[Write the Story] Follow the Main Character Through a Day with NO Dialog or Direct Interactions
3/5 — only two left of this project. This is coming out a little early because… vacation. Whee!
Prompt: Follow the Main Character Through a Day with No Dialog or Direct Interaction
Words: sociopath, buzz, mend, geyser, awl, consent, diner, second-hand, vice, wane
Story
Daveed wiped the awl clean and hung it in its place above the vice. Everything clean and orderly, which calmed the buzz in his brain. The geyser of chaos was turned off at the source.
His doorbell chime startled him only until he checked the time. His meal was right on time. The diner down the street knew him. They didn’t disappoint. He set the table with second-hand dishes and cutlery. He very precisely set the food on the plate.
After eating, he methodically cleaned up the food and gathered the garbage He took the bags through the back alleys to a dumpster he had consent to use. Only a sociopath would leave refuse in his own home, right?
He returned home, noticing a small tear in the back curtain he needed to mend. No sense giving anyone undue access. His business was his. He’d worked hard to make sure any curiosity by neighbors had waned.
As darkness fell, he could relax a bit. He chose the area for the quiet. He lived for it. The streets were empty. Everyone in their homes. He could breathe now. This was his time, and it was time to make full use of it.
Word Count: 201
Written: 11/16-17/2021
[Write the Story] Old Friends Meet Over Coffee
Prompt: Old Friends Meet Over Coffee
Words: Algonquin, amazement, elm, tobacco, hiss, digress, echo, immense, quiet, opaque
Story
“How’d you find this place?” Sharon had to raise her voice over the hiss of the espresso machine.
“The Algonquin Coffee Company was on the Bucket List Top 10.” Rachel handed Sharon a bowl sized mug of frothy coffee goodness. “Follow me.”
The two wove their way through the immense coffeehouse built as a geodesic dome. The echo in the place rattled Sharon’s teeth. She breathed a sigh of relief which turned into a gasp of amazement as they headed out into a lush garden patio. They settled at a table under a mature elm. Sharon took a moment to luxuriate in the natural quiet.
“So, how are you, Rachel, it’s been what – five years?”
“Something like that. I think you’ll enjoy the latte. The milk smooths out some of the tobacco notes in the Sulewesi. And they brew it to be opaque in the cup, so it’s go some punch.”
“But you digress.” Sharon sipped the coffee. It was all Rachel said it would be.
“Do you remember the last time we met up?” Rachel sounded timid, hesitant.
“Never forget it, but five years of therapy means I don’t think about it all the time anymore. Why?”
Rachel met Sharon’s gaze, it was a haunted expression. “He’s back. He’s been trying to get in touch.”
“What? No! He’s gone! There’s no way.”
“Hello, ladies. Enjoying the coffee?”
And just like that. All Sharon’s therapy went out the window.
Word Count: 239
Written: 11/7/2021
[Write the Story] Retired Veterans Telling Their War Stories
I’m getting back to it. There are only 4 more exercises after this one. I am going to finish this project this year! I am going to.
Prompt: Retired Veterans Telling Their War Stories
Words: internment, fret, kneel, fasten, drizzle, nursery, abundantly, scarce, discourteous, grant
Story
“…We had to do everything we could to protect the nursery…”
“Flynn, we’ve heard this story a thousand times.” Jane let the last of the wind bottle drizzle into her glass. “Grant me strength.”
Flynn glared at her. “So that’s a reason to be discourteous?”
“Hey, now. We’ve made it abundantly clear that this group is a safe place. If Flynn needs to tell his story more than once, we accept that. Jane, if you need wine to face your demons, we accept that, too.”
Jane drained her glass. “Okay, Sarge, I got it. Sorry, Flynn. I was a jerk.”
“Don’t fret Jane. I know my story is just one in the War Against the Virus. Who knew we’d live to be retired old goats? Where were you?” Flynn seemed sincere.
Jane’s eyes glazed. “Internment Camp Delta. At the end, when medicine was scarce. I saw…things…I don’t like to remember.”
Sarge came to kneel before her. “You have to, Jane. It’s the only way.”
Before Jane could answer, there was a loud bang, a crash, and a high keening sound. Sarge leapt to their feet. “Make sure the windows are fastened. Block the doors. You may have all retired, but the war has come back to our doorsteps. We’re back in the fire now.”
