Still Here

Despite how it looks on this blog, I am still alive, still around, and still (sometimes) posting to my blog. I'm just doing it Torah Walk more than on here right now. Don't worry, that will be changing. I'm going to start posting on here more often. I know, I said that last year. This time I mean it. Really.

Time for a quick catch up post.

Last time I posted, I was starting NaNoWriMo again. How did it go, you ask? Well, better than 2013, but I still failed. Big time. Just over 5000 words. Not good when the goal is 50,000. I'm now 2 for 4. I won the first two years and lost the next two. This year, we get back on track. There WILL BE 50,000 words written in November. I expect you guys to hold me to that.

I'm now teaching twice per month at B'nai Israel instead of once. Obviously, that takes more time. That's both good and bad. It takes more time, but it also forces me to do more studying and to write more for each teaching. That is always good. Anything that forces me to put words on paper is good.

Coming soon...
A to Z Challenge 2015 - Once again I will be participating in the A to Z Challenge. I have completed this challenge two years in a row. This is a streak I intend to keep going as long as possible. Check back in March for the Theme Reveal Bloghop when many of us participating will be revealing what our theme will be for the month. It will be a good one this year, I promise. I know I'll be checking in March to see what theme I've chosen. The anticipation is killing me.

Well, that about covers everything since the last post. It's not as much as I thought it would be. That's almost depressing. Oh yeah, two more things coming up that I'm very excited about. March 1st is Winter Jam. I'm really looking forward to it this year. Skillet is back! It should be a great concert. I'll be sure to post an after-action report shortly thereafter.

April 30th, after a wait of roughly an eternity (plus or minus a couple months,) Home Free is finally coming to Oklahoma. They still won't come to Tulsa for some reason. I don't know if one of the guys had a bad experience in Tulsa and was permanently traumatized or if they just keep forgetting we exist. Either way, we have to go to Oklahoma City to see them. Oh well, they're worth the drive. The kids are counting down the days. Kristin and Alyssa get giggly just thinking about it. Can't wait.

That's it for now. I'll be back soon with another scintillating post filled with Mongoosey knowledge and experience.

IWSG: It's NaNo Time!

Pardon the lateness of this post. I had it almost finished on Wednesday and forgot to post it until Thursday morning. Oops. Hopefully Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh can forgive me.

That's right, it's time for two things at once. It's the monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group post and it's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). If you are unfamiliar with either of these, please click on their links to read more about them. Both are pretty much exactly what their titles say. As usual, thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for starting the IWSG and running it so well every month.

As mentioned, this month is NaNoWriMo. That wonderful time of year when hundreds of thousands of seemingly sane people devote an entire month to writing the Great American Novel, or whatever it is being called these days. One month, fifty thousand words. What could possibly go wrong? This is my fourth year attempting NaNo. I won the first two years and failed miserably last year with a whopping 565 words. No, that's not a typo. 565 words in a month. I did have an excuse, and actually a pretty good one this time. I injured my back on November 2nd. I was unable to sit upright for more than a few minutes at a time for the next two and a half weeks. By the time I could type more than a dozen words at one sitting, it was almost Thanksgiving. So I gave up and that novel is still sitting at 565 words.

I have only two regrets from last year's NaNo fiasco. One, I broke my win streak. Two, I allowed myself to stop writing the story. Even though I didn't win NaNo, I should have continued the story as soon as I was able to write again. I WILL be correcting that in the near future. The story is too cool to leave unfinished. It's still trying to crawl out of my brain at times, so I better release it soon before permanent damage occurs.

This year, I'm already several thousand words behind. But I'm not worried. Why not? Because the first year I was almost 30,000 words behind at Thanksgiving and I won. Fear is a great motivator. I was afraid of losing, and that's a good thing. This year, we're going to 50K and beyond. No doubt about it.

IWSG: Maybe a Schedule Will Help?

OK, so I missed another Insecure Writers Support Group posting last month. Anyone who has followed my blog for more than a few days knows I have a bad habit of leaving long gaps between posts at times. I'm working on it... really. I have a plan to improve things. I'm going to start scheduling times to write. I will include blogging time, short story time, and novel time. These will have to fit in somewhere between Hebrew study time, Torah study for class, Torah study for church, and teaching preparation time for class and church. I think that will help me put more focus and emphasis on each item at the proper time. I'm hoping it will make it easier to avoid procrastination. If should also give me a little more accountability.

Has anyone else improved their writing consistency by making a schedule? Were you able to stick to it? Did you use specific times or just say "write for one hour on Tuesday evening?" I think I'll try both methods and see what works best.

That's it for today. Until next time; which, according to the schedule, will be October 1st. (See, I've got this.)

IWSG: Still Writing, Little of it Fiction

Has it really been two months since my last post?! Time has completely gotten away from me. I apologize for missing last month's IWSG post, but my daughter was having her Bat Mitzvah that week and we were camping that weekend AND I started in a new department at work and have had to learn far more than my 42 year old brain had any intention of assimilating. Therefore, writing was out the window. But I'm back this month with another entry in the never ending saga of my attempts to write something worthwhile.

In the last couple of months, I have written quite a bit. I have posted at my other blog a couple of times. Those are my Torah teachings, so it's a totally different writing mindset from this blog or any of my fiction writing. I also wrote a short story for a contest. I wasn't selected to compete, but it forced me to write something, so I'm still chalking it up in the win column. I have some other ideas that have been percolating for some more short stories that I hope to start writing soon.

