Monday, October 4, 2010

The New Hideout

Haven't had much to say lately but since I haven't posted in a month thought I'd better write something before y'all thought I died. At my age - well, don't want people to be askin' - "Did JaxPop up n' die?" So here's what I've been up to .... & there's even some writing related nonsense included:

I did something really weird Saturday night - a ton of writing. Okay, I usually write on Saturdays but this time, I did it in long-hand. Other than adding my signature to whatever paper is shoved under my nose, I rarely use a pen. Well, I didn't exactly use a pen either - I used black, red, blue & green Flairs - & almost filled a composition notebook. (The old fashioned black & white things that you can't remove pages from without destroying the entire book.) The best part? I wasn't working on RECKLESS - it's a new screwball adventure & I'm really likin' it. Of course, since I rarely write with a pen, I can't read anything that I've written, but there's got to be a forensics expert out there that can decipher it all. I hope. RECKLESS is being edited, & I rewrote the ending. Now I'm gonna try to be cool & work on polishing it while sitting in a Starbucks going into caffeine overload while Deb gets her hair done at the obscenely high priced hair salon & try to avoid run-on sentences like this one (breathe) - so I bought an iPad, with a separate keyboard, which is really great but can't figure out how to work it beyond FaceBook & Google. And maps. Which I don't need because I have GPS. But I was thinkin' I'll look like a scholarly geek for once & after I'm famous they'll have the chair bronzed in my honor.

During my drive to work, which currently takes between 4 & 5 hours one way (twice a week), depending on the number of stops made at Starbucks along the way, I was thinkin' about why my brain went postal the other night with all those words n' crisp witty dialogue & generally crazy plotlines. I'm easily entertained - it probably really sucks. And it finally hit me. Mickey is finally happy. The MUSE (that's Mickey) is loose because we found a new place to hang out where I can pretend to be Hemingway (see post about Hemingway's house in Key West last November) & he (Mickey) can pretend to be good at what he does.

We're bouncing between home (St Auggie) & the land of Oz - otherwise known as Miami, stuck in a nice, spacious condo in a really b-o-r-i-n-g suburb (that has a Starbucks but fewer drive-by shootings). Fortunately, we did a 7 month lease on the condo in the boring town, at great company expense (thanks guys), & (trumpets in background) our sentence, I mean our lease is fullfilled in a coupla weeks. So I did what any malcontent would do - found another place to write, er, I mean live. Part time. A tiny, 2BR cottage in Ft Lauderdale, near things to do, like THE BEACH. So now Mickey's happy & has promised to jump into this writing gig with some sorely needed enthusiasm &, better yet, Deb's happy 'cause she'll be out of jail. I'm gonna go buy a bunch of dead animal heads to put on the wall (like Ernie did), grow my beard out& dye it white, hide the shotgun (don't want to take the Hemingway thing too far) & write.

Here are a few pics of the new temporary place (with the funky ceilings). It ain't home, but it'll work & the bananas are free.








And a PS - Deb created her very own blog where she's gonna post her pictures of flowers, nature, seascapes & animals with big teeth. She thinks she'll get more followers than me. We'll see, her page can be found at http://belznan.blogspot.com/ 
 St Augustine Fauxtography, so check it out but don't follow.








12 comments:

Mary Barrett said...

Looks like a great place and I know Deb will be ecstatic there! You don't have to worry about doing the shotgun thing...you already did that in St. Auggie when the bad guy was loose running through your yard a while back! LOL! Loved that blogpost!

Carol J. Garvin said...

Yay for new digs... love the look of the place. It reminds me of a beach house in one of my "I wish I lived there" daydreams. No wonder Mickey is happy there. Keep him busy working on that new book.

And congrats to Deb on her new blog. I'll go check it out.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

I'm so jealous. I want a cottage where the sun shines and nobody even knows what snow is! It's not fair. I have bears! I want blooms! I want to live without using exclamation marks!!! I want your life!!!!!!

Happy writing, Dave. The only part I had trouble with was where you said you had to dye your beard white. I really have problems with that!!!!

But hey, if it makes you feel better.

I'm happy for you and Deb. You guys deserve to live like Ernie. The fact I'm stuck in winter wonderland isn't your fault. Yay, Mickey!

Philo Sophie said...

I love writing long hand, I find a visceral sort of satisfaction in taking something out of my brain and making a thing I can touch and smell and cherish or rip as the case may be. As cool as the I-pad is I still think that going "old-school" has its upside.

Jeanette Levellie said...

No wonder you are happy now, and Micky, too. Congrats to both of you!

Jen
Audience of ONE

Saw your comment on Careann's blog today and HAD to visit, since you made me laugh out loud!

Laura Bestjavascript:void(0) said...

So glad you found a place to work where both you and Mickey will be content. It looks gorgeous.

I know one author who does all her writing in longhand until it's typed up. It does have a good feel to it I must say.

All the best with your writing. :)

David Ebright said...

Geez Mary - I'd forgotten about that "incident" - that was funny. 1/2 of St Johns County was running around the property & the woods out back - & never caught the guy.

Carol - We used to have a beach house on the bay in Delaware when we lived in Pennsylvania. It was our weekend escape - even in the winter. Mickey's got no excuses now, other than my schedule - which is nuts & getting worse.

Joylene!!! I was thinkin' a white goatee would make me look distingushed, maybe even writerly!!! You want MY life??? Okay, but it goes with a very intense job that's currently going 7 days a week - 12 hours a day.

Philo - Thanks for visiting. The writing by hand was really cool - it just flowed. No worries about format etc. I like the iPad, but haven't even looked at for a week.

Jeanette - I'd RATHER be in my real home, but if I have to bounce around, the cottage is a nice place to hang out. Carol should warn you - I'm a bit of a nut. Thanks for stopping by - visit whenever you want.

Laura - Had to negotiate with Mickey. (He claims it was his idea about the long-hand.) My guys have already told Deb they plan on stopping by every night for dinner, since it's closer to where they stay.

Ronnie said...

You expound so well there is little left for me to say.
Seems everything is working out well for ole Mickey/Hemingway. Keep the smoking and drinking to a minimum. Or not.

David Ebright said...

Ronnie - That was a heckuva little poem. Intentional? Very funny. I'm a one hit wonder.... one beer - it hits me. Smoking - just cigars nowadaze, but plan to quit ... again. Anxious to get in the place, away from the condo 'stuff' & 3 flights of stairs carrying groceries.

Anonymous said...

Feed Mickey, and Mickey will feed you. :-)

David Ebright said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
David Ebright said...

Jenn - Mickey's a bit of a glutton lately. Thought I'd save a buck goin' with a cigar chompin' toddler & .....