And so the battle begins...

      I posted my short story titled Countdown today under the Written Works page. I encourage you all to check it out and let me know what you think. I've decided before I start such a daunting task as writing a novel, I really need to practice my skills more. Hence the short story. Most of the story is vague but it is for a reason, really. I am considering turning it into a longer story later and I wanted to save a lot of the details for later. The story is about a man rushing through New York City on New Year's Eve to stop an immediate threat. Without going into details, I think this would make a very interesting story to expand upon so I've posted it here to see what others think (and to see if my writing style is any good).
      Today I have to drive 60 miles to a site to work security at a site. Usually I would not complain because I love to drive but I don't get paid for the mileage, gas, or time it takes me to get out there. I think it would even be better I worked the day shift because I wouldn't be as tired coming home in the morning. The good thing is that I have tomorrow off so if I need to pull over and sleep on the way home, I won't have to rush back to go to work again.
      I went out to dinner with my parents, my brother, and my brother's pregnant girlfriend last night. We went to Crackle Barrel which was the first time I had ever been there. I thought it was really nice. I had lemon peppered rainbow trout and it was delicious. It came with three sides and a biscuit all for under $10. I was amazed at how much food you got with so little a price - you can't get that at a fast food place. Overall I had fun and I recommend the restaurant to everyone.
      While I waited for my parents to get to the restaurant, I went over to the shop next door, Jo Ann Fabrics. I found this cool flannel with skaters and peace signs on it. It was on sale for $2.99 a yard down from $6.99 so I got two separate one yard sections. I've been thinking of making pillows out of it but the last time I made a pillow was nine or ten years ago when I was a freshman in high school. Probably Friday I will go back and get a cheap sewing machine and some scrap clothes to practice on before I get too carried away. My crafty ambitions always come up short though. I first wanted to learn how to knit so I did and I made an odd shaped baby blanket for my brother's baby. I started to make a hat and I've already gotten board with it. I'm hoping that the plethora of stuff you can learn to sew will be enough to keep my short attention span focused.
   
Movie of the day: Journey to the Center of the Earth

Song of the day: Rain by Creed

A Monkey Throws Poop and So Do You

     Summer is nearly at an end. I can tell because it is freaking cold outside right now. I can literally see my breath and I need a sweatshirt to stay warm. This is in stark contrast to the other day when I was outside moving my grandmother's stuff in 86 degrees. I ended that day with a headache, a sunburn, and a puking tantrum from the heat. I personally love the fall. Reason number one is OB-viously (Harry Potter reference) because HALLOWEEN is in the fall. As most of you know, this is my favorite holiday of the year. You don't have to put up with your family, you get to dress up, you get free candy, and you can go to haunted houses. There is nothing better. I am holding off on decorating for it so soon - I think I can make it to the first of October before I start decorating. I am also uncertain of my costume this year. Last year I was a zombie and I really enjoyed the fake blood so I will look around at the costume shops when they open but I may stick to my zombie outfit.
      In other news, my grandmother died last week (which was why we were moving her stuff). Now I officially have no grandparents left. She had dementia and she was in a nursing home for the past five years. I hadn't seen her in two years because the last time I visited, she didn't know who I was and I took it hard. When she died, I think I was better prepared because I had so long where the grandmother who knew me was already gone. At the funeral, I found out that I work with my mom's uncle and cousin. I've actually relieved the cousin on a site during shift change. My mom asked me to make a video for the funeral of all the pictures we had of my grandmother. Going through the pictures was nice to see my grandmother young - before I was born, but it was also a little awkward because she lived with the father of her child and his wife. Describing the family tree on my mom's side is so confusing I needed twenty years to understand it.
      My brother and his girlfriend are in the final stretch. They had the baby shower in August and they are now all prepared for the baby to be born. It is suppose to be a girl and they've decided to name her Aurora Paige. It took me a little while to warm up to the name Aurora but I like it now. I would still prefer Paige to Aurora but it's not my kid.
      I moved out of the apartment with my brother so that his girlfriend could move in and give my room to the baby. I am now back at my parent's house and they are driving me insane. They fight constantly which is usual (they did it my whole childhood). It also makes it harder because I work nights I have to sleep during the day. My dad complains that I'm lazy because I sleep all day. I usually try to ignore everything he says but when I've worked 12 hours overnight and sleep 6 hours only to wake up to his mouth yelling about something or other, I am not in the mood to fight with him. I want to move out but I barely make enough money to pay the minimum payment on my student loans let alone fork out an extra 500 for rent. To make matters worse, my job is up in the air because fracking in Pennsylvania has slowed down. I'm lucky if I can get three days in at work. This means a smaller paycheck and less money to be saved for moving.
     

      Now that I've gone through my trials and tribulations of the past couple of weeks, I had today off and took my truck out on the back roads. I ended up getting stuck in the mud because the truck bottomed out on some ruts that I thought were shallower than what they really were. This is what it looked like when I had my brother come pull me out.

      This is the same truck that needs a new clutch and transmission but I was bored and wanted to do something today. In this town, there really isn't that much else to do.

      In my complete geekout over finding the show Firefly and falling in love with it, I started searching other projects that the actor Nathan Fillion has acted in. This search led me to Castle. I love the idea of a mystery writer following a NYPD detective around and the fact that Nathan plays Castle is just the cream cheese icing on the red velvet cake. The show is hilarious and I've watched all four seasons now. I've even bought the Niki Heat books that are written by "Richard Castle". I also watched White Noise 2 which Nathan starred in. I thought it was a good movie and it even had me jumping and saying an expletive word when a ghost pops out at Nathan's character in his living room. 

      All of the Comic-cons are gearing up right now and in the desolate area where I live, the closest one is in NYC (where I wouldn't drive for the life of me) or Ohio. This time of year always makes me wish I lived in California or Georgia but my goal for next year is to go to dragoncon in Atlanta so I will keep my fingers tied and my bank account supplied.

Movie of the Day: The Dark Knight Rises

Song of the Day: Back Down by Game Rebellion feat. J. Period