Since I wasn't getting much writing done due to being too busy with work, church, and school, I decided to make a big change. I added more classes and took a new position that requires occasional travel. That should definitely make writing time easier to find. Right?

IWSG: Where Do I Find the Time?

It's time for this month's posting for the Insecure Writers Support Group. This month is an extension of last month's topic of procrastination. Yet another month has passed without any meaningful writing getting done. Unless 27 blog posts counts. Does it? I know I have a bad habit of putting things off, especially my writing. Some of the reasons for that were covered last month. But sometimes, I get on the ball, set aside the distractions, and plan on getting some writing done, only to realize that I don't have time to do any writing. I have class on Tuesday and Thursday nights. I film for Torah Puppets on Wednesday night. I work Monday through Friday. Friday sundown to Saturday sundown is Sabbath, so no writing then. Sunday is yard work, plant sales, and visiting with the extended family. I teach at the synagogue at least once per month, plus another teaching for school. Plus I have a wife, four kids, two dogs, and a cat that want varying amounts of time and attention. When am I supposed to write? Do I take time away from family? Spend less time preparing my teachings and risk sacrificing quality? Or do I do the unspeakable and cut down on my TV time? Gasp! Twitch... shudder... painful moan.

I guess it's obvious what the solution is, but is it really fair to make a six year old mow a yard that big?

Z - Some Things Are Just Obvious

It's the last post of the A to Z Challenge for 2014. I tried very hard to make it something clever and unexpected. I wanted to go out with a dazzling display of musical knowledge. Yeah, that ain't gonna happen.

Love
ZZ Top - I know. It's the obvious choice. But really, how many other good bands start with Z? I can only think of one more and I need it for another category. Besides, there aren't many bands that have kept the same lineup for over 40 years and continue to perform today. They've also had many hits over those years. My favorites? Gimme All Your Lovin' and Sharp Dressed Man.

Hate
Zoot Suit Riot (Cherry Poppin' Daddies) - I honestly couldn't remember if I liked this song or not. So I looked it up on Spotify. Wow, what an annoying sound. I'll let that one go. Maybe it will die a merciful death.

Hate to Love
Rob Zombie - I have trouble deciding if I like Rob Zombie better solo or with White Zombie. Either way, he makes some darn good music. Why do I hate to love his music? The dude is over the top creepy. I'm not entirely convinced he's not a serial killer on the weekends. I wouldn't be surprised to look in his freezer and find dead cats. Or his former band mates from White Zombie. But More Human than Human is still one of my all-time favorites.

And thus we end another A to Z Challenge. This one was definitely more difficult than last year's themeless month. I hope everyone had fun with it and hope to continue following several new blogs. Thanks for visiting this month and I'll see you around. (I promise to post more often this year than I did last year.)

Y - You Can Call Me Mongoose 1

Y? Because we can! Sorry, lame joke. Getting a little slap-happy this close to the end of the A to Z Challenge. This was another interesting letter because I kept finding songs that I love, or at least like very much. That makes it hard to list something for the hate and love to hate categories. But, being the intrepid blogging mongoose that I am, I searched until I found something for each category. (And got an annoying song stuck in my head. That automatically qualifies it for hate status.) I picked the top two songs I love, so you get a bonus today.

Love
You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon) - This is my all-time favorite Paul Simon song. (That's solo Paul, not Simon and Garfunkel. Bridge Over Troubled Waters FTW). The song was cool even without the video. Add the video with Chevy Chase and it becomes a Mongoose Den Hall of Famer. Though I'm not sure I want him calling me Betty.

Yahweh You Reign (Mason Clover) - I put this song in the top two Mason Clover songs. I would have to call this one and El Shaddai numbers 1 and 1a with them trading off the top spot. Both are great praise songs that you can really dance to. Really. We dance to it every time it's played at our church services. Plus, as I mentioned in my M post, Mason is a good friend. That gives it bonus points.

Hate
You're So Vain (Carly Simon) - Normally, I wouldn't give this song much, if any, thought. It was well before my time and not anywhere close to any genre of music I typically listen to. But as soon as I came across it on my list, it started running through my head with hobnail boots, stomping on brain parts that I've come to prefer unstomped. I can't let any song get away with such activities. It sets a bad precedent for other potentially mind-numbing musical selections. Bad Carly, you're banished from the Den.

Hate to Love
You Shook Me All Night Long (AC/DC) - It shouldn't take much to figure out why this one gets the "hate to love" moniker. If you read A, you know how I feel about AC/DC. So it just pains me to have to admit liking this song at all. But it's one of those that I can jam to anytime I hear it. That disturbs me. I feel abused.

Unexpected Bonus Track
The Anti-Song
Yellow Submarine (Beatles) - That's right, the anti-song. This is bonus information you can't get just anywhere. Trust me, you'll want to know this and tell all your friends. What is the anti-song? I'm glad you asked. Ever get a song stuck in your head, stomping on brain parts with hobnail boots? Want to banish it forever? Sing the anti-song. A few repeated refrains of the chorus of Yellow Submarine and any nuisance song will flee the confines of your mind. The best part? The anti-song will not get stuck in its place. Warning: Do not dry-fire the anti-song. If there is no song stuck in your head, the anti-song will fill that void nicely. You've been warned.

That's it for today. Let me know what music you love, hate, and love to hate (or hate to love) for Y. And yes, you can call me Al. Or Mongoose 1. Until tomorrow, Betty!