Happy Halloween!

Tonight, we eat candy, and tomorrow, we begin writing American Science!

Off we go-a Trick-or-Treating!

In Memory of Lou Reed

Jenny said when she was just about five years old 

You know, my parents are gonna be the death of us all

Two TV sets and two Cadillac cars --

Well, you know, it ain't gonna help me at all

Then one fine mornin' she tuns on a New York station

She doesn't believe what she hears at all

She started dancin' to that fine fine music

You know her life was saved by Rock & Roll

Expect the Unexpected

When I was in school I was convinced that I wasn't going to need any math or science because I was going to be a writer. The only subjects that interested me and were therefore of any practical use to me were English, history, humanities, art, and maybe speech or psychology. Science and math were for the birds. Who needed em? I was really bad at them too, so it stood to reason that my lack of aptitude meant that that a STEM career just wasn't in the cards for me. I went round and round with teachers trying to get the to explain to me when I was ever going to need the things they were trying to teach me "in the real world." I was certain that the answer was "never."

Also, this was 100% not a thing. (Source)

Oh, how wrong I was. As much as I disliked science and math as a student I find myself enthralled by it now. I don't know when or how it happened, but one day I found myself looking at science like it was magic that came from Narnia itself - especially chemistry, a subject that I was particularly bad at. I'm also quite fond, as you may have guessed, of nuclear physics, entomology, and quantum theory. I like writing about these things. The problem lies in the fact that since I was such a lousy student I end up having to teach myself about these subjects all over again, just so that I can write about them convincingly. And every time this happens I curse my younger self.

Sound advice.

If only I'd studied harder as a young person. If only I hadn't been so arrogant and full of myself. If only I had learned these things for the sake of learning rather than for practical reasons; then I wouldn't find myself in this mess. The writing would just flow out of me and I wouldn't have to hold up the process to figure out just what exactly critical mass is anyway. That's not the case though. Here I am, 30 years old, and giving myself a crash course in chemistry and nuclear physics. The truth is you never know what you're going to need to know, or even want to know when you get out into the real world. I never thought that I would ever need to know what a mole was once I finished high school. Joke's on me, brother.

Dominoes

Last night j^C, That Sprout, and I went to the Halloween party at the office at the apartment complex. There was a Chinese woman there whom I wound up talking to for a little bit. Jake ended up talking to her more than I did because they could talk in Chinese. On the way home from the party I asked Jake what they had talked about and if her husband was in the Army. He said. "No, he does something with atomic energy."

Say what?

I didn't think much more about this until this morning when I googled "Augusta Atomic Energy" and found out about the Savannah River Site nuclear reservation in Aiken, SC. I have a stockpile of plutonium and depleted uranium in my back yard and no one told me about it. This would be no big thing if I had known about it before I started the whole "American Science" thing, but finding out about it now feels a little uncanny. And my neighbor is a nuclear engineer? It's like dominoes falling.

Nice place for a picnic, right? (Source)

So, I did a little research on the place and I found that they have a Citizen's Advisory Board. I thought "I used to be on a board. (It was actually a commission, but whatever.) I should put in an application. Maybe it'll be useful to writing." So, I called the number that was listed on the website and asked a few questions.

At first the man on the phone told me that they weren't taking any new board members until 2018, but then he found out that I was under 65, a military spouse, and a resident of Columbia County and suddenly there was about to be an opening and I needed to submit my application as soon as possible. So, I did. Now, I wait. And I wonder, is my participation on the board in order to learn more about nuclear things to write about (i.e. research) a conflict of interest? I suppose if I find myself on the board I'll just have to ask.

In the meantime, I'm still counting down the days until I can start my novel and waiting patiently for it to be December when I can tour the Savannah River Site. That's right, they do tours and I'm taking one. I'll have to figure out how I'm going to get That Sprout picked up from school on time that day, but that should be the only thing standing between me and the inner sanctum.

Don't judge me. (Source)

There's a part of me that's wondering why I'm doing all this. There's another part of me that feels like I'm just doing what I'm being led to do. The dominoes all seem to fall to this. Then, there's a third part of me that feels like it's some sort of candle I'm burning; some grande gesture I'm making - some attempt to know someone I know I'll never know. Deep down I know this answer has the most truth to it and I wonder what it is about this man that has me so possessed.

