Easing into my summer schedule and other tidbits

Greetings, readers. Hello from central Pennsylvania on a gorgeous spring day. There is nary a cloud in the sky and today’s high temperature is expected to be in the upper 70s F. I’ll take it. I got through my graduation weekend work shifts and now I’m off for summer. My feet are already saying thank you.

Even though I have several errands to do this week, I am weaving in my brand new summer schedule. I have my new wake up time, my time for errands, and time for writing. It just so happens that this particular week all my errands are during writing time hours. Most of these errands must get done, so until tomorrow afternoon after my dentist appointment, I’m going with a revised version of said summer schedule.

The next few weeks are going to be quite busy. On days Rebecca and I work together, I will be making plans and preparations for this year’s voyage to Maine. I always try to call ahead early to make my reservations at hotels for the trip up and back. One year I could not stay in Waterville, Maine because there was a big conference in Augusta. All the hotel rooms were taken. I think the closest I could get was just outside Augusta. I remember last year the hotel I stayed at would not accept cash. How odd, I thought. This world is really truly going plastic. I had to drive to a Wal-Mart, put my money on a Wal-Mart gift card, and use it at the hotel, which accepted it as payment. The joys of travel.

Besides making the hotel reservations, quite soon I have to procure the rental car. There is some doubt as to whether I’ll be able to get one this year, so right after this blog entry is posted, I’m going to call and find out exactly what is needed.

On to other news. Princess Josie is adjusting to her new home and has really taken over the place. She is a rambunctious little thing and full of energy. She is learning to jump. This morning I came out of the bathroom and startled her so badly she jumped halfway up the door jamb and grabbed on with all fours. I’ve never seen a cat do that, ever. She’s a strong kitten.

Before closing, I wish to offer prayers and condolences to all those in Hawaii who had their lives altered so badly by the lava flow. I always feel terrible when tragic events like this take place in the world. This planet is not stable by any stretch of the imagination and catastrophes are bound to happen from time to time.

Tomorrow I have a morning appointment with the dentist, so Rebecca will be putting up the blog entry. The two of us will be back hard at it next Wednesday. Until then, have a great weekend, take care, and happy reading.

Hello from Panera

Greetings, readers. I was on a slightly different schedule this morning so I called Rebecca and had her meet me at Panera to start our shift. I just finished my breakfast and am now enjoying my coffee. I was hoping to keep the computer charged up but the plug is damaged and not working. Luckily the battery is new so we have plenty of power and time to type this blog entry.

First of all, congrats to the Houston Astros on their World Series championship. I did not think they would be able to win a game 7 versus the Dodgers in Los Angeles, but they did. So far I have seen a number of people wear Astros hats around town. Looks like everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.

While we are on the subject of baseball, I am still trying to resurrect my sim baseball league on Out of the Park Baseball 18, which crashed and burned a couple of weeks ago and the file was unable to be saved. I hope to have everything ready to restart within a month. The game got an update so it is even more fun to play. I can’t wait until I can get my league going again.

This morning I awakened to a grey rainy day, with the temperature in the low 40s. My injured leg did not like it. After yesterday’s blog about it still hurting, I had three people from Facebook yesterday tell me to head to my doctor immediately and get my leg checked out. If it’s not back to normal in another week, I will go.

Yesterday I did something very … well, stupid. I called my therapist very late and called off. It was raining, I didn’t feel particularly well, and yes, I have a fear of falling. So far she hasn’t called back. I hope she wasn’t too upset. I think I can smooth things over. When I talk to her, I will explain how I felt yesterday and hopefully she will understand. I’ve always had a good rapport with her so I don’t think I will have much of a problem.

At 1:00 I have an appointment for a manicure which won’t take long and which I won’t bail on. Because of my cerebral palsy, I have a weak left side and trouble with some fine motor skills, and clipping fingernails in next to impossible for me. I actually enjoy getting the pampering and my nails always look good for work. I can’t be at the register with long scratchy nails. I have shifts at work tomorrow and Saturday. A week from this Sunday is the Penn State football homecoming weekend and I’ve already volunteered to work both Saturday and Sunday. They gleefully accepted.

Again, I want to thank all of our new readers and ask that you tell all your friends, so that everyone can enjoy this blog. That’s why Rebecca and I do it; not only to let me vent but to also to share my life experiences.

