Renewed Hope: Is it worth it?

As I sit here, I've become aware that my previous guesses about the individual (company?) that I sent an application for a writing job to was as swamped as I thought with another project and now is playing catch up with other ones.  So I have renewed hope that I will be getting a "call back," or whatever one might phrase it as, for this job.  Again, I want to remain vague about it because of several reasons:

1. It might be a NDA type deal where gabbling about details for the project are strictly taboo and would jeopardize the client's trust and or potential future jobs with said client.
2. I don't want to get unecessarily hyped up for really cool job that may not happen.  
3. If the job falls through/my secondary submission did not make the cut, I want to edit that submission and possibly use it in a future project if the client allows me to do so.  
4. I like to hedge my bets, so I've been trying to work ahead, at least in the research department, so that should I get selected for the job I will have a short turn around time for the "boss" of the project.  I'd rather be ready to go and firing on all pistons than trying to hit the ground running, but from behind....does that metaphor make sense?

So this leads me to a little life lesson that hopefully is chock full of condescension, pretension, elevation, and any other "-tions or sions" I may have missed.  Kidding aside, I want to make it clear that there's never a reason to give up hope on what can be done with a project.  Does the client cancel?  No biggie, just use what you've learned, and maybe even the work as well and turn it into a funny story or resume' enhancer.  Or maybe re-purpose it for later use.  As I slowly reclaim myself from the abyss that was my old retail job I am remembering the optimism I used to have over situations even when they seemed bad or turned out other than I had hoped.

I don't care if it sounds schmaltzy to say, but I will remain hopeful even when it seems the foolish and silly thing to do.  Heck, even if I don't get this particular job, that doesn't mean I can't try again later to try and get a job with this guy, and it doesn't mean that I've lost the chance to work on anything ever again and for all time.  I think while I was working that crummy job in the past, it tended to blindside me with such horrible things and poor treatment from management on a daily basis that I saw every failure as total closure of possible routes and futures.  It was a terrible thing to happen because in addition to the pervasive awfulness of the job, I tended to think one failure was all it took to either be at square one, or think that I should never try certain things ever again.

Different outlook now?  Yes and no.   As I said, I used to have a more upbeat, "keep-on-a-tryin'" attitude prior to the retail job going full evil mode.  I hope that if you read this and are in an awful job, have people in your life that scoff at being hopeful, or feel like every one else is living it up while your stuck in the doldrums--please try to get away from those bad influences and start anew.  I know it doesn't seem possible if you feel stuck in an awful job, but trust some one who knows from experience.  Such places can keep you from realizing your full potential.  If you're scared of what might happen if you leave, try even harder to get away from there.

It's easier to deal with fear of the unknown that it is to deal with a lifetime of regret.

How to Feel Terrible: When a Client Disappears Edition

What do you make of it in the world of freelance writing when a client goes from enthusiastic communication loving your work and wanting more....

to total radio silence, so-to-speak?


Panic

Obviously you did something wrong and they hate you now.  They probably spend hours throwing darts at pictures they imagine look like you rather than do a quick check in to say what is going on and if they are going to continue to use your work.  Make sure you have a stack of paper lunch sacks nearby to hyperventilate into.  Likely you'll blow through a few of them while you decide your next move.  Maybe you should contact them five or six times in the next hour, just to let them know how much you love working for them.  If you need to cry, don't do it on the keyboard as it could short out.


Obsess Over the Details of the Last Thing You Gave Them

Did you have spelling errors?  Probably.  Could that one sentence have been more tightly written? Definitely.  Remember, everything can be done better, especially your last project.  It may be too late to turn in a new version, but that doesn't mean the worrying and obsessing about what has been done should stop.  In fact, it's time to ramp those doubts up to ten on the worry scale!  Stop being satisfied that you did your best and start really considering what it means to fail.  The closing ideas you had for a review?  That was probably terrible.  You transitions from one point to the next?  Those were also likely abysmal.  Don't even get started thinking about your usage of commas.  Not only did you more than likely screw that up, but the client is likely sharing your travesty of comma use around the office and with total strangers.


