Post for August 31, 2025

Since 2023, I have a goal, which may turn out to be short-lived, of self-publishing a book every year. I've gone the self-publication route to avoid rejection and retain full creative control, so the challenge shifts from getting things published to getting anyone to read them. Very, very few people have read the first two, which makes it hard to want to keep going. This year, I procrastinated for six months and then started on July 1st. Now, a third of the way through the second half of the year, I have 80 pages of what's supposed to be a middle school chapter book under the godawful working title "Mary and the Alien." Some days I've just edited a few sentences to make sure I work on it every day. Maybe I have unrealistic expectations of myself, considering that I took over a decade to write my first novel and often didn't work on it for months at a time. Writing is something I think I enjoy but often find that I actually hate when I try to do it. Writing is also something I used to think I was really good at but now think I suck at. I can hardly write a single sentence without hating it and wanting to give up. Maybe I should blame Professor Charles for instilling in me a crippling fear of "to be's"and "ings."

So instead of taking more time to write a thoughtful blog post that two people will read, here's a 2000s body-swap comedy that I watched the other night and enjoyed a lot more than its IMDB rating would have led me to believe. Maybe it's just because THC has rotted my brain, but I laughed and cried and had a swell time. It's a PG-13 that should be an R, so I can't share it with my family.