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After several months of sluggishness, I've finally figured out some things that I hope will result in more consistent posting. I am currently prescribed four different medications for high blood pressure after suffering a stroke in 2019 that left me partially paralyzed on my left side. Having spent more than 30 years in journalism, being able to type with just one hand was effectively a career ender.
I was hospitalized last spring after a fall (the one that resulted in rhabdomyolosis) and one of the doctors added Lisinopril to the list. Earlier this year, a different doctor added Amlodipine. The combination basically left me zombified.
For weeks at a time, I did little more than sit in my recliner and play solitaire on my phone. I couldn't focus enough to even watch TV. In addition to constantly being fuzzy-headed, my sleep cycle kept getting off (wake up a little later each day until I was staying up all night and sleeping all day), it disrupted my digestion (one huge toilet-clogging bowel movement per week for most of the spring) and probably did some other things that I've managed to block from my memory. Just going to get a bite to eat was iffy because every place in the little town I live in shuts down by 8 p.m. The one 24-hour convenience store in town isn't exactly the best dining experience out there.
April was bad, but May was even worse. I had three days the entire month where I was mentally functional enough to get any writing done. And they were short days. I don't think I wrote 5,000 words the entire month.
Finally, I junked the meds over Memorial Day weekend. I was getting to where I couldn't remember if I'd taken them or not. I got more done the first two weeks of June than I had the previous three months. After a couple of weeks to get it all out of my system, I started back on everything but Lisinopril. The docs won't be happy, but I ain't touchin' that shit again unless they can prove to me that it won't cause such severe side effects.
"But you could die!"
News flash, folks: I never thought I was immortal. I'd rather be productive as long as I can than waste away playing solitaire on my phone.
With all that said, I finally got enough work done to submit Chapter 73 of Victory Tour for posting on SOL. It covers the day of Wednesday, Oct. 24.
You can read the story up to Saturday, Nov. 18 on my Patreon page, but the formatting's different. I write until I reach a stopping point and post the latest part. Those parts are collected into chapters for SOL. There's still a lot of work to do since I've mapped out things for the story to cover another six weeks. Gary Robinson still has virgins to deflower.
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The final part of Chapter 71 of Victory Tour has been posted. Chapter 71 is complete.
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I've added to Chapter 71 of Victory Tour. The updated version should be posted sometime tonight.
This update includes two parts because I never got around to doing it last week. Go on a bit of a roll writing and stayed with it while the ideas were fresh in my mind.
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The first part of Chapter 71 of Victory Tour has been submitted for posting. Back to the grind for Gary after a fall break that wasn't really much of a break. At least he makes it through his first class with Dr. Robinson without incident.
Chapter 70 of Victory Tour has been submitted for posting in its entirety. A very long day finally ends for our hero, but first he has to welcome home a redheaded goddess and deal with more grief from his teammates for a number of reasons.
With luck, I can start posting Chapter 71 soon. This past week has been one of my most productive in months, maybe since I got out of the hospital back in May. And with Christmas out of the way, I should have fewer demands on my time for a while.
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