Too Frakked To Think Of A Title

Sam Weber: So how's your life?
Karen: Oh, great. How's yours?
Sam Weber: Not so great.
Karen: Ohhh, we're telling the truth. 

-from the movie "The Big Chill"

Hello my lovelies!  And how are we all this fine and glorious day?

Just to give you a heads up, it's around 4:30am when I'm starting this so that should give you some indication of how *I* am.

Yes.  Insomnia has been one fickle, torturous bitch that has been bullying me a lot more lately (and winning).  The other day, I didn't get to sleep until about noon.  The day after that?  Maybe between 10am and 11am.  Most days I get tired enough to sleep anywhere between 2am to 7am, but then housemates start to get up and make noise, the dogs bark, phones ring...

It would lovely and ideal if I could sleep at roughly a regular time every night and be awesomely functional with 3-5 hours of sleep... which I can (if kept busy).  The moment I stop or sit down?  Stick a fork in me cuz I be done!

There are other things aside from insomnia (which are most definitely aiding the evil wench in her mission to make me a sleepless zombie) that are happening/have happened that have not kept me in the best of moods and mindsets (drama betwixt my friends, failures in establishing occupational/financial bliss, potential car issues, deaths of loved ones, etc) leaving me a bit of an emotional weirdo, but I won't get into those because they are forever in my heart and mind and so talking about it on my writing bloggy blog won't really make a lick of sense.

But I could always use those feelings in my writing.

Anyway... on to the status of where I'm at presently with April's story blogs (in no particular order):

• Nedea is on part twelve.
• Tales of the Unemployed and Unloved is on part eight.
• Della is on part six.
• The Strange Adventures of Princess Blue is on part twenty-three.
• Stoically Challenged gets another homework assignment completed at the same time Kearie gets another installment with "Fever Dream".

So that makes six story blog updates, leaving (checks notes) eight blogs to update (nine if you count the Wheels-O-Wonder one I've been lagging on).

And by "lagging", I mean "completely stuck and have no idea how to fix it".

And none of those stories include the story that I'm trying to write for my friend Chris M,

LOL!  And my friend Tammie B. asked me to write her something.

Oh yeah... and I'm thinking about participating in a 100 Things Blogging Challenge on a different site I'm also on.  The basic premise is: 1. Pick a Thing.
and then... 2. Commit to blog about it 100 times.  (Problem is, I can't seem to think of a "thing" to blog about.

So much to do.  So little time.  (Even less sanity.)

Oh!  Oh!  Oh!  The coolest thing happened recently. 

What's that Rae?  Tell me more.

Well, I'll tell you!

The other day I was surfing my Twitter (Did that sound dirty to anyone else or just me?) when low and behold I found this little gem in my mentions (Again... dirty or just me?):

http://www.displacedkorean.com/

First I saw the "found an awesome blog" bit and was wondering how this concerned me.  Then I got to the web address, and my eyes about popped out of my head.  I must have reread the tweet a hundred times.  I was just filled with glee because...

• someone mentioned me on their account (of their own free will)
• they said my blog was awesome
• they said I was funny

Now I've used the words "awesome" and "funny" in jest when in reference to myself, but someone else thinking so?  That's just cool!

I haven't been this happy since Scheherazade K. expressed an interest in reading my work (nothing scary, violent or creepy since she doesn't dig that sort of thing which sucks since that is my sort of thing... sort of), and I let her read Clothes Make the Memory... and she cried.  I remember being torn since I wanted to hug my friend and comfort her since she was crying, but then was proud and ecstatic that something *I* wrote could evoke that kind of reaction.  I've been told to make someone laugh is one thing, but to make them cry is a greater accomplishment.

But that's my fiction we're talking about there.  What my pal Joshua from the above tweet is referencing is non-fiction.  (And as it is, I still need to find something to review for this month.)

Wonder how he came across my blog...

In any case, he's supporting me so I'll support him.  All the information is listed above in the tweet and caption.  Stop by his sites and say howdy! 

Ahhh, the sound of birds in the morning.  Sounds almost like the victorious banshee cries of insomnia winning again.  (Curses! and Drat! and all other sorts of exclamations of the pissed off variety.)

