The 40 Year Old Hoya

Saturday Lulldrums

Quiet night with a glass of champagne (last from this bottle - held up reasonably well, but the sweet has gone sour around the edges) and a lot of laundry to put away.  Turned in a good run this morning - 4 miles/52 minutes and change, which gives me a good feeling that I’ll easily be on pace (or at least able to make pace) for the Army Ten Miler (seven weeks to go).

My capstone is still churning in my head, forming as I research.  Need to crash the backboards this week and get some preliminary questions down on paper for people.  In the meantime, three short stories in various stages of draft are on the clipboard waiting for some red pen tango, and another half-dozen need to be made submission worthy and dropped into their respective mail or bit streams.  The novel is still there waiting as well.  The novel is always waiting.

But first?  The laundry, with Willy Wonka on in the background.  Quiet Saturday night.  Surf the lull.

Run Prep Day 3

Heat and a leg cramp conspired to stop me after a solid first mile and a half. Walked out the cramp and added another mile and a half of walking. Not a total loss, but I would have liked doing three total run instead of a fifty-fifty.

Run Day 2 (of 56): Outdoor today - W&OD from 28 to the East; three miles, 38:03 minutes. Under 13 on a treadmill is one thing. On the asphalt in terrain and the humidity? Another thing entirely. Booyah!

Machine of Death Lives!

It’s always interesting to get that little glimmer of hope that my little anthology story in Machine of Death (“Friendly Fire”) is going to someday surface.  Today in my Inbox?  A random heartbeat from the editors:

“05 Aug 2009 06:19 pm

Project update & illustrator list

We’ve received several inquiries as to the status of the project, and we’re now at a point where we can confidently present a list of contributing illustrators (below). Though our manuscript is complete, we feel we owe it to the project to follow up every lead with the publishers who have expressed interest, which as many of you know can be an extremely protracted process.

We are also in receipt of many of your requests for feedback on your stories, which is a thing we shall still do in the months to come. We thank you for your patience, and hope it will arrive like a sparkling surprise long after you have forgotten all about us.

Rest assured that this project is very much alive and will one day soon groan its way into life with a sound not heard since the gods rent Day from Night in days forgotten by all but the tortoise-folk.”

http://machineofdeath.net/a/archives/17 for the list of illustrators.

I’ll be the first to admit my knowledge of illustrators is about as vast as my grasp on quantum theory (save for the quark), but I’ll take Sysiphian progress over no progress at all.

Once More, Dear Friends...

After a lengthy hiatus from meaningfulness, I would like to say I’m back with a vengeance, but my blog hasn’t killed my family or my partner just one week from retirement, it hasn’t burned down my village, and it hasn’t stolen and totaled my expensive European sports car, so I can’t really say I’m back with a vengeance.  I would like to give bloggy here a little more depth/meaning than the usual brain-dumping, naval-gazing, what-I-had-for-breakfast fest that blogs tend to devolve into when you figure three people are watching.  It’s stated purpose IS to chronicle how I keep all the various balls (work, school, relationship, creative pursuits) in the air - i.e., life itself - but I’ve learned the first lesson: it doesn’t write itself.

Who knew?

So here we are, beginning of August.  The story as it stands:

School: One month until the homestretch. Five months (grades permitting) until I’m either done or defeated, whatever THAT word means. :)  I’ve had my first meeting with my capstone advisor to begin the process of shaping that crucial final piece.  In the grand, nebulous sense, it’s going to focus on relationships and the internet.  ALL I can offer is the nebulous sense, because as my mind tilts and whirls the concept is evolving.  I can say that my single friends are going to find me to me more of a pest than my married friends by December.  The other class is a Reported Memoir class.  I have some ideas there as well, but knowing more about what the professor is looking for will result in development or flaring the stack on all of that.

Work: Offices have moved, but the song remains the same.  The new wrinkle is my contemplation of a remote work plan, a contingency in the event I find myself relocating at some future point and would like to do so without giving up my compositie leave of my seven years experience with the company.

Lady Love: Is here this weekend (YAY!); the month apart (since our last weekend, July 4th on Long Island) has been our longest this year, and if I’ve been snappish, surly, or climbing the walls, well, this is a side-effect of romance deprivation.  On tap for the weekend: La Boheme at Wolf Trap, winery visits in Middleburg, dinner at the Goodstone Inn, and at least one freestyle, plan-less day.  Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!

Creative: There were supposed to be a number of stories subbed last week to new markets; what I’ve run up against is the number of paying markets that are closed, defunct, or just plain not seeking what I’m pushing.  I’m still tooling, digging, seeking.  But I’m also finding that I may need to rethink my approach.  Is the short story dead?  Not yet, but much like apartment hunting with a big dog, finding a home for one is a definite challenge.

Army Ten Miler: Training lags behind.  Back on the stick this wee.

And now, you’re up to date without having to watch all those filler episodes with Coy and Vance.

Merrier-Weather

First G Love gig and I kinda dig the sound. Rain has moved through, and really cooled the world off. On to Mraz, earlier than I expected. Large, well behaved crowd except for the two young fifty+somethings (I kid you not) who got in a pissing match that ended with a flipping of the bird. Adults. Whatcha gonna do?

The Not-So-Merriweather

Rain in buckets at Merriweather Post to greet Jason Mraz on the opening night of the Gratitude Cafe tour. Hope he’s grateful for towels. The people on the lawn will be. Just a few minutes from G. Love and Special Sauce taking the stage. Meanwhile, back in the writing life, five chapters of the novel have been revised and there’s forward progress on chapter six. Five pieces have target markets and will be getting submitted this week. Plus, capstone research begins for the fall semester. But for now, live music!

Saturday Morning: Run

Distance: 3 miles Time: 41:28 / about 13:49/mile Summary: Good run with even pace; cool with early clouds. Ran well, measured strides, mentally in it. Never really winded = getting there. Location: Started at W&OD entry at Belmont Ridge Road. Trail passes quarry, crosses Goose Creek. Big Box turtle sunning himself on a rock in Goose Creek. People Watching Highlight: Older man riding bike wearing dockers shorts and a construction helmet for head protection. Any way it works for ya…