Jude Stringfellow's Blog, page 30

1211 (Slacking)

 Here it is Saturday, and I don't want to write. I'm not going to consider myself a total slacker, however. I'm going to watch two movies and see if I can get a few more clues and/or ideas for the book. I have in my mind what I want to say. I have a plan for this story, that story, etc., but I'm just sort of lacking the motivation to make it all happen today. I've been on a reading binge, which isn't a bad thing.

    Today is January 27, and I'm fairly certain I'll write either tomorrow or next week. I'm not really in any hurry, and I don't have to have anything penned by any time soon; it's just me putting myself under pressure, so I have decided not to do that. I'm going to read more, watch old movies, think, exercise, sleep, and take hot baths. That really sounds like an amazing plan.

    It's about 32 degrees outside, but the wind is kicking up and making it feel so much colder. I think the dog decided to pee really quickly so she didn't have ice sticking to her butt. She told me in no uncertain terms that we were running back to the door and we had just barely stepped out of it. She knows. She's not one to fool around when it comes to cold weather.

    Her being so persnickety about being outside brought to my attention that there isn't a dog in my book yet. I'm on chapter 15 and there is no dog. Who does that? I think Alistair will need a good dog soon. I'm wondering if he'll find one on the way home from school or if his dad comes up with one during his course of work.  You just never really know. Ama could use a dog too, she doesn't leave her house much other than to get groceries and go to church. She could use a dog. We'll have to dog this book up - - that may be what it needs.

    Until then, I bid you farewell, and a good evening. I'm about to choose which old-timey movie I want to spend my time with. It's gotta be about murder so I can get an understanding of what people said during the 30s and 20s about murder, science, and things like that. I listen and I learn. I like learning.

Photo Credit:  Wikipedia.com

Pecan Sandies. Because They Do Matter.

 I must give credit where credit is due, and that would be to my father, Reuben Wayne Stringfellow because he brought home the first bag of pecan Sandies I ever ate.  I am not about to say whether or not they were Keebler brand. I have no idea what they may have been. I can tell you this, my father was Scottish, and he he probably never bought name-brand cookies, candies, or anything when we were kids. He may have bought Braum's ice cream, but that's an entirely different matter.

    So, the pecan Sandies or shortbreads that we eat today (in my house) do vary from the name brands to the off-brand names. The only criteria they must have is that they are in fact good tasting. I can even say that the cost of the bag is secondary to the taste of the product. I can go that far. That being said, I decided to do the side-by-side taste test this morning just to see if there really is that big of a difference between the two brands that are currently in my house.

    Keebler was the control cookie. The Aldi store brand is the challenger. When I set the bags one on top of the other for the photo I realized for the first time, that the portions were the very same. They were both 11.3 ounces. I don't think I even thought that would be possible, but it is. They are. The Keebler cookie is slightly smaller in circumference but slightly denser in texture, and they are in fact the same weight per bag, with the same number of cookies in each bag.

    The Aldi bag Sandie had more tiny slivers of pecans, and they were not as smooth as the Keebler brand either. I could turn them both at an angle and see the obvious roughness of the Aldi cookie. I'd say by comparison that the Keebler is a little Scotsman wearing a kilt with fashionable hose and polished shoes. It may have a vest, blouse, and jacket with a tie, where the Aldi cookie is also a Scotsman wearing a kilt, but maybe he's not so inclined to pull up his socks, and he's got on a pair of laced-up black boots and he's not wearing a jacket or vest, but a rough and wooly jumper (sweater for the Americans). That is the difference between the two cookies.

    How do they taste? To be completely honest I needed to try two or three from each bag to be sure, but I gave the Keebler more points for denseness and the Aldi brand for less greasy aftertaste. It's not as if Keebler has a greasy aftertaste, but it's there sort of faintly lingering, where the Aldi cookie was a little less noticeable. I would give each an 8 on a scale of 1-10. I like them both. I will buy them both. The difference in cost was fairly significant if you must know.

    The Keebler cookies were purchased at Winco, which is cheaper than say Target, Walmart, or another named store. They were $3.79 for the bag. (The Keebler bag opens on the top with an easy-to-open pull thing, whereas the Aldi cookie bag does not have that type of opening.) The Aldi brand was $2.99, so you're talking a good .80 difference, so that's roughly .... math. That's math, that's what that is. It's .80 less for the Aldi bag.

