A Cry For Help

So now that I am back from the euphoria of reaching fifty thousand words in a little over a month (not even the month of November), I have come to the realization (finally!) that I can indeed write a lot of words in a fairly short amount of time, but I have a problem.

Focus.

Or lack thereof, to be exact.

Oh sure, I can write thousands of words, heck even millions of them, but without any kind of focus, what good is it? So I am here to ask for some guidance, pressure, focus, whatever you can think of by helping me to focus on a goal. The goal of actually completing a complete story, as opposed to throwing bits and pieces of tease here and there - although I do like a good tease...

Like I said, I think I need some focus, so I am coming to you who still read these pages to assist me with this.

Should I write about...

 A pregnant woman that gets bitten by a werewolf, while he is in human form, and then gives birth to a litter of puppies that are actually a kind of hybrid werewolf, in that they are only human during the full moon (or I was thinking even during say the 90% phases of the moon, you know before and after the actual full moon). I would follow their story and see that not all werewolves are the same, I figure I will have a good wolf, a bad wolf and a confused wolf - or something like that. I'm sure if I focused enough on it I could make something work.

****

The pyramids that are near the Mississippi River and that hold secrets never before seen by men in modern times. Yeah, I know that there aren't pyramids in Illinois near the Mississippi River, or are there? I have a story in mind that tells the tale of some Spaniards coming across these great pyramids and seeing that there is an expansive cave underneath one, they start to stash their gold and jewels, etc there. Or maybe I can have people from even farther back doing this. And then sometime in the early twentieth century an explorer stumbles upon an entrance to these caves and as he is working his way out of the cave, he gets trapped, along with the secret, by an earthquake that closes the entry off.  Move forward to modern times and another explorer, make that a hiker/camper finds something interesting which leads him on an amazing trail...

****

There is also a story in there (there being inside my head) that takes us to a wondrous world where everything is just wonderful and idyllic until tragedy strikes (darn that evil tragedy) and ruins every one's day. This I will admit is very vague, and probably shouldn't be considered, but it is a beginning - not like any other beginnings, right. Yes that was sarcasm.

****

I have a tale of space exploration that is tickling the inner brain and making me want to share it, but like the previous mention, it is very very vague and may just be a little spark. You need sparks to get that fire burning though, so it's not bad.

****

I also have ideas about time travel that I would like to pursue more, especially since history has always fascinated me and I think that it would be interesting to see what would change if one could go back in time and change an event in history. Of course it will all go wrong, because what fun would it be to have someone kill off Napoleon before he gets into trouble, if you can't have someone else take his place that is even worse. So you come back to your time and see that you made things worse.

*****

 I have countless more in there that are just ideas, even just a word or two that for some reason don't want to leave my subconsciousness, but because I lack in this whole focus thing, they never turn into sentences or even paragraphs.

*****

So my friends, I am looking for some help, and if you have come here because I shared this on Google+, welcome and please feel free to help get me out of my rut and give me a nudge in a direction that will produce results rather than words. Also please realize that I feel like I am standing here naked now, because I am usually a very shy person, and don't like to shine any kind of spot light on myself, so I am really stepping out of any kind of comfort zone I have.

I really, really would appreciate any kind of help..

Thanks,
Roger

50,000 in 43.

Okay, I love pulling practical jokes on people.

Especially gullible people.

Now is this nice, probably not, but it is all in good clean fun.

I just noticed that the font here on this site is a little different than it had been in the past, almost like it is trying to mimic the font of my blog. How cool is that? Talk about your flattery.

Okay, not really.

Guess what? At some point today, during whatever it is that I am doing here at this point in time, I will surpass 50,000 words in just forty three entries or days of writing here. That's right fifty thousand words. Amazing. I have nanowrimo'd myself in a little more than a month. Am I awesome or what?

probably or what.

Shut up.

Anyway, as of the beginning of this entry I had less than five hundred words to go to reach that milestone of fifty thousand, so somewhere in the next four hundred, or so, words I will be closer to one hundred thousand than I am to zero. I'm so giddy about this that I cannot write any faster than that of a crawling snail, which I don't think actually crawl more than slither from place to place - I honestly don't know.

