When last we left our plucky hero (me), we were finishing up chapter 11 (not the bankruptcy kind) of Tesla’s Ghost and looking forward to making hay while the sun didn’t shine. Alas, don’t you hate it when real life gets in the way of art?
So here’s what happened: I was really productive the first week of Christmas break. I got some writing done, and did some work for my classes as well. Then family started showing up. Our two-person home became a three-person home, then a six-person home, then an eight-person home. And plans on being creative and productive went out the window. Instead, I spent the break putting up ziplines for my grandson, watching cartoons and Harry Potter, playing Minecraft (or at least watching a seven year old play it), and playing the grandfather. It was nice to see my daughter, my son and his family, and for a few days, my sister and her husband. But I am glad to finally have my house back. Visitors are great, for the first few days. Then you find yourself counting the minutes until they leave.
One bad thing that happened during the break: we had to have Cooper, my daughter’s dog, put to sleep. We took him for a walk on New Year’s Eve, and when by the next day he hadn’t recovered from the walk, we took him into the emergency room. They determined he had cancer. We buried him in a section of our backyard reserved for our pets. He will be missed.
The last week of break I excused myself from company and locked myself in my office to get ready for classes. Today I am happy to say that not only do I have all my syllabi done and my powerpoints prepared and loaded onto Canvas, our content management software, but that I have all my tests and quizzes for the semester written and loaded as well! What that means is that I can go back to Tesla’s Ghost as soon as this weekend.
I’ve run out of excuses. I’m back to writing. See ya.
The Great Adventure 