Today, the temps are around the negatives and single digits due to the wind.  Tomorrow is supposed to be a blizzard, which will leave 8-15 inches.  It’s been a long time since a winter storm hit us that hard, so people are getting jumpy.  Honestly, I don’t think Long Island is very good at dealing with snow.  The roads here are narrow because of all the cars parked on the side.  Many of those won’t be moved, so things will be messy for a few days.  There might even be a snow day on Monday.  Won’t be able to go out for anything other than shoveling, which sucks because it means no Pokemon and I’ll be aching when I take a break to write.

Speaking of writing, I only got a paragraph done this week even though mid-terms meant half-days for my students.  I wasn’t able to go home early and I can’t access my books when at work.  It was all field trips too, so I was exhausted by the time I got home.  I tried to write some of Darwin & the Joy Path on Wednesday, but I kept dozing off in my chair.  Ironic considering I would go on to have a massive panic attack that night, which wrecked me for Thursday.  My hope is to finish chapter 14 this weekend, which leaves me with three chapters left.

I’m a little torn on the progress in this adventure.  I don’t know if it’s a good idea for the latest challenge to go right into the final one.  There really isn’t anything I can put between them without it feeling like a stalling tactic.  So, I guess this will work, but it creates a 3 chapter ‘rush’ of action with small downtimes.  Can’t be certain if I’m simply having imposter syndrome doubts or this is a real problem.  Some of my notes also mention a gem that wasn’t supposed to reveal something that’s already been revealed, so I have to repurpose that item.  Probably won’t get to that issue until mid-February when I definitely get more time to write.

In non-author news, my son had his mid-terms this week and had to figure out his schedule for senior year.  Both have been wild.  He worked really hard and we know he passed 2 of the 3.  One was barely, but it was his weakest subject and our goal is simply to pass.  As I said, he studied really hard, especially for that one, over the MLK Day weekend, so nobody can say he didn’t give it his all.  It meant limited video games, which was a small argument, but a snow day tomorrow might make up for lost time there.

The only thing I’ve really had the time for this week is to collapse on my bed and slowly make my way through episodes of ‘Fallout’.  I got on the bike at one point, but that exertion resulted in me doing the same at a later time.  That seems to be how the winter typically goes for me.  The cold is draining even when I’m not running around.  The house is staying as warm as it can, but the wind and plunging temps are giving the heating system a run for its money.  Today and tomorrow are really taxing, which is why writing will be going slow.  Hard to type when I getting drowsy from a combo of cool temps and mainlining hot chocolate.

I’m going to try to use some of the weekend to finish up the March blog posts.  I have a few ideas for the April Sunday ones, but I think I might just repost stuff from long ago.  Most of my readers haven’t seen those or it’s been a while.  Sounds really lazy though, so I’ll see if I stick with that plan.  Simply running out of writing-based subjects.  The animal stuff is going to stay on Sundays and I’m going to try to limit the ‘weird holiday’ posts.  Trying to gather more future ideas from what I’m watching, but ‘Fallout’ isn’t giving me anything I didn’t touch on when I was promoting Crossing Bedlam.  Seems I’m touching a lot more on character types and actions than other aspects of writing.  Wish I knew of other fun topics.

Next week is in the air because of the weather.  I’m sure it will be more of the same, but with having to drive around large piles of snow.  Have a few appointments and meetings as well, so I probably won’t get back to my book unless I get lucky.  Yeah, I think Wednesday is the only time I have a fighting chance and it’s slim.  Oh well, that’s how things go some weeks.  It’s all about my son, so I’m fine with it.  Not other people creating appointments and situations on my time without talking to me first.  That’s a fairly common issue in my life.

So, what are my goals this time?

1. Shovel and deal with snow tomorrow.
2. Write chapter 14 of Darwin & the Joy Path.
3. Finish March blog posts.
4. Sleep more.
5. Drive carefully.
6. Lego time if possible.
7. At least look at ‘Phi Beta Files’ even if I can’t tinker with it.
8. Try to use exercise bike a few times.
9. Wear layers.