Writing more often
I was talking with an old friend from Toronto the other day who has always kept an eye on where I am in life. She had kind words for my fall from Waterloo and my goofing up things at large. She encouraged Anna and myself when we considered working on a comic together. She is also decent at kicking my ass. We went to nerd camp together (I hope she forgives me for calling it that) and thus have a connection that is at least somewhat connected to getting shit done.
She has challenged me. The post she offered was a reply to my last LJ entry but I will cut and paste it right here.
>>
Here's your next assignment: write a story about a breakup that will make me.. err... people.. laugh, cry, think, and eventually be glad the bastard's gone. You are not allowed to suck 500 words from the world's written language, which will actually happen if you don't get this thing done.
And here's the stakes: if you don't get this done, I will cry.
You have until March 15th.
>>
The "suck 500 words" is a reference to the fact that I would make it 1500 words long, +/- 2000. Just to cover all the bases. She is sneaky.
So - that is that. It will be tough as I may be staying a bit longer at the current job (since Parliament has limited hours if any available to me in April.) and I need to focus on my class too. But look at me! Making excuses. So I will get it done. Guess what, it is open season in 2 ways. 1. You can all smack me around if I miss this deadline.
Even better: 2. You can all give me something else to write about. This was Anna's idea. I asked for inspiration and direction before (making me one of those "I want to write but I don't know what about" folks that I really wanted to avoid becoming) but I should have clarified. I need small stuff. Not something with characters and plot and all that - if you guys could offer me that, you should be writing yourselves. But instead, asking for a short story of any sort ... would be real nice. I want to dive in and churning out something for friends would be fantastic.
Please let me know.
Beyond that ... life is scary but good. My reasons for leaving work were to have more time, energy, to get healthier and focus on home, school and more interesting work. I made the decision in November and gave my notice in January ... but I am still here and may be for a while longer. Boo. I lost some of the weight I had put on but I still feel sluggish as well as pessimistic a lot of the time. This transition won't be fun as I'll be trying to be a healthier happy person right as I start running out of money.
But in a sense I've been on a degree of cruise control lately and working towards improving ... well ... everything is a cause I can get behind.
Kingston Fog is ramping up for a lot of shows. I feel great about that. Rick, our lead, is a bit stressed as he hates work more than I do, and I hope it doesn't affect the band. We struggle to practice regularly and to find a meeting point for our ideas and sounds. I hope we find our groove this summer and Rick gets happier.
Anna is working a bit too hard. She needs a break too. More time outside, relaxing and living in ways that don't involve school or work so much. Our house at large feels a bit bogged down.
But yeah. Erm ... watched a great Tony Jaa movie about elephants. That was nice. He kicks people very hard. Being a stuntman for him is possibly the worst job ever.
Ok, done.
She has challenged me. The post she offered was a reply to my last LJ entry but I will cut and paste it right here.
>>
Here's your next assignment: write a story about a breakup that will make me.. err... people.. laugh, cry, think, and eventually be glad the bastard's gone. You are not allowed to suck 500 words from the world's written language, which will actually happen if you don't get this thing done.
And here's the stakes: if you don't get this done, I will cry.
You have until March 15th.
>>
The "suck 500 words" is a reference to the fact that I would make it 1500 words long, +/- 2000. Just to cover all the bases. She is sneaky.
So - that is that. It will be tough as I may be staying a bit longer at the current job (since Parliament has limited hours if any available to me in April.) and I need to focus on my class too. But look at me! Making excuses. So I will get it done. Guess what, it is open season in 2 ways. 1. You can all smack me around if I miss this deadline.
Even better: 2. You can all give me something else to write about. This was Anna's idea. I asked for inspiration and direction before (making me one of those "I want to write but I don't know what about" folks that I really wanted to avoid becoming) but I should have clarified. I need small stuff. Not something with characters and plot and all that - if you guys could offer me that, you should be writing yourselves. But instead, asking for a short story of any sort ... would be real nice. I want to dive in and churning out something for friends would be fantastic.
Please let me know.
Beyond that ... life is scary but good. My reasons for leaving work were to have more time, energy, to get healthier and focus on home, school and more interesting work. I made the decision in November and gave my notice in January ... but I am still here and may be for a while longer. Boo. I lost some of the weight I had put on but I still feel sluggish as well as pessimistic a lot of the time. This transition won't be fun as I'll be trying to be a healthier happy person right as I start running out of money.
But in a sense I've been on a degree of cruise control lately and working towards improving ... well ... everything is a cause I can get behind.
Kingston Fog is ramping up for a lot of shows. I feel great about that. Rick, our lead, is a bit stressed as he hates work more than I do, and I hope it doesn't affect the band. We struggle to practice regularly and to find a meeting point for our ideas and sounds. I hope we find our groove this summer and Rick gets happier.
Anna is working a bit too hard. She needs a break too. More time outside, relaxing and living in ways that don't involve school or work so much. Our house at large feels a bit bogged down.
But yeah. Erm ... watched a great Tony Jaa movie about elephants. That was nice. He kicks people very hard. Being a stuntman for him is possibly the worst job ever.
Ok, done.