August 2008 Archives

Too much to write – not enough time.

I have such a full plate at the moment I can barely find time to do any of the writing for myself. That means fewer blog posts, fewer script writing sessions and fewer spec ideas get done. But hey, I shouldn’t complain. A year ago I wasn’t writing professionally at all.

It was Tuesday night. I’d only popped into the corner store to get some cottage cheese for my diet-conscious lunches, when it happened.

I glanced up and saw a man, rather dishevelled, looking slightly lost or confused. In his hands, he was clutching a family-sized bar of Rolo chocolate. Nothing particularly note-worthy, except I was immediately struck by the question of why, in a queue full of commuters picking up the final ingredients for dinner or the obligatory bread and milk, this odd chap was only interested in a bar of caramel-filled chocolate.

It is a moment now enshrined in the history of literature, but James Joyce once threw the partially completed manuscript for ‘Stephen Hero’ into the fire in a fit of rage. Nothing was salvaged and Joyce eventually sat down to write the novel again from page one. In the process, the novel transformed into the classic ‘Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man’. Who knows whether the final novel lacks some unique phrases or gems of literary brilliance, forever lost to the fire?

Busyness still abounds, as I juggle jobs, wedding plans and some form of sleep. Sadly, this has reduced my posting frequency, something which I am working on correcting. One of the positive side-effects is that I have a ton of blog post ideas waiting for the time to unleash them on an unsuspecting readership.

The arrival of a spin-off from the highly successful BBC series 'Spooks' was certainly welcomed by many fans. Personally, I was hoping a new series with a different approach could revitalise the tired format and give viewers a return to the brilliance of the first three seasons of 'Spooks'.

Moving to Australia sixteen years ago, I inevitably lost touch with many of my old friends from Old Blighty. Recently, I’ve discovered a few of them doing rather well for themselves in jobs for which I would have hacked off my left arm with a blunt razor. We may have lost touch, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think of them often and am not immensely proud to see their success. After all, they're all listed on IMDB and have Wikipedia entries and I'm listed... nowhere.

The tooth continues to give me grief, as I was forced back into the dentist’s chair for the third time in under a week to have my gum redressed. Now my mouth has the constant taste of iodine. If there’s one thing guaranteed to make me grumpy and uncooperative, it’s tooth-ache, so the world better stay out of my way as my mouth heals over the next few days – you have been warned…

I know, I know. I haven't been posting enough recently. I'm currently working in two roles, adding Acting Marketing Manager to my already busy brief as Communications Manager and Nett Magazine contributor. This means I am typing almost dawn til dusk and I do need a little time away from the keyboard every now and then. Sadly, this means the blog is lower on the list of priorities and is the first to get put aside for later.

What a crap week. If you read Sunday’s post on technology, you already know how my iPod spoiled my weekend. On the same day, one of my wisdom teeth shattered, meaning I have some wonderfully painful days ahead before an even more painful surgical procedure. When the dentist starts talking about cutting away bone in the jaw, I remember why I hate them.

My iPod decided to die this weekend, committing hari-kiri by leaping out of my belt pouch onto the floor of a bookshop, without so much as a knock from myself. Despite having survived a couple of knocks in the past, this time the sad-face icon of doom, coupled with the hard-drive click of death, has conveyed my fourth iPod to silicon heaven. (Before my comments are flooded with people telling me how to fix this issue - been there, done that.)