Not sure how or when, but I managed to finish editing chapter 7 of Darwin & the Beast Collector.  Maybe I’ll get lucky and finish chapter 8 this weekend.  It’s possibly since I’m only really busy this afternoon.  Tomorrow has good weather, but no solid Pokemon Go events for me to do for more than an hour or two.  I’ll see how I’m feeling because this week brutalized me.

The truth is that the issue is really physical health.  I have to wake up at 5:30 AM every weekday when I have work.  I try to go to bed at 10, but that doesn’t give me enough sleep time since I always wake up for one reason or another.  By the time I start dozing off, I usually have only 30-40 minutes before the alarm.  So, I get jolted.  Things get tougher when I’m trying to wrangle a teenager and prepare lunch and breakfast for both.  This results in me starting the day going full tilt, which is made even worse with the weather pounding at my sinuses.  This is why I felt like I was hit by a truck on Thursday and had a few moments where I thought I’d pass out.  Going to bed early made Friday better, but I barely had enough energy to make it to the end of the work day.

I think a major factor here is that there are no days off between winter and spring break, so its’ 7 weeks of nonstop activity.  The kids get worn down too.  I have to handle it as both a teacher assistant AND a parent, which also means working with my ex-wife.  Tensions run high in every aspect of my life, so the emotional exhaustion builds up.  My hope is that the break in 2 weeks will help me reset, especially since I’m going to Oswego for a few days to get some alone time.  I don’t know how it is for other authors, but writing when I’m already at the end of my rope doesn’t happen.

This coming week might be more productive though.  The students are off on Monday, but I go in for a conference day.  I could go in later, but I might get Dunkin for breakfast and go in earlier to do some editing in the faculty lounge before others show up.  Aside from an hour for lunch where I’ll hang out with my son, I’ll be fairly busy, so the morning could help get extra work done.  I had to take another day off for a meeting about my son, which is in a position where I can’t do a half day.  That gives me another day to get some editing done.  I have 10 chapters to go, so getting 2 done this week will make the Oswego trip easier where I hope to get 2-3 done.  My goal of finishing Darwin & the Beast Collector by the summer could actually happen . . . Not that I know what will happen next, but people have given some suggestions.

Getting closer to finishing the May posts and then I’ll make a list for June, but I really do think I’m going to reblog much older ones for the summer.  I’m talking about from my first year, which many current followers might not have been around for.  Not sure if I want to change them around or post them blindly then realize I no longer think that way.  That isn’t being born from laziness so much as curiosity.  Not to mention I’m going to have my hands full over the summer with work, writing a new book, and spending time with my son.

You know, I’m going to admit that I’m nervous about tackling a new book.  It’s been so long that part of me still isn’t sure I have the skills.  I believe I mentioned this last weekend too, but I did more research on the brain fog issue.  Covid could have been a cause, but constant stress and anxiety can do it too.  I’ve been extremely stressed since January of last year, which is around the time my writing endurance dropped from 3 chapter sections (10-17 pages) in a day to 1 section (3-4).  Pokemon Go wasn’t a thing for me beyond taking my son out to play, so that really hasn’t been a big factor.  That means, it could really just be the stress, which isn’t going away any time soon.  Not sure I’ll know what to do with myself if the stress disappears too.  With any luck, this theory is correct, but I won’t be able to test it during a week with meetings, my son having two quarterlies, training, and a weather pattern that makes me think Mother Nature is on meth.

So, what are the goals of the week?

1. Help son study for quarterlies.
2. Edit Darwin & the Beast Collector.  I did kind of fix a timeline issue, but I don’t know if it makes things messier since it means a certain character has been out in the world for over a decade instead of a few years.  Eh, they’re an elf, so it shouldn’t be an issue, right?
3. Finish the May blog posts.
4. Make packing list for Oswego trip.
5. Get extra sleep when possible.
6. Puzzle time to relax.
7. Maybe tinker with a few old ideas if I can’t get to anything else.
8. Watch more ‘Solo Leveling’ when possible.
9. Catch more Pokemon.