Needing to Start Ignoring the Distracting Things of Life

Lately, my writing has suffered.

Forty to sixty percent of this has been my fault. I keep getting wrapped up in the glorious entertainment the world has to offer. And by this, I mean the latest Prince of Persia for Xbox 360, and the Settlers of Catan expansion: Knights and Cities. These games--along with my art habits--are keeping me from doing what I should be doing: writing. What's weird is that I enjoy my writing as much as playing either of those games, yet I keep ignoring it. I blame this on the other 40 to 60 percent of why my writing has suffered.

This stems from the novel itself. It keeps causing problems for me. So far, the problems have been solvable, but they've been speed bumps, if not outright stop signs, in my progress. Little issues pop up, wave me do, and ask me "Excuse me, sir, do you know what the hell you're doing?" Often I can say, "I think so." But lately, it's been, "Let me get back to you on that..."

I'm getting back to them, and should soon have my thesis done. Away I go. Gibberish tomorrow.

Residency

Happy MLK day. I hope most, if not all of you, can have a bit of a holiday, on this a celebration of one of the greatest men to ever live.

As I said on Friday, I'd keep this brief, and basically catch everyone up to speed on what happened over the two week period where my retelling of Nutcracker Prince occurred.

This last portion had to do with my MFA program and the twice a year residencies that I attend. Unlike past residencies, this one was quite low key, going to bed at normal hours, still fighting off my sickness, bringing in the new year by playing Rock Band, and watching such films as The Triplets of Belleville, Godzilla: Final Wars, and The Big Lebowski. The true highlight of the whole thing came in the fashion of being paired with an amazing mentor to carry me through this final semester as I scramble to finish my thesis/novel, and whip up an interesting lecture to give this coming summer. My mentor's name is Karen Gettert Shoemaker, and she is an unbelievably intelligent woman that I believe will do everything she can to push me through the final goal posts. Her collection of short stories, Night Sounds and Other Stories, is not one to be missed.
That's really about it this time around. No real drama or craziness.

And that brings you all back up to speed, and allows me to finally comment on my recent comings and goings. Gibberish tomorrow, with a special guest artist on Thursday, so be sure you check back--at the very least--for that one. I'll introduce her more thoroughly on Wednesday.

Have a good one.

Whew...

Today marks the end of my third semester for the MFA program. Only one left and I become a holder of a master's degree. Kinda frightening if you ask me. Luckily I finished most of my work yesterday for my turn in today, otherwise I'd be in trouble, as today will be rather busy. Ah well.

Found out last night that one of my cats has only one working kidney--and that one is weak. It's weird to think about how animals have so many of the same problems as we do, but we mostly don't take the time to find out what's wrong. I guess it just strikes me as odd, and I can't really say why.

All in all, I'm in a weird mood today. Need some more sleep. I think I shouldn't be allowed to make chili anymore (as it is WAY to hot for my own taste.) And I feel like there is too much to do in my remaining weeks before so much will explode.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I'll see you back on Monday.