Now for the caveat...

I hate the caveat, just saying.

There are a few entries where I did the writing before hand, but I think they should still count, so there.

****

Big plans for today the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year of the twenty first century. We're talking partay for Jessica! She turned fourteen a couple of weeks ago, but because of volleyball, and Halloween and what not we decided to have her party today. I suggested that it should last until eleven eleven post meridian (did you see what I just did there?), but she has to get up and take a test tomorrow, a Saturday no less, so the festivities will be winding down around ten.

There will be ten teenage girls in addition to my one hanging out, in what should be an epic occasion that will be spoken of for years to come. Or something like that.

****

Yesterday I was bragging about my forty seven words per minute pace (did it again!), only to have slowed down to a mere forty three for yesterday's pace. Today, I feel like I might break thirty if I am lucky. This must be what it feels like to walk through molasses in January or something. I think I have used the word something somewhere around too many times in this post, so from now on - at least with regards to this post, there will be no more somethings - after that one of course.

*****

Did you see that I shared yesterday's post on my blog? Dis you see that I have had more posts this month than the previous three months combined? I think I am coming out of my no blogging phase, which means that you will need to stop by more often to catch up on the comings and goings of your favorite Roger, er blogger, er whatever. That's a cool blog to visit as well, very well attended and he gives good advice on writing and has quirky pictures of cats and all - which I really don't understand, so if someone would care to explain that to me I would really appreciate it. Who knows, maybe I'll start posting pictures of my cat more - and then get a couple more to have even more fun, if that is even possible.

*****

Well, I have now broken into the plus fifty thousand club, if there is such a thing, so I think I shall have to party along with my daughter tonight - we're having chicken tacos, that are so, so good. Dare I say that they are awesome? And easy to make as well. Here's the recipe.... chicken breasts (de-boned and de-skinned), chicken broth and taco seasoning (you choose; hot, medium or mild) and a crock pot. Throw everything in the crock pot, turn up the heat, and six hours later a meal has been made. We roll the chicken in tortillas, but i imagine that they will be just as tasty in a crunchy shell as well. Pretty awesome and easy, not to mention cheaper and better tasting than something similar from Taco Bell.

Well, I should be going now, I hope you enjoyed the visit, and like I said, come back for more later.

Pax!

11/11/11 11:11

That's a lot of ones!

What does it mean? I have no idea but I have been told that if you make a wish at 11:11 it will come true. Apparently that is only for wishes that don't include large payoffs from lottery winnings. Alas, I will make a wish on this auspicious occasion, is it really auspicious, gonna have to check Webster's to see if I am using it correctly, but I will do that later, after all I have a wish to make....

There, done!

What? You expect me to share it with you? I think that is against the rules or something. Let's just say it has something to do with all the insanity in the world around us and such.

Anyway, have a great day, and don't forget to hug a Veteran, which is way more important than a silly wish anyway.

More Phone Photos

First Day of School!

Maggie playing in the sunroof (no I wasn't driving at the time)

Bath Time!! Check out the Mohawks!!

Danny, Katie and Timmy

Our college junior, Andy!!

All the kids, except Benjy - he's camera shy apparently. Not really.

Phone Photo Dump

The Tronorail!!!

EPCOT!!

Windmill

Bulldog!!

Katie, Danny, Maggie, Timmy and Jessie in a pool, in the rain. :)

Clearing out some older photos taken with my phone, some Disney, some Batavia, some kids. :)

A Challenge to Comprehend... Good Luck!

So they fired Joe Paterno last night.

Yet, the idiot coward that actually witnessed the rape of a ten year old boy by a forty or fifty year old man still gets to stand on the sidelines at Penn State University.

I think there is something wrong with that picture.

****

Got our first bit of snow today - just flurries that didn't stick, but you know it is just a matter of time before they do. Ah winter, you gotta love it. Well, maybe not love it, but it is a part of life liberty and all that jazz right?

