Firefox to the Rescue

Safari kept crashing every time I tried to upload images. Someone on a support group suggested a Firefox browser. And so I downloaded a nice free one. Lots of cool things including bold and italic controls that add all that HTML code for you.

Forward with Firefox!

And I've added an image just because it was easy to do.

Rebuilding

One more go with Team in Training. The coaches convinced me to at least train until the end of October. They feel they can restore the strength in my leg. An assistant coach, Melissa, works as a physical therapist. She crafted me a workout that builds leg strength, concentrating on the diminished right.

If nothing else, it's good to be with other runners once a week. Several guys, ala Ernesto and CJ, ran with me in Honolulu last year. Now they are mentors and captains for new team members.

Buried under work. I have three scripts in various stages for my foreign gig. Plus I picked up a script for a new Nickelodeon show. And I must rewrite the outline for "Apple Dan," the adult horror novel.

"The Whompago," my young adult horror novel outline is being read by two agents - both taking their sweet time.

Assistant coach Mark headed back to Maryland. A good guy, he doubled as team photographer. I wish him all the best.

Sometimes I feel like I'm writing a company newletter.

August 10: Another Chance

I always say a "thank you" prayer every year on this date. Back in 1972, I was badly injured while serving overseas and could've been killed. A few weeks later, a guy in my outfit died in a jeep accident. His name was Steve. He was a basketball player from Davenport, Iowa.

Steve remains 19 years-old forever. He never got life's ups and downs. He'll never know the middle-age blues as arthritis sets in and hair falls out and nothing seems as easy as it once was. But I'll bet he'd have liked the chance to find out.

Thirty-four years have passed since those August days. I think of the decades I was granted and how much time I've wasted in selfish pursuits and self-destructive behaviour. And I think of the times I rose above myself and did a good act for someone or accomplished a feat I'd always dreamed of — like the marathon last year.

I try not to waste any more days.

Broken Bone Recovery

More paying work than I've had in awhile. Two animated shows, no waiting.

Plus a new agent has agreed to look at one of my book outlines.

I ran again on Saturday. No pain in the foot. I think as part of my injury recovery plan, I'll stop bringing my watch on runs. I notice that clock watching makes me push myself and I'm just not ready for pushing.

So time stays behind. All I'll know is distance.

Who knows? I may actually pay more attention to my body.

Just Swell

My ankle's swollen. I'm taking a week off from running until it's back down to roughly normal size.

Finished my second horror novel outline.

The first outline, "Apple Dan," explores themes of appeasement and personal redemption, while the new outline, "The Whompago," deals with moral indifference and accepting responsibility.

There may not be a very wide market for these books.

But they're sure fun to work on.

Various

Team in Training Winter starts next week. A few teammates from a year ago will be back, giving Honolulu another go. My leg has been sore lately, right around the break. I've backed off running. I was only going out three times a week. Now I think I'll trim that to two until the soreness passes.

I'm almost finished with my second novel outline. I just concentrate on narrative. Chapters must fit on a single, double-spaced page. That forces me to think about "what happens next." Not much room for character growth, but it does help me focus on story.

I've been reading more horror fiction. The book I'm into now has an 80-year-old narrator who reminds you how old he is about every other page. In my own work, I should make a general note not to annoy the reader.

Hot Times

Lots of driving in 100 degree heat. Last Thursday, I headed out to Riverside County to visit my cousin. (About an hour and a half drive.) She has no air conditioning, just a swamp cooler on the roof of her apartment unit. We didn't linger long over family photos. Jump in the car and eat lunch where the air conditioning was mighty.

On Friday, I started to attend Comic-Con in San Diego. Ten years ago, my friend Paul and I drove down there in two hours, did a "Freakazoid panal," and drove back home in about the same time. Due to living in the past, I don't think I was out of Orange County in two hours. I would never arrive in time for the event I was seeking to attend. So that got scrubbed. Saturday morning I met up with TNT alumni for a run. (The coaches perscribed exercises to build up my still-atrophied right leg.) We circled the Rose Bowl at a modest pace and finished drenched in sweat. I felt like I was back in Cambodia.

On Saturday evening, my wife threw a party for her blogger friends. Even in the foothills, temperatures remained over 100. The only cool room in the house was downstairs. So that's where the party lived.

In fact, that's where I live until this heat wave passes.

More book news soon.