Category: On Life

Posts about family, work, life, existential dread… the usual.

December Write Day: Tentative

On By Steven D'AdamoIn On LifeLeave a comment

November flew by. We had a great Thanksgiving, and aside from some significant work events for me, I don’t really remember what happened last month.

Our 11-year-old dog has been moving slowly, and we finally learned he has arthritis in his hips. A couple medications have him as perky as ever. We haven’t finished putting up our outdoor holiday decorations, and this week we’ve finally gotten a bit of the rain that the Mid-Atlantic has sorely needed. I’ll just need to wait for a clear day.

Last Month’s Goals

  1. Read three books.
  2. All the routines, but more.

Read three books?

No, but I still made decent progress. I finished An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States by Kyle T. Mays and Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj, and I continued my long journey through George R.R. Martin’s A World of Ice and Fire.

I’m also listening through the first volume of a collection of stories by Clark Ashton Smith, a fantasy author who wrote during the 1910s, ’20s, and ’30s. I’m still deciding which series I’m going to dive into next, and I’m hoping to do so this month, when I have a week off work around the holidays.

I’m not on pace for my Goodreads challenge of 36 books this year, but I’m not that upset about it.

All the routines… but more?

Meh. I’ve been a bit more consistent about working out, but I still haven’t dedicated the time to it I had really intended. But it’s definitely making a difference to just do something on a regular basis.

Writing did not progress much in November. If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been terribly absent from this site as well. I’m definitely still interested in my current routine of haiku, book reviews, and the occasional “blog” type update, but nothing more at the moment. I’ve found it difficult to sit down at my laptop for a dedicated amount of time, for a variety of reasons.

So, I’m just keeping it in my mind for this month without explicit pressure.

Goals for December

  1. Read three books.
    • Current reads: A World of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, and The End of the Story, Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith, Book 1.
    • Likely next reads: I’m eyeing The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar in my Audible library. Not a series, but an intriguing fantasy novel nonetheless.
  2. All the routines, but more. Again, just trying to develop more consistency with exercise and writing. A continuous work-in-progress.

Steve D

November Write Day: Mentality

On By Steven D'AdamoIn On LifeLeave a comment

October was an improvement over previous months. Not necessarily for my goals. More for my overall mental health. By taking some pressure off myself and refocusing on my immediate priorities, I feel like I had room to breathe in October, even if that meant backing away from my usual goal-seeking.

Last Month’s Goals

  1. Read three books.
  2. All the routines.

Read three books?

I completed two reads in October: A Curse of Krakens, which I loved and reviewed here, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, one of George R.R. Martin’s off-shoot stories from world of A Song of Ice and Fire. I also reviewed that one, here.

I ended up powering through A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms during our beach weekend in early October, which already feels like ages ago. Sitting on the beach while the boys played in the sand for a few hours was solid reading time.

I’ve also been working through A World of Ice and Fire, the encyclopedic history of Martin’s fantasy world, partly because I really enjoyed Knight, and partly because I wanted to arm myself with knowledge prior to watching House of the Dragon season 2. Season 1 was so grim that I don’t care about spoilers. I wanted to know the highlights of the Dance of the Dragons so I wasn’t shocked with whatever happened this season. I haven’t watched it yet, but I’m still working my way through the encyclopedia anyway.

I’m hoping it will actually provide some inspiration for my own fantasy world-building at some point.

All the routines?

I feel good with where I landed in October. I exercised a bit and set some goals to achieve by the end of the year — simple ones, like “go to the gym x times”. I had a much-needed vacation with just my wife and sons at the beach. I did some writing for the first time in a couple months.

Goals for November (even though we’re halfway through)

  1. Read three books.
    • Current reads: A World of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin, that encyclopedic history I mentioned. I doubt I will actually finish it this month. It’s a doozy. I also have barely started Behind You is the Sea, by Susan Muaddi Darraj.
    • Likely next reads: I’m still on the hunt for my next fantasy series. A family member recently recommended N.K. Jemisin.
  2. All the routines, but more. I have a couple soft exercise goals for this year, really just to be more deliberate about working out and go to the gym more often than I have been. I don’t have any hard and fast writing goals, but I’m thinking about it more, which is a step in the right direction. With the holidays coming up, I just don’t want to fall off a cliff again.

Steve D