The Journal of Michael Merriam

The wind is howling out there! I just came in from getting the mail, and the wind is blowing so hard that:

A) I was actually blown sideways for several steps, and
2) the blowing snow stings like mad!

I'm thinking about signing up for some workshops on vocal acting and voice-over work. I need to find ways to earn extra money that don't rely on me working in the traditional workforce. I have some stage experience, and I while my normal speaking voice is kind of soft and quiet, I also have my "I've been gargling with 10W-40" smooth stage voice. It's the one I use when I'm on panels at conventions (when I remember to, that is).

I asked for new cookware this Christmas. I hope I receive some, because all my pots and pans are old and worn. Especially my skillets. I can't even cook a grilled cheese sandwich without cursing in anger.

I've hit a good rhythm on the rewrite. things are moving along and I know (more or less) where I'm going with the story, including the new ending I'm planning to write.

Alright, break time is over. Back to work.

Undaunted by the foul weather outside, I ventured forth and ran errands in downtown Hopkins this morning. The Reverend Selena was distressed to see me going out in the pouring rain (I had the patio door shades open and she was watching the rain come down). She meowed at me in concern and fright as I slung my trusty messenger bag over my shoulder and headed for the door.

Reverend Selena: "What are you doing? You can't go out there!"

mmerriam: "It's just a little rain."

Reverend Selena: "Stupid Monkey! Death is falling from the sky!"

mmerriam: "It's water."

Reverend Selena: "Why are you going out there? What part of Death From The Sky do you not understand?"

mmerriam: "I'll bring you back some snacks."

Reverend Selena: "How will you bring me snacks when you're dead? What is wrong with you? Is your brain broken? Death is falling from the sky! Monkey, are you stupid? Who will feed me when the falling death melts the flesh from your body and dissolves your bones? Why would you go out there? Monkey, are you listening to me? Monkey, are you a zombie? Is that why you're not afraid of the Death from the Sky?"

mmerriam: "Good grief."

My University of Oklahoma umbrella kept the rain off my body and the University of Minnesota sweatshirt kept me warm, but my battered old shoes (which I chose because I knew whatever shoes I wore would get soaked) leaked like a leaky thing and my feet got wet.

Once off the bus I made a quick stop at the bank for some cash and then off to the post office. At the post office I was treated to the sight of no less than five Hopkins police cars in the parking lot, a group of officers in rain slickers and those old time looking police hats standing around. They don’t seem to be stopping people from coming and going, so I cautiously approached.

An officer near the door greeted me with a cheerful, "How are you today?"

"Wet," I replied and he laughed. Inside there were a couple more officers and what I suspected was a plain-clothes detective talking to Post Office staff. I took care of my business at the self-service station and left.

I really wonder what that was all about.

Through the blustery weather to the grocery store. I thought a couple of times my poor umbrella was going to snap under the strain of the wind, but I should have known better. That thing survived years of nasty Oklahoma weather and is far tougher than it looks.

I made my purchases and walked back to the bus stop. There, I ended up sharing umbrella space with a person whose own umbrella had snapped backwards and broken. Not a problem: my umbrella is large and this person is about as big around as my thigh. A short bus ride spent chatting with my new umbrella-less friend, them home.

I put away the groceries, changed into warm pajama pants and t-shirt (fresh from the dryer!). I made strong coffee and chatted with inagoddesseye for a few minutes on Google-chat while I ate lunch.

I have a cup of strong coffee and a stack of CD's. I'm wearing warm comfy clothes. I have my "Not a Milk Maid of Destiny" novel open and my cat sleeping near me.

Here we go!

careswen could not get the car up the very slight incline into the garage. I had to go out, shovel the snow in front of the car and then get behind it and push before we would get it safely stowed for the night. I'm am sincerely hoping she does not have to work tomorrow.

I did not win the James B. Baker Award for Short Fiction. I'm not terribly surprised: it's hard to compete with a talking cat tale geared toward 10 year-old's against a slew of stories intended for an adult audience. I was just tickled that the editor at Beyond Centauri thought my story was the best of the year for his magazine.

Finished listening to and editing the second chapter of the Phantom Streetcar Novel. It went well, I think. So far I've managed to cut the novel down from 103,000 words to a little over 97,000 and I think it makes a stronger story and tighter narrative. I'll be asking my beta-readers, when they've finished savaging the thing, to suggest some titles or title ideas. I'm hoping to have it out to the beta-readers by the middle of the month.

I'm going to go prepare some submissions to send out tomorrow morning.

Good-night and good-luck.

careswen just called to let me know she is heading home. The U of Minnesota is closing for the rest of the day. I don't know about everyone else, but it's coming down hard in Hopkins.

I walked out to the mailbox and stepped into a knee-deep drift.

So.

In the 7 and half years I've lived in Minnesota, it seems like the weather guessers scream ,"OH DEAR LORD THE SKY IS FALLING IT'S THE END OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION WE'RE ALL DOOMED!!! at least twice a winter, then nothing too bad happens. I suspect that Fear and Panic mentality the local meteorological tea-leaf readers suffer from has something to do with the Dread Halloween Blizzard of Whenever it Was ('92? '94? I can never remember).

I got up this morning expecting to be buried under tens of feet of snow. I scrubbed the house yesterday and made sure I had clean underwear so that when the rescuers came in the spring and removed my frozen corpse from my home; my mother would not be embarrassed.

Alas, there is was no APOCOLYPTIC SNOWFALL OF DOOM!!! Only a solid if light dusting that failed to even completely cover the ground.

Now the Prophets of Precipitation are crying that the End of All will come later tonight. I'll believe it when I see it.

The rewrite on the Phantom Streetcar Novel continues. I've hit a point at about a quarter of the way in where I have this scene and it’s a good scene, well worth having, but it is in the wrong place. I even have a good idea where I need to move it too (much closer to the end of the novel), but this means I need to do some pretty serious restructuring and I'll need to write a couple of new linking scenes and such. I'm putting it off until Monday. Mostly because I'll need to really focus on what I'm doing, but also because I've got a full weekend planned, with gaming tonight, Twin Cities SF Writers meeting tomorrow early afternoon and theater later in the day.

Assuming we aren't all frozen to death under the mounds of snow they claim is going to fall.

We did not freeze to death in the middle of the night. All three of us huddle under the covers, which included extra blankets, and slept nice and warm.

This morning I have the oven running and the door cracked and the halogen torch lamp turned up full. Hopefully things improve as the day goes along.

I think I'll do laundry and get some radiant heat from the dryer as well.

I'll keep you posted!