The word of the week is karma.
June 10 - 500 Words
My day today was VERY busy!
I packed in working a full shift early at 7:30AM, then sped
home so I could write up a 500-word story for my writing group tonight… and
after that, I was doing some IT training for a few hours.
Like I said: busy.
The story is what I want to mention here, however, as it's
something I'm quite proud of.
Normally, stories don't take me all that long to write, initially at least. But the revision process takes at least twice as long as the
writing, as I fiddle and poke at the words to make them better overall.
Today, that long process didn't happen. The story appeared
in my head as I wrote it.
That's VERY significant, as it means my Muse was wide awake
and ready to go when I needed it. The images, the words, all flowed naturally
together as I thought about the story and the whole 500 words were on the page
within about twenty minutes, which is INCREDIBLY fast when you think about it.
Even moreso as I didn't do more than tweak a dozen words and correct my
spelling - that was all the editing needed.
After I read the story to the group tonight, I received excellent
feedback from the other writers, most of whom wanted to know more about the
world I'd created that very afternoon in the story. It pleased me no end that
something so fully-realized had sprung from my mind when I called for it and it
makes my writer's heart patter in joy.
The comment I loved best? "It definitely has your
voice." from one of the most critical members of the group. I couldn't ask for higher praise than that!
June 11 - Working Solo, Soon
One week from today, I'll be on my own.
That's when my Copy training will be complete, according to
the folks I work for right now. While I'm not overly anxious about it, I'm still a little
nervous that my 'solo shift' is coming up so quickly, as there's still a LOT I
have to learn. Not to mention internalize, especially when dealing with
customers.
I'll basically be alone for 3 hours to deal with people and
produce orders, both of which I should be able to handle. Most orders will be
done by the time I am on my own that evening, so all I'll have to worry about
are new orders getting in for the next day; no big deal, really.
Mainly, I want to make people happy. Nothing new there!
June 12 - Honked Off
Sometimes riding a bike places has its disadvantages.
Apart from sharing the road with less-than-attentive
drivers, other problems include the weather( most days, it's fine for me )and
people.
Yes, people. Strangely put, you wonder?
I'm referring to people in the form of those who wander past
your unattended bike, which it hopefully is locked up securely to something
strong and solid. Mine always is, so it won't go wandering entirely.
The same can't be said for what's attached to it. Like my
bike horn, which was stolen today. Now this isn't a complaint, as the horn was broken
and I hadn't got around to removing it yet; a stranger did that today while my
bike was locked up outside of work today. In broad daylight.
It's the feeling of being burgled that rankles me. I've had
a few things taken from my bike over the years, including the seat, bells,
reflectors( why? )and even had the tire's air let out. Every time, I just shrug
and wonder at the pettiness of people who do such things; there's no monetary
gain to most of it to speak of.
Really, what's happening is karma: these people are racking
up some fairly negative values. In the case of the horn-taker today, they may
have thought they were being clever in their theft, but really, all they ended
up with was a pile of plastic tubing that does nothing useful any more.
And they reduced my faith in the goodness of human nature a
tiny notch. Don't forget that part.
June 13 - Face-book Journaling?
One of the reasons I like Fbook is that it's like a life
log, of sorts.
Think about it: you Like things you see, or post things you
like, on daily( and for some, hourly )basis. Every day. Fbook records it all
steadily, so that at any point you can go back and review what you've Liked as
far back as you like, if you'll pardon the pun.
This can be useful, if you do it right.
Posting Life Events, for example, lets you record
accomplishments and similar things accurately. No more wondering when you were
at a party, or finished a book, or any such thing. It's rather useful, if you
put the time into it.
It's similar to one of the reasons why I keep this blog
weekly: to remind myself of where I've been, so I can better understand where
I'm going. Simple, when you think about it.
Which is why I don't like an endless stream of things on
Fbook, or spam-post images all the time. I choose what I post and Like with
care, to craft a better picture of my tastes for myself and for others as well.
It's not so odd when you think about it and the whole process has actually
given me an idea for a story, if you can believe it. I'll work up some initial
paragraphs and see where it goes from there soon.
