a new story. may 20th.

so i did that rtw exercise.

and just as before, i had an idea.

only instead of it taking 12 exercises, this time it only took 1.


so what i have decided to do, in an effort to stretch my comfort level and to try to write outside of my experiences, is to take a song. and essentially write the story behind it.

i've had damien rice's rootless tree stuck in my head for a full week now.

though the emotion in the song screamed things i was thinking, what the song is about is different.

so i thought i'd write the story that inspired the song.

i wrote it from a man's perspective, and tried my best to keep it as short as i could, while trying to include a lot of details that would lead to the emotions he wrote into his lyrics.


what i decided, as i started this story, is to attempt a collection of short stories. all of them based on songs i can't live without. or songs that are gestures. i want to paint the masterpiece.


in any case, i don't know if i'll succeed or fail. after giving the novel away, some feedback i got was to give stories away in chapters, so if there is a flaw, you don't have to go all the way back to the beginning. so by switching to short stories, maybe there is a way to get more feedback more quickly.


i need to get back to the novel. i'm putting it off, but i don't know why. i think because i only have a few edits. everyone else still has their copy. nate read the whole thing, but didn't edit as he went, so he's going to go back and re-read it.


that's that.


in other news, i bucked up today and went to the house to pick up my puppy daughter for some quality time at the dog park.

it was nice. it was hot and sunny, and there wasn't enough shade. we stayed for almost an hour.

ever's taking her tomorrow to get her hair and nails did, as we call it, for her birthday. her birthday is the fourth of july, but i guess they're fast-tracking it.

his birthday is in a couple weeks.

i'll be home for hers.


also, i looked up the info for the dark sky park trip i intend to take with kit.

there's one coming up in june and one in september. i think i'm going to buy a tent and try to go to both, if the one in june is awesome. i'm really excited about it. it's twenty days away!

i cannot wait to see the sky through astronomer's fancy telescopes. it will be a first for me. which is a little surprising, as into the sky as i am. i mean, i had a telescope back home when i was a teenager, but it was of the shitty variety, so i remember being in amazement of the moon, but that was really all that i could see with any detail.


what else is there?

this week at work was brutal. it was health inspection time, and i had a pop in surprise visit. once i managed to calm down from the initial panic attack i was fine. the girl was really nice, shockingly, and was joking around with me. which never happens.

but she approved our store, and i felt great. until she said she was going to see the others.

panic attack number two.

i ran ahead of her to the next store she was going to visit and made sure things were on the up and up and warned them that she'd be there soon, and to do their best.

so they did. and just like with me, she was joking around with them and didn't close the location, even though she should have, on a technicality. my employee who is 'in charge' of the location had his first vacation days in several years, so he wasn't there when she came through. oh, the timing...

so i ran to the third store, as she was on her way to the second one. panic attack number three, the worst one. i really had to tell myself to calm down, because i thought i was going to pass out. i thought, 'you're going to be of no use to anyone if you pass out right here on hamilton walk. pull it together.'

i got where i was going, and cleaned with lightning speed, and got out anything that would complicate the inspection.

sent the girl home who was working, about ten minutes before she was supposed to leave, so no one would be there when she came through.

i guess she couldn't find it, because she never showed up.

anyways... it was a narrowly escaped DISASTER.

but at the end of the day, on paper, it appeared to be a success.

so now work takes on a whole other meaning, as i dig into the next phase of the initial location. we're adding a lunch menu, complete with paninis in the next week or two. and business should double. or at least increase quite a bit.


and finally, there's scrabble.

scrabble with coffee.

keeping it simple. keeping it light.

i thought about letting him beat me the first game, so he'd play again.

but in the end, i didn't want to fake anything.

i did use some 'strategery' when i changed my picture to be one of me, from the trip home in december, that nina took. looking pretty darn smiley in front of the place where i met him. i didn't even think of that until just now. i just wanted the cute smiley pic.

the game was neck and neck. we were only ahead of each other by a few points each round. and i couldn't help but to think, 'see? it's a good matchup.'

and let my mind wander. he played 'moan'. never got those k-i-s-s tiles i wanted. or m-a-k-e-o-u-t.

but i hope he plays me again. starts a game. i don't want to instigate the next time.

it would be nice to have this as a reason to meet up with him when i go home.

'wanna play scrabs in person? i'll be home and would like a good challenge.'

not to mention, a game of scrabble, when it's a good matchup, can take up to two hours. that's a lot of time to drink a lot of things with alcohol in them, to ask little burning questions.


and for the record...

i beat him. not by much.


but i beat him with my last five tiles, and one l already on the board..


i beat him with the word 'lonely'.

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