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.

I hate being sick-edited-

And since I"m too weak to care much, I'll be making this a Cliff's Notes version (apologies for the graphic language).

-edited-
- I've uploaded some videos to YouTube. Just click here.
- My mom had a cow. No seriously, one of her cows had a baby calf.
- I finished reading Conquistador by S. M. Stirling. It was okay, but it was nowhere near as good as the Nantucket series he wrote.
- I think I just vomited a little bit.
- I've only eaten Saltines and a bag of Cheetos today. And I still feel like shitting my brains out.
- I finished listening to Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan.

That's it. I'm too pooped to do anymore.

This is a REAL viral video

I can NOT get this song out of my head. Props to Pillar93.

War Wagon Update - 2-22-2007

I now have written over 12,000 words (that's just shy of 30 pages).

I hit a serious snag this past couple of weeks. Partly due to being sick (hard to focus with no energy) and partly due to not knowing where the story was going next. Add to that the fact that I felt very good about the ending of my first batch of writing, I didn't want to muck it up by adding some half-brained thought.

So I let it rest. I carried it around in a folder, thinking I would have time to edit it at the local diner I frequent for breakfast. Well, other things interjected and I never got to that point.

This morning (last night actually) I had another one of those "epiphanies" for a story idea. If was only half formed until I began to think about it and try to fit it into my existing storyline.

The process I use to flesh out my story is a bit difficult to describe though. It's like staring at a bright light before going outside in the middle of the night. Your night vision is gone directly in front of you, but if you pay attention to your peripheral vision, you'll begin to see things. It's kind of like that. You intentionally try to NOT focus on what you want to see.

Anyway, it worked.

I was able to push past my physical and mental blocks and get more written. I jumped ahead in the chronology of the story, but I'm not sure if I'll go back to cover the few months (or years) I skipped over.

I also wrote some today during lunch at work. I know I pushed myself and the story a bit further than intended, but I felt I had to "make-up" for my lack of production in the past weeks.

So, I've moved along, made progress, and things are again looking good.

Now if I can only keep the ball rolling.

Do you lean forward or lean back?

I never knew the difference between the two until Nalts (of GooTube Conspiracy fame) pointed it out. You "lean forward" when you watch online video and "lean back" when you watch TV at home.

At my age, I grew up with "walking remote" and "real remote." I was the "walking remote" for many years. With only 5 channels, it didn't take long to chose a station, but, seeing as I was the low man on the totem pole, Dad made me change the channel.

Since then, technology has progressed to include LCD, plasma, 1080i, DVR, TiVo, YouTube, and Google Video. I could list more, but this post isn't about that.

This is about the savior that online video has become for me.

Here's an example of my viewing as a child:

Dad and I sit down to eat dinner at a 1950s era metal table. I sit with my back to the TV (a remote less tube with buttons on the side for a max of 20 stations), so I have to constantly turn to see what's going on. Dad decides what we watch, usually M*A*S*H or Three's Company, and when the channel needs changing, I'm the one to do it. By 8 pm, I'm in bed wishing I could stay up to watch more of V. Sometimes I'd come out for a drink and try to stay for the end of the show. It never worked well. If I missed an episode of Taxi or some other "cool" show, I was out of luck. VCRs weren't commonplace enough to tape something on one TV and watch something on another. Hell, TVs weren't commonplace to have more than one in a house.

Here's an example of my viewing as an adult:

My wife, child, and I sit down to eat dinner at a 1990s era wooden table. We all face the TV to watch our 20" LCD with built in analog and HD tuner. Changing the channel is so simple, the three-year old does it, but fortunately doesn't decide what we watch. It's usually M*A*S*H or MacGyver on DVD, or Friends if my wife picks. Movies are also in the mix. By 8 pm I'm finished with the dishes and the three-year old is in bed. If I miss an episode of a "cool" show like Heroes or CSI, I can set the VCR and satellite receiver to tape whatever I desire.

What will the future bring? I had thought for many years a TiVo or DVR would be added to our entertainment center. I'd even dreamt about adding some sort of wireless box that would allow us to watch the recorded shows on any TV in the house.

