How many lives are living strange?

Remember that guy in school who insisted he had a girlfriend from Canada that he met at summer camp last year? None of his friends had ever seen her, but he had a picture, although not of both of them together, that he used as a prop to brag to everyone in the locker room. Let’s call that guy Jamie. The Canadian girlfriend was Kandi (not her real name). Jamie was the same kid who claimed he was late for soccer practice because his entire street blew up, except for his house. Also his dad, who was really a secret agent, could take corners in the family station wagon on two wheels.

Anyway, while the rest of us dreamed of getting the nerve to ask a girl out, Jamie had been there and done that. Many times he claimed, and he even had a picture of Kandi to prove it. Well we’re older now, most of the crew are married, but last night someone alerted me to a curious offering on eBay. If you search for a phrase like “pretend girlfriend” it returns auctions of girls who, for a fee, will provide a picture of herself, some letters and a phone call.

Imagine how much more effective Jamie’s tale of love and woe with Kandi could have been with the help of eBay? Besides the picture, he could have arranged a time for all of us to be around when Kandi called and broke up with him. Long distance relationships claim many a young loves. We’d have believed he was a player. Maybe the rumors might’ve led to a real girlfriend.

Refund? Refund!?

A lot of people claim writer’s block is a real thing, but I disagree. Writer’s block is shorthand for being lazy. because writing itself is a non job. If it was a job there would be a boss, and an office with a bunch of people running side businesses out of their cubicles.

Here’s an outline for a typical writing day:
1) Wake up, eat breakfast, make big pot of coffee
2) Drink coffee and pretend to write for 1-2 hours, update blog.
3) First panic attack, then lunch and second panic attack.
4) Write for 5-6 hours.
5) Third panic attack.
6) Think about picking up another six pack of beer, panic about having to leave house to do so.
7) Dinner, then revise the day’s pages.
8) Panic about day’s pages.

I punch through the panic attacks. That’s my edge, you see.

UPDATE 3/1/2004: A reader in Mississippi pointed out that number 6 is avoidable.
I quote : “Always keep sufficient quantities of beer in the home/workplace to preclude the aforementioned quandries. The purchase of extra refrigerator is authorized and encouraged. Delivery of said beverage is highly recommended.”

Take me to Thursday

Lately I’ve taken to cursing Monday. Mostly because Monday feels like a hangover without the beer the night before. Sure, there was a time when I could drink through Monday, but that was back in college. That kind of extra effort was required in the syllabus. At my current incredibly advanced age (31), such attempts to recreate prior glories are foolhardy.

Mondays are better than Sundays, for the simple reason that on Sundays I’m hung over. But Monday’s are not better by much. What is Monday about anyway? To me it’s the wicked reminder that the weekend is over and you owe homage to The Man for the next five days or you’re going to lose that home that you can’t afford ( or barely afford depending on how good your credit is ).

Mondays lack the abandon of Saturday or excitement of Friday. Tuesday would be better, but it’s still awfully close to the black hole we’re stuck in right now. So that leaves Wednesday and Thursday to save the week. Wednesday has that cool nickname “hump day”. But it’s no fun for me because the wife works really late that night. This leaves Thursday. Well bring it on, say I! And leave the bottle of Advil open, just in case.

Hey writer guy, what do you look like?

I’m backing off my original position against posting pictures of myself. Why? Every other blog that I’ve ever seen has picture(s) of the author. Plus I have in my possesion two, if you count the wife’s email, requests for a pic on the site that shows more of my face, instead of something like thus. Well, here at samhilliard.com we give the audience what they want.

Enjoy a brand new pic of writer guy taken just moments ago by writer guy.