Okay, so i already put together a temporary blog for the 101 in 1001. Check it out!
m
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Monday, January 03, 2005
101 in 1001 (oh lord ... )
The "New Year" is here and already, i'm picking up on a meme. Of sorts. This one might actually have some impact in my life, though. As i see it, the infamous blackgayblogger challenged himself to complete 101 tasks in 1001 days, an idea picked up by the nefarious EJ, and apparently originated by a mad genius Kiwi photophile named Michael Green over a year ago.
More recently Kevin Harris opted to follow suit, but with 51 in 501. I suck at long-range planning, so i was going to go with boison and do the half-time thing. Then i got to reading Triplux.com (Green's site) and his explanation of why 1001 days is a workable, realistic time frame and i started realizing i was being a chickenshit about the whole commitment thing and so ... here they are:
The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (i.e., no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic, and stretching (i.e., represent some amount of work on my part).
The Timeline: This list was completed 03 January 2005, so 1001 days from now will be 01 October 2007.
The List:
And there you have it. I could not have imagined that it would be so difficult to come up with this list. It's taken me the better part of three days to do it. And the last ten or so i thought up (though not necessarily the last ten on the list) were damn near impossible. Some of them are frivolous, some quite engaging, but all have to potential to impact me in some great or small way.
They're set now; i won't change the numbering once it's published, though i may add links and other notes. I shuffled a couple of things around so they would be easier for me to keep track of, but they're really in no particular order. I'm counting on somebody out there to help keep me on task for the next couple of years or so. If nothing else, it should provide me a lot to blog about. In fact, i think i'll set up another blog just to keep track of this project. YEAH! Keep your eyes open for that update.
***UPDATE AS OF JANUARY 4, 2005***
I went ahead and did it! Click Here to check out my secondary blog, "Malik's 101 Things to do in 1001 Days." It should be a blast! (Nuclear, that is.)
More recently Kevin Harris opted to follow suit, but with 51 in 501. I suck at long-range planning, so i was going to go with boison and do the half-time thing. Then i got to reading Triplux.com (Green's site) and his explanation of why 1001 days is a workable, realistic time frame and i started realizing i was being a chickenshit about the whole commitment thing and so ... here they are:
Malik's 101 Things to do in 1001 Days
The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (i.e., no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic, and stretching (i.e., represent some amount of work on my part).
The Timeline: This list was completed 03 January 2005, so 1001 days from now will be 01 October 2007.
The List:
- Incorporate/register my company.
- Earn a 100% profit on BrothaLove Images over a 12-month period.
- Establish Flawless Men as a viable enterprise.
- Create comp cards for five of my models.
- Buy new light kits for my photography studio.
- Find a reliable way to get high-quality prints from my digital images.
- Present my photography at an APG Open Critique.
- Compile a portfolio of my 11 x 14 prints.
- Have images listed with a stock photography house.
- Submit my photographs to ten competitions or exhibitions.
- Photograph a celebrity.
- Sell 25 prints of my photographic work.
- Take one trip that is paid for entirely by my photography.
- Set specific goals for the year at my day job.
- Set a definite end date for my day job.
- Learn to cook ten new dishes.
- Finish editing Little Man -- give it a better title -- and submit it to five publishers.
- Successfully complete NaNoWriMo again.
- Submit my writing to ten competitions.
- Submit my writing to 25 paying markets.
- Write a non-fiction book.
- Finish a degree (or at least be enrolled and near completion).
- Have dinner at Imperial Fez.
- Get a real blog (i.e., MT-enabled and not a pre-set template).
- See ten "classic" movies i've never seen.
- Master PhotoShop and DreamWeaver.
- Unpack all my books.
- Read all the bell hooks volumes in my library.
- Read all the Ursula K. Le Guin books in print.
- Read five books recommended by five friends (one each), without objection.
- Walk barefoot on a sandy beach.
- Walk barefoot in the snow.
- Find a charity and donate to it monthly for 12 consecutive months.
- Make a list of my 50 favorite actors.
- Make a list of my 50 favorite singers.
- Make a list of my 50 favorite writers.
- Make a list of my 50 favorite models.
- Make a list of my 50 favorite photographers.
- Photograph 50 different men.
- Stop drinking coffee for a week.
