Checking (back) in...

Nothing like falling off the face of the earth for a couple of days. That’s what a social life will do for you.

Dinner at K’s last night. Good food, great company as always. Can’t say as I remember much else of Friday, so I must be having fun or losing my mind, or both.

Easy day today. Lots of writing time. Took a drive to Woodland Park this afternoon to share a cup of coffee, but not a whole lot else to report.

Visited my buddy, Sam, tonight. Good to see him again. Tomorrow maybe we’ll have a little more time. Meanwhile, settling in for the evening.

Tired.

A dose of the same...

Still humming along through the new draft. Be sweet if the whole manuscript wen that way.

Worked till a little past noon, then headed out to the gym. Arm was sore, but did what I came to do and managed a nice workout.

Sun made an appearance. Stuck around, too. The air was still chilly, and yeah, we got a bit of snow, but nothing that wasn’t gone by afternoon.

Things are still dragging in the world of short fiction, though I did get a timely rejection today. Hate to start marking my days with pink slips, but any sign of life out there is a positive.

Heard from Mosaic Art & Literature regarding comp copies. Next month, they say.

Promises, promises.

Or as David Mamet might put it, “Bibbity, bobbity, boo.”

A tangle of words...

Snow back in the forecast. Three inches overnight. We’ll see.

Bad night’s sleep, but made up for it with a good morning writing.

Hit the gym early. Had a voice session early afternoon and wanted to make sure there weren’t any schedule conflicts. Felt nice getting things out of the way. Left the afternoon open to more keyboard time. More reading time, too.

Two new pieces in from N. Hope I scored a couple of winners. Last batch wasn’t exactly pitiful, but with the exception of one nicely-written short-short, it came awfully close.

Having a lot of bad dreams of late, though can’t say they’re playing an role in the insomnia. Still the arm that’s the culprit in that mess. Guess I have more on my mind than I think.

Like to see the sunshine again. Hasn’t made too many appearances in the past couple of weeks.

Portis book is a real treat. The read I’d been looking for all winter.

And the Oscar goes to...

Good day writing. Better than good, productive. Put up a decent page count. Also pushed the newest short out the door, which is a strange sort of liberation all its own.

Spent the afternoon shopping for cat food and talking to mom. If there’s a theme in that, please, write to me.

Sky went back to grey today, and the temps dropped again. Steel sky, no snow, no fun.

Gonna hang back and watch the Academy Awards tonight. Why not?

Travels here and there...

Lot of snow last couple of days. Good to see. Temps into the mid/high forties today giving it a good melt, though not enough to clear it away. Lots of snowmen showed up on the lawns by afternoon.

Up later than usual, but got in some good work at the keyboard just the same. Finished my latest short, “Aftermath,” and figure to get in the mail before the weekend’s out.

Snowshoed Mueller State Park this afternoon. Drifts were fresh and deep and perfect for a long hike. Haven’t seen the sky so blue in over a month. No critters about, but a lovely day even so. Glad to have gotten out for a while.

Went to the movies last night—kind of out of character for us—to see Parasite, which’ll be up for an Academy Award tomorrow night. Interesting movie. Funny, creepy, sad… Didn’t have the energy do much but go home and order a pizza after it was over. Pop a bottle of wine and relax.

Trip to Pittsburgh’s getting closer all the time.

Eager to see the boys.

Borrowed True Grit from my neighbor, R, yesterday and discovered it was the antidote I’d been after. What a great bit of writing. Have to go on a search for a hard copy for the library.

Chicken piccata and more...

Back at it, early.

A hodgepodge.

Banged away at the keyboard as long as I could take it, then moved on. As always, thought I’d be more productive than I was, and as always I thought wrong. Still, made progress here and there. Which is something.

Some kind of black cloud’s crawling over the back of my brain. Don’t know why, doesn’t really matter. Just figure to keep an eye on it, see where it goes.

Hit the gym early. Worked out hard even though it doesn’t feel like it. Won’t feel like it later tonight.

Weather still cold. Not sure if there’s going to be a break in the temps this weekend or not. Rainbows should be close to spawning down on the Arkansas, shouldn’t they?

Hey, if nothing else, it’s Thursday.

That’s good, right?

Objective reality would be nice...

Cold one today. In more respects than I care to count. Sapped all the energy.

Up at a decent hour to write three reviews and a letter to the boys. Went off to the gym a little later, but quit after a long ride on the bike. Came home and took a nap instead. First time in a long time I’ve gone a whole day without working on a story, but figured I needed a break.

In literary news, saw that Tin House is backing out of the magazine business to concentrate on publishing. Also saw Kwame Dawes is now reviewing short fiction manuscripts for the low low price of $1,200. Imagine that.

Gotta keep reminding myself it’s not about anyone else. Or anything but the words. Everything else is only a distraction.

Have a thought for the New York Times and others. Forget the Pinocchio ratings, and sensitivity to nuances of mistruth in your columns. Let go of the “falsifications vs lies vs misrepresentations” crap, and just label the stuff for what it is: bullshit.

Looking forward to some reheated clam chowder, and maybe a baby goat video.

Wonder what my fishing prospects are this weekend?

Yeah, tired...

Up early—like three am. Didn’t get back to sleep until five, but this time it wasn’t the arm so much as insomnia. Not to complain. Got in some decent day dreaming while watching the night sky out the window.

Snow came, though not as much as predicted. Light and cold. Shoveled first thing, then brewed a pot and went to work at the keyboard. Research took up most of the morning. Never quite hit a good pace. Not sure why. Guess I’ll have to give it another go tomorrow.