But thanks to NBC and CBS, that won't be needed. Instead, I watch shows I miss online, either at home or at work. With the proliferation of online video, I'm more often leaning forward to see what happens next in Vegas or Miami. This morning, I watched Jericho on the laptop (17" widescreen) that I was able to take where ever I wanted thanks to the wifi connection. The resolution is better than the VCR and I could move it with me. Tuesday I watched Heroes in much the same way.

My biggest disappointment so far? Two things. One, my connection at work is too slow to stream the video so I have to rely on YouTube (Jericho can be found here). Second, ABC doesn't let you watch earlier episodes of LOST. I'd like to see what the big deal is, but won't start in the middle of season 4 (or 3 or whatever it is).

Dreams of a boring day

I'm hoping to have a more usual, boring day today. yesterday was a tad too dramatic for my liking.

1 - Robert B. Payne came to check out the heat pump. Our last power bill was back to the high $400 it was before we got a new one installed two years ago. They came around 0800 and didn't leave until noon. Original diagnosis was there was no freon in the unit. Upon doing a leak check, he discovered a valve had seized closed, restricting the flow of freon, resulting in the lines to freeze, thus causing the defrost to kick in repeatedly. He had to drain the freon, cut out the bad valve, replace several "driers," the connecting lines, and refill the freon. The seized valve was over $800 retail but about $500 under our service contract. Added to the bill was his labor, the other parts he replaced and a case of filters. Final bill was about $850. Everything appears to be working correctly, didn't hear it run much last night, so I can only hope it's working the way it's supposed to.

2 - Mike Long (the guy that built our shed last year) gave an estimate of $4,400 for the shingle and trash removal on the house. About what I expected, so hopefully that will get done this year.

3 - Elizabeth was sick this weekend and again yesterday. Not sure if it's the chocolate shake she had from Carl's or a stomach bug. We've restricted her diet to plain food (crackers, jello, and bananas) for a bit. Will continue to monitor the situation and move from there.

So, I'm hoping for a slow day today. Jericho is on tonight, so I'm hoping to catch up with that tomorrow. And the napping I did this morning helped.

Another ultrasound today

Just a short note to say we took Elizabeth to the OB doc for another ultra-sound on the new baby. We were able to hear the heartbeat and everything sounded good. Elizabeth was a bit nervous when the doctor came in, but seemed to handle it pretty good when it was clear she wasn't the one getting a "check-up."

Elizabeth also knew it wouldn't roar like a lion or bark like a dog. Which means she's getting smarter by the day to know it should sound like a heartbeat. Little whipper-snapper better make good grades and get a good job so I can live in retirement somewhere warm.

Potential Tactical Situation Debriefed

So Saturday night I met up with Dad and Yvonne (and Elizabeth) for dinner. After dinner we headed over to Carl's for some ice-cream. Technically it's frozen custard, but it's damn good. So good, I stood outside in line in the freezing temperatures for a chocolate shake. So good, it's not the first time I've done that.

Anyway, before Carl's, I had to stop at the ATM to get some money. And as usual, I was carrying.

The unusual part was seconds before I got into my car, the lady in the car behind me, got out, and walked up to me. Now, I only got $40 out of the ATM. Not a lot, but it's a little unnerving to be approached by a stranger after getting money from the ATM. And it was dark.

As she got to within a few paces of me, I, for the first time ever, felt the need to put my hand on my gun. I didn't unsnap the strap or draw, but I felt uncomfortable enough to put my hand there.

Well, it turns out she just wanted to know if she could deposit "cash" into the machine. English was clearly not her first language and communication was difficult. And the fact that she's been to an ATM that didn't take cash for a deposit struck me as odd. She made it clear enough that she didn't want to deposit a check, just cash. Well, I saw no military stickers on her car (to get on a military base, something common of Credit Union members in our area seeing as this is a Naval Credit Union).

So during the discussion, if you could call it that, I continually looked around for approaching cars or pedestrians. There was a BBQ place next door that was open, but the front doors weren't quite situated well enough for there to be witnesses if things went south. Same goes for the nearby busy road, close, but not close enough for help.

In the end, she walked up to the ATM to see if it would take cash and I got into my car and drove to Carl's.

Now, what did I do right? I was prepared enough to not only carry, but to be wary enough of any situation. Women can mug you just as easily as men. Probably more so as they don't appear to be as threatening. I did a decent job of keeping my immediate area in mind during the conversation. While her lack of language skills did take some focus, I kept the eyes working the back of my head. I also kept an eye on her body language, even though nothing seemed odd.