- Stop cursing for a week.
- Learn enough Spanish to watch Como Agua para Chocolate without subtitles. (Stolen directly from Jason's #13.)
- Learn enough Maori to mail a letter and have it delivered accurately in New Zealand.
- Go nude in public.
- Get the cat neutered.
- Memorize the meaning of every card in the tarot deck.
- Give away all clothes i haven't worn in a year or more.
- Create five new jobs for other people.
- Get a full physical, including a prostate exam.
- Get an adjustment from a chiropractor.
- Redecorate the living room.
- Throw a party at the house.
- Talk to five friends whom i haven't spoken with in over a year.
- Tell one person i don't like -- honestly -- what i don't like about them.
- Write and mail 25 letters to family and/or friends.
- Do the Master Cleanse lemonade fast for 21 days.
- Bench press 150 pounds for eight reps.
- Develop visible six-pack abs.
- Go sky diving.
- Go bunjee jumping.
- Go ice skating.
- Get eight hours of sleep each night for a week.
- Write (and mail) letters to my three favorite authors.
- Re-view the entire Stargate SG-1 series on DVD.
- Send birthday cards to all my family members (as far removed as my second cousins).
- Apologize to Patricia.
- See all my cousins' children.
- Go 72 hours without using a computer.
- Go 72 hours without watching television.
- Complete one photographic project that does not include any people.
- Complete my Body Art project.
- Complete my Couples project.
- Complete my Tarot project.
- Complete my Calendar project.
- Walk from home to work or from work to home.
- Write one poem in every form i know of, including Blank Verse, Villanelle, Sonnet, Sestina, Clerihew, Limerick, Haiku, Sijo, Ghazal, and Eintou.
- Write Lifegiver.
- Write Swear to God.
- Complete my solo spoken-word CD project.
- Enroll in a photography/graphic arts education program.
- Have a session with a counselor/therapist/shrink to address my social anxiety.
- Buy 25 things from independent business people.
- Delete all the unnecessary files on my computer.
- Backup the files on my computer to CD-RWs once a month.
- Treat myself to a full spa treatment.
- Spend one night in each of five states. (Georgia and Michigan don't count.)
- Spend one night outdoors (tent acceptable).
- Play blackjack in a Las Vegas casino.
- Visit the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- Visit Pueblo, Colorado.
- Visit Toronto, Ontario.
- Have sex in a foreign country.
- Get married.
- Buy a house.
- Recreate a scene from a porn movie in my own life.
- Experiment with BDSM.
- Get another tattoo.
- Get my nipples pierced.
- Fly a kite.
- Learn a math theory from Troy and apply it correctly.
- Anonymously do something for someone that will have a significant positive impact on her/his life.
And there you have it. I could not have imagined that it would be so difficult to come up with this list. It's taken me the better part of three days to do it. And the last ten or so i thought up (though not necessarily the last ten on the list) were damn near impossible. Some of them are frivolous, some quite engaging, but all have to potential to impact me in some great or small way.
They're set now; i won't change the numbering once it's published, though i may add links and other notes. I shuffled a couple of things around so they would be easier for me to keep track of, but they're really in no particular order. I'm counting on somebody out there to help keep me on task for the next couple of years or so. If nothing else, it should provide me a lot to blog about. In fact, i think i'll set up another blog just to keep track of this project. YEAH! Keep your eyes open for that update.
***UPDATE AS OF JANUARY 4, 2005***
I went ahead and did it! Click Here to check out my secondary blog, "Malik's 101 Things to do in 1001 Days." It should be a blast! (Nuclear, that is.)
Sunday, January 02, 2005
PEOPLE OF THE YEAR!!!
According to ABC News, it's US, folks. They've named bloggers their People of the Year for 2004.
Y'all are so hot!
For those who are averse to external links, here's the full text of the article:
Dec. 30, 2004 — A blog — short for "web log" — is an online personal journal that covers topics ranging from daily life to technology to culture to the arts. Blogs have made such an impact this year that Merriam-Webster named it the word of the year.
"There's a blog for every niche. There's a blog for every interest," said technology writer Xeni Jardin, who co-edits the blog boingboing.net.
Dylan Verdi, an 11-year-old known as the world's youngest videoblogger, says she covers "things that I've seen that I like or that I've heard of, or just anything that happened to me that day that I'm thinking."
