Season's Greetings Kind Of

I've been out of touch (again) lately. I aggravated an old injury at the gym and that pretty much ate up my whole week. I did manage to watch both Monty Python and The Holy Grail AND The Life of Brian and I knitted two and a half hats and ate gallons of soup because I'm pretty sure soup isn't just for colds and I really felt awful. I'm on the mend now and moving around the house almost like regular.

Also, it RAINED today. In Southern California. This is a really big deal here. I went out for a walk at 7AM just so I could play in the rain.

Otherwise I've been working on another graphic essay project, looking over the artist's roughs for my next novel's cover, and doing some final stuff for the Awesome Jones sequel!

This brings me to the purpose of this post. Tomorrow, for Cyber Monday, the kindle edition of Awesome Jones will be available for just 99 cents! So, faithful (and new) readers, if you haven't yet bought a copy of this book, here's your chance to get it for less than what I bought a peppermint patty for today!

In case you're wondering, here's the official book blurb:

The only thing Awesome Jones wants is to be a super hero. Until he falls in love.
Despite his colorful name, Awesome Jones is a painfully average man who dreams of being a super hero, just like the ones who patrol his city. It’s been that way since he was a little boy, raised by his grandfather after his parents’ death.
The day Jones starts his new job as a file clerk at Akai Printing Company he meets secretary Lona Chang and everything changes. Lona sees something in Jones that no one ever has and the two quickly become inseparable. But when the perfect pair’s domestic bliss is threatened by a super-powered secret from the past, Awesome Jones has to make a choice. He must decide whether he should play it safe or find the strength to live up to his name and risk everything he’s come to love to save the day like he always dreamed.

This superhero novel is more than just a comic book in prose—it’s a fairytale for adults.

Recovery Etc.

I'm not gonna lie, it's only November 13th and I'm about 97% ready for this year to be over. It's not that it's been awful top to bottom. Some really, truly, lovely things have happened this year. My VERY FIRST BOOK WAS PUBLISHED. That's exciting.

Otherwise, though, it's been a roller coaster of stress and sadness and moody days. My life was taken over by the process of publication--again, a great thing--just stressful. My Shakespeare program (which is a huge part of my life and my identity and has been for ten years) got canceled and it was completely out of my hands. My grandpa died. I hurt my shoulder/arm and set my lifting back months. My best friend started a new job and I miss her. I worry about family members who are going through much worse things than I am. Sinus infections. Korra is ending. My coffee maker broke down. Ok, some of these are obviously more important than others but they all had a definite effect on me.

Here's some of what I've been trying to do to pull myself out of the ridiculous slump I've been in:

1- Bought a bicycle--that whole saga is in another post. In short--this ended up being a train wreck. I finally got the bike to a point that I thought I'd be able to take it out for a ride:

Look how excited I was. Idiot.

I planned to take it for a VERY short test ride. But, about three minutes in, the handlebars AND seat both suddenly rocked inward and almost dumped me out. I ended up hurting my hip and shoulder in the process. This bike is trying to kill me. She and I are through.

2- Took apart the Murder Machine (Schwinn Fairhaven) and boxed the whole thing up to take back to the store. This process was actually very cathartic and far less time consuming that putting the damn things together.

3- Knitting.

4- Gardening. This summer, when it was 110 degrees every single day with 5% humidity, everything I planted pretty much dried out and died a sad, quiet death. November, as it turns out, is a lovely time to garden in Southern California.

 5-I quit spending time on Facebook. Initially this happened as kind of an accident. I was just so busy working that I didn't go over there very much. Then I realized how much happier I was without it. Pleasant surprise.

6-Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. I've raved about the Borderlands series for as long as it has existed. I loved the first game (my birthday present in 2010) and the second game (our anniversary present to ourselves in 2012) and the newest game (our anniversary present to ourselves this year) and I've had a blast playing through this one in whatever snatches of time I can get.

Googly Eyes certainly help.

7- Breakfast. I've been getting up sometime between 5 and 7 every morning (though occasionally it's pre-4AM) making a little breakfast and then going straight to work. When my coffee machine broke down, I had to replace it and ended up getting an AeroPress which is lovely. Breakfast is the real reason I get out of bed every day.

PS- I made that apple butter.

8- Avatar: The Last Airbender rewatch. I loved this show when it was on. I rewatched it a few years ago but not really since. I recommended it to my sister recently and decided to try and watch along with her. But, you know, she's a college student and was on fall break so she totally blew past me. Still, this ended up being an amazing experience. I'd forgotten so many of the little nuances of this show. It really is brilliant and if you haven't seen it, you ought to. Then watch Korra.

Ok, so basically, I've just been doing regular stuff. I mean, besides buying and putting together and then taking apart a Murder Machine, I've been doing regular stuff. And sometimes it's the lame, every day stuff like knitting and watching TV that is the most healing. For a while, I felt like I was running on empty. And, I'm not saying the tank if full now. But it is better.

Still, I've thought lately about how much I miss this project. I miss writing about Star Trek. I miss watching it. But, just picking out random episodes isn't my thing at all. So... I'm considering something new for 2015. I'm considering watching a single episode of Star Trek every day. Probably, like 2013, I would take the weekend off. But, in general, I'd be watching 5 episodes a week and then writing about them. It would be more low-key than 2013. The posts probably not as long. I mean, I can't afford that kind of time allocation. I have to polish up the Awesome Jones sequel and plan the third book while also writing the sequel to another novel that's not even out yet and then somewhere in there find time to work on the graphic project I'm desperate to get back to. Still, I miss this. I miss Trek. I miss you.

It sounds like a good idea. At least, right now.

What do you think?