Wait no more. It’s Blog Post 94. Happy New Year! I’m excited for a new year, a fresh start. I’m hopeful for some great blog posts, the release of a best-selling novel, and a return to health in 2023.

Health update

Unfortunately I have continued to struggle with my health. Working with two doctors, waiting on specialist referrals, and trying several medications has yet to turn the tide on my declining health. Without going into too much detail, I am having a problem with my nervous system and still have yet to find a cause. Theories range from a viral infection to a parasite picked up in my world travels to an environmental toxin exposure. My MRI has shown an abnormality but the cause is still a mystery.

Illness can hit anyone at anytime. I’m someone and now’s the time. I am still hopeful of finding answers that involve recovery but it’s not something I can count on. Write the book. Enjoy the special moments. Live life with passion as long and as well as possible. What else is there?

Dinner With Friends

My wife and I had a great Xmas dinner with friends. Enjoying stories, perspectives and jokes with friends is a pretty great way to spend time. Every time I say something funny (it’s actually quite often), my friends tell me that it has to go into the blog. I know that. Why do you think I’m here? It’s for material.

Selling Material

Segwaying is hard. After a few months of little to no sales, my book Nursing: The Funny Side of the Bedside, had a spike in purchases for December. It makes a great holiday present for the nurse in your life. I even gave a copy to a co-worker for the Secret Santa at the staff holiday party. I wonder if they know it was from me.

Novelling

I promised I would reveal more regarding my upcoming novel and here it is: I had a few different working titles when I started. ‘The World’s Greatest Novel’ seemed like a good title. I decided that was too controversial. Then I thought ‘2024’ was a good one as that’s basically when the story happens but it was too much like ‘1984’ (I hated that novel). ‘Sunday Dinners with Aunt Mel’ was very much considered but then I decided to go with the title I have now instead…

Dialogue

Here’s a couple different excerpts I’ve recently been working on:

“Don’t you realize that while you’re standing here in your own house complaining, there are people who have no where to live, have no food, or are laying in a hospital bed wishing they had the kind of opportunities you have?”

“Yeah, well, do you realize while you’re sitting here talking, there’s a guy from India trapped on a boat with no one to talk to but a man-eating tiger?”

“Funny, but not really.”

“Or right now there’s a guy from UPS stranded on an island with only a volleyball to talk to?”

“You. Are. Exhausting.”

These are always works-in-progress and aren’t necessarily the final product. The novel takes place in Espen Falls, a fictional community/ suburb outside of Vancouver. One of the main characters is Mel. She loves to talk, always talks, never stops talking. Mel is the extrovert to the lead introvert. It works quite well.

Dinner was pleasant enough. Aunt Mel talked about going back to work at the bakery, offered again to help him get a job, and thoroughly reviewed the current state of Espen Fall’s local political infighting. “There hasn’t been a controversy this big since the chess world had to deal with vibrating anal beads!”

It’s real. Google it.

New Year-New Perspective

For those who commented that they liked last months photo, I give you a similar one taken this month. Steps away at a different time yet so similar.

Words of Wisdom

1. Save more money this year. My debut novel is set to be released before next Xmas and you don’t want to have to take out a bank loan to purchase your copy.

2. From the Bottom of My Chart: Keep your sennas close…and your enemas even closer.

3. Know your words. Did you know that ‘Goblin Mode’ is Oxford Dictionary’s 2022 Word of the Year? Does Oxford know that ‘Goblin Mode’ is not a word but is, in fact, two words. ‘Gobbling Mode’ has been around for a long time. Isn’t that when Pacman eats the yellow pellet and then turns the tide on the gggghosts? I thought ‘Gobbling Mode’ was when you sit down at Xmas for turkey dinner.

Thanks for reading the first blog post of the year. Keep swimming. Keep going. There are better days ahead. It’s time for the ending jokes. If laughter is the best medicine, this blog requires a prescription. Enjoy.

Work From Home

We recently had a snow day here in Vancouver. Nearly everyone worked from home instead of coming into the office except for me as I live a short walk away. A few days later, everyone was commenting on how great they did working from home and how much better it was. I disagreed.  “I told them, I’m way better at the office. I just need everyone else working from home.“

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Xmas Dinner Conversations

Our friends had just come back from a scuba diving vacation and were getting ready for another one in the new year.  “We’ve seen whale sharks, tiger sharks and hammerheads. We still haven’t seen a great white yet.”

Me: “That’ll probably be the last one you see.”