No longer homeless

I've got a nice studio apartment on the 4th floor of a big brick building that looks something like a prison or county jail. Unfortunately, getting everything set up has put me behind in my writing, so nothing much to report today. But I will say Buffalo is a very laid back town in many ways. Stores close early on weekends. People love to ignore stop signs and just roll into traffic in front of you. Ice and snow means drive faster instead of slower. And everybody talks with this massively flat New Yorker accent and I actually heard a couple of people use "youse." Hey-yell, I ain't in Texas no more, that's fer dang shore.

Still lots to do to finish up, so more discussion tomorrow. Not yet having internet or cable set up yet, I have to hop down to Starbuck's to use their free WiFi. And have some Refresh Tea and an oatmeal-raisin cookie. Nice excuse to indulge...but I can't do a lot of that; I'm at the edge of being penniless, again.

Why the hell can't I just sell one of my books to a movie producer for a million dollars? It'd make a very controversial movie, but I have the perfect actors in mind for Curt and Shayes or Antony, Collie and Jake or Eric and Bobby. Any takers?

UPDATE -- a photo of Scott Mechlowicz...who'd be excellent as Jake should RIHC6 ever be made into a Hollywood film (yeah, I'm laughing at that, myself...but you never know)

Let it snow, let it snow...

So much for the idea of nicer weather. It's snowing harder today than it was yesterday. Everybody's telling me this is not normal, but I heard that in Detroit, last year, and figure people's memories are hazy. Hell, San Antonio had 13" of snow in January 1985 and people were freaking out over the snow flurries down there, recently. Of course, the climate crisis deniers say this one local snowfall is proof there is no global warming, like what happens in the mid-Atlantic states is indicative of the whole world. They sound more and more like the fools who made fun of Noah as he built his ark, and we know what happened to those idiots.

Still, it IS snowing and snowing and snowing. And I gotta go to it and move or stay another night in a motel. Rather not do that.

I worked on RIHC6v2 and got a bit bogged down in how to get from point A to point F and had something new pop up to complicate an already complicated situation. But it's needed. Jesus, I hope this thing makes sense when I'm done.

No longer homeless

I have an apartment and will move in tomorrow, which is supposed to have nicer weather than today. The news says Buffalo got 3.5" of snow...but I think it was more like 6" around my hotel. I've dug my car out twice to keep it from being too lost in all the white.

Next comes the fun of buying a futon and setting up my internet service. Im not getting a landline; my cell phone will do, especially since I've decided to upgrade it.

So I worked on RIHC6v2 most of the day and now have 210 pages with 25-30 left to go. Maybe. Antony's tossed in another twist. I swear this character thinks he's playing "Twister" with me.

Welcome to Buffalo

Need I say more?

I'll have a first draft of RIHC6v2 done by February 28th. I'll need to go back through and make sure everything connects correctly, but I got everything set up that I could ever need or want in the story. Ah...but does it have a happy ending? It depends on your definition, I suppose -- or not. But be warned, I'm back to having fun with it.

Why?

Someone PLEASE explain to me why cars have trouble in the worst weather possible? And cell phones die on you just when you need them to work? Is there some law of physics I'm ignorant of? Well...I'm ignorant of a LOT of physics, but still...

Now this isn't as dire as it sounds. It's just -- I found my left rear tire flat this morning and had to change it in a steady snow shower because the road service people couldn't even begin to tell me when they'd be able to get someone out to do it for me. Not being a complete nitwit, I knew how to work a jack...so did. Took me half an hour and a frozen nose, but I got the dinky-assed spare on. Then I took it to a Firestone because I'd bought the tires at one in San Antonio and had been smart enough to get the roadside hazard protection on them. So the repair cost me nothing, but since I didn't have an appointment, he couldn't tell me how long it would take to fix.