There are millions of blogs on the Internet — a new one is created every seven-and-a-half seconds. More than 10,000 new additions are added to the "blogosphere" each day.
Firsthand Reporting on Asian Tsunami Catastrophes
This week, their influence has become readily apparent. Dozens of bloggers have been filing firsthand reports from the areas devastated by southern Asia's deadly tsunamis.
"There is kind of an immediacy that people can relate to — can't help but relate to that in a very intimate way," said Jardin.
"Day three," one blogger writes from the scene, "this may be an unexpected challenge and responsibility, and it hurts to see people in pain. But it's also a remarkable experience to be on hand to do something modest, but useful, in the aftermath of a disaster."
Bloggers around the world have made themselves useful, encouraging donations to relief groups, posting the names of the missing and expressing sympathy for the victims.
Expanding Political Coverage
As a driving force in politics this year, bloggers covered the 2004 presidential campaigns and election. Political candidates also used them as valuable campaign tools.
"The Internet taught us, rather than the other way around," said former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean.
This year, for the first time, bloggers were permitted to cover the national political conventions firsthand.
Bloggers have taken the lead over traditional media on a number of stories, including racist remarks made by then-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., at former Sen. Strom Thurmond's birthday party.
"Suddenly the mainstream media, the nightly news, on all three networks and on cable, picked up the story and the papers picked up the story and the next thing you know, Trent Lott's resigning and gone," said Democratic strategist Joe Trippi, who masterminded Dean's groundbreaking online campaign efforts.
Some of the most compelling images of 2004 found their way to blogs first, from the Florida hurricanes to the war in Iraq. It was a blogger who got the first photographs of coffins carrying U.S. soldiers arriving in the United States from Iraq.
But for Verdi, it is the simple pleasure of knowing that someone is listening that makes blogging worthwhile.
"On my blog it allows people to post comments, and I have gotten comment upon comment upon comment," she said. "It makes me feel really good that somebody else cares about what I have to say."
ABC News' Elizabeth Vargas filed this report for "World News Tonight."
Y'all are so hot!
For those who are averse to external links, here's the full text of the article:
Dec. 30, 2004 — A blog — short for "web log" — is an online personal journal that covers topics ranging from daily life to technology to culture to the arts. Blogs have made such an impact this year that Merriam-Webster named it the word of the year.
"There's a blog for every niche. There's a blog for every interest," said technology writer Xeni Jardin, who co-edits the blog boingboing.net.
Dylan Verdi, an 11-year-old known as the world's youngest videoblogger, says she covers "things that I've seen that I like or that I've heard of, or just anything that happened to me that day that I'm thinking."
There are millions of blogs on the Internet — a new one is created every seven-and-a-half seconds. More than 10,000 new additions are added to the "blogosphere" each day.
Firsthand Reporting on Asian Tsunami Catastrophes
This week, their influence has become readily apparent. Dozens of bloggers have been filing firsthand reports from the areas devastated by southern Asia's deadly tsunamis.
"There is kind of an immediacy that people can relate to — can't help but relate to that in a very intimate way," said Jardin.
"Day three," one blogger writes from the scene, "this may be an unexpected challenge and responsibility, and it hurts to see people in pain. But it's also a remarkable experience to be on hand to do something modest, but useful, in the aftermath of a disaster."
Bloggers around the world have made themselves useful, encouraging donations to relief groups, posting the names of the missing and expressing sympathy for the victims.
Expanding Political Coverage
As a driving force in politics this year, bloggers covered the 2004 presidential campaigns and election. Political candidates also used them as valuable campaign tools.
"The Internet taught us, rather than the other way around," said former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean.
This year, for the first time, bloggers were permitted to cover the national political conventions firsthand.
Bloggers have taken the lead over traditional media on a number of stories, including racist remarks made by then-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., at former Sen. Strom Thurmond's birthday party.
"Suddenly the mainstream media, the nightly news, on all three networks and on cable, picked up the story and the papers picked up the story and the next thing you know, Trent Lott's resigning and gone," said Democratic strategist Joe Trippi, who masterminded Dean's groundbreaking online campaign efforts.
