And now we enter that time where we’re usually supposed to feel like getting down to business. You know? The holidays are over so enough of that nonsense and get back to work! But to me… it’s still winter. The weather sucks. Sometimes we get snow, but usually it’s just rain rain rain rain… some rain and… a bit more rain. It’s gloomy, and even though the days are supposedly getting longer, it’s so bloody dark with clouds that it just feels like the darkness and rain will never end.
Productivity is down. I make my To Do lists, and I do have to report to Beth each week, as I mentioned a week or two ago, but I definitely notice my concentration is poorer than usual, and I have to work harder to stay focussed. Listening to the news certainly has encroached on my creativity, and that’s important, but it means I have to work harder to keep it together. Some days I find it takes extra effort not just to get my butt in the chair, but to put words down.
I think we need another holiday at the end of January… Something to look forward to, some sort of celebration that lifts the spirits.
In the name of getting down to business, I submitted two short stories to publications on Jan. 1. And… one of them was rejected on Jan. 3. I love that, actually, because it’s like, great! Now I know they can’t use it, let’s find somewhere else to send it. So in a way that quick turnaround helps with the whole down to business thing.
The other thing I did was finally set up my office. I keep my closet as my recording room, but I set up my son’s old room as my office, and I’ve been working in there for nearly a year, but it was still kinda junky, y’know? Boxes and stuff from the basement that migrated up here when we were renovating down there, and then never made it back down. So I’ve been going through and turfing stuff, and organizing. We put up my jazz festival poster right in front of my desk… It’s from a bus shelter so it’s enormous, kinda needs a certain sorta place to put. Then we put up my little shelf so I finally had a place to put my LotR figures! Yay! They’ve been languishing in a box since 2014, so I’m sure they’re thrilled to see the light of day again! And I finally finally got my speaker system connected. Some decent sound quality in here now.
I hope you also find ways to Get down to business… and most importantly to keep busy and bright during the rest of the winter. This part of the season that just feels endless until the weather gets better. Tirrah! Take care of yourselves.
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Plug for a friend:
My friend Dirk VanStralen is a cartoonist, and now you have the chance to own his book, Keep Calm and Bury On — a selective history of a plague year.
You can find him on Instagram at dirk.vanstralen, or send him an email at dirk dot vanstralen at gmail.com