Work Work Work

I have work today. So no real blog updates. Church for me is an all day thing, so tomorrow I won’t be blogging either. But Monday, I’ve got nothing to do except run and drill out the last of the first chapter of “Invisible”.

 

See you then.

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Cheers,

Jared

Feel This

Fack. Inactivity is slowly eating away at my muscles. I’m not at the point of atrophy, but it sure as hell feels like it when you haven’t ran in 2 weeks. We can all thank that nasty cold that’s kept me down for the past few weeks. We can also thank the evilest clothes hamper in the world, which, getting out of the shower 2 months ago decided that it’d place a sharp edge where my knee would hit it. Then it went a little further by pushing my kneecap upwards and digging in under it.

 

I have a feeling that’ll be a corrective surgery by the time I’m 50. If not, God does exist.

 

By the way, he does exist anyhow.

 

Writing right now has taken a bit of a backseat as this Thursday approaches. I’ve continued working on the first chapter for “Invisible” and progress has been anything short of amazing. But for now, I need to start getting to sleep earlier than midnight, 1am or sometimes even later. Why? It’s running time suckah’!

 

Like, the way Mr. T uses suckah’ ya’ suckah’! Quit yo’ jibba’jabba’ and all that junk.

 

Running is something that has a profound effect on me. It calms me down, which is quite ironic, considering running is one of the most taxing sports on your body. The physical exertion you put out isn’t being amplified by gears, chains, pulleys or combustion engines. It’s all you. You’re the one and only thing out there that’s preventing you from going on or finishing with raised arms.

 

Some of the best times in my life have been caused by running. There’s something about that feeling too. I don’t know if it’s the accomplishment of finishing a race, the desire to compete against other people, a feeling of absolute euphoria or a satisfaction in feeling alive. It’s something else though. When I get that way, which is something that occurs frequently when I run, I feel like I can keep on going for forever. It’s probably the purest feeling in the world. I think describing it would be doing it a disservice. It’s something that can only be experienced.

 

I listen to music when I run. My runs allow me at least a little over an hour of music. I do a 15-70-15 style workout, which is: 15 minutes of warm-ups – 70 minutes of unbroken running at an 8 minute per mile pace – 15 minutes of “dessert”, also known as a cool-down, which lets the body recover quicker than just stopping at the end of the work out.

 

I usually try to change my playlist every run, so that way I have something new to listen to. I also base my “in the moment” pace off the music. There’s certain songs I use for warming up, others I hear and I know to jog at a comfortable pace and there are others that signal to me to go into a flat out sprint.

 

I’ve actually found something that recreates the same feelings running gives me. Its music by a group called “Explosions in the Sky”. I don’t know why, but their music gives me that feeling I just can’t describe. I just wish I could put it into words, but I can’t

 

So there you have me. I’m just a kid trying to relive his glory days of XC (Cross Country) and begin back that feeling it gave me.

 

I’m succeeding.

 

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Cheers,

 

Jared

Where am I? Hell if I know…

Today had “unproductive” written all over it. It’s a Monday, so that typically means it’s Procrastinationday for me.

 

You know it’s going to be one of those weeks when you wake up feeling refreshed yet you can’t seem to remember what day it is. I woke up feeling refreshed, and then spent 5 minutes trying to figure out what day it was. I came to the conclusion it was Thursday, but when I turned on SportsCenter, I was surprised to see highlights from stuff yesterday…which then made me realize, “Oh! It’s Monday!”

 

I think it was the fact that yesterday was a day game. That’s in regards to my job, which I work for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I’m a coach’s video assistant. I’ve always loved baseball, so working for a MLB team was a dream. I edit DVD’s for players, assist them in the replay room and help scout upcoming team’s pitchers and batters so the players can know what to expect. I’m one of the few people in the world who can say “I love my job” and really mean it. I enjoy it so much that it doesn’t feel like a job, it feels like how recess did when I was a kid. Plus, the Angel’s are killing just about every team they play. 1^st place in the AL West, with 2^nd place a distant 8 games behind in the standings. That’s the second largest gap…the largest being Boston in the AL East, which theirs is like…I don’t know, 11 games or so?

