October Sweeps - Day 633

I came back to the library today, hoping to finish the story I started yesterday.  Unfortunately, I am misspelling every fifth or sixth word I type, and that either means I have forgotten to type, or there’s something wrong with this keyboard (it took three tries to get this sentence typed).

My cousin and I are going to see DUNE tonight (or, I should say, DUNE PART I, since Legendary Pictures announced a DUNE PART II today), and my friend Jeff has already called from Germany to ask me about it.  “Dune” is his STAR WARS, and it was he who made me sit down, years ago, and watch the David Lynch version, pausing it to explain every five minutes or so, and dragging out that viewing experience to just under four hours.  He saw the movie more than a month ago, and I guess it’s now my turn.

Sit-ups Today: 100
Sit-ups In October: 2705

To my surprise, it was hard for me to walk down stairs today and yesterday (and tomorrow too).  Has it been so long that I hiked a mountain that it takes me by surprise, or takes me a while to recover?  Part of me wants to do it again, and soon, because it's so close, so pretty to look at, and costs practically nothing.  I'd ask my nephew if he wants to go with me next time, but I know he'll say no.

My cousin and I went and saw DUNE tonight.  I had made it a point to (finally) read the book this year, and spoke at length with my buddy Jeff, who saw it back in September in Germany.

DUNE was pretty spectacular, especially the first half (what’s strange is that, in the days before seeing it, I kept hearing that the movie was pretty boring/lame until all the action starts, and it turned out that I liked the world-building and character development stuff the most).  And I really enjoyed being able to talk to my cousin (who has read the book several times) and my pal Jeff (who loves the book the way everybody loves chalupas) about things that I liked in the movie, and things I missed from the novel.

Push-ups Today: 100
Push-ups In Octobre: 3124

I intended to finish the story, and finish it I did.  I was surprised it took so many words, but ah well.  As usual, I don't know if it's a good story or a bad one, but I'm pleased to have written it, and it's not like anything else I've written (that I can think of, anyway).  A colony on an alien world has a gathering every year where the horrible, disease-carrying old man from the end of town has to walk around the square, enduring their hatred, because if he doesn't, they'll all die of a disease that aliens brought with them, many years before.

Huh, when I put it that way, it does sound pretty good.  But I have a suspicion it's not.

I guess I did write a story like this once, when I lived in Los Angeles.  In it, I'm at work, and the Devil comes to me and says that if he can take the souls of my coworkers, then he'll give me all sorts of riches and boons.  I turn him down, since I know they have families and inner lives, and the day continues, and as I go to lunch, my coworkers mutter to themselves about what a piece of shit I am.

I have a gift, I know.

Words Today: 2203
Words In Octubre: 18,757