Invasion of the Real

Well, I knew I wasn't going to get any writing done on Friday. Friends invited me out to eat at Leatha's, a fantastic bbq restaurant in Hattiesburg (once every three to four weeks is all I can handle, though), went out for drinks with a another buddy after dinner, and then caught a little bit of Sci-Fi Friday which I had to tape. Saturday I got back into the novel, but Sunday I became consumed by an impending interview – for the job I currently have. That's right, folks, in academia you sometimes have to apply for and interview to keep the job you've already got! A friend of mine at a-university-I-won't name might go through this process three times before he can actually feel some job security; glad I should be done after the second round. That's where my thoughts have been (along with feelings of dejection for a loss by the UK basketball team yesterday...), and today I find out that they don't even know if they are going to interview me tomorrow or Wednesday. So I keep on practicing trying to stay on top of my repertoire – a performing audition is part of the circus – and hope to churn out a couple of pithy phrases later tonight.

The writing has actually gone well, I feel, although I am nowhere near any pace to hit the magic 50K by month's end. I won't even say how many words I have written anymore, but the story is interesting enough to me that I will probably keep writing until it is finished – end of the month, word count be d***ed. March may not have been the best month for me to take on this endeavor, but I definitely believe that this project got my creativity kickstarted. Rarely does it feel forced to sit in front of the computer, except when there just isn't room in my brain to breathe more life into the story.

The muffler has been replaced, although I had to go back to the shop Friday for a 1/4-inch adjustment to eliminate the rattle that a misaligned hanger was creating. Silence again. Although if I wind up with elusive job security here (or elsewhere) I may kiss my 230,000-mile Saturn good bye!