 

Anyways, the reason a day game would throw me off is that we ave so few. Most games start at 7:05pm, with Saturday game starting at 6:05pm and day games starting at 12:35pm…but if FOX is broadcasting the game nationally, we start at 1:05pm. Have you ever watched a FOX’s Saturday Baseball? It’s the bare bones kind of broadcast. I mean, it’s cool and all that they don’t want to keep it flashy, but c’mon. I’d at least appreciate a replay every once in a while.

 

But I digress.

 

Wait, wasn’t this blog suppose to be about writing?

 

Man, unproductivity strikes again!

 

Is unproductivity even a word?

 

Probably not. Well, there you go. I got some productivity in today…I created a new word.

 

In anyone even reading my blog? I sometimes think I’m typing just to amuse myself. Probably am…

 

…there I go again…

 

Cheers,

 

Jared

Rewrites may now commence…now!

Rewrites.

 

They say every author does several on their manuscript before sending it in, so I might as well take someone’s cue and follow the leader. This writing stuff is new to me, so I guess I’d right now be “following from example”. Oh well.

 

“The Silent Project” is soon going to be getting something a little bit beyond a rewrite.

 

Just in case you’re wondering, “The Silent Project” is a part of the Digimon based fan fiction series I’m writing; with “TSP” (I use the abbreviation more than actually typing it out because I’m lazy) being the first of the “trilogy”. “Trilogy” as in the same way Douglas Adams used “trilogy” for his “Hitchhiker” series. It really is the best 5 book trilogy ever written.

 

Well, the big problem with “TSP” is that the plot disappeared quicker than quick. Wait, it even had a plot?

 

Well, now you see my problem. It’s a miracle anyone even continued to read it all the way through. Well, maybe they read it because they were looking for a plot.

 

It originally started out as a “brilliant idea! Let’s make it, like, species genocide or something!”

 

Two years after that brilliant thought, I saw the only Digimon film from Japan not to make it over the longer pond to here in the US, and that’d be “Digimon: X-Evolution”…and guess what it’s plot was about? Winner winner chicken dinner: Genocide!

I unknowingly used the same plot in a Digimon story as a Digimon movie…but how exactly was I suppose to know if said movie hasn’t been released here in the US? Sounds like something a lawyer would ask.

 

So yeah, it’s quite literally a good ‘ole case of back to the drawing board.

 

Course, now that I’m actually thinking of a plot, this should be quite a bit of fun. Making “Invisible”’s plot was a grand old time.

 

So in my last blog, I mentioned the awesome fan fiction author NightDragon0, and I ended up getting one hit from the search engine category because I used his name. So here’s to hopefully getting one more hit because I used NightDragon0.

 

NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0. NightDragon0.

 

Now I should get a bajillion hits.

 

Cheers,

 

Jared

Slow Day for a new chapter

So today I’ve began work on the first chapter of “Invisible”. Yesterday’s upload was the prologue, of which writing a prologue in novels in these modern times seems to be a dying art.

 

Kind of a hard opening chapter to write. I jump from the scene in the chaotic prologue to a very smooth, “deep thinking” kind of scene. It’ll then find its way into a very lengthy period of sustained action.

 

Nothing like a good old quiet day interrupted by a car sliding through a turn and proceeding to tear asphalt to pieces as it pulls away.

 

…no, that’s not what’s happening next in the story.

 

Found a site that has cards from the Digimon card game thingy. A great deal of information is on the site, so thanks to NightDragon0 for referring me to it.

 

Instead of using headphones for music when on my computer writing, I’m now using speakers. My ears can breathe finally.

 

The room in which I write is getting a nice sea breeze through the window. For the past week it’s been a sauna in here.

 

Today is fairly slow if you can’t tell.

 

I’ve nothing else to write about in regards to writing today, so I’ll quit while I’m behind and take a small bow.

 

Actually, I think I’ll go start dancing. You know, just to make it that much more interesting.

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Cheers,

Jared

“Invisible” Jitters

So its days like these that can either fray the nerves or let me be as cool as a cucumber. So far today, I’ve been a cucumber. People that have been reading haven’t said a bad thing yet, so that is a big time comfort to the neurotic writer within on the day of the premiere.

 

“Invisible” is online on FFN (www.fanfiction.net for all of you who wonder what the hell FFN is, it’s where all these fan fictions I speak of are, including mine).

 

Sure, it may be rather silly for me to be worry about it, especially since it’s not like being published, and especially since it’s a fan fiction series.

