e-hiatus, day 5

We woke up at about ten o'clock. We ate brunch and got down to business. Miss H job-searched while I worked on the novel some more. At about 1:00 p.m., I was stricken with severe writer's block, so I went ahead and wrote that piece on A.E. van Vogt which was posted earlier. Things failed to improve after that, so I cheated on my hiatus and checked Facebook. I'm quite glad I did, because one of my friend's mothers (an English teacher at the community college) invited me to a writer's workshop on the 21st of December. I could really use some input on my writing, so I think I'll go. Might learn something useful, you know? I just have to be sure to pick a suitably noncommittal part of my novel to avoid plagiarism.

The rest of the day passed. I spent it finishing Starship Troopers (wow, what a book) and watching the movie Duel (1971) on YouTube. Excellent entertainment on all fronts. Miss H and I also came to a decision about our futures, but I won't go into that here.

I will say that the withdrawal symptoms have hit me hard...or rather, the boredom and emptiness associated with breaking a habit. I no longer find myself taking my phone out of my pocket automatically (in fact, I have no idea where my phone is). But I still open Facebook and Hotmail without even thinking about it whenever I turn on my computer. I must train myself out of this. Between job searches and novel sessions, I find myself wandering around the house, kneading my hands, wondering what to do with myself. I managed a walk with Dash yesterday but that was about it. Miss H and I have begun work on another 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, and that should help keep me occupied. Maybe I'll teach myself Chinese ten or something to keep from going nuts.

Squaring my shoulders and hoping for a more productive day tomorrow! Postman out.