I am not on nearly as much of a roll as I was yesterday and I believe that my words per minute will be way less than the forty seven that I got yesterday, I was blazing! Today I am doing more of a trot, not sure why since I have about as much preparation and al in my head now as I did yesterday. Who knows maybe its too early for me to be doing this right now, but since I have already started there really is no turning back, right?

****

Blah, that's the feeling for the day, blah. I don't know if it is weather related - hey I like the snow - or what. I do know that I am making sure that I take my "Happy Pills" everyday, otherwise my blah would turn into a serious bit of a downer. I hate having depression, it's so, um, depressing. Seriously though, it's tough getting through a day when you really have no desire to to anything at all. I mean not one single iota. People look at you and think why that man is quite lazy, no not really, that man is just depressed and is doing his darnedest to make it through the day without ripping your head off or walking off the edge of a high building just to get the thrill of living back into his system. Granted with the latter, it'll be all over sooner than the former. Although you will have to apologize more, I imagine.

****

Ring tones annoy me, especially when no one answers the phone. It's almost as bad as listening to a crying baby in a quiet location where crying babies should not be heard. Of course I have plenty of experience with that notion since I have gone through several crying baby stages in my life - we're on phase seven, if you will.

No, I'm not complaining, just merely stating the fact that I know how it is.

****

How fruitfully bountiful and glorious - no, I don't know either, these things just pop into my head on occasion and if you bother to read it, well great. If you understand it, I have a list of doctors that might be able to give you some assistance. Okay, now that we have all of that out of the way, lets talk dirty.

Not really.

I cannot do that to save my life. If my wife ever wanted me to talk dirty to her in order to save my marriage, I think I would no longer be married, which would be truly sad and tragic, because I love and cherish my wife and family and would never want to lose them for anything in the world. No worries though, because I don't think she wants me to talk dirty to her anyway.

Just shave.

****

Random thoughts that will pop into my head, at random, will start appearing.... now. Dang, the mind just totally went blank there and I cannot think of anything, not even an abstract fart thought, which are usually good for a laugh or three, especially if they are done tastefully, which all fart references should be. Did you know that a fart is defined as a small explosion between the legs? At least, and I swear on this I do, that was a definition I read for it back in the days of me caring about what silly words like fart mean. And it has stuck with me ever since, so we are talking more than thirty years. No I haven't looked it up again, because well duh, i already know it. truth is that it is a small explosion between the legs, a small explosion of methane exiting the colon and entering the atmosphere and such. Pretty nifty little science minute there kids, aren't you glad that you stuck around to the end? Thanks.

To share or not to share that is the question - you will have the answer if you have actually read this stream of conscience rant of nonsense. I hope you enjoyed it, if you saw it, and will come back for more at a future date.

Pax.

Chocolate!

That's right, chocolate!

That would probably be all that I have right now but it really isn't much, so what I have done here is made the blog do the "dynamic" view thingy that Blogger has made available - it is pretty neat if I say so myself, and in fact, I just did.

What you do is ---- look over there on the upper left hand side of this blog, and you will see the word.... not sure, but I think it will be "Classic" which means that this entry will appear in a normal and upfront manner from which you can view the newest entries and then scroll down to the older stuff, in other words, classic.

Anyway, if you hit the drop down menu you will see several different choices, mosaic, magazine, flip cards, etc... It gives you the opportunity to see my blog through a whole new 'Dynamic' manner.

Pretty cool, eh? I like Magazine and mosaic myself, but I can see the pro's of all the others just as well.

Okay, back to your regularly scheduled life and I will see what I can do about being here more often and updating you on all the fun stuff going on = oh I will also be tinkering a bit with the design, so be patient, both of you.

Pax!

