Coming into the Home Stretch...

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Well, I started this blog three months ago on March 30, 2011.  My goal was to follow my various journeys.  Some of those journeys have found completion, some are in process, and one is gradually coming into the home stretch.  Does anyone else look at their life like that?  As a collection of simultaneous journeys?  It's kind of fun for me.

JOURNEY TO RENT OUT THE FAMILY CONDO.
This journey has finally come to a happy close.  My sweet Mom passed away in 2009. After living there off and on, I decided it would be best to rent it out as a two bedroom apartment.  In May 2011 -- two great new tenants moved in.  They are young women studying animation at the School of the Art Institute.  My Mom would have loved having young artists live there.  So this journey has come to fruition.

JOURNEY TO FIND A STEADY BOY FRIEND.
I've met two interesting fellows on line, and have now talked to them by phone.  They have both passed the crucial phone test.  They are comfortable phone talkers. One is more outgoing than his pensive photo led me to believe.  The other is a bit of a talker but hopefully will be open to sharing.  One of them I will meet for lunch this Friday.  The other I hope to meet for a meal soon.  As fate would have it, they both called me for the first time the night before the Pride Parade.  I took that as a promising omen.  This journey is in progress.

JOURNEY TO FIND EMPLOYMENT.
Well, with the new income stream from have tenants in the family condo -- I have found some respectable employment as a landlord.  A new hat for me to wear.  I also started working part time for a local newspaper.  It's a special summer project to help archive decades of physical photographs to turn over to the Chicago History Museum.  It's low-stress work for a good cause with nice people.  And there are some journalist writing opportunities I can pursue there.  Having a regular part time gig would be the ideal supplement to being a landlord.  So I've never been closer to completing this journey than I am today!  In spite of this awful, unending recession.

JOURNEY TO SELF-PUBLICATION OF MY NOVEL.
I feel I am finally coming into the home stretch on the journey to self-publication.  I'm not sure exactly when the moment occurred where I chose to begin the journey.  I've been mulling the idea over for a year at least.  But I got serious about in at the start of 2011.  In April, I finished tweaking PROSPECT and send it off to CreateSpace, the self publisher.  On April 26, I had my initial consultation about the CS process and my book.  Three week later I got my editor Sarah G's brilliant analysis and edit of my full book, with suggestions for revisions.  Yesterday June 28, I got Sarah's great analysis on the newest scenes.  And now I'm pretty much on my own to finalize the manuscript, and move on to working with the designers of the book cover and interest.  The final stretch toward self publication.

I've also done a book giveaway on Goodreads.com.  950 strangers from around the country responded to my giveaway and the premise of my book!  I will send out 20 free hard copies of the book to the winners.  My strategy for a successful book launch in August one part marketing and one part spiritual.  I plan to do my Buddhist chanting that my book reaches every single person on earth whose life will be enriched by reading it. On the marketing side, I'm almost done creating a new website for the book ProspectOfMyArrival.weebly.com -- and I've finished tweaking a great book trailer which also resides on that site.

I guess in the business world this is what is called project management.  How are your own multiples journeys working out?

P.S.  I'm borrowing an idea from fellow blogger Christine Murray who has chosen one day a week to regularly post new blogs.  I've chosen Wednesday, hump day, to do so.  Keep me honest, guys.

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