I write like I puke

I write like I puke.

The title says it all.

It was one of those epiphanies I had yesterday driving home that I don't write. I just puke up a bunch of words. They pour out of my system in a rush all mixed up and scatter all over. And, like vomiting, there are earthquake-like after-pukes that stem from the first one. Smaller, not as violent, but there's still an out rush of words, pouring out, scattering all over.

Well, I may have heaved my last this week. In looking over what I've written so far, I pleased with the story, but not the progress. It's like I've gotten the poison peanut out of my system, but I can't quite get rid of that queasy smell.

So in an attempt to make things flow better, I've decided to set aside the outpouring of words from my fingers and instead focus on organizing the story. A pre-planning of puke if you will. Like a teenage girl with an eating disorder, I need to focus on puking these words up everyday. I need goals I can achieve.

So my daily writing goal is going to be 3 pages.

And I've failed already. It's like the dry heaves. Nothing comes out no matter how hard I try.

So my new goal is to organize what I've already puked up. Which is like trying to re-assemble that slice of pizza after it's been in your stomach for a few hours. The pepperoni might be easy to spot, but the pizza sauce is going to be hard to pick out.

But in the end, I should have a decent outline. Something I should have done to start with according to nearly every doctor I've spoken to and read. Plan the puke first, then puke, then polish.

So I'm hoping to take a vomit vacation of sorts and get my ideas in a neat little outline.

Maybe then my daily hurl won't hurt so much.

Anyone want spaghetti?

* I take no responsibility for loss of appetite resulting in the reading of this post.

I'm a bad, bad boy-edited-

Today, my wife and I committed a crime.

Nothing too serious, especially considering we haven't been caught yet.

What was the crime? Well, let me start with last Tuesday to keep you occupied.

-edited-

-edited-So I stayed at home, wrote and edited in War Wagon, put Elizabeth's swing set together, and pulled some weeds. Not very productive, but the weather was great (in the 70s).

Which brings us to today's crime.

-edited-

I love my partner in crime. I really do.

Now I need to find something nice for her birthday.

PS - I didn't find a new car, but I'm looking at another one tomorrow morning. Two actually. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

And my toes for the second one.

Why aren't you at your post?

Yes, I copy.

And yes, I'm still here.

But tax season is kicking my butt again this year. Stress is neither a good friend nor a good enemy.

After a very long week last week, I had both days off this weekend. Which meant catching up on everything at home. In other words, my weekend wasn't long enough. I need a day off from my day off.

The good news is, most of the laundry is done. The dishes are done (for now). I got to see Bye, Bye Birdie at the Riverside. I'm still re-reading the last of the Seventh Sword series by Dave Duncan but eagerly awaiting a new book for a change. Maybe something Star Wars.

Elizabeth's birthday is coming up (she's already saying "I turn three in April" -- smarty pants) as is Yvonne's. We (the grandparents and in-laws) got her a swing set, which means I'll be putting that together.

I just watched Blood Diamond, Casino Royale, The Departed, and Children of Men online at work. And The Departed was the best. Casino Royale was a junk hand, Blood Diamond was decent but heavy on the blood and gore, Children of Men had a decent firefight scene but lacked a strong story, and The Departed had so many double and triple crosses I didn't know who was going to die next.

The list goes on.

And in the end, there's always something to add to the list.

So here's to crossing off more than you write down.

And that's why I'm not at my post.

PS - I'm looking for a good, used, Chevy Suburban. Leather interior. Captain's chairs in the middle row. Drop me a line with any leads in the local Fredericksburg area.

Bald Eagles

For those that don't know, I live in the Northern Neck of Virginia, specifically King George County. We are the home to several bald eagles, most reside in Caledon State Park.

I've seen them fairly close at the Denver Zoo, but never that close in the wild.

Until today.

I had just pulled out of the driveway and was no more than a mile from the house when cruising in the opposite direction, at about 20 feet above the road surface, was a huge bald eagle. The white head and tail was very distinct. After trying not to swerve and brake right off the road, I composed myself and continued driving to work.

I think I would have pooed my pants if I wasn't in a car. Those things are BIG!

Another War Wagon Update

It's been a while since I've updated everyone on my "top secret" story. Guess it's that time.

I wrote about 1,000 words today, not much, but I wasn't really feeling it. I'm approaching 15,000 words total (that's 36 pages mom) and I'm quickly finding that I have a lot more to write. I just need to find the time and motivation to get it on paper.

I've also been getting some very impressive help from Epheros. He's been kind enough to take the time to not only read some rough drafts of my story, but has taken it a step further and given great feedback around my content, writing style, and so many other things I didn't think about.

In other news...........

I seemed to have pulled something in my back. Usually my lower back hurts from time to time, depending on how I sleep (we have an insanely soft mattress that I hate). Well, somehow I did something to my shoulder/upper back. Painful enough that I've considered taking something for the pain, but bearable enough I only cringe in pain when I get into or out of the car.

In other news...........

I caught a pretty good show on TV (for a change). BBC America (BBCA) has a nifty show called Robin Hood. While I see Errol Flynn or Kevin Costner as the best Robin Hoods ever made (one old and one new), this is a pretty good show. Granted, I've only seen one episode so far, it's good enough that I want to watch more. Maybe I'll get the DVD (due out tomorrow).

