Tag: observations

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late nights, early mornings

I’m in Raleigh, NC, for Pendomonium, a conference for software company Pendo.io as a work thing this week. I flew in on Monday, getting to my hotel at around midnight. I couldn’t sleep. I got maybe two hours, all told.

Yesterday was the first day of the conference, and boy, I struggled to stay awake at points. Lots of good things to learn and some networking.

Last night I got about 4.5 hours of sleep. I could lay down right now and sleep, but day two starts in about a half an hour, so…

Tonight, I NEED to get to sleep early. There may be some Benadryl in my evening meds. My alarm is set for 2 am for a 5 am flight.

I think I’m getting too old for the late night, early morning thing that I used to do with no problem. I’m not quite ready to give up gig nights, but between two gigs in two nights in August, and two days at Pendomonium, I think I’m getting to the point of needing to space them out more.

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

Oh, yeah! And you can now buy my books in my SHOP! Get yours now! Forever is on sale for the whole month of October, and Tonight is FREE for October.

I need more coffee…

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…forever in a day…

I’ve been awake since 2am because of anxiety. I leave for the airport in about a half hour. I haven’t ridden this edge of anxiety since my Kane days. Literally shaking right now.

But! I am also so excited at the same time. I’ve already medicated, so that should help me not have a panic attack just walking into the convention.

For airplane reading, if I don’t fall asleep, I have my own book, Forever, because I’m doing a book thing next Thursday with a reading group at a former coworker’s new workplace and I haven’t been immersed into that world in a hot minute. Picked it up last night and skimmed through the first chapter.

I had forgotten how much I love that character and that world. So much of my life went into that book. I may sign it and leave it somewhere at the con for someone to find. I do that from time to time.

Anyway, if you want to follow my anxiety-filled first SPN con experience, follow me on Threads (@nataliejcase) as I will be spewing things as they happen and posting pics (and yes, the “big camera” and “big lens” are coming along for the ride.

Might drop content on Insta and FB as well, so take peeks there too if you like.

Y’all be good while I’m gone, or at least don’t burn the world down or start and apocalypse.

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writing my way into 2024

Happy New Year, Readers! In the hope of starting the year out right, I aim to get some writing done this morning. I got stuck on the fourth Blood Witch book, so I’ve switched gears and gone back to The Daughters of Morru.

I’m at the point in the plot there that I need to finesse my way into a time jump. Our heroine needs to get to sixteen to get us to the next plot point.

The words are flowing, so I’m hoping it’s a good sign.

I hope you all have a peaceful and amazing year.

Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash

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goodbye 2023

It wasn’t the worst year on record, but it wasn’t the best either. It was a year of ups and downs, turn arounds and backflips.

It was the first full year without my father in this world, my first Christmas without him. There was a lot of added responsibility with taking care of my stepmother and getting her settled into a life without him.

My pupper filled a hole in me that I wasn’t even aware I had, and I love her so completely. She gets me out of the house daily, and I’ve met some cool folks because of her.

I almost lost my 16 year old kitty, but she’s feeling so much better now and was even playing a little this morning. Now if I can just get her to eat the right food and take her meds.

I spent a lot of time with family this year, including a week-long vacation in NOLA with my Mom and brother. I didn’t do a whole lot of writing, but I’m happy with the writing I did do. Wrote a poem a day in November.

I probably drank too much, and I definitely ate stuff I probably shouldn’t have. Re-watched favorite shows and started a few new ones. Lost my facebook account, ditched X/Twitter, fell in love with Threads. Played around a little with AI art using my own photography as a base. Asked AI to tell me about myself and laughed at the results (what it got right was okay, what it got wrong was a lot and hilarious).

Looking forward to the new year. Hoping for a promotion on the day job. Want to finish at least one of the WIPs. Want to travel more.

First up in that regard is a solo trip to Disneyland in January. I’ve never done it alone, so it should be interesting. I plan to spend a lot of time hanging out in Batuu. I may take a notebook and do some writing there.

