Got quiet real fast, didn’t it?

by on October 14, 2020 at 3:06 pm
Posted In: Blog, Main

We really got to a low point when we were both sick. And the little attempts at doing bits for the If-tober prompts were frustrating and I hit a wall really fast. And then work on my end has been horrific. I think I just squeaked by on losing my job, and at the very least felt like I landed under some scrutiny that doesn’t help my anxiety at all. I do the best I can, and usually I do really well, but something I was either trained on incorrectly or that I understood wrongly (I’m not into pointing fingers so I’ll take the failing upon myself), it all added up to me feeling like I took a giant step backwards in proving myself as an asset to my company. All in all, no one treated me unfairly and, in fact, are being pretty supportive all things considered. But I’m pretty unhappy.

Granted, the high points of this job still don’t measure up to the rougher days at my last job. And that’s part of it too. I don’t want to get canned from a job that I’d rather be able to move up from. But I also don’t want to do bad work period.

Anyways, got my hair cut (finally) yesterday for the first time since I interviewed for this place over a year and a half ago. And got the beard trimmed too, which I’d been growing out since quarantine hit six or so months back. I don’t think I’ve ever had the hair on my head shorter than the hair on my face before, but I just went for it. It was due. Erin loves it. And maybe the long and short of it is that there’s a specific reason I wanted to clean up.

But I’ll talk about that another time. If anything comes of it at least.

A week and a half of not writing is a bummer. But I’m not going to give myself too much shit this time out. I had a birthday and we had our wedding anniversary and didn’t really get to enjoy either of them, so let’s call the first two weeks of October a wash and try to pick up… something.

Gaiman gets fixed tomorrow. Talk about a metaphor…

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Today’s prompt was “claws.”

by on October 3, 2020 at 9:38 pm
Posted In: Blog, Main

This was a particularly hard word to run with. I had assumed I’d do something with the d20 characters again, or anything with Wolfie or alternate versions of her (from the X-Men days or even the stuff with Talia in Colin and Syl) because a werewolf would be a pretty straightforward jumping off point.

This lead me to read through some of my old stuff. Unfinished stuff. Some of it a lot more unfinished than I’d realized. I assumed I’d written a lot more of of the projects than I guess I ever had. But, after opening about a half dozen projects and giving myself an excuse to not write at all, I finally got the better of myself and found a back way into this. Ted Fucking Nugent. I am not proud of this, but at least I got to talk about how much I despise that song. Even ignoring the guy as he’s been for the last ten or more years in a political sense, his music was never really to my tastes. Except for Damn Yankees. And that’s really more about Shaw and Blades. I guess it’s like Vinnie Vincent Invasion. I listened to their second album so much, but it was almost all Mark and Dana and I was more than happy to follow them over to Slaughter and never listen to anything by Vinnie again. Oh, and Bobby Rock I think became the drummer for Nelson. I did really like the hell out of Nelson. One of the best live shows I’ve ever seen.

Washington is right though. Classic Rock stations in general leave a lot to be desired.

I’ve been coughing most of today (as well as my usual sneezing fit that happens when I come up here at night. Don’t know what’s up with that). Erin’s symptoms and mine don’t seem to totally match, but who knows. I’m hopeful that it’s just seasonal allergies. For the both of us, but for me it’s pretty likely. Even a fall cold seems possible. If it’s anything worse, I guess we’ll just deal with it. I’m in pretty horrible shape, I would likely take to this thing in a bad, bad way. But that’s on me. I don’t take care of myself. But had to cancel dinner with the family on Wednesday just to be safe, and that’s one of the only things I look forward to right now. So a little bummed. But an excuse to go cuddle up in bed isn’t anything I’ll complain too loudly about.

I mean… yeah. I’m gonna complain. That’s my thing.

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If-Tober #3 – Claws

by on October 3, 2020 at 9:25 pm
Posted In: Main, Stories

“Why do you gotta play this crap,” Detective Washington said to Officer Barras. “This same crap every time we’re in the car.”

“Not my fault you don’t like Nugent, man. Or rock.”

Washington rolled down the window an inch. It had been raining earlier and the city’s streets were wet as they drove through, but the smell was better than how the city usually smelled. And even the city was better than the smell in Barras’s squad car.

“I like rock fine. But this… what’s the point of this song? It’s just gross. He’s just talking about these girls and their… It’s gross.”

“Cat Scratch Fever is a classic.”

“To you maybe. Maybe because you’re from Detroit.”

“It’s a classic out here too. Why else would they be playing it on the classic rock station?”

“Whoever chose the 40 songs or so that make up the playlist on every classic rock station owes all of music an apology.”

Barras turned on 4th. “So you think this guy… the doctor… You think, what? He killed some people?”

Washington had no idea. He had the word of a scared little boy in a hospital. A little boy who knew things he shouldn’t have known. Couldn’t have known.

“I don’t think anything. I just gotta check him out.” He reached in his pocket and felt the package of gummy worms he had bought for his daughter. He thought about her, and about his wife, and how if this kid, Ronnie, was able to do the things he said he could do. What he’s already showed him he could do. How was he ever going to be able to keep this from them? Everything he knew about the world would be turned on its head.

“It’s not usually out beat to take on a cold case like this is what I’m saying, “Barras continued.

“You want me to get another partner on this, Mac? Is that what you’re asking?”

“No, no…” Barras kept driving. “I’m not saying I don’t want to. It’s just not normally our thing.”

Washington rolled the window back up as the rain started again. The drizzle came down the windshield, Barras had to put the wipers on, and then adjusted them to high.

“You know, Mac. I agree. There is nothing normal about this one.”

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