Bear Spring Camps opening and other goings on

Greetings, readers. I pretty much stuck to my to-do list this past week, but I had one miserable failure. I was supposed to work on two chapters on the new camp book. I actually sat down many times but either the phone rang, nature called, or someone knocked on the door. I know interruptions should not be an excuse, but for someone who has slight brain damage from seizures and concussions, it is an excuse. I’m bound and determined to get this last camp book published, but I doubt it will be before I go to camp this August.

Speaking of camp, Bear Spring Camps either opened this past Saturday or it will open soon. I always enjoy knowing my favorite place in the entire world is open for business. It is a short season but that is probably dictated by weather and the fishing season. I still have my video tapes from Maine from many years ago, hidden away somewhere in my walk-in closet. Once in a while I’ll stumble upon one, take it out, and watch it. Even those that were taken in the mid-1980s still have excellent picture and sound quality.

On to another topic now. I wrote a Facebook post just the other day after learning that actresses Peggy Lipton and Doris Day had passed away. I made mention in said post that famous people seem to pass away in threes. Wouldn’t you know it, the next day, the wonderful Tim Conway went to his eternal resting place. It is strange how that works, but it happens a lot. I shouldn’t be surprised though, with me in my early 50s, all the wonderful actors and actresses I knew as a kid are either old or have died. It is a fact of life.

Before closing, I will mention the weather, simply because it is so gorgeous out today. A rarity for State College, Pennsylvania. It is a sunny day, a few puffy clouds, with warming temperatures and a light breeze. I would like to order a few more days like this, gift wrapped, please. At my estimation it has been a cool breezy spring and I can’t wait for the warmth of summer. Do I want a 100 degree plus heat wave? No, for I am not a kid anymore and cannot run and play. I might only be 53 years old, but sometimes these legs and hips just don’t want to move. Most mornings, readers, I will use my walker, and I am not too proud to say that, for I would rather use it than lose my balance and fall.

Prayers for the families of the great entertainers we lost recently, the Lipton family, Doris Day’s family, and of course the family of the great Tim Conway. Also, prayers to anyone who needs them.

I’m going to put up this weekend’s blog entry either late Saturday or Monday morning. I have an unusually hectic Sunday planned. So, until then, I bid you a wonderful few days, take care, and as always, happy reading.

Thinking about my writing career after my baseball game crashed

Greetings, readers. I awakened this morning at 4:00 as usual to do my morning routine, which consists of making coffee, checking my Facebook account, and updating the day’s goings on with the Steam video game Out of the Park Baseball 18, where I have created my version of the World Baseball League. Well, yesterday as work hours with Rebecca were ending, the computer threw a whole boatload of updates at me and this morning my game file was gone.

I want it made clear right now, I do understand that this baseball league was a game and completely fictitious, but I am still feeling a weird sense of loss because my month and a half of game playing is gone. I came up with my own teams, uniforms, and logos for the caps, and even a few names for some players. I was perfecting my league. I was the league’s commissioner. And now all those hours perfecting the league are gone. I am completely in a funk. Am I going to call my therapist? No. I think I can drag myself out of this on my own.

The one thing this incident does prove is that my creativity and imagination for being a writer must still be there. That is good news because my dream of being a writer has not completely died. Although Bear Spring Camps book 3 is looking less and less likely, either a new book of blog entries or a book of my own short stories might be a plausible option. When I was in my 20s, I wanted to be a writer so bad. I could dream up anything at anytime. Then the seizures hit and as I get older it is becoming increasingly more difficult to create.

Now to update on my feet. As I mentioned before in the blog, I slipped and fell a few weeks ago and am okay except for my feet which I stand on for 5 hours every work shift. Just when I think everything is healing, I come home from work and it feels like there is an elephant sitting on them. This is almost enough to make me want to quit my job. There is only one problem; I like the income too much. It is solving a great number of problems.

Lastly, here is my plan for the rest of the day. I have an appointment this afternoon at 3:00 and dinner with a friend this evening at 7:00. Squished in between that and after dinner, I am going to try to recreate the World Baseball League on the game. Once I delete the whole file, there will be no going back. But it is most doubtful that I can get the old file to run correctly. There went a month and a half. 😦 (Quick question: Does anybody know what a SQUILE file is? That is what the computer says it is missing to run the World Baseball League’s file.) I have to get to sleep no later than 11:00 if I am going to function at all at work tomorrow morning. I do not see myself getting up at 4:00am. I am a tad worried because my body does not do well when I change my daily routine. If I take my pills at a later time, sometimes they don’t work as effectively.

