It’s a New Season (Blogophilia 1.14)

So here we are starting the fourteenth season of Blogophilia. I can say I’ve been here since around the beginning of season 2. My Internet handle is and has always been “Another Government Employee”, a result of being a sometime contributor to a syndicated radio show.

I’ve reformed, though.

If you have seen any of my previous Meet and Greets, you know I am a former Government cog who was forcibly ejected from the system as an infection in 2012 after 14 years with my last agency (It’s been that long?). Since then, I do employee benefits consulting to pay the bills.

My specialty is Flash Fiction, short pieces less than 1500 words. It’s a challenge to tell a coherent story with decent characters in that few words. I’m not stuck on any genre. I’ve done parody, romance, horror, and fantasy. My characters are slightly broken, bewildered people trying to muddle through the mess of their lives. The ones most writers forget about because the mundane seems boring, but it’s not. The fascination is seeing how people make choices, whether they are good or bad, in the heat of the moment.

I’ve kept a journal sporadically since I was 14, a nondescript spiral notebook in my pack. Like a lot of kids, it contained gross pictures and bad poetry. Being a Drama and Band nerd, I spent many rehearsals working out issues because the paper could be trusted to keep the secret. These days, it is a series of WordPad docs and it is the basis for my slush pile.

I’m writing this post on the night of the “Ides of March.” Does that make me Caesar? I wouldn’t think so. I’ve seen too many politicians up close over the years. Their egos blind themselves of the dangers around them. It usually doesn’t take a gang of Legislators to bring them down, just their own stupidity. I’ve watched the political stage deteriorate in the last 25 years to a point where nothing can get accomplished and it bothers me to no end.

So to distract myself, I eagerly await 11:00AM every Sunday when the new batch of prompts comes out. Will a completely new story come out of them or will they work with the slush pile? It’s always a mystery. I’ve built whole characters from minor prompts and serial stories out of major ones.

Then there are the weeks where NOTHING comes.

You feel like you are in a hotel and your key says 1408. As you ride the elevator to the floor, a sense of dread comes over you. What really is on the other side of the door? You pace the hall not wanting to swipe the key until finally you have no choice. The rush of musty air-conditioning envelopes your body. The gag reflex is immediate. You quickly run to the thick curtains and throw them open to see your premium view of 14th Street. The scratchin’ thumping of the disco across the street rings in the your ears. You wonder what the mosh pit looks like. The Working Girl’s wave up to you and…

Well, you get the idea.

I usually manage to post in the end. I have found if I don’t panic, I will come up with something even if it is recycling something old.

Not from the stars do my judgement pluck.

It’s all made up and points don’t matter.

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This week is weird since Marvin provided all the prompts.

I think the pic is Tyler Mirth’s, tho.

Pic guesses: Party, New year’s eve, Disco (in blog), EDM, Scratchin'(in blog), mosh pit (in blog)