Turning the corner...

So. Gotta up my game, here. Looking back on the last hundred entries, you’d think they were written by a man in prison cell. Can my life really be this narrow?

Was up and at it early, and got in some good revisions before the baby came. He wasn’t feeling well, so the day was full of ups and downs. Plus a moment or two of solid, grade A comedy, e.g., “Get back! Here it comes!”

Weather went seriously cool compared to the beginning of the week, but it’s supposed to get nice again come the weekend. Just in time not to matter. Need to fertilize and get the mower in the shop for a blade sharpening, change of oil, before I start stressing about the yard. Meanwhile, the movie theaters are calling.

Been doing some math on the number of good fishing days ahead. It always seems like there are more of them than there actually are, which leads me to think I need to take a more proactive/aggressive approach to my summer angling. It’s all academic at the moment—I don’t even have my 2019 license yet, and here it is March—but better to start planning now, rather than make it up as I go along. Part of the plan is to spend more time on the Arkansas. Fewer people, bigger fish, no day permit necessary.

Friday tomorrow. Client time.

Gonna get to bed early, see if I can’t get some good rest, and come at it hard before the rest of the world wakes up.

Yeah, Wednesday again...

Had a great time at J’s birthday bash last night. Not sure whether his “first” drone ever got off the ground, but hope to hear news of it before long.

Got a decent night’s sleep for a change, thanks to mother’s little helper. Still had some bad dreams, but nothing to remember and nothing to dwell on. Was up early at the keyboard, and managed to have a productive morning with the long piece. Getting close to the end again. One of these days, it’s going to be the real, honest-to-goodness end, and a great weight is going to life from my shoulders and find on new life on someone else’s.

Hit the gym later than usual, but that was okay, too. By then the snow was coming in and the place was mostly deserted. Not sure what sort of accumulation to expect. Doesn’t look like much of it will stick, but I guess we’ll see. It’s that time of year to be surprised

Still searching for a new novel to read. Can’t seem to land on anything, but would like to track down the piece that was excerpted in the NYer a month or so ago. The Viet Nam story by Salvatore Scibona.

First things first. Young M back tomorrow. Need to gird the loins and stay prepared.

Easy Monday...

Restless night’s sleep, but it hasn’t caught up with me yet. Out of bed a little after six, and back to work on the long piece, hacking away at a small but quarrelsome section at the back end of the work. It’s not there yet, but better than when I began, so I guess there’s still some hope of salvaging it.

Revisited a Jess Walter story in B.A.S.S. last night. Reminded me of how much I liked his novel, The Zero. Gotta dig into another of his long pieces.

Made it to the gym early afternoon, put in a good workout, then came back home and got in a little more work.

The yard’s beginning to green up at last, but the weather folks are saying a new snowstorm is on the way, so I guess summer’s not here exactly yet. Still. Can feel the warm in the air and it’s real. Can’t wait to see the trees start to leaf out.

J’s “actual” birthday tomorrow. His quotes, not mine. Gonna have dinner with the family tomorrow night, do a little more celebrating.

Till then.

Another lost weekend...

Up late after a tough night’s sleep. But managed some good work at the keyboard, nonetheless.

J’s fifth birthday today (well, not exactly today) with a big celebration down in Monument Valley Park. Star Wars themed. S. baked cupcakes in the shape of storm troopers, and cobbled together a Darth Vader display for them. Pretty cool stuff. Caught up with some folks we hadn’t seen for a while, but split before the affair officially ended. The kids seemed to be having a pretty good time.

Came home and finished the last two N critiques, then headed over to the gym. Pretty day today. Glad I got to spend some of it outside.

Not sure what’s coming down the pike tomorrow, but have this strange feeling it isn’t going to include a whole lot of commercial work. Just a guess.

Month’s shaping up into a busy one. Mom visits, C’s wedding, other birthdays, etc.

TGIF...