Well, what do you know, a two-day work week, and a happy anniversary to Rebecca on our 7 years of working together. We’ve done short stories, essays, three books, one editing of a play, and now we are working on the novel that Darren adapted from that play. As far as I know, next week will be a two-day work week also. I will need to check my schedule at my fast food job.

So until Wednesday, have a great weekend, take care, and happy reading.

New daily schedule is progressing nicely

Greetings, readers. I am very happy to tell you that my new daily routine is almost set. I’ve been told that it takes about three weeks to make something a habit, so I have about a week left. I’ve awakened at six the last few mornings and want to eventually have five AM be my new, permanent wake up time.

Rebecca will be here at 9:45 today; our new work start time. Work hours will be in the mornings from now on. I can’t wait until the time comes where I can get up, get ready and have pages typed before Rebecca arrives. Then she can become more my editor instead of my primary typist.

I’ve been studying the Amish lately. I’ll be writing a story dealing with that culture. With six books out from the local library, I’ve plenty of research material for my secondary writing project. It’s going to be so much fun. Bear Spring Camps book three is still going to be our primary project.

On a side note, KISS came to State College last night. As I said, I did not attend the concert. Money was a bit tight, and I have seen them live three times. I will admit, I almost broke down and tried to get tickets, but I held firm. I wouldn’t have been able to hear straight for a couple of days. If they ever return before they retire, I’ll go see them. 🙂

That’s all the news for today. Until tomorrow, take care, have a great day and happy reading.

 

Keeping active with possible job, writing, and Traci

Greetings, readers. As I continue my search for gainful employment, I’m still hoping that my first choice will pan out. As I mentioned, there are other opportunities out there, but Panera Bread is ideal. I would love to work there. It is near my apartment building, I know and like all the folks who work there, and it is, as I call it, on the flat. Meaning that I don’t have to go down any of the hilly streets of State College during the winter time.

If all else fails, I will volunteer my time at the library, which will at least get me out of the apartment. As my friends have told me, something is sure to come up. Until then, we have the writing project for the new camp book and I have a personal writing project that I just got research materials for from the library.

Also, big news, September 24th will mark the one year anniversary for my girlfriend Traci and me. I can’t believe it has been 11 months. Time has flown and our relationship is progressing slowly, yet steadily. I’m quite pleased with the situation. She has already met and loves David and family, and we hope to go for Thanksgiving again this year. Are wedding bells in the future? Time will tell and we shall see. There are a few huddles we need to get over.

A blog entry, which will be upcoming in September, will deal with my plans for our anniversary. There is a really nice restaurant downtown which we were planning to go to last Valentine’s Day. Traci wound up in the hospital and we never did make it for Valentine’s dinner. I think I will make reservations at the Tavern restaurant. More on that during that future blog entry.

Well, there you have it for today. Our new work hours begin next Wednesday with blog entries on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Wish us luck on that. Until next week, have a splendid weekend, take care, and happy reading.

We are trying our new work schedule this morning

Greetings, readers. It is only 10:30 in the morning as we start this blog. In a week, Rebecca and I will be trying something new. In this instance I think new will be good. We will be switching our work hours to the morning. There a few reasons for this change.

First off, I have found myself getting more and more tired in the mid-afternoon. I really struggle between the hours of 2:00 and 3:00. No, I really don’t want to get hooked on 5-Hour Energy. So the next logical choice is to adjust our work hours. I’m always more awake and alive in the morning. So starting next Wednesday, we’ll begin work at either 9:45 and go until 12:30, on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I shall leave Rebecca Friday afternoons free in case she wants to pick up hours at her other job.

The other important reason is that I can spend time with my girlfriend Traci after that at about 12:30, and then take my nap in the afternoon if I wish. At Bear Spring Camps this summer, I would eat my big meal at 12:30, come down to the cabin and literally sleep until 4:00 when the afternoon boat ride occurred. Just call me Mr. Sleepyhead.

This new change will mean a few things for me, primarily the adjustment of my early morning routine. I don’t necessarily want to get up at 4:00 or anything strange like that, but I am used to checking Facebook, Twitter and emails, etc. I also enjoy a couple of hours of music to fully wake me up. I already get up at 6:30 and I will have to see how these routines fit in before 9:45.

Tomorrow will be back to our old schedule for two more days. We will see if I can stay awake. Haha. I do have ideas for Bear Spring Camps book 3 and they will need to be fleshed out. So we do have some work ahead of us to keep us busy and focused. Lack of focus equals lack of work. As I mentioned before I fully intend to either have a project finished by the end of July or have it well on its way to completion. I promised myself something that no one knows about until now. You, my readers, will be the first to know that if I do not produce this year I will not take my vacation next August. From now on I earn my week off.

