FlyingFader

My book proposal got its first rejection from an agent. On to the next one.

My MacBook died and took the hard drive with it. Some of the data was salvageable but not the recent work I did on the book. I had to revert to my last backup which, sadly, was in early March.

We played a show at Spike Hill in Williamsburg last Sunday. I played one bad note, missed others completely and forgot to sing one chorus. But considering how long the show was, that was good.

Six chairs came this afternoon and they look great. Now we have enough seating for a dinner party. The next step is decor. There’s a painting in the basement of our apartment building that would great in the dining area. The image is a Miami Beach luxury hotel painted in the 1950s. It just need to be liberated and reframed.

I’ve decided to become an illustrator, already a goal on my list, so I’ll file all further entries under that heading.

I’m sharing the art studio space I rented to start my short film project and now there’s no room for any film work. I’m not giving up on it though because right now I’m making great progress on a project that I abandoned before starting the short film. You never know.

Right now the kitty litter box is in the living room and we need to find a way to hide it. We looked into pieces of furniture that hide the box and found one that we like, the kattbank. The only problem is that it costs $2,000.

I may have to cut this career counselor loose sooner rather than later. I’m making progress but too much of it is self-directed.

The table arrived from Crate & Barrel today. It’s dark wood and the old chairs are a blonde, a great combination. Something to think about as we shop for chairs.

A friend who is a published writer says that she’ll show my work to her agent. Right now I’m coloring some of the panels of my picture book and I’m going to be done with the proposal by early June.

We’re making progress, I think. So far it’s a lot of deciding what I want out of a new career. But that’s never the hard part, is it?

There’s not much in our dining area – a table, three chairs and a high chair. Now we need new chairs because the old ones are literally falling apart. I’d rather spend our tax refund on other parts of the apartment but we can’t let this go. We’re going to replace the table too. It will only seat 4 and my wife wants something bigger. That’s okay because the old table has some resale value.

I need to share my art studio space to save on the rent. Giving up half the floor space means getting rid of a bunch of stuff. I’ve already thrown out a lot and some of the stuff can be sold, like a about 20 bobblehead figures. It’s kind of a drag, but it’s gotta be done.

I’ve got the 2nd draft of my picture book done and I’m starting to write the book proposal based on a guide I found online. I think I’ll start by sending to agents, and then move on to publishers. I’ve been told that the Writer’s Market has the most up to date listings of agents. It’s only $5.99 per month.

I met with a career counselor today for the first time. It was a getting-to-know-you session and I left feeling great. We’re going to meet once a week for three months. I hope that this is the start of something great.

I’m going to delete “get a job” and replace it with this. I need to pick a new career and focus on that. I’m meeting with a career counselor next month. Together we’re supposed to figure out what is the best path for me.

It looks like we’re getting some money back from the government. Maybe we’ll use some of it to buy a new TV.

Years ago I started a picture book but found the task of painting the pictures too daunting. Then I thought I’d do it with photography. Now I’m back to working with illustrations only now on the computer. It’s amazing how much progress I’ve made. What would have taken weeks can be done in days. I’ve already sent a 1st draft to some of my friends to look at and have gotten some good ideas and feedback.

I never heard anything from the publisher that I submitted my book to. I’ll take that as a “no”.

This is as much as we’re willing to spend on our living room these days – $12 on a new lampshade for an accent lamp. We wouldn’t even have spent that but the old one was so shredded it had become a fire hazard.

Next on the list is a flat-screen TV. We have no idea when that’ll happen. Hopefully the economy will be looking better by the fall.