The End and the Beginning

This post is turning out to be one of the hardest I've ever written. I've started it over at least three times already, and I'm still not sure what to say.

Scratch that. I know what to say; I'm just not sure how to say it.

It has recently become apparent that I can no longer keep up with both of my personalities. I'm reminded of the prophecy from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series: "Neither can live while the other survives." A crazy analogy, I know, but it boils down to the same principle. Since Jennifer Brooks has now been introduced to the wild wide world of writing and publishing, J.B. Thompson must say adieu to it.

If you've been with me from the beginning (and you know who you are), I appreciate your loyalty and support over the past 4+ years. I hope, without being presumptuous, that you'll stay with me for however long the next phase of my writing life goes on.

So now, the Lunch Room is closing its doors for good. I hope you'll switch your feeds over to Brooks on Books and support the new me as loyally as you've supported the old one. You'll find that the two of us have a lot in common. ;)

As always, read a book. It's good for you.

=) JB

Checklists

Introducing ... So it turns out that I really don't know how to 'launch' anything. Rather, I pretty much phase into things. My alter ego, Jennifer Brooks, has existed for some time now, but she's been making her appearance step by step, instead of bursting onto the scene. In this stage of my life, I'm not about bursting. I'm lucky if I just pop a little.

The other J.B., as I like to refer to her, has now joined Twitter and is following people left, right and center. Everything seems to be new to me again as far as this business of writing is concerned. I'm learning things I didn't know I didn't know. On the plus side, the manuscript - in its revised, improved condition - is on submission again, and I'm working on the next one. Hence, the checklist craze.

Check. I like checklists. To-do lists, if you will - you know if you've been here any length of time that I love my to-do lists. They keep me straight. Remind me of things I need to do that I might otherwise forget all about until it should've been done an hour ago.

I have different lists for different days of the week, depending on whether I'm working the day job. On those days, WORK is pretty much the only thing on my list. On my free days, the lists vary.

For example, today's list looks like this:

1) J.B. - blog
2) Jennifer Brooks - blog
(tweet links)
3) newsletter
4) write - 1,500 words?
5) kitchen
6) closet
7) laundry
8) table
9) banks

Now, that list may look a little strange to you, but it makes perfect sense to me. In looking at that list, I know exactly what I wish to accomplish today. I won't do all the items in order, of course - even I'm not that O/C. But my reward for getting everything done will be a girls' night out with Little Bit - we're going to see Sorcerer's Apprentice, which I've heard mixed reviews about but think looks great. Hello? It's Disney and Bruckheimer. How could it not be good?

Numbers 1 and 5 are now complete. Number 7 is in process, as are numbers 6 and 8. And number 4 is looking very, very promising. Little Bit has loaded some tunes onto my iPod Shuffle, which has been rocking away in my ears (currently with Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name), and my fingers are becoming reaccustomed to this keyboard. Time to switch to the instrumental stuff and get some serious work done.

Read a book. It's good for you.

=) JB

Old Enough

Today my oldest child, the Tall One, turns 21. I'm not sure I'm old enough to have a 21-year-old. But here we are. I could embarrass her by trolling through 21 years' worth of memories from her first day of kindergarten to her high school graduation to moving her into her first apartment, but those memories are probably not suitable for public consumption. Suffice to say I love her dearly, am quite proud of her, and hope I've taught her a little something along the way. Happy Birthday, baby.

Spring Fever

Three years ago this month I posted an essay about tertiary characters called Daffodils, inspired by those dainty flowers that greeted me on one of my morning walks. This morning I saw them again - those infallible signs that spring is just around the corner - as well as a pair of Canadian geese winging their way northward, another sure sign that warm weather is headed our way. It's actually very pretty in Middle Tennessee today, with blue skies and sunshine galore. A perfect day to get things done.

It's been a month since I gave up the at-home job and I'm still not back into the routine I'd hoped to be in. The more I've thought about it, though, the more I realize that going from working 6 days a week to being a writer again is not going to happen overnight. You know, the whole Rome wasn't built in a day thing.

