7 Quick Takes Vol. 14

Conversion Diary FTW! 

1.       Well, for those of you who follow my other blog (the one I actually write on), you might have noticed that I’ve been growing more casual and sarcastic (or do I repeat myself?). That’s a feature, not a bug. I’ve decided to embrace my some-what abrasive, introverted personality and just kinda run with it. There are a number of reasons why, most revolving around the fact that trying to hide or subsume it doesn’t actually seem to have helped much in the ol’ socialization department, so why bother?

2.       One of the nice things I’ve been noticing about Online Dating is that it’s kinda forcing me to put myself forward, whether because it’s really hard to get in touch with anyone (I confess; I tried with one girl three times without getting a peep in response. Might have been rude, but I had to consider: possibility of someone I’ll never meet having a low opinion of me that she’ll quickly forget all about versus…well, let’s just say it wasn’t even close), or just because I’ve been hanging out on the forums and having people laugh at my wry comments. A little positive reinforcement goes a long way.

3.       By the way, sometimes I wonder whether I’m being too picky with the dating thing. Then I think; ‘well, what the heck should I be picky about if not this?’ So, yeah, I’m going in with high standards; not so much anything specific (beyond religious/political agreement) as that I’m looking for someone who stands out to me somehow as being particularly unique or smart or quirky. And if she happens to also be a petite brunette with glasses, well so much the better.

4.       So, I’m getting down to the wire with Chronicles of Hendricks. Let me explain how I’m working: I pretty much just write whatever scene I feel like, but there’s a ‘main thrust’ of the story, which means a more-or-less complete block of text starting from the beginning. At the moment, the whole book largely consists of three big chunks; the main thrust, another from slightly later on, and the ending. In other words, it’s actually coalescing into a single, solid whole. Do you remember when the T-1000 got shattered at the end of T2, and then the droplets all came together until it reformed itself? That’s kind of what my writing technique looks like. Right now, it is finally assuming a more or less human form.

5.       Okay, the heck with analogies. The point is that I have set myself a final deadline to have the whole thing done (or at least, in a presentable form) by the 23^rd of August, at which point I will begin posting it in serial form at a private blog that I will set up for the purpose. More information on that as we get closer.

6.       After having deleted Minecraft for the third time (the thing soaks up time like a vacuum cleaner), I decided last weekend to reinstall it, though with strict limitations (honestly, writing and Online Dating are usually more fun anyway, but sometimes you just need to turn off the brain). Mostly it’s because I’ve found that it’s a great way to listen to audio books when you’re not driving; you just turn off the background music and it gives you something to do during the long, long hours of Nicholas Nickelby. It’s surprisingly easy to pay attention to both at the same time, and it makes you feel like you’ve actually done something worthwhile while you were lost underground hunting for diamonds.

7.       On Tuesday of this week I walked to and from work (roughly three miles one way), something I’ve been meaning to do all summer. On the way there I worked out a number of troublesome plotting problems and came up with a lot of great ideas. On the way back I was mostly saying Army cadences to myself (they really do work, by the way). I don’t know whether that was because I was tired after a long day at work or because the route I took back (I took different routes to and from to see which works better) was a lot longer, less direct, and hence tiring. Incidentally, my legs were incredibly stiff and sore all evening after that. Can’t wait to try it again next week!