My physician keeps telling me that I need to do things that will help me stay “regular”.
This is a double-layered joke between us, as my physician (also my Uncle) knows that there is no such thing as “regular” about me, while at the same time that I can be pretty reliable on getting sick at certain points of the year.
The middle of July is one of those times.
Went to bed last night with the normal grogginess brought on by over-exhaustion but felt the slight congestion that was the first warning sign. Woke up this morning with my sinuses acting like they were actually sledgehammers just under my eyes.
Yup, it’s that time of year again.
But I was also stubborn today and took simple over-the-counter medications in an attempt to slow the process while I walked 22 miles over a 12-hour shift. I again forgot that I was not in my early 20’s. I’m paying for that now, so it’s looking like I’ll be making a visit to an Urgent Care in the morning to find out just how badly I’ve pushed my physical limits.
Don’t think I’ll have a writing sprint this evening. The nighttime meds are kicking in, so it’s about to get really loopy over here. Think I’ll just watch a movie on the couch (IE fall asleep on the couch some ten minutes from now).
During the evenings, when I sit down and ready for writing, I set my priorities and chores. I’ll go over the campaign plots and make minor adjustments to work in the suggestions from players, look ahead for the next session (Players: sessions are available, so send them requests!) or fill out the calendar a bit, write a little in the Sidewinder Stories, and then I hunker down into the work-in-progress (WIP), “Peregrine: Rising”.
Once we get to the last one, it’s a struggle. Not just from exhaustion, but from distracting bits of other stories floating about in this attic I call a brain.
The Interstellar Tall Tales always looks interesting, and the Shadowrun story is downright fun. But neither are in the priority list at the moment.
So of course, I get distracted by reading them over again, until I realize what I’m doing and say out loud, “Dammit boy, get back to work!”
This will be an ongoing process until I finish the story. I know.
While I go about this fun day-to-day, I present Casey!
As much as I complain about how physically demanding my profession can be, I forget that I am always slightly bewildered after a long stint at writing.
But after a morning of whittling away at the story and fixing errors, I’ve finished Chapter 3 for “Peregrine Rising”!
Of course, I looked up from the mental fog to see that Penelope is also enjoying the day off.
Quit taking the dog bed, dammit.
I’ll make ready for Chapter 4 after handling a few chores around the house. That one’s gonna be a bit lore-heavy, so I’ll need to think on how to approach it without boring everyone.
Stay safe out there, readers. Try to relax as much as the cat.
(Chances of storms this evening, so I’m scheduling this one and hoping it’ll post)
“Northern Style Mantis Fist” (my best attempt at translation)
Last week, Sifu called for everyone to line up at the end of class, as per routine. Having the rank of Purple Sash, I’m usually the guy at the front for that class, with the Jow-Gows standing off to the side. Han, not seeing the need for tradition of lining up according to rank, stands next to me during this part of the rituals. It’s the Family Class, so we’re a bit relaxed on that bit of protocol.
Sifu went through the end-of-class announcements, remarking on our training and how we can improve. He looked down at my daughter and told the class, “Han here will be testing for her next sash very soon!”
I beamed with pride as she looked over to me as if to confirm. She’s put in a lot of work with her training, and as her next sash involves weapons training, I’ve let Sifu know I’d like to get her a new staff for her birthday. That’s taken some planning; kid grows way too damn fast.
Sifu looked to other students and said that they would also be testing soon. I was content in listening, believing that I would be parked here for a few more months at the least. But then just before we bowed out, Sifu looked over to me.
“Sihing Jacob, you’ll also be testing soon!”
Oh shit.
I looked a bit panicked as we bowed out and asked for a brief audience with Sifu. He has always been obliging with me on this, as I usually have a bunch of questions. But I plainly told him: “Sifu, I don’t think I’m ready.”
Sifu smiled at that. “It’s not your place to judge if you are ready for a test. That’s mine, and I’ve seen you go through your training in the class.”
I have my reasons to be nervous.
I’ve been studying this style of Kung Fu for a few years, barring a couple breaks when my responsibilities would call me away. I’ve admired the philosophy behind the practice for a long time and worked to incorporate it into my daily life (after all, that is Kung Fu) since. I’ve even begun learning what to specialize in (Forms, Weapons, or Chi Sao). In doing so, I’ve inherited an assignment along with the weapons training.
I’m now learning the Cern-Do (Double Broadsword), and being the fool that I am, I asked if I could train with something that had a bit of weight to it. To answer my arrogance, I was given these.
“These might be one of the last sets made with this much weight.”
While wushu is awesome, I’m not great with a very light weapon. I feel like I need something there to remind me ‘Hey, you’re using something that can and will hurt you if you mess up’. These blades definitely do that (after two practice rounds, your arms will start feeling limp). What’s more is the history behind them.
What’s the history? That’s my assignment after inheriting the blades. They’ve been wielded by at least one Sifu, if the rumors are true. I’ve been told that they were forged somewhere around the 1950’s in the Henan Province. While I’m getting the equipment to clean and maintain them, I’m also working at restoring their wooden scabbard of the same vintage, and making sure these symbols are always legible.
I was told by Sifu that these would tell me who made the sword and scabbard, not just the company by possibly even the smith. I’m hoping so, as I would love for them and their descendants to know that the sword is in good keeping. I’ll be working at cleaning the weapon thoroughly, and I’ve made sure to keep the scabbard safe from the weather.
I don’t know if I’m actually ready for Bronze Sash, but I will do my best when that time comes. And I will learn the history of this Cern-Do.
When a player tells me that they’re way too tired for a game session, I’m going to listen to them. It’s something I understand way too well. As a consequence to that and to too few players in attendance for the night, I decided to postpone the session and reschedule.
In doing so, I had the chance to go over the notes for the adventure! Good thing, too, because I had set the difficulty in those challenges way too high.
If there’s anything I’m going to complain about in regards to the Revised Edition of SWRPG, it’s that they didn’t give enough context to explain what challenge rating to put to a given encounter.
So, I’ve been working at scaling things back to a more balanced setting. This mission is supposed to be the ‘finale’ of the adventure before they go to the third act. I’ve also been told that several parts of the site weren’t working properly, or that I’ve forgotten to upload some things.
The latter is way more expected than the former. I have the list of things to upload, somewhere on this lumber room of a work desk.
To compensate for the lack of presence here today, I present Han’s Weather Photo choice of the day!
She likes knowing what I deal with while on the route, especially the weather. She has odd moments of liking meteorology. I can’t say I disagree.
With that, the lateness of the night is catching up with me. Not sure how much writing I’ll get done, but I’ll at least go over my work from earlier and make sure I hadn’t nodded off while typing again.
My senses of hearing and smell have grown weaker over the years, due to injury and exposure. My body has compensated by developing a strong sensitivity to pressure change and direction.
So while I’m out on the walking route, having read that the rain wouldn’t be due until the evening, you can expect my sudden confusion when I feel the pressure around me drop a little and I immediately look south.
Ho’boy
That don’t bode well for the mailman. Time to see if I can still outrun a storm.
Swift's Corner 