Count Your Failures

The age old adage about "Counting your blessings" is a lie, and you know it.  So why not count up your failures instead?  No, I'm not talking about that last assignment or job offer you tried out for.  I am talking about everything that you can possibly remember that you failed at.  Your choice to have spaghetti the other day was a disaster from the get go and you know it.  That time you thought about leaving your "safe" Joe job to pursue your dreams?  What a mistake that turned out to be, right?  In high school, yes, they really were  all looking at you and wondering why another human being would comb their hair and dress that way.    That time in kindergarten when you colored outside the lines? Yes, even that can be counted against you when it comes to the failure tally.  You need to dig deep when it comes to this one.  Think hard now, do you remember those first steps you took as a baby?  You can be pretty sure your parents hung their heads in shame when your diapered duff hit the floor before you even managed to plant one foot in front of the other.


Right about now you should be in the fetal position sucking your thumb.

Never Try Anything Ever Again

Don't do anything ever again.  No, not don't do anything new.  Tons of people never do anything new each and every day.  It's time to consider total inertia as an option for your future.  Doubtless your client's failure to respond mean that think a rock could have done a better job writing what you turn in, and maybe it is time to stop thinking of all you can accomplish and time to start thinking of how living as a solid state block of matter can help you avoid future disappointments.


Remember, you can't do well all the time.  So embrace the mediocrity and failure that has come to pass.

 Unless the client just made simple mistake and still loves your work, but didn't have time to get back to you.  In which case, you're totally fine and can ignore the advice previously given.

Ramping Up For The Big Game--er--Contest: Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers

Okay, things are finally getting back on track.

As I've mentioned before, I've been sick, my kid is teething, and my wife was hospitalized and needs gall bladder surgery early next month.

But otherwise things are on track--writing wise that is.

I've got a small time gig doing a blog for a BBQ catering company which doesn't take too much time, but provides a little pocket money.  My brother and I have been building up the One More Rewrite Podcast.  I get a little work here and there.  One of my bigger hopes comes in the form of a job I applied for but am still waiting to hear back if I made the cut.  I hope so.  I could use the money, it sounds like fun, and it would be a nice way to get my name out there.  So, what do I have on the agenda for April.

The Beginning of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Contest.

I hope you read that in a deep, echoed voice with lots of reverb.  Because that's how it sounds to me when I read it.  This is hands down, one of my favorite writing contests to prepare for.  In previous years I've thought about doing it.  I did a little leg work but didn't follow through.  There was always an excuse not to do it, always something that sounded like a reasonable argument for me not to do it.  Well, I am tired of being one of my biggest detractors.  This year I plan on submitting again.  I have managed to pull it off once before, get a draft in on time to enter.  I even paid the extra fees to get an evaluation of the work and see what else I needed to do with it.  There was some real beneficial feedback there, but I didn't get the polish I wanted in time.  The frustrating thing was that it seemed the three judges really liked the chapter I submitted, but because I had a bevy of grammatical errors, I did not make it as a finalist.  I got the sense that I could have made it had I given myself more time.  Had I just pushed myself rather than settling.

Well, that was years ago and I have been pushing myself harder ever since.  I will no longer settle for just a some nice compliments and a nudge that I need to do better on the basics.  I will get in as a finalist, at least I hope so.  I will not give up on hope until I get the manuscript back that says that I need more work.  Until that point, anything is possible.  If you are out here in Colorado or are interested in the writing contest  experience, take a gander at their site here:

If you are interested:

 http://rmfw.org/contest/

A word to fellow writers considering submitting for this or other such contests.  I can only speak for myself (obviously) but....

Having sprung for the extra bucks to have the evaluation of my manuscript, it was definitely worth it.  My world was not shattered, my heart was not crushed, and my dreams were not dashed by the pen marks and lengthy comments left by the judges.  I also don't want to say something arrogant or self-aggrandizing like, "It grew me so much as a writer," or "I've been enlightened by the experience," or some other horse-hockey meant to make me look like I've reached the next stage of pok-e'-lution for my particular pokemon type.  The comments were solid, they pointed out where I made mistakes (and not just in grammar) and I hope that I'm not too silly as to make the same plotting and characterization errors in the future.  I'd rather be nervous that I'm going to screw-up, and therefore pour over a creative writing piece again and again than spend time patting my own back over how well I adapted to criticism.

I will move forward with my creative writing, try to distance myself from it but still care for it as my own, proof read the final outcome, and then send it off while hoping and praying for the best.  Time to get the ball rolling on that first draft for my story.



Of course, this is when the self-doubt really begins...

"The Junk Journals" Official Update #1: Intros and Research

Here begins the journey....

I hope that sounds at least half as epic as I intend it to be.  Because even though I have a children's book in the works, I've been steadily plugging away at my Junk Journals project for several months now.  In fact, I believe I have enough material to start piecing stuff together into an actual book!

