Well, it's been a few weeks. I got caught up in prepping for a Halloween game of Dungeons and Dragons. That's over with (for the most part), and now I'm on to National Novel Writing Month.
It's been a rough couple of days. I'm a little over 4000 words into it, and it seems to be going well. I had hoped to play catch up today (I missed yesterday) but had to watch my nephew, who is staying with my mother and I for the week while his dad has surgery (and his mom is of course out there with him). I'm sure tomorrow will be a rough day for writing too, as I work the late shift tomorrow night. I'm going to try and write a few hundred words before work, and a few hundred after. I should be at 5000 at this very moment, and I'm currently a 1000 short. Not terrible (not particularly daunting, just disappointed. I was hoping I would be a head at this point. I am finished with the first chapter though. I think i'll post the second chapter here when I finish. Maybe.
Oh well.
It's November. It's fall for real now. The weather has been cool, though not nasty. I hear that will soon change next week. I'm not looking forward to colder weather, this current weather is perfect too my tastes: not too hot, not too cold. Sunny, and beautiful days all around.
I have to close the store tomorrow night... and turn around to open it on Thursday. That's something I'm not happy about. Freight on Monday was nightmarish. There wasn't a lot of freight (only about 600 cases, which is peanuts) but there were about 15 pallets of holiday items (food that is) and we have no room for it. It's all been taken up with water and juice. Our frozen section is the same way, seven pallets of frozen, only room for three. We managed though. Fortunantly there is the bakery freezer and the meat department's freezer.
Ah work.
Began to organize my books today. Hoping to be done with it, or most of it by Sunday. We'll see. It's a daunting task, or at least it was. Not quite as bad as I thought. You would be surprised how much room three large piles of books take up. I think I'm going to get a bean bag chair now for my room. Now that there's room in my room for it.
Till next time.
The Appollo's and the Haephaestus'
Well, where to start.
I suppose I'll start with my nephew who recently ran afoul of the law. As is to be expected there was more to the story than I revealed (or had revealed to me) in my last post. It seems that he was guilty of making a threat, though it was after having endured a recent bout of bullying from his schoolmates. I don't want to apologize for his statement (which went along the lines of going home to get a gun for use on the boys that were bullying him) however it does come down to the straw that breaks the camel's back. What he said was obviously out of anger, and a terse reaction to something immediate that would not have any realistic fruition. He had already planned to stop going to that high school on his 16th birthday (which was this past Monday) and be done with the administration and teachers there that had either targeted him or turned a blind eye to the bullying that went on. He had suffered repeated visits to the principle’s office to explain things that the principle simply had no business asking. Like where he got his money for instance (works for his parents trucking company, they pay him well for his maintaining the trucks).
He went to court last Tuesday, a preliminary trial where he basically confessed what he had done (or in this case, said). There was a potential 90 day sentencing when this issue actually went to trial, though that has fallen by the way side as his parents got a lawyer to fight it. The lawyer reviewed the statements made by him, and several teachers and called the prosecutor, telling my sister and her husband that there was very little chance of the situation going to trial.
It didn't. It won’t. All charges have been dropped and my nephew was released from detention yesterday. There was a statement by his resource teacher that she knew he had been being bullied for several years now. He suffers from learning disabilities, some speech problems, not to mention he is a small kid, always has been little. The lawyer also made mention that this particular high school has had several problems with bullies and threats for the last few years. It seems the potential to punish the victim instead of the victimizer is alive and well. Now don't misunderstand: I'm not condoning what my nephew said. He shouldn't have threatened the bullies, and it's that simple. On that same token however, something should have been done to help prevent the bullying before this. As it stands, the bullies are unpunished and not likely to be punished. The simple reason for this is because of athletics, the golden children of American high schools and universities. Not all athletes are knuckle headed, brutish Neanderthal’s, in fact many are very nice, well read, hardworking individuals. There are enough however that fall in the former category as to give the remainder a bad reputation. And when those that know they have a talent for a particular sport realize they can get away with some tremendous bullshit because their school is relying on them for endorsements and recognition, well, that makes the situation all the worse.
