writer
One of those days when you spin your wheels.
Got some writing in, but not as much as I’d have liked. Put in some time researching the new, long piece, too. Not sure where the afternoon went, except for a brief trip to the gym, but go it did. Need to keep better watch over my day tomorrow. Push a little harder.
New story came in from N this morning. Memoir. Surprised sometimes just how bad bad can be, but this one pushed the envelope.
Enough bitching.
I’ll pick up the thread tomorrow.
Good day. Slept well last night.
Put in early with work, spending most of the morning refining the new story. Between jobs discovered an old Gene Clark ballad I hadn’t heard before. “Your Fire Burning.” Knocked me out. Had to quit what I was working on to catch my breath.
No gym today. Went to the movies instead.
Easy day.
Rough night. Didn’t really sleep.
Worked on the shortest of the new stories when I got up, then put it away to do some house cleaning. Hit the gym a little later but was too tired to get much out of it. Home early.
All quiet on the literary front.
Guess I’ll cash in.
Up at a good hour.
Refined yesterday’s story. Getting closer to a good end. Rest of the day attended to busy work, then off to the gym. Felt yesterday through and through.
Back home to a bit of reading and research.
More tomorrow.
Lost track of Tuesday. Meant to make an entry, but got caught up in other business, large and small.
Started this morning a little later than usual, but made headway on one of the new stories and think I’m close to finishing.
Cool day, but pretty. Lots of blue sky and fresh air. Had me thinking about summer. Decided I’m gonna get a new two man tent and see if I can entice young Jack into an overnight fishing trip or two when he comes back this summer. Also thinking of packing it along to Wyoming. We’ll see. Gotta put in a little more research, and see what’ll work best.
Good day at the gym. My buddy Solomon’s got my arm feeling better, and I’m using the rehab time to work on other equipment.
Letters off to Dylan and the boys yesterday. Miss them all. February will come along sooner than I think, but Dallas has been calling for a while, too. Maybe I can work something out for late fall visit, depending on how things go.
M passed along some photography websites that feature pics of the old Meigh Ranch. One of the joints was even selling coffee cups and duvets with the images on them. Grandpa Bob would’ve been impressed.
Need to start working toward an earlier wakeup time if I wanna get a jump on the new long piece. Been waking around 5:00 pretty consistently, so it shouldn’t be a tough transition. Sore arm’s been keeping back, but can’t use that excuse much longer.
Up, off and on, since two. Arm kept me up most of the night. Finally fell asleep around 4:30 or 5:00, and slept till eight. Little bit of writing in, then off to the landfill to get rid of the weekend’s trash.
Got to the gym early and stuck around a little longer than usual. Hit the grocery store afterward and came home. Small doing for a Monday, but it could’ve been worse.
Hoping for bigger things tomorrow.
Basement cleaning, day two. Much accomplished. Actually, all but everything accomplished as far as cleaning and storage. Now for a trip to the landfill to jettison everything we threw away. That, and one last trip to the Arc.
Now back to work. And the gym. And the end of the Lawrence book.
Feeling the energy return and thinking maybe I’ll find a way to keep the tap open and running.
Only drag at the moment is the hurt arm. It gets better for an hour or two, then goes rotten again. Can’t quite figure out why, but gotta get it back online soon or it’s going to drive me nuts.
Monday tomorrow. A new week.
Busy day, lots to do.
Woke at a leisurely hour and put in some good time at the keyboard. Spent the rest of the day cleaning the basement. Really cleaning. Worked through till a little after six this evening, and still have plenty left. Funny what you find in old boxes. China, books, old dog toys…even came across R’s dress uniform from the Vietnam days. Quite the treasure trove—minus the treasure.
Not sure what the weather was like.—only got out long enough to hit up Home Depot for a crappy plastic storage shelf—but glad to have finally gotten around to the mess downstairs. It’s been staring at us for years now, daring us to do anything, and we finally struck back.
Finished the Sedaris Master Class this morning. A lot of fun. Looking forward to what’s next.
Haven’t quite recaptured the hang of the early rise this year, but working on it. Up early enough to put in a steady stretch at the keyboard. Spreading things out between research, reading, and revisions. Making headway in all three, but still need to up my game. Things still feel like they’re at a standstill.
Giving serious thought to a submissions moratorium. Putting all my energy into work and leaving the placement issues by the wayside for a while. We’ll see. Tired of chasing down manuscripts that have been languishing in editorial offices, and working near free at times to help other people get ahead. Don’t want to sound bitter—I’m not—but gotta start taking better stock of my time management.
That said, good day at the gym. Getting back into the groove again after the holidays. Wish my arm felt better, but I wish I had a million dollars, too. Whatever comes, I’m looking to punch my way back into relevance.
