Recap

Hey. It's Fivas. I know I haven't written in forever, so I decided to finally sit down and jot down a thing or two on account of the new year. First off, let's recap some of the high points of 2008 for me.

Writing: I finally finished the first draft of my first novel. I wrapped it up on the last day of November. I'm fairly stoked to get some query letters out soon, though I'm not certain about how many rejections I can stomach before my self esteem is bupkes. I know the idea of eventually getting published is a long shot, but I enjoy writing, so I'll continue to do it whether or not I am fortunate enough to have that happen some day. I'm in the process of revising with the full intention of ironing out the wrinkles as best I can. I haven't decided if I'm proud of the finished product yet, though I am proud of myself for finishing.

Travel: 2008 was a big year for travel. I have the ongoing resolution of leaving the country at least twice a year, and I'll keep it up for as long as I can manage. I pulled it off this time. The following is a list of all the places that I visited in 2008:

USA: Idaho, California, Oregon, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virgina, Maryland, D.C., Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska. I also visited Bryce Canyon, Goblin Valley, Arches (2) and Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon right here at home. I checked out the Grand Canyon, spent a few days in Vegas, went to Carlsbad Caverns and the Senora Caves, the Alamo, New Orleans, Mobile military base, Nasa, the Capital, checked out Niagara. I walked along South Beach (a fave location of mine) in February in bare feet and shorts while my friends back home were freezing. Good stuff.

Canada: Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Newfoundland is gorgeous; sparsely populated and not as yet marred by humans. Ice bergs were melting on the horizon and moose were everywhere. Also, I love the ocean and the place happens to be an island. So, hey.

Australia: New South Wales. Took some rides out in the ocean to check out whales and dolphins, Saw Four Seasons and Don Giovanni at the Sydney Opera house, went to Taronga Zoo (and two other wildlife centers including an aquarium), attended a celebration with fireworks and dancing for the Chinese New Year (half of Sydney's populous is Chinese), hiked through the Blue Mountains in the Katoomba Rain Forest. Just had a thoroughly good time.

That's 36 states, four Canadian provinces and one in Australia all in one year. Not bad. I spent over one-fifth of the year away from my bed.

Work: Same old crap. Worse job in the history of the complex organism. I'd rather do the job of a male penguin during the mating season; using my body to shield the icy wind of over negative 100 degrees from the others, all the while tending an egg. That sounds like a dream.

Besides that, I didn't do much beside just, you know, hanging out or reading. But I happen to be a fan of both.

As for 2009, here are some of the things that I'd like to see happen:

Send out at least twenty query letters for BOAOC;
Write at least three short stories and submit them to fiction magazines;
Be well into, if not finished with, a second novel;
Visit ten states;
Leave the country twice;
Improve the job situation;
Get a slot on Jeopardy;
Exercise (of course).


And here are some things that I'd really like to see happen:

BOAOC gets accepted by a decent publisher for a $40,000 advance, then the paperback rights go to Vintage for $80,000;
My second novel is already being bid on before it's finished;
One of my three stories wins the O. Henry Award and earns me a Guggenheim fellowship;
I circle the entire country doing book signings and readings;
I'm flown out to Sweden on account of a Nobel nomination, the first ever for a single debut novel;
I quit my job after learning of the royalty advance and the Guggenheim;
I'm invited on as a guest for Celebrity Jeopardy, an episode featuring men who changed the world;
I somehow get out of exercising.

Well, there you go. 2009 in a nutshell. Sorry for stealing that ten minutes of your life. Take care, friends.