Thing is, by this point it was 11 am and I'd done my usual minimal breakfast and was feeling a bit hungry. So instead of just waiting at the place, I went to a Tops grocery store that was nearby, bought something light to eat and set up my laptop in the solarium to do some writing. And I waited till 2:30 pm before finally giving up waiting and returning to the Firestone to see how it was going. Of course, by now the snow was worse and was accompanied by a biting wind. So I find out my car's ready, figured the guy hadn't had a chance to call me yet and head off.

I get back to the motel, buy some new WiFi time at the desk (you buy cards for 24 hours of use; it ain't free) and get busy doing other things, figuring I'll deal with the online stuff later -- until I get a call on the motel phone. It's the guys at Caladex wondering why I haven't responded to their emails and phone messages. And THAT'S when I find out my cell phone is dead. I popped in a new battery and learned that the tire repair was done in an hour and a half, and that my new job needed me to go to Miami for a couple of days. Man, I felt like an idiot. I mean, I NEVER get lots of calls on that damned phone, and I'm usually slavish about checking e-mails, but the second I'm out of pocket everyone's trying to contact me. It's irritating.

However...Tuesday, I'm heading for Miami and coming back Thursday. I feel so jet-set.

On a positive note, I did get some things going in RIHC6v2 -- a whole 5 pages fresh and new. It'll be interesting to see how this latest twist comes across.

When you go to Niagra Falls...

Everybody tells you go to the Canadian side because the US side is depressing. And I can see their point. The Canadians treat this natural landmark as a national treasure; the US acts like they HAVE to do something because of all the history and it's a park and all that crap.

But still...on our side there's a nice riverside space of trails and trees and views of the river and squirrels and birds that will take food from your hand (the top photo is taken from that park). And while the gift shop and the park personnel tending the place are hardly of the greatest calibre, the Canadian side has its share of the same thing. Go into the amusement complex at the base of that observation tower and you'll see what I mean. Something else -- the Canadians have the better view of the Falls. As in, they can see the whole thing (the second photo is from their side). From the US, the best view you get is from a platform built out onto the river and that's a side view.

Still, it was interesting to see how neat the Canadians were with the area and how their side was serious about making it someplace to go to while we still basically treat the place like an old joke.

BTW -- these two photos were the best ones out of 60 I took. There's so much ice and spray going on, it's hard to tell what you're looking at in the rest of my shots.

I popped over there after signing up for an apartment (all bills paid, with cable) in Kenmore Village and meeting with my soon-to-be-boss for lunch. Had to go now because tomorrow a nice big snowstorm is expected...and today was all sunshine and light. So no writing done, today. Yet. It's not too late to fiddle with some things, but tomorrow will be an "in" day.

Buffalo and no snow...yet

But apparently 6" is on the way for Thursday or Friday via a Nor'easter. I found a really nice Motel 6 by the airport for under $40 a night, including WiFi, and tomorrow I'll get to looking for an apartment. Already got shot down once when I called about one I'd seen online while still in San Antonio. Oh well. I've got other options.

While driving I thought about Antony and his story and tried to understand what was missing from RIHC6v2, and 'round about Cincinnati I think I came up with the problem...and between Cleveland and Erie had an idea of how I could handle it. What's nice is, my three main guys like it, which surprised me. I'd always thought Jake was too cool to be seen agreeing with Matt, and he'd insist on it being shown he's only going along with Tone from love. Looks like I may have been dissing him without realizing...to which he's just kicking back, looking cool and nodding in agreement, just to make me feel like a dork.

Or maybe a blond since my red hair is transitioning through that color en route to being white. Right now my head has the same color as the nose of a 10 year old Irish Setter.

Just for the record, my travels took me through --

Austin
Waco
Dallas
Texarkana (I think, I was 5 miles into Arkansas before I realized it)
Little Rock
Memphis
Nashville
Bowling Green
Louisville
Cincinnati
Columbus
Cleveland
and Erie

My car liked the roads in Kentucky and Ohio but the rest of the states need to make use of their stimulus funds and do some major repaving. Like NOW.

Movin' on up

I'm now in Elizabethtown, Kentucky in yet another Motel 6 that's in better shape than yesterday's but still has issues. For example, I had to call Tech Support to be able to sign in on their WiFi because the access code refused to work. but no smokers ever in this room and lots of restaurants about as well as a Kroger's so...I guess I got what I paid for.

