Derry, Northern Ireland

Derry, Northern Ireland
A book I'm working on is set in this town.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Back to life...

Back to reality. The second I return to Buffalo, I start sneezing. I don't know what it is in this part of the country, but I was fine in Columbia all the way up to New Haven and through Burlington and Syracuse...but last night I had to pop a (real) Zyrtek to control my nose. It's weird.

I've learned the keyboards put out by Mac have some flaw in them where letters will just stop working after 2 or 3 years. That's what happened with my desktop, tho' in my case it's really more like 4 years. I guess I don't use it hard enough or consistently enough.

Today was a meandering day. I got my mail and sort of straightened out the mess I dragged in, last night...and it was a mess, because I wanted to turn in the van ASAP. Papers everywhere, leftover food, tools and materials...and a new chair. I found one at IKEA, right by the La Quinta I stay at, that was only $40. I'd seen it the previous time I was in New Haven and thought I'd get one in Buffalo...but there isn't an IKEA here. You have to go across to the Canadian side...and pay GST of 13%. So, since I was in a mini-van, I brought one home.

The drive was long, again, but this time I came up the 17 (which is also the 6 and soon to be the 86) to use the 81 to Syracuse and catch the 90 there. It was cloudy and wet much of the way, and I loved it. There was a moment outside Binghamton where the mist mingled with some low, tree-shrouded mountains and valleys, revealing occasional barns and houses in a way that made it all seem as alive as I was. Layers of soft grey mingled with deep greens and leaves already beginning to change into their Fall colors. The drive became worthwhile.

I'm having trouble getting back to work on ...Owen Taylor. I think it's just because I've been at it for so long, and now have to go through it to correct some stupid decisions from earlier...and I'm tired. The family situation also still weighs on me, as does the constant rejection I've submitted myself for. And finances, tho' there's nothing new about them being a problem. It's just, after a while you have to wonder why you keep it up. I know it's partly because of habit...and a need to tell my characters' stories, but I also wonder if it isn't also just plain stupidity...or stubbornness.

Well...I can be a truly hard-headed little prick.

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