5 posts tagged “stephen king”
This may sound odd, but Stephen King has been with me through my roughest times... I was reading Tommyknockers when my mother first was diagnosed with emphysema... I was reading The Stand when she passed from cancer... it almost seems as if when I pick up one of his books, something dramatic or traumatic is going to happen to me... yet his books are like a patch, to get me through it... and now this time it's Duma Key... I tried to start reading it on the bus down to Georgia, but couldn't focus with the not eating, not sleeping, panic thing going on... but the past week I've fallen into the story, and it's like, Yes... he's there for me again... this is just what I need... it even broke me when in a part of the book he quotes a poem from Garrison Keillor's "Good Poems"... and I was like, Yes, I know that book, I have that book, I love that book... it was just the twist I needed to help me release a bit... so it's more than just his brilliant work that makes me such a fan, it's the timing as well... he's seen me through some of my darkest times with his stories, and the little bits he adds to them, the flotsam and jetsam of trivia, music or poetry... he's such a big poetry fan, I don't think people realize that about him...he knows his stuff... anyway, this is just a shout to him that he'll probably never know about, but thank you for your stories and how they've been there for me... I know you have no control over that aspect of it, but the stories, the books have been there, and Someone has always brought one to me at the right time to keep me alive...
The weather's turned autumnal very quickly... but I like it... the mornings are crisp and all that's needed now is for the trees to kick into their changes... so far they just have that less-than-green look to them, but it's coming...
Not to knock a country, but reading the news today about China and now their problems with their milk production... they really have to work on their food and health situation over there, between the seafood scare, the pet food scare, the problems with toys from there with lead-based paint... it used to be you would pick up something made in China and just wonder how poorly it was made, but now you have to worry if it can harm you as well... and don't even get me started on their practices with dogs... and I don't mean the cliched "eating them", I mean slaughtering them in the streets so they don't have to bother rounding them up and putting them in shelters... it just makes me think of my former boss, and his attitude toward pets... the one year my cat Taz was real sick and the vet bills came to over $2000, he said he would have just killed the cat himself...
I'm still working my way thru "Rose Madder" by Stephen King... my reading has really slowed down these days, but in my defense, my writing has been steady... it's just hard finding good books right now, I still have some on my To Read pile, but they're kind of "last resort" dregs... and with still not working I have to curb my Amazon or Borders desires for now... well, I know it wouldn't be easy finally leaving that job at the bakery, I knew there'd be sacrifices, but it's still worth it...
Loving the new Metallica CD, "Death Magnetic", it just took a few days to grow on me... it's the kind of CD that makes me wish I could still play guitar, but my hands still are shot from the injuries at the bakery, they still go numb when I try to play, heck, they go numb from even holding an umbrella or stuff like that... feels like forever since I was playing and in bands...
And the weekend is upon me, and I fear I'm gonna get sucked into another "House" marathon on USA Network tomorrow... but I've been waiting for the show to hit syndication so I can get caught up on it... and I rationalize that if I watch 5 or 6 hours on one Sunday, then I don't have to watch it all week... I know, sad, sad... it's such a good show, the dialogue is tight and very funny at times... and I agree with House, everyone lies about something... it's human nature... it's just a matter of what...I just wish I could channel more of his attitude in my daily life, for example, constantly saying Hello to people in this building when I pass them and no one ever says anything back... I just need to learn to walk on by...
I meant to do a little ramble on here last night, but forgot...
There was a beautiful full Moon on Sunday night here in NJ... I spend most of the night watching it... there were some light high clouds around too, giving the Moon a huge and complete halo that was mesmerizing... the sky was lit up a deep aqua from the moonlight, and the clouds here and there made for gray and black shadows in the sky... it all gave the effect of being on the bottom of the sea, with miles of water overheard all murky and mysterious... the moon becoming the sun, distant and wavery... I don't think I've ever seen a sky quite like it, so I kept being drawn out to it all night long... also had a very striking sunset last night, one that words would fail to describe, but I sat for a long time watching the colors change...
I started reading "Rose Madder" a few days ago, by Stephen King... it's great so far, and I find his books always give my life a weird atmosphere while I'm reading them, even weird dreams...
