Saying "Eff It"?

Well, the month of August is almost over, and regular readers of this blog might have been wondering what has happened. In July I averaged one post per day or better. In June I almost did. In August my average looks more like one post every three or four days - which is still not bad, for a blog. I stopped doing Blogmail in mid-July with the intention of going month to month rather than week to week, but as of now there really isn't enough to justify another edition. Perhaps the end of September will see one, but then it will have been a full nine to ten weeks since one was sent out, so I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

So, why have I not been writing? I've been asking myself that a lot lately. Since my blog has been so successful for my creative spirit, I've been trying to analyze myself in its regard. Some of you may know, but I once wrote a first draft of a novel, back in the early 90s. Parts had been written on two typewriters, but I wrote 130 pages of action and dialogue on an IBM PS/2 computer - one of the ugly all-in-one deals, like the equivalent of the Mac Plus but IBM. I had been meaning to go back and expand it - put in descriptions, but in backstory, subplots, etc., fatten it up to around 400-450 pages - and maybe publish it. Well, it never happened - and the sad part is I no longer have the file. It was lost years ago. It's still in my head, and I've been meaning to finish it for over 10 years. (I'm only 27.)

So here comes this blog, and I'm really writing in it. But the same thing happens - writers' block. I think of something to say, and I just say "Eff it". Not to the whole blog, but posting, that story, that day. I put it off. Believe me, I have a lot of stories I've put off posting up here. Hopefully over the next couple weeks I can get them out.

Why have I been away? I think I can narrow it down to five reasons. Most of these deserve a post of their own - trust me, it's coming - but I'll post a little about them here.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

I don't know why or how I missed this game years ago - probably playing so much Deus Ex. You don't really have to be a Star Wars geek to play this game, but it does help if you've at least seen the movies. You at least, I think, have to know that the Republic is a centuries-old alliance spanning hundreds of worlds, that the Force is this universal force that controls and permeats everything (it's really hard to explain) and that the Jedi and Sith are sort of monks/swordsmen who can control the Force - they basically have magic powers the Jedi use for good and peace and the Sith use for evil and war. You play a character - male or female; scout, scoundrel, or soldier - who learns that they can use the Force, and trains as a Jedi, on a quest to save the galaxy from the Sith. But you don't have to be good - you can actually become a Sith Lord, as I understand it. I'm near the end, I think, playing a good guy. I started a game as a bad girl, but I won't play that much until I've completed my first game.

Fixing a computer

I spent a good few days fixing a buddy's computer. I actually didn't touch his for a while, except to back up his files. See, I've been toying around with this great program, Microsoft's VirtualPC 2007, which basically lets you make a virtual computer, inside your own. It starts out empty, so you have to put an operating system on it. Windows, Linux, it doesn't matter. So I tested a few versions of Windows XP Home with his license code to see which would work. There was actually some confusion over whether it was OEM (came with the computer) or Retail (bought new from a store). At one point neither would work - but I mistook a B for an 8 and that made all the difference. I actually ended up not even reformatting his computer, which would have been the better solution, but he decided instead I should just put some good programs (freeware!) on it, and of course I loaded it up with some other cool stuff, too.

Meow!

We have a new addition to our family, a black cat with tan and white markings. I consulted one of my favorite cousins, since we were at a loss for the name; she helped us pick out the name Smores (we omit the usual apostrophe). She's a good cat, but a skittish little tweeker thing. More pictures to follow, but for now, well... read on.

Pimpin' out MySpace

I'm not too big a fan of the popular social networking site (the fact that it was started by an ad agency says most of why) but I do maintain a MySpace page here. I have a blog there, but I haven't updated it in months, except to point here and to discuss updates to my profile there. I've added a TON of pictures, going from around 5 pictures to around 40. I have galleries for myself, for Jen, for family, for friends, and for stuff we own (brag gallery). So go ahead and check that out - under my profile picture, click on Pics or Pictures under, it's either "Check out this user's" or something like that, followed by Pics/Pictures and Vids/Videos. I have no videos there as of yet. As I said about the cat, I have a picture of Smores in the Our Family gallery, and I think it's the best one we've taken of her. If you're out in CA, you can see my family here; if you're in NC, you can see some of my CA family.

Work, work, work

As of today, I have officially worked the last 16 nights. I have a fairly easy job, but I still have to go there every day, and I have to deal with the public. No, it's more accurate to say I have to deal with idiotic college students. These clowns and alcoholics who will be our future doctors and scientists are a real sorry lot now. Half these idiots can't read, at least not without thinking about it a little. And their common sense is uncommonly laughable.

So I guess I'm back to writing. But I've been up all night, I still got a doctor's appointment to go to, and I've still got a few errands to run, so, ta ta for now. (I think Anthony Hopkins said that in one of the Hannibal movies.)