Yeah, so I know I promised this update a couple of weeks ago. That seems to be the pattern right now, everyting is taking twice as long to accomplish half as much. Continue reading →

She has to report to the Robertson Unit in Abilene in a few days for processing.

I’ll be accompanying her, although I’ll stay at the hotel while that’s going on.

Once the new employee paperwork is done, we’ll go to where she’ll actually be working.

As you might can guess, there are some big changes going on behind the scenes here at Adventures Fantastic, which is why I’ve not posted anything for nearly two months. I didn’t realize it had been that long. I’ve also been focusing on fiction writing. More on that in a later post.

I’ll try to get a few things up over the next few days, a birthday post on Robert Bloch and another on Henry Kuttner and a guest post from Will Oliver. I’m about halfway through a collection for review, but that one is a few days out.

He’s just been busy writing.

I’m completing a nine-week collection course this week. It’s a themed class where I’ll have a collection at the end. The theme is Private Investigators. I’ve got to tweak the cover and do a few other small things, then it should go up for sale. Look for an announcement here soon.

The next collection class is on time travel, and I’ll start it later today.

I’ve also had a couple of other assignments for some shorter courses I’ve been taking. Since time is limited, I’ve chosen to focus on writing that might bring in some income over blogging. But I’m still going to blog. The blogging should pickup over the holidays and classes aren’t in session.

I’ve been on the road quite a bit lately and will be at least once more before the end of the month. Some of the travel is family related (no issues, just visits), but I just returned from Howard Days 2022 today. I was in San Antonio for the 2022 Edgar Rice Burroughs Dum-Dum the weekend before.

Look for trip reports on both of those later this week, once everything settles down and I get caught up on chores and dayjobbery..

I’m not into resolutions much. I’m more of a goals kind of guy.

Here are a few goals. These are mainly being driven by some situations at work, some of which I am not at liberty to discuss in a public forum. By that I mean legally prohibited (personnel issues). Bottom line, I will have put in enough time to be able to retire a year from now. I don’t know that I will want to then, but I want to have the freedom to exercise that option.

So, here are  few that relate to this blog. Continue reading →

I knew this day was coming.

I’ve known it for years.

I knew it when we boarded a plane with the little butterball in Almaty, Kazakhstan. I knew it when we walked down the steps of the orphanage in Shemkent the day he officially became our son.

I knew the time would fly by. I didn’t know it would fly so fast. I knew today would be bittersweet. It didn’t know it would be this bitter nor this sweet.

Sunday my son and I left home. Today I came home alone.

My son starts college on Monday. He’ll be living with my mother-in-law, which will be good for both of them. I’ve spent the last few days helping him get settled and doing some chores my MiL needed doing. I am incredibly proud of my son. I’m not going to say his name or which college he’s attending out of respect for his privacy. He has turned into a fine young man. He still has some growing up to do, but compared to the typical college freshman I see, he’s ahead of them. He’s smart, charming, handsome. And since I had nothing to do with his genetics, I can brag on him without having to assume any false modesty.

The time has come when he has to stand or fall on his own merits. I’m putting aside the doubts and second-guessing that’s normal at a time like this. Whether there was something I could have done differently or better (there was, there always is), what’s done is done. There’s very little left I can do, at least unless/until I’m asked to.

I’m not worried. He’s turned out fine, in spite of his parents at times. He’s got a great future ahead of him.

Just a note to let all of you know how it’s going. We’re all healthy, if a little stir crazy from confinement.  The governor is allowing businesses to open on a limited basis.  Here’s hoping it’s a success.  I haven’t been to a book store in over a month.

There’s a week of class left, then finals.  I’m about to be buried under a mountain of grading.  Actually, the mountain i already here.  I’ve just been ignoring it.

Tomorrow morning I’ll be helping a friend’s mother, who is in her 80s, have some trash cleared.  Some asshat dumped a load of heavy junk against her fence, and she can’t get out into the alley to take out her trash, so she walks to the end of the block and back up the alley. We’re loading it onto some trailers and taking it to the dump, which is currently only open on Wednesday and Saturday. I don’t have class tomorrow, so I’m able to help.

Then it’s back to putting in a garden.  There are two more places to till.   I’ve already planted corn, beans, and cucumbers.  Next it’s tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, and a little okra.

I’ve got a deadline on a short story I need to finish by the end of the week.

And of course, more birthday and Retro Hugo posts.  Plus a few other things I’ve been trying to get to.  Most of those may have to wait until after finals, but I’ll get in as many as I can.  Tomorrow is the birthday of Rafael Sabatini, H. Bedford-Jones, and Jack Williamson, so I have to do something.

How’s everyone else doing.