The exercise:
Write four lines of prose about: the guitar.
One of the strings on Kat's guitar broke a while back and it's been sitting in its case waiting for repairs ever since. So I decided I'd get it fixed for her birthday surprise.
I found someone in town who would do it on Monday. Took the guitar out to the car after Kat went to sleep Monday night. Dropped it off on Tuesday (while telling Kat I was up to something else entirely). Picked it up on Wednesday after I got off work (while telling Kat that I was still at work). Got it out of the trunk of the car Wednesday night after Kat went to sleep and returned it to its case. Spent Thursday trying to convince myself that she had no reason whatsoever to open up that case.
Made it to this morning without any suspicions being raised.
Max and I sang Happy Birthday to her this morning before I had to go to work. But we needed instruments, so he got a drum and his ukulele and a shaker out of his room. But it was missing something, you know?
Like maybe Kat's guitar, so that she could accompany us.
She was very pleased with her birthday surprise.
Mine:
It sits, protected and unblemished, in a glass display case which hangs on a living room wall. A tiny spotlight shines on it at night, so that he can look at it without any of the surrounding distractions getting in the way.
He spends most nights admiring it, more often than not with a whiskey in hand, clinking the ice cubes together and reminiscing.
He was never in a band - never even played the damned thing, actually - but there's no convincing the old man of that, now is there?
Thursday March 30th, 2017
The exercise:
Write about: burning the midnight oil.
Bakery was oddly slow today. Was left with a lot of loaves for the freezer. As in, more than I care to remember (I tallied the various types but did not make a mental note as to the grand total). And the weather was quite reasonable outside, so that wasn't the problem.
I guess we shall see how things go tomorrow.
Tomorrow, aka my wife's birthday!
Mine:
The Head Librarian strode across the study hall, taking in the bent backs and hunched shoulders of the late night students toiling away at their homework and exam preparations by the light of a hundred torches in sconces attached to the walls and columns above their desks. A faint smile played across his lips as he remembered his days in their shoes.
Oh, the stress he thought he was under back then. As if he even knew what the word meant.
He knew now though. He fully understood the meaning of the word stress all too well. It seemed to haunt his every step, as though it had shoved aside his shadow and taken its place.
Last month's budget meetings had not gone well, as far as the library was concerned. Cutbacks to supplies and staff. Insistence that worn and fading books continue to be used instead of being replaced with newer versions. Even the out of date texts were to remain in circulation.
Which was all well and good, he had decided, as long as both the students and their professors were working with the same misinformation. It wasn't like the outside world would ever test their knowledge in those areas.
He reached the eastern edge of the library and turned left, making his way past bookshelves bursting with books in dire need of a good dusting. No staff for that, though. Not anymore.
Would his job be the next to go? Would the men and women writing the cheques decide that the library would continue to run just fine, thank you very much, in his absence?
If so, he thought as that ghostly smile appeared once more, they would find themselves very much mistaken.
At the end of the row he glanced behind him to verify that no one had followed him before triggering the hidden switch he'd had installed beneath a painting of two dragons sleeping in a forest glade. A door swung open and he stepped inside, quickly closing the entrance behind him.
He paused for a few moments, allowing his vision to adjust to the darkness. Once he could see well enough to navigate without bumping into any of the barrels (or tripping over the hoses attached to them) filling the room, he made his way to the far wall. He examined the control panel there, confirming that all readings were in the acceptable range, then checked the time.
Satisfied that all was as it should be, he turned the large black dial in the middle of the panel, moving its arrow from pointing toward a twinkling sun to aim instead toward a shimmering moon.
It was time to burn the midnight oil.
Write about: burning the midnight oil.
Bakery was oddly slow today. Was left with a lot of loaves for the freezer. As in, more than I care to remember (I tallied the various types but did not make a mental note as to the grand total). And the weather was quite reasonable outside, so that wasn't the problem.
I guess we shall see how things go tomorrow.
Tomorrow, aka my wife's birthday!
Mine:
The Head Librarian strode across the study hall, taking in the bent backs and hunched shoulders of the late night students toiling away at their homework and exam preparations by the light of a hundred torches in sconces attached to the walls and columns above their desks. A faint smile played across his lips as he remembered his days in their shoes.
Oh, the stress he thought he was under back then. As if he even knew what the word meant.
He knew now though. He fully understood the meaning of the word stress all too well. It seemed to haunt his every step, as though it had shoved aside his shadow and taken its place.
