Congratulations To Weber State University Women's Volleyball Team!

 I haven't watched too much of women's college volleyball games this year, nor have I watched much of women's college volleyball games in my life. It's not the most accessible sport to watch, and the days of me actually attending sporting events in person are years and years in the past.

Tonight, one of my Alma Maters, the Wildcats (not actual wildcats...) of Weber State University, fielded a team in the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament (my other alma mater plays tomorrow...). They battled the Falcons (not actual falcons...) of Bowling Green Sate University in Round One of the Tournament. I watched the end of the game. The Wildcats were victorious, three sets to one.

Good for them!

Go Cats!

And to make things even sweeter, it was the school's first-ever win. I know it's only the first round, but you have to win the first round if you expect to win the whole thing. The first step has been taken. Unfortunately for the Lady Cats, they next team they face is the Number 1 team in the nation, the Badgers (not real badgers...) of Wisconsin on Thursday at 5pm. Of course, if WSU beats the #1 team in the country, by some standards, Weber State would be the team to beat.

No, I haven't watched a lot of women's college volleyball games...my loss.

A Fun New Game...Well, Fun For Me, At Least

Millions of people now work from home, including me. Over the last year the way we work has possibly forever changed. I was fortunate enough to be sent home two years before covid hit...I had a two-year head start. I had time to learn about about how things are different when you work at home.

Take for example...pets.

When we leave for work, we forget about pets, for the most part. We remember them when they come running as we walk through the door. But, if you're home all the time, the pets are with you, and if the cat didn't want to sit on my desk--specifically, the keyboard--while I worked, I could possibly have the huge, 18-lb rescued rag doll cat in my office with me.

With the door closed, the cat will sometimes stick his paws under the door. Today, I thought I'd have a little fun. I took a golf ball and he and I batted it around for a few minutes. I think he had fun, but I'm sure it's frustrating for him not to be able to somehow fit that golf ball under the door. I'm sure it's frustrating that he can't come in and play, for reals.

 Maybe one day, when I'm no longer working, I can have the door open and we can bat the golf ball around full-time. Then again, I plan on doing more writing when I retire. But if we can, we'll both have a lot of fun.

Creative Book Folding...A Very Cool Thing

 Last Friday, my wife and I happened up on an event in our neighborhood...a craft fair...a wonderful craft fair.

Oh, how we've missed it.

Since 2013 I've attended dozens and dozens of events like this, large hundreds of thousands-attended events, and small intimate events. They all have several things in common...one of them bing talented people selling their goods. We met one last Friday where paper was her medium.

She's an artist.

Her craft? Book folding.

I've seen this type of art before, but never this close and never this much. We took the opportunity to speak with the artist. We asked her about how much time it took her to create one of her works of art. We obviously knew how much she charged. She related a story with us. At an earlier show a person saw what she did and told her, "I can do that." The woman started folding a book on her own. The artist had the opportunity to speak with that woman at a later date. What took the artist hours required weeks from the novice. Good artists make great art look easy.

I respect people who create art, especially since they don't have to. Sure, she's getting paid, but when she's done, there's a product that changes people in some way. We're glad we stopped by the craft fair. We got to see a very cool talent.

Give Thanks...For Neighbors

 We thought when we moved from Farmington, that we'd be leaving behind a yard full of rocks just underneath the grass and plants.

Turns out Farmington's got nothing on Tremonton.

This land has rocks everywhere. As we prepare to put in our yard, we've got a lot of work to do. We have several rock piles at various locations around the yard and we'll have to deal with them. Yesterday, we decided to tackle some of those piles. 

Problem--one of the rocks was huge.

Another problem--I am not huge...well, huge enough to move the rock.

Our next-door-neighbor saw us working and he came over to offer help. And help he did. He pulled up his Jeep, wrapped a chain around the rock and attached it to bumper. A few tugs from the gas-burning beast and the rock was moved several feet to the north.

We're still getting to know our neighbors. On our old street, I knew everyone. I knew everyone on several streets and all over the town. It's reassuring to know others by whom you live. You know there's people you can count on for help. It's impossible to really know how others think about you. Are we good neighbors? I'd like to think so. I'm sure we could do more...we can always do more.

Leaving our good friends was the toughest part of the move for us. We've only been here a few months, but we're hoping to get to know those around us in the months and years to come. I'm grateful for our neighbors. I'm grateful that people choose to help out each other...even if it's just to move a rock a few feet.

The Scene...That Made Me Sad

 I've been watching--and enjoying--Marvel's latest television project, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier when a scene came on between a terrorist (sorry about the mild spoil...) and the Falcon's sister, Sarah Wilson. Sarah was asked about the new Captain America (sorry about the other mild spoil...) and she responded.

