Stalling

Well, I'm sitting here, procrastinating. I need to work on my NaNo novel, I have the next few scenes basically in my mind, so why am I writing a blog instead? Because I can. What other reason should there be? I need to get a blog out just because, so dammit, I'm going to do it.

What it really is, is that I've spread myself thin lately. I reopened my Facebook page, and have been doing a little catching up with people I haven't talked to in fifteen years. My wife wanted me to get a Farmville account on it so I can be her neighbor, so I have to keep up on that. I'm doing some flash fiction pieces to keep a little newness and diversity in my writing, and my Grandma just had two heart surgeries. The baby had her shots on Wednesday. I'm fighting a cold. But it's all good. Keeps me busy, and when you're a stay-at-home dad with four+ years sober, busy is good. Of course, relaxation is good, too. I just don't know how to do that.

And for inquiring minds: Grandma had an eblasion--they seperated her heart (the top from the bottom), so know she lives off the pacemaker. She was already feeling better from that. Better than she's been in a LONG time. But one of her valves was bad, and leaking into her lungs. So they knew they'd have to fix that. Yesterday they replaced it with a pig valve, keeping some of her original valve. They are very optimistic, and so are we. Her old heart doctors didn't do much for her, these new ones are really on the ball. So all is well.

50th Post

Well, here we are--my 50th blog post. I've ben lax in keeping up with the blog for the last few months. Now, with NaNo going on I have no time to blog either, but I thought I'd make an appearance and tell you of my progress. I'm right at 8,000 words. Not bad for a novel I started 9 days ago, except that to hit 50k by Nov. 30 I should be at 15,003. But I can still catch up. We were busy last week preparing for my son's birthday, it was a three day event with all the different grandparents wanting to see him on different days. And my wonderful angel Rachel was not feeling great, so she's been fussy at night more than usual, during my usual writing time. But she's asleep now, so time for work! Good luck to any other NaNo-ers who read this, and go St. Louis!

My Story is Out

Issue #9 of Horror Bound is out! Check out my story for a scare (or a laugh--depending on your sense of humor).

Upcoming Story

Most of my friends from Absolute Write have already heard the good news: I have a story to be published in an upcoming issue of Horror Bound Online Magazine. Hard work is finally paying off! I'm absolutely psyched! Now, I have to keep going, and build my reputation and my publishing credits, and this is the first step. I have to thank my friend Effie for pushing me to submit the story--though she doesn't want the thanks, but if she hadn't pushed I might not have submitted it. So, thanks Effie (and I mustn't forget Bettielee! Thanks Bettielee!), now, it's off to write some more! (Yes, I LOVE exclamation points!)

Four Years

Yesterday, September 29, 2009, I celebrated four years of sobriety. It's great to not have to rely on alcohol to function, and I never thought I would make it this far. But here I am, sober, happy, I pray for many years to come.

Dreams

So I don't have what most people would ever call "good" dreams. Sometimes they're nightmares of the wake up sweaty with your chest pounding variety, sometimes they are just strange, like Willy Wonka invaded my subconscious. I don't know if it got this way after my coma in '07, since it was a chemically-induced coma I did dream the whole time, and they were unimaginable. Terrifying. And maybe one day parts of them will fill in the pages of a best-selling novel.

It does seem like the string of "bad" dreams began after the surgery and coma. Maybe some of it has to do with the medications I'm on, but whatever it is, I don't want to lose it. I like the nightmares. What does that make me? When I wake up from a scary dream and the situation wasn't resolved I want to get back into it. No matter how bad it was. Of course, so far the dreams don't have to do with harm to my family... THAT I wouldn't want to get back to.

Oh well, just musing out loud here.

Back!

Well, I've been on hiatus for a while. The reason, som of you know, was due to my second thoracotomy in two years. Almost two years to the day--the first, to remove scar tissue from my right lung, was 7/23/2007. The second, to remove the lower lobe in the same lung and parts of the other two lungs, was 7/31/2009. So after having close to half my lung removed I've been recovering. The weird part--in the hospital I wrote almost every day, over 3,500 words. Since I've been home I have done less than a thousand. And I was discharged on 8/16/2009. But I am starting to feel a bit more like myself, so hopefully it will pick up. And the good news is, so far, I think there is going to be a lot of benefit from this surgery.