A few Measly Steps a Day

Is the gov'nor saying have your bags packed? I guess you need to keep figuring out exit routes, where you would go? For how long? The constant state of alertness is taxing by itself.

Me: dealing with looking at some legal-like documents on a multi-year effort. Parties seem no closer to resolution than ever because the value ranks differ. I'll stay in and do my part but keep guard with both eyes.

Meanwhile, at my condo someone managed to get a key lockbox off the front door & smash it open. They had the building keys now and access to our storage boxes and the garage for 2 nights while we hustled to get replacement locks and keys. Hit my own storage locker the first night. Took my external frame back pack with a mix of camping stuff in it. And two rolling luggage pieces with receipts and maybe some books & diaries. Not quite sure. Replaced the busted latch right away.

Since learned that many condos after similar problems don't allow real estate people to use lock boxes. Fully agree. They will have to think up something else. Like physically being here to meet someone. What a thought.

My partner, the Condo prez, is fried with the pressure and fielding all the calls/emails. Plus handing out the new keys. I'm pretty tired myself.
Till the morrow.

Yes, the governor said for everyone to pack bags. I'm really okay. There had been a brush fire about a mile away, but that was put out right away. But it's still pretty scary. The big fires are far from me. But we don't have enough resources to put them all out. I thought the fires of the last few years were bad, but, this is way worse.

Did you get the lightning storm and fires where you are?

I never would have thought of that problem with lock boxes. But of course if they can be smashed, they are a bad idea.

Yes, to all on my lists. None quite finished. Had a pleasant time picking elderberries and going to Grocery Outlet.

For years I sneered
Until by chance I steered
Through their assorted aisles.
The treasures found brought smiles.
So, yes, now count me a convert,
Even clipping coupon adverts,
Though, what I find I can buy is random,
My savings at least pay for dim sum.

R

Clawing through a day sometimes I feel things bunch up. I then make a Quick List of the next for our 5 things with any time markers. Thus:
Between now and 3 pm:

1. call the water company about street flooding after 2 PM (it's 1:47 now)
2. finish a survey for the festival I just presented at (12 questions, 15 mintues)
3. take a 15 - 20 minute nap
4. put a meeting in book and confirm attendance

Revu2

It looks like you're keeping up with your list.

Me - some slow days, some productive days.
A new goal for me - I'll be homeschooling my grand daughter. And I have to get the messes in my house cleaned up.
And my writing - i"m editing the prequel. Some days are diamonds; some days are stone.

Did you know that the British Isles are experiencing heavy storms and flooding? I didn't see it in any of our local newspapers.

No news, but I avoid their news as much as my friends allow me. Keeps my mood elevated. Don't give me meds, force me to watch the news.

Keep at the writing and enjoy the gusts of momentum when they find you.
Worked on this latest application. Twice I wanted to be done and find I missed or only partially answered one of the longer questions. Due Friday, so I'm complete enough if I want for the day. Want it finished but don't want to rush it.

Taking a day to avoid anything that may frustrate. This entailed a decent breakfast, a long nap, and catching up on some videos in the queue.

Will explore some interesting personal transitions in the my Steinbeck warmup thread.

Tomorrow, back to what may frustrate.

Good wishes dealing with possible frustrations. May they be few and easily resolved. (Same goes for me.)

I may complete some tasks in the next couple of weeks. (I'll say no more. I don't want to jinx myself.) Tomorrow my grand daughter comes over for some home schooling. If it works well, she'll be over here one day a week. I'm excited about it. Her school has a website with on-line lessons, and I think she'll enjoy them and be motivated. In California most schools are closed. They can't open until COVID numbers for their county meet certain criteria.

I wish I were more motivated. Ignore this if I've posted it earlier - I re-read "Temporary Address" (the prequel to "Through Unfamiliar Waters") and I hated it. So I'm editing it. The good thing about independent publishing - you can go back and edit. But the bar is raised, and I'm having trouble metaphorically jumping over it. I'm telling myself "small steps."

Thanks for being here.

"What you want to be eventually, you must be everyday. With practice, the quality of your deeds will get down into your soul."~ Frank Crane
A quote plucked from the retired Barbara Sher forum. Could serve as the motto of this thread.

Join us, take part, dare to list any goal. Vent, rave, appreciate yourself and others.

People's stories who achieve wild successes are written like they toiled alone. They didn't. The musician had her lessons, the athlete his coaches and peers.