Been thinking a lot about the boys lately. Need to post a letter tomorrow, or the day after. Get one out the door to D, too, along with my thank you notes. C & D gave us a subscription to MasterClass for Christmas. What a cool gift. Been watching the David Sedaris lecture on essay writing. Material’s familiar, but the presentation is all Sedaris. Really enjoying it.
Three quarters of the way through the Lawrence tome. Also enjoyable. Looking forward to the The Club, next on my list. Reading is the antidote to pretty much everything in life, and always has been, hasn’t it? Something to remember.
Day one, 2020. Appropriately, my mouse is nearly out of juice.
Up early, FaceTime with the boys.
Later, off to the gym.
Later still, a pot of potato-leek soup on the stove.
Victory!
What manner of prick sends out a rejection slip four hours before the new year? After holding the piece for ten months? Yeah, 2019 can’t end soon enough.
Feels as if I took a step backward today, and looking at it objectively I probably did. Up late for no good reason, and never really got going with the notes and revisions I’d hoped to make. Not sure why, except to say I can’t shake this goddamned weariness that’s come over me. Starting to wonder if my thyroid medication is off. That or I’m aging at a new, unpleasant rate of speed.
Got in a decent workout, despite the lackluster tenor of the day.
Got in some nice reading time too.
No big plans for tonight other than a quiet salmon dinner and a glass or two of wine. Adaman Club will set off fireworks at midnight, but given the way the year’s gone, not particularly interested in staying up to watch. Think I’ll make it into a practice run for the November elections. Go to be early, and pray I wake up to something different, if not better.
A rejection slip, four hours before Midnight. Who does that?
Woke early from a better night’s sleep than I’ve had in a while, though the arm still hurts and there doesn’t seem to be any relief for it in immediate sight.
Worked till late morning, then left for the gym. Have an eye on hitting the place hard all week and see if I can’t get a jump on the new year. Figure to ramp up in a number of areas, and working out will be one of the first.
Need to move ahead with research, reading, and all the rest. Spend less time worrying about politics, personal and practical. Less time day-dreaming, more time doing.
Focus.
Control the narrative.
Yeah, so, another quiet day.
Put in some good work this morning at the keyboard.
Christmas tree down, off to Rockledge Ranch for recycling. Early taking down the ornaments and whatnot, but feels good after the year we’ve had. Looking to put 2019 behind and begin moving forward.
Lawrence book is holding up well. Halfway though, but still enjoying it.
Looking ahead to a quiet night and an early rise.
Quiet day, yesterday. Did a little writing, messed around the house, and enjoyed a bottle of wine last night with my neighbors, H&T.
Didn’t stay up too late, but still haven’t found my early-morning energy. Working my way back to respectability on the slow road, I guess. Good news is, the writing’s beginning to come again. Found an ending for one of my new stories. Piece isn’t finished yet, but I know where it’s heading now and excited to finally get there. Hope to put the final touches on a couple of pieces, then get back to the research I was doing for the new long piece. Meanwhile, letting things unfold in their own way.
K leaves for Venice tomorrow, so the world should spin back into its normal orbit before the week is out or shortly thereafter. Christmas clean-up, a few new projects undertaken, and who knows, maybe a snow shoe adventure or two before long.
Looking forward to getting back to the gym on a regular schedule. Hitting the bag. Skipping rope. Getting lean again. Gonna go into 2020 with a new, take-no-prisioners attitude.
Off the grid a while.
Many doings with mom, including a nice evening at the Fine Art Center seeing The Sound of Music.
Got the house back to ourselves on Christmas Eve. Quiet dinner of clams and linguini with K, scones for breakfast on Christmas morning, and a movie yesterday afternoon.
Not sure exactly why, but beat. Been having a hard time getting the old energy level back to normal, but did manage a trip to the gym this afternoon and a bit of writing this morning.
T.E. Lawrence tome is first rate. Really enjoying it. Got a new book on Dr. Johnson (The Club) from K on Christmas, so I’m all set for some great reading for a while.
Early coffee tomorrow with my buddy, G. Missed one another before the holiday, so eager to catch up.
Miss my boys.
Quiet day with mom. Play tonight, guests tomorrow, another play tomorrow night.
Good day.
Some decent work at the keyboard, a nice visit with my neighbor, R., and time with Mom, who’s just arrived for a four day visit.
Taking it easy.
Not worrying about anything tonight.
Feeling better today. Got a late afternoon boost.
Mom comes tomorrow. Week’s planned and everything’s in place—except for the grocery shopping. Will have to take care of that while she’s here.
Good day at the gym, if I don’t count the arm. Buddy there gifted me a set of Mark Twain’s short stories.
Not sure where the day went. Up early, but lost all track after that.
Wrote a little, went to the gym…
Need to get a handle on things. Everything orbiting out of control.
Gonna rest tonight and try and get it together.
Hit this evening by a deep dark despair.
Christ.