Good day at the gym. Went at it hard, expect to feel it tonight. A few friends out with sore throats, so I’ve gotta be careful. Don’t want to come down with something before the trip to Pittsburgh. Not when I can pick it up there instead and bring it back to Colorado!

Funny. Was having a waking dream last night about paddling around in the canoe. What a great feeling. Hope I can get the boys out on the water this summer, maybe catch a few fish.

Happiness in small things...

Beautiful day, just beautiful. Sunny, temps in the seventies…. Couldn’t ask for more. Well, you could ask for more, but it wouldn’t get you very far. Weather people say it’s all going to be gone by tomorrow. Back to cold and snow again.

Close to finishing a new short. A piece I’m calling “Written Off.” Think it’ll be a nice piece if I can get it the revisions to work. Went minimalist this time. Trying to keep it under 2000 words, and so far so good. Got some organizational work done on the long piece, too. All in all, a short but productive morning.

Took a long hike in Red Rock Canyon this afternoon. Pretty place. Didn’t make it to the lake, but there’s always next time. Saw a guy packing in with fishing rods. Made me wonder if there was open water close to home I didn’t know about.

Got an early look at my sister’s thesis on Heart Mountain. Fascinating story. Hope she keeps going with it. Might make a detour up that way come summer if I get the time.

Looking forward to a good night’s sleep. Didn’t get one yesterday.

Well, the weekend's here...

So…a late night followed by a late rise.

All good.

Worked some, played some, dodged some. Put a few touches on a new story, did a little research, then went off and kicked around town.

No gym today. Just reading, writing, and running errands.

Took a walk around the neighborhood late afternoon, and found it much the way I’d left it a few weeks back. Nice to get outdoors. Pretty day, if a bit cool.

Heading out to Red Rock Canyon tomorrow for a hike.

Life's mysteries, abridged...

John & Karin coming over for dinner tonight. Should be a nice, laid back evening.

Some new stories from N found their way over today. Should help make for an interesting weekend reading.

Put in a good day making revisions, submissions, and poring over research. Hit the gym a little after noon, and got in a nice workout, too.

Haven’t hit the high gear I’ve been looking for yet, but getting closer to where I want to be. Need to sink my mind into something big, keep me from thinking too much.

On a comforting note, copies of Two Thirds North arrived in today’s mail. My short, “Frank the Redeemer” appears in it. Good looking issue. Need to see about extra copies

Weather guys say we’re looking at a sunny weekend. Maybe we’ll get outside, get that hike in Red Rocks Canyon we’ve been talking about.

Reached the end of the David Mamet thing yesterday. Something got hold of me after, shook me up. Wish I new what my heart was up to, and why, but I suppose I’ll never really know.

Miss my dad.

Ups, downs, and sideways-es...

Knew I got up for a reason this morning. Found it at the keyboard.

Slept pretty well last night. Hoping for more of the same tonight.

Day started sunny, got cold and overcast toward noon, and by evening looked like snow. Wish to hell we’d see some wet come out of the sky, but it’s been a dry winter and looks as if it’s going to stay that way for a while.

Learned Anthony Doerr is coming to the ENT Center next month. I’m a season subscriber, and the first time I hear it is today, on the radio, driving home from the gym. Needless to say, tickets are sold out. Man.

Still behind in my work, correspondence, etc. Nothing to do but keep plugging.

Wednesday evening, 5:29...

Restless night’s sleep. Arm again. Still, muddled through the day without any problems. Kicked out a reader draft of one of the new shorts, “In the Aftermath,” and surprised myself by composing an entirely new story this morning, before going off to the gym.

Had a nice email exchange with Dave Essinger, editor of Slippery Elm, about his novel, Running Out. SE is running a promotion highlighting some of their former contributors, yours truly included, so we killed two birds with one stone. Gonna pass the book along to Dylan. Think he’ll enjoy it.

Weather turned gray again. February. Keep hoping for either snow or rain, but my shaman skills seem to be lacking. Can’t remember a winter being this dry.

Note from the New Yorker this morning. Rejection for “X". But at least it was personal. Who knows? One of these days…

Meanwhile, Tuesday...

Had a nice time with the kid yesterday. A one-night shot, but we enjoyed the company.

Up early this morning to get some mss in the mail and do a little research. Time got away, but accomplished a few things in spite of a slow start.

Temps dropped at the day went on, and we drifted back into winter. Only consolation prize was a blue sky and lots of sunshine. Quiet around the neighborhood. Thought I might get out for a walk, but nixed the idea in favor of the gym.

Gotta get back on track. Owe letters so many people letters I can hardly count them. Time to punch a new story out the door, too. Get back on track with the long piece.

Keep the fire burning.

Bridges...

First good night’s sleep in ages. A few unsettling dreams about my dad, but at least they didn’t wake me.

Up early, making revisions. Solid work all morning.

Pushed one of my N critiques out the door before going to gym. Read a second piece (short short) that was pretty well written. Nice control of the theme, interesting language.

Found out it’s been four years to the day since my trip to San Francisco. Would’ve guessed longer, I think, if anyone had quizzed me. Still think back on that time with a smile.

Good day at the gym this afternoon. Hasn’t been all that crowded lately, so got a lot of good work in. Came back and ran a few errands. Had a chance to chat it up with Greg and Rich from Rich Designs, then home again for the night.

Quiet around the neighborhood.

Another cool night.