Why is it that the other boy geniuses who built reactors don't elicit nearly the same response from me? Is it because Duran Duran wrote a song about him? Is it his youthful exuberance? His reckless abandon? Is it the fact that he tried or the fact that he failed that captures my imagination? What is it about this story that captivates me?

My heart is too unstable. (Source)

A Brief History Lesson

I have so much that I want to talk about, but it's all best kept under my hat for now. So instead . . .

I give you:

A BRIEF HISTORY LESSON!

On this day in 1966 the world gained The Velvet Underground's seminal debut album The Velvet Underground and Nico.

Proof of Lou Reed's genius. As if you needed one. (Source)

On this day in 1984 the world lost Edith Massey, AKA The Egg Lady.

Miss Edie, The Egg Lady (Source)

On this day in 2006 the world gained My Chemical Romance's album The Black Parade.

Will you be the savior of the broken, the beaten, and the damned? (Source)

I can't believe it's been 10 years since The Black Parade came out. I can't believe it's been 50 years since The Velvet Underground and Nico either. Yet, somehow I can believe Edith Massey has been gone for 32 years. I guess music is timeless.

I haven't got a whole lot to say right now, but I've been trying to keep up with the blog leading up to NaNoWriMo. I don't know why really. I'm beginning to question whether or not I'll even post the thing on here at all. It seems like a foolhardy venture at this juncture.

I'm still waiting for my piece in Post Road Magazine to come out. Any day now. I wait with bated breath. They said it would be late October. Well, this is October and it's getting late. I'm getting anxious. I want to see my piece in black and white. I'm ready.

That's about all I have for today. Maybe I'll have something more compelling tomorrow.

Halloween Wreath

I feel like I forgot to show you all my Halloween Wreath, so here it is since I feel like garbage and I can't think of anything to write tonight. I drove back from Pensacola today and that's about it, other than hacking up a lung. There is something else that I'd like to talk about that happened tonight, but I don't think that it's my place to talk about that right now. Maybe later.

Kitty!

 Seriously, though. This is a pretty nice wreath.

Another angle, kitty!

Touchdowns and Meltdowns

Today was UWF's Homecoming Football Game against Shorter University.

Let;s Go, Argos!

It was a slaughter. We beat them 30-0. It was sad, really. I had fun though. My face is as red as a lobster, but I had fun. I wish I could say that I forgot about The Boy Scout for a little while, but that would be a lie. I'm in full on writing mode right now and I spent most of the game, and if fact most of the day thinking about my story and trying to work out plot points. That's not to say that I wasn't present. I was. Sort of. I can be in two places at once, right?

After the game, Shelley and I went to McGuire's for a late lunch and I had an Irish Wake. I hadn't had one of those in years and if I'm being honest, that was about all I was interested in having. I ordered a Ruben and some bean soup, but none of that was interesting to me. I was all about the Irish Wake. It made me feel a little better considering that I am hacking up a lunch at the moment. I seem to have caught a cough from That Sprout. I'm not real thrilled about this development as NaNoWriMo comes bearing down on me, but what am I going to do? It is what it is.

After McGuire's Shelley and I came back to the hotel. She's been taking a nap and I've been doing some research for the novel. I decided that my character needed to steal some uranium 235 from the military (NAS Jax?), but that won't do because the only Naval things that are nuclear are aircraft carriers. Back to the drawing board on that one. However, I did discover that breeder reactors, the type that The Boy Scout was trying to make, are prone to exploding. This is useful, since I wanted to make a boom. The question now becomes "How big is the boom?"

I also need to think of some other reckless things for my character to do in the meantime, I need minor plot points. One thing that I really want to work in, and I don't know why - is the way that it feels the first time a girl touches a boy in a button front shirt and tie. Also, chloroform, because Mr. Hahn definitely made chloroform. It might be useful in his procuring the uranium.

Meanwhile, I am very tired and I am tired of coughing. I miss j^C, That Sprout, and The Beans. I will be very glad to be home tomorrow as much as I miss Pensacola and I was glad to be here this weekend. It's just not the same without them. I will be very happy to be back in Augusta with my little family, despite the fact that I hate Augusta. A lot. Like, so much.