Another Random Party

I was given a challenge once, well not really, but I took it as a challenge - to write a poem about an incident that occurred at work one day. Now that I think of it, I decided to do this all on my own and thrust it out to the masses... What was I thinking? Anyway, I thought that I would throw it up here, get a quick 250 word head start - is that cheating? i mean I did write it right? Besides the only one I am cheating is myself, kind of like counting your golf score as a four when you actually shot a six. Sure your final score will look better, but deep down, you know that you really sucked at that hole. Now imagine doing it for all eighteen holes... Although i am sure you will get caught. In this case, sure I got 250 "extra" words, but i have just written over a hundred to explain it, see how that works?

I have a story that I must share
about a man as big as a bear
He would often go off to think
and leave the room in a stink
Wonder not about his plan
while in the room with the can
He would use some water to drink
but never wash up in the sink
One day our hero came by
and started to open his fly
He noticed something replete
when he lifted up that seat
Like looking at a bagel from over here
he noticed a great brown smear
Behold the great man had left behind
something that might be considered grime
Disgusted was our heroes thinking
that he barely noticed that stinking
He did however have to share
with all he worked with there
By groups of two or three
they had to see that which was not pee
One brave soul even took a photo
of what that man did solo
To the internet he would want to go
but someone told him, “No”
He relented and didn't send
what could have made the world end
My tale does not end here I say
because later that Saturday
Three friends were helping to work
with someone that acted a jerk
He decided to share a prize
of which came from inside
No my friends we’re not talking a pearl
instead it was a photo of a swirl
So now my tale has been told
I hope that you were all bold
in coming here for me to share
my story of that disgusting bear.

****

Jumping into the fray today, I will tell you that it is Wednesday, and apparently the date, October 5, is the most popular date of birth, as in more people were born on this date than any others. Can you guess which one is the least? Doesn't take a braniac, especially since the date only happens once every four years. Looking back on this I wonder if I should have said day instead of date, because the date is October 5, 2011 and who knows how many people will be born today, especially since the day isn't even over yet.

****

Another fun weekend ahead - it's a three-day weekend for the kids, with a volleyball tournament thrown in. Yes, Jessie will be playing volleyball all evening on Friday, and depending on where they get placed they will either be playing in the AM on Monday - a day I have to work by the way, unless I become ill of course - or in the PM.I suspect it will be the AM bracket because of the overall quality of players on the team, however, they did fairly decent against a bunch of club teams in last weeks tournament, maybe some of that will carry over to this weekend. Once can only hope.

*****

I posted yesterdays 750 words on my blog, and got no response.

Nothing but crickets out there, let me tell you.

So I'm going to do it again for today, can't say i'm not a glutton for punishment, and for those that have read, or read my blog, I know that the Ode to Poo has already been published here, which is probably why I admitted to my "cheating" ways up there above the poo.

****

i am also thinking of swinging the blog over to using a Word press blog platform, because I think I can play more with it over there. Then again, I like it here and the few of you that do read it know where to come for your occasional Rogisms. So maybe I'll just build a new one from scratch, using the lessons I have learned here, whatever they may be.

Have a blessed day.

(794)

Oops! Forgot to Title This Thing

Today is being brought to you by the letter T and the number 6.

What a remarkable day today has been, first off check it out, I am writing my 750 words before eleven pm. Let's all stand up and give ourselves, especially me, a cheer.

Go Roger!!

Thank you very much.

Today was the big Apple iPhone five reveal that revealed the iPhone 4S.

i totally butchered reveal there by the way, twice. Imagine an "i" where there is an "a" and you will be able to visualize my error, because you know darn well that by the time you are reading this, it will not be there.

like I was saying; Apple decided that today was the day to reveal their latest and greatest. Word on the street, well at least on the Internet, was that it was going to be a new phone called iPhone 5. Um, not so fast, apparently they are huge fans of the great detective series on the USA network, because they did a big "Psych" on everyone.

Don't get me wrong, there are some new and improved bells and whistles, just not what the adoring public was looking for, and Apple's stock lost 11% shortly after the announcement. Wonder what Steve jobs is thinking?

Then again, what do I care? I have an Android.

****

It was a dark and stormy night....

There was a sense of love in the air as the two long lost friends finally came face to face with reality. Yes, they were indeed in love, and it was indeed very bad timing. You see, one of them had to die...

