The writing weekend that wasn't

2005-11-28 - 8:55 a.m.

The writing weekend that wasn't. First there was a bit of a miscommunication Friday with the folks I was to meet up with. As in they misheard and didn't communicate. ahem. For three people who make our livings by words, we often seem to screw them up when thrown in each others' direction. So they wrote Friday and I didn't get much of anything productive done. Oh, and never, ever, google the one that got away when you're lonely. Bad, bad idea. You don't really want to find that photo of him, looking amazing. Trust me. Just poke a salted finger in an open wound and you'll be just fine.

Saturday I still didn't hear from them. Namely, the one I was expecting to hear from ditched me for hockey tix. I ended up working a half day (on work work, not noveling) reviewing video footage and then took a spectacular fall down the stairs and spent a while saying "ow. ow. ow" and icing my hand. One of my steps is messed up and I really don't know if that happened before or after the fall. It seems like before but I just don't see how it could have happened. Think I'm going to have to rip up all the carpet, reconstruct the step and recarpet them. Gah.

Later I ended up going out to the killer Mexican restaurant not far from the county lockup with the hockey-watcher. Had such a good time chatting and drinking beer and the hop wallops were calling from the pub so I ditched my plans for music downtown and we had a couple of wallops at the local. Home again for a great, if buzzed, IM conversation with a friend in Chicago.

Sunday I finally insulated my windows for wintertime. I also made a discovery that made me realize I was a complete idiot last year. My bathroom window is the crank-type with louvered glass, so it doesn't seal up tight. Last year I just put some of the insulating plastic over the inside screen and left it at that. This year I discovered that there was a glass pane for the window that the previous owner had stashed behind the furnace. D'oh! So the glass is now installed in the crazy window and all the others are covered in plastic film. Now if only I had properly fit doors I'd be good to go.

Sunday night had dinner with the boys at Standard Tap. Lovely butternut squash soup and then some of their perfectly tender calamari. Driving home I got a flash of inspiration sparked from a conversation we'd had that I think makes a way better book concept than the one I've been working on. I even know where it needs to go, so hey there's progress right there. Got home and dashed out some notes on it to get my initial ideas together. I think this one has real potential. And I think this process was probably more beneficial than the crap writing I'd have churned out even if I had applied myself this weekend.

Am considering a number of changes. I've been trying so long to sort out what's next and something big to work towards. But now I think it's time I just start acting on options even if they're not what I ultimately hit on. The action itself is bound to spark something new to shove me into a new direction. Momentum is an effective thing and who am I to fight physics? Dastardly plans are afoot.

Timing is perfect for this as I'm leaving for a few days in the Netherlands Thursday night. Spending time with my friends there always tends to put my head back in order. Can't wait to see them.

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