What did I do wrong? I should have unsnapped my strap on my holster. A quick draw would have been out of the question if she had drawn a knife. Granted, she kept her hands in plain sight the whole time, but she would have gutted my like a dead fish if I couldn't move fast enough. I also left my car running. I did keep a wary eye on it, but I should have locked it like I normally do.

What will I do next time? Probably be more overt in putting my hand on my gun. And unsnap the strap since you can't shoot from the holster. I'll also try to keep enough cash on hand to stop at Carl's. That should prevent a last minute stop to the ATM.

Oh, and I got a chocolate shake and Yvonne got a hot fudge sundae made with strawberry ice cream.

War Wagon 2-16-2007 Update

So, I've been fighting a head cold for the past few days and haven't written much. Not much at all. I haven't even edited much more than changing the character names of a few people in the story.

So now I feel all yucky. Partly from the head cold, partly from not working on my story. I'm not where I had hoped to be, but there is some light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

First, we have a bit of a blockage in creativity. I still know where I want the story to end (geographically) I just need to get the characters to that point. Right now, they haven't traveled beyond their immediate area (they need to travel several hundred miles to get where I want them). My big stumbling point at the moment is how to get them there. I have some ideas, but nothing that seems to fit with the story.

And yesterday I made the mistake of reading the last few lines of what I have written. It felt like a great ending point, something I didn't expect, nor like. So now I'm thinking about ending the story there and filling in the rest with other things, mainly details (something I kind of skimmed over while writing).

I think I'll have to sit on this for a bit before I can decide what to do next.

Second, I got some feedback from Epheros. Well, "some" is a major understatement. I sent him 2 pages of material and he sends back 4 pages of notes. Umm. Wow. I didn't know what to do with that. I've read his comments a couple of times and I'm a bit taken aback by the simplicity and complexity of the comments.

Some of my flaws are simple to describe and (in theory) are easy to fix. Number one being my passive voice. "He was driving the car" versus "He drove the car." I did a bit of looking and I'll try to stick to the "SVO" method a bit more (SVO = Subject Verb Object).

And he had some detailed ideas that needed to be thought out. Where was this character going, why was there no emotion here, too much drivel there, etc. All points well made and well taken. Criticism I don't like much. Constructive criticism I like.

Anyway, enough of this, I need to get back to my editing before I loose my edge for the day. The Vicks VapoRub under my nose will last only so long.

War Wagon
Pages = 26 (includes title page)
Words = 9,536
Characters = 40,228 (not counting spaces)
Paragraphs = 364 (there's a lot of dialogue)

Updates all around-edited-

Weather - We had some nasty weather Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. We lost power around 0400 Wednesday and didn't get it back until 1500. And for an all-electric house, that means no water and no heat. We did fill the tub up the night before, so we could use the bathroom as needed (I always hated the "if it's yellow, let it mellow" line). Work was closed for both of us but I would have called in if we had opened. No sense me attempting to slide to work in a car. Some friends were nice enough to invite us over for hot showers and warm couches. The rest of the day was spent trying to get generators running to keep the food alive in the fridge.


Work - -edited-


War Wagon - Kind of at a stopping point for the moment on this one. Not that I'm giving up, but I'm trying to go back to edit things before I forget them. And I'm quickly learning that editing your own work is hard to do. I have images in my head but the words just don't come across the same. I think it's about time to call in some outside help (Epheros, expect an email). And the picture above will give you a hint of what the story is about.


Family History - Some family got together recently to go through some family photos to archive and identify them. I'm hoping to get some of these to include in future newsletters (I write a family history newsletter in case you didn't know).

Weathering the Storm-edited-

-edited-Yvonne called and said the roads were getting bad. Glad I did too. The road we live on was pretty scary to drive on.

The other storm that's brewing is the teacher in our county that was not only pushing a student in class, but caught on video doing it.

I don't know what's scarier, that I've not heard about it in the news yet or that I fear the reaction in the community. The teacher was white and the student black. I hate to even consider the issue of race, but I fear it may go in that direction.

Anyway, NCIS is on and I've got a date with a bowl of ice cream.