Category: Postman

Saturday Shenanigans, Main Arc Night, and Future Posts

Life wouldn’t be interesting if it didn’t occasionally put a dash of irony into my awareness. After writing about how the day job was starting to throw off my perception of time and schedules, I went to bed last night after a Side-Arc session convinced that I would be rested and ready to sling letters at 7:30AM.

So of course, I was woken up this morning by my 6yr who kept saying “Dad, you’re going to be late for work!”

It was 7:10AM, and it’s a 22-minute drive to my office.

So…you know: panic.

I made it to work with 10 seconds left on the clock before I’d be considered ‘late’, so no discipline will be coming my way. I don’t want to think about how fast I had to drive to get to the office in that time, but I got there. I was lucky to have grabbed my satchel on my way out; I’ll be out here without supplies or tools. Didn’t even grab a hair tie.

That’s survivable, but also very annoying. At least my water jug was in the satchel, but I did have to give an explanation as to why I also had the training device for the whip-chain Kung Fu forms. (Note: it is highly illegal to have a weapon on your person in a Federal building unless you’re authorized, even if it’s an esoteric melee weapon)

I won the argument by saying it was just a training tool, not designed to cause harm, and really, it looks silly if you don’t know what it’s for, so I was forgiven for my weirdness. So now, I’m out here, taking parcels and letters out to the community. It’s a pretty day for it, at least.

Tonight will be the session for Arc 2, Adventure 4! The finale of the Arc, and I’m predicting it’ll take at least a month to finish, given our scheduling and the amount of detail I’ve put into the challenges for the players. After that, I’m expecting everyone will want some downtime to explore their characters’ Side-Arcs and have some development, while I whittle away at the story-writing and page-posting. That “taking time off to write” idea is looking very tempting now.

There might be a new section on the front menu fairly soon, as well. I keep going back and forth on the “Postal Living” idea, but now that it’s been requested, I’m duty-bound to give it some attention. We’ll see where that goes.

Happy Saturday, readers. Stay safe out there.

-JB Swift

Happy Birthday Han! Also, debating taking mental health days

It’s Monday morning, and we’re in our usual rush to get out the door at the sound of the alarm and beat morning traffic.

I’m usually frustrated during these mornings, because it’s rare for me to have time off from the day job. It’s especially frustrating today, though. My daughter is 6 years old today, and I’ll be lucky if I make it home in time to tell her goodnight as she gets in bed.

I’ve always been of two minds when it comes to my work. On one hand, the labor gives me a sense of contentment. I enjoy working, especially if it can provide me chances to challenge myself. Letter-slinging being a way more intensely physical job than most people realize, I get this sense of contentment quite easily. But on the other, I know what it’s like when your parents work too much and you’re left to your own devices. I desperately want to be present for my family, but the demands of said family keep me away, making sure they have enough to keep food in their bellies.

But as I’ve gone 2 days with mild panic attacks over my work time, I’ve been considering taking a few days off. Not for writing (though I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t want to try getting some chapters done during) but for my mental health. I usually work 6 days a week, averaging around 9-10 hours a day. Do that for too long and you’ll start breaking down.

A fun part to that is that I had to go to my boss and let him know. A couple of my supervisors, not to mention some of my older coworkers, will resent this eventual action. But as they’ve also been the ones to say that my children don’t need their father present in their lives, I’ve elected to ignore them. I’ll be taking those mental health days soon, most likely in a few weeks when I can lock in a 4-day weekend without spending annual leave for it.

With that, it’s time I went and slung these letters. Hopefully, I’ll be home in time to enjoy my kids’ birthday with her.

Stay safe and be well, readers.

-JB Swift

Saturday Morning Posts and Updates!

Well, there was an hour of quiet in the house while I made ready to head to town and sling letters all day. I had hoped to get up early enough to get another page written down, but that was just wishful thinking.

But there’s progress! I’ve added 500 words to both the Sidewinder Story adventure and the novella project, so it’s growing, it slowly. I’ve been tempted to put in a time-off request to make a sort of writer’s retreat, but I know what first instincts would be. If I’m off from my day-job, I’m wanting to get a house project done, or whittle away at the ever-present chore list.

I’ll be adding a new page on the GM Notes section concerning character creation, as well. I’ve had players asking questions about my home-rules on the creation process, and if I get any more new players (another 2 have expressed interest!) I’d want them to be comfortable coming here for references.

With that, break time is about over and the mail is waiting. The morning is promising rain, which for a walking route is a mixed blessing when you deliver in Louisiana.

Tired postman is tired, but still making an effort!

It looks like my age is starting to catch up with me. 10 years ago, I bid on a walking route the day I became a career postman. I won the bid, so it’s been my route ever since.

This is a 12-mile walking route with heavy parcels. It’s also one of the nicest walking routes in my little town, with large shade trees and reasonable residents. But it’s still pretty heavy, and those 12 miles will wear you down. Naturally, no one challenged my bid.

After 10 years, I’m looking for a driving route so I can stay acquainted with my natural knees. Until a route comes up, I’ll be walking. Unfortunately, that means by the time I’m home and can write, I have a small window of consciousness before the exhaustion bonks me on the head.