I loath, in many ways, the way we here in the states treat athletes. That isn't to say there aren't countries worse than us, or at the very least, on par with us. It's a tradition however that stretches back to ancient Greek, and it's one that we still embrace. There are certain individuals that receive carte blanch on social mores and many times it is only due to name recognition. It is a fact that bugs me, but one I realize is unlikely to change in anybodies lifetime.
Here's another post. Not just my second post for the month of October, but my second post with in a week.
I've been working on a short story for the last few days. Tonight however, I thought I'd take a bit of a break and write a blog. I'm still averaging about 600 words a day, which I'm pretty happy with, but it's a struggle (like today for instance) to do it each day.
I won't bore you with the details of the short story, only to say that it's one I've had many false starts on over the years, and I'm finally feeling good about the direction it is taking.
I've wondered what to write about tonight.
Obama comes to mind, though I'm not in the mood to wax philosophic on Nobel Peace Prizes, and our President. There is much debate (the world over I believe) whether or not he deserves. I think we can make our own decisions about that.
I could write about the excitement I'm feeling for the up-coming movie season: Where the Wild Things Are. The Imagicarium of Dr. Parnarsuss. Hell, I'm just excited to see Zombieland next week.
I could write about my growing book collection that is at once exciting and horrifying to me.
I suppose I could write about the going-ons here:
Apparently my 15 year old nephew was taken to detention tonight because he and his friends were discussing rifles, hunting and bringing them to school. He lives in a particularly rural part of the
Uintah Basin. He attends a school of about 200 kids (from 6th to 12th grade) and most of the young men are hunters. Hell Most of the young men live on farms. Apparently a friend of his was discussing the idea of bringing his rifle to school and stashing beneath the seat of his truck so he could go hunting right after school let out for the day. My nephew offered the thought of the danger it posed (in a rough country way) and that it could go off and accidentally shoot somebody. Apparently a teacher heard the last bit and he was escorted by police tonight from his home to the juvenile detention center. Now I'm not advocating for any kid to bring their hunting rifle to school (or knives, or guns, or nun chucks). But my nephew, who has some learning disabilities and struggles in several classes, has had some frequent run-ins with a new principle. He also turns 16 next week and has explicitly told this principle that he is going to transfer to another school (a school for kids who have been in trouble, or have learning disabilities.) This will apparently cause his high school to lose out on several 1000 dollars of funding from the state, as it will take them down a bracket for funding. It seem this could be reactionary from the principle, to punish him and try and prevent him from transferring schools, though at sixteen he could just drop out. I’m not keen on seeing him do that. He struggles but he isn’t a dumb kid. With the right teacher and the right motivation he could likely excel. Unfortunately he hasn’t gotten that, and this experience can only sour him on school.
We’ll see what comes of it all. I hope my sister and brother-in-law can find a good lawyer. Chances are they may need it.
There is more to this story I’m sure, and I’ll post what I find out.
And with that.
Well. I'll bid you adieu.
Time does fly.
It doesn't seem like two months (a little over that really) has passed since my last post. But it has. I've meant to post several times.
I haven't. But I've meant too.
Things have changed, but overall they are pretty well the same.
My sister, her husband and two youngest kids (as well as an adult daughter going through a divorce) have been staying with us in a large camper/small trailer since April. They are moving.
Hallelujah!
Don't misunderstand, I love my sister. But having somebody else constantly in the house (and regularly waking me up, might I add) has been trying. I'm not a people person.
Well, that's not true; I am a people person. I'm not a live with somebody else person.
This is one of the reasons I am not married.
I can tolerate my mother, but honestly I don't like living with others. I love having people over (and did all the time in
Logan) but I like isolation as well.
I can't truly get that here.
But I cope. I've set up my bedroom to aide with this, but it only works if there are few than two people here (my mother and I.) If there is more than that... well... it fails.
My sister and her family will be moving to the nearby town of
Vernal. For those of you that don't know Vernal. It has between 10,000 and 15,000 people. It is, what I imagine,
Logan would be like if the University wasn't there. Her and her adult daughter work there at the local Wal-Mart. It's a 40 minute drive from my house, so the move is a very good (and advantageous) thing for them.
In other news, I have a promotion at work. I am now a floor manager at work. It means I have to work just as hard (harder) as before, but am now responsible to see others also work hard. There hasn't been mention of a raise yet, but it has only officially happened last week. So we'll see. There better be something. Not that I will quit, and not necessarily that I deserve it. Only that it would be nice to see the praise (of which I get quite a bit of) be rewarded with something other than more responsibility.