Also attending my first Supernatural convention in July. It’s the first time I’ve had the money to do what I need to do to handle my agoraphobia (front row seats) at the same time as they went on sale.

And on that note, my coffee is almost gone, the cat needs meds, and I should get this last Saturday of the year on it’s feet.

Photo by Behnam Norouzi on Unsplash

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time journeys on

It is hard to believe that we are at the midpoint of December. It’s been a year of status quo, travel, and challenge. For a good chunk of the year, I’ve felt stuck in a rut, but I’ve also traveled to a number of places I’ve never been before (and a few I have).

Mom and I took a road trip north of here, into gold country. We visited little towns and historical sites. We took lots of pictures. On the drive home, I learned that she wanted to visit New Orleans. New Orleans has been on my bucket list for a long time.

Next thing I know, we’re planning a week in NOLA, with my brother coming along for the ride. We did all the touristy things and even caught a Saints football game.

I also got back to Austin in August, and a few trips to Tucson to help my stepmother. Racking up the air miles! 

But here we are, December 16…Christmas is just 9 days away. The new year is just 7 days beyond that and we’ll be in 2024. There was a time in my life when that seemed impossible. It’s going to be a consequential year. Everything is on the line in the November election. It is easy to sink into despair over the state of things, but I choose optimism.

I choose to believe that Americans have seen the chaos of the last two years and will do the right thing to protect our democracy. Anything else is unthinkable.

These heavy thoughts brought to you by a lack of caffeine. I best get to pouring my first cup of Death Wish Coffee. Y’all have a great Saturday, Readers. 

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kindness matters

One of the best things in the whole world, for me anyway, is giving to those who have nothing, no way to repay a kindness. Sometimes this takes the form of buying breakfast for an unhoused person, sometimes it’s five bucks to get someone home on the train.

When I’m feeling down, I seek out someone who needs something I can provide. But it is important to me that I don’t just hand them a cup of coffee. That isn’t where the kindness lives. It lives in listening to their stories, in letting them talk if they want to. It’s in sitting on a curb sipping coffee with them.

Yesterday, my mother and I spent the day putting together care packages for the homeless. We got a hygiene kit together (toothbrush/paste, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, lip balm, etc), added a hat and gloves, a pair of socks, then we packed some food in. A mandarin orange, peanut butter sandwich, some crackers, cookies, trail mix, and some holiday cheer in the form of candy.

We ended up with twenty care packages that are currently in my car. On my way home, I stopped twice to hand out bags to two gentlemen I see fairly regularly. One of them wanted to give me something in return. He was sweet, and told me a long, rambling story of how he got the piece he was giving to me, and how special it is. Doesn’t matter that it’s just a bit of plastic that broke off of some decorative thing. It was about him feeling like he had something to give me in return.

Today, Mom and I are taking the packages to an encampment of homeless folks, along with some blankets. It is starting to be cold here, especially at night, and while we don’t get snow and all that, the cold can still be deadly.

Kindness matters. Spread some around.

Photo by Adam Nemeroff on Unsplash

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numbers add up

On one hand, this week just disappeared. On the other hand, well it was a week.

When I first started my adult career, I worked in data. I was good at it, but it didn’t really fulfill me. Then I recognized a need for someone to take over writing a number of policies and procedures and I did both for a long time. Eventually, I found my way into a job that was 90% writing and it felt like coming home.

I’ve been a technical writer for over 20 years now, and yet, somehow, data still finds its way into my work day. This week that was NPS scores. Because I own the tool that allows us to pop up NPS scores directly in our platform, it falls to me to do the read out. My VP asked me yesterday to share our current NPS scores and some awesome comments in our “Weekly Wins” call. That lead to being asked to do a deep dive to provide info to our Marketing team and our CTO.

We’ve been running the survey since May of this year, and we currently sit at a solid 50, which is pretty damn good.

But now it’s the weekend and I’m hoping to get some writing done, clean the house, take the dog to the park, grocery shopping with Mom, etc. Right this minute, however, I have some Death Wish Coffee in my cup and a blank page staring at me.