    So there you go - - a taste and side-by-side comparison between two of the finest -- you can do your own comparison if you need to. I would. I would go out there in the big bad world and pick them both up and just test my theory!! I double-dog dare you, and that means you have to do it....unless you wanna be called a chicken!

Photo Credit: Me.

ZuPoo vs. JudePoo

 It seems that every year some new "guru" with that obligatory young, liberal, and hipster look comes along and tells all of us that we should stop all the unnecessary dieting and we should give up our gym memberships because all the workouts, the time spent running on the treadmill and doing so much cardio is just not what we need to do. Our belly fat, they tell us, is only there because we allow it to be. We did it ourselves, and we're the only ones who can remove it.

    I'm not saying that the good folks behind the latest "fat burner" pills called ZuPoo are saying we're never to pick up another barbell or that we're not supposed to juice the greens again, but they sort of kind of said it in their advertising. They have some guy with a three-day beard looking all sexy in his loose-fitting sweats, pushing his agenda, or their agenda, and I decided to look a little closer at it....and at their agenda, too.

    According to the internet, which all of us know, is always correct, (right?) the ingredients found in the ZuPoo product are as follows (not in any percentage order): Magnesium, Cascara Sagrada, Fennel, Apple Cider Vinegar, Ginger, Cape Aloe, Burdock Root, Bentonite, Milk Thistle and Cayenne.  REALLY? We already knew that these ingredients could do the job of moving our bowels. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to go through the list and literally say "yep" each time we run into a supplement that another company used to claim the very same thing!

    How many of us have done the whole apple cider vinegar lemonade thing? How many of us tossed a bit of cayenne into the stew to bring up our temperature a little so we could burn a few more calories? We all do it. Well,  here's my take on it. I have a take you know, because I'm not paying $25.00 a bottle for a 30-day supply of something that generally takes 3-6 months to see the results I'm looking for. NOPE.

    I went on Amazon and I bought the same ingredients in powder form (except the Apple Cider Vinegar. I can pour that into the mix) and I'll make a shake out of it so I can drink it once a day and be done with it. I'll even add psyllium husk as well as turmeric because I'm really just that cool. I'll add it to a juice I would have juiced such as carrot or cucumber with an apple and there you go - - one healthy holy-moly 8-10 ounces of colon cleanser to chase the devil right out of you.

    I may have to sideline it with a good dose of Milk of Magnesia, but it can be done. I'll post the results as I get them and that way you'll know if I'm just a raging lunatic or if maybe I'm onto something. The ingredients cost me $36.00 and will last more than 120 days. I think the smallest bag of powder for the bunch was the fennel, and you only use a little of it anyway. I think I'll get 120 days out of the powders. Even if I only got 60 days I'd be on top, but I think I can get at least 120.

    Let the games begin!!

Photo Credit: LinkedIn.com

1211 (Chapter 14 is done) 45% done

 It doesn't seem like a big change really, but I have crossed a threshold in the book. I'm now genuinely in the book and writing about the house that is the star of the book. The Garvey House is an 8-unit apartment house that is situated in an affluent sort of area, just north of the downtown metroplex in Oklahoma City. Keep in mind, that it is not real, it does not exist in reality. The address I am using is part of one I lived in during my very young years as an adult - - if you call it that. I had barely graduated high school, so yeah, I was legal. 

    The 14th chapter was written today, laying some groundwork for the book's main character Nick Posh. He'll investigate things, dig up things, and literally nail someone in the process. He'll be looking for reasons to pin anything on a suspect to get him off the streets because he believes him to be dangerous. He's on a mission and nothing will stop him. 

    There will be quirks! There will be odd-ends. There will be "Can that even happen?" questions, and there will be shaking of heads. It happened to me, so I know it can happen. I'm pulling out the stops on this one. I'm going to have fun with it and get as much of it out there for the world to enjoy. If I happen to stretch the truth a bit in the process, well, you know I'm fully licensed in creative writing, and I have that right! I have no qualms about it - - let the games begin.

