Han had to skip out on Kung Fu class yesterday, due to a scheduling mix-up with other summer programs. When I got home from training, she was feeling down about missing it.
But I brought her something to help:
I wasn’t expecting the 7yr to squee with delight at a book about personal combat.
She was ecstatic, and asked to borrow it for her in-bed reading. As I was about to be in an epic struggle with the 5yr over getting in his bed, I saw no problem with it.
She gave it back this morning and asked me to work out some at-home training regimens for us. So, expect a few essays over time as I delve further into our chosen martial art.
Before that, I have to report in and sling letters. Another 12-15 mile walk, coming right up!
It’s been a long, long day, readers. Not just for me, but for my son and our cat.
With a setup like that, you just know it’ll be interesting.
I went in to work knowing I was going to be struggling and trying to be done at a decent time. Han was talking about going to Kung Fu training all morning, though I had a feeling she’d be exhausted by then, so I didn’t push. She forgot that it was a half-day at school and she’d be spending the rest of the day with her grandparents, who have a small farm and no end of work needing done. She’d go into that with a will, which is always slightly frustrating.
Note: Figure out how to make cleaning her room seem similar to working in the garden.
What I wasn’t expecting was for my son to have a resurgence of strep throat, so the phone call of a fever and sore throat kicked up my drive to finish the route. There was no one who could drive him for a doctor visit, so I let my bosses know that I had a sick kid to take care of.
12 miles in under 6 hours with mail and parcels. My life is nothing but leg day.
But it was done, and Ben was seen by the doctor. He got a powerful antibiotic shot, which is just as uncomfortable as it sounds. But the boy is a trooper. He cried for a little while, was given a hug, and he went back to being his odd little self, just like his dad. It didn’t take long for the medicine to kick in, which made for a very exhausted 5-yr old who didn’t quite make it to his bed. I carried him the rest of the way.
Kung Fu training was before that, and Sifu has put me into learning Bung Bo (Crushing Step, I think). That’s a Long Form in Seven Star Praying Mantis, and Long Forms are leg-intensive.
And to round out the evening, Penelope needed a bath!
So…much…fury…
I might have to leave this post in Drafts for a couple days, but I’ll get it posted soonest!
Some days, I like to step back a few centuries when it comes to social behaviors and speech. Such as having my Sifu answer his door to find me bowing and saying “I’ve come to seek permission to peruse the Library.”
Which is to say: some days I like to be very odd and for some reason, everyone around me just rolls with it.
To delve further, my Kung Fu teacher has a personal library in his house that is wall-to-wall with filled bookshelves. There’s barely enough room for the small seats and lamps that he has in there. It’s one of my favorite areas in my entire town.
If I say I seek permission, he knows I’m hoping to borrow a few of his texts. Considering that one of my side-projects is a Sherlock Holmes story, and Sifu is a Baker Street Irregular, it’s where I go if I ever have a question about the man.
Permission was formally granted (I’m not the only one out here that can switch to “traditional” speech patterns) and I had a couple hours to pore through the Library. One of the Jow-Gows of that kwoon (Black Sash or senior student, and school) is also a Dresden Files nerd, so I sought her out to ask what she thought of my theories and possible storyline.
It’s occasionally fun to explore these fan-fiction ideas, though I’m determined to not let it be a distraction. It’d take maybe a month to write out, if my layout is sound enough.
Still, I’ve made sure to pencil out a couple hours to work on the upcoming session and get a few pages in.
As stated in the title, I’m going to be making an effort to work on my daily postings. It’s turned out that this is the best way to keep up on my life, since I’m so introverted that I could be mistaken for a houseplant.
(I’m going with an orchid, as they don’t move until absolutely necessary and it gets everyone’s attention when it happens.)
To start off, I’ve passed my recent Kung Fu test! I’m now at Maroon (Purple, really, but I like the word ‘maroon’ and no one can stop me except Sifu) and two ranks away from Black. At the rate I’ve been progressing…that’ll be another ten years. Hopefully, Han will surpass me in that time. She’s got a gift for the art.
Also, I have a new family member! My mother adopted a puppy, so now I have to teach the puppy how to be house trained, and teach my mother how to house train her puppy.
