"Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?" – Sir Terry Pratchett, Going Postal I've been trying to write this post for five days. It hasn't been easy. It's almost like I feel that if I press that publish button then it's really true: Sir Terry Pratchett... Continue Reading →
Train Song
In Bluegrass, there are a lot of songs involving trains. I guess that makes sense given that Bluegrass came about during the 1930s when there were a lot of songs about hoboing and working on the railroad and all that. I've been trying to write a train song for about a year now. I've had... Continue Reading →
Bassic Love
Yesterday, I celebrated my one year anniversary with my upright bass. I'd spent Valentine's Day helping out at the Grasshopper Shop and when I came home there was a bass in my bedroom. Now, my bedroom could accurately be described as a hobbit hole. It's long and narrow, it's actually a smaller than my half... Continue Reading →
Conversations with Trolls
This is a poem that I wrote a couple years ago in one of my fits of whimsy. I was looking back through my poetry this morning and thought that I'd share this one today. While I was hiding from the rain beneath the old bridge that spans the little river by the mill I... Continue Reading →
World Cancer Day
Hello. Today is World Cancer Day. I'd like to tell you about a friend of mine named Tracy Jalbuena. Tracy works in the Emergency Room with my dad. They were hired at the same time and so our families have been pretty close. I babysat for Tracy's kids, Noah and Tess. I dog sit for... Continue Reading →
Thirty-Two Percent
As a writer, even an unpublished undiscovered writer, the thing I'm most frequently asked is "How close are you to be done?" This may from the outside seem like a perfectly reasonable question, but it drives me crazy. Sometimes I want to say, "my book will be done when it's done and only then." But... Continue Reading →
Work
Last year, my parents - who are sainted beings - convinced me to resign from a retail job that I'd held for almost two years in order to focus fully on writing my novel. I was extremely resistant to this idea at first. I don't like to quit. I also don't like to feel as... Continue Reading →
To Read or Not to Read
Reading has always been one of my favorite activities. I wasn't one of those kids who started reading really early in life. My parents would read to me, but I didn't learn to read until kindergarten. It took me a couple years to get the hang of reading, but by the time I reached second... Continue Reading →
Belief
Belief is a difficult subject. It is so personal and individual that I don't much like talking about what I specifically believe in. Truth be told, I don't believe in much. I don't believe life has a greater purpose beyond the continuation of life itself. Individuals give greater meaning to their own lives. They can... Continue Reading →
Resolve
It's the new year. I know I'm a little late coming to the game, but I thought I'd talk a little bit about resolutions. I'm not very good at making resolutions and sticking to them. At least, I'm not very good at the kind of resolutions that require making big changes. If I resolve to... Continue Reading →