Category: Alabama

Bend Me Shape Me

 

In a couple of hours, I’ll be on the road to Montgomery, Alabama, for the Alabama Book Festival. The route takes me on I-10 East to Mobile, where I will then get on I-65 north all the way to Montgomery. It’s a lovely drive, if gas stations and places to eat and rest stops are a bit on the sparse side, and I am going to drive leisurely. I’ve decided to make that detour on Chef Menteur Highway over the Rigolets after all, and maybe even stop at a few places that look nice to take pictures. It’s also a lovely looking day outside, so it should be a great day for a lovely drive through the countryside.

When I got home from bar testing last night we watched the eleventh episode of Thirteen Reasons Why–Clay’s tape–and it was so much more heartbreaking than I feared it would be. Bitter cynical Queen Greg cried a couple of times, and the performance of Dylan Minnette as Clay was not only surprising in its subtle nuance, but perfectly done in an understated way that was much harder to watch–and more heartbreaking and effective–had it been over-the-top histrionic, as most directors and actors seem to choose. The entire young cast is quite effective in their roles, and I’ve also become more impressed by the performances of the adult actors. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the show, though, is the seamless editing, the way the show transitions between past and present. The big reveal of Clay’s tape also explained so much more about the behavior of the others kids, which seemed almost inexplicable before. The last two episodes will probably be just as intense….and I am also looking forward into finishing reading the book. In an odd coincidence, the book’s author, Jay Asher, is also appearing tomorrow at the Alabama Book Festival. I am sure his talk will be jam-packed; but I am going to make the effort to go see him.

I love listening to authors talk about writing, frankly, and 90% of the time they don’t annoy the crap out of me. I am excited also because being around book people is always an inspirational high for me.

I doubt that I’ll have time to work on the outline while I am in Montgomery–I’ll probably arrive with just enough time to check into my room, maybe take a shower, and then head over to the author party. I am looking forward to seeing some of the people I met in Wetumpka there, and of course, the always delightful Carolyn Haines and Dean James are also going to be there this weekend–I do always love seeing them.

And now, I am going to have some more coffee, and get ready to head out. Happy Friday, Constant Reader!

Here’s gorgeous Brandon Larracuente, who plays Jeff on Thirteen Reasons Why, one of my favorite characters on the show.

Brandon Larracuente

Hey, Western Union Man

We continue to watch Thirteen Reasons Why, and last night we got through Episode 10, which was heartbreaking. Tonight when I get home from work we’ll watch Episode 11–spoiler! It’s when Clay listens to his own tape, and while I am absolutely riveted, I am also dreading the episode. I also am getting further in the book, which is different in some ways from the show.  At one point watching last night, I said to Paul, “I’m so glad I’m not a teenager now,” even though I feel relatively certain that the things that happen in the book/show probably happened when I was a teenager–I, like Clay, was probably unaware/oblivious to it all–which is a horrifying thought. I find that I am often unpacking a lot of things from my past, recognizing behaviors that were no big deal back then but now are horrifying.

I’ve been processing a lot of that lately, to be honest, and in no small part because of the manuscript. I didn’t do any reading/outlining yesterday, nor did I touch “Quiet Desperation,” primarily because I felt kind of tired and out of it yesterday (another wretched night’s sleep  Tuesday, followed by Wacky Russian on Wednesday morning), and while I certainly slept better last night, Paul’s alarm and his constant smacking of the snooze button this morning got me up earlier than I would have preferred. Tonight is yet another late night of bar testing, and tomorrow is the drive to Montgomery and the Author Welcome Party. Heavy heaving sigh. But I’ve pretty much decided not to spend the extra Saturday night in Montgomery; Saturday morning I’ll check out and head over to the Book Festival, spend the day there, and then drive back to New Orleans. That way I have Sunday here to run errands and do things, before driving up to Oxford on Monday. After all this travel I am going to get into a regular workout schedule upon my return, as well.

That’s the plan, at any rate.

So, this morning I am going to pack for the trip, clean the kitchen and get some laundry done, do some writing, and maybe read a bit. I am having lunch with a former intern of mine from a million years and several jobs ago–she’s now a lawyer, how bad-ass is that?–before I head to work. We are lunching at the Irish House, a pub-style restaurant whose chef won Chopped  many years ago, and they have pretty awesome fish-and-chips, and it’s a short walk from the Lost Apartment (I’ll take the car, though, so I can take my time and then drive to work from there). So the dryer is spinning, the washer is agitating, and I am sitting here with my second cup of coffee listening to a playlist on my iHome stereo waiting for the clouds to clear out of my head completely before I get up and unload the dishwasher and get the day going.

This morning I also picked out the story I’m going to revise/rewrite for an anthology I want to submit to–getting into it (it’s annual) is on my bucket list and I will keep trying until I do get in. I’ve submitted three or four times so far–failing every time–but two of the rejected stories ended up somewhere else, so that’s always a good thing. I am really taking my short story writing a lot more seriously than I used to; I am no longer allowing myself to think I am not good at it because that is self-defeating (another one of my daily affirmations, which really, as weird as it seems and as ‘new agey/touchy-feely/mumbo-jumbo’ as it feels and I’ve always dismissed it as, actually is seeming to work. 

I just wish I had thought this way twenty years ago. Ah, well, no regrets.

Live and learn.

Here’s a Throwback Thursday hunk for you, Grant Aleksander, who played Philip Spaulding on Guiding Light:

0

 

 

Lady Willpower

What a delightful night of sleep! Although something I ate yesterday didn’t quite agree with me and got me up once, and then I slept on the couch for a couple of hours, but I feel incredibly well-rested this morning. I’d thought about running all of my weekend errands today so as to not have to leave the house the rest of the weekend, but last night I decided that was silly. Today I am going to focus on rereading/editing, reading Stephen King’s Finders Keepers, get caught up on Riverdale, and clean the Lost Apartment–I am going to get this goddamned windows cleaned today if it kills me.