She’s adorable, and she already follows me around everywhere. She knows who keeps treats in his pockets.
That’s going to be occupying my time, but it’ll have the side benefit of teaching my kids how to handle animals. All of our dogs were adults when we started having children, and they’re considered ‘elderly’ now, so they’re (relatively speaking) pretty calm around the kids. That pup, though, is a boxer and untrained.
Have pity for my kids, folks. They’re not used to energetic critters but couch potato dogs acting like roommates.
Lastly, story updates. I’ve started making a serious effort to work on my homegrown science-fiction story, but that one won’t be ‘readily available’ to readers for a while. I’ve upgraded my account here, so now I can set up subscriptions, donations and other means of accepting money from followers and readers.
Another way of putting it: I’ll be self-published the moment someone decides to pay $1 to read my work.
…panic ensues
This means that I will, when it’s set up, have sections of my website inaccessible for those not willing to pay to read the material. While I apologize for that, please understand that I’ve been working towards being published since I was 16-years old, and I’ve only recently discovered this little loophole. The Sidewinder Stories and other fan-fiction ideas will stay public access, though. Like hell I’m going to have my players go through my quirky ideas and challenges and then turn around to pay to read how I interpreted their actions.
Expect progress on the homebrew science fiction in a month or two. By then, I’ll have my outline mapped enough to start writing in earnest. Of course, the Star Wars RPG story will remain my priority, or my players will throw shoes at me. Can’t go around sabotaging my own efforts, now can I?
….no one got that, did y’all? Dammit, I thought it was funny.
Something to expect much sooner, however, is a writing I’ve left on the backburner for too long: that Dresdenverse Sherlock Holmes story. I had gone over it recently and remembered all the things I wanted to show in that story challenge. So, I’m working on the chapter prompts for it and will sit down during a few evenings and finish it out.
Things are happening, readers! I’m excited, terrified, and battling imposter syndrome as I push myself toward achieving a long-sought after goal!
Today was my regular non-scheduled day, but as I had a doctor’s appointment for my son around noon, management could only work me for a half-day.
Cue the childish behavior of pulling a face and saying neener-neener at the adults.
I managed to get some time set aside to work on the plot for the upcoming session, but I’ll have to take my tablet and notebook with me to work tomorrow and get to work on the list I’ve jotted down. I’m hoping to get a Side-Arc session (I’d really prefer two but I keep having to be responsible and go to work) set up, as well as finalizing a new Archetype for the newest player. Those are fairly simple to write up, but they can be tedious.
Han went in for her Kung Fu test today and passed! Her ability to kick my ass continues to develop and I couldn’t be prouder. Ben went to the test and has determined that he wants to study Kung Fu next year, but for now he’s going to copy my training in the carport.
No pictures of Han’s test for the site, as she said she didn’t want them posted because she didn’t like her hair today. I can respect that.
But that didn’t stop the two from brushing out their old man’s hair into a cloud of poof.
fwoomp
Han did go over my options for the weather photo today, though, so here’s the one she liked the most.
All things considered; I was ready to be waterlogged.
All in all, it’s been a full day, and it’s not over until I prep my meals for tomorrow. Time to wreak havoc upon the kitchen!
Not in the writing, but in the house-spouse work! While I was hoping to get some time set aside to handle up on my story-writing, I fell into the cycle of productive-procrastination. I keep telling myself to not sit down for writing until my chores are done.
Chores are never done, but it does feel good to take a decent chunk of them off the list.
For today, I’m hoping to stick to my goal of “3 chores only, 30 minutes of writing, rinse and repeat” and get further along in the Sidewinder Stories. While Han is staying home for today, she’s obligingly handling her own set of chores. She just doesn’t want Dad to clean her room, because she likes her own setup.
Unfortunately for me, I’ll be moving around a bit stiffly, since I went through my martial arts practice just before bed.
Witness the before and after images of someone in their late 30s forgetting to stretch, managing to impress themselves, then dealing with the aftermath of not thinking ahead.
Sifu is going to have a field day when we show up for training and I’m already sore. In the words of my generation: oof.
Time to whittle away at the priority list and finish the Side Arc (hopefully)!
Stay safe out there, readers. Don’t forget or ignore your stretches.
