Wolf House

Alice and I visited John, Sara, and Seth Donnelly in Sonoma over the weekend.  What a fabulous time!

We took a walk in the rain to Jack London's Wolf House in Glen Ellen. 

My Kindle's loaded up with Jack London novels, but I haven't gotten to them yet.  I should read one this week in his honor. 

My days are overflowing with work, writing, and endless little items that take longer than they need to.  I miss the balance of a writing life.  Writing while working has always been a great challenge to me.  One day at a time, that's all I can think about right now.  I do like how this new book is shaping up.  I still haven't come across anything like it out there in middle grade land. 

Haven't seen The Hunger Games yet, but plan to soon, maybe this coming weekend when I'm in Seattle for my dad's 70th birthday.

State Singles in Fullerton, CA

The California State Racquetball Singles Tournament was last weekend in Fullerton, California and my energy was zapped early in the tournament, which was something I was worried about in the weeks leading up to the event. My endurance has been an issue since November. After only two matches in Fullerton I was tapped out. My third match Saturday morning was against the eventual winner of the A Division, Octavio Medina, who made some incredible gets during our second game and managed to overcome a 10-4 deficit to beat me and take the match. I didn't win another game after that in my age bracket. I could barely move properly on the court and my focus simply wasn't there. I look forward to getting back to full strength next year and becoming more of a threat. The one bright spot for me last weekend was my come-from-behind win in the first round against a player named Frank who had a great drive serve. I was down 2-9 in the tiebreaker but managed to claw my way back and take the match 11-9. I didn't play well throughout the match, leaving balls up and missing my serves, but toward the end of the tiebreaker things started to click, especially with a couple of wall-hugging Z serves. Unfortunately, I was so exhausted after the match that two hours later when I faced Octavio I wasn't fully there. The walls on our court were also very wet, creating all kinds of sick spin on the ball. The organizers actually shut down our court after the match because it was so unplayable.

Two days later, I'm still very sore in my legs and right arm. I'll play again on Friday and definitely work on my leg strength in preparation for the Stockton Pro/Am next month.

While in Fullerton, I visited my nephew Tristan, who's a freshman at Chapman University. We had a great time together over a couple of delicious burgers at Claim Jumper and sandwiches at Watson's Diner in the center of Orange. Tristan's future looks very bright indeed!

Now that the state tournament is over, my attention has shifted to the new middle grade novel I'm working on about a future U.S. president who as a 5th grader believes he was a mighty king in another life. I hope to have this story finished by July.

Top 10 Things on my Mind

1.  The Oscars...and The Artist, which gets my vote for Best Picture.

How does a silent, black and white film become the most talked about feel good movie of the year?  I have no idea, but the moment the lights dimmed and the music began I was hooked.  This was one of the most enjoyable movie experiences I've had in years!

2.  New YA Novel...middle grade groundbreaker for boys...readable draft ready by mid-summer.

While waiting for Julia Milan to find a home, I'm keeping myself busy with a new novel about a fifth grader from Oakland named Martin, whose uncanny insights about leadership and human nature propel him to national promiance during the presidential election of 2012.  Presented as a biography about the young life of a future U.S. President, this political page turner is unlike anything in bookstores for middle grade readers (especially boys!). 

3.  Julia Milan news...no news yet...

Good things come to those who wait, and great things come to characters like Julia who must wait to find an editor who understands why she is the way she is.

4.  Vanguard Mutual Funds

I've been meaning to update my 401k situation with a new strategy and positional shift to Vanguard and its low-fee, strong-performance mutual funds.  I never seem to have enough time to read annual reports and prospectuses, but I'm getting my act together this week.

5.  Neal's Visit last week

w/ Neal @ Chapel of the Chimes

My longtime awesome friend Neal Fowler visited last week and we had a TOTAL blast hanging out, eating Zach's pizza, the new burger joint down the street, watching a few flicks ("The Descendants" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy") and even giving 4th grade neighbor Sophie a violin lesson.  Can't wait for Neal's entire family to come visit!

6.  Inspiration Point with Alice

This morning, Alice and I took a wonderful 4-mile walk through Tilden Park in Berkeley, walking along Inspiration Point on a crisp, cloudless day.  As Alice would say, "This is living!"

7.  1776 and George Washington

I listened to the audio version of David McCullough's "1776" last week and parts of it again this week.  The Battle of Trenton is still swirling around in my mind.  I now understand why George Washington is so revered by historians.  He needed a total game changer before the start of 1777, and on Christmas night 1776 he totally delivered what has to be one of the most dangerous, gutsy, midnight surprise attacks of all time.  Stunning.  Truly awe-inspiring.  I love this founding father right now.