So, last night while I worked in the lab I reread the first three chapters of the super-secret project first draft I wrote in the summer of 2015, and you know what? It’s actually not bad, and as I read it in order to do an outline of it I was also getting ideas of how to make it better, how to rephrase things, how to make it better, and rather than being daunted by the prospect of redoing it I got excited. So I am going to put the Scotty aside for a little while and work on this. I have, after all, been putting it off since I wrote that draft so long ago. I’ve decided that’s the work I am going to do this weekend; rereading and outlining that manuscript, and rereading/editing some short stories that are long overdue for another look-see.

Next week at this time I’ll be getting ready for my drive to Alabama and Montgomery for the Alabama Book Festival, and I am getting a bit excited about it, to be honest. I’ve never stayed in Montgomery; just driven through on my way to and from Atlanta, and I am kind of excited. I go back and forth as to whether I should check out of the hotel on Saturday and drive home to New Orleans that night, or just get up Sunday and come home then–it’s only four hours, give or take, so not really a big deal, but I have another four-to-five hour drive on Monday to Ole Miss, so there is that, but there’s a part of me that thinks I should just go ahead and stay the extra night and explore Montgomery a bit. I have a tendency to zip in and out of places when doing book events and not see much of the place, which is totally the wrong thing to do. I also have a tendency to just stay in my hotel room and read, too–there really is nothing like the seclusion of a hotel room to just curl up with a good book, you know?

I also need to do some local exploring, now that I have the new car. My friend Stuart greatly enjoyed the swamp tour he went on–something I’ve never done–so it occurs to me that might not be a bad idea to try sometime. I’ve also never been to the World War II museum, and it’s in walking distance. I am also thinking about going to see Beauty and the Beast this weekend. I do want to see it on the big screen, and the animated version is one of my favorite movies. Maybe tomorrow night; it’s playing at Canal Place, and I’ve never been there since the theaters were renovated. As you can see, Constant Reader, I am trying to be a little less housebound.

No worries–I am sure going out in public and dealing with people will stomp that desire right out of me.

I am also paring down some of the books. One of the problems I have is books will sound interesting and I’ll want them, and when I am feeling a bit down about something–anything, it doesn’t matter what–buying books always makes me feel better for some stupid reason. I’ve also realized I will never have the time to go back and reread books I enjoyed, so I need to tighten up the criteria for keeping books. Finish reading a book, put it in the donation box. This will help. I am also putting a moratorium on buying books until June 1. We’ll see how it works out. I also need to start cleaning books out of the storage places. Baby steps, Gregalicious, baby steps. (Our staircase also needs to be cleaned. How fortunate that I love cleaning.)

And on that note, Constant Reader, I am off to the spice mines. Here’s a Good Friday hunk for you.

NEW-161220-Royal-Ballet_SHOT-06_030_R-768x1152

 

 

 

Love Child

One more day till the three day weekend!

I realize it probably sounds like I hate my job, the way I crave days off, weekends, holidays and vacations–but I don’t. I actually like my day job, and it’s certainly one of the best–if not the best–day job I’ve ever had. My days off, on the other hand, are lovely because I don’t have any stress–I don’t have to rush about, be anywhere at a particular time, do anything at any particular time, and I don’t have to get up until I feel like it. That’s kind of nice. Even if I didn’t have a day job, and still worked from home the way I used to, I still looked forward to the weekends because Paul didn’t have to go to the office on the weekends. I am not working next Friday either, as that is the day I’ll be driving over to Montgomery for the Alabama Book Festival, where I am making my first ever appearance. (I’ve done more book events in Alabama this year than I’ve done anywhere else in years, which is more than slightly odd.)

Which, more than likely, is why Alabama is so much on my mind lately.

Since finishing “Quiet Desperation”, I’ve not really been writing anything other than this blog. (I have, however, been thinking about the second draft of that story, and already know how to make it much better the second time around; I do consider that to be writing, even though no words have gone on the page. SHUT UP THAT DOES TOO COUNT.) I am hoping, though, to get “The Terrortorium” finished this week, and maybe make some headway on “The Scent of Lilacs in the Rain.” I’ve also been brainstorming some on the new Scotty, and I need to get back to work on that as it’s just sitting there, glaring at me. And I have a shit load of editing to do of my own stuff; unfortunately, I loathe editing my own stuff and would rather drink bleach to do it, which means it piles up and it piles up and it piles up…I also get really stubborn and don’t want to throw things out, trying to fix things and make what was written work rather than removing it and writing something different.

I have so many bad writing habits. It’s almost sad.

I am getting back to reading The Nest this week, and am not sure what to read next, if I am being honest. It’ll probably go the way it usually does; I’ll go through the stacks and the book shelves and find something that strikes my fancy at the moment. I got another shipment of books yesterday, all of which look good, and of course, there’s all the stuff I had on hand already that I haven’t read and need to get to. Heavy heaving sigh. I am going to need to do a purge again soon, and what I really need to do is purge the storage spaces. But what a pain in the ass that would be. Maybe I should  take a couple of vacation days from work and do it….ugh, just the thought is too much for me, really. Heavy heaving sigh.

And on that note, I am heading back to the spice mines.

Here’s a Hump Day hunk to get you through the rest of this shortened week.

9k6a3084web901450c602db5573d6d73f92c37543a5_thumb