They all scattered to follow orders.
Word Count: 220
Written: 11/3/2021
[Pen/Pencil Review] Sort of… Bic Sugar Skull 4-Color Ballpoint
Happy Dia de los Muertos to those who celebrate. This isn’t a for-real pen review blog. It’s an “I’m not dead yet” pen blog – on an appropriate day for that.
Today, as I was sorting through some stuff, I found this – a vintage 4-Color Bic Ballpoint pen in a Sugar Skull pattern that was part of a batch we got from a pen collector Jimmy know – George Fox, I believe, from Kileen. If I had remembered earlier that I had this, I would’ve been using it all last week.
I’ve started working on an edit/re-read of a project. I have some plot bunnies. The mojo is slowly seeping back in.
I also have an appointment to get a steroid shot in my neck tomorrow – because I don’t have carpal tunnel, I have squished discs in my neck – physical therapy (a lot of the same exercises and the same therapist as with my shoulder), and this shot coming up. Seriously, forget my car — where’s my extended warranty on MY BODY? Jiminy… though this is probably a cumulative effect of some car accidents I had back in the 1990s and decades of not having insurance. The Adulting is REAL, folks!!!!
I’ll be reaching my out of pocket on insurance tomorrow. Kinda wondering what else I can go get checked out.
So, finding the Dia de los Muertos pen again, bonus. It feels appropriate. Here’s hoping this is just the beginning of getting all the mojo back and getting all my crap back on track.
If you’re sticking with me, thanks. Seriously. But hey, look, it’s a blog post!
[Life] Update 2: Can I Be Real A Second?
Let down my guard and tell you how I feel a second?
Yeah, there’s not going to be any pen or short story blogs until October earliest. It’s not a good time or place right now.
Loki is declining. He’s in pain and having difficulty walking. He can’t put weight on his right, front paw. His breathing is labored more than I want to admit. He tries to be normal – wants to go on walkies and such, but he’s really slow. He can’t go far. He’s not eating as much anymore – we’re hiding his pills in gooshy food. He doesn’t jump up when we move (which he’s done since he was a puppy). We think we have about a week left with him. It’s so not an easy decision. It breaks my heart. I’m totally not ready to say goodbye. There will be little time to grieve.
FenCon is in two weeks. And now it’s just a train speeding down the track. I’m not so much as co-guiding it as hoping it doesn’t crash in a fiery ball of chaos. We have had people cancel (no harm, no foul) due to the pandemic. We may have some out-of-staters not come because of recent political decisions that half our state doesn’t agree with (no blame there). Not sure how this is going to turn out. Hoping, for my part, I’ve made good decisions. It’s been a long haul on this one. Looking forward to being “just” a division head and author guest.
We don’t have a dog sitter for Freya – and it’s going to be weird anyway because she’s never been an “only dog”. Fortunately, I am working from home for the most part so I’ll have next week and most of the week after to be home with them before and…after.
The pandemic continues to wreak havoc on EVERYTHING. Breakthrough infections. Our area is less than 60% fully vaccinated. My day job continues to be sucked into the vortex of this, hurricane season, and September being National Preparedness Month. Everyone expects my department to have all the answers to everything. But we have some new team members, so that’ll be good. Planning some time off in the next few months, so hopefully I can make brain space. So PLEASE???? PLEASE, get vaccinated. Please, wear a mask when you’re in a public place.
I started a weight loss program (yes, in the middle of chaos and stress) with one of my doctors and fired him from that last weekend because I could NOT do what he was prescribing. I went to him to begin with to make sure I didn’t have a medical reason for putting on weight (and I could’ve – one of the meds I was taking, which has been changed, can cause weight gain). I don’t. But his response and the dietician he sent me to was a super strict, restrictive, 1200 calorie/day almost no carb diet that made me cry more than once. I tried to tell them and explain my life — the answer? Carry a protein bar with you (and oh, not that one you picked, that’s bad). Um… fired. I have a complicated family history and relationship with food and this was going to put me over into disorder.