My self-help book venture will likely take several months of editing, re-editing, and of course, one more rewrite in order to get things all squared away.  In between then there could be slow downs and interruption as are want to happen.  I can't account for the adventures and mis-adventures that might befall me as I go into this project, but I want to be clear with anyone who might read this and eventually read the book that I intend to keep regular progress reports updating you on how things are going.

So what have I got for you today?

As you likely can tell from the title, I've been working on writing the introduction to the book and doing a bit of research for getting the book published as well.  Let me break both of those down really quick for you:

I am pretty sure I have enough material to create a framework upon which to get the overall novel put together.  However, I feel that unlike getting a novel put together, you have to introduce your reader to the nature of what it is they are about to read.  Whether a gripping and overly detailed historical examination of something or a self-help book like the Junk Journals will be, you have to lay out the basics.  I guess it shares a little something in common with writing a kids novel that way.  Get'em in  a basic way at the start of the book.

Anywho, I've written a first draft of that all-important introduction for the Junk Journals and I think it will help me get my footing on how I want the outline to look for the overall book.  So not only have I got a literal start on things, but I have given myself a helping hand in continuing the project to completion.  This isn't so much of a brag as a "Okay, as I work more on this, I give myself less and less excuses as to why it can't be done.  This is good thing as well since I cover the topic of procrastination within the book itself.  I hope overall that it does not take long to get a composed first draft of the overall book together.  But I am willing to admit as this is foreign territory to me, I might have to look up a "How to write a How to Book for Dummies."  If such a thing exists.

Then again, part of what I want to do with the book is not only offer a fresh take on the matter of de-cluttering one's home, but also change up the drab expectations a person might have when it comes to such books.  I want it to be engaging and personable and not come at the reader with an overly aggressive "oh just toss it all out" attitude.  This leads me to the other part of what I am currently doing with the project.

I am researching not just how to write a book about eliminating clutter, but I want to take the annoying bits from other bits that keep seeming to turn up and offer a perspective that might have otherwise been presented.  One of the attitudes that I see turn up quite often in these books so far is the idea that "just getting the job done" somehow translates into "hurry it up and finish."  From what I can tell cleaning isn't a race, or at least, not a very exciting one.  So I am currently spending free time here and there looking into what I feel were the mistakes made in other books when it comes to being pushy about getting you to de-junk your home.  So long as we aren't hoarders, there shouldn't be a problem with taking the time to do a job you can live with.

Anywho, before I get too distracted and make this update too long I wanted to let you know where I am at and how the project is coming along.  Thanks for taking the time to read this and I will see you next week.

Which Way to the Yelling Room?

Pressure provides an excellent motivator in almost all things.  You want to be pushed to do more, excel in what you can, and try your hardest in all you do.

At least until everything starts to pile up and you need to scream.

You know, to relieve tension and such.

Since college I have learned to not only work well under the pressure of a dozen things going on at once, but also learned how to thrive when it happens.  The upside was that even with getting sick (this was pre-transplant), long hours for school studies, and what I will term "wacky" scheduling from the management of my old retail job; I was getting things done.  I was working on my writing, doing the odd freelance job, and trying to keep up the cleanliness of my home.  The only downside, it seemed, was that things would come crashing down the minute I was hospitalized and too sick to work on projects.  Naturally, all the juggling balls don't juggle themselves, and the moment you step away everything falls apart.  However, nearly 5 years away from that liver transplant, and I realize that something else was happening during those years when I had so much going on.

I was getting hooked on having too much to do.

Odd thing to say, but I think it is possible to get addicted to having a full to the brim plate of ideas, projects, and chores to work on.  On the one hand, it keeps you from being lazy and you are forced to not waste time.  On the other hand, you never really have free time to relax, so you can get hyper stressed at the drop of a hat.  I have decided I would like the best of both worlds, please?

I need to have that pressure to keep me working, keep me on task, but not so much that I wish I had a third bedroom at home just so I could have protracted screaming sessions to alleviate stress.  What I want is knowing that I have things to do during the day, but at the end of the day have accomplished them for the most part.   Funny thing, this is more type A then type B.  I guess my type B tendecies come out in that I am always thinking of something new and exciting to do--but the type A side pops in and says it must be done by day's end or I've failed to get things done for the day.   I want to have a day where I don't feel rushed, but also don't feel like I could be a lump and just waste a few hours and not have it effect things.  (Barring vacations of course, because we all need time off.  I'm talking strictly the daily grind type stuff.)

