Christmas Eve

Blog Post No. 422

As a child, Christmas was a magical time. I distinctly remember staring at the clock, waiting for it to be early enough for me to get out of bed and go dig through my stocking while my parents somehow pulled themselves out of bed and got ready for the day. (I say somehow from the perspective as an adult now looking back). I always had trouble sleeping. Many nights little Ben would sit up in his bed quietly playing with stuffed animals or listening to tapes on his Realistic tape recorder. (I spent too much time looking for the exact model and I think it was this Radio Shack one). On Christmas nights, I don’t think I slept at all.

Daily Life

Blog No. 362

I’ve been working on a second draft of Broadcast Wasteland, but it’s been a pretty slow pace. I’m not overly motivated to work on it every day like I was for the first draft. That’s not to say I haven’t been putting in some time. Right now it’s split between finding a passage to read for the Biblioasis event (which was last night. Sorry if you missed it) doing the second draft, and trying to get that review finished for my friend. That’s not a terrible amount of work, but things at the day job have been hectic and stressful. October was a super busy month (the hall where I work was open every day) and with the new systems in place, we all had to make adjustments to the way we do everything. (It’s all a little slap in the face).

All the Other Ones

Blog No. 201

Last week I was invited to a book launch/reading/jazz show. The author (Vanessa Shields) is a friend of mine, and I was looking forward to going to the show. Not only do I try to go to as many local events as possible (and try is about the best word I can use since I tend to fall short with all the events I am lucky to be invited to) I make it a point to support those local artists (or businesses, etc) who go our of their way to support others. Plus, she is a nice person and does good work. Some days, getting out back out in the evening after a slog at work is insurmountable. There have been dozens of events I’ve missed (this year alone) where everything from interest to desire was urging me to go, but fatigue won out (with a healthy dose of being behind on my own work) and I didn’t make it out. There are some I regret missing, there are others that (from what I’ve heard) I didn’t miss much, but beyond the support and the enjoyment, there is another good reason for me to go to as many shows and events as possible (and I’m not talking about exposure).

Big Announcements!

Blog No. 162

I hope you’ve already seen these things, but I’m going for total coverage, so get ready to see it all over again. I suspect that I’ll get back to my regularly scheduled drivel in no time, but this is all so important to me, I’ve got to go against all my instincts and spread the word. I have at least three things to share (I may drift into more because it’s my style, but I’m going to try to stick to it).

To preface it all, I hope whatever time off and celebrations you may have had were/are spectacular. I had a nice family Christmas as usual and other than the few times I had to go in for rentals, I don’t go back to work until the 5^th. So that pretty great. I just wish I were using the time more productively (as usual) but I’ve actually gotten a bunch done (not as usual). Over last weekend, the poster for the No Light Tomorrow book launch were finished and printed. At the same time, we (meaning Christian and myself) finished the December Zine (number six if we’re counting and there are numbers on them so we are). Though, more could always be done. And I’ve already mentioned two of the things, but let’s break them down.

Things I’ve learned from a Municipal Election

Blog No. 102

This week is my municipality’s elections and it’s a big one. The mayor isn’t running again and neither is half of the council. It’s been a free-for-all with everyone and their brother running for office and opinions seem to be hotter than ever. I have the distinct joy of not only being a city employee, but also working at a facility where the local polling station is set up. I get to see democracy in all its stinky, rude, obnoxious, biased, loud, vicious glory, from a front row seat.

So this week is going to be a list post (something I don’t normally do, but Adventure Worlds writer Justin Cantelo has mastered). I’m going to give it a shot and hope it works out as well for me as it does for him.