in, and discovered another new story waiting in my N queue. That one will have to wait until tomorrow.

Mom and P slated to arrive somewhere around noon. Will have to catch up by phone in the morning and get a more accurate read. Been a busy month. More comings and goings than usual. Haven't been able to get as much done around the house as I would have liked. Or enjoyed as many lazy weekends as a nice lazy summer demands.

Dinner tonight at K's new house. She leaves tomorrow for another trip abroad. Like I said, lots of comings and goings.

Every day, a roll of the dice...

Off the radar for a couple days. Many goings on.

Blustery morning, but warm. Lots of sun. Gym early, home for a cup of coffee, then away to the office. Put in a productive day at the keyboard, but still have a project or two to finish.

Mom coming in for another visit. K outward bound.

Laid to rest an old shoulder bag (thank you, Orvis!) and ordered a new one. Did same with a jump rope last week. (Nothing like leather!)

Didn't win the lottery, but holding out hope. Close to ten M now! 

Didn't win the lottery...again!

Kitty siege! Forced, yet again, to type one-handed.

Yet, it's good to be loved.

Another long day at the keyboard. Seven projects out the door. Didn't get much in the way of fiction writing--just a few minutes, early morning--but figure to make up for it tomorrow. Got another new draft I'm excited about. Calling it "Dancing with the Devil" until I can think up something better.

Haven't slept for beans the past three nights, but maybe this is my lucky day. Been having bad dreams. Like to sleep through the night if I could. Right now, just gonna relax and settle in.

Oh, mama, can this really be the end...

Bob Dylan wins Nobel Prize for Literature! Smiling at that one! 

Long day at the keyboard. With a bit of luck and a good tail wind I just might make deadline tomorrow. Big project. Fun, but could have used a couple more days. Went in early, took a break at noon to hit the gym, then headed back to the office again.

Hard to believe tomorrow's Friday. Hard to believe a lot of things. Bob Dylan, the Nobel Prize? Didn't see that coming all those years ago. Wonder if stock in my near-pristine collection will go up? 

Woodsmoke from the neighbor's fire wafting through the window. Screech of the other neighbor's circular saw doing the same. But a nice night, in all. Bit of blue sky still hanging around.

Making quick work of it...

Up early to gym, then home, then to work.

Got a good jump on my projects, but going to have to burn candle at both ends to make Friday deadline. Productive meeting out a the Ranch this afternoon. Cool, damp weather moved in with heavy fog in Black Forest. Almost rear-ended a car at an unmarked intersection.

Saw Allison Janney tonight at the college. Funny lady. Self-deprecating. Home now and ready to call it a night. Big day tomorrow, need to get an early start.

Signing off.

There you go...

Staring some wicked deadlines in the eye. Busy, busy week. Some of it crept up, some of its been out there, lurking for a while. Anyway, good to be busy.

Up early enough to hit the gym--if I wanted to check it 2:30 am. Not sure what exactly woke me, but once up, couldn't get back to sleep. Until 6:00. Hate nights like that. Tossing, turning. Fending off absurd dreams. Slept in till 7:00, worked a little on a new ms., then settled in with little things.

Share a fillet at lunch. Saturday's catch. Haven't had fresh trout in a while, and it was nice. Off to work afterward trying to punch a hole in the paperwork that's gonna come due Friday. Slow start, but a start nonetheless. 

Hit gym late in the afternoon. Didn't have much in the tank after what was supposed to pass as a night's sleep, but enough to get through a passable workout.

Pretty day. Shame to squander it staring at a computer screen, but then not much you can do about it. Heard Jonathan Safran Foer on NPR coming home. Interviewed by Terry Gross. Funny anecdote regarding Maurice Sendak.

Without skipping a beat...

Just wrapped up a quick note to an old buddy after reading his latest pilot. Fine work, as always.

Put in a late-start morning on a new story. Pleased with the effort. Think the shape of it is coming along nicely, and hope I don't wake tomorrow to eat those words.

Can't believe the weekend's over.

Lots accomplished, though. Move successfully made, some time at the keyboard, a day on the river, and today, a new jump rope bought. Leather. Old school. Just the way I like it. Thought when I wore out my last one on Friday I might never find another.