Some of the most compelling images of 2004 found their way to blogs first, from the Florida hurricanes to the war in Iraq. It was a blogger who got the first photographs of coffins carrying U.S. soldiers arriving in the United States from Iraq.
But for Verdi, it is the simple pleasure of knowing that someone is listening that makes blogging worthwhile.
"On my blog it allows people to post comments, and I have gotten comment upon comment upon comment," she said. "It makes me feel really good that somebody else cares about what I have to say."
ABC News' Elizabeth Vargas filed this report for "World News Tonight."
Friday, December 31, 2004
Last Post for the Year
What a year.
I've grown (i think). I've overcome some challenges. I've strengthened my commitment to my partner. I've made some job changes and contemplated a whole new career. I've brought my web site to life (with some serious professional help), and started exploring my photographic vision in full force.
2004 held a lot for me.
Still, i don't get all the hoopla over the concept of the "New Year." It's just another day for me.
I tend to look at my birthday (March 2, for all you compulsive gift-givers) as the beginning of my new year. January 1 is kind of arbitrary, isn't it? I don't remember how the Gregorian Calendar came into being -- some Pope, i think -- but January 1 might as well be June 1 or September 23 or ... or ... March 2. ;-)
Whatever the reason, whatever the celebration whatever you do to commemorate the coming of 2005, be well, be powerful, be true.
Love You.
m
I've grown (i think). I've overcome some challenges. I've strengthened my commitment to my partner. I've made some job changes and contemplated a whole new career. I've brought my web site to life (with some serious professional help), and started exploring my photographic vision in full force.
2004 held a lot for me.
Still, i don't get all the hoopla over the concept of the "New Year." It's just another day for me.
I tend to look at my birthday (March 2, for all you compulsive gift-givers) as the beginning of my new year. January 1 is kind of arbitrary, isn't it? I don't remember how the Gregorian Calendar came into being -- some Pope, i think -- but January 1 might as well be June 1 or September 23 or ... or ... March 2. ;-)
Whatever the reason, whatever the celebration whatever you do to commemorate the coming of 2005, be well, be powerful, be true.
Love You.
m
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
10 Things I Love About Black Gay Men
Charles posted this challenge on his blog:
I decided to take up the challenge. Only, i didn't expect it would be such a challenge. Unlike Charles, i don't know if i could so easily come up with ten things i hate either, but that's a story for another post.
Check out my list; i hope it's affirming. (P.S. I made my list before reading Charles's, so it will be interesting to see if there's any duplication.) So, in no particular order ...
It's sad but true, if the list were 10 things I hate, I could do it without thinking. This is a good exercise for me, to remember the love I have for my brothers. I encourage others to do the same on their blogs.
I decided to take up the challenge. Only, i didn't expect it would be such a challenge. Unlike Charles, i don't know if i could so easily come up with ten things i hate either, but that's a story for another post.
Check out my list; i hope it's affirming. (P.S. I made my list before reading Charles's, so it will be interesting to see if there's any duplication.) So, in no particular order ...
- Queens. Whiteboys can claim queenery, but they're just working with the Black girls castoff expressions. I love it.
- Sex. In case you thought my being gay was strictly an intellectual or political or social exercise, think again. I love sex. With men. Especially black men. Deal with it.
- Community. I've argued (rather cogently, i think) that there really is no Black Gay Community in Atlanta. In the larger sense, i think that's still true. But it doesn't matter; wherever two or three are gathered in the name of Tony Daniels (or Essex Hemphill, or James Baldwin, or even goddamn J.L. King), community is in the midst.
- My Reflection. In the early days of my "coming out" experience, the thing that saved my life was realizing there were other men like me that i could actually touch and talk to. In the MANY years since, i hope i've provided that same lifesaving reflection for some other brothers.
- Wit. Okay, so the catty, queeny, reading black gurl is a stereotype. I gotta believe, though, that the smart gene often goes hand-in-hand with the gay gene. Or maybe it's the culture we've created that lends itself to brilliant jibes. Whatever the cause, i'm grateful for Juan Smith, Charles Stephens, Kevin Bynes, Tony Daniels, Duncan Teague, and a host of other fierce bristas who know how to let folks hold it, honey!
