You may have noticed I haven't been around for a while. Maybe you didn't. I don't know but today, I am easing back into things. I even commented on someone's blog today. And once I've completed my scheduled yoga and aerobic workout, I just may comment on more.
Oh boy. Things are getting crazy around here, I know.
So you may have been asking yourself what I've been doing since I've been gone (bonus points if you now have a Kelly Clarkson song stuck in your head). All right, so you probably haven't been asking yourself that but you're about to find out because I don't have anything else to write about.
And the fun just keeps on leaving, I know (and bonus points for anyone who can Name! That! Reference!)...
First of all, I've spent some time precision folding denim at The Store. That's right. Management finally got desperate enough to put me on the schedule. Wanna know why? It wasn't just because all the denim in the building needed to be refolded and I am, sadly, the only one on staff with the skill set to do it. It was also because more than half the staff has quit. They couldn't take it anymore so they skedaddled. The only people left are the long time employees, the ones who can't afford to quit because doing so will mean taking a serious pay cut.
And while things at The Store have been less fun than usual, we're still managing to amuse ourselves. Management's recently hired two new girls so the rest of us have started a pool as to when they're going to quit. I have two weeks. That's how long the last new girl lasted.
I hope I win.
Second of all, I attended my monthly writers group meeting. The one with my new arch-nemesises-ses (Name! That! Reference!), Ego Man. Ego Man, our resident expert on everything, particularly things about which he knows nothing. Ego man, who joined our group saying he was both unwilling to give or receive feedback. Ego man, who always follows my readings by making "jokes" about wanting to steal my work.
I don't know if that comes with a cape. If it did, I'd probably strangle him with it.
But I'm really a very nice person. I swear.
Anyway, Ego Man left the latest meeting a little early and it was then that I realized the most beautiful thing. I am not alone in my Ego Man irritation. Everyone else in the group is in that same boat. They're just as annoyed with him as I am. They're just as pissed off at him as I am for dismissing my book as a failure solely based on its length. And for planning to steal what I've written.
I feel a revolution in the air. Change is gonna come! Or maybe we'll just change the date and time of the meeting and forget to tell him.
Well, I'm running out of time here this morning so I'll close out today's come back blog with one funny short story from that same meeting. I read an excerpt from my WIP (after Ego Man had left. I don't read anymore when Ego Man's in the room) and one member had this to say about it:
"Oh, M.J., I really enjoyed this. It reminded me of The Hunger Games. I didn't think that was very well written."
Uh... thank you?
And thank you for stopping by today. If I haven't been to your blog in a while, I'll get out there soon. I promise!