September Sweeps - Day 232

So, today I sat down and started work on my next audiobook.  I had the choice between doing the Ben Parks short story ("A Sidekick's Errand" (2020), the longer Ben Parks book ("A Sidekick To Miracles" (2018?), or the almost-novel "My Friend of Misery" (2019).  I chose the latter, for no reason other than I felt like it.

And wow, is it slow-going.  I got the first three "chapters" recorded (I put chapters in quotation marks because they really aren't chapters so much as bits where I jump ahead in time, but because this one is so long, I put numbers instead of three asterisks), but went over the writing, line by line, and added or changed something in nearly every paragraph.  It ate up all my recording time, just getting the first bit down, and I really do fear for the rest of the book.  

At this rate, I won't have to worry about cover art until December or so.

Sit-ups Today: 111
Sit-ups In September: 2923

Push-ups Today: 43
Push-ups In September: 718

I did run out and grab the kayak, inflated it, and drove out to the lake, just to get it in.  There was a big sign at the entrance that said "Lake Closed," and there were no employees at the gate.  I should have turned around right then and there, but I had spent so long getting the raft ready (you have to inflate several parts of it, assemble the oars, blow up and install the seat, and somehow fit it into the bed of the truck, and that always takes way longer than I think it will), that I was unwilling to go home.  Instead, I drove in--one lane was still open, and drove around, looking to see what was going on.

I suspect that a film production had been shooting there earlier in the day, because there were signs that said, "Film crew vehicles must have permit visible," even though I saw nobody now.  In fact, the only people I saw out there were Mexicans who were fishing on the marshy side of the lake (as opposed to the marina where boaters and rafters congregate).

I was determined, so I parked, yanked out my kayak, and somehow dragged it down the rocks to the water below.  There was literally no one else out on the water (that should have warned me that there were sea monsters out that day, the rapey kind from HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP, but no, I ignored all the clues), so I rowed out a few yards and tried to record a song before the sun went down.  

The wind was blowing pretty hard, and I found that as soon as I stopped rowing, I'd be pushed back toward the shore.  So that made it a challenge to a) hold the phone steady, b) stay in one place, and c) remember the words.  Guess you'll see too, in November or so when I get to it.

I enjoy the feeling of rowing and moving like a knife through the water.  I'm not very strong, but it seems like it would be fun to be on one of those Ivy League rowing team things from the movies.

Nobody yelled at me or told me to get out of the water or called the police on me, so I suspect whatever had been going on during the day was over, but it was still strange to have the marina to myself.  I don't suppose I'll ever know what was going on there.

Before the wind took me back, I recorded a bit of that pink sunset the wildfires are to thank for.

And that was about it.  I had to do my Sunday night work, then my exercise, my run, change my clothes, and then write a little bit more.  I thought I had reached a thousand words before I finally fell asleep.  My math was off, but I slept fine anyhow.

Words Today: 996
Words In September:21,633