Roads in Tennessee were worse than Arkansas -- one stretch between Memphis and Nashville had such ripples in the freeway pavement, I thought my tires were coming off -- but the Kentucky roads have been much better. Weather was overcast and misty but not bad. I don't mind the chill. Of course, I'm now on Eastern Time and have to get used to that and the different hours for the couple of TV programs I like to watch. I'd turn on the TV right now and watch "Castle" but it won't stay plugged in.

I'll do a bit more writing, instead. I have the feeling I'm missing something in RIHC6v2 that will keep it from joining neatly with v1 and need to refresh my brain with it, again. And I feel a bit repetitious in v2. Maybe I'm at the limit of what can happen and now am just feeding off my own little self. Irritating to sense that and not know exactly why or how to repair it. Yet.

Enough. I'm tired.

We do not like Motel 6

They used to be a great little chain of motels with a nice cheap room everywhere across the country. Well...I'm currently ensconced in one in Little Rock, Arkansas after deciding against one in Arkedelphia, Arkansas because it was hiding behind several other motels and looked pretty creepy. This one has a nice entrance and pleasant landscaping, but they promised free WiFi and turned out it'd been wrecked by a tenant. And it turned out someone was fixing their car in the parking lot. And the clerk locks herself in the office after a certain time. And people run up and down the halls and slam doors and it's almost 1am. And I'd have left but I didn't find out any of this till I'd already paid for my room and had my things set up in it. I'm now nervous my car might get broken into. All it has is clothes and books and paperwork I needed to bring -- for POS and taxes and such -- and my Mac Mini, which is old but I've backed up everything on it...but it'd still hurt to lose any of that. I'm parked directly in front of the office so that should make things all right, but I'll be very leery of Motel 6 and if things ain't perfect at the next one I stop at -- I'm aiming for Bowling Green or Louisville, Kentucky, depending -- I'm dropping them.

I got more done on RIHC6v2 so now have more than 200 pages of story. Nothing fresh, today; just clarification and a polish of what I've already done. I worked on it thinking I had no WiFi then finished and shut Word down -- and there was the airport signal showing full and ready. So be it.

The drive was nice until I got to Arkansas. Texas roads are bad; theirs are hideous. My car is NOT liking them, at all. I'm not surprised; Republicans hate to spend money except in tax cuts for the rich and wars without end - but you'd think repaving the highways would be good for everyone concerned. Guess not.

My mother and youngest brother are now on their own and dependent upon my sister and my middle brother for things like grocery shopping and trips to Home Depot and such. Here's hoping it works out.

Still doors slamming. Shit.

The end is near

I have maybe 2 1/2 chapters left to do in RIHC6v2 -- then comes a polish and repolish and re-repolish and then it'll be done. And I can get onto the third volume of "Bobby Carapisi" since I've actually been hounded a bit by the publisher on it. They've already assigned an ISBN (they thought I'd written it and was just rewriting when I submitted the first and second volumes back in September) even though I told them it wasn't ready.

This section should be fairly simple, though. It's Allen justifying his actions and Eric learning the truth behind what happened to him and Bobby...and accepting full responsibility for his part in what followed. I've already written about a third of the book, in parts -- that includes a tense face-to-face between Eric and Allen (obligatory to the max in this type of book) -- and have the rest of it plotted out...but we've seen how well THAT works. At least it's a road map that will provide me with direction when I take my little side roads and short-cuts and scenic drives.

After that, I'm adapting a script into book form -- "Coby O' and the Pink Palace of Texas" -- and will try to be as light and fun with it as I can be. It'll still have its subversive elements and some solid erotica, but hopefully nothing like RIHC6 got to be. In fact, I may tell it all in third person, just to work my skills on that venue. First person has proven to be an easier style to use -- for the most part. After all, POS is being told in first person and I'm as shaky as hell about it.

Man, I do NOT like things to be easy, do I?