    I only wrote one chapter today, I won't consider myself a slacker until I either do that three days in a row, or if I don't write anything at all - - then I may consider my means, methods, and ways, but until then I am on track to finish the book in about 10 days, and then I can read through it, make corrections, have it published and call it done. I do want to go through it really well, and not have to make more corrections to it after it's published, so I may wait a week after it's written to take it up again and check it for mistakes. 

    I think it best.

Photo Credit: Zillow.com  (This is the actual house I lived in. My unit was upstairs on the left.)

1211 (42% done) YES!!

 So, I've written about 42% of the book, and I think it feels about right. I'm about to write Chapter 14 tomorrow, and that means I'll hit about 29-30 chapters when I'm finished. I think that's about right. I wrote chapters 12 and 13 today. 

    Besides following up with the matron of Garvey House as to who and what lived in the place, Posh brought his wife over to meet the once very popular vaudeville superstar of the stage Mercedes Kuhlman. She was billed as Mercedes Renee, a French and Indian Cajun queen from the bayous of Louisiana, but the truth of the matter is, that Mercedes was born into a very influential and affluent German family; albeit she was in fact from the state of Louisiana. The promoters did tell the truth about that.

    We learned about a case that will foreshadow the characters in the next few books. I like to drag a red herring in when I can to do the build-up to the build-up. There are funny moments, fun moments, odd and strange moments, and we're about to meet a host of new characters who don't necessarily live at Garvey House but something or someone brings them to the place. It is where the action takes and took place.

    One thing Mercedes says is that you don't have to be an Albert Einstein to catch on to a few things that go on at the Garvey House, but it may make things a bit less complicated if you saw the world through the lens of another great mind of that time - - that of the little Tramp, himself. You just never know who may or may not show up on that brick and concrete porch at 1211 W. Garvey. You just never know.

Photo Credit: India Today

1211 (35% done) YEA!!

 First, just let me give a big shout-out to my good friend Tex who I now has been religiously reading every blog and every social media post I have been able to produce lately. You don't know how much that means to me. I love technology...I'm not good at it, but my daughter is, and she showed me the ISP of several frequent flyers;  you're one of the top contenders, Tex!! Oh, you have made my heart sing.  You have danced on my soul, and I appreciate it. Thank you. If I can bring a smile to your face, I will praise the God we love, and consider it a blessing to do so.

    That being said, my book "1211" is 35% written. What? Yes, it is true. I am getting into it now. Let me say, I'm loving it. Mercedes is about to describe the women of the house, and we're about to find out that there's a ghost of a chance that someone dead is still very dead in the basement and he's not being all that quiet about it. 

    There's an arson to report. There's a car show coming up, and the First National Bank will suffer one of its biggest robberies tomorrow -- not in true time, not in reality, don't go off telling the FBI that I said I was robbing the bank! No. The bank in my book is the First National Bank, and in my book, this very very fictional, not-real book, it will be robbed. Do you think I made the point that it isn't really going to happen? I hope so. Of course, I would die laughing if they were robbed tomorrow and I am sitting here with this blog out there in front of God and everyone.

    Tonight will be a good night. I'll read more of my Perry Mason story, the one I'm gleaning information to spice up my book a little. I do that. I don't plagiarize God knows I'd hang myself first; I do borrow things and recreate situations. I do give credit, and I also twist and uncover ways to say the same things someone else said without being a thief about it. There is nothing new under that old ball of fire in the sky, you know, so I can say something that someone else said without being held accountable to anyone. I am very careful not to be a boo-bear in those terms.

    So, Elaine found out today that her husband had been intimate, or maybe he had been intimate with a very famously gorgeous superstar after they had said their international goodbyes about eight years prior. She's not going to let that happen again - - no sirree!! She's got her painted nails dug very deeply into the man, and he doesn't want to be anywhere but where he is.

    It's a good book. I like it.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia.com  (Mabel Normand)

1211 (Finished with Chapter 9) Woot!

 If I'm going by all the other novels I've written, then I have to say that the average word count is about 86,000 for each. I'm at 25,000 basically, and that means I'm more than 25% finished. I'm about 29% finished. Woot!!

