Made it through the last week of work and now I get a week of Holiday Break.  It was a little touch and go halfway through in terms of health.  Don’t know why, but the final push towards this break always comes with a chorus of coughs and sneezes.  I probably caught a small cold near the end, but I’m already feeling better.  Mostly, I needed more sleep and fluids.  We’ll see if it stays away.

The week wasn’t that exciting because it was before the break.  My son had a bunch of schoolwork, so I did that and Pokemon Go with him.  The first part of the break he’s with his mom, which meant spending as much relaxing time with him as possible.  Last weekend was tons of Pokemon Go, including a brave trip to the mall during the holiday season.  Yeah, that game was the key event since we couldn’t do much else with the remaining time after homework.  The ‘life event’ got worked on too, which resulted in a lot of painful inner analysis.  I’d love to talk about that, but I can’t because it’s too personal and could cause trouble.  At least I have 5 days to think and get other stuff done.

Writing didn’t happen.  I tried, but the outline for Darwin & the Joy Path has collected some dust.  I’ll try to finish that this weekend.  I want to dig into ‘Phi Beta Files’ and try to get through at least the supporting cast and the first book.  Still leaning towards short stories that connect to create a whole tale.  Would episodic be the way to describe this type of book?  Either way, I’m going to try my best to work on that since January already has some projects waiting.  The writing of Darwin & the Joy Path and the editing of Darwin & the Fate Bracelet.  2024 should be productive even if other areas of my life are going to be painful.

As usual, my life has been fairly boring in terms of writing.  Didn’t play any video games or do any February blog posts.  When your goal is mostly to make it to the end of the week in good health, you don’t do much.  Sleeping with the CPAP machine is going really well.  I had one rough night due to stomach issues, but not enough that my score went lower than a 97.  Looking at this as a video game helps me keep it going.  I’m hoping to ween myself off the Zzzquil I’ve been using since January too.  Last night was a full dose, but I’m going to try a half or 3/4 dose tonight.  Wonder if I could just not use it and see how long it takes for exhaustion to reset my system.  Probably not a good idea, so I’ll be happy to get it to a half dose by the end of the break.

Today, I’m not going to be doing any outlining until later.  It really depends on how long it takes for me to build this:

This is a headboard that has LED lights and a phone charging station.  For over 13 years, I’ve been using an old headboard my dad made when I was in high school.  It’s good, but untreated wood and doesn’t span the whole bed.  The height on that one isn’t good because my head goes into the shelf unless I stuff pillows into it.  So, I found this one on sale and it’s been sitting in a box in my room all week.  A nice building project should be a nice way to start the break.  I’ll tinker with the outline once I’m done.  Mostly, I’m happy to have lights, so I no longer have to get out of bed to turn off the ceiling light when I’m already comfortable.  Small things in life.

Beyond the headboard and outline, I’ve got very little planned.  My friends are either far away or with their families.  I don’t get time with my son until Wednesday night, so we’ll have some plans for after that.  Local museum has their ‘Video Games through the Decades’ arcade set up, so we can go play there for a few hours.  Mostly, I just want to relax and enjoy myself.  January is going to be busy and brutal with a lot of things already planned out, especially in regards to the ‘life event’.  To be honest, I’m already dreading 2024 and hoping for 2025 to be better.  Doesn’t say much, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s not going to be a pleasant 2024.

Let’s just dive into goals of the week:

1. Build headboard.
2. Finish Darwin & the Joy Path outline.
3. Work on ‘Phi Beta Files’.
4. Sleep well.
5. Bike every day.
6. Puzzle work when need quiet.
7. Watch the rest of ‘Almost Paradise’ and then ‘Blue Eye Samurai’ and ‘Vox Machina’.
8. Laundry.
9. Maybe buy a Lego plant set to decorate the new headboard.

In case I don’t remember tomorrow or Monday, Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates.