Since I've Been Gone

You may have noticed that I've not posted for a while. PArt of that is because I'm enjoying a respite from contact. The home internet connection is temporarily unavailable and my cell phone has been turned off (if anyone wants to spot me the cash to get it turned back on, that would be great). The funny thing is, I don't miss the phone. Sure, there are some people that probably have been trying to call me and can't get through and I feel bad about that. But everyone knows they can find me here. leave comment. If you need to talk to me that bad, I'll call you.

Family...

Right now, the house I live near is empty, ready for a two-week remodeling project. It has been empty for a couple days and already I feel how lonely a desolate home can be. I miss everyone that should be in the house. I don't so much miss the animals that go along with the people, but no situation is perfect.
I miss the kids the most. I'm pretty sure they miss me, too. I miss walking into the house and asking how the day has been. I miss the slence of a child not paying any attention to me just as much as I miss the common answer of "Good." I miss the answer "stuff" which nine times out of ten follows the question "What did you do today." I miss the high fives for no reason and the occasional tug on the leg. The tug is often accompanied by the plea, "Take me with you!"

It hurts, too. I know they will all be back in a couple weeks and things will seem like old times. But it won't be like old times. Once they are all back in the house, I will begin my packing in preparation for my move out of the house and out of this city. Then the real good-byes will happen.

Strange as it may sound, all this causes me to yearn for a family of my own.

Yankee Fans

Ok, I am Boston red Sox fan. I'm also a New England Patriots fan but that is another story. Today I want to talk about Yankee fans.

I love baseball. As such, I have an immense respect for the history of the game. Much of that history involves the New York Yankees. I'm ok with that. What i can't stand are most of the current Yankee fans.

After Boston (finally) won the World Series in 2004, I fequently heard the shouts of "Red Sox Suck!" Jealous bastards. I don't think it was NY losing the American League Championship as HOW they lost it. The Yanks, by all means, should have won that series. Of course, they should have beaten the Florida Marlins the year before and they should have beaten the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001. They didn't. Losing is something you just have to live with and move on. I'd like to remind Yankee fans of the years between 1981 (lost to the Dodgers in the World Series) and 1996 (won the Series against the Atlanta Braves) in which the total number of World Series appearances add up to...ZERO!!!!! The Yanks haven't always been on top. Losing bad is someting they should have remembered when they should have beaten the Pirates in 1960 on a late inning home run. They've won games that way and they've lost games that way. It is baseball; that is how it happens.

There is one particular fan I'd like to address right now. i don't know her name. I saw last night while on the Las Vegas Strip. i was leaning against a railing, waiting for some people to catch up. She saw me, wearing my 1947 throwback Boston cap, before I saw her. When I made eye contact, she turned her ballcap around so I could see the NY logo and smirked. I shrugged my shoulders and watched her walk away. Not too far down the road, she returned her cap to its previous state, again showing me that dreaded logo.

The worst part is she was an attractive girl who obviously cares about her baseball. I respect that. But could you see me dating a Yankee fan? That is just as likely as the Cubs winning the World Series.

Master Packer Strikes Again!!!!

moving always sucks. I've done it so many times I am nearly an expert. Moving sucks even more when it is other people's stuff. I don't mind it when i want to help (as I did the last two days). What really sucks is when there are plenty of people to help and some of them just stand there. I hate people in the way. When it comes to moving (actually, when it comes to anything) I'm a don't stop until it's done kind of person. Granted, I may put off starting a project but once I start, it is going to get done.

I, along with a select few family members, am a master-packer. We can fit boxes and weird shaped things into an intricate puzzle in order to make as few trips as possible. When only one trip is allowed, this is a must. It is a skill born of practice and problem solving. Not everyone can be a master-packer.

In two weeks, all the stuff I helped pack and move will be coming right back. Slightly after that, I get to pack my own stuff. I don't have as much stuff as an entire household. Good think, too. i can move all my stuff myself without anyone getting in my way.

Coyote Online

Ok, so my first issue got bogged down and never made it online. However, my second issue is now available online at http://www.coyotepressonline.com/home/

Enjoy!!!

Rolling on....

Well, my second paper came out today. Two down, one to go. Hopefully, I'm living up to expectations. Even better would be to surpass expectations. I don't know that I've down that. I've had deadline problems. I set a oal before i even started and I've not been able to hit those dates. What I have doen is get out a quality product. I still haven't heard anything bad at all. Kind of scary when i start to think about it. The past papers could not have been so bad as to make anything that is an improvement seem so much better.
Of course, I could be wrong.

Idaho, do you?

A strange thing was happening the last few weeks. I started doubting the attainability of my goals and plans. I started telling myself that I wanted time to finish a stalled book before going to a new school and embarking on new adventures. Mostly, I was afraid of having something right in front of me and not being able to pay for it. I had nearly convinced myself that I actually needed the semester off that I had planned to be this semester. Still, the biggest thing was being afraid of not having the money to make it through more schooling.
When I returned from Portland, a letter from University of Idaho was waiting for me. It was my total and complete financial aid awards. Upon viewing it, I was a bit happier. It looked like it'd be enough to pay for tuition. I would still have to find a way to live and eat. I could do that but that fear still whispered in my ear that I wouldn't be able to do it. It just wouldn't work. Then I had a better look at the cost estimate sheet I've looked at five billion times. The award letter is divided by semesters. The cost estimate is for an entire year.
Guess what that means? I will have enough backing to go to school, buy books, live somewhere and eat. I won't have to find a job that will suck up time that I should be studying. Of course, some of the financial aid will have to be paid back. For now, however, I am unencumbered. I still have to register and get up to Moscow, find a place to live and all that, but at least I know I'll be ok.
I'll finish that book eventually. until then, I'll just keep writing my short stories. Maybe I'll even sell a few of them.

Powell's is Heaven

Ray Bradbury was wrong. Mars isn't Heaven. Heaven, I learned, is a place called Powell's City of Books in Portland. I spent a lot of time there, looking at all the books I wanted and couldn't have. The rare book room is orgasmic. I stood there, oogling like a buffoon over first editions of Hemingway and Faulkner. The one I wanted most, however, was not one of the more expensive first editions. In a case close to the Horror section sat a 1st edition of The Stand by Stephen King. This is a true first edition, not the unabridged version, not a book club edition. I have book editions, where they replicate the original dust jackets. Gues how much this book cost? $150.00. Compare to one of the Hemingways, 150 was nothing.
I bought a Sherlock Holmes action figure.

Portland is a great place. Overcast most of the time, with a light drizzle of rain. I loved it. Not cold and not hot. It is baby bear country. Everything was just right.

I didn't win anything but I had quite a few people remember me from last year's conference in Kansas City. That is worth more than money.

There is a girl from Alabama who won't soon for get me, either. Wink wink, nudge nudge, know what I mean?