Day lost in business doings. Was hoping for more in the way of the fiction time, but that that’s the way it goes. Did manage to finish reading the last of the N stories, and write another review, so there’s that. Also finagled a trip to the gym.

Big birthday doings coming up. Darth Vader themed. Got a hot date with foam core and an exacto knife tomorrow.

And there you have it...

The day started with promise, then fizzled. Slowly.

Client meeting was a story in and of itself. Spent twenty minutes explaining the different parts of speech. Was told my facts would be checked by the client’s daughter. An English major. Wow. They don’t usually drag out heavy artillery like that until they’ve seen the first invoice. Have a bad feeling about the direction it’s going, but who knows? Maybe this time I’ll be wrong.

Managed a brief trip to the gym, then home to write another critique for N. Not a whole lot to crow about, but something.

Young M tomorrow morning. Hope the weather gives me something to work with.

Yes, it's only Tuesday...

Wild day after a sleepless night. Woke at three and thought it was six. Went back to bed until six, then got up and wrote for two hours before the baby arrived.

Somehow managed a quick trip to the gym, but the rest of the day went by in a shot.

Business meetings tomorrow. We’ll see what else comes along.

Nobody's fool...

Settling back in.

Up to work at 6:00 with some good revisions. Wrote a critique mid-morning, took care of a few housekeeping items, and got in an early session at the gym. All in all, not a bad comeback after three days of sitting around.

Weather was better expected today. Cool, and a little overcast, but not bad as springtime in the Rockies goes. Supposed to be pretty much the same the rest of the week. Even nicer come the weekend.

Got a nice rejection letter from the Harvard Review today, apologizing for the eleven and half month turnaround time. It’s turning into a record year for slow responses. This must be the fifth or sixth instance of having a manuscript tied up for a year.

Nothing to about it, I guess, but keep your head down.

There. Enough complaining.

Figuring it all out...

This one slipped by before I knew it.

Got a text mid-day that Mom was in the ER with a broken tooth, broken cheekbone…. Docs aren’t sure what it was. Calling it a branch blockage. They did CT scans, bloodwork, other tests. Keeping her for overnight observation, and probable pacemaker surgery.

Waiting until tomorrow morning to figure out whether to go down or stay.

Where the wild things were...

Young J with us all day today, in advance of his trip to New York.

Up early, did a little revising, then drove off to the zoo where we spent the entire day. Everything was perfect, including the hotdog for lunch.

Tired from a full day of lugging a wagon up and down the mountain, but in a good way, and if it makes for a sound sleep tonight so much the better.

Taught the boy “scissors, paper, rock” today. He caught on quick, like he does with everything. Can’t wait to take him fishing again when the water clears. Have the feeling he’ll be a natural, he has such an easy way of picking things up.

M tomorrow. Bright and early. Good to know the weather’s going to be nice again. Maybe I can tire him out at the park and get a few projects out the door while he’s napping.

That’s it. Beat. Calling it quits until tomorrow.

Saturday...

Went to our first ‘house concert’ last night. Wasn’t sure what to expect, but ended up having an enjoyable evening in a lovely home up in Ridgeview listening to our friend, John, play keyboards for two talented singer songwriters. Pretty good crowd. Something like forty people. Everyone seemed to have great time.

Woke up late, around 7:15, and had a slow start at the keyboard. Combed through the new short story for a while, then did a little research and moved on to the long piece. Haven’t been feeling great, what with the cold and allergies, and spent the better part of the morning fighting off a major sinus headache. It slowed me down a little, but I got some good work in, in spite of it.

Coming to the end of Garden of Eden. Not my favorite novel of H’s, but better than I remembered it to be when I read it years back. Have learned from it this time around, whereas I can’t say that was the case the first time through.

Read in the morning paper the old Starbuck’s is closing. Went down there this afternoon for a farewell latte. The barista said a new coffee shop would be coming up from Pueblo to take over the space. Can’t imagine that working out, but what do I know.