So anywho, which way to the yelling room?  Because it would appear between a fantastic job opportunity (if I get it), personal projects with the Junk Journals, hoped for work from a revitalized CaptainKYSO, and my work on creative writing projects for my children's fantasy novels--I'm a little busy and have a full plate.

I guess last week was the right, wrong week to get sick.  But it's okay.  Because sometimes a bit of pressure, even extreme pressure, can be a good thing.

Over-thinking the Issue of Sickness

So, I have a shot at a job that I would really like which would provide some cash as well as exposure to a potential new community of readers.  Good stuff happening, I am energized and rarin' to go as they say--whoever they are.  Only one problem.  My gut aches, my nose has a drip like a broken faucet, and I feel generally awful health-wise at a time when I need to be on my "A Game."

Life has challenges, and I've had my share, and the old man down the street's share, and maybe a couple of people from another country who I've never met share.  Not complaining, just saying my past health issues caused more stumbling blocks in my life than I would have thought possible.  Even though I am approaching my 5 year anniversary for my liver transplant, I still get knots in my stomach any time I feel a headache coming on.  Why?  Because truth be told, I am impatient to get where I want to be in life and getting sick in the past has caused everything (up until a year and a half ago when my daughter was born) to slow up.  I had learned many lessons on patience, waiting, and being still when I least wanted to.  The thing is, now that I've had a taste for what it is like to live life without the brakes getting thrown on all the time due to sickness, I have started to become impatient in ways that I thought I had learned otherwise.  I guess the learning never stops, eh?

I really want to be done with being sick, like, forever.  Sometimes it's hard to have proper perspective when I come down with something.  I want to keep pushing myself.  I want to take advantage of every second that some illness doesn't have me flat on my back.  Even if it would be in my best interests to lie down for a bit.  Sometimes I even plot out my week if I feel a cold coming on and just how far I can push myself before I totally crash.

I've begun to over think what I'm going to do when I get sick.  I honestly don't know whether this is a good thing or not.  

On the one hand, it gives me slight advantages for the times that I do get sick.  I can implement a plan as soon as that first tissue hits my nose.  I know how much I can dose myself up with supplements that will make my body fight the cold that much better while not totally gut-bombing myself with vitamins.  (Although that did happen early on).

On the other hand, I don't take the time to rest that my body needs, so I have a lingering cold or aches when I might have otherwise finished up with said cold.  It's a back and forth debate for me every time, just how can I push my body to keep going when a nap or hot shower would do a world of good?  

I probably should wrap this up.  It's nearly 2am where I am, and I have to be up in a few hours.  I still feel sick.  I wish I could take a break and had the luxury of lounging.  Sickness means lost time though, and I feel like I've had enough of that already.  Maybe I need to dwell on sickness a little less though.  Back off the plans and the contingencies.  Slow up the pounding back of vitamins and Airborne when I feel something coming on.  

Or maybe I just need to stop talking about how being sick affects me and get back to work.

Bumps and Bonks: Sometimes Life Throws You Small Curve Balls

So here we go, about 20 minutes to midnight and the long post that I was hoping to put up for the day has been delayed.  My little girl is into everything these days, so my wife and I spent a good chunk of the evening doing a bit of baby/kid-proofing for her safety and our peace of mind.  Around the time we normally do clean up, our little one started crying and was inconsolable until she had some anbesol for the gums and a small snack to tide over the hunger that she had developed thanks to being too sore in the gums to eat.  Stupid molars, don't they know that I have stuff to be working on?  I guess not.  In fact, not just the molars and baby proofing were a problem.

Just when it seemed we were going to be able to get her down for the night, she trips over my leg and head bonks into something hard.  Up for another 40 minutes with an ice pack to prevent bumps and watching Disney's Robin Hood to pass the time.  Good thing the movie is well done, because I've heard oo-da-lalee I don't know how many times.  At least the kid has good taste.

Anywho, the main point being that life threw me a curve ball tonight, so the long post won't be up until later in the week.  Hopefully I can complete the tip post tomorrow in time.   If not, I will likely swap the schedule (my own) around.  It is frustrating having a hiccup in the schedule that I came up with, but the funny thing is, a part of me is grateful for the hiccup.