On a very small side note, in approximately a week and a half, I will find out if I can get a job at Panera. If not, Sheetz, Dunkin’ Donuts, or a whole list of other places advertising for help will receive my application.

Until Friday afternoon, have a wonderful couple of days, take care, and happy reading.

Top ten things I like about myself

Greetings, readers. I’ve been thinking a lot about myself recently. With the help of my therapist, Dr. Jo Ann, I’ve been working on my self-esteem. I am supposed to concentrate on the positive and weed out the negative. Obviously, no one is perfect, we all have our faults, but here is a top ten list of things I like about myself, in no particular order.

#10. My sense of humor. [I think I got that from my mother, and it was developed with my best friend David Trost. In the old days, Dave and I would tell stories and laugh for hours.]

#9. My outlook on life. [Even after getting divorced and everything that entailed, I still try to look at life with optimism. It does me no good to be negative and sad.]

#8. My love of animals. [Right now I have Keekee my kitty who loves me, and I, of course, love her. She’s my little girl. When I was younger, the family and I had dogs, which were adorable. Somehow, animals always get excited and happy when they are around me.]

#7. My general appearance. [Although I have cerebral palsy and am not Mr. Muscles, I do the best I can every day with my appearance. I can do laundry with the occasional mishap, such as bleaching a sweatshirt. I no longer wish to have a beard but it seems that every time I shave, my skin breaks out and I have to let the beard grow back. It’s much to gray.]

#6. Keeping my apartment clean. [Keeping my apartment cleaner than it has been is a big step in the right direction for me. It boosts my self-esteem to have a cleaner place.]

#5. My athleticism early in life. [When I was a child and teenager, Dave and I would spend hours almost every day playing Wiffle ball, Nerf football games, or Frisbee. I did keep active. Now, with bad knees, sometimes my morning walk to Panera is all I can muster, and the games I play are on the PS3.]

#4. My ability and love of driving a car. [My mom taught me how to drive and would not let me drive solo until she was certain that I would buckle up every time, always use my turn signals, and obey the speed limit. I love to drive but right not I am car-less.]

#3. My love of music and singing. [I’ve always loved music as far back as I can remember. And my singing talent has improved greatly with practice. I perform shows every few months for the folks in my apartment building, and as the old adage says, practice makes perfect.]

#2. My ability to write. [Under my belt are three self-published books and a play. Although I am not earning enough money from them to pay the rent, it is one of my passions. I like to be creative. I admit, writer’s block does affect me more than it should, but I think for a light reader, I’m doing pretty well. The Bear Spring Camps 3 book is under way. I hope to have it produced by next summer.]

#1. My family and friends. [I have been blessed with fantastic parents, a Godmother and her family, very supportive local friends, of whom Rebecca and Darren are two, and the family that David married into all those years ago, who adopted me as one of their own. When little children run into the Bear Spring Camps dining room and give me a bear hug all is right in the world. Thumbs up for family.]

That was a fun exercise for me, and perhaps later down the line I’ll have a top ten list of things I want to improve about myself. Yes that will be negative, but it might force me to take action and correct those things. Please feel free to leave your list in the comments or comment about my list.

As always, have a wonderful day, take care and happy reading.

Keekee got a glowing report at the vet and happy Halloween

Greetings, readers. This is something I have not done before. I am dictating the blog today, Thursday, to have it ready to review and publish tomorrow, Friday. I’m doing this because I need tomorrow to be a big creation day. So let’s just pretend it is Friday.

As you read this second paragraph, Keekee will have been home a whole day and hopefully will not be mad at Daddy anymore. I had a hell of a time getting her into her pet carrying case. I only use it to take her to the vet, so she knows what is going on. Yesterday was her semi-annual senior wellness check. How lovely. I understand that keeping Keekee healthy is a priority, but twice a year for 80 plus dollars? And more if there is to be blood work done. Well, if it means keeping Keekee healthy until she is 15 or so, my accountant will just have to live with it, because she is extremely high on my priorities list.

After Rebecca and I review and edit this, I’m going to begin dictating a new story for camp book 3. That project is going slower than I want it to, but it is going. My other project, The Parlor’s Secret, is not only not off the runway, it hasn’t even left the gate yet. What I need to do for that project is put on some music without words and dive into it, typing the first draft myself. I need to see the events of the story as if I were watching a movie. After a good chunk of it is completed, I will hand it over to Rebecca for editing.

Very soon now I have to leave, calling the work day early, because I have to get ready for Keekee’s appointment. [As the title says, Keekee got a glowing report and, besides one bad tooth, she is perfectly healthy. Vitals are perfect, coat and skin are healthy, and her eyes are clear and beautiful.]

So have a happy Halloween, a great weekend, stay warm if it is cold, take care and happy reading.

