Dear Friends,
I announced this on social media, but I added the Ergonomic Fiction page to the site the other day. This will be where I will add new parts to the stories. Sometimes those parts will be blog entries and sometimes they won't, but I'll do my best to point you in the right direction here.
One story I added, "Rye's Above," was not in the blog at all yet. We shall see where that goes. Another, "The Baseball Story," has some revisions in it and a few new parts that were not in the blog, so (and yes, Cindy, I listened to you and thank you) check it out.
Also, I have put a section in the forum called "Steve Land." If your name is Steve and you talked to me about a place to express yourself, you have it now. Others wanting a place to express themselves and have the ergnomomic family of readers check it out, just let me know and I will accommodate you.
*****
I needed to take a little break from “The Trees” for a minute. I hope you are enjoying it so far. I am trying to figure out what to really pursue right now in terms of the fiction. It is hard because there are things about each story I really like and immersing myself in that way of thinking has been a lot of fun.
I fear, though, that if I keep interweaving my brainwaves on working on these, I will lose the voice of the main characters and they will all just morph into the same person. I would like to keep them separate because they all have something unique to say.
If you have read closely, you may have noticed the fact that “Bukake Culkin” and “Noisy World” are part of the same universe. I do not think the others are as connected, except in the part that Phoenix plays in each one.
It is important to me to write about Phoenix in this way. As my hometown, I selfishly want it to be a sub-character in my stories, although Los Angeles will play a big role in “Noisy World,” for sure, and other stories will visit some different places. Expect Maine to get some run, too.
I would still like more feedback, even if it is constructive criticism. My goal is to get better and your help in that is most appreciated. I have been putting myself out there long enough as a teacher, musician, and writer to have a pretty thick skin.
I have been told I suck at doing things I love more times that I can count on all the digits on my body, so if you think one of these stories is terrible or a waste of time or you wouldn’t read it if I paid you, that is okay. I am used to being an acquired taste a lot of the time, so fire away. If we are connected on social media, you can message me there or send me an email at phnart@ergonomicmischief.com, too.
*****
The other night I had the weirdest dream. I did two sets of stand-up comedy in Las Vegas, of all places. The dream was a pleasant one, too, and not a nightmare. There were some weird elements of it, too, and a guest appearance by Adam Sandler, who gave me a cigar. Lots of driving, too, in the dream. At one point I drove to a small town on the way to Vegas, some place that I do not think actually exists, and my granny was living there. After our visit, I realized I needed to do the second routine about that visit and it killed in the club. So strange.
I have thought about trying stand-up a few times in my life, but I doubt I ever will. I do not think I have that kind of comedic style, to get up there on my own. I am better at reacting to things other people say, I think, and being funny sometimes while riffing on a conversation. Stand-up is having a conversation with an audience where they do not get to respond. That seems very frightening.
*****
On Wednesday, I had a nasty reaction to some bug bites I got. I had swelling at four points on my body and felt pretty off all day long. I iced the bites and put different anti-itch stuff and antihistamines and such. Ended up going to the doctor on Friday and getting an antibiotic. I will probably always wonder what kind of bites they were.
The itching was so bad on Wednesday night that I did not think I could get to sleep. Thinking back, Wednesday night was the night I had the stand-up comedy dream. I wonder if that was a venom dream. Hmmm?
*****
Rhondi did some homemade pizza on Tuesday night that was the bomb. I created a pepperoni, onion, artichoke, black olive, olive tapenade, serrano, red pepper, and spinach pie with mozzarella and parmesan that was amazing. I am wishing I had another piece of it right now. The fresh serrano peppers gave it a perfect, smoky heat and the bites with one of them in it bit back a little bit but subsided quickly.
The kids stayed traditional with their pies, but Doug had a delicious looking chicken, serrano, onion, red pepper pie. Rhondi experimented with a rosemary potato, olive tapenade pie like the one we get at Sauce in Phoenix and made another based on a pizza we tried here in Oquossoc with artichoke and bacon bits. We ate like royalty that night.
When in Maine, though, we usually eat great. Rhondi is an amazing cook, as I think I have mentioned, and she loves making food for the family here. We introduce a lot of the southwest/Mexican style dishes she likes and adds a little spice to the somewhat conservative New England palate. It seems to always be appreciated.
*****
This weekend should be fun. I do not know what we will do for sure, but maybe a little drive over to Augusta later today and a good hike, too. Just a few more days before I have to start working again, albeit from home this year. I am excited to get back to working with kids and spreading the love of music to them. Hopefully a few of them decide to embrace it and share it with their own kids later on down the road.
I am interested to see how the enrollment at our online school goes this year. From what I have been reading about the current Covid variants, it seems like we may be in for a tough fall on a national level. You do not know what to believe any more from the media, which is sad, but I have read several opinions from seemingly real experts that seem to think the worst may not be behind us.
For what it is worth, I am going to hunker down a lot when I get back to Phoenix and keep my exposure to the outside world on the low side except to get together with people I love and hang out in a safe environment.
See you tomorrow.
This was our sunset on the 7th of July, 2022. The picture does not do it justice.
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