- Creativity. Essex Hemphill. James Baldwin. James Richmond Barthé. Marlon Riggs. Patrik-Ian Polk. Anthony Antoine. Tim'm West. Khalid Kamau. Juan Smith. Langston Hughes. Jerry Boles. Paris Barclay. Marvin K. White. Willi Smith. Duncan E. Teague. Reginald Harris. Kevin Aviance. And that's just off the top of my head. 'Nuff said.
- AIDS. No, not because i'm glad we have it. Certainly not because we're still harder hit than any other group. No. Because we didn't go away. Because we spoke up and still speak up. Because we find reasons and ways to live and love in spite of the odds against us.
- Beauty. So what if Queer Eye doesn't see us. Who cares if Boy Meets Boy doesn't meet our needs. I see it in us every day, in so many ways. If you doubt, check my portfolio of black and (mostly) gay men. We are beautiful in all shapes, sizes, and shades.
- Style. I almost overlooked this one because i'm so completely devoid of it. LOL! Whatever's hot right now in popular culture, chances are some black gay boi somewhere started it, either in our community or behind the scenes styling somebody else. Don't sleep; we help create culture.
- Our Legacy. If you look at some of the names i've named above, you know that there's a lot to live up to. A high standard that we as black gay men, we who are aware of that legacy, have a duty to maintain. But dammit, it's our legacy. We have the privilege and honor and choice to accept that mantle and further the legacy, or to let it die. Do you doubt? Check out The Blackstripe for a more comprehensive list.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
HOLIDAY POP QUIZ
Okay, so i borrowed this one from Bernie. (There! I've credited it; now he can't sue.) Rather than posting my responses in his comments section, i decided to do my post here and simply Trackback to him.
Besides, Bernie deserves a good Trackback every now and then. ;-)
Read on to find my answers to this Holiday Pop Quiz. And hit me back with your own responses if you feel it.
MY REPLIES:
Happy Holidays, Everyone!!!
Besides, Bernie deserves a good Trackback every now and then. ;-)
Read on to find my answers to this Holiday Pop Quiz. And hit me back with your own responses if you feel it.
- What is the one thing you must see or hear or do that tells you in no uncertain terms that it’s the holiday season?
- Of the three, which is your favorite: Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s Eve?
- Is the holiday season typically fun or depressing for you?
- Have you been good this year? Do you deserve a visit from Santa?
- How old were you when you figured out there was no Santa Claus?
- What was the best toy you ever got as a kid?
- What adult toy would you like someone to give you?
- What is your fondest memory from 2004?
- To what are you most looking forward in 2005?
- Are you optimistic or pessimistic as we enter a new year?
MY REPLIES:
- What is the one thing you must see or hear or do that tells you in no uncertain terms that it’s the holiday season?
Snow. As a child in Detroit, the holidays were never as magical if we didn't get at least one good snowfall. Of course, that means since i've been living in Atlanta for the past 13 years, i've seen about three holiday seasons, "in no uncertain terms." It takes a hell of a lot of magic to make that happen down here.
- Of the three, which is your favorite: Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s Eve?
Hey, "Happy Chrismahanakwanzaka," i say. Let the holidays fight it out amongst themselves. Seriously, my favorite holiday is the Winter Solstice. Which just happens to be today. (Thank the goddess, the days are getting longer again!)
- Is the holiday season typically fun or depressing for you?
It's usually some mix of aggravating with all its forced cheer and peaceful as a time of calm and reflection. And a little depressing. (But then, i get depressed going to the grocery store, so take it for what it's worth.)
- Have you been good this year? Do you deserve a visit from Santa?
I've been a good, good boy in so many ways. But keep that fat devil off my rooftop!
- How old were you when you figured out there was no Santa Claus?
Figured?!? Oh no. I had the privelege of having my one-year-older cousin tell me the truth when i was seven or eight. (Now what does it say about our culture that she got punished for that?)
- What was the best toy you ever got as a kid?
Pokey. He's a stuffed panda that i got on my very first Christmas. I still have him. (With manufacturing lead time, that means he could be older than me.)
- What adult toy would you like someone to give you?
{{giggle}} "Adult" toy? Wouldn't you like to know ....
- What is your fondest memory from 2004?
Holding ADODI Muse's first CD, "Ain't Got Sense Enuf to be 'Shamed" in my hands after more than a year of hard work helping to make it happen? Holding the finished project of The Lion's Den Calendar in my hands after months of photography and layout work? (I acually had to struggle with this one, not because there were so many wonderful things to remember, but because my memories tend to be a blur of blessed sameness.)