Fish or cut bait

Greetings, readers. As the title implies, very soon it will be time to make up my mind whether to continue my writing ‘career’, or cut bait and move on to something else; like a real job. I’ve loved writing since my mid-20s, but lots of failed projects and the lack of book sales have got me down.

So far I have three small books and one play under my belt. Not a whole lot for someone who will turn 50 next July. I think about my pop a lot with his thirty scholarly books, uncounted essays, teaching notes for classes, and overseas lectures. Should I compete with my dad? Nope. Do I sometimes? Oh yeah.

What job could I do? I think about that a lot. My body won’t allow me to do work that requires strength or balance. My dream job, being an airline pilot, was taken from me when my seizures began at age 16. Now that I’m fully medicated I might be able to drive a cab, but I’d probably get lost around town. Lol. There’s a toy store in the next block over from my apartment. Perfect….. I think. Maybe I’ll apply. Can you sense my uncertainty?

Anyway, as far as the here and now, we’ll keep blogging and writing stories for camp book 3. Fear not. I’m not depressed. We’re just stuck in the mud in 1st gear again. Grr.

Until Friday, take care, have a great day and happy reading.

What’s going on with me today, 10/3/14

Greetings, readers. It is a dreary Friday afternoon here in State College, Pennsylvania. Already the temperature is getting cold and the wind seems to be coming from the North. I’ve heard from at least two people already that this winter is going to be a brutal one. That news does not make me happy.

As you know, I am a spring and summer person so I naturally dislike the winter. But after being told of extremely cold temperatures with lots of snow and ice, I can see myself just staying in my apartment or the community room much more than usual from about November until April. Not a happy prospect.

The one good thing that might come out of it, with fewer trips to Panera Cafe I will be saving some money. That wouldn’t be a bad thing. With my new morning routine, I’m over to Panera around 7:15, have a blueberry muffin or some other delicious pastry, and of course have my share of coffee. When I look at the bill – $4 and change – it doesn’t seem like much until I realize that I do it 7 days a week.

Something I have failed to mention. I have recently got back my disks from Netflix. And even though money is going to be a wee bit tight, I have decided not to cancel it. I truly enjoy having all of Netflix’s library to choose from. This leads in to my big problem. One which I have already discussed with my psychologist. The problem is this:

I am a Train Simulator hobbyist, and Flight Simulator hobbyist, and as of just yesterday, a Truck Simulator hobbyist. Add that to my occasional gaming and movie watching, and I am deathly afraid that I am giving up on my writing career. I have plenty of time alone to be creative, to do something work related, and so far since camp we have several blogs to show and only one new short story for camp book 3. I was hoping for at least two more by now. The fact that I had a sinus infection for a week didn’t help matters. I do have a sneaking suspicion that when the weather turns yucky I will stay inside more, make coffee at home, and make use of the brand new internet connection provided downstairs by the management of my apartment. Rebecca is likely to come in one day and be swamped with work. Time will tell.

Lastly, for next week, as far as I can tell it is going to be a normal work week, with two blog entries and time for creation. I do have many doctor’s appointments in the next couple of months, but I have tried to schedule them around our work days. Please, readers, if you would, throw good thoughts my way for extra creativity. This new book is going to need it.

Until Wednesday, enjoy your weekend, take care, and happy reading.

Feeling much better and ready to get back to work

Greetings, readers. I am about 95% better now. Certainly well enough to get back to our work day routine. It feels good. Although there was no way I could have worked last week, I felt guilty for doing not much of anything. With our goal to get camp book 3 out by July, any huge time off could be potentially costly. For the immediate future, Wednesdays are going to be our easiest day, with the accountant meeting, book work, and the blog. Thursdays I have earmarked for creation. And as for Fridays, another blog entry, some more creation, and our favorite end of the week treat, Order of the Stick.

For those of you who don’t know what that is, Order of the Stick is a web-comic by Rich Burlew based on the Dungeon and Dragons role-playing game. His first jokes were about the changes between two versions of the game, probably between 3rd edition and 3.5. Over time, he has developed strong story lines with his stick figure characters. The archive of his strips can be found on his site, Giant in the Playground, named for a reference in the TV show Babylon 5.

That will be our work week. As far as my weekends go, Saturdays will be D&D gaming, weather and home football crowd permitting, and Sundays I hope to watch lots of Steelers football or play Axis & Allies with Rebecca’s husband Darren.

Lastly, my brain just forgot what I was about to say here. That is oatmeal brain for you. So I will conclude this way: Have a great day, take care, happy reading. And if I remember what I was going to say, look for it on Friday.

P.S. Good movie recommendation: Unstoppable with Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. Five stars.