On Late Night Writing + Not One Of The Boys + Hell

A quick note from me on a minor difficulty with late night writing. Before I begin my blog on any given night, I usually go back and re-read the previous night's effort. Very often I see typos that need correcting, and sometimes I see sentences that aren't fully formed, or paragraphs that don't finish an idea, that kind of thing. The reason for this is twofold. The first reason is that nothing ever comes out perfect on the first draft. This is true of any type of writing, and applies to any writer - even the greats. This is why there is editing, and second (third, fourth, fifth) drafts of anything from a newspaper article to a novel. Writers write on the fly, in order to get out what they want to say. But because writing is interpreted differently by an audience than is speaking, the words and ideas must be placed in properly formatted sections. Hence, grammar and syntax, the things I paid no attention to in English class because the technical details of writing bored the living daylights out of me. And I have always learned more efficiently by observing and then doing, rather than by having a teacher explain things to me. I learned about writing by reading, which is one of my great passions and something I do every day of my life.

Later on, of course, I discovered the importance of grammar and syntax when I started to do some writing of my own. Sometimes I would read a paragraph I'd written, and I'd say to myself, "you didn't finish your thought". So I would go back and correct the sentences until everything made sense and the idea was conveyed in an articulate manner. Over time I saw that I had some bad habits as a "first draft" writer, but that I could make up for those habits by polishing up my work later on.

This brings me to Reason #2 for why my current blogs often still include some of my bad "first draft" habits when they reach You The Reader. This is simply because of time limitations. When I begin a blog, it is already very late at night, and I am tired when I begin (yeah, yeah....excuses, excuses, Ad). So I am trying to Haul Ass, to get all of the day's activities out of my head and onto the Blogger template before I fall asleep, and also to include my half-baked opinions and thoughts about the subjects I am writing about, because I wouldn't be worth my salt as an Aries if I didn't Opine on everything.......

So the whole issue is really just a Time Thing. I guess what I am trying to say is that I hope you can fill in the blanks if you come to an incomplete thought or unfinished idea in one of my paragraphs or tangents (which are a whole 'nuther subject). I know I often go off on tangents that change the direction of what I was first trying to say, or even end up ignoring it altogether. Again, sorry when that happens.

I am trying to fix all typos and as many of the half-formed sentences as I can during the time when I re-read each previous blog the next evening. For best results therefore, try reading any blog a day or two later if it didn't make sense the first time. Thanks.  :)

I am writing from home right now, off work til Sunday morning. I did not watch a movie tonight. Instead, Grimsley came over with a dvd he wanted to show me, a live performance by the comedian Jim Gaffigan, who is actually pretty funny and has a weird take on things. I'm still not a comedy guy, and left to my own devices I'd be reading a geology book at night, or a book about the CIA, and then I'd follow up with a black and white movie if I could find one I haven't seen. I'd go for my walk, too. I like at least some of my time to myself, and I need it because I am a caregiver. Ask any caregiver and they will tell you the same. We need downtime, to rest and to stay centered, because 90% of our time (or more) is focused on the person we are caring for.

So truth be told, I really don't wanna hang out too much at night. I just wanna do my job, read my books and watch my movies and shows in the evenings, listen to Frank Zappa in the afternoons and try to go on a hike every now and then (which used to be every other day, doggonitt).

I have complained about this before, and no doubt I will complain about it again, but I don't want to be One Of The Boys any longer. None of this is a complaint against Grim, because he is a good guy and we always have fun when he comes over. It's just that my job is psychologically demanding, it is 17 hours a day, and I need downtime and quiet in the evening. But more than that - much more - I just absolutely do not want to be a guy, heading toward 60, who just hangs out with my buddies.

I wanna get married or at least have a steady relationship, and because I don't have either of those things at the present time, I just want to do my job and keep my focus toward my goal. I don't want anything to distract me.

I keep telling myself "something really good is gonna happen" for me, and I believe it.

I love my buddies, the few that I have left, but my focus is different from theirs. I don't have time for a lot of small talk anymore, or just "hanging out".

I want to be in a relationship, or better yet married, and -  I am going to find out what happened to me in 1989.

Those two things are going to happen for me, because I am going to will them to happen.

Watch me do it.  :)

I did watch Episode #12 of "Twin Peaks", which reintroduced the Audrey Horne character into the series. She was one of the most important characters from the original show, and as played by the actress Sherilyn Fenn, she has always been unforgettable.

Elizabeth, if you are reading, I did see a post today in which a Sweet Baby was featured. I don't know for certain, but I am guessing that it represented the long established SB motif we both know on sight.

I always love to see an SB post, and I also saw another post, via one of your friends, about "devil" deer, with horns.

That made me wonder if you saw the video I posted, by Hell.

There is no need to explain Hell, other than to say they are Andy Sneap's other band, besides Judas Priest. For one thing, just to have a name like "Andy Sneap" is incredible, because it makes you sound like you are right out of Harry Potter or a Charles Dickens story. But to be Andy Sneap and to be in a band called Hell, in addition to being in Judas Priest, must be an exceptional honor.

I have only been recently exposed to Hell, but I think that if this was 1986, they'd be my favorite band.

And especially the singer.

If I was going to Hell, I wouldn't mind hanging around with him, whether I was married or not.

See you in the morning. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)