Constant pain is a great tool for focusing one’s attention. If only that attention could be focused anywhere other than the constant pain.
I spent most of the past two weeks in thrall to a tooth which first appeared to be tender, then cracked, then infected, and finally diagnosed as both split in half and infected. My dentist removed the tooth three days ago, and my life was thereby much improved.
The pain was more manageable than the previous impacted molar back in 2008, but there was nothing about the experience which was at all pleasant.
So 2024 is starting out kind of…unpredictably.
In order to distract myself from the chronic pain of life, I have several things in the works for 2024:
First, Master Lee’s School of Tai Chi Praying Mantis Kung Fu and Tai Chi Jeung.
Second, after several years of volunteering, I am now part of the Convention Committee for the ConFusion Science Fiction Convention. For the 2024 iteration, “Labyrinth of ConFusion”, I will be the Head of Operations, assisted by past Ops people as I settle into the role.
Third, I am part of the newly-formed Grand River Poetry Collective, which is dedicated to publishing Grand Rapids poets. As we get up and running I will be posting many and frequent updates.
Reading
Still working my way through Dostoevsky’s Demons.
Writing
I got nuthin’.
The writing prompt for the next week is:
Subject: Empire, Economics
Setting: Labyrinth
Genre: Procedural
Interesting Links
- Author Chuck Tingle was invited, then dis-invited, and then re-invited, to attend the Texas Library Association annual conference. At the moment it is not certain if Dr. Tingle will be attending the event.
- A fun, link-filled thread over at Metafilter, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons.