Story Time Friday: The Ideal Parents

    This week's Story Time Friday is a request from my counselor. The prompt is basically if I could have the ideal parents what they would be. Not necessarily everything I want but everything I need in parents is the idea in this one. This will be a thinking one for sure. Well without further ado on with the show.

The Ideal Parents

    Johnny hadn't grown up in the typical American household as far as most people would see it, but he had grown up loved all the same. His parents had divorced when he was four, not because they hated each other or anything like that. They just weren't meant to be. His mom had moved to the city, since she had always been a city girl, and his dad had moved back in with his parents while he got back on his feet. This allowed Johnny the best of both the city and the country as well as the benefit of spending extra time with his grandparents.

    It took everyone some adjusting at first, since Johnny had always been somewhat of a wild child up until that point with little discipline. His grandparents and father gave him structure and discipline while his mother was rebuilding her life in the city so that she could provide a good life for Johnny. But they didn't isolate him either. For instance they would walk him to neighborhood kids' houses and also took him to friends' houses so he could learn to socialize properly.

    It didn't take long for Johnny's mother to get her life rebuilt in the city either and soon she had him coming out on the weekends. She worked with his dad to keep structure and discipline constant as well. Even as she was dealing with her own demons and issues. They also made sure he had plenty of socialization time with friends and family. Plus they made sure he had plenty of educational toys and books. Johnny was a bookworm like his mom, and liked to write a lot once he learned how to. He enjoyed entertaining the other kids with his stories. This was an added bonus for him. Writing was an outlet for Johnny. He would let out his feelings when he had trouble talking about them, which wasn't very often.

    Johnny's mom and dad made sure to keep up with him in school as well as help him with projects when he needed it. Because of the structured environment Johnny never became a procrastinator and learned to stay on task with studies early on. Since his parents got him help early on with his learning disabilities and mental health issues Johnny excelled in school. As well as doing well in extracurricular activities.

    He wasn't an athlete like the generation before him, preferring to play Chess and work in the school newspaper and yearbook as well as drama in the background. He slowly showed interest in politics towards the end of high school. And as he got older he was given more responsibility around the house as well as shown more life skills and expected to do them for himself. Johnny adapted slowly at times though sometimes faster and when he needed help learning or adjusting he was given it till he got the hang of it.

    By the time college rolled around Johnny had decided online schooling was better for him. One of the main reasons was that he liked the way his room was set up to work in. He negotiated bills with his dad and promised to visit his mom as often as he could. He was doing everything for himself and had bought a mini fridge and some shelving for food just before college started. Of course he still had a curfew but it was a reasonable one. He kept the family posted on his school and asked for help when he needed it and was given guidance to the sources that could help him.

    It was different from before but it felt good even though it was an adjustment. Johnny ended up getting involved in Politics while in college and even though his parents didn't agree with him they supported him. He made it through college in 8 years earning a Master's Degree. Johnny also got elected to the city council as well. Later, he went on to even greater things thanks to his family's love and support as well as how they brought him up.

Some Bad News Coupled With Some Good News

    Today I have to give you, my readers, some bad news, but I also have some good news to report. First the bad news, the working relationship with KCL Publishing has fallen through. Just differences of opinion is all. Nothing I'm going to go into in detail. But as one door closes another one opens as they say.

    This leads me to my good news. I and some writing friends are planning to start up our own publishing company. It is still in the planning stages and a name is still being finalized, but stay tuned to this blog and my author page for more details. We plan to start small with just our stuff but we will be expanding once we get the finer points worked out. I personally like working with friends which is the benefit of this new company following the failure of working with KCL Publishing.

    Everything is being researched and checked and double checked as we are talking. This may take a little extra time as most of us are students at this time. But we are working as fast as we can to bring you the best in literature. I hope to have more announcements to follow soon, but stay tuned. *Tips had and walks out the door with a skip in his step.*

Throwback Thursday: How My Messy Ways Began

    Today's Throwback Thursday is a request. My counselor wanted me to think on when my messy ways started, since as many of you know I'm not the best housekeeper. So I figured it fit right in with Throwback Thursday. So without further ado on with the show.

    My messiness was at its absolute worst in my late teens early twenties, and has gotten better in my late twenties early thirties. But that is not where it starts. To find the root of that we have to go way back to when I was around 8 maybe. I had been used to adults making me pick up messes at this point, even in my own room. Everything had its own spot that it went. But when I got to my step mother's house my room was already chaotic and there wasn't much organization to it. Everything just sort of went wherever I felt like throwing it. I did like having a couch there but no one ever came over to enjoy it with. I wish I could redo that room and some things about there that might have influenced how my messy ways evolved from there.