Why did one have to die, well because it makes for a better story and there will be tons of built up tension, as long as the author does it write, er right. Will the dude be all chivalrous and die for his love, or will the lovely maiden throw herself to the wolves, per se, and sacrifice herself for him? Or is it a case of them not really knowing that one had to die but that circumstances were beyond their control and one of them would contract a deadly disease that will kill him/her in the middle of the night, unexpectedly...

****

Chocolate covered chocolate is chocolaty.and tasty and probably not all that good for you, unless of course you are eating dark chocolate.

Speaking of chocolate, why do I have such a hard time spelling that word? Weird.

Speaking of weird, why do people seem to have a hard time spelling that correctly?

I digress.

****

There was a man that received a letter of great power, not a letter of the alphabet, but rather, an honest to goodness hand written letter. Imagine, if you will a Genie and his lamp, only on paper. There are always conditions and there is that fear about absolute power being bad and all, but this guy uses it for good - at least his good, I mean he is still a bit on the selfish self-serving, self-preservation kind of kick. So you know how that goes. Oh and unlike with the Genie, he isn't limited to three wishes, as long as he remains in possession of this letter, he will pretty much be large and in charge.

One day - isn't it always the case - someone finds his letter and all heck is about to break loose.

Not to fear, our hero has a plan and it might entail time travel, or maybe something as simple as breaking and entering. Anyway you should stay tuned because this bad boy is gonna get fleshed out and become bigger than anything J.K. Rowling ever wrote.

Maybe.

Who knows what people will buy these days, but I think a good story about love, redemption and evil will sell big time. And I have actually started writing it - go figure.

Like I said stay tuned.

****

I should mention that if you are reading this it is because i felt it was self-serving enough to share with the readers of my blog, that would be you, yes you. I should also mention that this is a daily exercise that I am pursuing, um, daily and who knows, maybe I will continue to post stuff that spews from my head onto the blog.

Now, if you are looking for something to motivate you, give 750words.com a try. Basically it is a private, unless you share it like I have, place where you can create whatever you want and develop it further or just practice your writing craft, if you care to practice it. I mean this is the fourth day in a row that I have decided to participate, in fact I am participating in a daily challenge as a way of motivating myself. I think I am closing in on 3000 words in four days, so it might be something.

Must go now.

Travel Woes

**** I asked my Plurk friends to give me ten words, I didn't tell them what I was going to do with them, neither did they. Below is the result, then ten words are as follows: Bedtime, French, Fries, Smurf, Yes, Snort, CHOCOLATE, Pork, Chops and hairspray. Hope you enjoy this little tale, that was inspired by true events. ****

I hate to travel.

Scratch that, I love travelling. I hate to travel alone, without my family. It depresses me and really makes me crazy around bedtime. You see, I cannot fall asleep when I am travelling alone and it really makes it hard for me to focus when I am on a business trip. It’s hard to be on your “A Game” when you only get two to three hours of very uncomfortable sleep a night. Imagine how you would be by Friday after getting the same amount of sleep in one week that you might normally get in one night.

Not pretty. Trust me.

I have tried a wide variety of ideas that have been handed down to me once someone hears about my issues. I love that everyone wants to help, it’s what makes this country great - too bad none of them seem to work very well.

One suggestion was to dance myself to sleep. I really didn’t understand this, but I figured it was worth a shot. So I turned on MTV and prepared myself for a dance-a-thon that would begin once the commercials ended.

Snort.

I completely forgot that they no longer play music on MTV, and the cheap radio in the hotel room, just doesn’t find a station clear enough to understand the lyrics, or more importantly, hear the beat. So I gave up and sat down and ate some french fries, and while they made me feel better initially, I had to spend a lot of extra time in the other room in my hotel room, if you know what I’m saying. Apparently filling up on greasy spuds, does not do my body good.

By the time I found myself in bed watching a rerun of Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show” and dozing off to Ed McMahon saying “Yes!” it was well past midnight.

