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January 23rd, 2008

10:01 am - Squandering talents daily from 8:15 to 4:15 There has got to be a better way for Chris and me to make money. I mean, we're both talented people. We shouldn't have to waste our time and energy working at dead end jobs all day. Why is it so hard for talented people to be successful? *sigh* So this morning, I sort of fell asleep sitting up on the floor in the living room. One minute I was in the middle of a Percy love fest, the next I was dreaming again. Percy's loud eating noises woke me up. That's kind of scary. I wonder how long I could have stayed sleeping like that. Yet another way I can be late for work. My mind may say, "I have to get up early and be at work on time and be a responsible adult," but my body will always be against me. I made a resolution this year to concentrate more on writing and music. So first, I finished typing "Danielle's Autopsy Table," and posted that. So far I have four good reviews on Fictionpress. Then yesterday I finally updated my band contacts database and sent out some e-mails. Chris is mailing two snail mail press kits today. We should have more shows in no time. Of course, I'm being more discriminate now, when it comes to booking. I'm not likely to take some random Tuesday at a tiny club in South Philly without good reason. A good reason could be that the place is known to be extremely popular, or another band we like needs an opener, or it's through a company that books for a better venue we'd like to get into, or they're paying us. If it's a weekend at a tiny club in South Philly, OK. I'm mainly looking for big events, like music festivals, fundraisers, sporting events, etc; stuff with a built-in audience. Come to think of it, there was a bowling alley in the suburbs that promised money for two sets, but we didn't have a drummer at the time. I've gotta put them on my list. On the writing front, I'm going to finish this damn "Home by the Sea" story if it's the last thing I do. The new Jen finishes things. I have no idea when or how, but damnit I'm going to finish it. It's a good concept, it's just really complex. It's so involved, it's hard to figure out where it's going next. What's more, I'm afraid this whole long story is almost completely devoid of emotion. I don't read very much and I watch a lot of movies, so I usually write a story as if it's a movie that the reader is watching. Whenever I try to involve emotion, it always comes out sounding forced, because it is. I don't have feelings. This one is different though, because I have a lot of characters, experiencing a lot of emotions. That's why it's taking me so long, because it's so much more complicated than everything else I've written. Usually, I see a little scene unfold in my head like a short film, and I describe what I see. That's been working for me up until now. I'm starting to feel like I'm out of my league here. Ugh, frustration. I ordered Stephen King's On Writing from Booksfree. I don't usually bother with non-fiction, but I thought I could probably use the advice. I was reading a little bit about the book and wow, I've been breaking all his rules. First of all, as I already knew, he thinks thesauruses are bull crap, and I think my thesaurus is my best friend. I mean, that's easy for him to say, he has an amazing vocabulary. I didn't study English in college because I actually wanted to get a job. Second, he's got some kind of problem with adverbs, and I use adverbs like they're going out of style. Again, easy for him to say, the man has a talent for metaphors and similes. My metaphors and similes are always really confusing. Then there was this whole part where he talked about how important it is for writers to read as often as possible. I'm like, reading hurts my eyes. Can't I just see the movie? It kind of discouraged me reading all this, but then I thought, King blows his nose and a bestseller comes out.. maybe he's got something there? So I've decided I'm not "going on a diet," I'm just "eating better." That makes sense, right? I don't have like a diet plan, I'm just buying healthier food and eating less of it. I've also quit taking Advair. It was really effing me up. I think I'll take my chances with the inhaler. I mean, my asthma's probably not going to kill me, but if I keep taking Advair and eating more and more and putting on more and more weight, in the near future a heart attack probably will kill me. Anyway, winter really sucks balls. I'm not enjoying this at all. It's cold, my skin is dry, I'm sick, the train's late all the time in the morning.. I am so ready for spring. Where's this global warming everybody keeps talking about? Current Location: The Grind Current Mood: frustrated Current Music: Fountains of Wayne

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