And that's about it for now.

Boring lives lead to healthy imaginations.

Another Meme

Yes, thanks to Epheros I've another meme invading my brain. I saw the original over at Erik's Live Journal, but decided to skip it. Guess my luck ran out.

The "getting to know you" meme.

1. Can you cook?

2. What was your dream growing up?

3. What talent do you wish you had?

4. Favorite place?

5. Favorite vegetable?

6. What was the last book you read?

7. What zodiac sign are you?

8. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings?

9. Worst Habit?

10. Do we know each other outside of Livejournal?

11. What is your favorite sport?

12. Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude?

13. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?

14. Worst thing to ever happen to you?

15. Tell me one weird fact about you.

16. Do you have any pets?

17. Do you know how to do the Macarena?

18. What time is it where you are now?

19. Do you think clowns are cute or scary?

20. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?

21. Would you be my partner in crime or my conscience?

22. What color eyes do you have?

23. Ever been arrested?

24. Bottle or Draft?

25. If you won $10,000 dollars today, what would you do with it?

26. What kind of bubble gum do you prefer to chew?

27. What's your favorite bar to hang at?

28. Do you believe in ghosts?

29. Favorite thing to do in your spare time?

30. Do you swear a lot?

31. Biggest pet peeve?

32. In one word, how would you describe yourself?

33. In one word, how would you describe me?

34. Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

Now the ultimate test is to see how many people respond. My bet is 1, maybe 2.

YouTube Ganks User

Well, I'm not too terribly surprised, but I am disappointed. A particular user on YouTube (pillar93) had their account toasted due to their continual uploading of Jericho episodes. Full episodes. Copyrighted episodes. A big no-no.

But I don't see the big deal. CBS offers full episodes (for free) online and I'm grateful they do that.

But now I have nothing to watch at work.

Stupid streaming videos don't work, despite my being on a T1 line.

Oh well. You can read the back story here if you'd like.

Today's funny picture

Way too much chapstick. Waaaay too much.

Update

Couple of updates on a few things.

My uncle's house in Enterprise, AL appears to be intact. While he doesn't live there, he still knows quite a few people there. Sounds like everyone is okay, so that's a good thing.

Writing has taken a bit of a backseat. I've been mulling over the next steps in the plot and haven't had time to clearly "not-think" about it.

And I have the excuse of some newly scanned photos from an album my grandmother had that's been keeping me focused on family history. I like this one because she's wearing a pistol.

And, yet another excuse, I've been trying to get some videos online of Elizabeth (via Revver and YouTube). So cutting and laying tracks takes a bit of time.

And of course there's work. Which is why I'm here on a Saturday afternoon. But I did spend some time this morning helping my dad make waffles for the local home show. Might go back tomorrow to help him with lunch. We'll see.

Outside of that, I'm just about fully recovered from my sickness (a good 8 days after I got it). I'm off tomorrow, so, in the immortal words of Epheros, good night and good fight!

Almost forgot, my Mom had another cow (well, her cow had one). Now, before you click on the link, be warned, there are some very graphic photos (all natural, but not something I'd look at while eating a hamburger). Here's the link.

See? Told you it was graphic.

I'm back, sort of

After spending way too much time getting acquainted with the bathrooms in my house, I seem to have made progress in my recovery. I woke up sick Friday and spent the weekend in misery. Monday I came to work and suffered until I reached my breaking point. So half-way through my scheduled day, I went home. Tuesday I was already scheduled off since Yvonne was going to a conference in Richmond and I was baby-sitter duty. Made a side trip to the doctor, got a script for Sipro, and started dosing up. Took yesterday off to make sure I had recovered well enough to survive the trip to work, which brings us to today. I'm well enough to be at work, but still not operating at 100%.

In other news, my uncles have been working on scanning and identifying their mom's photo album. I'm hoping to get my first look at the DVD in the next few days.

In reading news, I picked up a couple of Star Wars books yesterday and the first book in S. M. Stirling's latest series (which is actually a continuation of the Island series he did earlier). I didn't enjoy his Conquistador as much as I expected, but I'm hoping this one will do better. And I'm re-reading Dave Duncan's Seventh Sword series (already finished book one and working on book two).

In writing news, well, there is no news. I've written part of the story beyond the events that started this whole ordeal. Yes, it's an ordeal now. And I'm completely lost with it and without it. I know, doesn't make sense, but I'm working on it. I haven't given up on it, which is probably the biggest deal to me at the moment. While I may turn out to be a Harper Lee of writing (as in I write just one book), I can only hope it will be as good as hers.

And to jinx thinks a bit, every time I've written, I've gotten sick. Not a track record I'd like to keep going. So, no progress has been made, but I'm not done. I will NOT let this thing beat me.

In various other news, I don't recall subscribing to this blog's feed, but this interesting post showed up while I was away. Work had a major shake up with 125 people getting a box (as in fired). But only about 20 at my location. Fortunately none in my department. March has started and I'm not sure I was finished with February yet. Elizabeth has a birthday coming up soon (she turns 3) and Yvonne has one a few days later (I won't discuss her age as she will be older than me for the next 6 months).

And that's about it. I've got some bills to pay before my lunch hour is over.