4 Days Left!

I have four complete days left of work.  What joy.  What incredible freedom.  To have the rest of my life to write stories, articles, screenplays and non-fiction pieces is about as satisfying as finding a check in the mail for $1 Million or having Obama win re-election or Hilary win in 2016.  Pure satisfaction is how I'm feeling right now.  It's hard to appropriately put into words how happy I am to see this phase of my life come to an end, a long 20-year stretch in which I needed time to mature and work through my issues while devoting so much time and energy toward other people's work.  I will not miss that for one second.  I'm grateful, however, for the skill set I've learned in the corporate world, the work ethic I've adopted and the effective life lessons and time management skills I've incorporated into my daily routine.  What I won't miss is the tedium and blandness of corporate life, the detachment from what matters most to me.  I don't believe I will ever have another boring day in my life, even though so much of the future will be spent in front of my monitor at home, banging away at the keyboard or taking a nap on the couch.  I have tomorrow and Monday off, then Tuesday-Friday -- my final four days -- until 7 p.m. on December 14 when it's all done. 

My first official day of writing will be January 14, 2013.  My 1,000 Days of Writing will go until October 10, 2015, the day before my 52nd birthday.  I'm eager to see what I can accomplish with 1,000 days of uninterrupted writing time. 

 From Dec. 14 - Jan 14 I'll connect with family and friends, clean, read, organize, prepare and play lots of racquetball. 

Sara told me to revisit Introducing Girls a few days ago and from that she gave me a great idea that I've been kicking around all week.  No Sweat:  an Elementary Memoir.  Before I write Austin15, I need to put on paper the source material for everything, the first 10 years of my life, my crazy wonderful childhood and all its secrets.  I knew there was a reason why I kept everything.  I'll need it all to write this book.  I'm ready to make so much noise. 

8 Days Left

I have 8 days left of corporate life.  How sweet is that!  This week I work Monday through Thursday, and next week I work Tuesday through Friday.  I'm already loading up my schedule with writing projects, books to read and family to visit.  This year is going to be wonderful.

Yesterday, Alice and I went to Emery Bay to exchange an ipod nano for Alice (hers stopped working).  I checked out new books in Barnes and Noble and bought three, plus I'm reading another about mentally ill leaders who excel in crisis when compared to more normal leaders.

The Thomas Jefferson book has been on my mind all week.  I'm glad I finally own it.  I don't know as much as I should about him.  After Martin Martinez, I find myself drawn to the histories of presidents.  Cowboys Full is great research material for Austin15.  I'll start that in January.

Yesterday morning it rained so hard there were two small rivers zipping down Erie and Mandana streets.  It was something else.  Today it's calm and clear. 

Dorian and I played Tiger and Glenn in racquetball this morning and we were clicking.  He made some beautiful shots and we were unstoppable. 

Jon Meecham is only 43.  That blows my mind!

Off to work for the eighth-to-last time!

Post-Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2012 - A very relaxing enjoyable weekend spent in Oakland and San Francisco.  Alice and I spent Thanksgiving morning at her house preparing for our visit to Richard & Lisa's at 4.  We took our time preparing appetizers, cleaning, reading.  At the Youngs we feasted on delicious everything, cheese, nuts, crackers, hummus, then turkey, potatoes, rolls, green beans, more turkey.  It was the Youngs, Rodney & Spike and me and Alice.  I had three pomegranate champagne cocktails.  Wow, they were good.  We stayed until 10:30, the time I can barely keep my eyes open.  I've become such a morning person.  Friday was another Thanksgiving at Alice's with her family and another round of non-stop eating.  I feel heavy all over.  Saturday and Sunday have been leisurely and enjoyable.  Last night, Alice and I finished up our viewing of Pillars of the Earth.  This morning we played badminton until noon.  I went to the library later today and checked out Julian Barnes's The Sense of an Ending, which I've been wanting to read all year.  

