It is a sunny day this Christmas Eve. I spent this more jumping through bureaucratic hoops getting proof that I am a legal alien and that my lungs work. By the by, any joke you might have heard about old people going to the doctor in Japan simply as a social convention appears to be quite true. I did this because come January it looks like I will be working as an Elementary School english teacher. It feels like a huge step back as I’ll essentially be doing the exact same (possibly dead-end) style job that I did before getting my masters. Also, accepting such employment terrifies me that it will lead to the slow death of more dreams. I’ll just need to double up time to keep writing and podcasting.
On the good side of things, I have delicious cakes for the Mrs. and tomorrow we both have the day off. I also have four more hours to set up a mini-Christmas tree before she returns from work. All that is a much better use of my time than moaning about securing employment, I think we can all agree on that.
Then, on the 26th I am off to camp where I will be the manager of some fantastic people and 30-plus first and second graders. It is only four days, but I’m looking forward to it a great deal. Snow is still magical to me and seeing it with a herd of children somehow adds to the magic. Plus, the other staff do seem fantastic and I look forward to spending time with some of the friends I made over this summer’s camp as well as getting to know the new members. And, as long as an agreed upon schedule is kept, I should come home to find some art waiting for me.
You may know that this year I decided that I need to follow a dream and write a novel. And I did and it is finished as much as such a thing can ever be finished. But then came the fun of formatting and getting it ready to print and getting cover art. And I’ve been told that the art should be ready by the time I am back from camp, so I really hope I will have something nice to share soon. The plan is to have the book, Deadly Troubadours, released in early January. Some snippets of that novel are available on this site. Finding them made me realize I’ll need to make those easier to find.
Lastly, in 2013 I wrote a little story that turned into a Christmas story. It made me smile. But stat wise I don’t think many people actually read it. If you are looking for something slightly Christmas but also with a little fantasy please give The Goblin’s Treasure a read.
Deadly Troubadour 