Finally, once again my condolences go out to families affected by violence, this time from a shooting in a Colorado Wal-Mart. I honestly do not remember a time when there was so much violence and strife in a span of a few days. I might blog next week about the differences of how people get their news today versus how we got it way back in the day, before we had internet.

Until next Wednesday, take care, have a great weekend, and happy reading.

From Rebecca: Yes, another one from me

As Joe wrote yesterday, he has a follow-up doctor’s appointment for the foot he hurt in a fall last week, so I am bringing you today’s blog post. It seems like I have been doing this a lot in the last couple of months, for one reason or another, starting with Joe’s annual trip to Bear Spring Camps in Maine and then both of us have had some personal appointments on Thursdays. I like writing here, but I am aware that regular readers probably come for Joe’s unique voice and what he shares on this blog page.

Those of you who are long-time readers know that this is not our normal pattern, we usually go a month or so between From Rebecca posts, and Joe does both the entries each week. Life is hectic for us right now, and Joe’s job at a fast food restaurant has pulled a lot of his energy and time, but I do expect us to go back to the normal writing schedule soon.

I first met Joe in high school and we remained friends since then. I became his writing assistant in 2010, mainly to type for him as his cerebral palsy makes it slow and difficult for him to do that task for his writing work. He started this blog in December of 2011, with him dictating, me typing, and both of us editing. We have a good system down that we have used to put at least one new blog entry on this site every week for almost six years. I am very proud of that, and I know that Joe is too. When I post this entry, if will be the 654th one on this blog site.

We see from this site’s statistics that daily views are steadily getting higher. Joe has big spikes in views once in a while, usually when he writes something about Bear Spring Camps and links it to their Facebook page, but it looks like some people are staying around after the surges. To all of you who are long-term readers, thank you so much, we really appreciate you coming here so long. To all of you who are newer readers, welcome, and we hope you enjoy the voice and topics so much that you stick around.

Joe will be back next week, and as far as we know now, he will do the blog entry for both Wednesday and Thursday. As he would say, until then, have a good weekend, take care, and happy reading.

From Rebecca: Blog schedule for July and August

Greetings, Joe’s readers. You are seeing a lot of From Rebecca entries lately, and while I hope that all of you enjoy reading my pieces, I know that you are partaking of Joe’s blog to see what is on his mind. Last week, Joe’s friend Dave came to visit on Thursday, and two weeks before that Joe had something personal came up. Please bear with us, both entries this week will be from me, and this will continue off and on just another month. There are reasons for that.

This week doctor appointments have knocked out the working together time for Joe and me. Today Joe is at a check-up with his primary physician, and tomorrow I will be helping my husband Darren and his mom at an urgent doctor’s appointment for her; with her mobility issues and bringing the car around to the front of buildings, it is so much easier to get my mom-in-law to her appointments if there are two of us. To make up for the lost work time tomorrow, I am writing the blog entry for Thursday too.

Next week will be normal for us, working Wednesday and Thursday together. As usual, Joe will dictate the blog posts while I type, then we will edit. Joe will be busy getting ready for Bear Spring Camps, so I imagine that his other writing will be halted for the time being, but he will do the blog.

The following two weeks, the first two in August, Joe will go to Bear Spring Camps in Maine, and I will do those four blog posts from home. I will be spending time with his cat Keekee during regular work hours, so those entries will be a little later in the day than usual, but I will get them up on those Wednesdays and Thursdays.

After that, Joe will be back and we will go back to normal with two blog entries a week from Joe on various topics. I expect him to come back with lots of motivation and ideas for the rest of the year, as he does after every vacation at Bear Spring Camps. He will be raring to go with ideas for writing, cleaning, organizing, and improving his life in general. It is always an exciting time to be working with him.

So hang it there with us for the next month. I hope you will like my posts, and Joe will be back before you know it with more of his thoughts and wisdom, plus he will be here both days next week.

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

My first week at my new job

Greetings, readers. As most of you know, this past Saturday I began my new job at a national fast-food chain. The first day was hectic, but I had a good trainer. Everyone seems to like me there, and throughout the week my speed increased. There are only two real problems. I got a relatively nasty burn on my finger, and my feet are killing me.

Never has Rebecca ever walked into my office/apartment and seen me dressed in tee-shirt, pajama bottoms, and my slippers. But with my 3:00pm work shift later today I am going to stay as comfy as I can as long as I can. I think I deserve that.

After my writing session with Rebecca today, I will catch the 2:20 bus to get to my work shift by 3:00. Oh, how cute I look in my blue jeans, black shirt, visor cap, complete with name tag. (Rebecca gasped here as I dictated this and had to see the name tag right now! She approved of it and said it is nice.)

