#210 - Failure No.2 and Back Strain

Got a good night’s sleep but woke up with my back in agony.

I did a bunch of stretches last night that seem to have made things worse. I slept in the bed instead of the floor as well, so the combination did not work out in my favour.

Robyn made us breakfast in bed. A nice plate of eggs and bacon with English muffins and a cup of Earl Grey. A Greek-style banana yogurt to finish it.

We watched a show and then an Australian movie called APEX starring Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton. It reminded me a bit of the Kevin Bacon movie from the nineties called “A River Wild.” It was good for what it was and had plenty of nature shots that were well done.

After that, Robyn headed out for groceries, and I did a bit of a cleanout of the fridge. Then we put away the groceries and put out some of the outdoor patio cushion and planters. The weather was sunny and warmish. The sun felt good.

We had some high hanging Christmas lights that we ended up just cutting away because of how tangled they were around the tree. I put lights around a tall cedar tree at our front door every year, but next year I will omit them or use those thicker rope lights instead. Too much of a pain to take down. But it does provide some support for the tree during those icy winter storms when the branches get weighed down.

I mostly held the ladder and did little things to help, as my back is still not co-operating.

We have two bell pepper plants that did nothing last year, so we brought them inside for the winter. They did better inside than they ever did outside in the special raised planter we bought. I put them in a three-foot-tall pot and placed it in the sunniest location we have in the backyard. Hopefully, it isn’t to early for them to be out there. I think the fact that they are raised up and that we aren’t supposed to have anymore zero-degree Celsius nights will ensure they are okay.

It’s amazing how the day zips by when you are off but drags on when you are working. It’s already after five PM, and I am just getting started on my assignment. I did not mean to leave it this long. But it is what it is.

Off I go to do that now. I’ll write some more here when I need a break from the assignment.

I was sitting at my keyboard, twiddling my thumbs, unable to find my way into the story. This happens to me sometimes. I went downstairs and reheated last night's supper for the two of us. Robyn was happy to stop painting for a few minutes, and the temptation of last night’s Prawn Moillee was all I needed to get her to the table.

The meal was just as good the second night, served with mini naan bread and basmati rice. I love not having to cook every night of the week, and having leftovers of a meal we both enjoyed is always a boon.

Back upstairs by six to write. I am set up in kiddo #1’s room. She has my leather Lazy Boy recliner in the room, and I thought it might be better for my back than an office chair or the bed. And since she is currently living in Halifax, she won’t mind.

Oh, the writing is evading me tonight. I think I know why, after sitting at the computer for hours waiting for something to come out of my fingers.

I watched a pop-up lecture from my writing instructor called, “Turning small ideas into short stories.” It helped me focus down on what was important. A good refresher of things I already knew. It has me over the procrastination hump now.

It’s 9:40 PM and I am really just getting started.

Well, it's midnight and I am admitting defeat on this assignment. I don’t feel I have had the energy this week to pull this off. My bad back and work stress didn’t help. I also had trouble with the assignment itself. I think my mind kept writing autobiographically instead of writing fiction. If I had been allowed to write sci fi or fantasy I think I might have pulled this off.

But I was restricted from writing this assignment in those genres.

I’m pretty mad at myself for not handing this assignment in.

I could beat myself up, but that’s not going to help anyone. You fall off the horse and get right back on. I am going to have to work very hard this week just to complete the word challenge. I estimate I am going to need to write a whopping 6050 words per day just to make the minimum. Not a great position to be in. That could be as much as 7 to 8 hours of writing per day for me.

No rest for the wicked.

I am going to try to stay in this challenge, but it is going to take a colossal effort from me. And with work being extra stressful and us hosting an early Mother’s Day next weekend. Time is going to be short.

I’ll need to write during all available hours and maybe even some that aren’t available.

The return of my voice dictation may be required to achieve these numbers. Maybe this will be a turning point in my writing output. You never know. It can’t hurt to be a little optimistic even when the odds are against you.

Kiddo #2 returns to us tomorrow night in the wee ours of the morning. Robyn will drive to the airport to pick him up. I’ll likely be here writing until he gets home.

I think being away for a whole week made him miss and appreciate how good he has it here. Although, he did seem to like Halifax. I think it is amore aesthetically appealing than most of Ontario. I always joke that we should get the award for most boring architecture.

One of the other reasons the boy is anxious to return is that he has likely ran out of money and his sister is a bit of a miser. At least when it comes to spending her money on other people.

But Kiddo #2 will be happy to see he has a fresh pot of Nutella and white bread waiting for him upon his return as well as liters of fresh milk to wash it all down with.

As a side note: we never once ran out of milk the entire week he was away!

The Project Hail Mary movie is still doing amazing at the box office. It warms my heart to see a novel I loved doing well in its movie form. I still believe that this is the yar people will return to the theatre in droves. But it’s going to take really good movies to get people in. The lineup for this year keeps on getting better. I think Dune 3 will likely be one of the biggest movies of the year. Anything that has a December release date is a movie the studios have faith in.

There is a chance movies like “Masters of the Universe,” could be a surprise it as well. I’m not too keen on that one, but I bet there are plenty who are.

Even the new Michael Jackon biopic appears to be doing extremely well at the box office.

Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day,” is another bellwether movie. Releasing in June, it may tell us weather the kids are going to the movies again on their summer break. In the same month we are also getting, “The Death of Robin Hood, Toy Story 5, and Super Girl.”

That’s for solid offerings in June alone.

Mid July we get “The Odessey,” which has big box office potential and then at the end of the month the new Spider Man movie is released.

And then the offerings dwindle as far as big ticket items. I think things ramp back up starting in October with the releases of “Clara and the Sun,” and “Clay face.”

Godzilla: Minus Zero could be another runaway hit as well in November.

There is another Hunger Games movie coming, but I don’t think they have the audience for the new movies. This one only has a chance because it delves into the backstory of Hamish as he runs the gauntlet of the games. Some die-hard fans will need to see that.

December will be dominated by Dune and possible the newest Avengers movie.

Time will tell if I am right.

There may even be a Roadrunner animated-live-action hybrid in the mix too. If the clips are real it could draw some serious loonie toon fans into the theatres as well.

Okay it’s disgustingly late and I should have gone to be hours ago.

I’d say good night all, but good morning feels more appropriate.