And Since Then...

Well, thank goodness I'm not going to be completely lame and write only two entries this month.

I went back to work on Friday. Fortunately, things are relatively sedate, so I didn't get thrown into some big crisis my first day back (which has happened before, and isn't that just a way to make you feel like you never went on vacation?). One-day weeks are a nice way to break back into work.

I've been happily getting up to speed and fixing bugs so far this week.

Okay, here's a nice little series of digressions:

Through the Keplers SF book group I've gotten to know this fellow a little better. He's cool. Too bad he lives in the freaking East Bay so I only ever see him at book groups. (Just kidding, Cliff.)

We went to dinner after the last group, and amusingly have mutually incompatible food restrictions: He keeps kosher, and I don't eat, oh, seafood, egg or cheese dishes (a taste thing, not an allergy thing). Even at Chinese, that sorts restricts what we could order together to, well, chicken, celery, number 2 pencils and depleted uranium pellets ("Is it me, or is the lemon chicken glowing?"). So we ordered separate dishes.

Cliff also writes some science fiction (I don't know whether he's published anything yet). I noted that I've written things on occasion, but I also take pains not to describe myself as "a writer" since, well, "on occasion" at this point means several years ago. I keep thinking about stuff I could write, though, but I've been stuck in a rut involving on story I haven't been able to make much progress on.

Anyway, last month I'd be turning over a premise for a different story. I generally don't discuss my ideas with anyone when I have them (again, I'd rather, like, actually demonstrate that I'm doing something with them rather than pretend that I just might do something with them someday), but something Cliff said dovetailed with the crux of my idea, so I told him about it, and he thought it sounded cool.

So while Debbi and I were in Hawaii I started outlining some of the central characters and events of the story in an old notebook I carry around with me. I made a little progress, and then Saturday at Borrone I made a whole bunch more progress.

And then tonight, I actually started writing some actual prose.

Just a little bit, but you know, it's a start.

We'll see how much more I can write.

It won't happen tomorrow, though. Because the Red Sox won the American League Wild Card last week, and tomorrow night Syd and I are going to watch them play the Oakland Athletics over in the aforementioned freaking East Bay. Pedro Martinez vs. Tim Hudson. Should be good.

Unless the Sox lose, of course. Then it will suck. Especially since Syd will be rooting for the A's.

At least the postseason got off to the right start with the Giants winning and the Yankees losing.

Debbi and I had a pretty sedate weekend. We took a little time off from each other, since we spent 8 days together and since we both had some things to do. We got together over Saturday night, though.

I pulled my coffee maker out of the garage and we brewed some of our Kona coffee. Mmm, it is good. The chocolate covered coffee beans are addictive, too. We spent Sunday morning sitting in bed reading the paper, drinking coffee and eating Krispy Kreme donuts. We even got up early to do all this. Will wonders never cease?

Other than that, I've been taking care of chores around the house, petting the cats a whole bunch, scaring my cow-orkers by wearing Hawaiian shirts to work, and shipping out some items I sold on eBay just before our trip.

Keeps me out of trouble.

Well, out of the usual trouble, anyway.