Random Ramblings CLVIII · 4:09am Mar 24th, 2017
IN WHICH THE PAST COMES BACK
Well, my expected houseguest didn't turn up today. Instead, I was contacted via social media by someone with whom I'd not spoken in eight years… despite our having been friends since kindergarten (we grew up in the same neighborhood in that small town in the Ozarks) and becoming very close in high school despite our ideological differences – she's a committed Christian and I'm… not – but we just drifted apart because our lives took us in different directions. In my case, family obligations kept me close to home. She on the other hand, married and left the States for Europe three years ago. Unlike most girls (because I was and am a desperate POS), I never considered asking her out -- maybe because we've known each other since we were 5, but more because she's the first of two girls I kind of looked at as the sister I never had.
I'd felt guilty for eight years for not keeping in touch with her, though latterly I did make token attempts to find out about her without success. On the plus side, she was thrilled to finally get in touch with me again. On the downside, she asked how I was… and I don't lie. I apologized as I told her about my shitty 2016 because I always hate bringing people down, even though that's pretty much the only thing I'm good at. But she said she appreciated my willingness to not sugarcoat the truth. With luck, I'll get to see her face-to-face in July. It'll be the first time in over a decade (we talked via phone and email for a few years before losing touch completely).
As you can imagine, that unexpected reunion, coupled with tidying up for a guest who didn't show, and schooling someone on why the ACA isn't so bad despite its flaws, took time away from writing, and for that I apologize. I've said before and I'll say it again -- I envy the writers who can so easily crank out stories. Sometimes I'm motivated to write (Comma Comma), sometimes I just power through it (L&H; ADITP), but sometimes it just doesn't happen. I want to finish this Sunset+Rarity story. I've committed to doing so. But I'm just fucking slow and I hate myself for it. Chances are, just like everything else I write, I'll have less than 2,000 words to show for my efforts. Still, I care about you, my two dedicated readers. You deserve Ponies (or Equestria Girls) from me, and I intend to deliver no matter what.
Peace out!
PS - Have you read Heavy Rock yet? You should. The majority of the story is out now. Go on. Click that link. CoffeeMinion deserves your (platonic) love.
Aww, you.
Chapter 11 goes up tomorrow. 
That's cool about making contact with an old friend! There are far too many people who I've been close with at various times but who I've struggled to keep up with over the years. It doesn't help that my wife and I moved away from both sides of our families and upbringings after we got married... it was still probably the right move all things considered, but it makes it that much harder to keep up.
It's great getting to visit "home" every once in a while though, because a lot of the magic is still there if I can just corral people for a couple hours and get dinner and hang out doing or playing something for a while.
4471064 - Oh, Chapter 11. Surprisingly not my favourite bit of the story (that'd be the climax, which *ahem* rocks).
You DO realize that by doing what you did, you not only spawned Rarity's Burrito fic, you also made me consider attempting a Burrito story starring Maud. Or Flash, if I can't figure out a good Maud ramble -- I took geology in college and loved it, but it's been years and I'm not sure if I can successfully channel her.
Whenever I go back to my hometown, things just kind of feel empty, since most of the people I was close to have left - and many of the adults I knew well have retired and/or died. I feel more and more like a stranger even though I only live 35 miles away. The passage of time and circumstance means I now have contacts all over the country and the world, which is cool, even if I haven't moved far myself. But I like the nutty college town I live in now.
4471107
I regret nothing.
I guess I kinda know what you mean about the hometown thing, though. The town itself that I grew up in is sooooo different than even when I went off to college. I'm fortunate that a lot of the people are still there and alive, etc. But it's grown up and moved on, at least as much as I have. It's not really "home" per se, even though it always tempts me when I go back...
4471154 - Well I'm glad you have no regrets. Neither do I. I look forward to the eventual existence of Maud Pie Inspects A Burrito (working title).
There is one thing I always return to my hometown for every year, almost without exception -- the last weekend in April they hold an arts & crafts festival in the parks downtown and there's also an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast that Saturday morning. When the weather is agreeable (which isn't always, though it's been lucky the last few years), it's a fun day out, one of the only times I willingly venture into crowds. Sometimes I encounter old school chums, which is neat.
4471182 I wondered what the verb would be for Maud. Inspects a Burrito is a sensible choice. I was also thinking about Crushes A Burrito With A Rock, where the punchline would be something like: "What? Boulder was hungry."