Now, interruptions can be frustrating, time consuming, and just all around tiresome.  However, when compared with the fact that I could have been dead at this point and not have had my liver transplant, a part of me is grateful to be alive to experience the frustration of day to day setbacks.  I mean, nothing sets you back more than death.  Pesky being dead thing has probably ruined a whole host of potential novels, projects, and essays with other writers.  So for me, an evening lost because I had to look out for the interests of my little girl is a worthwhile trade.

True, I do feel behind at times and wish that I was further along in my career.  True, I am looking at a late night of editing writing, editing sound for the podcast, and planning for the next phase of my Junk Journal book--but even as I sit here typing the earlier weariness has left me.  There are lots of curve balls that life can throw your way, and I've had my fair share. But when I think about it...

I get to be alive. I get to write.  I get to spend time with my family whom I love.  Those are pretty nice blessings to be thankful for.

Being behind one night doesn't seem that bad after all.

Never Sell Your Creative Work for a Pittance

Never sell your creative genius for a pittance has been some of the best  writing advice I have ever received.  Yet sadly, I all too often see freelance job sites with job offers demanding that you do just that.  If you visit many freelance writing sites these days you might see what looks like a wasteland of low paying job with high output demands.  Sometimes I run across jobs that pay fairly and the job sounds like something I can sink my teeth into, and best part is I retain the rights to the creative writing that I do. Most times though, I see things as ludicrous as asking the writer to compose 50 thousand word original stories for $300-$500, all rights to the story forfeited upon delivery to the client.  Extra points to the ones that have the audacity to ask for it in less than a month.

I cannot stress how sad, and how absurd it is to place such demands on a writer.  To not only ask them to while away the hours working on a story, but to tell them they have no rights to earnings from the story once it is delivered--for me that would be like asking me to give up my kid once she was smart enough to be in grade school and never get to see her again.  Before I get any farther, I want to make it clear that this is not meant as a rant against "unfair wages" or whatever the lingo would be.  Just that I wish those putting up the job offers would actually have an iota of reasonableness in their offers.  It is those types of offers that give businesses a bad reputation.  Anywho, I digress.

I am sad when I see this kinda of thing pop up, because often with these freelance writing sites who I am up against when bidding for a job.  The very fact that there are several people who are already applying for these types of jobs just makes me sad.  I privately hope that most of them are brave enough to challenge the exclusive rights demands, even if they ask for only a small portion of any and all profits that are made when the book is sold that would be something.  Now, I think it is important that I make a thing or two about selling your stories and writing before I go any further with this.

When I talk about low paying writing jobs, I'm not talking about the ones where you are writing a short blog about kitchen knives, or the best winter clothing, or a variety of topics on which you may not be an expert but can research for an article.  I've done this myself, I don't get much money for it, but these are not exactly beloved possible masterpieces that I've sold the rights to.  I have what might be best called "no emotional attachment" to those writings.  I think a skill that all of us who write and write well have is the ability to produce quality "product" for clients in need.  You need to sell propane and propane accessories and would like a 500 word article but can only pay eight bucks?  Not a problem, that's grocery money for me and I don't mind doing it.  I would feel no loss in selling that writing and not being able to claim it as my own.  However, that isn't what the people who post the pittance jobs are looking for.  They seem like they could care less about short articles on propane, hiking, or cooking or whatever else.  What they are looking for, in my opinion, is a jackpot.

Those type of jobs seem to crop up for the sole purpose of getting a million dollar story for pennies per word and claiming it as their own.  After all, if some one produces the next Harry Potter, Hunger Games, or Twilight or some other high-selling and popular series; what does it matter that $300 was spent on buying the book?  After all, if you are the buyer in that case you've just captured lightening in bottle and have all the money you spent and more back in the bank.  Maybe it sounds like I'm being too cynical here, but the funny thing is that this thought process doesn't come from cynicism but from hope.

The fact that there are people out there looking for a veritable cash cow within the freelance community, that there are people hoping to get rich quick (at least in my opinion) with some one else's work--to me that means that there is a chance that it could happen and that it could be me who has the opportunity to write something great.  It can happen to someone else as well.  I'm not saying that this can only happen to one person and that there is only one prize to be won, so to speak.  I'm thinking that there is something to be found.  Something to be done.  Multiple possibilities of something awesome just waiting to be discovered.  Maybe it will be me.  Maybe it will be you.

Just please, please, if you get that big break and write something truly awesome and eye-catching that fills a reader with wonder and you think you know it in your heart that it become something--don't trade it away for a pittance.  It might be hard to tell at times what are the winners and what are the ideas that just aren't going to go anywhere, but holding on to the right to claim what is yours is something we as writers need to do more of.  