8.  Racquetball

I'm preparing for the A division of the State Singles Tournament next month in Fullerton, CA, and it's amazing to me how consistent I can be one day and inconsistent I can be 24 hours later.  Yesterday morning I moved around the court like an 80-year-old.  I could barely move.  Steve B., Brian R. and I have been playing singles a lot in prepartion for March.  Next week is the Club One Doubles Tournament.  Can't wait!

9.  Page Plus Cellular on the Verizon Network

Last month, I was all set to upgrade my orginal iPhone to an iPhone 4 with AT&T, but quickly learned that would mean an additional $30 in monthly fees, so I searched for a less expensive but reliable option.  This company out of Ohio is very good and uses the Verizon Network.  For $30/month, I have all the minutes, texting and data I need.

10.  Downton Abbey Season 2

 Not as tight nor compelling as season 1, but still an engaging program with many likeable characters.  Can't wait for season 3!

New Year

Alice and I traveled to Hawaii for a few days after New Year's, just to get away and relax before embarking on the beginning of a very busy year for both of us.  We were in Honolulu five days and four nights, and we both had a sensational time.  The weather was perfect and the food was just as good.  We took a lot of pictures and I hope to add more to this entry throughout the week.

Christmas at Gwen's was wonderful.

Alice, Austin and I had a great time!

Santa was very good to Bailey and Zenna:

We played games...

ate food...

played video games and watched tv...

opened presents...

and bonded with the family!

On Monday, we visited the Arends in Olympia and had a blast. 

Christmas Cards

I haven’t mailed out Christmas cards since December 2007. This year I was determined to update my address list, visit the card store down the street, and send out something that (a) updated my friends and family on my life in 2011 and (b) included all my old and new contact information. It took about three weeks to organize everything, but as of this week I’m finally putting stamps on envelops and sending the cards on their way.

For years I’ve sent out around 20-40 cards, but this year I doubled my address list to include new and old acquaintances through Facebook, conferences, and racquetball.  I bought four boxes of cards, one set with angelic renaissance paintings from the National Gallery, one set featuring cabin and forest drawings, one snowman set from Hallmark and one glittery old-fashioned set that was on sale. It’s so nice to have these cards crossed off my to-do list!

I had planned to create a one-page Christmas letter that updated everyone on my life; however, last week I received Curt & Megan’s Christmas card from New Zealand in which Curt’s paintings and the 2011 family updates were interspersed within an 8-page mini-book folded from one sheet of paper. I unfolded the sheet, studied how it was put it together, then I blatantly copied their idea. I think I’ll make these little booklets every year because they’re so cool. 8 pages from one sheet of paper…I love it! Maybe next year I'll print 16!  Thank you Curt & Megan for this great idea.

Back to "Normal"

I'm feeling like my old self again, minus the lingering pain in my lower back from that nasty spinal tap. My head is fine, no headaches, nothing unusual. I can't wait to get back on the racquetball court. A few of the morning players are playing left handed while Steve B. recovers from his wrist injury. Maybe we should start a left handed singles league in 2012. That might actually be a lot of fun.

While I wait for Sam to find a publisher for Julia Milan, I'm drafting the novelization of Botticelli Girl. I'm combining the structural efficiency of 24 with the narrative elements of Tom Perrotta's Election. I plan to stick close to the original storyline of my and Chris's screenplay. I may have to bang this one out quickly so that Sam can have a backup novel in case the unthinkable happens and he can't find a home for Julia. That totally boggles my mind.  The outrage only encourages me.

Alice and I will be tournament sponsors at the 2012 Stockton Pro/Am in April.  I cannot wait to see the world's finest racquetball player who ever lived (Kane Waselenchuk) compete against Rocky Carson, Ben Croft, and Stockton's own Jose Rojas. Last year, we saw the best female players battle it out in Stockton, and the championship match between Rhonda Rajsich and Paola Longora was one of the most memorable come-from-behind victories I've ever seen (Rhonda won in five games).

I'm reading a bunch of books right now, both hardcopy and ebooks on my ipad, Kindle and iphone. What I like most about ereaders is the ease of looking up words I don't know. It's an amazing time for readers and writers.

I'd love to see The Descendents this weekend, but I know Alice has wanted to see Tower Heist for weeks. Maybe we'll see both.

Two weeks from now we'll be in Seattle. It will be so good to see all my family and friends. I'm listening to

right now. After years of listening to this album, it only gets better, especially track 7's Skating.