LJ Idol, Week 1: When You Pray, Move your Feet
My wife has just returned from some very difficult work overseas; she has spent the past countless days using the brains, tenacity, and loyalty I love more than anything to protect our country and the men and women in uniform who have volunteered to risk their lives on the front lines. Together we have been re-acclimating her to our lives and our time zone. Tomorrow, we fly out west to see our families. Monday, the first entry to LJ Idol is due. This could have come at a worse time, but not by much.
The plan was simple: I would write ahead of time an introduction post (which, by the way, was awesome) and put it up on Google Docs. When the sign-in period was done and the first topic posted, I'd put it up. The second week, I'd take a bye, and the third week, I'd throw myself back in, reading as much as I could and writing up a storm to see if, this time, I could crack the top twenty-five.
But the first topic wasn't an intro post. And I found myself with thirty-six hours to write and post a new entry for which I had no ideas, clean my apartment, pack, run an ungodly amount of errands, and make up for lost time with my wife. Something had to give. I considered my priorities, and despite the thrills and fulfillment and flat-out love I've given and received from Idol, it is the least important thing on my to do list for the next six months.
I'm making excuses. I have about a dozen more. And I fucking. Hate. It. I am scared to quit, because I have done so much of it all my life, and I'm afraid this will be just one more thing I just gave up trying. At least three people have friended me on LJ so they could keep better track of my entries, and I am letting them--as well as the other people who've told me how excited they were for my engagement.
I am sorry.
One of the biggest things Idol has given me is an excuse to write, and so I'm going to Home Game as much as I can, when it doesn't interfere with my careers, my pursuit of fame (for real), and my love. I may even post home-game entries late (I had a killer idea for the Prayer/Feet topic, but no chance to transcribe it). If you're a follower of me, you'll have the inside skinny when this happens, and I look forward to entertaining you in the future. I'll also be following the game as much as possible and commenting/voting when I can.
Thank you--all of you--for everything. I'll be around, lurking, like a literary ninja.
*Edit: See comment below:
The plan was simple: I would write ahead of time an introduction post (which, by the way, was awesome) and put it up on Google Docs. When the sign-in period was done and the first topic posted, I'd put it up. The second week, I'd take a bye, and the third week, I'd throw myself back in, reading as much as I could and writing up a storm to see if, this time, I could crack the top twenty-five.
But the first topic wasn't an intro post. And I found myself with thirty-six hours to write and post a new entry for which I had no ideas, clean my apartment, pack, run an ungodly amount of errands, and make up for lost time with my wife. Something had to give. I considered my priorities, and despite the thrills and fulfillment and flat-out love I've given and received from Idol, it is the least important thing on my to do list for the next six months.
I'm making excuses. I have about a dozen more. And I fucking. Hate. It. I am scared to quit, because I have done so much of it all my life, and I'm afraid this will be just one more thing I just gave up trying. At least three people have friended me on LJ so they could keep better track of my entries, and I am letting them--as well as the other people who've told me how excited they were for my engagement.
I am sorry.
One of the biggest things Idol has given me is an excuse to write, and so I'm going to Home Game as much as I can, when it doesn't interfere with my careers, my pursuit of fame (for real), and my love. I may even post home-game entries late (I had a killer idea for the Prayer/Feet topic, but no chance to transcribe it). If you're a follower of me, you'll have the inside skinny when this happens, and I look forward to entertaining you in the future. I'll also be following the game as much as possible and commenting/voting when I can.
Thank you--all of you--for everything. I'll be around, lurking, like a literary ninja.
*Edit: See comment below: