So this is one of those posts where I’m trying to get in touch with a couple of old friends because I want to say “hi” and see how things are going for them. It’s worked for me before — it’s how I found my college friend, Jana, and we’re still in-touch, which is cool.
The three people I’m currently trying to find:
Andy Gilliand (Frederick Andrew Gilliand) — we served together at Ft. Bragg in 1993-1994. We were supposed to stay in-touch, and I lost the last letter I had from him (college had me moving frequently), which left me without a mailing address. This was before the advent of email, so I was pretty hosed. Only references I can find for him seem to indicate that he went to OCS, and the last rank I had for him was Captain. I think he went to the University of Kansas — memory’s a little vague there. He used to kick the shit out of me at Axis & Allies on a regular basis.
Joe Duffy (Joseph Edward Duffy) — my best friend from 4th grade through 7th grade (we moved to Georgia after that). He moved off to Tucson, Arizona, and we lost touch. I’m really curious to see where his life went after we lost touch.
Taniamarie Nylund — we were classmates (Haynes Bridge Middle School and Milton High School) and co-workers (Dairy Queen). Spent a lot of time on the phone together during my last summer in Georgia (Roswell/Alpharetta), and didn’t end things on particularly good terms. Googling reveals next to nothing, other than she’s in New York and I think briefly worked for Queens College.
If anyone of you manage to Google your way to this blog entry, drop me an email at dbailey@danbailey.net.
So there’s something about being unemployed that’s good. Don’t get me wrong — mostly, it sucks. I’m stressed about money, I’ve got bills to pay, and I’m boooooored. That said, however, I seem to be making a TON of progress on various projects that have been piling up. For example:
All in all, not a bad run. Other than the money worries, stress, and boredom.
Based on an entry over at The Happy Hospitalist, I am putting serious consideration to giving the açaí berry juice a try as a dietary supplement.
Here’s his impressions by week: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Given the current state of my unemployment, this isn’t something I can just jump on and start doing now, but it is something I plan to give thought to, especially during the beginning of cycling season. See, I used to be in the army, and as a result of all that running, jumping out of airplanes, and such, my knees and ankles are in pretty bad shape. Just ask my ex-wife how much I used to bitch about the pain. Ibuprofen and I are old friends.
So everyone has their inspirations, people or works that inspire them. As a cyclist, you’d think I’d say something like Lance Armstrong, or Greg LeMond, and while I do think of Lance as a pretty incredible rider, and credit Greg with really growing the popularity of cycling in the U.S., neither of them really inspires me.
No, the riders that inspire me are the guys like John Sinibaldi (more), who ride into their 90’s, where it’s not about winning and losing, but about the ride. That’s the rider I want to be — I don’t need to be the greatest in the world. I just want to be riding into my 90’s and have a good collection of stories to tell over a beer after the ride.
So a friend, via IM, asked me if I could re-write a show, similar to what Ron Moore has done so brilliantly with Battlestar Galactica, what would I do? And it hit me. The idea was fully-formed in my head, it could be brilliantly done, and with a pre-defined story arc that would make for some intense, awesome viewing.
I’m going to write this treatment tonight, so once I’m a published author and someone asks if I have an idea for a TV series, my response can be an emphatic “yes,” followed up by an email with the treatment. Because, oh hell yes, this could be some serious fun.
Generally, my relationship to broadcast sci-fi has been tenuous. Read the rest of this entry »
So I’ve figured out the markets I’ll be submitting these two new stories to — the first one I started is going to start the Grand Tour of Rejection at Strange Horizons, and the second will start the journey at F&SF. I will have to do the smart thing and create a spreadsheet to track all my rejections, and I’m okay with that, because as a project manager, I’m a big fan of spreadsheets.
I’m hoping to have my rough drafts done by bedtime on Monday the 14th. Revisions and clean-up on the weekend of the 19th and 20th, and in the mail on the 21st.
…so an item of note: old TVs can catch fire spontaneously, even when powered-off and such. For once, I am grateful to be unemployed, as I was actually home when the debacle occurred. Fortunately, I unplugged the beast before it got too out-of-hand, and was pretty able to keep it from spreading beyond the innards of the TV.
This is frustrating, but at the same time, it’s a good thing — it’s one less distraction from the job hunt. And I’d planned on buying a new set after getting back to work. So I should be good.
Beyond that, not a lot to report. Writing is going well. Job hunt hasn’t been too bad. Worried that I might be coming down with pneumonia, though. That would be sucktastic.
The short story I mentioned is finally underway. The ideas haven’t gelled yet, but I’ve got an idea for structure, and I can write little bits that fill in the story. I’m going to have to rape this thing with the red ink when I’m done getting all the pieces down, and I’ll restructure it and patch up the holes before I workshop it, so that at least it’ll be a readable piece.
Speaking of workshopping, I think I need to find some local SF writers to work with. Yeah.
Well, it’s 2008. This August, it’ll have been a decade since I left Mankato State University with a B.A. in English (Creative Writing), and I figured it’s high time I got something published. So my 2008 resolutions included writing a new short story every month (and getting it in circulation), and getting the novel I’ve started completed by the end of the year. Both fairly realistic goals.
Recent Comments