I know that I have more to say on this, but it will have to wait until another time.  Life is happening around me, so to speak (ie I have my little girl to take care of) and I need to get to that.

Taking the Long Road to Short Trips (Part II)

      So, as I said before, I don't want to waste my life or the time given to me.  I want to utilize my ability to write both so I can engage in fun, entertaining creative endeavors.  I would also like to use my writing in a practical way to help provide for my family and put away a little at a time for my daughter's college fund.  To that end, I need to start "producing more product" so-to-speak.  I need to get more basic writing jobs and I need to work more on the creative projects that I love.  However, I have a huge stumbling block to this as I mentioned before, which is the knick-knack-paddy-whack-junk-and-stuff that is around my home.  So now that I'm over a year out from my last day at my retail job and have the opportunity to work from home, I find myself doing more work ON the home than in it, in a manner of speaking.  Why not just ignore it?  Why not get some work done that I want to get done?

     Well, this is the work I want to get done, because if I don't then I can't get work done.  Do you get what I mean?  It's not just a general lack of focus or drive, it's that I can't get from point A to point B without actually travelling over that distance.  For me, that distance involves my share, and what seems like several other people's share, of cleaning and de-cluttering.  I want to know that when I look up from my writing the only things that will be really vying for my attention will be my daughter's baby photos and a small (VERY small) collection of oddities that I have long used for inspiration while writing.  Personally, I feel like in the end whatever writing I get done won't feel nearly as fulfilling as it could if I know that I can't unwind at the end of the day because I have cleaning to do.  For the record, I know that with a little one in the house, there will always be cleaning to do.  But there are things that should have been dealt with a while ago that I could never get to thanks to the former job.  Now it may sound like I am laying a large amount of blame on that job for a messy home, and yeah, oh heck yeah I am.  This will be something I talk about in my Junk Journal book.  The truth is it agrevates me both at the old retail job and at myself for letting it get to me.  I allowed the old job to make me chase after countless doo-dads and thing-a-ma-bobs as a distraction.  Although I had a freelance writing job with a tee shirt company (an opportunity that I am still ever-grateful for), I never got in writing of any other sort.  I wasn't putting nearly as much as I wanted to into the career that I really wanted to follow.

So now that I have this opportunity to keep moving forward in my writing career, why choose to slow down for stuff that built the basis for holding me back?  Why occupy my time with this junk around me rather than writing?  Well, in one of life's ironic twists, I have something to write about as I come out of the experience.  I want to de-clutter and clean up, but I need the catharsis and closure that will also come with writing about the junk that I am donating and disposing of.  If I just toss it out whole sale in attempt to be done with it, I feel like that will be the old way, the old, terrible job winning in the end.  Not only would it have robbed me of time with my family, time building my career, but it will have given me nothing to show for it.  So I guess that is my writing lesson to be shared for the day.  All those cliches' about writing from your pain and frustration have some truth to them.

I could probably write a whole book about the daily struggles that my past health issues gave me.  I could do a mini-series on what it was like those final months leading up to the liver transplant that saved my life.  Maybe some day I will write more about that.  What I need to write about now is the long road that I am I taking.  Ah, the post title, now I finally get to it, right?  I am taking the long road of frustration and annoyance and heartache that will come from going through all this junk.  But I choose it because it is the only way it can be done.  In the end I will end up with shorter trips to the ol' writing table or whatever metaphor best fits here.  It may sound silly to keep thinking about how the former retail job pushed itself into my life, but it ate away at me just as much as my liver disease and declining health did. In a way, that retail job took much more and gave far less then my sickness did.  But whatever little good that it did, I am going to squeeze what I can from it and write about it as best I can.

   

Planning a New Blog

Greetings to you, whomever you are!

I am currently working on a new blog centered around original Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and Wii U Games.  I hope to acquire some other old school systems so that I can blog on those as well, but we shall see.  For now, I need to finish up my articles that I have been ready to drop in the cue for that blog, but just haven't spent time to get them ready.

So much to say since the last time I blogged.  Uh...let's see.  I've moved to a bigger, better apartment.  The wife and I have an awesome, adorable little girl, and I get to work freelance writing jobs.  So all in all life is good.  It is definitely hectic/more busy than before, but much better than working retail job. Not to mention actually pursuing your career that you spent a good chunk of your college life on is a good thing too.

Anywho, here's to 2015, may it be the best year ever.  I know it sounds cheesy, but dang it, I think it will be!