Hello, everyone. It’s me, your friend Brian.

Many Octobers, I enter the month with the plan of writing a blog post every day. I enjoy it, and from the stats, some of you enjoy it, too. Unfortunately, I got really sick right after the cruise. I’m okay now. A bit of a lingering cough, but I’m fine. And it didn’t seem like it was Covid, since I tested a couple of times and no one else around me got sick. But it took the wind out of my sails, and I’m just now feeling up to facing this particular blank page.

Will I participate in Nanowrimo?

There are two answers to that. The first is: I’m no longer associating with the organization itself. The people in this area, I’ll happily hang out and write with, but the organization that hosts nanowrimo.org has lost the Buhl Seal of Approval.

I still like the idea of writing 50,000 words in November every year. The task itself is rewarding to me, even on the years that I don’t succeed. November is still Novel Month, to me. Nomo, if we’re feeling fancy. But will I try to do that this year?

Maybe. I haven’t been doing any writing lately. I haven’t felt well. I’ve been a bit depressed. I didn’t even get any real writing done while on the cruise.

I enjoyed the cruise quite a bit, and I don’t feel like my time was wasted there. I reconnected with community, and aside from getting ridiculously sunburned on my legs and feet again, I relaxed. I needed a vacation, and that’s what the writing retreat became. I attended the classes and I enjoyed everyone there. I just didn’t get any writing accomplished.

Work continues to extract more from me than what I’m capable of replenishing during the week. The days are long, starting before the sun rises and continuing long after the sun has gone to bed. The last few weeks, all I’ve done is work and sleep.

October is almost over. I have a lot on my mind, and I haven’t felt up to expressing it here. I haven’t felt comfortable hanging out with friends, because when I get into this kind of slump, I do not want to bring my friends down. I don’t want to be a burden.

The election is upon us, but I’m not going to write about that today. Maybe this weekend. For now, I just wanted to check in and say, “I’m okay! Hanging in there. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”