    I think one thing I would have changed is I would have gotten rid of that couch. It just took up room that needed to be used for other things. Nothing against the couch it was a nice sturdy couch. I would have put bookshelves and a desk in its place. And then I would have hoped my step mother and my dad would have gotten on my case about keeping my room picked up. I think those things would have helped keep me from starting down a messy path possibly.

    My mom wasn't much better help in my teen years when I was living with her. She just did all the cleaning for me instead of making me do my own laundry, and clean my room. She just let me go off with my friends and do whatever I wanted for the most part. And I know I'm an intimidating guy, but still I was at a point most of my teen years where I was willing to listen. It was when she tried to crack down in my late teen years after I had been set into certain ways that things went awry.

    And don't get me wrong I love my parents, and yes hindsight is 20/20. Kids don't come with manuals I know. But it is hard when one thinks the secret is always working and the other has to battle their own demons. I know they tried, and now I'm trying to make sense of that past and come to terms with it to try and be who I want to be. Not everything I say about them will be positive here or negative. Even now as I write this I'm still coming to terms with who they are and finding answers that help me understand them. I'm sure they have things they wish they had done differently or wish I had done differently. But we each took our own road to this point and we are working on our relationships now.

    But back to the topic at hand. So I arrived into adulthood and got out on my own. I had no real discipline for cleaning or doing laundry or any of that. My first two years living on my own I survived on junk food I'll be honest. But I was also very active so it didn't affect me much. I was always walking half the city it seemed like. And hanging out wherever my friend Tim was and we would work together to clean wherever we were. Even when I got my first apartment it would get bad when Tim wasn't around. He would come over and we would clean and get everything picked up and then just hangout or do whatever.

    Now if need be I think I could handle dishes fairly well though still a little shaky on them. But Tim comes over two or three times a week and at least one of those times we clean the house. He's like the older brother I never had. He's patient with me most days though I can frustrate him. He knows I have a long way to go to being totally independent but I'm slowly getting there. Since he takes so much out of his time for me when there is something he really wants I try to make sure he gets it. I remember how it used to be going without, and it isn't fun. Right now I'm working on tackling the kitchen and my room as the two rooms I'm responsible for full time. That is my next cleaning goal. So far I'm a tenth of the way there, but making progress slowly. So there you have my messy ways start to finish and a little in between. *Tips hat and walks out.*

Yes Finally It Is Here The Big Announcement

    I apologize for being so late with this, I've been very under the weather lately. But yes finally it is here the big announcement you have waited all week for. When I release my first independent book and all others after that it will be with KCL Publishing. This was not a hard decision for me to come to either. First and foremost I'll be working with friends, which is a big plus in my book. Second I like how they look out for their authors and treat them as well as all of their staff in general. Even the ones who do volunteer work for them.

    Their business practices and ethics are outstanding in my view as well. They come at your level and tell you exactly how it will be, with nothing hidden. They work with you as leaders not bosses. If there is a tangle in the road they will do their best to find a way around it for you as long as it is within their power and realistically feasible.

    With the fact that I will be signing with them, and that I believe in the company as well as its writers so much, you can expect to see news and reviews of their books here as well. Remember I said I was going full force this year and this is one of the many steps in that. There are more posts to follow this weekend but for now I've got work to get back to. *Tips hat and walks out the door.*

Story Time Friday: Where I Would Choose To Live Library, Museum, Or Zoo

    So it has been a little while once again since we had a Story Time Friday unless I just changed the name on accident. But still it has been awhile since we had some fun writing here. And I know this is late for a Friday post, but it was started on a Friday. Plus there will be more fun writing coming soon as well as a big announcement later today. But for now on to our writing prompt.

