Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The Goldfish Experiment.

For those who are unfamiliar with with the Bloggers Crusade, this challenge is a flash fiction piece, where we all start with the same four words. After the first pass, I had to cut 18 words, and I'll tell ya, it was a great exercise in editing! So without further adieu...

The goldfish bowl teetered on the rail of the ship, and Peasolbottom the goldfish tasted freedom. The expanse called, and Peasolbottom dreamed of the freedom of the sea. But again, the person who put him on the rail caught the bowl before it launched Peasolbottom to his fate. The person laughed; he knew damn well that he was teasing him!
But then the miracle happened! Rope caught the man's ankle. As Peasolbottom met the sea, he realized that the water was different: salty. As his body rejected the environment, he heard “The captain's gonna kill me for losing Peasolbottom!”

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Good news, and some absolutely gawd-awful crap news.

Well, there's good news, and there's bad news.
The good news is that I've already started on the A-Z challenge. Last year, it was a lot to do every night, and getting ahead of the game seems to be a good idea.

Sadly, the bad news abounded last week. After two visits to the hospital last Monday, Andrea miscarried. I guess that's why it's often said that one shouldn't announce a pregnancy until the three-month mark, but I'm sure you get how I was excited to share the news. The bigger problem is that I shared it a lot at work. When the pregnancy ended, I wasn't in a mood to discuss it, so I only told a few close friends. I just wasn't in the mood for a lot of “there, there”'s and platitudes. I only got those from one person. God love her, she was only trying to help. It got a little awkward when people would ask how it was going, and I had to tell them.

Something came into sharp focus – something I had no9ticed before, but had forgotten. People who complain a lot tend to have irritations. When I'm in traffic, I cuss and carry on like I'd lost my car in a game of poker. A serious problem tends to put it all in perspective. If a customer wants to be a dick because I'm in the service industry and they can get away with it through the holy rite of spending money, it still bugs me, but it's a lot easier to brush off now.

Has anyone else noticed that some serious shit has been happening lately? Asides from the REALLY serious shit in Egypt, Libya and Japan, a lot of large-caliber issues seem to be happening in the lives of individuals. Or is it just my imagination...

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Where I've Been...

It's been awhile. I wish I had a dollar for every post that started like that. I wish I could say that I was finishing a manuscript, but I've hardly done any writing at all.

Some of you remember me talking about the local band Breach & Entry. They have recently re-united, and they were in need of a bassist. I've been trying to throw my hat into that ring for awhile, but they were finally giving me some music to learn do a try out. (out of desperation, I think. I am a balding 36 year old, and they had tried three other bassists.) After a week of practicing, they decided to add their original bassist to the reunion. Honestly, it stings a little, but the singer is a friend, and I wish them well. That's where all of my free time went, and at this moment, I was supposed to be trying-out, but I'm writing.

I think it's better this way. I can write whenever it's convenient for me and my family, and I don't need to co-ordinate my creative time with other artists. Not to mention the creative vision – is it any wonder that most bands don't last very long?

This also frees me up to take a different position at work, since my current one lets me finish early on Fridays. (the rational being that I'd need to be free to play shows on Fridays) I have been working the cash registers for three years, but there's a chance to out to buggy's full-time. Yup, it's just what it sounds like: spending my days in the parking lot, bringing the shopping carts back into the building. It sounds horribly pedestrian, doesn't it? Like a job that a 17-year-old would have. But, I get a long leash, in that my every movement isn't directed by the supervisors, and most importantly, I get my head to myself. On cash, I need to be engaged in what I'm doing, or I make costly mistakes. In the lot, I can work on plot-lines, or just flake out! I hope I get it, it would take a load off my mind, and the exercise would be good for me.