    Right now, at the end of Chapter 9, I'm about to bring Nick back to the front porch of 1211 W. Garvey to talk with Mercedes about the women who live in the large housing unit. She's explained the behaviors of all the men who live in it, but the women may prove to be the undercurrent of the murky waters that seem so still and quiet above their rocky beds.

    I'm keeping MacRae and Ferguson in the picture by adding conversations with them. Posh just met a new helper who will prove instrumental in proving his father's murder was in fact a murder, and maybe he'll get somewhere with the new District Attorney of Canadian County; maybe someone can be investigated and brought to justice. We'll have to see what happens.

    For now, suffice it to say I am having a blast writing this particular book. I knew I would. I knew it would be a fun and eventful time for me. I'm making crap up, I'm recalling things that really happened, and I'm just living the life...the life of an author that is, not necessarily the good life. I'm living my life.

    One of the things I love about this book is that it can't be too weird or peculiar. Nope, this one is one quirk after the other, and with good cause. I lived that life for a while in a creepy old house that had a history to not only speak of but to keep quiet about. Yep, you guessed it, there really was a 1211, but I can promise you I didn't murder anyone there; he was dead long before I got there.

Photo Credit: Canva.com

1211 (Chapter Six is DONE!)

 I don't know why I took almost a full month off from writing, but I was just not feeling it. I was not there. It was not there. I was and am thinking of other things. I need to stop that and keep the flow going. The writing is what I need and the writing is what will happen. Thank you, Jesus.

    So, I'm about to start Chapter 7 of the book now, having just finished 4, 5, and 6 today. I'll probably do 7, 8, and 9 tomorrow, and then at least 2 chapters a day from Monday through Friday, so that's another 10 chapters. If I'm at 7, 8, 9, tomorrow, and then 10 more, that's 19 chapters expected by this time Friday, and if I do 3 more on Saturday and three more on Sunday, that's 25!! Woot. I could be so close to finishing the book!! Oh my!

    It doesn't always happen that way. As you see, I took off a month and just hit it hard today. I'm loving it, and I'm about to start the process where I pull out the cards and start writing what I think should happen from one chapter to the next, but I'm not quite there yet. I am not at the point where the characters are branching off and doing things that begin to take over my brain yet - - it's coming, I promise you that.

    I've got one of the 9 household residents described. She's a hoot. She'll have visitors and "visitors" coming by to see her soon enough. Right now, the family is getting all settled into their new city; they just got married, they'll find a home soon and little Alistair will enroll in school. He'll be going to the same school my mom went to; just so you know. 

    I'm really looking forward to writing this book. It's quirky, fun, uplifting, interesting, weird, and downright strange at times. I can't wait to dig into it and really get the stories going. Some of them actually happened to me, that's why I'm so excited to leak them to the world and pretend I have no idea what I'm talking about...all the while I laugh in one of those subdued voices.

    Soon, and very soon, there will be naked people in the hallways, and bathtubs overflowing without anyone taking credit for the prank. There will be mishaps, murder, mayhem, and mayonnaise, and when I say that I am implying that the mayonnaise could have something to do with the mishaps, murder, and mayhem. It's a ride...it's a whipping-the-head-around ride, and I am so looking forward to writing it. I don't care if I don't sell a single book, I am going to have too much fun writing this one. I may write two just so I can get all these stories out of my head!

    Good luck trying to stop me from laughing, because this story, this book is a killer - - and then again, the murder was so long ago that it's a bit dusty at this point. 

Photo Credit: Getty Images Westend61

The Seventh Time is the Winner! (Not Recommended)

 By now, you should know that I am an author. I auth. It's what I do. I write books, and I publish them for free -- or nearly for free, and then, sometimes that doesn't work out for me as I expect it to. This is one of those times.

    The book "Edinburgh" is my 9th or 10th book to write, I'm not sure, but it was my 3rd book to write in 2023.  I wrote it in the summer and I wrote it rather quickly, as I didn't have to think too hard about it. I finally finished it in late August, and I think I submitted it for publication on the 1st of September. 