I had tasked one of my players to come up with new combat forms, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t deliver.
It’s proven to be an interesting challenge, and it makes me wish I could draw so we could have visuals.
In an effort to figure out if the Forms could work, or what needs fixing to fit game mechanics, I went to my Sifu for help.
This being Star Wars, and Sifu being a fellow nerd, this can mean only one thing: test the forms in a sparring session.
That, readers, is going to hurt. The Jow-Gows (black belt/sash level students) will also enjoy the experiment.
While I’ll be nursing bruises in my effort to deliver a good story, I’ll be working on the plot for the Main Arc session this Saturday. If the plot takes too long tonight and Tuesday, the Forms will have to move down a rung on the priority list.
Off to letter sling and ready myself for a voluntary ass-kicking. Stay safe out there, readers.
On a typical day, the mail route is 12 miles long with about 50-60 pounds (22.6-27.2 kilograms) in the mail satchel slung over my shoulder. The route was (supposedly) set up to be 8 hours worth of work so I’d get a full day’s pay.
On Tuesday and Thursday every week, I handle the route in 6. The Postmaster calls it “Swift’s Running Days”.
This is because the family needs me home at a decent time on those days. Either to get the kids from after-school care, or to take Han to her Kung Fu training. Much to my supervisors’ annoyance, I refuse to be a part of the social patriarchy, in that it’s commonly accepted that the father is meant to be working while their mother handles the child-rearing.
I refuse. A consequence to that is I have to hurry twice a week if I want this to happen, as the supervisor is unsympathetic. I still manage to get 60 hours every week, so I’m always exhausted by 8:15PM.
But we got through the day, and Han went through her evening of training. Ben talked nonstop about his new friends at his school (he may look like me but he definitely get his social charms from his mother), and the kids went to bed.
So began the nighttime writing routine! Had to get the finishing details for the Main Arc session down (there are some story aspects that the RPG books didn’t cover, so had to map out the math) and work on Votosh’s Wiki article. The player gave me artistic license to make his background essay into a biography format, so I’ve been filtering the essay in an outline and putting in notes that line up with his species’ culture and the timeline.
I’m debating whether or not to give the Wiki article-writing to the players as a challenge, with Experience Points and Extra Credits as the rewards. My folks always did say I’d make a good teacher.
I got as far as I could before my biphasic sleep pattern started to kick in, but it’s time I slept for at least three hours. I’ll handle a chore in the interim and get back to bed.
My daughter and I have been attending a Kung Fu school (kwoon, according to Sifu, but I’m not confident in my pidgin spelling, so if you know the correct term, be sure to comment) for several months now. I have to admit that I had two reasons for suggesting Han begin training:
Firstly, because she needed something physically engaging that would help her learn self-control where her strength is concerned. For a kid barely out of toddlerhood, she’s frighteningly strong.
Secondly, I’ve also been wanting to go back into training, and I’ve wanted something the kids and I could do together. My son has gone with us a few times and wants to train with us, but the boy will have to wait a couple more years.
As we attend class, Han has realized that weapons-training is part of her education. Granted, I’ve put a hold on that until she’s got some more height on her and got the basics of the staff down first, but she sees the cern-do in my equipment bag.
“Dad!” she said while I was talking to Sifu. “You could fit your lightsaber in your Kung Fu bag!”
At first, I was mildly embarrassed at that. I may be comfortable with my nerdiness, but you never know how someone else is going to react when they realize just how nerdy you are.
“Is the lightsaber rated for sparring and combat?” Sifu asked. Well, yeah actually. What good is a lightsaber if you’re not going to have a sparring match with lights and sound effects with other specky nerds?
“Start packing it with you and we’ll see if we can figure out a form for it.”
Oh. Well then. Nerds know their own, I suppose. It took some searching, since I hid the thing and not have to worry about Han whacking her little brother with it, but the lightsaber is now in the Kung Fu equipment bag.
I’m going to be amused if I’m asked to use this for a broadsword form and I’m told to widen my swings because “the blade is all edge so you can’t keep it too close.”
With that, I’m off to see to my son’s appointments. If I’m lucky, I’ll have some downtime if he takes a nap and can get that chapter worked on. Stay safe, readers.
Swift's Corner 