Tuesday was a virtual learning day, so we had to work from home.  This allowed me to write the first section of chapter 8 during the periods I wasn’t in a class. Didn’t finish until after the school day was done though because I had to pay attention to the clock and the scene was giving me trouble.  Still, it was an extra chapter section of Darwin & the Joy Path, which I didn’t expect.  I won’t be able to write any more until maybe next weekend, but it’s the big Pokemon event of the season.  I’ll be happy if I can get the last two sections of chapter 8 done though.  Totally possible if I’m home by 7.

Unfortunately, I can’t claim any other victories beyond the writing progress.  Having trouble remembering any glimmer of non-writing success, but I’m writing this with a raw throat.  Wish it was an amazing story, but it’s just rough and gross:

I ate a KFC sandwich a little too quickly and a bit got stuck in my throat, which happens from time to time.  The soda didn’t help and the ensuing gagging set off an acid reflux event.  I got myself under some control and tried to get home with several breaks to give my guts a rest.  Well, a car cut me off and forced me to stop short, which caused the seatbelt to push on my stomach.  I think we know where this went and it still took me 20 minutes to get home.  4 Tums and a bottle of water reversed the issue, but my throat was definitely battered by the stomach acid.

To be honest, I’ve seen grosser stories on posts and I’m not going into details.  This is another case of me being laid low by a health issue.  Thankfully, I did recover enough to take my son to a local event called ‘Lumino City’.  Below is only 4 of the many pictures that I took, but you get the idea:

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This weekend has an appointment today, which means dealing with certain individuals that I’m not getting along with lately.  Beyond that, my son and I are going to do the usual Pokemon Go outings today after a movie with lunch.  Tomorrow is supposed to rain and we have family coming over, so it’s going to be in the house stuff.  We both need the rest since the first school quarter just finished.  Got a crazy couple of weeks ahead as well because of Thanksgiving.  It might be a little less than 3 weeks away, but it’s a holiday that rushes in fast when you work in education.  Christmas too.  Not sure what’s going on during that break.

Blog-wise, I tried my best to figure out what to do about my Teaser Tuesday repetition situation.  Decided to use the last 4 Tuesdays of the year to promote most of my series and give myself more time to figure things out.  The issue is that nothing actually works and I really prefer to do something that creates interactions.  Many times, I’ve done something that people think will work and then I get nothing.  The character interviews are the main victims of this situation.  I can’t interview them myself because I don’t know what people would want to hear.  I know everything and would rather readers/audience ask questions that I never considered.

Plan for this coming week is going to be the usual ‘survival’.  Getting Tuesday off is a good thing since I get my son.  A day where I can sleep in won’t hurt either.  Didn’t get a lot of quality sleep this week due to stress.  If I can’t get to Darwin & the Joy Path, I might try to finish the January posts and work on ‘Phi Beta Files’.  My plan for the holiday break in December is to work on the latter during the time my son is here.  When my son is with his mom, I’m going to work hard on the book and I might be able to reach chapter 14 by that point.  Entirely possible for me to finish Darwin & the Joy Path by the end of January.  Then . . . Darwin & the Hejinn Queen starting during the February break?

Think I’m getting unfocused lately because so much is happening.  Work is always busy with so much happening with our students this year.  My son is trying his best in 11th grade as well as dealing with the stressors of being a child of divorce.  Other situations are getting confrontational, which has resulted in a few nights being destroyed by triggered anxiety attacks.  Geez, my life is really a mess at times.  Makes me wonder why I still have people asking when I’m going to start dating again.  I wouldn’t even date me with all of my baggage, trauma, and issues.  Pretty sure this is going to be my existence since I internally freak out at even the thought of asking someone out or opening myself to the possibility of emotional pain.  Hey, at least I’m honest about it.

Goals of the week:

1. Enjoy time with son this weekend and Tuesday.
2. Enjoy the 6-7 Pokemon events all week.
3. Watch more ‘Reacher’ on Prime.
4. Tinker with ‘Phi Beta Files’ if possible.
5. If energy and time permits, write more Darwin & the Joy Path.
6. Puzzle time.
7. Get extra sleep when possible.