Tap in,
Revu2

Everyday, keep up with life.

Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life's accounts every day ... One who daily puts the finishing touches to his life is never in want of time. ~ Seneca, Moral Letters to Lucilius

It's all good over here. I uploaded "Through Unfamiliar Waters" and I emailed the photo and the specifications to my designer. I anticipate problems with the photo - it's a jpg which probably means that they'll reject because it doesn't have enough resolution. And I can't get the program to accept bleed. That means that the photo on the cover goes all the way to the edge of the paper. So I predict some frustration is on its way.

Meanwhile I'm editing "Temporary Address." it's improving, but I may never get it to be what I want. It seems mushy, corny, and other words meaning no one's going to read it.
Home-schooling my grand daughter was fun and, I think, productive.

it's hot and smokey down here. I'm not supposed to be depressed about my first novel, but I'm working on editing it.

Hi, working is always better than letting depression creep in.

Went to a Sunday Market on it's first day back. Very subdued, food vendors only had frozen take out. Some typical flea market stuff. Sat under trees with a view of Lake Union and read some. Then home to nap for hours.

A bit of freedom in front of a holiday.

R

Enjoy your down time, R.

Interesting weather phenomenon - Today was supposed to be really hot; It was supposed to peak at around 93 degrees. Instead, all the smoke from the fires shielded us, and the temperature peaked at about 80. So far over two million acres in California have burned. Crazy! And fire season is just starting.

Went up to the lake yesterday and came back with a furious case of poison oak.

Other than that - just plugging along.

Happy stepping.

This is the weirdest thing I've ever seen. The sky is a uniform shade of pink/orange, and it has been for the last two hours. There's no fire nearby - I smelled for smoke and there isn't any. According to the news, there's a layer of smoke and pollution up high that is blocking the sunlight. it's 9:30 in the morning, and I need a light on to see anything. So far two and quarter million acres of California have been burned.

The orange sky stayed orange until about one o'clock. I'm not making this up. Then there were two hours of gray sky, but it was so dark that all the drivers turned their headlights on. It was like nuclear winter, like science fiction. At about three in the afternoon, the sky became orange again. I am about a hundred miles away from the nearest large fire, and yet it looked like the fire was right here.
The following the day instead of orange, the sky was a white/gray sky. If I went outside, I could feel a stinging sensation in my throat.
Today visibility is about a thousand feet. Three million acres have burned. As far as I can tell, it's the national forests that are still burning. Make of that what you will.

My goals for September:

Four tweets - 1 completed
Four letters to senators - 1 completed
Four Facebook posts
Nanowrimo 50,000 words

set blog
four blog posts

publish Through Unfamiliar Waters

re-publish Temporary Address (this last goal probably won't happen in September)

I just had a private email exchange with another Barbara Sher expat who lives in SF CA and she spoke of the hardships it's wrecked on her. Temperatures into the 100s and even just an hour outdoors affecting her breathing.
Keep things filtered. In Seattle, we're getting smoke from the south and east. Nothing as bad as being/living in the midst.

Goals at the moment are to stay alert and ready to help my client succeed. Plus, there are seemingly non-ending crises afoot at this condo which keep me occupied.

For a couple of days I sat with one of my lined note pads and write two or three pages. I now have about 6 pages, and there they sit. Going back and typing them into the computer doesn't feels exciting. More like a chore.

Just looked up ol' Ernest's procedure and he wrote in pencil (working through 7 #2 pencils was a good day) kept count on an old piece of cardboard (500 words = good day). He transcribed standing up, sometimes for seven hours, on an electric typewriter. He also wrote standing up.

"In his lifetime only published seven novels, some collections of short stories and two non-fiction works."

I also know The Artist's Way advocated writing three pages in longhand stream of consciousness.

Yet, on the other hand, Isaac Asimov wrote or edited more than 500 books. How'd he do it?. Here are three nuggets from Asimov:
Isaac Asimov's Best Writing Habits
1. Asimov wrote every day, whether or not he felt like it.
2. Asimov used a simple writing style.
3. Asimov didn't care about critics.
Now, this give me a lot to think, er, write about. R

The only booked thing today is this call. It's tight: just 30 minutes. Reminders to self:

1. Answer the Question!
2. Be brief.
3. No humor/sarcasm.
4. Don't marry the sound of my own voice.
5. Let them know when I've finished answering.
6. B R E A T H E