It's 6:30am, and I suppose I should sign off for now.  My last update was on the 3rd.  It's only been 13 days until this one.  I've stopped posting individual notices of when I've finished an story blog update and have just included them in my main blog posts.  In doing that, a part of me doesn't want to write a blog post if I don't have anything to show for it (meaning I haven't really written anything save the blog post).  Hopefully my writing mojo will kick back into gear and make it so I update more often.

We shall see.

Until then, I'll keep muddling through.

But for now... I shall sleep (or at least try to).

Later my lovelies!

Have Goodness!
Rae

Aspiring Writer In Search of Her Mojo

"What am I supposed to do with this time?
If there's so many holes, I stay afloat
But I feel out of control
So petrified, I'm petrified"

-from the Maroon 5 "Runaway"

I am currently sitting in my room watching/listening to the Geek and Sundry YouTube show TableTop as Wil Wheaton discusses and plays the game Smallworld (which I don't think any of my friends own).  I should be sleeping... or trying to... but my mind is all over the place so I'm just chillin' with my kitty cuddled up next to me as the Smallworld game plays... which totally reminds me of when me and my friends play games.

Kevan F. and Greg L.  I still made longest road.

Chris C.  I still beat you in Combat Mission that one time.

LOL!  Okay, enough with my game winning highlights (which really aren't that many) and back to writing... stuff.

Over the weekend, I had a rather busy time which led to not much writing.  Sad, I know... but I thought about it.

Thursday a friend (Oscar B.) was in town for work, and he chilled with Kathy W., Geoff T., Alison T., and Steve C. for Dusty's World and a little socializing.  I played bartender (rum and cokes for everyone!!!) and Geoff T. made burritos (of which I survived mine from Mr. Spicy Pants).  I also helped him acquire The Hunger Games trilogy (in ebook form) since apparently when I press the "purchase" button on his iPad, it listens to me.

I got the touch!  I got the power!

The Transformers: The Movie?  Anyone?

Since I don't see Oscar B. a lot, I stayed rather late which means I went home late.  I set my alarm for 8am since I was helping a friend move the next day, and the appointed time was 9am.  I think I got home between 2am and 3am and awoke a few hours later to the elderly gentleman my landlady takes care of (who lives with us) barking back at the dogs.

Yeah.  You heard me.  Barking.

There's one dog that barks at EVERYTHING, and the other two just follow suit when they're bored.  When they bark at him, he usually talks sweetly to them or say "Ruff-ruff to you, too" or something like that.

This particular morning it was like he was a werewolf in heat and was baying at the moon... but I was so frakkin tired, I laid curled up in bed, not moving, quietly plotting his demise. 

Eventually my landlady woke up and bolted out of her room trying to figure out what was going on, and from what I could tell from my sleepy state was that her husband (who sounded like he was in the living room where this seemed to be taking place) said it was the elderly dude, and I thought If you were there and heard him, you should have told him to shut his yap since it was early and people were SLEEPING!!!  But since I wasn't there, I have no idea what really went on.  Nevertheless, I got up, showered, pounded down the energy drink in my car, and headed out for moving day (to which I brought donuts).

Friday was also the day cat duty started.  My friends Jim G. and Leah G. left out of state for the weekend for Jim's mom's funeral (RIP Joyce), and they asked me to take care of their cats while they were away.  (Taking care = feed all four and give insulin shot to one.)  I have a key to their place, and when they're not going to be home due to being out of town or whatever, I am welcome to escape the crazy which is where I live and chillax at their place and write, watch TV, or just simply enjoy the silence.

I kind of like taking care of their cats when they're gone.  I love the peace and quiet... accompanied by the occasional kitty mewing.  Getting out of my house every once in a while is always a blessing.  Going to their place, even if I don't write (although the atmosphere is good for it), is calming.

Sometimes you just need to be alone.

So I bailed on the latter half of moving (which was just cleaning, I think) and headed for cat duty.  By the time we finished a late lunch at Denny's, it was end of day commuter traffic, and I would have had to head back as soon as I got there anyway. 

I got to Jim and Leah's roughly an hour early.  I set up the minibook on the coffeetable, turned on the coffeemaker, and got ready to watch some DVR'd Justified.  (Love that show!)

After one episode (there were two I never got to), I sat alone at the coffeetable before the TV drinking coffee and listening to music (and singing a little bit) and tried to write... and came up with nothing.

It seems my writing juju is in a state of flux.