Last month's budget meetings had not gone well, as far as the library was concerned. Cutbacks to supplies and staff. Insistence that worn and fading books continue to be used instead of being replaced with newer versions. Even the out of date texts were to remain in circulation.
Which was all well and good, he had decided, as long as both the students and their professors were working with the same misinformation. It wasn't like the outside world would ever test their knowledge in those areas.
He reached the eastern edge of the library and turned left, making his way past bookshelves bursting with books in dire need of a good dusting. No staff for that, though. Not anymore.
Would his job be the next to go? Would the men and women writing the cheques decide that the library would continue to run just fine, thank you very much, in his absence?
If so, he thought as that ghostly smile appeared once more, they would find themselves very much mistaken.
At the end of the row he glanced behind him to verify that no one had followed him before triggering the hidden switch he'd had installed beneath a painting of two dragons sleeping in a forest glade. A door swung open and he stepped inside, quickly closing the entrance behind him.
He paused for a few moments, allowing his vision to adjust to the darkness. Once he could see well enough to navigate without bumping into any of the barrels (or tripping over the hoses attached to them) filling the room, he made his way to the far wall. He examined the control panel there, confirming that all readings were in the acceptable range, then checked the time.
Satisfied that all was as it should be, he turned the large black dial in the middle of the panel, moving its arrow from pointing toward a twinkling sun to aim instead toward a shimmering moon.
It was time to burn the midnight oil.
Wednesday March 29th, 2017
The exercise:
Write something that has to do with: secrecy.
Kat's birthday surprise continues to progress as hoped. Just got to get through tomorrow without her figuring it out.
Bakery was steady busy for most of the day. I'm sure the rain kept a lot of people away though. That won't be the case tomorrow if the forecast is correct.
Fingers crossed and all that.
Mine:
Oh, the tales I could tell. The scandals, the adventures, the parties. If only I were allowed. Sadly I have been sworn to secrecy.
And the men and women whose secrets I have promised to keep are not the sort of people any sane man would be interested in crossing. And, I must assure you, I remain very much sane. Despite all that I have seen and done.
I have secrets of my own though. And I keep mine even more tightly under wraps than those of my masters. A man who has led the life that I have must be careful to the extreme. If one is interested in continuing to breathe, at any rate.
And I am still quite invested in that matter.
Are my masters aware that I have kept things hidden from them? Oh, I imagine that they are. But I am certain that they have absolutely no idea about the details. And it shall remain that way. It has to. It must.
And so you, dear intruder, have to be silenced.
Quite permanently, I'm afraid.
Write something that has to do with: secrecy.
Kat's birthday surprise continues to progress as hoped. Just got to get through tomorrow without her figuring it out.
Bakery was steady busy for most of the day. I'm sure the rain kept a lot of people away though. That won't be the case tomorrow if the forecast is correct.
Fingers crossed and all that.
Mine:
Oh, the tales I could tell. The scandals, the adventures, the parties. If only I were allowed. Sadly I have been sworn to secrecy.
And the men and women whose secrets I have promised to keep are not the sort of people any sane man would be interested in crossing. And, I must assure you, I remain very much sane. Despite all that I have seen and done.
I have secrets of my own though. And I keep mine even more tightly under wraps than those of my masters. A man who has led the life that I have must be careful to the extreme. If one is interested in continuing to breathe, at any rate.
And I am still quite invested in that matter.
Are my masters aware that I have kept things hidden from them? Oh, I imagine that they are. But I am certain that they have absolutely no idea about the details. And it shall remain that way. It has to. It must.
And so you, dear intruder, have to be silenced.
Quite permanently, I'm afraid.
Tuesday March 28th, 2017
The exercise:
Write two haiku about: bribery.
Yes, the inspiration is Max related. Won't bother getting into the details, as they're not particularly interesting. I will say it's working fairly well so far though!
Kat's birthday is this Friday. Working on a little surprise for her.
I am good at keeping surprises secret, in general, but I find it rather difficult to stop myself from talking about what I'm up to with her.
It's almost like I tell her everything or something.
Mine:
Chocolate for this,
a few rum and Cokes for that;
I'm bribing myself.
* * *
Please do as I ask.
No? Here's a sackful of cash.
Now what do you say?
Write two haiku about: bribery.
Yes, the inspiration is Max related. Won't bother getting into the details, as they're not particularly interesting. I will say it's working fairly well so far though!
Kat's birthday is this Friday. Working on a little surprise for her.
I am good at keeping surprises secret, in general, but I find it rather difficult to stop myself from talking about what I'm up to with her.