Somehow, I did finally fall asleep and entered the most disturbing part of the evening, my subconscious.

I found myself sitting on a chair in my bathroom spraying my hair down with some high-grade hairspray, which in itself is hilarious because I have been bald for the past twenty years, but I figured why not. If my subconscious sees me with David Coverdale hair, so be it. I didn’t really like seeing the grey hairs seeming to stand out and make let it be known that I am an old dude. Great, first I can’t sleep and now my subconscious is reminding me that I am old.

Beautiful.

It gets better. As I leave my bathroom, which appears to be about twice the size of my house, again I am not minding this part since having a bathroom the size of a small ballroom could have its benefits. The tub alone was like an Olympic-sized swimming pool, so I can get my bubbles and some exercise all in one swoop.

I have to find this house!

Since I like the other white meat so much, I decided to have myself some pork chops - hey I can control my subconscious every now and again, can’t I? I felt like covering them with chocolate, but my mind took over and literally yelled in my dream ear, “CHOCOLATE!”

So I decided against adding the sweet stuff and went for some mustard instead. I don’t know why I did that but did feel like asking my mind if it had any Grey Poupon. I figured that my mind wouldn’t like it too much and might turn me into a Smurf or something. Imagine that, being turned into a Smurf.

No thank you.

When the alarm went off I was not as rested as one might think and decided to bring my iPod along for the next trip to give dancing another chance.

**** Thanks Plurkies, we'll have to do this again, and again. I had fun! ****

My Name Is

Roger.

I write a blog - well sometimes.

I wanna be a writer when I grow up - no really, I do.

I just don't believe that I have grown up yet. Sure I'm nearing my mid-forties, have been married for more than nineteen years and have seven children, but I'm not really sure that means I have grown up.

So I guess that is my excuse.

Pretty lame excuse if you ask me, or my wife, or my children for that matter.

They think I have grown up.

So here I am, away from my family doing work for "the man" that doesn't appreciate all that I bring to the table - well maybe they do, but they sure have a funny way to show it.

This isn't about them though.

It's about me.

My blog, my rules.

Anyway, I thought that I would start up the old blog again and start to produce some product here to improve this craft that I say I love. I mean if I've got to work for "the man" my whole life, why not try to improve my skills so that I can work for "the man" that counts.

Me.

Bet you saw that coming didn't you? I can guarantee you that there will be things here that you will not have seen coming, but you will have to stick around to find out now, won't you?

So here I am thirteen months, plus a few days, before my forty-fifth birthday, thinking about putting a lot of pressure on myself. Should I do it? Maybe I should have a poll?

Maybe I should have a coherent thought?

This is what you get when I am away from home, in a hotel, trying to find a way to get some sleep. Well, and the fact that I promised my lovely bride that I would have some proof of writing for tonight.

A story will be here tomorrow, at some point.

Promise.

Random Disney Pics #15

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin!

Random Disney Pics #14

Pics from the resort...

Random Disney Pics #13

What is really going on in the dark of Space Mountain.

Random Disney Pics #12

I think this is twelve, top lazy to check. ;)

Random Disney Pics #11

Random Disney Pics #10

Random Disney Pics #9

Grumpy boy, moon fire, mommy and baby.

Random Disney Pics #8

Star Tours baby!

Overload!

Best laid plans being what they are I want to share with you a quick - because it's late - story. I really wanted to blog this entire trip to Walt Disney World as it was happening, as in, every night or morning I would write something, either before I went to bed or first thing in the morning.

Like I said, best laid plans...

As you can see, there hasn't been a lot of words, just pictures. And even those are falling behind... Have no fear, I will be sharing plenty of stories with you in the coming weeks, I just need to recuperate - or something.

So I leave you with that promise of new stuff coming, eventually, as I tip back another cold brew on the balcony of the Boardwalk resort in Walt Disney World, and get ready to send another two or three posts of pictures...

I sure hope this is making sense. :)

Fwd: Random Disney Pics #7

Another monkey, Timmy and Benjy ready for Toy Story Mania, Mommy and Danny and then Maggie.