It is fall at last, and I am glad. Summer here is over bearing. Too much. Like the winters in
Logan are too much. The winters here are tolerable. The fall however can be nice. If we get one (sometimes the snow comes quickly.) There was a shading of white on the Uintahs this morning (well, early this afternoon) when I went to work. It is coming. I hope it holds off from giving us a serious storm till November. I'll feel like I got my "monies" worth of fall that way.
I Ran into some old high school folk at work tonight. I am surprised to find out he's read my blog a bit. It was good to see them. Both he and his wife graduated the same year I did. Put me in a cheerful mood, and I'm always surprised (for some reason) to run into people from my youth.
I've decided to participate this year in National Novel Writing Month. It's November. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel from the 1st to the 30th of November. That being said: I haven't been writing as much as a should. There are two plays that are outlined. One being an expansion of a one act whose characters and thoughts I felt could be explored more (that one being called Palour Tricks.) the other being a re-write of my play Fitzlephisch. It's a play that I wrote in 2005, a full length, completely irreverent that has been plaguing me for 4 years. It needs rewritten, some what badly. But I had no idea how to go about doing that until a month ago. Now I know. The outline stays roughly the same, but the focus of the narrator changes, as well as several scenes. I'm rather excited about it. But I digress. The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. In order to do that, I have to pump out 1666 words a day. That is a lot. Perhaps if I were unemployed no, but for a working man who is inherently lazy, that is a lot. I am going to be working up that. Now the goal is 500 a day. Next week 750. The week after that 1000. I'll get there if that's the last thing I do. Once November hits I'll be writing 1500 a day and will be able to focus on my novel.
I have no idea what it's going to be. But it'll be fun.
(For the record, this post was over 800 words... not bad. Not bad at all.)
Here I am.
I've been in Roosevelt a year. A year as of last Thursday. I know the exact date, not just because it was the beginning of the new chapter of my life, but because it was the day before Pioneer day, and when I went down to Job Services the day after I arrived, they were closed. Pioneer day.
Strangely enough I've had two jobs since I've moved back here. When I arrived, jobs were still in abundance, and I had a pick. I took the first one that offered me work, at a gas station ordering and stocking their cooler (and doing other odd jobs).
I worked there nearly six weeks.
After a month of working there, (all the while still checking the job boards electronically) I found the job I currently have: a grocery store. I bag. I stock. I fetch carts. I deal with weird shit that doesn't always make sense. Mostly I don't mind it. As jobs go it's not the greatest, but it's tolerable. You get to know the regulars and interact with them. That can be fun. And for the most part I like everybody I work with. Fun group of folks really.
The job market here is down. (Big surprise.) The oil industry has slowed, partially due to the lower gas prices (artificially inflated) and partly due to the revoking of the oil leases shortly after Obama took office. Now, let's get something straight; I like Obama over all. I don't think he's doing a terrible job, or even a bad job. Revoking the oil leases however was something I didn't agree with. I know we need a different source of energy for our infrastructure to run on. However I also know that until a viable option is found (a realistic option that is sustainable) oil is going to continue to be it. The oil industry is the life blood of this region (as is natural gas and gilsonite) and shutting down further exploration that was already granted seems, to most folk out here, nearly spiteful.
Obama isn't popular here for that reason and for the inherit racism that most folks here have in gereral. They didn't like the stimulus package (I haven't liked everything that has been done with the stimulus, though I think that it still has potential (only 10% of it has actually been used.)) They really don't like the idea of a healthcare package that is being debated, despite the fact that most people out here would benefit from it. I'm one of the few people that I personally know.
So what is next for me?
Well, more of the same honestly. I'm going to continue working at the grocery store for a while.
For a long while honestly. I can't afford to move while the economy is so down, and taking a realistic perspective, I don't think true will recovery will happen for a few years. Roosevelt is as good a place as any to work through the rough patch.
I've got some scripts I'm working on. I'll continue to work on those. I'll continue to venture to Logan and to Salt Lake to see folks that I make me happy.
Till next time.
I love dogs.
They make me happy. Watching them goof around and do crazy stuff. I like throwing things for them. Have them run after it. And have them not bring it back to me.
