Whoa! It's Been a While!

Holy cow, I haven't blogged in nearly a year. Well, I wasn't myself for most of the last year+. When I stopped taking my Zoloft after my last surgery is when the downhill slide began, I believe. And all of the major surgeries in such a short time seemed to affect me more than I had wanted to admit. My doctor and I agreed I was probably suffering from something similar to a mild case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. So we restarted the Zoloft in late November, 2011. Now that I have been on it for a while I am feeling so much better. Maybe close to 100% back to my old self again.

And it's great. Even when my pain is nearly unbearable I am better able to remain in a good mood, be talkative, joke around. Those are things that were missing from my life for quite some time. And you don't know how important laughter is until you haven't had it for a while. Also I was having trouble getting excited to write or go to Absolute Write, or do anything I normally take pleasure in. But I'm getting those things back as well.

So here's to me feeling better, mentally, at least. I'm sitting in the hospital for the 6th time since October, yet I still am in a great mood, LOL! (It's nothing serious, by the way. Just a little breathing trouble. Some IV antibiotics are helping and I should go home tomorrow.)

Five Years 7 Months!!

Listening to: Chevelle "Vena Sera" and Iron Maiden "The Final Frontier"
Reading: Stephen King "Under the Dome"
Watching: Supernatural Season One on DVD

Today, April 29, 2011 marks more than five and a half years sober now!! Woooooo-Hoooooooo!!!! And next week, on May 5th, will be mine and Crystal's 10 year wedding anniversary. Another really big Woooooooooo-Hoooooooooo!!!!! It's hard to believe how much I've been blessed. Even with all the health issues I feel like the most blessed man on Earth.

Now I just have to become a famous author to complete the cycle. So why am I writing a blog instead of kicking out my novel? Well, I haven't updated this little rag since the beginning of February, and I know my friends will be excited with the news in the above paragraph, lol. I know I sure am.

Do-Wa-Diddy-Dum-Diddy-Do

So my novel is coming along. Slowly, but it's coming. I decided to keep the first draft as sort of the "A" story, and add in a "B" story where my MC, Dex, is a half ghost, half human. The novel is called "A Birthday Suicide," and Dex did commit suicide, but they brought him back. Only one problem--his spirit had left his body, and now he can turn into a ghost at will. So the original first draft is kind of his back story now, brought to you in flashbacks. But the real adventure and horror will take place with his ghostly form. It sounds much more confusing than it is, lol. It's been fun, and hard, to incorporate the new stuff in the story, though. I may need to actually do an outline--which I never actually do. First time for everything, right?

Another Milestone

So January 29th marked 64 months sober. YAY!!! I still feel great being sober, and don't miss drinking. I can't say I don't sometimes miss the taste of a beer, like if I have hot wings--beer went great with hot wings. But Coke goes just as well, and has none of the pesky side-effects. I really don't miss being drunk, waking up with guilt, not knowing if I did or said something that was going to come back to bite me in the ass.

Of course, for the last 2 months or so I have been drinking very little soda, either. It's been almost exclusively water for me. I was going through 2 1/2 cases of Coke a week. I guess my body decided nice cold water would be better for me, lol. Now I get a 12 pack of Coke and a 12 pack of Fresca and they last me about 4 days (if my son doesn't drink all the Fresca--he loves that stuff!).

Nothing Interesting to Say

Currently Reading: Double Cross by James Patterson
Listening To: Disturbed The Animal


So I've been thinking for a few days about what to blog about. I have come to the realization I have nothing interesting to say. I don't know why. I just have hit a bit of a creative brick wall again. I just went through this. I didn't write for a few weeks, and then I got back into the game and went to town, averaging 2000 words a week. Now I haven't written a word of fiction in three days.

Oh well. It will come back to me. I feel a bit stressed right now for some reason. It will pass.

On the upside, I just finished a good book by fellow AW'er Stacia Kane: Unholy Ghosts . It was very different from what I had expected, in a totally good way. The MC is not your usual good guy (actually, she's a girl, ha-ha), she is brash, hard-living, and tough as nails. She partakes in certain recreational mood-relieving activities you wouldn't expect from a good guy (girl), but Stacia writes her so well you can't help but like her. And there is a ton of action and intrigue from start to finish. This book is labelled as science fiction, but it's more of a mystery/thriller in my opinion. I can't wait to read the next one in the series.

Hopefully writing this blog will break my block and I can get back to my novel, and the short stories I'm trying desperately to finish.

Meme's Abound (AKA I'm the Sicko?)

Oh dear Haggis, be thankful I like dogs. I'm The Sicko, eh? Okay, I guess that fits, lol. ;-)

So I was meme slapped by Haggis, hell, it's better that than having to eat haggis. I mean, do you have any idea what's in that stuff? Anyway, I digress. A meme is basically a mini-interview, started by someone who picks a set number of people to answer a group of questions, those people copy the questions to their blog and pass them on to the set number (in this case 3) of waiting victims, who pass it along, and so-forth.

So here we go:

1. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Why?
Ten years ago I would have answered differently, but now I'd like to have Wolverine's adamantium metal skeleton and ability to heal. Anybody who knows me will understand why.

2. Who is your style icon?
For dress I wear jeans and a lot of button-up shirts, and have long hair. So I guess you could picture Sam from Supernatural, just much shorter...

Writing, well I have often said if you put Dean Koontz, Stephen King, and James Patterson in a blender I'm what would come out. I don't write like any of them, but their influence is there.

3. What is your favorite quote?
"I'll get all the sleep I need when I'm dead." Sam Eliiot in Roadhouse.

4. What is the best compliment you've ever received?
"You're a good father." Is there really a better one?

5. What playlist/CD is in your CD Player/iPod right now?
Iron Maiden, Avenged Sevenfold, old Metallica, Led Zeppelin, and Jorn (Google him).

6. Are you a night owl or a morning person?
It's 4 AM right now... what do you think? I usually stay up all night, watch the baby until my wife gets home, napping when she naps, then sleep a few hours. A couple times a week I sleep more normal hours to catch up. It works for me, even if it sounds weird. I can't write during the day, no matter how hard I try. So I guess I'm a night owl by nature. Can't fight who we are. *shrug*

7. Do you prefer dogs or cats?
Dogs. I'm allergic to both dogs and cats, but much less to dogs. We recently rescued a beagle who had been abused. It's been hard, she's a little skittish, but the kids love her and she's great with them. And I guess beagles give off less dander, because she hasn't affected my allergies.

8. What is the meaning behind your blog name?
I guess it means this is my spot to be myself. If I want to be funny, I can. If I want to say what's in my heart, or vent, or be weird. That's what a blog is all about, right?

My 3 victims:
Gini Koch
Gypsyscarlett
Bettielee

Five Years Tomorrow

So tomorrow, Wednesday, September 29, 2010 will mark five years' sobriety. I can't believe it's been so long! What once seemed an impossible feat is just daily life now. Thank you God for my sobriety!