- To what are you most looking forward in 2005?
Emigrating to Canada. LOL! Seriously, the biggest thing in the upcoming year for me is developing my photography, both as an artist and as a businessman.
- Are you optimistic or pessimistic as we enter a new year?
I am, as always, a cynical realist ...
Happy Holidays, Everyone!!!
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Been Too Long
It's been forever since i posted. Okay, not forever, but a while.
I don't really have anything to say right now. Just that i'm going to try and get back in the swing of things, that i'm going to try to post more regularly again, that i hate bloglines because their crappy notifier is part of the reason i stopped blogging. And that i'm moving to Toronto.
Not soon, but i really need to go to a new country "in search of a better life."
Hmph.
I don't really have anything to say right now. Just that i'm going to try and get back in the swing of things, that i'm going to try to post more regularly again, that i hate bloglines because their crappy notifier is part of the reason i stopped blogging. And that i'm moving to Toronto.
Not soon, but i really need to go to a new country "in search of a better life."
Hmph.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Inspiration is a Kick in the Groin
It's halfway through the month, so i figured by now i'd be posting excerpts from my novel in progress. I figured i'd coast through this NaNoWriMo thing (see previous post) with relative ease, since i'd done it before. I figured this November would see me add to my collect of first drafts i had waiting for revision and submission to some publisher or literary agent. I figured a lot of shit that didn't happen this month.
And i got surprised off my ass by some of what did.
Troy and i are being evicted.
Now, don't get me wrong: we pay our rent on time every month. It's not a matter of us falling behind on our obligations. All the more surprising to find that we're getting the boot, eh?
It seems there's a law firm (which shall remain nameless) that is acting on behalf of a mortgage company (which shall remain nameless) that has foreclosed on the owner of the townhouse (who shall definitely remain nameless) who leased us the property. The unit was sold at auction on the county courthouse steps a couple of weeks ago.
I'm not going to go into the details -- that's too much of somebody else's business mixed in with mine -- but suffice it to say that after moving in in OCTOBER, Troy and i weren't exactly planning to shuffle off again so soon. In fact, we had talked about possibly buying the unit and never having to move again. (If you're like me, you're wondering right about now what any of this has to do with the title of this entry.)
It seems that there were some errors made on behalf of our landlord by whomever was managing this property on said landlord's behalf. (Landlord doesn't live in Atlanta.) It seems Landlord was able to resolve issues with Mortgage Company and have the mortgage reinstated (a relatively rare occurrence, according to the representative of the aforementioned law firm with whom i spoke). It seems everything is going to be all right and we are not going to have to move after all.
So it seems right now.
Through all this drama, though, the good thing is that it has inspired a couple of potentially great advances in my life. (Ah, he's finally gotten to the inspiration part of this little rant.)
That's about all for now. We're still waiting on the official word from the mortgage company. We're still hoping Landlord is on the up-and-up with the business dealings. But we're still going to look at apartments today.
You know, someday this is going to make a great chapter in my first published novel ....
And i got surprised off my ass by some of what did.
Troy and i are being evicted.
Now, don't get me wrong: we pay our rent on time every month. It's not a matter of us falling behind on our obligations. All the more surprising to find that we're getting the boot, eh?
It seems there's a law firm (which shall remain nameless) that is acting on behalf of a mortgage company (which shall remain nameless) that has foreclosed on the owner of the townhouse (who shall definitely remain nameless) who leased us the property. The unit was sold at auction on the county courthouse steps a couple of weeks ago.
I'm not going to go into the details -- that's too much of somebody else's business mixed in with mine -- but suffice it to say that after moving in in OCTOBER, Troy and i weren't exactly planning to shuffle off again so soon. In fact, we had talked about possibly buying the unit and never having to move again. (If you're like me, you're wondering right about now what any of this has to do with the title of this entry.)
It seems that there were some errors made on behalf of our landlord by whomever was managing this property on said landlord's behalf. (Landlord doesn't live in Atlanta.) It seems Landlord was able to resolve issues with Mortgage Company and have the mortgage reinstated (a relatively rare occurrence, according to the representative of the aforementioned law firm with whom i spoke). It seems everything is going to be all right and we are not going to have to move after all.