Let's do the update before I continue my tale of woe (aka no writing).

My "March" monthly writing is done (for the most part).  Here's an update...

• Penelope is now at part nine with We've Picked Up A Stray
• Kearie is also now at part nine with Unconscious Recollection
• Kai's story in Lost and Found is now at part eleven

Also...

• The Strange Adventures of Princess Blue are now at twenty-two since I felt inspired to write a little something extra after Kathy W. said she was caught up and wanted more. 
• In Everything At Least Once, I wrote about Lychee Pocky and Chewy Extinguisher Sour Citrus Candy.

In all honesty I haven't touched my "Pol" story in a while.  (I know.  Bad writer... no biscuit.)  I've been trying to work on my story for my friend Chris M.  The premise is simple enough, but my brain keeps reworking it so when I go back to what I've written (which usually isn't much), I look at it and think, "No no no" and do something else.  Granted, I've kept whatever I have written, but still it's frustrating.

"Pol" hasn't made a peep which bothers me.  Maybe he's just chillin', waiting his turn like a good little boy.  I have to say that I actually appreciate that since usually when I'm trying to work on stuff, other ideas cruise into my mind distracting me from the story I'm trying to tell at that particular moment.

Sometimes the kids cry for attention all at once.  So many kids, but only one me... and (weight jokes aside) there isn't enough of me to go around.

I went home Friday night after watching the one episode of Justified and the latest episode of Grimm (I swear to gawd, he better tell her in the next episode or else... ugh!)  I left my stuff there since I had hoped to do some writing when I got there.  I set my alarm to get up in time to feed kitties (meds need to be administered every 12 hours and that specific kitty needs to eat first).  So again after a little more sleep - albeit restless - I get up, freshen up and head on over.  I feed the kitties, shoot the one while she's noshing at her bowl, and then hunker down with a cup of coffee and a snack while I watch some TV.  I turn on the minibook in hopes that the Muses will be kind and help with something.  I had meadery plans with John S. which were followed by sushi plans after which turned into an impromptu visit with Jessie F. and Dawn S.  The original plan of writing the night away quickly change.  I went back to the condo to take care of the cats and then headed out to meet the girls.  John S. beat me there. 

We hung out for a little bit and then left when people couldn't keep their eyes open.  John S. got called into work for a few hours to cover someone's shift and headed home for a quick nap.  I headed back to the condo and figured I'd just stay the night so I'd be there to take care of the cats in the morning (since Jim and Leah were going to be home around 11am to noon.

I made a cup of coffee, snacked on some chips, did my taxes, toasted a couple of bagels (one with cream cheese, the other with peanut butter).  I did a little writing on my Chris M. story so that something.  A scene from one of my novels wanted out of my head so I jotted down a little bit of that.

I started to get a little fidgety so I paced about the condo.  I packed my writing bag, organized my tax paperwork, printed out the two pages of story bits that I had, shut off the computer, the lights in the office, rinsed all the dishes and put them in the dishwasher, checked the message that I left for them on their dry erase board (which in a spontaneous spur of the moment kind of thing I made look like a Draw Something game), took care of the cats, and headed home where I closed my bedroom door to the rest of the world, stripped, crawled under the covers, and died for as long as sleep would take me.

And everyday, I felt gradually worse and worse since powerloss started Thursday night.  I just wanted to curl up and die, but no... I had stuff to do.

I hate it.  Every month without fail not only is there one day that feels like someone is beating me about the midsection with a bat the size of Texas, but I also now feel completely depleted of any energy or will to live.  I lay in bed like a pill bug scared and curled into a tiny ball praying to any deity that'll listen and make the pain stop.

And don't get me started on the nausea and sore tits.  Ugh! 

So  yeah... I didn't do much writing this weekend.  Hell, I'd made a go at this post once or twice and guess what?  Fail time!

But here's this post.  Done WAY later than when I started it, but hey... at least it was started and done on the same day so that's something at least.  I did some writing today while at the bookstore killing time before dinner/TV show plans with Jim and Leah (Game of Thrones and Castle). 

And by "some", I mean "very little".

And the "very little" I wrote makes me unhappy.

Then again, I'm my own worst critic.

But I'm hopeful I'll get SOMETHING done this week.

(Muses?  You around?  You like chocolate?  How about beer?)

Later my lovelies!

Have Goodness!
Rae