Getting Dark

Summer's drawing to an end. It was pretty dark by 7:30 last night. It's that annoying time of the year when it is dark when I get up to run (and will stay that way until we move the clocks back an hour) and it is starting to get dark earlier too.

This summer was so-so. Had a relationship end, or enter a new chapter, or whatever. Had some tough spots. Struggled with work every now and then. But truthfully it was just a routine summer. Had a decent softball season although a late season hitting slump bummed me out. Still have one more week to play (championships) so that's good.

And now I'm back at work and trying to stay focused. I know, you call this staying focused? Hey, at least I'm not wasting time on You Tube looking for semi-erotic smut. It's there, btw, you just have to know where to find it.

Somehow the sound has been shut off on my computer. This is a blessing really so I'm not going to try to have it fixed. No sound makes it harder to enjoy said smut. I'm going to assume that this is someone doing for me what I can't do for myself.

I'm almost through the Jason Starr book "Lights Out." It's good. He's good on details, which is something I will struggle with if I ever try to write a book. You need to be able to describe street corners, intersections, neighborhoods in a way that seems real, that captures the reader, that paints a picture. I've always had trouble unlocking that part of my brain. It really is just a matter of taking the plunge and cutting loose but I've struggled with that. It is something that definitely held me back in my professional career and it holds me back now.

The only way to overcome it is to just do it and see what happens. I have to stop this bullshit insecurity and fear from ruling my life and take a shot. Starr's book has a good plot although some of his dialogue seems forced and while the book is set in the present, some of his characters (particularly the older characters)seem a little out of date. It's probably, I'm guessing, because Starr is looking to parental figures of his childhood vs. today. Hey, that's a nit picky observation, but that is also something I know I'll wrestle with if I try to write about twenty somethings with a 40 something voice. It's not easy. Starr has all these references to rap and different rappers his characters listen to and I wonder, does he listen to this stuff or just study billboard and read an issue of "The Source" to give himself cred? I may have to set any book I write in the 70s or 80s or early 90s since that is where all my musical knowledge lies. Or I'll just write about people my own age. Anyway, none of this is meant as a criticism, I'm enjoying his book, it's the second one of his I've read and I'll definately get the latest one, which I can't find (lucky bastard!).

More people to link in with on LinkedIn. Sooner or later I've got to figure out how to use this f-ing site beyond just connecting with people I never talk to anymore in the first place. Anyone have any ideas?

Wow, another typical post spraying all over the place with no real point. Well, that's kind of where I'm at right now.