I guess you can think of this as an unofficial Paladin Playlist. I'm kinda in the dumps. On top of everything else that's happened... my aunt dying, my uncle dying, my wife being in a car accident, my apartment flooding... now my truck has broken down. The engine is gone. I did something stupid and killed a vehicle I've had since I was a teenager. 

It was the truck I drove through high school. The truck I took to university. The truck I took my first girlfriend out in. Now it's beyond repair. 

So... I want to share a song that I played on loop the day of my uncle and aunt's joint funeral. I'd like to think my uncle would've gotten a kick out of it. He was that kind of guy.

Actually, I've kinda decided this is the song I want played at my funeral. So... without further ado, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, from the movie Monty Python's Life of Brian, by Eric Idle.  

Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse
When you're chewing on life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle
And this'll help things turn out for the best
And...
Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the light side of life
If life seems jolly rotten
There's something you've forgotten
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing
When you're feeling in the dumps
Don't be silly chumps.
Just purse your lips and whistle, that's the thing!
And
Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the right side of life
For life is quite absurd
And death's the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow.
Forget about your sin,
Give the audience a grin,
Enjoy it, it's your last chance anyhow.
And
Always look on the bright side of death
Just before you draw your terminal breath
Life's a piece of shit
When you look at it
Life's a laugh and death's a joke it's true
You'll see it's all a show
Keep 'em laughing as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you.
And
Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the right side of life

I intended to do a lot more since my last post, and I promise I'm working on the novel, but in the middle of all that... my home flooded. 

We recently moved to a new place and while we've learned it's not so protected against water. First it was leaking windows during a particularly hard monsoon rain. We stopped that up with towels. Then... we found out our apartment is at the bottom of a gradient. At the bottom of a hill. In a walled off section. When the rain got really bad, it started flooding in beneath the doors. We have a front and back door and this meant it rushed in from both sides. 

Fortunately I was awake at 4am when it started. But that meant my wife taking off two days from work after we just spent a LOT of money in our move. And then it meant spending a lot of money on equipment to remove all that water. Since then, our landlord has provided some sandbags, but we don't feel particularly secure. I've lost a lot of sleep watching weather reports change by the hour.

You know what I absolutely hate? The iPhone's weather app has dynamic backgrounds that depict the weather outside. So while I'm huddled up at 3am in the living room with a shop vac at the ready, everytime I check the app to see how long the storm will rage, I get treated to lightning and rain on my screen. I hate that. So. Very. Much.

But we're okay. I lost a pillow that someone dear gave to me a long time ago, but beyond that, we didn't suffer any real losses. We had to clean for days and I have zero confidence when I go to sleep. I have to check the weather report constantly. (Did you know it can change from hour to hour? So that message that said it would let up around 2am can suddenly swap to 5am?) I've lost peace of mind. At least until our landlord finds a way to help prevent the next flood. 

Oh, and by the way, the windows keep leaking. So... there's that.

But all this has given me a good excuse to put off my weekly League games with my friends, so I've turned all my attention to my book once more. I have some big plans in store. We're almost done reworking the book once more and when that's done, I have several special projects waiting. I'm excited. I'm anxious about the weather, but I'm excited for the future. I think this can still be done.

With that, I'm out.

- Be Excellent to Each Other

It's been a minute. I had a lot of contract work I was doing, which was fun, and then a lot of moving.

Life has been... happening. I don't want to say hard, because lots of people have been having it hard. I don't want to say odd, because this is the kind of stuff that happens. I guess it's just been a lot at once. 

My aunt and uncle both died recently. I got the news for each of them within about 24 hours. I'm not even sure how I feel. Getting hit with that all at once, putting it on top of everything else I'm trying to work through, it almost just pushes over the top and comes back around as numb. I know I miss them both dearly. My uncle was one of the people that I most connected with in my youth. He more or less introduced me to nerd culture. He was the first in our family to really have internet. He was sharing video games with me when I was still in single digits. He even took me to a Star Trek convention once. He was always ready with a joke and always ready to say something weird. That was my tio.

My aunt I didn't have as strong a connection with, but she was still a kind and wonderful woman. When my parents died, she was there, asking me how she could help, supporting me. Apparently she even kept the rest of the family up to date on my weird wanderings in China. 

I miss them both. 

But I need to keep moving forward. My writing has lagged, but I will have more and more stuff up here. Be prepared for some new game reviews here, some playlists, and, hopefully, updates on the Paladin. 

Until then...

​Be Excellent to Each Other.