Oops!  It seems I accidentally published my lesson plans to this blog instead of my school blog.  Sorry about that, friends.  And once again I get enough breathing time to realize how stagnant this blog has become.  So let’s do some catching up.

First of all, let’s talk beer.  Yes, beer.  I like beer.  Not all are created equal, of course.  So one feels the need to try a few.  Nothing draws a nerd in like a compelling label.  And I’ve found a few of late.  Let’s discuss.

Dragon’s Milk Bourbon Barrel Stout – New Holland Brewing – 10.0% AbV:  I confess, I discovered this one visiting a growler shop a while back (at least a year ago).  I’ve been looking to find it again ever since.  Yes, the name was enough to rope me in.  It helped that I have become a lover of dark beers over the last few years.  Let me tell you, Dragon’s Milk is one of my favorites.  The label insists it has “Roasty malt character intermingled with deep vanilla tones, all dancing in an oak bath.”  I don’t know about all that, but it’s got a great flavor without wandering into the coffee zone.

It’s a high gravity offering from New Holland, so you won’t find it just anywhere.  Not likely a grocery store beer, at least not around here.  I found a four pack about a week ago and couldn’t resist.  It was as good as I remember.  I did get a little ambitious with my first bottle and drank it too cold.  Don’t do that.  But I guess that’s Stout 101.

Oh, and it ain’t cheap.  I think I paid about $4 a bottle.  Still, I’d pay that at a bar, so it’s worth it for special occasions.

DeiselPunk Stout – World Brews – 5.8% AbV: Style over substance.  This one wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t particularly memorable.  I’m not sure if I’d buy it again, but I’d probably drink it again.  I’m definitely keeping the bottle.

I bought a pack a few months ago.  Costs more than it’s worth, but not too much of a strain.  I’ve gotten fairly picky with my taste of late, so I suppose my indifference isn’t too low an endorsement.  Still, not one too feel bad about missing.

Wells Banana Bread Beer – Wells & Young Brewing – 5.2% AbV: Okay, this one isn’t so much nerdy as…unexpected.  Banana bread beer?  Really?  That can’t possibly be…hey, it’s good.  It’s really good.  A definite dessert beer, mind you.  It manages to taste like banana bread and like beer without either being overwhelmed or seeming out of place.

I’ve picked this up a few times in make-your-own-sixpacks at my local Kroger.  I’m always happy to see the yellow peel peeking out of the rows of bottles; it doesn’t find its way there often.  It’s even more expensive on its own, almost as much as the Dragon’s Milk, and also sold in four-packs.

Okay, I hate lolcats to death, but “Am I a Writer Again Now?” seemed too dull, so there’s your horrid spelling meme.  I apologize.

That out of the way, I think there’s a chance that I can legitimately call myself a writer again.  I really haven’t been one over the past year.  But the Codex Weekend Warrior flash fiction contest is in full swing and I’ve been participating.

Hmm…maybe I should back up.

Codex is an online writing group for speculative fiction writers who have at least one pro sale or have been to a major, merit-based writing workshop (Clarion, Viable Paradise, OSC’s Boot Camp, Odyssey, etc.)  They have numerous contests each year, from flash to novels.  The most popular seems to be Weekend Warrior, since it’s the only contest that necessitates two separate divisions.  For five weeks, a set of prompts are posted on Friday and entrants write a 750-word or less story based on one (or more) of the prompts by the following Sunday.  Then the entrants (and other Codex members) have the week to read and rate the stories before starting again on Friday.

Anyway, I’ve written a story for the past two weeks.  I wrote, so that makes me a writer.  Even better, both stories have been competitive.  Not #1, but bouncing around in the top half.  Codex isn’t full of slouches either, so I’m happy just to see that I still have the chops to hold my own despite a year of no significant writing output at all.  What’s better than that?  I actually subbed one of those stories today!

I’ve done the Codex WW contest for the past several years and sold a few of the creations to come out of it (“Not Rats”, “Ten Seconds”).  My first year in the contest I finished in the top ten overall, with 3 weeks’ stories in their respective top 10.  The next year I was midlist.  Then last year’s showing was abysmal.  I had been getting worse!  So to be back in it this time around is a much-needed boost to my confidence.

So yes, I am a writer again (Iz a writer agin), and one that’s starting to find his groove again.  Here’s hoping I can keep it up.

Happy New Year! I am still here, despite the rigor mortis that had apparently set in to this blog. 2013 was one hell of a wild ride for me. Thank God it’s over. As I enter 2014, I’m going to be a bit cliche with the whole resolution thing so I can get on the right track to make this a year to remember rather than a year to forget. Here I go.

1) Be a writer. In 2013, I was not much of a writer. I wrote nothing. Well, I finished nothing and my word count for the year was atrociously anemic. Heck, I wasn’t even posting here. Well that stops. I have a number of projects I need to finish up and a number I am itching to begin. They will happen. I intend to start with the Codex Weekend Warrior contest, which launches the weekend of the 10th. I’m hoping that will get my writer juices flowing enough to get back on the horse and write regularly again.

2) Lose weight. (I told you this was going to be cliche.) I’m a large-framed guy, but things have gotten out of hand and my health is starting to really suffer from it. So it’s time to make a change. A lot of changes. Be more active, eat less crap, get more sleep, drink more water. I did it 7 years ago; I can do it again.

3) Get organized. I am a tornado. My disorganization makes almost every aspect of my life more difficult. Life is difficult enough without that. I’m going to do my best to put the urgency of the moment aside so I can do things right. By that I mean, when there is a paper in my hand when I change tasks, put that paper in a file rather than dropping it on the desk and swelling up the next task, which will in turn be dumped on the desk in favor of the next task, and on and on. A few seconds attention to detail is usually all I need, but I’m bad at it. To me, this is the equivalent of resolving to be 3 inches taller — my nature may simply make it impossible. But I intend to try.

4) Read. I haven’t read much of anything this past year. I don’t like that.

For is good, especially when two of them are really lifestyle changes and the other two demand time restructuring. All this on top of my full time high school teaching job, my part time college teaching job, being a single dad, building on my relationship with my wonderful girlfriend, and the million other little things that constitute a life.

Wish me luck.

I lost yesterday to a stomach bug.  That and a daughter with an ear infection.  Crappy timing.  Spent the morning at the 24hr clinic and the afternoon alternately  in front of/on the toilet.  (TMI?)  No writing accomplished.  I only needed about 1000 words yesterday to stay on pace.  Now I need 2667 today to make it back to pace.

I seem to be doing better and my daughter has been okay as long as we keep her medicine flowing to keep the fever down.  The wife may have gotten my stomach bug, which may put a little more parenting responsibility on my shoulders for the day.  I’m thinking Netflix, video games, and coloring books for her today so I can get my wordcount (and more, I hope).

I should also shave today before I start howling at the moon.