It’s been quite awhile since I’ve written any fiction, but lately I’ve been feeling the itch to write again, especially now that we’ve started to get some of my medical issues sorted out.  Between a sleep disorder, thyroid condition, and back problems, I just really haven’t felt up to doing much in the creative realm until just in the last week or two.

I’d like to get involved over at Liberty Hall again, so that will probably be how I get myself warmed back up to writing again.  I also have a story from a past LH flash challenge that I’d started fleshing out but never finished.  So, I may try to finish that story and then see if I can get someone to buy it.  I’d still like to get something I’ve written into IGMS and Apex Digest, so I’ve got goals.

A lot rides on how long I can sit at my desk to write, since I’m still recuperating from back surgery, but I’m hoping that as I heal I’ll be able to get back into some sort of writing rhythm.  Guess I’ll just have to wait and see how things work out.

Vicoden is a wonderful thing sometimes.

Being flat on one’s back for an entire week has its advantages.  For instance, I’ve finally gotten to learn and play a game that I’ve heard a number of people talk about – Catan – on my Xbox 360.  It’s pretty easy to learn, and either I’m a fast case study or I’ve just gotten quite lucky, but I managed to beat the Moderate-level AI on just the fifth game I’d ever played.  And it wasn’t a small win, either – I won the game with a 6-point lead over all the other AI players.  Of course, the first time I’d played the AI on that level, I was the one who got blown out of the water, having only earned 3 victory points by the time the game came to an end.

I’ve also gotten a chance to play some Texas Hold ‘em and done fairly well at the game.  That one definitely takes some learning to figure out the nuances of knowing when to play and when to fold.  But it’s fun when the cash is fake.  I don’t know that I’d enjoy overmuch if I was putting real money down on the table.

Now, I’m still flat on my back – pinched sciatic nerve – and unfortunately the recovery process is taking longer than it probably should, so I’ll probably be on my back for another two or three days.  But I have my laptop and my 360 close at hand, so I think I’m set for a bit yet. 

I’m brain-burned today.  Feels like someone aimed an unhealthy dose of microwaves right at my cranium and set it on ‘Well Done.’ Boom – crispy critterized brain goo.¹ So much I wanted to get done today and so little actually accomplished.  I supposed I should be more careful in the future to actually try to get more than five hours of sleep in a night.

Here’s the upshot – I have several entries planned out for the very near future.  One is a book review that may fluff into two book reviews before I’m done – Odd Thomas and Forever Odd.  The former is already done and the latter is on the homeward stretch.  I also have a movie review planned for M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water.

Additionally, I’m been continuing to pimp out Firefox and WordPress with all kinds of fun little toys and ‘gadgets’ that’ll make you positively drool.  I believe in getting the most mileage possible out of my tools, and I’m making theses suckers dance!

I also have a bunch of stories begging for my attention.  I keep trying to ignore them, but those baseball bats with the nails drilled through them are starting to look more menacing every day, so I suppose I’ll have to bow to their demands soon.

All that’s coming down the pike soon, hopefully after a longer night’s rest tonight so I don’t feel quite so much like whipped egg, fried over low heat, and served up to a horde of voracious junior high kids.

Oh, and do please check out the previous entry – I still need more feet pictures.  I’ve already had one willing victim participant.  Anyone else wanna join in on this madness?

1. _“Would you like a hot apple pie with that?”_[back]

Now this is the kind of weather I can actually tolerate – for a while, at least.  The temps have dropped enough that the persistent rain has become snow.  It was actually a lot of fun to work out in it tonight, but only because I was bundled up and actually working hard enough to stay warm.  The horses were happy to get their feed, and I was happy to have something physical to do for a little bit.

I’ve been back on the South Beach diet for just over a week now.  It’s been a bit of a rough week, complete with hunger pains, crankiness, and temptations to hop down off the wagon.  But I’m glad I’ve stuck to my guns because already I’ve dropped six pounds and can see a visible difference.  Another 12 pounds and I’ll be back down where I was before the big move last year. 

I’ve been adding to my blogroll the last couple of days.  There is now a new section for science related blogs and websites, all of which have RSS feeds (which is about the only way I roll these days).  Go give them a look-see if you’d like.  I suspect I’m going to have more reading material and story ideas in coming days than I quite know what to do with.

I’m trying out a new automatic wallpaper program I found today called Desktop Earth.  It automatically refreshes your wallpaper with a satellite image of the Earth, showing you what part is currently under daylight and which is under night.  You can play with the options to show you city lights at night and moonlight reflections.  It’s pretty cool, but it’s a little bit resource intensive.  I’ve had to set it to refresh every 15 minutes (default is 5) just so it doesn’t bog my computer down too much.