    Sortin had always known he would have to choose one of the grand three when he reached adulthood. It had been an honor bestowed upon him at birth to have one of the more upper level jobs in society by the lottery. His parents had been so proud and happy for him. Even Sortin had to admit he liked the looks of the three jobs, but he didn't really like the fact that he had to choose just one to be his job and residence for the rest of his life. But he had to admit it could be worse some kids were finding out from their parents that they were doomed to be in high school forever only now. And some not even as teachers, but as cafeteria workers or janitors. The lucky ones stuck here would be the ones in the administration office part of the school. At least Sortin had a choice in his destination.
    He was good in all three classes that they specialized in too, scoring As every term all four years of high school. He enjoyed reading books of all kinds in English so a library would be a great home for him, and he could write his own books there as well. On the other hand he had enjoyed studying the ancient world immensely so a museum would also be a good home for him as well, and again with all that history around him he could find stories to write books on as well. Science had been pretty interesting too and there were plenty of animals to study in the zoo. Plus who knows what he could come up with to write about in the zoo for tales. This was really a hard decision for Sortin.
    He only had a week left to make his decision too, so he had to hurry up or he would be out of time and his parents would make it for him. He didn't want this freedom taken from him at all. Sortin decided to view the places online on his laptop at home and see if any spoke out loud to him. When he got home he went straight to his room and set up his laptop. He starting surfing to all three places and looking all through them. None of them really grabbed him more than the others.
    Next he started thinking what really mattered to him most and if any of the places allowed him to view the other two as well. That finally sealed the deal for him to make his decision. But he decided to wait and tell his parents at dinner that night. So he waited patiently the rest of the afternoon and early evening. That night over dinner it was his parents who brought it up.
    His father was the one who brought it up by saying, "So Sortin how is making the big decision going?"
    "I've actually already made it," Sortin replied.
    "Oh?" both his parents responded in unison
    "Yes I'm going to go to the library," Sortin answered without missing a beat.
    "Why there?" his father asked as his mother sat in stunned silence.
    "The library lets me see the things of all three while I would have been limited with either of the other two to just one of them," Sortin explained to his parents.
    "Very wise," his father remarked nodding his head smiling.
    "Thank you," Sortin replied nodding back in respect.
    With that they finished dinner talking of less weighted issues like school and friends. That night Sortin slept like a baby with the weight of his impending decision off his shoulders finally. When the following week began Sortin moved into the library smiling though he would miss living with his parents somewhat. But he was looking forward to all the unread books he had before him, and all the books he could be inspired to write. He walked up the steps wondering what new adventures the next chapter in his life held in store for him.

Welcome To 2015

    Happy New Year everyone and welcome to 2015. So what does 2015 hold in store for me you may be wondering? Well to sum it up simply there will be a lot of changes in my life. But some things will continue from last year. One thing continuing from last year for sure will be this blog, though hopefully more regularly and with some sort of structure. Though the structure will probably come in the later part of the year, so bear with me. There will be more stories, and more publishing going on for me as well. I'm still going to be taking classes and working on my mental well-being in general. But you came to see what my goals for the New Year are now didn't you.

    My first major goal as I stated towards the end of last year is to quit smoking. That should be accomplished within the first six months, and I find myself honestly looking forward to it to be honest. I've been a smoker since I was 18, and it's time to stop making excuses and put the nicotine stick down for good. Be warned I may be crappy here and there going through this, but it is well worth it. I'm 33 now and I'm not getting any younger. I have to start taking care of my health at some point.

    That leads me to my second goal. I'm going to work on losing some weight and getting more into shape. I plan to do this mainly through playing basketball. It's how I lost so much weight when I was younger so I figure give it a shot again. Plus it is fun exercise and will get me back towards being able to do other forms of exercise I might enjoy. Don't worry I'm not going to go overboard with it, just an hour a day. And while I'm going through my first few weeks of not smoking I plan to dance an hour a day. Starting either today or tomorrow. Doing this also leads to me being out of the house more which is a good thing.

    For my third goal I want to have more of a social life outside the house during the day. I want to get back to being out of the house during the day more. Not sure what I will do to accomplish this, but I'm still brainstorming on it. One of the ways is doing a better job at being a good housekeeper. I'm still working on this but getting a little better as time goes on. At least if I was a better housekeeper I could have more people over. Plus I could start going down to Amistad more maybe, that is still up in the air. I could also work on making friends at the library somehow. Just a few of my ideas.

    Ideas brings me to my fourth goal. As many know I'm a man of ideas. Well one big idea I have recently come into is getting my first novel published in 2015. I've got my editors already picked out as well as the publisher. All friends of mine who I trust to handle my work with care and respect as well as honesty. I'm excited for this as well as other publishing I plan to do in 2015.

    Last but not least is my fifth goal, which is to work more towards finishing off making this apartment my own once and for all. My office is already getting finished at the end of January. Plus I'm starting work on making the kitchen better then as well. I figure March will be the beginning of work on the spare bedroom also. I'm saving the living room for last since it is used so seldomly. I might not have it all done by the time I move to my new place, whenever that might happen. But I'm going to get as much done as I can possibly get done. It really is starting to come together nicely. I'll take pictures of the office when it is completed at the end of January and post them as well.

    So those are my major plans for this year, though there are a few others that I'm leaving as surprises to pop up as we go along. I welcome you to share your goals for the New Year as well. Well I suppose I better get to work on my goals so I'll be seeing you soon. *Tips hat and walks out the door smiling.*