They do that. A lot of them.
I had a black lab mix. He was pretty awesome. A bit intense at times, understandable, he was a pup. I had plans for him and I: we were going to hang out this summer. Ride around in my pick-up and see stuff. I'd throw things for him. He wouldn't bring them back. It was going to be awesome.
Sadly, and i mean damn sad. He died. He was poisoned. Not poisoned by somebody, but he got into something toxic. He last days were three days of misery. I feel bad about that. It was my hope. My wish that he would get better. He didn't. He died about six weeks ago. I still miss him.
A new dog has entered my life though. She's a sweety. She's a tiny little mutt that was abandoned at my sisters house (in a very rural area called Blue Bell). She's still a bit skittish with most people, though not myself. I'm her favorite.
I like her a lot too.
Maybe her and I could drive and around and see stuff. She doesn't like running after things and not bringing them back, but she likes her tummy rubbed.
Maybe I'll go rub her tummy.
I had grown weary of fantasy.
During my early years I read a considerable amount and about 1996 I finally stopped. For a while. Fantasy novels didn't... catch me any more. I had been reading books written during the late 70's and the 80's .They repeated tropes set up by Tolkien: good versus evil, the little man saving the world, the greatest powers in the world are benevolent. I couldn't do it anymore. Each book I picked up hit upon the same things. Some did so in different ways, but ultimately it was unsatisfactory. So I stopped.
During the late 90's and the early 00's I delved a bit into science fiction, some literary fiction, horror (a great genre that I have also grown to love) some philosophy, history. But most of the fantasy I read was the rereading books that I had enjoyed before. Nothing new came along.
Until the last few years.
The last couple of years I have discovered George R. R. Martin, contributor and editor to the Wild-Cards series of books, but more importantly the fantasy series "A Song of Fire and Ice". These last books have revitallized my interest in fantasy. I have since moved backwards, discovering authors I had missed due to their writing's proceeding my birth: Fritz Lieber, H. P. Lovecraft, Theodore Sturgeon, Jack Vance, Roger Zelzany the list goes on, though not quite so alphabetically (do you believe that's actually the order I thought of them in? Doesn't matter, it is.)
The books are good, in that they aren't trying to break new ground, and that they ignore Tolkien, primarily because they were written before his "Lord of the Rings."
But "A Song of Fire and Ice".... These books made me change my opinion about what was possible with fantasy. These books are not going to be everybodies cup of tea. They are visceral and unforgiving. Thumbing his nose at convetion, not just for fantasy, but literary writing in general, Martin kills off main characters. Narrative characters. Characters whose perspective you've been following since the start of the novels. This is at once both jarring and refreshing. Knowing that no character is safe does amazing things for me as the reader. It engages me. It surprises me. I missed that with the novels of the past.
I had also discovered Neil Gaiman. An author that many of you would be familiar with as the author the film Star Dust is based upon. I've read three of his books -well one nove, a collection of short stories, and a graphic novellization of a novel based of a series of screenplays he wrote for the BBC. Neil Gaiman has wit. His very fantastic, but grounded in the real world. (All of his stories, at least thus far have been set or started in the real world.) He doesn't take the good vs. evil position that seemed so popular in novels after Tolkien, at least, not as blantantly good and evil. His antagonist's are always intriguing, and very sympathetic (and in "American Gods" he's downright one of the best characters).
In that vein, I have just discovered China Mieville (that's pronounce Mee-ay-veal). His take on fantasy (or, 'wierd fiction' as he has dubbed his stuff) is refreshingly bizzare... but believable. He has written a series of unrelated books set in the fantasy world of Bas-Lag. A world so bizzare as to be laughable, but written with such skill and unrelenting attention to detail that it does not come across as such. I can accept the world of Bas-Lag: with it's shade of grays, it's strange races (mosquito people, catacus people... beetle people) and it's steam-punk themes as readily as I can accept Brent Easton Ellis' books about the jaded rich. Mieville seems to believe in his world... not as a reality mind you, he's not crazy, but as something for vast potential. Something that could exsist. It's wonderful in it's way.
I plan on picking up the other two Bas-Lag novels shortly.
As well as exploring other authors, particullarly more that I may have missed due to to my age (and them being written before I was born).