I’m finally making some time for some story writing.  I’ve been terribly remiss in my obligations here, so it’s catch-up time.  I had a great flash fiction idea just tonight, so I’m in the midst of setting this one down to paper.  And, speaking of which, I’d best get back to it.

I don’t do New Year’s resolutions; I never have.  I think they’re kind of a nice idea, mind you – it’s just that most people break them before January ever reaches its close.  So, it seems to me that setting resolutions is a somewhat pointless endeavor.

Now, that said, I have been thinking about setting some personal goals for myself for this year.  They’re not really what I consider resolutions, in my mind, because if I don’t make these goals, there’s no pressure or guilt involved.  These are just things that I’d like accomplish this year.  But if I don’t make it, it’s no big deal; life will go on. 

• I need to lose some weight again this year.  I’ve been experiencing some health issues in recent months, due in large part to putting back on the weight that I’d lost earlier last year.  So back to eating healthy and exercising for me.
• I haven’t enjoyed writing the last couple of months.  My life has been super busy and rather stressful, and I haven’t really given any of my stories much thought, let alone any time.  So, I’d like to exercise a little discipline, now that weekends are my own again, and see what I can get written this year.
• I have a reading list to get through that will likely take me a few weeks.  Plus a friend is bringing me a bunch of books from his speculative fiction library.  I think I’m going to be busy for a while.
• I’d like to revive Penitent Tangential, if for no other reason than my own personal enjoyment.  I think I’ll actually have time for it again now.

Aside from the weight issue, none of my goals this year are, in the long run, all that important.  I have a fixer-upper house that is actually quite a bit more important to me and my wife, so I’ll work on fitting writing and reading around repairs and upgrades.  Ultimately, I’ll just have to take it one day at a time and see how things work out.

I’m sitting here watching the news and just heard that New York City has just passed legislation to phase out the use of trans fat in all restaurants in the city.  While I can see their point about the dangers of trans fat, is it really the government’s place to legislate how Americans eat?  Isn’t it really up to the people themselves to determine whether or not they want to take care of themselves?  I know for a fact that it’s not really that hard to exercise a little self-discipline and not eat out, choosing instead to eat in and make your own meals that are healthier than anything you’ll find in any restaurant.  The trouble is that people today have no self-discipline and are incapable of self-imposing some stricter guidelines for themselves.  Obesity is on the rise, as is laziness.  Legislating out the use of trans fat will not, in fact, solve the problem.  It is only treating a symptom of a chronic condition, rather than addressing the root cause of the problem itself. 

Just one more place where Big Brother would like to tell us what to do and how to live our lives because he thinks we can’t do it for ourselves.  Where does it stop?

Could be I’m strange, but I always look forward to getting a new pair of glasses.  Today I had my first eye exam in five or six years.¹ My eyes are happy and healthy, though I’m getting a slight boost in my prescription (which was expected).  My astigmatism in one eye is completely gone and almost negligible in the other, which is a nice change because it means I now have the option of contact lens without actually needing reading glasses.  So that’s an option for down the road that has a certain appeal.² And of course the new frames I’m getting are one of the more expensive ones in the store, but these have that Flexon technology that means I can pretty much bend them whatever way I want and they’ll bounce right back.  Nice for the guy (like me) who manages to be fairly destructive sometimes.  Plus, the lenses are getting tricked out with an anti-glare coating and Transitions technology.  With all that, I’m not sure I’m even going to want contacts.  I feel like a little kid on Christmas morning!

Oh, and the wife has been upgraded to a sexy new frame, as well, with a boost in her prescription and Transitions technology.  We be stylin’, Mon!

1. It’s nice having medical insurance again.[back]
2. This is especially true for those days when I have to go out and work in the rain.[back]

Sorry, no time to write again this weekend (not that anyone really seems to notice).  Craziness abounds on all fronts.

And to top it all off, I think I now have a hernia.  Gonna have a doctor confirm that my suspicion sometime later this week.  (Ain’t holiday weekends grand?)

Well, there was more I wanted to say today, but at this point I’m dead tired.  Between finishing up a project at work, critiquing stories and being critiqued, and doing some yard work this evening, I’m about out of energy.  Tomorrow, though, I hope to share a bit of what I’m learning about the writing process as well as setting some specific writing goals, things that I need to work on developing to make my writing both clear and interesting.

It’s been a good day.