So it seems right now.
Through all this drama, though, the good thing is that it has inspired a couple of potentially great advances in my life. (Ah, he's finally gotten to the inspiration part of this little rant.)
- If everything pans out, Troy and i actually may end up buying this property. Landlord is tired of dealing with it from a distance, and we are interested (if not able at the moment). So, assuming things work out as they seem to be, this little incident may have inspired Landlord to sell.
- Though i haven't been writing for NaNoWriMo like i planned, for some reason i've come up with a whole slew of new writing ideas, as well as some ideas for my photography. Seems there's been some creative inspiration in this madness as well.
That's about all for now. We're still waiting on the official word from the mortgage company. We're still hoping Landlord is on the up-and-up with the business dealings. But we're still going to look at apartments today.
You know, someday this is going to make a great chapter in my first published novel ....
Sunday, October 31, 2004
NaNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo is Here!!!
November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). During these thirty days, hundreds, maybe thousands of participants from all around the country (maybe even the world) will each attempt to write a complete novel of at least 50,000 words. Not everyone will succeed.
I will.
I've actually done it once before. I've participated for the last three years running, and completed a novel in the 30 days once (back in 2002). So i am committed to doing it again this year. If you're interested in signing up, taking on this challenge, go to the National Novel Writing Month web site and check out the details.
Meanwhile, i'll be drinking a lot of coffee. Look for me to be up late online.
November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). During these thirty days, hundreds, maybe thousands of participants from all around the country (maybe even the world) will each attempt to write a complete novel of at least 50,000 words. Not everyone will succeed.
I will.
I've actually done it once before. I've participated for the last three years running, and completed a novel in the 30 days once (back in 2002). So i am committed to doing it again this year. If you're interested in signing up, taking on this challenge, go to the National Novel Writing Month web site and check out the details.
Meanwhile, i'll be drinking a lot of coffee. Look for me to be up late online.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Crackheads Will Steal Your Garbage
So Troy and i are moving. (Gawd, this has been the longest, most tedious process i've ever been involved in.) We set an assload of garbage out at the curb during our last foray into the old place. A couple of homeless guys came by and started going through the shit looking for buried treasure.
No problem.
They were neatly moving things from one rubbish container to another, sifting through stuff and asking if they could take whatever. "Sure." So why did i swing by there last night to pick up more boxes, only to find the front of the driveway and on into the street looking like the aftermath of Hiroshima?
I mean folks had gone digging through every bit of paper, every discarded personal item they could find. And they didn't put shit back in the bins. I spent a good twenty minutes sweeping and scraping up the flurry of crap that had been strewn across the sidewalk and into the street, reaching as far as my next door neighbor's drive. (He just happens to also be my lame-duck landlord.)
The good news is that all the heavy items i thought i was going to have to call special pickup services to come get has magically vanished. The bad news is i ended up taking all the garbage back into the garage and locking it up in there so i wouldn't have to clean up again tonight. So now i'm going to wait until tomorrow morning (collection day) to take it all out to the curb again.
Can you say pro-rated rent? {sigh} Pieces of my life scattered in the street and all i could think about was, "I gotta clean that shit up again?" I'm so over it.
No problem.
They were neatly moving things from one rubbish container to another, sifting through stuff and asking if they could take whatever. "Sure." So why did i swing by there last night to pick up more boxes, only to find the front of the driveway and on into the street looking like the aftermath of Hiroshima?
I mean folks had gone digging through every bit of paper, every discarded personal item they could find. And they didn't put shit back in the bins. I spent a good twenty minutes sweeping and scraping up the flurry of crap that had been strewn across the sidewalk and into the street, reaching as far as my next door neighbor's drive. (He just happens to also be my lame-duck landlord.)
The good news is that all the heavy items i thought i was going to have to call special pickup services to come get has magically vanished. The bad news is i ended up taking all the garbage back into the garage and locking it up in there so i wouldn't have to clean up again tonight. So now i'm going to wait until tomorrow morning (collection day) to take it all out to the curb again.
Can you say pro-rated rent? {sigh} Pieces of my life scattered in the street and all i could think about was, "I gotta clean that shit up again?" I'm so over it.
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