    I always write the book, go through it a few times, and submit it for publishing before I go through it hardcore to make any changes. The reason for that (though I've changed my mind about that very recently) is that I can't find my mistakes when I go back over the manuscript soon after I write it. I need a couple of weeks of it being out of my head before I can see the mistakes. Allowing it to be published puts the book into pressed and printed form, so I can hold it, go through it, circle the mistakes, then take the book out of print and correct it.

    There is a chance that during that time the book will sell a couple of copies.  The book "Of Kilted Pleasure" sold 47 copies before it was corrected, to which I have to somehow find all those people and apologize. I don't think I'll do that again, I'm serious, I think I've learned my lesson. It was a good thought, but it doesn't work out for those paying for the book only to have it come to them with errors - - mind you, however, that they will own a collector's item at that point!! 

    Anyway, "Edinburgh" had 29 errors and boo-boos. I fixed them in the Word document and I sent it back to Ingram Spark. They sent it back saying the file was corrupted. They don't tell me HOW the file is corrupted, just that it is, and I'm supposed to both read minds and assume I know the way to fix the issue. I reprinted it in PDF which flattens anything and it embeds all the fonts (don't ask me what that means, but it does have to be done), and that didn't help. It was returned again.

    After making more "corrections" which I really didn't, but said I did, I resubmitted the file. Guess what, they accepted it, but when they sent it for approval, there were spacing issues that I didn't do - - they had to. I complained, but no one responded. They just said I could fix it and resubmit it. OK, but they screwed up, and that won't be on my original file! I had to resubmit the file I had, and they sent it back again, again saying it was corrupt -- I searched and searched. I didn't see any issues, but apparently, they did, so I had to resubmit it once more.

    Finally, they accepted it again. I tried to approve it, but now they had removed a couple of my blank pages which would give better spacing for things like the "Thank You" page and so forth. I tried to correct it, and I tried to resave it, but the file manager would not allow the correction. I would have had to redo the entire thing - - not going to do that. I approved it as it is, but when you or others buy it, you'll just have to deal with the lack of pages for the spacing that I truly wanted.

    When I am really famous some publisher will take all my books and redo them the way they want to redo them, and I won't have to worry about it -- until then, I have the right to complain, fuss, and cuss a a little. The service at Ingram Spark is virtually free, and they do a relatively good job; it's not perfect, but it gets my books into Amazon and Barnes & Noble, so I'm OK with it. I just can't figure out how they can delete pages and my files aren't being saved correctly. I shouldn't have to mess with a file once it's been corrected on my end.

    It is what it is - - which is a harsh statement. I could take the time, redo it, force the issue, and be upset about a page or two, but I'm not going to do that. There was one submission I had to redo because they added random pages in the middle of the book!! GEEZ!!  When I complained to their supervisors I did get somewhere, but again, I shouldn't have to do that. People should just do their jobs...really, they should.

    The book is on Amazon. Here is the link. If you buy it and it was the one that was left before the correction, please write back to them and say so. They will replace it. I can't, but they can. THANK YOU.

http://tinyurl.com/StringfellowEdinburgh

Photo Credit: Me.

    

Just Accepted the Job!! (Woot!)

 Many of you know that I am an author, and because I am an author I write, I need time to write, so I have to make choices from time to time as to whether or not I want to work a regular job and try to find time to write, or if I want to write and try to find work that supports my need to be off work to write. Let me just say that UNTIL NOW, I have had no luck whatsoever finding an employer who gave a ding about my writing; it was 100% about them, their bottom line, and that's just the way it was. UNTIL NOW!!

    So, here's what happened -- JESUS HAPPENED!!  A little over 62 years ago I was born, and just about 14 years later, I had to find a job.  That's how it worked back then.  You worked, you gave your parents the money, they gave you an allowance, and if you ate your vegetables and kept your room clean, they may throw in a bit more now and again. (Things have changed, you know.)

    Well, I've worked so long and for so many people doing so many things, that it would be a book in and of itself to go through all the places, the positions, the assignments, the pay, the lack of pay, the lies, the sorrows, the joys, and then there were the times I needed to work and couldn't find it. Let's just agree that God is so good, He is just so very very very wonderful. EVERY time I have needed Him, He has been there, and He has made things happen for me that literally could not be accredited or attributed to anything other than His Grace!