There were some good tools. I’m keeping those – kind of like with writing advice. Seeing some results. But mostly I’m not obsessing over when/what/how I can eat — which was what was making me cry and freaking me out. Trying to train myself away from judgement words. “Oh I was ‘good’ at lunch.” Or, “Oh, that was a ‘bad’ choice”. Stupid societal constructs. I have a calorie goal RANGE (and it’s not 1200).
So this is me. Raw. Uncensored. Struggling still. Hoping to see a tunnel light soon that’s not another train. Hoping I’m making all the right decisions, but probably not.
[Life] I’m Struggling
As you may have noticed, things have been quiet around here. That’s because I’m struggling. Yes, I realize that everything I’m about to mention is a First World Problem. Yes, I realize that many people have it way worse than me. Guess what? My struggles are mine, and I’m not competing with anyone else. My therapist “diagnosed” me with “Too Many Squirrels on My Plate”.
If you’ve wondered where my pen blogs and fiction blogs are? Well, I have no spoons for writing right now. My Day Job (yes, that I’m terribly grateful for) is ramping back up because of Delta Variant and Hurricane Season. We have not had a break in two years – I know because I’m the person who tells those stories. So, if you want to see me write more fiction and be more active here or in the fandom realm? Get vaccinated, mask up, social distance, and wash your hands. Just thinking about this virus and the politics around it makes me want to cry.
Lots of things make me want to cry right now. I’m making use of my shoulder surgery putting me near Insurance Out of Pocket to get some other things checked out. Including the *4* things wrong with my hands and wrists. Two of the things I can’t do anything about without major invasive surgery that the ortho doc doesn’t want to do (neither do I). Still waiting to be scheduled for my EMG (which I didn’t even know was a thing) to find out the extent of the carpal tunnel syndrome and what that treatment will entail.
REALLY should’ve gotten the Extended Warranty on my body…
Decided to do something about weight. Talked to my one doc that does that–and tried to communicate some of the challenges I have with the psychology behind weight loss. It was pretty much ignored. I meet with a dietician in about 10 days to see how to meet the doc wants that I cannot do on my own – because I’ve been trying for the last 10 days. Last week I sent my therapist a huge email about the stress I’m under about this decision.
I’m doing this even though my blood work is just fine – all in normal ranges. My blood pressure is under control. My metabolism is fine/no pre-diabetes or insulin resistance. I just don’t like the numbers on the scale. Because I’m using words like “fault” and “guilt” and freaking out over everything I eat because it all has to be tracked, journaled, and judged by someone else. I’ve already had at least one instance of “There’s no good food choice to make here, so maybe I just won’t eat” — which is NOT a good food choice.
FenCon is gearing up – and people are starting to cancel and we still have a lot of unknowns because County Judges and Governors are fighting over masks and mandates. Texas is a “personal responsibility” state. We have to move forward like it’s going to go on. We have every intention of moving forward and walking the line between caution and fun. There will be people unhappy no matter what we do. That’s just an underlying constant hum of stress.
So, I’m walking a line of exhaustion and emotional breakdown — so PLEASE, please be careful poking this bear. The Spoon Drawer is now to those tiny fancy teaspoons that no one ever really uses unless you do fancy English High Tea, and they don’t hold much.
[Write the Story] The Closing Arguments of a Big Case
Prompt: The Closing Arguments of a Big Case
Words: courtroom, wheelhouse, catapult, emit, clamp, peanut, ticket, vapor, thimble, decree
Story
“Closing arguments will begin immediately after lunch. One p.m. Everyone be ready. There will be no delays.”
The judge’s decree echoed over and over in my mind as I hovered near my boss, the ADA on the biggest criminal case in the city. She was frantically trying to squash anaphylactic shock from a peanut allergy. The EMTs were on their way.
“Get…courtroom. Go now.” She pushed her notes and bag at me. “Closing. Your wheelhouse. Go.”
I grabbed everything and ran, trying to clamp down on fear and panic. She was so good about not encountering her allergies. This was too convenient. I couldn’t let her down.
“Where is your boss?”
I told the judge the short version, keeping an eye on the defendant. “But I am ready to proceed on the County’s behalf.” The smug hope dissipated like vapor. This was it. I would catapult my way to a promotion or the unemployment line.