It's almost like I tell her everything or something.
Mine:
Chocolate for this,
a few rum and Cokes for that;
I'm bribing myself.
* * *
Please do as I ask.
No? Here's a sackful of cash.
Now what do you say?
Monday March 27th, 2017
The exercise:
Write about: the shiver.
Sun came out for a little bit this afternoon. That was nice.
I shall remember that fondly in the rainy days to come...
Mine:
We both saw her shiver. She muttered something about the cold and pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders. I turned away to hide my smile and let her pretend that the temperature was the cause, not fear.
I got it, though. The way the darkness was gathering around us, almost like a suffocating embrace. The way the deepest shadows seemed to have more weight and more... substance. I got it.
I didn't feel it myself, but I could see why she did.
"How much farther?" she asked a minute or two later.
"Not very," I said, keeping my tone casual. "You doing okay?"
"Yeah. My feet are just getting a little sore, that's all."
Sure they were. Nothing to do with not wanting to complete the journey. Only her poor footsies causing her concern.
"Want a piggyback ride?" I offered with a grin I didn't bother to conceal.
"Go to hell, Harry."
Oh, darling. That's exactly where we're going...
Write about: the shiver.
Sun came out for a little bit this afternoon. That was nice.
I shall remember that fondly in the rainy days to come...
Mine:
We both saw her shiver. She muttered something about the cold and pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders. I turned away to hide my smile and let her pretend that the temperature was the cause, not fear.
I got it, though. The way the darkness was gathering around us, almost like a suffocating embrace. The way the deepest shadows seemed to have more weight and more... substance. I got it.
I didn't feel it myself, but I could see why she did.
"How much farther?" she asked a minute or two later.
"Not very," I said, keeping my tone casual. "You doing okay?"
"Yeah. My feet are just getting a little sore, that's all."
Sure they were. Nothing to do with not wanting to complete the journey. Only her poor footsies causing her concern.
"Want a piggyback ride?" I offered with a grin I didn't bother to conceal.
"Go to hell, Harry."
Oh, darling. That's exactly where we're going...
Sunday March 26th, 2017
The exercise:
Write about: the raid.
Spent the morning with the boys while Kat got some counselling work done. Enjoyed some family time in the afternoon (painting and making a popsicle stick house).
Not a bad day off. Could have used more warmth and sunshine, but hopefully we'll get that tomorrow.
Mine:
"We attack at sunset."
"Is that wise, sir? It has been a long day already for the men."
"It is wise. And it will be a long day for the men. But it will be an even longer one for our enemy."
"That's assuming the men aren't too exhausted to lift their weapons. Or aim them properly..."
"We will have surprise on our side. It will more than make up for any shortcomings on the part of my soldiers."
"I see that you won't be swayed in this matter. You've clearly made up your mind, sir."
"That is correct."
"Then I shall begin doling out the Red Bull, sir."
Write about: the raid.
Spent the morning with the boys while Kat got some counselling work done. Enjoyed some family time in the afternoon (painting and making a popsicle stick house).
Not a bad day off. Could have used more warmth and sunshine, but hopefully we'll get that tomorrow.
Mine:
"We attack at sunset."
"Is that wise, sir? It has been a long day already for the men."
"It is wise. And it will be a long day for the men. But it will be an even longer one for our enemy."
"That's assuming the men aren't too exhausted to lift their weapons. Or aim them properly..."
"We will have surprise on our side. It will more than make up for any shortcomings on the part of my soldiers."
"I see that you won't be swayed in this matter. You've clearly made up your mind, sir."
"That is correct."
"Then I shall begin doling out the Red Bull, sir."
Saturday March 25th, 2017
The exercise:
Write a four line poem about: bread.
Hectic, crazy start to the morning at the bakery. Things settled down by 11 and then got pretty quiet for the rest of the day, leaving me with lots of cinnamon buns to put in the freezer, along with three loaves, and bits of most everything else.
Looking forward to taking things a little easier tomorrow.
Mine:
Such comforting warmth
On a grey, cloudy day;
Smell wafts from the kitchen
And worries go away
Write a four line poem about: bread.
Hectic, crazy start to the morning at the bakery. Things settled down by 11 and then got pretty quiet for the rest of the day, leaving me with lots of cinnamon buns to put in the freezer, along with three loaves, and bits of most everything else.
Looking forward to taking things a little easier tomorrow.
Mine:
Such comforting warmth
On a grey, cloudy day;
Smell wafts from the kitchen
And worries go away
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