    So, about this job in particular; I sought it. I wrote a little e-mail and sent it to over 60 insurance agents in the Oklahoma City Metropolitan area saying the same thing. I attached my resume with it, and I gave them my LinkedIn profile link as well. I believe in both telling the truth and proving my point. I wanted them to know I was worth speaking to. My education, my work experiences, and my ability to close a sale have always been top priorities when I sought work in the insurance industry. I've been in it and around it since 1983.

    The email stated that I'm about to take my Social Security Administration allowance -- my retirement; and I'm about to semi-retire. Believe me, I won't make enough on Social Security to actually retire and pay all my bills, but it will be enough to help me seek and accept a part-time position as a lead generator and appointment setter for someone in the industry who has less time to do that sort of thing; someone who wants to spend more time actually closing sales and raking in the revenue.

    The email was sent to over or about 60 people. The fact that eight people contacted me one way or the other is a good return. Usually, a 2% return is expected. Eight out of sixty is a 13.33% return; so much better.  There was ONE guy who was rude, telling me I had no business demanding what I was saying in the email and if I had any self-respect I wouldn't beg for work. OK...he's a jerk, and I wouldn't work for him anyway, he couldn't handle my laughter, my fun, my style, or my penchant to be really bright and cheery for no damn good reason whatsoever!! NEXT!

    There were a few who said they were unable to hire me, but they loved my email, loved my enthusiasm, and said they wished me the best. There were three, however, who did want to hire me and on my terms. The first one to pull the trigger got my OK, and I'm glad the one who did ask first actually asked. I liked him from the beginning. I could tell we were going to hit it off. His office (though I work from home) is close and it's next to a really cool grocery store where I can get bulk licorice, jelly beans, and loose tea...he wins.

    The real thing was MY TERMS had to be met. He thought it was wonderful that I had terms. He thought it was great that I set them out and asked for them expecting them. He wanted to know if I was a Christian because I did use the word "faith", and I told him I was. He is too. We agreed that when the Rapture comes my employment will be terminated!! (IYKYK)

    My terms you ask? Well, I wanted to work three days a week, and only three days. I wanted to work seven (7) hours a day and not eight (8). I wanted to work from home, and I wanted to use their laptop to keep their information off my personal computer. He liked that part the best. He was absolutely OK with my days and hours because Mondays are catch-up days, and Fridays are close-down wind-up days, so working Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9-4 makes sense. No one wants a call before 9:00 a.m. and no one wants a call after 4:00 p.m. I know this because I've been in and around the business for so long.

    He and I agreed on the salary, and he knows he's not paying me benefits. He doesn't have to. I'm older now, I get them from the state. He doesn't take my taxes out, and he doesn't have to. I can do that. I can use 1/3 of my rent and 1/3 of my car as deductions and I'll end up paying less tax since it's part-time anyway. Good for me, good for him. Win-Win...GOD IS SO AWESOME!  (God is the one who gave me the idea about the email in the first place.) LOVE IT.

    So, I was hired today, contingent on me passing my background and having binding authority with his company. That will take about a week. I was given the binding authority for that company in 2021, nothing has changed, so it will just be a form and waiting for it. As for the background check? Well, the only people I actually murder are fictional, and I only commit crimes in my head or on paper through published works of fiction - - should be good.

    Woot!! Do the dance!! In June or so I'll move out to my own place, work from home in my jammies and write like the maniac I am - - until then, I'll work from home in my jammies and write like the maniac I am, but I'll do so sharing a place with my middle child. God is great. God is wonderful. I couldn't have asked for a better middle child. She's the epitome of a perfect middle child. God knows, because He's God, that I could not live with my son, and I could not live with my baby - - nope. LOVE THEM...but yeah, no. 

    Can't wait!! I have to do it now, I have to do the dance again and give God the glory for it. Woo Hoo!!!  (Oh, and so you know, I will change my LinkedIn status, but won't say where I'm working. I'll continue to say for Stringfellow Agency since I'm a 1099. I won't say the name or even the carrier of the firm I'm with. I don't need anyone being silly and causing waves. People do that you know, it's the world we live in today.)

Photo Credit: Etsy