“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am going to show how the defendant used a laser light to emit a beam to disable a security camera and a thimble to break into the case to steal millions. It was a plot worthy of a prime time movie ticket. But we have proof beyond reasonable doubt. You will have ample reason to come back with a guilty verdict. Let’s begin…”
Word Count: 224
Written: 7/11/2021
[Write the Story] Nerds in a Heated Argument
Prompt: Nerds in a Heated Argument
Words: tesseract, synthesis, padawan, icebreaker, chomp, decipher, utility, keepsake, slush, croak
Story
“Here.” Buzz put a blue raspberry slush down in front of Tao. “Don’t want your sugar levels tanking. We have a long night ahead.”
“I can’t believe I’m even here.” Tao’s voice was little more than a croak.
Buzz took a chomp out of a candy bar. “Because, padawan, you are a great utility player, and you lost the bet.”
With that, they pushed through the tournament hotel doors. The pre-game icebreaker mixer wrapped up behind them.
“There! Tesseract!” Buzz pulled Tao in a direction.
“No! Keepsake Bonsai. It’s a much better game.”
The two bickered back and forth other the better game as the crowd thinned out.
“Hey! You two! Knock it off!”
Tao and buzz stopped and stared. A young woman with fists balled on her hips glared at them. “If you’re going to fight over a game, do it better. Logic and reason. Objective point. Something that doesn’t need a genius to decipher as a ‘is not/is too’ ad hominem argument. Besides everyone know the best table top game in Synthesis.”
That triggered Buzz and Tao. They both immediately jumpedinot the fray with the girl, who’s name they didn’t bother to get but the next half hour of snark led to hours of game play of each game trying to figure out who was right.
Word Count: 218
Written: 7/1/2021
[Write the Story] Scientists are Never Off Duty
Prompt: Scientists are Never Off Duty
Words: fossil, reactor, sage, hell, gluten, devour, fig, landmine, babble, New Year
Story
“Are you sure this is gluten free?” Elena gestured with her fork. “Because if it’s not, my gut will turn into a landmine in just a few hours.”
The waiter balked a bit before putting down the plate of fig and sage coated salmon. “Absolutely sure, ma’am. Enjoy your meal and Happy New Year.”
Lou smirked as he started to devour his own meal. “You do that just to freak them out.”
“Not true…completely.” Elena dug into her fish. “Celiac is not to be trifled with. It really is hell on the gut.”
They ate amiably amid the holiday babble in the restaurant. Lou paused a moment. “Did he say it was New Years?”
“Is it? Yah, I guess it is.” Elena frowned a moment. “Guess that’s why the wait was so long for the table.”
“How did we miss a major holiday?”
“We’re super close to bringing the Fossil Ridge reactor on line. The first new generation thorium reactor is being unveiled. We did it, Lou.”
“That’s something to celebrate.” Lou lifted his glass. The light refracted off the glass.
Elena’s eyes narrowed then widened. “Oh my gosh! Refraction. That’s what we’ve been missing. Come on, Lou! We have to get back! I think I have it! The answer to that last question. Let’s go!”
Word Count: 216
Written: 6/24/2021
[Personal] Updating Status
So yeah, it does seem like I have dropped off the face of the blog. And I did. I’m six weeks out of shoulder surgery and in well into physical therapy. It still aches. PT is not fun but necessary. I’ll be weak on the right arm for a while. I call the arthroscopic scars my “crop circle” on some days, Scarhenge on others.
The Day Job is still the Day Job, but it’s going back to topics other than the pandemic. There’s part of my brain that can’t comprehend an end to the pandemic — even though we’re FAR, FAR from the end. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I just finished a draft of a presentation documenting all the things we’ve dealt with for the last two years. It’s 45 slides long, not nearly detailed, and it ate my brain.
FenCon is ramping up. We’re having it. It’s been dramatic trying to figure out “should we/shouldn’t we” and how to make it all work out. Thank goodness I have a co-chair. Sarah’s the BEST. But that’s taking up so many spoons and will only get more demanding.
I’ve been writing a little when I have the spoons. But it’s kind of been a rewriting scenario. New content and new material hasn’t been happening. I feel it coming back, but I will fully admit to have hit a low I haven’t felt in a long time. It’s been a long 2 years. Thank goodness I have a therapist to talk to because it’s the only way I’ve gotten through this.
I am hoping as I physically heal, I’ll also get my mojo back.