Now for the negative part, and I don’t mean about the job. This is the job I wanted to get when I was 15 years old. My mother, God rest her soul, discouraged me from doing so. If I would have gotten it then, I would have had a greater appreciation for money and probably would not have been such a spendthrift throughout my life. With me getting married next year, though, it is time to start earning money. I am going to put most of my wages towards paying for the wedding reception. June 30, 2018 will be an extra special day.

Finally the pros and cons of my new job. The pros: I feel productive, I am earning money, and I am making friends. Not to mention the small dinner during my work break. The only two cons I’ve found so far is my lack of speed on the grill, which will improve, and my poor feet, which are not used to me being on them for 8 hours. I think my feet will adjust and get less sensitive the longer I work there. My shoes will break in and my stamina will increase. So far I give my new job a 4.5 out of 5 rating. It is awesome to be a working member of society.

The top ten list I mentioned last week will come next week. I’m still trying to get my work schedule pinned down to the number of hours I want and I think that will happen by next Wednesday.

I bid you all a great weekend, enjoy the sunshine if you have it, take care, and happy reading.

Novel underway and coming along nicely

Greetings, readers. For the first time in many years I am absolutely psyched about a project, other than the blog or one of my performances. In the last two days I have written six pages and 2,100 + words. About a month ago I had an idea for a novel and I just decided to go for it. I do understand that six pages does not usually equal a chapter, but I got to a good stopping point, and it is still a first draft. The first draft is what I call creating the skeleton. Once I have the skeleton in place, I can add the muscles and tendons, the skin, and the features. In other words, I can flesh it out, no pun intended.

Without going into too much detail and ruin anything, it is a paranormal story. I am quite intrigued by that phenomenon. Unfortunately, readers, I am going to keep details to myself for now. I shall share little tidbits as the book progresses. As some of you may know, beginnings of my projects have always been my bugaboos. If I can just pop it into second gear, I’ve got a chance. And yesterday, for the first time in years, I felt that gear click in.

Another huge thing that I did which I believe will be a major plus, was to use my computer calendar to set up what I call work shifts. Just as if I was going to work at a store or café, I set up blocks of time to put my butt in the chair and type. So far so good. Yesterday I was supposed to work until 2pm – okay, okay, I conked out at 12:45, but for me that was a good start. It is going to take a while for me to build up writing stamina but it will happen.

Most writers write an outline and know exactly where their writing project will go next. I don’t. Which is probably why I have failed so much. I’ve always been the kind of person to take a story to a certain point in my mind, write it down, and then see where the story goes next. Although it is only the first six pages in the first draft, I am getting the sense that my characters are a bit flat. When I wrote my play Kimberly, poor Lyle Detmore never did come to life, until Rebecca’s husband Darren turned the project into a novel. Now there is a writer for you. This time I have hope that the editing process down the road will help me with this problem.

The photographs from my latest show, which was on December 2, 2016, are now up on the Performance Pictures page. I proposed to Traci in between the sets, and I have included a couple of pictures with the two of us. Please feel free to check them out.

On a side note, condolences go out to the family of the Penn State student who passed away the other day at one of the fraternities. It was a horrible tragedy. No parent should have to bury their child.

Well, there is today’s blog entry. I will working on my writing project today from 2pm to 5pm. Wish me luck that the engine keeps running. I will put a new blog entry up tomorrow, I am taking a personal day to write more on my story and Rebecca will edit the blog entry from home and post it.

Until then, have a great day, 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.

 

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.

I took Traci to the doctors today and a busy rest of the week

Greetings, readers. Rebecca and I took the day off so that I could help my girlfriend get to her doctor’s appointment. We rented a Zipcar and I was glad it wasn’t cold and snowy; cool and raining was bad enough. Traci and I left at 1PM and got home at 4.

Regular work hours resume tomorrow. One thing on the agenda is to make a list of all the topics I want or need to tell my accountant on March 2nd. One topic of conversation is the deposit for Bear Spring Camps, which must be sent in post-haste. Another is the payment of the yearly Zipcar insurance.

Also, my therapy appointment and bingo are tomorrow. I will be glad for both. Dr. JoAnn helps me get through the week, while a relaxing game of bingo ends the day on a pleasant note. On Friday, my easy day, Rebecca and I will write a blog entry and tidy up loose ends to get ready for next week.

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