I got the new Metallica CD on Friday, and so far I can say it's not bad, in fact great in some spots... it's no St. Anger, I can testify to that, lol... I only listened to that CD once, it was terrible... the drum sound was just obnoxious, I couldn't believe Lars recorded that and felt it sounded ok... but anyway, back to Death Magnetic, the new one... I was unhappy to see "The Unforgiven III" in the listing, give it a break guys... the first one was great, why keep hitting the same well over and over?... on most of the other songs tho they got their groove back, and to me, all great metal should have some groove in it, something to move your head to, something to feel... the songs are growing on me tho, I think they could have been shorter which would have made them more effective... I hate when a band sticks too many riffs in a song, making for one big plodding song that could have been two or even three tight, great songs... but I do like the CD, it's good to have something new from them...
Fall is edging it's way in now...the trees are just barely starting to turn, and even when the day is hot, like it was this weekend, once the sun goes down the air turns cool quick...
Well I found out some interesting news when I talked with my boss regarding my last paycheck from him... he told me that he has sold the bakery and won't be there much longer... I can honestly say that was the last thing I expected to hear from him... and it opens all kinds of questions, the main one being, of course, who bought it? but also, was this something he had planned and my quitting rushed it forward? I wonder if he would have dropped this bomb on all of us sometime soon... well, he didn't say much to me, and I really didn't want to seem too interested and start asking questions... but I'm going to be keeping an eye on the place to see what changes happen... I can't imagine anyone wanting to buy a bakery tho in this economy, with flour prices so high... maybe someone's going to tear it down and put something else there...
Without jinxing myself, I have to say I haven't felt this good in years... the sleeping in has been doing wonders to me... I'm trying to change my whole sleep cycle around by staying up later (midnight or 2am) and sleeping in til at least 8... one thing I found too, which I love, is that if I do take a nap now in the afternoon on the couch, I hardly sleep at all... maybe a half hour, 45 mins... back when I was working the bakery, I'd often sleep three hours sometimes, and then wake up feeling lousy and with part of the day gone and wasted... but that was my body taking care of itself...
I've even changed my writing routine, since now that I'm up later I can work more in the living room late at night... so I set up a reading lamp by the couch, and now I can just enjoy the quiet of the whole building late at night, stroll to the balcony when I want to see the sky, and then write... it just all feels good, I'm very happy I quit that place, and I'm going to enjoy what free time I have til the next job comes along...
Bookwise, I read Agatha Christie's "Death Comes As The End" last week, and now this week I'm rereading the last Harry Potter book... I also picked up Stephen King's "Rose Madder" to read soon, and I've been digging some older books I've had stored in the closet that I want to reread...
Moopy's been doing great, I took her for a walk this morning... we used a pedometer to measure the distance we go on our usual route, and it's just over a mile... but she's getting in shape and it doesn't tire her out like it used to... so I walked her this morning, and she'll get another one this evening... she's passed out right now on the living room floor, enjoying the air...
Well, it's Halloween, and I guess what I'm most thankful for... oh wait, sorry, wrong holiday... no, screw it!... what I'm most thankful for is a several-hours long episode of "Ghost Hunters" tonight on the SciFi Channel... I only wish I could stay up and watch the whole thing til 3 am, but I'm never function at work then...
That, and starting a new Stephen King novel, "Lisey's Story"... perfect way to enjoy the holiday...
Today was the first day since I went back to the bakery that things felt like old times... it's been very weird there since I returned, I've almost been feeling like a guest star on a sitcom, where the joke is watching the bagels not sell... but today felt like it always used to, and I guess that's pretty sad... well, at least iPod gets me thru the early morning, then I just work as quick as I can and get out of there... my boss has been odd tho, asking me a lot about my poetry... three times in the past week, in fact... mostly asking me about the books I've had published, and if I still write, and today it was how many copies do I still have laying around... I don't know what he's hinting toward, or if it's just chat to try and make me feel comfortable there again...
I haven't been doing any writing tho, just haven't had my mind in it... I'm not worrying over it tho, right now I really just don't care... I just want to get thru another holiday season and see what the new year coming up will bring.