Neat, eh?
June 14 - Cool Riders
It's been a cool spring here in Victoria, and summer's
almost here.
Not that I've minded, really. Riding my bike around means I
do sweat most days, so as you can imagine riding in high temperatures isn't fun,
especially if I'm on my way to work and have to cool down first before
starting.
It's also not like I'm getting a lot of 'outside time'
either, as I don't have a patio and I'm not into outdoor sports like a lot of
people here are. Soccer fields and baseball diamonds hold little appeal for me
come the spring; instead, I like a quiet spot under a shady tree, or a good
view of the mountains to the south - preferably out of the cool wind. Most days
in the last month or so have had 'highs' in the low twenties, with middling
humidity; again, nothing to sweat about, which is good.
We'll see what July brings with it, if there's any
temperature increase, I may break out my shorts!
June 15 - People
Well, today was an odd one, bracketed by… jerks?
On the way into work, I encountered a jerk on a skateboard, who blocked the bike lane and was rude about it. Which was stupid, as he saw me coming and still didn't move aside for faster traffic... but perhaps he was as short on courtesy as he was on brains.
The second jerk came at the end of the day at work. I won't go into details, but suffice to say if he HAD gone into detail, he wouldn't have left upset, with me upset for not being able to help him, which is what it's all about in the end.
What I'm illustrating here is that when people are short on courtesy towards one another, it will inevitably lead to hurt feelings on both sides. I go out of my way to empathize with people in order to understand their point of view, but some folks can't or won't even entertain the idea of doing the same. Blame is the name of the game and as long as it's the other person's fault, then they get to feel better about themselves, even if they're angry.
Damn strange. That's all I have to say about today: more enlightenment
about the human condition.
June 16 - Summer Busy?
With the good weather inevitably comes a full schedule for most people. For me, work's filling up my days and I have to decide what's going to fill up the rest of my time for the next few months.
I've already set aside a few hours for IT training once or twice a week, which isn't all that much when you think about it. But it has to happen regularly for us to finish the course.
That leaves four to five evenings a week, plus two days off, to divvy up as I need to.
Writing has to be in there, first thing. My novel's been speaking to me of late; it's been a year this month since I really started writing it in earnest and I think that's been long enough for it to 'sit' while my critique group helps me revise. I need to get in there and get chapter revisions done so I can solidify that third draft... which means I can submit it to agents and get the ball rolling at last.
Other things? Well, a social life would be great; I'm working on that locally and it's not bad, but it's definitely not a weekly thing, as yet. My businesses have fallen onto the back burners, in the main for lack of time and direction. There's also the many things that I wish I'd be able to make time for, including catching up on reading, but for now I really have to just narrow my focus towards improving my life situation instead of circling around the fishbowl. With what I'm earning right now, there's not a lot of elbow room in here.
June 17 - Writing and Father's Day
In the morning today, I attended a writing seminar - online.
It was hosted by StarshipSofa.com, with a pair of
established authors from the SciFi genre: Mike Resnick and Paul Di Filippo.
Each of the authors spoke for about an hour on the topic of writing, passing
along their knowledge. Mike Resnick's talk was expecially useful, as he offered
insights into the business side of writing coming from over fifty years of
being in the business; lots there to note, you can imagine!
I was even able to ask a question of the two authors
regarding my novel, which thrilled me. I posed to them a question thusly: in
science fiction, is humanity or a recognizable human influence necessary to the
story to make it relatable to the reader? To my delight, both authors
acknowledged that it was a good question, as neither of them could recall very
many stories where truly alien 'aliens' were the centre of the stories. Mike
Resnick was quick to point out that relatability is the key to good writing, as
any relatable traits of aliens really means there IS something human
underneath. Which meant that I'm thinking along the right lines when I'm
composing my stories… and that makes me VERY happy!
As to it being Father's Day today: my dad had to work, so
though I saw him briefly in the morning, we're doing something nice tomorrow as
we all have a Monday off for a change. Life's funny that way sometimes.
It's easing towards 1am and I'm done this week's blog; added some pictures and called it a day. Have a good week!
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