March 2001 Archives

8:22 PM, a small Wednesday evening. It’s warm. I made an omelet for myself, with diced tomatoes, onions, celery and some fresh chopped parsley. A little ground pepper and a few strips of Swiss cheese rounded out things. It was quite the yummy meal.

Now I’m drinking very cold water. And typing.

It’s quiet here, in the middle of the week. Everything feels smooth.

This Saturday, Kelli and I will be getting together with a bunch of friends and having dinner at Bravo! I’m looking forward to it. It’ll be nice to unwind and have some fun.

Stepping out into the night earlier in the week was like walking into a refrigerator. Temperatures are drifting upward now, though and the weekend promises to be much more Spring-like. I’m remembering what it’s like in the Summertime here, windows open, warm breezes pushing through the screens. The smell of grass and flowers. A different feel to the air.

Tall days.

It’s nice to look at that, in my mind, at the unwinding edge of March.

--- JWR, 3/28/01

4:18 PM, between things, the day is the color of frost on a glass. Near evening -- but not yet. Daylight...but dim. Close to the edit (like the song goes) of the weekend. Thursday. And me? Well I’m slipping back and forth too.

"Bad Animals" is scheduled to appear on the SCI FICTION website on April 4th -- which should be cool because "Deadbeat" is supposed to be published in Aboriginal Science Fiction sometime in April as well. At this between moment, I am moving back and forth, writing this entry and working on a new short story. I also have to get some time in on the treadmill at some point.

* * *

And now, it’s dark.

The new story is moving along nicely. I finished another scene today and firmed up the plot a bit. I have a pretty good idea what’s going on in the story now but I’m still not sure how it is going to end. At this point I’m just focusing on getting the thing written down. I’ll pretty it up in the re-write.

It is warm in here. I took the garbage out a bit ago and the night air was just on the verge of chilly -- sort of hovering between that and a more Spring-like temperature. The stars were vivid and bright. It is more toasty inside. And quiet -- just the tapping of my fingers on the keyboard.

I can almost feel the weekend, waiting to arrive.

--- JWR, 3/15/01

3:50 PM, on a white wet Tuesday. I’m working on some stories while the snow lies in heavy curves and mounds over the ground outside. The trees have thick moist clumps of white stuck to their trunks. Angular branches form a ghostly lattice against a sky the color of milk. It’s quiet.

The music inside is loud, however.

I have a bit of a head cold and I need a shave -- but I’m grooving. Kelli has a very cool story on Terra Tales and I’ve been getting good news regarding my stuff as well.

SciFiction, the fiction part of the SCIFI channel’s website (scifi.com) will be publishing a short story of mine called, "Bad Animals" this month. Yesterday I heard from Aboriginal Science Fiction that they will be publishing "Deadbeat" -- possibly as early as this April.

Groovy!

My goal this week is to get at least one new short story written -- and to continue with the good old treadmill running and assorted exercises. I would never consider myself to be a jock but I do tend to think and work better when I am exercising in some fashion. (Editorial note: I must have spelled the word "exercise" three different ways while writing this paragraph. Variety: it’s the spice of life!)

So it is 3 Doors Down on the inside and frost-white silence past my window. The light has stayed the same today. All day. It could be 10am or five in the evening. The wind is curling around the trees and snow-edged powerlines. Tiny flakes are floating around aimlessly.

But inside it’s warm. Bright.

And wide-grin loud.

--- JWR, 3/6/01

5:54 PM, on a shiny blue-jeweled Wednesday evening and the sunlight is sloping in on a golden diagonal. I am caffeinated and filled with momentum, today. It’s pretty around here...

3 Doors Down is on the cd player. My leather jacket is draped over the back of my chair. I’m hungry. The weekend is waving from the near-distance.

Tonight, I want to get out and do some shopping. Kelli’s birthday is Friday and I want to get her some stuff that I think she’ll get a kick out of (by-the-way, congrats on the name change, Ms. Nerger!) I also have to get a new story ready to be mailed-out by the end of the week.

Joel and I went down to Rosebud last night and caught Matthew Sweet -- he put on a great show. We were going to walk over to M but everything except the lobby was shut off, so we couldn’t check-out the remodeling.

Well, I grabbed some supper. It’s out to the store, now...

"Paradise (Not for me)", by Madonna is playing now. Hours have passed. It is deep clean dark. This evening, I was out under a perfect Maxfield Parrish sky: pure twilight shadings, speckled with perfect bright stars. This whole day has been crystal.

My shopping is done and I’m ready for the weekend. Too bad it is still a couple of days away. I like the new look for my main website, Indigo. Initially I had been a bit hesitant about delving into frames -- but I like the final effect and the site seems to be working well.

Anyway, happy March to you.

--- JWR, 3/1/01