Musings & Thoughts for Monday, July 17, 2023, or: Wrapping Up the Weekend Update While Prepping for the Writing Workday

Late Morning, Monday, July 17, 2023, Lithia, Florida

Hi, folks. It’s another scorching summer day here in the Tampa Bay area. As I start my 1,183^rd post on A Certain Point of View, Too, it’s 87°F/30°C under sunny skies, but with humidity at 78% and a weak southwesterly breeze of 3 MPH/5 KMH, the feels-like temperature (outside, of course) is 99°F/37°C. According to the forecast, today’s going to be a repeat of yesterday: sunny and hot in the morning, shifting after midday to scattered rain showers. No mention of thunderstorms, although in my long experience living in Florida, some of those showers are likely to morph into “boomers.” It happened yesterday, so….

Weekend Update, Part the Third

Speaking of yesterday….

My Sunday afternoon was restful and uneventful. I scrupulously avoided working on Reunion: Coda; on most weekends I either must fight the temptation to fiddle with it or I succumb to it (usually because I’m bored, or I genuinely have a good idea that simply won’t go away until I act on it). Yesterday I was bored out of my mind a few times, but I didn’t feel like being “creative,” so if I had attempted to write new material for the novel, it would have been like being forced to go outside for a walk in the Central Florida summer heat. I might have done it, but I wouldn’t have enjoyed it much.

As for what I did to kill time here yesterday: I ended up watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens with the audio commentary track by J.J. Abrams on my small (and unsatisfying) 4K UHD TV. The Force Awakens was – sadly – the first new Star Wars movie released after my mother died, and it was the last movie of any genre that I saw in my hometown of Miami, even though I didn’t know it at the time of its release. It’s not my favorite Episode of the Skywalker Saga, but I still enjoy it, especially when I listen to the director’s commentary track.  

I did nod off a few times – I tend to wake up super-early in the wee hours of the morning for various reasons that now include pain in various places, including my neck, then have a tough time falling asleep again – so I can’t say I watched the entire movie. The most I can say I saw is 75-80% of The Force Awakens, but that’s better than nothing.

I also listened to music – on YouTube and my Amazon Music app – and read a chapter or two from Hell to Pay, one of the books in my longstanding (and seldom mentioned lately) To Be Read (TBR) stack. And late at night, I watched the first part of The Vietnam War, the amazingly well-made 2017 documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, until I finally fell asleep.

All in all, it was a good – if not great – Sunday.

Action This Day

Today is a working day for me, so after I take a rest break, I must tend to my novel in some fashion. My hope is that I’ll come up with “new words” for Chapter 10’s second scene. I managed to get that problematic scene started last week, but the Dreaded Anniversary of Mom’s death draws nigh, and I’m depressed and insecure about other issues, so my state of mind hinders any creative endeavors I have.

Usually, a nice rest break, coupled with a hot shower, a shave, and a change of clothes, helps me regain a positive attitude. I may accomplish something today with Reunion: Coda, but I will have to put a ton of effort and go into it with a “can do” attitude.

Closely Watched Packages

I’m also keeping an eye out for the delivery of a copy of Reunion: A Story that I ordered late on Saturday in the hope that I may get the third revised edition from July 8 and not the slightly marred one from July 1.

I have the “best version” on my Kindle since any revisions I upload to Kindle Direct Publishing appear on the e-book first (usually within 12-24 hours after I submit fixes). I don’t understand why it takes longer for the changes to filter through to the print edition, but that’s the way Amazon/KDP’s self-publishing process is. And since I still tend to read printed books more than I do their digital-only counterparts, it annoys me when I order the “hard copy” version of Reunion and end up with the “flawed” version instead of the revised one.  

Per the last tracking update from Amazon, my copy of Reunion: A Story is being processed at the Seffner carrier facility. That distribution center usually sends its delivery vehicles out on their runs around this time of day (before midday), so I expect my closely watched package to arrive by 7 PM.

Anyway, that’s all I have to say right now. I will close for now, hoping that once I take my rest break and get cleaned up for my writing session, I’ll be productive and come up with usable material for my novel.

Until next time, then, stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll catch you on the less rainy side of things.