Photo by Joshua Sortino on Unsplash

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BOOKS! I have books!

As I work my way back into the writing groove, everything feels rusty and foreign. I’ve written a poem a day so far this month, some of them suck, some are okay. I’m attempting to be more present on social media…well, Threads anyway. I’ve tried to maintain a posting schedule here (Wednesdays and Saturdays).

This weekend I hope to work on one of the novels I’ve got started

The world seems so dark right now, that I need to find the light where I can and my characters are the light I choose.

However, I also need to get some cleaning done. And shopping. Somehow Thanksgiving is next week! Oh! And that means that Christmas is around the corner. Do you have readers on your list this year?

I have hardback and paperback copies of most of my novels on hand. I am happy to personalize and sign and mail them out to you!

Hardbacks $20 ($35 for 2, $50 for 3) +shipping
Paperbacks $10 ($15 for 2, $25 for 3) +shipping

If you are interested, reach out to me via email. Let me know which book(s) you want, how you want them personalized, and make sure to include a mailing address. I’ll get back to you on the shipping cost. I can take Paypal, Venmo, cashapp and Zelle for payment.

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random thoughts and stray dogs

I have a mess of thinky thoughts roiling around in my brain this morning. Thoughts about veterans, about stray dogs. Thoughts about consent being a thing we need to cultivate and honor starting with out kids. Thoughts about books and writing. Thoughts about family and Yule and Thanksgiving.

Days like this are hard on the ability to write. I can’t focus on any one thing for too long because my head is just swimming.

This week I rescued a wee dog that was abandoned at the dog park. He’s a chihuahua mix, about a year old and un-neutered. Someone just left him there alone. He’s a sweetheart of a pup. He gets so excited anytime I come into the room. Part of me wishes I could keep him, but I know I can’t. My landlady would have a fit.

I’m still thoroughly enjoying Threads (https://www.threads.net/@nataliejcase) where I am connecting and interacting with lots of new folks. I’m almost to 600 followers over there!

I’m going to be running a sale on books, I just need to run an inventory of what I have on hand. I have hardbacks and paperbacks. I’m also running a special for the holidays where I will write poetry or short stories for you to give as a gift to someone special in your life.

Today is veterans day. My dad was a veteran, several family members are as well. We owe a lot to those who were willing to put themselves in harms way to keep the world safe.

I did say it’s a mess in my head today, right? Anyway, happy Saturday, Readers. I hope the weekend is kind.

Photo by Chad Madden on Unsplash

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the year that was and the year that will be

Ah, New Year’s…that time of hope and good will and the best intentions. We say good riddance to the year that was and throw open our arms to embrace the year to come.

As a general rule, I do my goal setting and reminiscing about the year at Samhain, but it’s been a hell of a year.

I moved from Walnut Creek out to Stockton to be closer to my mom and brother. I went to Star Wars Celebration. I got a dog. I published three novels. I lost my father and stepped into the caretaker role for my stepmother. I got to go to Nashville to see Radio Company in their first public gig.

In April, I wrote a poem every single day. I finished writing one book and got a third of the way into the next.

I got to catch up with some family I haven’t seen in forever, and meet some family I had never met.

I generally suck at keeping up with any schedules or such when it comes to posting daily or weekly or whathaveyou…but I’d like to get back to a more regular posting schedule. When I started this blog, I committed to posting here every Mon-Weds-Fri, but life got in the way, so maybe I’ll attempt Saturdays and Wednesdays. One of those days I’ll post something about my writing process/progress and the other whatever comes to mind.

I’m also wanting to get back to writing more poetry, so you may see more of that too.

Here’s a wish for you, Readers: May 2023 bring you peace, joy, and love. May your coffee be strong, your food delicious, your sleep restful and your heart filled with kindness. Goodbye 2022, the year that was, and welcome 2023, the year that will be.

Photo by Moritz Knöringer on Unsplash