What’s Up Doc #19: Hello. Is It Me You’re Looking For?

Hello, people!

I know that the blog has been hibernating for the most part, but I thought I would give you an update.

What the hell have you been doing?

Well, for the past two months I have gotten up early every day to bring my seven year old and four year old to lessons at the local pool for tennis and swimming.    Why I scheduled them early when I’m strictly a “not before ten” person, I will never know.    Be assured I won’t ever make that mistake again!    My daughter now has rock hard abs and biceps that I envy and my son is becoming a little fish.

That’s great darlings because Mommy can’t save you from drowning.    Truth is what it is, kids.

Why aren’t you writing stuff?

I sort of am.  I did join two writing contests.  One I choked on round 2 and I’m still licking my wounds, and the results aren’t in yet for the NYCMidnight competition.  I should hear if I get to go to round 2 mid next month.    I don’t know if what I produced was good enough.  I crossed all the T’s and dotted my I’s, yet that doesn’t mean others didn’t just produce a better story overall.   It is very hard for me when something I write isn’t well received and I’m having to learn how to deal with that.

Does a story have to be perfect to be good?   I don’t know.  But, so far, everything seems to be pointing to that “just good” isn’t good enough.

I don’t know what to do with that.

So how about that novel you started last year?

Truth be told, it is the longest thing I’ve ever written and I’m proud of that.  However, I ran into a plot problem and I wasn’t sure how to manage it.   I didn’t think there was enough conflict or direction for the main character.    I put it aside and have been “writing it in my head” over the last few months trying to work out possible paths.     I think I’ve found a solution.

Anything else?

Yeah, actually.   I’ve become the family amateur geneaologist.    I discovered that I am more European than Cape Verdean with a heaping helping of Scottish and a dash of Jewish.l   I wasn’t totally surprised, but still it was surprising.  The Jewish part did make me scratch my head, but there it was a solid 1.5 percent.      Much of my tree echoes crickets, but I now know more information about my deceased relatives than any of my living family.   I have found the names of my maternal  grandmother’s parents and grandparents.   I Connected with a distant cousin who shares my pedigree at my paternal great-grandmother’s father’s side and she had done an incredible amount of research.      I found my maternal grandfather’s sister’s children and grandchildren which was exciting; reconnected with my first cousin on my biological father’s side; and bumped into so many brick walls that I am really pissed off at every census taker who screwed up and ancestors who just vanish from records.       On a funnier note, I was told very firmly by my mother that I was wrong about great-grandmother’s birthday and she was ten years younger than what I presented.

Well, according to the baptism record I found in her country of origin, great grandma’s pants were on fire.