Hi Everybody-
I’m so sorry for being such a ghost lately. My health problems have severely limited the energy I have available, and as a result, I’ve had to prioritize everything in order to achieve my goals this year, and that has meant much less time on social media, including our most excellent SG community. I have some big goals for 2020 that were formed in 2019, and if I stand any chance of meeting them, I will have to really bust my satin panty clad butt from now until 31 December (and beyond).
I still have several songs I’m recording, and I hope to release a couple later this year, but unless my health improves, I’m going to have to be happy with the score for the short film that I hope to be producing by November. The primary melody and bass line for the closing credits is already done.
So, here are my goals for 2020:
- 1. Finish the horror short story I’m currently writing, and submit it for publication. It will be fairly long, on the scale of one of H.P. Lovecraft’s longer stories, but not novella length. Completion goal: end of March (1st draft).
- 2. Write a micro-fiction version of the same story for submission to the micro-fiction short story contest at this year’s H.P Lovecraft Film Festival.
- 3. Write a screenplay based on the same horror short story hinted at above, for submission to next year’s HPLFF, the deadline is in January 2021. The reward for the micro-fiction contest is publication; there are other rewards for a winning screenplay.
- 4. Actually produce a short film from the screenplay mentioned above using digital tools that I am already learning to use for submission by the June deadline for the October 2021 HPLFF.
- 5. Shoot a set on the same quality level as Hopefuls and SGs for to upload by Halloween. I’ve been planning this set for a while. I’ll give one hint: it’s a Halloween themed Cosplay like you’ve never seen on SG. Cross your fingers again; if my health doesn’t improve, then this one will have to go by the wayside. - If my health improves, then you can add these to the list:
- 6. Release one or more music videos and singles to promote next year’s solo EP.
- 7. Create a new group on SG dedicated to Diversity and Inclusion. I’m already working on this, but my health issues forced me to re-evaluate my priorities.
- 8. Finish the final revisions of last year’s novel and resubmit it for publication
- 9. Start working on my next novel, already in development
1. First app that you check when you wake up in the morning?
The weather - so I know how to dress for the day, including the walk to work.
2. First broken bone?
Lol, it’s funny, I dislocated my shoulder falling out of a treehouse when I was 5, I managed to wedge the condylar process on the right side of my jaw into my skull (amongst other injuries) in a bicycle accident when I was 13, and I seriously messed up my right knee preventing my motorcycle from going down while starting on a hill in the rain in my 20’s, but I’ve never actually BROKEN a bone.
3. First foreign country have you ever visited?
Mexico 🇲🇽- Baja California, to be exact.
4. First time I had problems at school?
When I got beaten up by a bully in the 4th Grade
5. My first boyfriend / girlfriend?
The girl who came to my rescue and kicked the a$$ of the aforementioned male bully. I still remember her name.
6. My first car?
A motorcycle, a vintage 1971 Honda CB-100 that I bought from a friend for $50 when I went to University. My first 4 wheeled vehicle was a ‘91 Dodge Dakota longbed extracab to haul my motorcycle.
7. My first crush on celebrities?
If you didn’t guess based on #5, that would be Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman on TV in the 1970’s - I wanted to be with her and be like her
8. My first crush?
The very same girl who befriended me in grade 4: blonde hair, blue eyes, beautiful smile, and we shared the same birthday. Her name was Laura Lee, but everyone except me called her Lori (she didn’t like being called Lori). I even remember her last name.
9. My first cell phone?
Lol, a Nokia brick phone from AT&T during the age of analog
10. My first kiss?
With Laura Lee after a long walk and kite flying in the Spring. It was soft and brief.
11. My first fear?
Abandonment - I was abandoned at a restaurant across from the University where my mother worked as a librarian when I was 6. Mom left me there and went to work because my father was supposed to come get me for the weekend (they divorced when I was 5), but he was at a party stoned out of his mind and never showed up.
12. My first heartbreak?
When Laura Lee and her 5 older brothers moved away. 🥺
13. My first post on Instagram?
I can’t show you - I took down my Instagram due to privacy issues a couple of years ago.
14. My first job?
Working at a 7-11 (convenience store) across from the very same University that my Mom attended and worked as a librarian, which I also attended. I worked the graveyard shift. All the rest of the staff were Latina Lesbians. It was a tough job; I was robbed by a tweaker with a shotgun during my first month on the job. I’m not sure if I was brave or stupid - I kept working there until I got pneumonia 18 months later and had to drop out of school and quit my job in order to get my health back. To all of you who have read this far who still have “I have black lungs” on your profile: STOP SMOKING. I smoked too for several years, and that’s what it did to me. It will be worse if you keep it up. Rant over.
15. My first language?
American English. First foreign language: Latin (Yes, Ancient Roman).
16. My first pet?
A very large orange Tom cat 🐈 named Mercury Cake. Hey, what do you expect? I was 2. The fact that I could name a cat at age two is fairly impressive.
17. My first piercing and when did I get it?
Right ear at university. I let it seal up due to infections. I’ve wanted to get new ones, but my health issues would cause more of the same problem currently. I’ll be seeing my first hematologist on 4 March; cross your fingers for me that the doctor can figure out WTF is wrong with my body.
18. My first sexual experience?
You don’t want to know; I was molested by a babysitter as a child
19. My first tattoo?
Still don’t have one due to the same health issues referenced in #17.
20. The first person I spoke to today?
A lady neighbor who held the door for me when I left for work this morning
21. The first person you write when something exciting happens?
It’s hard to write this one - it used to be my girlfriend, Julé, but she died last July from lung cancer. Now it’s usually a new girlfriend who is also a writer.
22. The first thing I do every morning?
Stumble into the kitchen to take my thyroid medicine while trying not to be bitten on the feet by my cat (if she is especially hungry, I feed her first)
23. The first thing I do when I get home?
Pet and converse with my cat as she tries to trip me on the way to the kitchen to feed her.
24. The first time you got drunk?
My father finally picked me up for the weekend later in the year that I was abandoned at the restaurant. This time he took me with him to a party where he disappeared while several 20-something girls thought it would be funny to give me beer. I don’t remember any more...wait...yes I do. When I woke up, a horror movie or TV show was on TV that scared the daylights out of me because it dealt with transformation in some way that the person transforming couldn’t control. I was riveted to it in spite of being terrified.
25. My first time on an airplane
At age 8, flying from Los Angeles, CA to Pittsburgh, PA - by myself. Yes, they let kids do that back then. The stewardesses helped me make my connections. I still love to fly, but I prefer trains if I have the time and if train travel is practical.
I wrote another interesting blog, but ran out of energy to complete the visual element, but I think I can fit that in sometime in the next few weeks. I’ll post photos and things on occasion, but you can expect me to be a bit preoccupied for a while.
Have fun, everyone,!
Bonne journée- Tenha um ótimo dia - Хорошего дня - Que tengas un buen día - Have a great day!!
♾ ❤️
- Dhyani