What she said made me sad.

There are many things that make me sad, some of the current conditions in our country, for example. The previous episodes subtilely and not so subtilely alluded to some of those conditions. The question was asked to Sarah about the new captain and she responded that in her country, she doesn't matter. 

Personally, I cannot think of many things worse than that.

Also, I don't think I can fully understand feeling that way. Sure, in my life, there were times when I felt I didn't matter very much--I think everyone feels that way at times, but deep down, I always knew I mattered to someone, even if it was just my immediate family. I always knew, on some level, I mattered.

The comment was meant to represent a larger group, but all things are perceived individually. Does Sarah matter to America? She doesn't think so. Is she wrong? Not to Sarah. Just as an entire group of people cannot--and should not--be labeled the same, America is not the same thing for all people. But what makes America different is that it has always been a place where people define themselves. It also is what people think it is. Their perception is their reality.

What made me sad is that for this person in this story, she felt her country didn't care about her. Those who see America one way say she's wrong. Others think she's right. The sad part is, the country isn't the one making the choice...it's the one giving the option.

Who Knew It Would Be So Tough...To Buy Pet Food?

 We have three pets, two cats and a dog. We buy three different kinds of food for the three pets. I know we ought to only buy one type of dog food for the dog (which we do...) and one type of cat food for the cats (which we don't do...). Somehow, we bought the cats different food as a holdover from when we used to have another cat, a cat with a sensitive digestive system. She had to have only special food. Unfortunately, the digestive issues were too much for her and we lost her. When we got the new kitten, we fed him something different from the adult cat we had.

Pet owners are as strange as the pets themselves. You may be reading this and thinking that we're nuts to give each cat different food--and maybe we are. But, I don't consider us extreme. No, I consider extreme pet owners as those who dress their pets up in costumes and/or put the pets in their wills when they pass on.

That's not us.

But, we want to do right by our animals so we try.

Today we tried to remember exactly which food Cat #2 needed. We thought we knew, but we were wrong. We've been trying to get them all on food that contains salmon--to make it easier. That only confused us more. Switching foods is not that big a deal...we just mix the old with the new, then add more new than old until it's all new and no old.

We'll most likely get around to doing it one day, but for now, we'll just try and remember. Of course, I can always pull up this picture...just to be sure.

The End...Two Simple Words That When Put Together Are Huge

 Last week I typed "the words." Those two simple words that when put together, are huge. 

And two words that don't necessarily mean what you think they mean.

This makes three novels under my belt. The first one will most likely never see the light of day, the second was published, and this is number three. Each ending was different, and by that I mean, my reaction to each ending was different.

Novel #1

Years ago two filmmakers and I worked on a screenplay project. We finished the project and I asked if I could write the novel to the story we created. Since they were filmmakers, they didn't care so I wrote it. If the screenplay ever becomes a film, I promise to dust off the story, or even re-write the whole thing. I'll keep you posted, but as of now, I don't believe it's going to get made. Too bad...I liked those characters. The novel, however, was a mess. Thin structure and massive P.O.V. issues. I can't remember the feeling I had when it was finished. Maybe I never typed "The End." Maybe it's not even finished.

Novel #2

If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you are probably sick of hearing about novel #2, Chaser. I wrote it to see if I could complete the NaNoWriMo writing competition that takes place each November. 50k words in one month. Turns out, I could complete the challenge. The book was accepted and published by Immortal Works on January 16th, 2018. I remember finished the first draft of that book. It had problems, yes, but knowing I had completed NaNoWriMo was a great feeling.

Novel #3

Of the three, this one took the longest to write. I began it in 2013 and because of several severe cases of writer's block it took years to finish. I wonder if closing a manuscript and not opening it for almost a decade counts as writer's block. I could not for the life of me figure out the ending, or how I would get to the ending. Once I figured that out, the end came rather quickly and I finished the last 20k words in a few weeks. Because of my previous experience with short stories and novels, I know there's so much more to do. 

I don't have a publisher in mind--it's a unique story. It will most likely be self-published, and I'm okay with that. Another reason I'm excited for this one is it's the first of a trilogy. Now, I just need to begin thinking about structuring the second story, which has its own challenges.

"The End" never really means the end. Just as the characters in a story continue even though we don't know the continuation, the story continues. The script evolves, hopefully it improves, the point-of-view tightens and the story packs more of a punch. Writing "The End" ushers in an exciting time...a tough time, but an exciting one, none the less.