Sometimes I Wish I Weren't So Scrawny...

Queue from Bundle on Vimeo. (This is a fun animation done by a wonderful artist whose work you can find over at mumblier.com.)

I hurt. And not just a little bit either. This is a full body hurt, sore from my shoulders to my ankles. How did this happen, you might ask? Let me--as the great Busta Rhymes would say--Picasso you a picture:

After taking my wife to an hour and a half chiropractor visit, we arrive home, me dropping her off so I can head back to my work day. Alas, when I enter back into the Smith-mobile, it won't start. Nothing. Not a sputter, a gasp, a whine, nothing. Of course, I have parked into our extremely long, one lane driveway, so our other car is now stuck between the house and the now-dead Cavalier.

I get the bright idea of pushing the Cavalier into the street, thinking we can roll it in front of the house, have it parked there, and can figure out what to do with it later. Of course, this is me we're talking about, a skinny guy with little to no muscle, and my wife--who has just returned from the chiropractor.

Long story shorter, we end up getting the car jackknifed in the middle of the street (we live on a bit of a hill and in order to get it into the right place, it needed to be pushed a bit up said hill) and the bumper just waiting to take out our mail box. We must've tried for good fifteen minutes to get this thing moved, until one of our neighbors finally took pity on us, came over and helped us push it into place (amazing what the addition of one able-bodied person can do.)

It's good to have those around us that will lend a helping hand--sometimes it would be nice if it were just a moment sooner. You know, before I almost give myself a hernia.

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

The Funk has Lifted--Just in Time for Another One

Life has become routine again. I've readjusted to my normal, non-vacation life, plowing through the words upon words that I must copy edit to earn my keep. Though, things aren't nearly as good on the writerly front.

I'm on the downward slide of the 2nd draft of my novel, and you'd think this would give me a boost, a second wind to push through to the goal, triumphant, arms in the air, feeling the breeze on my sweating pits. It's quite the opposite though. I'm so close to being done, and I'm so sick of looking at the thing that I just want to call it good and quit. Plus, after having my first acceptance back in April, I'm itching to polish up another of my short stories, make like a flasher and expose the thing. Normally, I'd just take a quick break, spit-shine one of them and get it in circulation, but time--as usual--complicates things. There's about a month until my next residency, which I'd like to have my 2nd draft in hand before I ever pair up with my next mentor. I'm tempted to take a complete break from the novel and just work on short stories this semester--or the newest project that has been sloshing about my noggin, but I will still need to finish my 2nd draft before starting on something else--especially since I'm so close to the end. The last thing I need to do is eject my brain from my novel's world right at the last minute. I guess I'll just do the proper thing, quit complaining (though why else does half the world even blog?), put my nose to the grindstone, and get this friggin' thing done. My social life might just go to poo.

In the meantime, my review for Kung Fu Panda should be up soon. I'll get you a link come tomorrow. Same with Don't Mess with the Zohan--I hope, depends on Logan. Either way, be sure to join me tomorrow and my further exploits, most likely revolving around Lego Indiana Jones and World of Warcraft.