This post is an update on what’s been going on for Crate.

In writing I have fifty thousand stories in the works (okay, about twenty five) ranging from three-pages long to twenty pages and growing. The longer ones I lose faith in because the story meanders and I begin to doubt the foundation of the original idea. Most of these, I’m afraid, will never see completion which saddens me because while they are not the greatest pieces of literature ever conceived, I feel they are stories worth telling. Even if I’m the only one who will ever read them (and maybe close friends / family), I think those characters deserve that much. (Walt and Stephanie, I’m looking at you.)

The short stories are coming along much better. I can rewrite and rewrite to my heart’s content, although sometimes this meat grinder process makes them lose their original spark. I hope soon to be finalizing all these stories that are either started or completed, just not to my liking. I need to somehow overcome this insecurity and just decide a story is well enough to put into the catalog. One short story, titled Universal Architects, has gone through three rewrites in the last week. Each time I finish and decide I missed the point I was going for. The main issue seems to be I feel the story isn’t human enough; it’s not concrete or tangible. The characters, from draft to draft, have grown in complexity and it feels cheap not to show them in their respective lights just to finish the story and be done with it. The problem arises when I am tasked with how much to include or exclude.

I have also rediscovered my music muse, and I spend a little time each day in the studio (which doubles as my writer’s desk). The music I’ve been making is mediocre in quality but it’s fun, and I think that’s all I can ask for at this point. I have ideas in my head for what kind of a sound I would like to achieve, but I am working with limited resources and amateur knowledge. Hopefully I will reach the point where I can finally, FINALLY record this CD I’ve had in my head for months now. I know what I want the songs to sound like, their structures and melodies, it’s just a matter of capturing that and recording it. Which is a lot more difficult than I previously thought it would be. My skill level seems to be my biggest obstacle at this point; I can never seem to get the sound quite right.

Let’s see…other than that, I’ve been reading quite a bit. I’m nearing the end of Island by Aldous Huxley, which I will be writing a review for. The ending will either save it or leave me greatly unsatisfied - I really hope it saves it; I want to love this book. I’m also reading Why I Write by George Orwell, which is a light read. I read 1/3 of it in one sitting, and so far it’s very intriguing. I like seeing his motivations for why he writes the way that he does. My next book will probably be Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz, a book my sister bought me for my birthday and I’ve only gotten one chapter deep so far, or Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk, which I’m pretty eager to dig into.

Starcraft II is still awesome. I played 4v4 as Random for a long time, which was fun for awhile, but now I’m focusing much more on 1v1 as Zerg. The amount of depth this game has astounds me. The smallest decisions in a game can spell disaster or success - it’s all about reading the opponent and deciding the proper way to destroy them. I never know what to expect when I go into a game, which is why it’s so exciting. Plus the Zerg swarm is so cool.

I’ve been working the fryer-area at work almost every chance I can, which is more of a challenge than doing appetizers. The fryer pretty much covers burgers, steaks, fajitas, fries, kid meals, all the fun…fryer stuff. After working there so much I’ve noticed how similar it is to Starcraft II - no, seriously! It is. When I get ten tickets at once, there is so much work to do that I have to time everything perfectly. Timing is everything. Whatever I’m doing at the moment, I have to be thinking three or four moves ahead or the entire system will descend into chaos. And I’ve gotten to that point, where I’m so buried all I can do is stand there and go, “Uhhhhh I’m screwed.” Then I put on my MAN HAT and bust it all out because really, I’m getting that pro at it.

I’ve been working out and gaining weight to prepare for the Air Force, which I plan on going into in the fall. I have done everything I need to do now except go down to MEPs and take my physical, which should happen in a few weeks. After that I’ll take my oath and pick what career field I want to go into. Then they will call me and off to Boot Camp I go. What’s awesome is that I already took my ASVAB test and, thanks to my score, I qualify for every job in the Air Force. It really just depends on availability. The job I really want to get is called Space Systems Operations, which is basically NASA in the Air Force. I’d be working on rockets and satellites; ya know, cool space stuff.

That’s about it. In the future I should have more to post on Tumblr, mainly stories and songs as I finish them. Each day I feel a little more creative, which is both a blessing and a curse. I have too many ideas to pursue them all and now that I’m going into the Air Force, it feels like there is a clock ticking to finish as much of it as I can. I know once I go in I will still have time to write and make music, but I also know I will be focused heavily on my career. I’m really looking forward to the experience though. Truth be told, I can’t wait!