So I'm taking baby steps. A blog post here and there, some down time on my days off to recharge my batteries. Pages to writers' group - after several months of not taking anything, I did manage my 10-12 pages last week, and they weren't horrible. Not great, but not horrible. I'm somewhere around baby step number three, that is, sitting down and really starting to think about what I want to do with this story. It'll all come together at some point. I'll hit that epiphany and we'll go from there.

The Tall One is coming home for a few hours, and we're going to kidnap her little sister from school and have a girls' day out lunch for my birthday. After that, laundry and a bit of housecleaning, maybe a movie, and then some quality time in the study to see what I can do with this work in progress.

Think I might have to open a window, let the fragrances of spring come in and get those creative juices flowing again. At some point I hope to return to the previous level of quality substance I had achieved in the musings department. And I hope you'll stick around for that ...

In the meantime, read a book. It's good for you.

=) JB

All in a Day's Work

Never let the sense of past failure defeat your next step.
-- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Missing in action. Back in October, the WGH and I sat down and had a heart-to-heart about our financial situation. With two of our three brilliant offspring now in college, it became rather imperative that the Thompson household begin experiencing a little more influx in the way of fundage. Long story short, God dropped an opportunity in my lap to which I couldn't say no (because, ya know, you don't say 'no' to God, right?), and I took a second part-time job. I rearranged my at-home job schedule so that I was working 3 days a week at home and 3 days a week at a little family practice clinic not far from here.

As you can imagine, working 6 days a week doesn't leave much time to devote to the happier pursuits to which I had become accustomed: Writing. Blogging. Reading. Breathing.

I am a firm believer in the notion that everything happens for a reason, a credo I have expounded upon in many previous posts. Somewhere around Christmas, the second job became the first job and vice versa, and I found myself counting down the days to when I could drop the at-home job in favor of my sanity and actually have "days off" again. With the improvement in our financial situation, not to mention a nice little bonus from Uncle Sam, it seemed feasible that this might happen sooner rather than later.

Because I know how smart you are, you've guessed by now that that day has finally come. As of the end of February, I am no longer working 6 days a week, and I think there might actually be hope for me in my never-ending plans to be a writer. Again.

To wit, the Chief Cook & Bottle Washer has returned to the Lunch Room after the longest (and most unintentional) hiatus yet, here to impart my wit and wisdom upon the clamoring masses.

Cricket chirp. Cricket chirp.

Oh, wait, there you are. I see you at the door. C'mon in. I knew you wouldn't give up on me. And for that, the iced tea's on the house.

A summary of sorts. The last five months have been pretty much a blur from where I'm standing. Between family life and work and ... well, work, there hasn't been much going on in the JBTAuthor Study worth mentioning. Despite my woeful lack of productivity, however, the BMWs have stood loyally by, supporting and encouraging and understanding, and their efforts have sustained me through this dry spell so that I'm feeling a bit inspired. It's been a long time since I was excited about the WIP, but we're just about there again. My first week of freedom was marred by a bit of a head and chest cold (which the WGH was kind enough to pass along to me), but today is a beautiful, sunny albeit cool late winter Saturday, and I have big plans for the manuscript.

A little change couldn't hurt. By now I'm sure you've noticed the decor in the Lunch Room has changed a bit. In honor of the revamping of my study (i.e., the removal of the clunky old computer I've been doing the day job on for 5-1/2 years), I thought a little change of scenery might be nice for the blog.

I'm also not going to make any promises about how often I'll be stopping in. It's my hope and plan to be here at least once a week if not more, but best laid plans and all that ... we'll see how things go.

I do owe four lovely gentlemen the biggest apologies I can muster, but of course that's something best done privately. If said private apologies are accepted, we may have a few notable visitors returning to our little cafe in the not too distant future. As I said, best laid plans ...

It's really kind of funny how getting out of the house can get you back in it. I haven't spent much time in this room over the last 5 months because I've been spending too much time in here. I know that doesn't make sense to a lot of you, but to those of you who know me best, it will. For now, all I can say is it's good to be back, I'm glad you're here, and I hope you'll continue to check in once in a while.

Music of the moment. My trusted background theme music (if you have to ask, you haven't been here enough) is playing on the boom box, and I'm looking out at a bright blue sky with thanksgiving in my heart, a smile on my face, and murderous thoughts running around in my head.

And yeah, that's a good thing.

Read a book - that's a good thing too.

=) JB