Blog Post No. 417
Last week I finished off the third draft of Break/Interrupt and (like passing off a mewling baby) handed it over to Christian for review. There is still a lot of editing left to do, but other than more potential cuts, the story is pretty well set. With the novella out of my hands, I am trying to be productive in other ways without diving into another project that will have to be put on hold when I get the edit back. At the top of the list is coming up with some good ideas for the cover so that Glen Hawkes can turn my scribbles into something cool. Continue reading “Gaming with Friends”
It’s 2020. Nine-year-old Ben is really excited about all the really cool future stuff. Current Ben is terrified with what some of the new future stuff could mean for us (like deep fake and AI). It’s all writing fuel, though. I’m currently listing out all the things I didn’t get finished this year, that I have to get done early in the new year (or was just before I started to write this). The list is long and includes some things that are more long term (or long term for finishing, but I may have to get started soon). It’s jumbled and there are overlaps and loose ends all over the place. Some of it is erroneous (or out of date) but with all the issues, it’s a requirement for me to get my head around the new year and the new and old projects I have to get done. 
No, I’m not talking about Hanukkah. For those who are celebrating next week, I hope it’s great. For me, the next eight days are my time off. Every year between Christmas and the New Year, my day job is closed. The actual dates fluctuate and since we are a rental facility, there are always a few shifts during that period, but, we are closed for the regular staffed hours. This year, we are closed from the 25th to the 2nd (the 2nd is our de-decorating shift). I have from tomorrow until the 28th before I have to go back. There’s Christmas in there and I’m definitely going to take at least one day to do nothing but play video games with my brother, but the rest of the time is free to work. 
It’s December and even though I get nearly two weeks off from the day job, it still ends up being the busiest month of the year. Some of that is the regular holiday and family stuff (shopping is the worst, but giving gifts is pretty nice) but mostly it’s the glut of rentals that all require extra work. One of the things I do at the day job that just happened to somehow become my responsibility over time, is building stages and repositioning the theater lights. It’s extra work that, while not fun or easy on the body, is money that I can certainly use. Having to be the one (effectively) in charge of it is the worst, but in the end, it has to be done one way or another, so I may as well get the extra couple of hours on my paycheck. The problem comes when there are three concerts, a recital, and another performance that all require the stage, all require it to be configured differently, and are all on top of each other. 
Ben Van Dongen 