D’s birthday tomorrow. 44. Man, that’s hard to believe.

Thursday, the new Friday...

Woke up late, and never caught up with the rest of the day. Too much going on.

Young M showed early. For the next four hours we: ground coffee, sketched, played ‘baby shark’, chased each other around the block with squirt bottles, fed the ducks at the park, and picked our way through lunch. Got some reading in while he napped. That was nice.

Two of the new stories from N were only so-so, if that. Was hoping for a winner, and still am, so fingers crossed going into the third.

Looking forward to a good night’s sleep and a fresh crack at things tomorrow. Could use a good day at the keyboard. Gonna let the long piece sit and push on with the new short.

Nice day, and not at all what the weather service predicted. A little breezy, but sunny and clear.

Great expectations...

Why is it I can’t get a decent post written come day’s end? Too little sleep, I suppose.

Anyway, out of bed before dawn and down to the cottage to write. Started in one direction, changed course and drifted off into another. Think I did some good work, but nowhere near as much as I’d hoped. Went from the long piece, to the commercial pieces I noodled on yesterday, to a new short story.

Weather was good today, if a little cool. Sky was blue, and not a cloud to be seen. Be nice if the trend held so young J and I could go fishing next Monday, before he flies off on his New York adventure.

Have M tomorrow, so won’t be getting in a lot of writing, but maybe I’ll catch a break and be able to read the two new stories from N.

Read by buddy G’s new treatment and enjoyed the hell out of it. Hope someone out in LA discovers the guy soon. God knows he’s put in his dues.

Looking for a shot of energy...

Up early for coffee with my buddy G. Had a nice time, as always. Gave me a copy of his new treatment. Looking forward to it.

Spent the rest of the day in client meetings. That, and catching up with correspondence. Wish I’d slept a little last night. Might have been able to accomplish a few things later this afternoon. But the damned cold, or whatever it is, won’t let go. Woke up at three, slept off an on until four, then not at all. Finally called it quits and got out of bed at 6:00.

Need to take a better run at things tomorrow. Young M due to arrive early. So is the bad weather. They say rain and snow for the rest of the week. Happy for the moisture, but wish it would come on the day’s the baby isn’t here. Makes for a long day stuck inside.

New assignment from N. Have to push things around and make room. Hope it’s a good one.

Going up the country...

Good day.

Up early, wrote a bit, then headed up into the mountains for some spring snow-shoeing. Weather was beautiful, the snow was deep and the sky was blue. Trekked three-plus miles through the woods and was paid back with magnificent views all along the way.

Ran into a couple of deer on the return trail, and a herd of twenty elk grazing on the mountainside on the drive home. Not sure if we’ll get another big snow before the warm weather arrives, but if we don’t this was the kind you want to go out on.

St. Pat’s Day tomorrow. Kids are coming over for dinner. Gonna try out the new pressure cooker and see how we fare.

Finding new things to consider in my re-read of Hem’s Garden of Eden. Have to wonder how it would have turned out if he’d lived to finish it. Can’t recall finding it as interesting the first time around, but maybe I’ve matured. Or maybe I’m just older and more forgiving.

Beat now from all the sun and air. Calling it quits for the night.

Return of the sunshine...

Productive Friday, for being all over the place. Up early to the keyboard. Made some good revisions on the long piece, managed some research, cleared up some billing issues and even got to the gym.

Two rejection slips today. One was quick and considerate, the other came after a query I sent off the night before. They’d had the piece over a year. Handed me a standard “no thanks” without any mention of an apology for holding the story up so long. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t have seemed out of the ordinary. It’s a slow grind. Stuff happens. But here’s the thing, if you proudly state on your submissions page that you turn manuscripts around in two month’s time, then hey, turn them around.

There. Enough.

The good in all of this is that (a) it’s Friday, and (b) there’s snow-shoeing tomorrow. Looking forward to getting away. At least for a while.