But we’re making progress! Arc 1-Adventure 2, “Pickup Consequences” (gonna workshop that one) is nearly ready for writing out fully. It’s a debate with myself over if I focus on hammering that out or getting the novella written, since it’s outline is finished. The novella might win out, as I’ve promised a reviewer I’d get it to her soon (and that was 3 weeks ago; I’m disappointed in myself), so we’ll see on the story-writing.

We also have 2 new players coming in! They have some great ideas for their characters, so I’ll be looking forward to making their stories. This does remind me that I should clean up the RPG pages. I’ve made the attempt, but I also like to sleep occasionally.

Outside of writing and letter-slinging, it’s about as chaotic as being the parent of two kids under the age of 10 as you’d expect. It bothers me that I’m away from my family for most of the day; sometimes, the only time I get to spend with my children is when I walk into the house and check on them while they’re asleep. But when I do get home before bedtime, I try to spend as much as the remaining time I have with them.

I’ve told my wife before: if she ends up making more money than me, and we could still afford it, I’d be a house-spouse in a heartbeat. Cleaning the home and actually being there for my family? Absolutely.

(I mean, I’d also get to write more, true, but it’s the family aspect I’d enjoy most.)

With those notes, break time is over and I’m off on my daily 12 miles. Hopefully, I’ll be awake enough this evening to plunk away at the keyboard. Stay safe, readers.

-JB Swift

Large bird on the route!

I may be wary of birds, especially while out delivering mail, but sometimes they’re just too pretty or impressively deadly for me to ignore.

This big guy, either a large Louisiana brown hawk or a young golden eagle, swooped nearby and took over a shade tree. I promptly walked away, as it was staring at me as if considering (which has happened before, and why I’m good at the duck-and-roll bit), but I had to get a few shots of it.

My iPhone doesn’t do it justice. Gorgeous raptor. Keeping an eye on the trees, now.

Debating Site Clean-Up, Outlining Plots, and Returning to Day-Job

Well, it had been an interesting and personally exciting past couple days. I’m not one for the holidays, as they always end up more stressful than bringing the sentiment that they were made for, but I’ve finally gotten through a 4th of July with minimal stress.

This is to say: I got through this year without a firework mishap, such as a mortar round going off on the ground nearby, being shot at by a multi-launch mini-rocket, or lit on fire by a nearby drunk. These things have happened with a consistency that has made me paranoid about the holiday. It’s a wonder that I’m still alive.

Instead of dodging poorly-made incendiary devices, I had spent the majority of the weekend writing. It was with exhausted good cheer that I wrote my “Pages Updated” post, though I should mention that not every page is written out. I had a list of some 6 or 7 I wanted finished over the weekend. Over time, those pages will have more written out for them, and the never-ending cycle of story-updating will continue.

With that, I’ve been giving some thought to cleaning/organizing the RPG section a bit. I’ve noticed that it’s getting a little hectic for my players to find what they need, and I’m sure y’all readers are getting confused. I’ll look into how I can better streamline that section.

I also have plots to write! There are two sessions this week, and while I know what they’re going to go through, I need to fine-tune their challenges and choices/consequences.

Before that, however, I need to get my mail out of the satchel and into the awaiting mailboxes. Break time is over, so back into the Federal life for me.

Happy reading, folks! Stay safe out there.

-JB Swift

New Players, Old Writings, No Sleep! (And a Turtle!)

It’s a bitter irony that the reason I keep forgetting to do a daily blog writing is because I keep working on other writings meant to be posted here. But hopefully, I’ll start paying attention to the notification this thing sends me to sit down and put together some ramblings of what I’ve seen through the day.

That said, there’s been progress! Four new players have reached out to me with wanting to join in the Star Wars campaigns and I am deliriously excited to see what kind of stories they’ll bring to the overall timeline.

That and they probably knew I wouldn’t say “no”. They’re willing to not buck the Expanded Universe timeline so it can still be a resource for everyone, so I’m willing to add them to my list of “Things to write about”.

The story-writings have been slow, but they have been growing! Hit a rough snag while outlining the novella, but I went back to my old creative-writing notes and figured out the problem: writing fundamentals. The chapter that had the snags was meant to be one where the protagonist proved his trustworthiness while still being very mercenary. Took a bit before I figured it out: add more punches instead of dialogue. Hopefully I can start writing it out in full by Sunday.

The Sidewinder story is in dire need of attention, so after I’ve gotten a start on the novella (at least the first chapter) I’ll put everything else down until I finish Adventure 1 and post it.

With those updates, have a look at the turtle who fell out of a tree yesterday and smacked me in the head while out on the route. I have no idea how he got up there, but I do know, now, just how much pain a turtle kamikaze can cause.

With that, it’s back to the mail, readers. Hoping you all have a good weekend.

-Swift

Last bit of sunlight before the storm rolls in

While I may understand and follow the “No rain, sleet, or snow” part of the Postal Creed, I do draw the line when there are lightning strikes happening every 4 seconds. So, I’m sitting in the truck and having a sandwich while the storm rages. Managed to catch a picture of the last bit of sunlight before the overcast took the sky.

Stay safe out there, folks.

-Swift

Birds on the route!

Photo taken with phone. Forgot my camera today.

They’re difficult to see, but those are night herons. They like to nest and raise their young in a few trees on my route.

While adorable at first, they’re vicious little dinosaurs. Very territorial and perfectly fine with charging at the unsuspecting mailman. Everybody always assumes that it’s dogs that we’re wary of.

But the birds, man. Don’t forget the birds.

-Swift