 

“Invisible” is based off of the anime Digimon.

 

Oh, like you’ve never written anything based off of an already existing series.

 

Just a note: that last line was a joke.

 

Luckily, unlike 90% of people who write Digimon fan fiction, I write stuff that is original fan-fiction; my own characters in my own plots in my own worlds on my own time. I only borrow a few worlds and all the digimon (but I still make them different from the show). Course, my version is a lot more graphic, but it’s somewhere around the range of PG-13 if you want an exact “rating” on it.

 

The other 90% of authors on FFN write using the original characters in plot situations that have been recycled more than SNL sketches. Or they involve the characters from the series getting into hypothetical relations that have cute names that resemble some kind of new tiny Japanese car like “Sorato” or “Miato”. These relationship fics typically are full of sappy romance that only 14 year old girls who listen to My Chemical Romance all day and think Panic! At the Disco is the greatest rock band of all time could crank out. The 10% of us I think will agree that both of those bands blow, royally. If not, well, then I know they both blow royally.

 

That’s right. All y’all relationship suckah’s got served!

 

…But, back to “Invisible”

 

It’s the story of Jorcy Black….

 

…somehow, I think the synopsis does a better job than I’ll ever do:

 

“Uncertainty rears its ugly head once again for Jorcy Black. The plea goes out for help to find something called Invisible. But can he overcome the hurdles of his own personal demons, as well as those of others close to him?”

 

It’s dark and optimistic at the same time, filled with plenty of jokes, stuffed with plenty of high-end action and makes a damn good read. I’d put it up with some of the best fan fictions out there, well, not all of them. NightDragon0 has 10 or so fan fictions, and all 10 are gold. No stinkers. Lucky dog, lol.

 

I had a stinker up on FFN when I joined it back in December of 2003. “Digimon: Hypersonic”. A nice little story about a digimon hijacking a high performance bomber (the retired XB-70 was what I had in mind) and threatening the Digital World by dropping an EMP. 4 kids are called upon to save the Digital World and blah blah blah…the rest turns into your average 90% story I mentioned earlier…minus two terrible bands.

 

Glad to see I’ve come far.

 

If you care to have a read of “Invisible”, go ahead and click here. Sure, all I have up is the first chapter, but all it takes is one to want you craving more.

…and to close it out, here’s a picture of me for all of those curious to know who’s behind all this madness.

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Cheers,

Jared

 

 

June 14th, 2007 – Some music for you

I thought I’d take the time to put up two songs that I’ve been listening a lot to lately.

I’ve been thinking of making “The Birth and Death of the Day” by Explosions in the Sky the theme song for my upcoming story.

It just sounds so much like how the story feels when I read it.

Loud. Unruly. Optimistic. Refreshing.

“Sunset (Bird of Prey)” by Fatboy Slim was added on because I’ve had that track for a long time and it went unplayed for quite some time. Then I found the music video for it, and was amazed at how well the imagery of the video went with the music. Now it’s one of my favorite songs to run and write to.

Click on “launch standalone player” and enjoy the sound.

June 3rd – A little IRL for ya’

If you’ve got 10 minutes to waste, here’s a handy video I found from a somewhat old IMAX film about the Indy Racing League. It’s not my favorite racing series, but it’s still one of the best films concerning racing. The track is Homestead, so I’d say at the fastest, these guys are putting in an average speed of about 224mph or so.

June 2nd, 2007 – Breakfast with a little Baseball

BB, kind of like Base on Balls…or is it the other way around?

I’ll be back at the stadium working again in about 12 hours, but I love day games.

The thing I like about them is quite a long list, but the top reason has to be breakfast. Breakfastis my favorite meal. This fact is futher amplified by the place we eat (I like to call it the “Press Mess” since it’s on the same level in the stadium as the press box): it’s an all you can eat buffet. I usually up my food assault on day games.

So tomorrow, I get to have breakfast at the stadium.

I don’t think many people can say that.

Tomorrow is the seventh game in this ten straight games homestand, which is the second longest homestand of the season.

The Angels won tonight, 7-4 against Baltimore, extending our streak to W2 (2 wins).

Tomorrow is the last game against Baltimore, and we finish the last three games against the Minnesota Twins.

My job is freakin’ kick-ass.

I don’t think many people can say that either and really mean it. I know I do.

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