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. 

Our Man Joe

Vice President Biden looked into the camera last night and in so many words said, Paul "Voucher" Ryan, I am going to eat you up and spit you out in our debate!  If Clinton is the big dog, Biden is our big hearted attack dog.  His speech was Awesome!

What Biden said about GM's day of doom under Obama's Way versus the Bain Way was truly brilliant, truer than true, and the reason why Obama is the right choice for America.

Two Jobs

I've been writing a new novel since April called "The Arrival (and departure) of Martin Martinez, Future President."  It's 36 chapters long, around 40k words, and it's about board games, childhood and presidential politics.  Whatever spare time I have is given over to writing, research and revisions.  The first half is getting there, but the second half is still being revised.  It's the first novel I've written from beginning to end while working full time.  It's like working two jobs at once and logging in 80 hours of week each week.  Poor Alice.  She's been a writer's widow these past few months.  Next weekend we go to Bellingham for a few days.  I'm looking forward to it.

The other day, I went to Mitt Romney's website and this is what I found on the front page:

How does this front page win an election?  Anyone can state what the answer is Not, but presidents are supposed to state what the answer IS.  What does Candidate Romney think the answer is, and why isn't it the first thing I read on his website?

I spent last weekend visiting my nephew Mathew in Pullman, WA.  I hadn't been back at WSU in a couple of decades.  A lot has changed.  The new wing of the main library, named after WSU President Glenn Terrell, is beautiful.  There's also a new rec center that has four racquetball courts, a field hockey court, badminton courts, four full-length basketball courts, a track, lots of cardio equipment, volleyball courts, ping pong, darts, and even a foosball table.  We went there four times.  I saw a few of my former residences (Scott Hall, Monroe Ave., and the Honda Shop).  The CUB is a totally new building.  It's hard to believe I was there 26 years ago.  Wow, that's nuts. 

One of my favorite hangout spots at WSU was the periodical section of the Holland Library.  I was here nearly every day, reading magazines and newspapers.  It was always busy, but now the hall is a ghost town.  The main doors of the Holland Library are permanently closed, which is really sad.

Bruised Books was one of my favorite used bookstores of all time.  And it still is!  I bought David McCullough's "Mornings on Horseback" (hardback) for $7.  Nice.

I walked past this park every morning in 1986 when I lived above the Honda Shop in downtown Pullman.  I'd forgotten how steep the hill was to the top of campus.

I remember seeing Hannah and her Sisters opening weekend at the Cordova.  Now it's a house of worship.

Luv my Sistas!

Then and now...we took this last weekend for Dad's 70th birthday.  We went through lots of pictures, many of which I scanned into a thumb drive.  I need to scan the whole collection.  There are some crazy pics...like this one from the 70s!

I need two pairs of sunglasses for this color combo.  Holy cow the that was one crazy decade!

I took Rossana and Daniel to Flipside Burgers Wednesday night, our new neighborhood burger joint on Lakeshore Ave. 

Our meals received a coveted Three Thumbs up for freshness, taste, and juiciness.  We were very satisfied.  Welcome to the neighborhood, Flipside!

I hit the racquetball courts extra early this a.m. to counter the effects of all those fries.