Life of a Writer Snapshot: July 7-10

Want to be a writer or just live like one? Walk 4 days in my shoes and maybe you’ll take up chartered accountancy instead!

Thursday, July 7th:
I get to work early. And by early, I mean 8am. I’m not a farmer, for fucksake. I’m a copywriter by day, and as long as I show up by 9am, all is right with the world. I put in a bit of extra polish on work, making sure I’m well caffeinated and focused. I even eat lunch at my desk. I figure since I’m taking Friday off to 1) take care of some anthology stuff, and 2) see a mid-afternoon special movie, a little extra attention to detail never hurts. I clock out at 5, bus home to get a healthy dinner before heading out again, but settle for deli-case chicken strips instead. Then it’s home, catch up on correspondence and such until I have to catch a bus back downtown for a bachelor party at 8. Said bachelor party, my first in I don’t remember how long turns out to be incredible fun and not at all what was expected. I get to hobnob with other writer/gamer folks and drink wine. 3 delightful and large glasses of Malbec to be specific. This is important later.

Friday, July 8th:
I get home from the bachelor party around 1:30 am. I do not expect three glasses of wine to have such a strong impact on me. Imagine my surprise. Dehydration and chill/fever shakes kick in, making for a rough night and morning. Worst hangover I’ve ever had, and it’s over 3 glasses of red wine? Are you fucking kidding me? Lesson learned. Stick to booze. Getting shit done in the morning becomes secondary to just trying to claw my way back to “Human.” I manage to make it to the Cinerama to see Stanley Kubrik’s The Shining for the first time ever on a big screen. I’m reminded of how this was my dad’s favorite horror movie. I consider that maybe, just maybe, it’s a good thing we never got seriously snowed in during our childhood in Colorado, as I see far too much of my dad in the early portrayal of “Dad of the Year” Jack Torrance. Of course, the air conditioner is cranked up, the movie reminds me of the cold, and the chill-shivers come back. Beautiful. I get home, wrap a few things up, and go the hell to bed.

Saturday, July 10:
I manage to get some editing in at the Monkey Grind before going to the wedding event of the summer. The wedding itself is lovely. It almost distracts me from all the editing and writing work I wanted to get done the day before. Wisely, I did not bring a pen and notepad to the wedding, so I am social. To no one’s surprise, the writers in the crowd clump together in short order. These things happen. You drop two authors in the middle of the Gobi Desert, they’ll walk until they find each other. And they’ll each insist they have the best desert story. After wedding and reception in the lovely Carkeek Park, I’m dropped at home (but not before my new personal superhero Deitrich Podmajersky, knife-maker extraordinaire, buys me a Choco-Taco. I have 2 hours to rest and refresh myself, maybe get some writing in before going to stage two of the wedding day – Karaoke at the Baranof. I spend that time fucking around dealing with emails and social networking. At Karaoke, I kick the ass of Steely Dan’s “Do it Again,” Paul Simon’s “Graceland,” a duet on Barenaked Ladies “If I Had $1,000,000.” and Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power.” Another late night. Home by 1 am, with the pledge to a few people to come back and do more Karaoke soon.

Sunday, July 10th:
FINALLY, time to get some editing in. I make the most of it and crank out most of the action items that were on my list. As I’m showering to get ready for the evening’s Neko Case show, I realize I had not eaten all day. The price of productivity. I grab a sandwich and iced tea while waiting for the bus. Then downtown, we hit Dragonfish for Lemongrass crusted tofu and a cocktail. Properly fortified, we hit the Paramount for Neko Case. The next few hours are a blur. I think my brain has been impregnated by Neko’s song-babies. This is, I understand, how these things go. Bus ride home in haze. It’s closing in on midnight after four long days. Everything accomplished, and nothing sacrificed but a bit of health, sleep, and sanity.

Thank goodness not all weekends are like this!