OR “If I was a rich man...”
To be clear H & H are not well to do. We’re much better off than we deserve, but we don’t come close to the folks that jet in and out of Aspen.
However, like mice living in the shadows of a 5 star kitchen, we do pretty well off the scraps. (I originally wrote “roaches,” then thought better of comparing H to a roach. Me maybe, but not her.)
Add to this, the wonderfully bi-polar nature of springtime in Colorado, and you have a recipe for really good ride.
When I was younger, I swore to myself that I wouldn’t become someone who lived solely for the weekend. Sometimes I’m able to stick to my vow, sometimes I’m not, but sometimes – as much as it galls me to admit it – I’m fortunate enough to have a really cool weekend.
Friday Night: A friend buys us tickets to benefit dinner in Aspen. Free dinner and drinks plus a comedy show.
Saturday Morning: Wake up. Go to the skate park. Fall down on concrete for several hours.
Saturday Afternoon: Turn in 90k project. *Collective sigh of relief*
Saturday Afternoon: Different friend takes us out to dinner; we all go see Little Shop of Horrors.
Sunday Morning – Afternoon: Wake up. H & H go snowboarding. (Recall I was skating just the day before. Have I mentioned I love spring?) I finally step up to big air elements and come back unbroken.*collective sigh of relief*
Sunday Night: Begin planning next big writing project.
And? It’s snowing right now. The passes will likely be closed by sundown.
Even more fun than a return to winter conditions is this coming weekend ….
Ya Se Fue!
Yup. Ozomatli is having a free show in Aspen, Friday night. Ozomatli is found somewhere on the spectrum of Mariachi-Ska-Punk-Hip Hop, which (in addition to having something like 9 members), means that when these brothers get after it, Harley just can’t say “no.”
They're also some of the happiest performers on earth.
The show is followed by Spring Break – an entire week of skating / writing / boarding / sleeping out of my car. Plus, I promised a friend I would get her a paintball gun. Hades and all the Hells hath no fury like a scorned woman armed with a paintball gun. You heard it here first.
Life is good, kids. Damn, damn good. Again and again, I get better than I deserve. And you guys are part of that. Thank you.
Enough sap. If you’re in Colorado this Friday, and if you can pick me out of a darkened crowd of hundreds, I’ll see you Aspen.
Till then,
//H
12 comments:
Sounds like a blast, sorry we can't make it up. All free time is pretty much scarce at this point, and definitely not enough to drive 4 hours for what would surely be a great time. :(
In a little over a week I'll be deciding if I can make it to gencon or not though.. It might only be three hours away from me at that point.
fwiw, they decided on a novel contest winner.
Nods. They sent me a heads-up yesterday. :)
How am I going to fund the Mongolian Race now?!
//H
http://community.livejournal.com/whitewolf_lj/36453.html?mode=reply
"It was close. In the end, so much of the decision came down not just to quality but to our personal reactions to the stories."
Sick of the near miss yet, Stroh?
~Tank
Sick of the near miss yet, Stroh?
It lessens the sting when so much other cool stuff is going on. A minor setback at best --- check out my boxed set coming out in April. >:)
My first novel is still out there somewhere, fear not, loyal reader.
//H
...to be sure, I'm bummed, heartbroken, etc. My submission was a favorite, better than most of my writing to date. But one of the things I've learned from working for Goodman Games (and sending out my rejections) is just how many good ideas don't make the cut because they don't fit the particular vision of the line.
For Goodman Games, I defend this "line vision" with bared teeth and balled fists (ask Jeff). A fair part of a proposal's success/failure hinges on the vision of that line --- something largely out of a writer's control.
So ... in the final analysis, I didn't get any worse than I give, and made out with more cash than when I started. Rar. :)
//H
(G)ood ideas don't make the cut because they don't fit the particular vision of the line.
I'm actually writing a blog post on that particular subject right now. It sucks, but it's the unfortunate truth of any creative business - when you're a freelancer, your job is to try to mesh your own creative vision with a company's creative vision ... and at the end of the day, the harsh truth is that the company's vision is more important than yours.
Condolences that you didn't win. But I'm confident that I'll still get to read "... a Novel by Harley Stroh" someday soon, so I'm not too worried about it. ;)
-Mike
screw 'em i say. i wouldn't want to work for someone who can't keep their own freekin' deadlines damn near a year later.
Love ya, Saurus. :)
Oh, man, somehow I totally missed this! That sucks! Chandler and Palahniuk have been done to death. Idiots.
I'm really sorry, Grimmy. But it's their loss, and when you're bigger than Salvatore, they're going to come begging at your doorstep. Just tell them you'll get back to them in...oh, about TWO YEARS. >:/
Speaking of jetting in and out of exotic locales, do you have any interest in teahcing at a shared world writing/game design camp at Wofford College in South Carolina this summer?
If so, how do I get the businessy details to you?
Best,
J
Jeremy Jones!
Thanks for checking in. I work year round so as much as I would love to attend, I don't know that I'll be free during your design camp.
That said, I'd really like to support you and your work however I can. Feel free to mail me at poisonclanpress@fastmail.fm and we can start up a conversation. I look forward to hearing from you.
//H
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