Thought On the Election

Two weeks after the election, I'm struck by the various reactions from Republicans over the election.  Newt Gingrich said it best when he acknowledged the President deserves our respect over his great victory.  He was shocked that Obama won, as was Romney.  Romney's concession speech on election night was graceful and poignant; however, his remarks a few days later over the reason he lost -- the gifts Obama gave to his constituents -- has been criticized by everyone.  Apparently, he's still reeling from the defeat.  Did he really think he was going to win?  Still last year, I really thought he was going to lose.  Romney had one core conviction throughout the campaign:  I want to be president.  That's all he really believed in, and he would say anything to make it happen.  No one told him that strategy doesn't work in this country.  You have to believe in something and stick with it.  That's what we respect.  You can game the electorate, at least not on the national stage when running for president.  I'm glad we will no longer have to listen to another Romney political speech in our lifetime. 

It seems to me the problem with the Republican Party can be traced back to the Republican Primary debates and some of the extreme positions so many of the candidates chose to take.  The competition to see who was the most conservative candidate became a contest to see who possessed the most extreme hostility toward the federal government, women, immigrants and Obama.  If Republicans can remove their extreme hostility out of their primaries, they'll stand a better chance in 2016. 

Giving Notice

After 2 1/2 years at Wendel, Rosen, December 14 will be my last day.  After that, I'm writing full-time, starting first with a non-fiction book proposal with Chris called "Bad Uncle's Guide to Adult Life," followed by Austin15, an online poker novel.  My year will be very busy.  I plan to build my presentation PowerPoints to schools and write a few short pieces for magazines.  I'm excited at all the time I'll have to produce. 

We Got Your Back, Obama!

I'm in a GREAT mood today.  Really great mood.  Last night played out close to how I had envisioned back when I was watching the Republican Primaries last September 2011.  Team Obama is simply one of the most incredible political machines in American political history.  They played this game like clock work, running a campaign that exploited every weakness of their opponent and getting their voters to the voting booth.  It was amazing.  To have the race and Ohio called for the president at 8:15 p.m. Pacific Standard Time is a testament to the trouble the GOP faces in future presidential elections.  They have a serious problem with their party.  Every one of those Republican Primary debates from last year is still on the internet for voters to listen to.  That's where Romney lost the election when he made the decision to become the severely conservative candidate who chose to go to the far right of everyone on immigration and women's rights.  Romney gave an appropriate and moving consolation speech last night.  It seemed genuine and heartfelt.  I wish him well in private life.  I'm so ready to move forward with our re-elected president and the rest of the country.  Fired up, ready to go!  Great call last night, America!  It's why this country rocks!

  

Martin Martinez is Almost Here!

I've been at work on a new novel since April while working a 40-hour/week job.  I will never do that again.  Not only have I been ungrounded for months, I've practically ignored all other aspects of my life.  Work, write, racquetball, Alice, work write, eat, write, work, racquetball, Alice, write, shower, write, work, write, brush Sandy, write, work, send an email to someone, write, work, write, work, sleep, work, write...Needless to say, I can't wait to finish this thing.  It's called The Arrival (and departure) of Martin Martinez, Future President, and it's all narration, most of it anyway.  I write in the mornings and evenings before and after work, and sometimes during lunch or between rushes.  Fifteen minutes here, an hour there.  It's no life, that's for sure, at least not for me.  It's not sustainable.  I'm not happy when I'm not grounded. 

All the chapters are on paper, all 36 chapters, each over 1,000 words long with the whole thing coming in at around 40k, but the last 12 chapters in particular need a few more passes, and the middle section is thick with explanation and short on excitement.  In other words, there's so much left to do. 

I was hoping to finish by August, then September, now October.  I really hope to send it off to Sam on November 7, the day after the election.  It's about a famous 21st century president who first gets into politics as a ten-year-old boy during the 2012 presidential election between Obama and Romney.  He comes from a Republican family, so he's rooting for Romney to win, even though Obama pulls it out...at least in the book he does.  The race was looking so good until Obama's lackluster debate last week.  I still think Obama will win, but anything can happen.  I've learned a lot writing this book.  More than anything, I've learned I really do enjoy sitting down in front of a computer and banging out words all day.  I never thought that would happen.  It just sort of snuck up on me, like so many other things these days.