For those of you who know, I’m an amateur writer. As amateur as they come. I’ve actually made one attempt to sell my works and met with rejection, and considering the fact that what I write is merely my means of expression, when I did meet with rejection, I took a look at what I was holding in my hand (my chapters and outline) and I made a decision: If I was going to claim this as my art and my labor of love, then how could I possibly have a want to make money off of it? The decision right then and there was that I would simply write for myself, and publish it for all to read on the web. My writings have included a great many subjects, though all of them are based in the realm of science-fiction. I’ve tried to write a contemporary story, but I always feel like it turns out way too sappy and hopelessly pedantic. They say you should write what you know, and well, I know science-fiction a hell of a lot better than trying to describe the human condition as it is presently.

Recently, however, I finished a novella called The (Mis)Adventures of January McKenna. It’s based in whole upon the supposition in the Star Trek universe, about the “What if the Borg failed to be stopped by the Enterprise-D at Sector 001?” We ended up basing an entire role-playing game within this universe, and of course, as I always get to thinking about all the possibilities, I wrote this novella to explain the first two-three years of that struggle in the aftermath of the Borg invasion. It seems to have been pretty well received, though I only got one review. The first three chapters were written in September of 2000, and then I stopped. Of course, I was separating from Stephanie in October, so I’m sure it’s not hard to figure out why I stopped writing. I picked it up again this month and finally sat myself down long enough to just bang it all out and finish the story. The result is located over my FanFiction.net site, and begins here, if you care to jump up and read a ten-chapter saga.

I have not actually been able to finish a story like that in a very long time. I tend to start projects, get really into it, and then lose my discipline and eventually any interest in continuing the story. Since I did finish this and end it with a nice decisive ending, I’m feeling a little more confident about my writing to revisit older and unfinished projects that I let go in a similar fashion. However, out of all of those, I’m not really finding one I want to devote such a high level of concentration to (yet). I am hoping that I will latch onto something after I’m done moving, because I would love to finish a novel (not a novella) before next April.

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Todd had to be out of his place on Sunday to 18th at midnight, and of course, true-to-form, he waited until the last minute to actually pack up his room. Needless to say, Sunday night and Monday morning was quite the lesson in frustration, panic, and a rather high state of anxiety. He had a lot of stuff; not just your basic living necessities, but an inordinate amount of just pure pat-rack-like stuff. Now, I realize, I’m like the last person on this planet to call someone else a pack-rat, I mean, I could form a sentimental attachment to a damn dust bunny, but Todd just upped it to a whole new level.

I had to play the asshole (a part I play very well, I’m told) and limit the guy to only certain things. His room is nine by eleven feet, and the amount of boxes he was looking to move would have effectively turned his room into a storage space, and that would leave him paying rent to sleep in the living room. No way was I going to let that happen. Also recently, I’ve developed a new appreciation for cleanliness. New place, clean. I’m trying so hard to keep it that way for a while. So, let’s move on to the adventure!

Monday afternoon, I went to the local Uhaul to rent a truck. I didn’t want one of the huge trucks, I just wanted the po-dunk Toyota truck that looks like it would scrape bottom on a easy grade or something. It’s like 19.95 for a day and the mileage is pro-rated for fifty miles automagically, so it would come out to around $50-$60 in the end. Though this was an in-town move, it was my intention to rent the truck, move Todd’s stuff, and then the next day, move mine. Well, guess what? They didn’t have any more of the po-dunk trucks, they had the huge-ass diesel monsters that could effectively relocate three families of five cross-country, and still have room to setup a few cots to sleep in. I mean this thing was huge. It was a twenty-foot bay, if I read the dimensions on the wall correctly. It was diesel-fueled, which meant that the engine could be heard about three miles away. Not to mention, I was trying really hard to get used to the size of this thing, and also noticing how top heavy it was on very small turns. But I do have to mention the fact that I did get the thing up to about 75 on the freeway before I started to redline it. We loaded up and moved Todd in in under four hours, on the good side of the news fence. Of course, I asked him to consolidate his boxes and determine what was a baseline necessary justification for every box he wanted to bring. Even his father was applauding me, so I figured I was going in the right direction. We signed the papers that night, got the keys, and now we have a place to live! Woo-hoo.

Today, though, was my day. My crap didn’t even fill the truck a fourth of the way. I moved only large pieces of furniture and bookcases and other things that I wouldn’t be able to toss in the back of my car and scurry it over. I had the Uhaul until 3pm, so it was just a quick trip over to the new apartment.

I’m still mid-move, so I will probably be losing net access until the end of the month, when the DSL line at the new place gets installed. I’ll try to document a little more when I’m all settled in.

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