July 3, 2008

Last month I had e2collaborators created. It is a new user group where basically the members of the group all collaborate on a work of fiction. Ideally, the work would be the node, and each writeup a piece of it, by a different author (member of the group). I had been wanting to do a Story-Go-Round thing for years but hadn't thought of an efficient way to do it. Then the idea dawned one me, why not create a usergroup for it? It would work almost like a forum, a way to bounce around ideas and discuss the story and check for internal consistencies, etc.

It started off going well. I began it (with intent on sort of directing the rest of it; but don't worry, I'm far from micromanaging it, I'm letting them have pretty much free reign 99% of the time) and then several other members continued it, developing the backstory more and taking it in unexpected directions. It was turning out to be quite an intriguing supernatural tale.

But it has stalled.

We started out with 11 members, one left at the same time we acquired another, but now another has left, leaving us with 10 (and another person has just opted out of this story at least, but may do future ones). Five of us have contributed to the story, but it's not quite half done. So, doing the math, this means I need new members. And also the other four have been tentative on volunteering to go next.

The story is about a man who must travel the country (maybe even the world before it is over) searching for, and capturing, chaotic souls/ghost wreaking havoc on society, and he is employed by the shaman who is partially to blame for the fiasco. That's the plot, really boiled down, but I don't want to reveal too much.

So if you like to write fiction, and you'd like to contribute to a fascinating story with some fantasy, sorcery, ghosts, with some tech (almost scifi) thrown in, spiced with some tragedy, topped off with a mysterious and powerful villain, then please /msg me.

It has been a LOT of fun and I truly, TRULY feel that we really have a fascinating work of fiction going here and the writers so far have been pulling out all the stops, really contributing high quality work. Hats off to the group, mostly the other members (I just started the damn thing, they came in like gangbusters and really did some awesome things with it). And even members who have not written a piece yet have had some interesting ideas and suggestions in our messages back and forth. It would be a tragedy if this story sputtered out and died so please consider this. Not that I think that at this moment the danger of that happening is imminent, but I figured I'd better do this daylog before it gets to that point.

So, again, if you are an E2 fiction writer in any capacity, and if this story sounds interesting to you at all, please /msg me. You will not regret joining this group.

Thank you.

Sweet moments of life: I'm walking through Expect Discounts, and find (among a whole lot of instruments that will end up in a school band) a trumpet. I've never blown a trumpet, my experience in wind instruments has since been with recorders and bottle flutes. But I decide it's great to put it to my lips, blow...and....nothing.

About which when a whole lot of little kids show up. I strike a Xuxa attitude (look it up) and blow again, figuring that the channeled soul of bossa nova will carry me through. Nada. Nix. Nothing.

Finally, a girl of about six speaks up.

"My granddad taught me how to do that." She blows.

Like Gillespie. Like Maynard. Like Miles, and Herb Alpert playing the credits to Casino Royale.

"Um, how did you..."

"You kind of do a razzsberry."

Wow. Somewhere, Jack Kerouac is laughing...

I woke up around noon or so this morning, but I felt lazy and stayed in bed. I drifted in and out of consciousness for a few hours, and then at two o’clock, I finally got out of bed, mostly because my cell phone was ringing. I picked it up, and Mike from Radio Shack asked if I could come in for a job interview today. Despite my shock, I managed to ask what time he'd like me to come in, and arranged to be there at three. I immediately took a shower, partly to wake up and be presentable, and partly to make sure this wasn't a dream.

I’ve been looking for a summer job for the past few months, with no luck at all. It was a discouraging process, and I’d already given up. I figured that no one would be willing to hire me for the meager two months between now and continuation of my education at Reed College, in Portland, Oregon. That’s irony for you, I suppose.

After an uneventful drive, I arrived at Radio Shack, where I met the store manager, Eric. When he asked his first question, I was very nervous, and rambled coherently, but far too quickly, about my experiences in Speech and Debate, and how I felt they were a good foundation for a job in sales. He listened to what I had to say, and then told me to breathe. I realized I had forgotten to do so, resumed respiration, and felt a knot of tension in my chest slowly untwist. He was a genial man, and I soon felt at ease talking to him. At the end of the interview, I asked a few questions, learned some more about the store, and left. I feel good about the whole thing. I think that Eric liked me, and it was gratifying when he said that he had enjoyed the interview. If I’m selected, I’ll get a call from him, and then have an interview with the district office, which has to give him permission to hire me. Even if nothing comes of it, it was a valuable experience (I’ll be even more prepared for my next job interview, whenever that is), and a pleasant reminder that sometimes good things can happen when you least expect it.

NO MALIGNANT CELLS IDENTIFIED.