NOTES from the ALLEY #1
in no particular order…
i.
Every December since we moved to Spain, I say I’m going to start learning Spanish, and every February, I say “Maybe next year.”
In 2020, a really mean Spanish teacher made fun of me, snapped his fingers at me in class, dismissed things I said. He was half my age—I was the oldest of the students by about 15 years—and I choose to suspect he either had Daddy issues, or “Daddy” issues. For all that, I really enjoyed learning Spanish, but then the pandemic locked us down hard so I couldn’t take the next class in the series.
In 2021, I was too busy writing my first novel.
In 2022, I was struggling with some mental health issues; and again this year, though things are (mostly) pretty good, I just don’t feel like I have the emotional bandwidth.
Maybe next year…
⚫.o
ii.
*asterisks*
pompoms for words
I will sometimes use an asterisk as almost a wink, like when I write something odd or misspell something on purpose, and rather than do the whole notation at the bottom thing, I'll simply trust in the keen intelligence of you, Esteemed Reader, to know what I meant, or know what went missing, and that it wasn't a typo, misnomer or gaffe.
If my little cat winks direct your attention into a blank aether, it's because I have every confidence you have the acuity not to fall in.
⚫.o
iii.
I just signed up for my first paid subscription. Chill Subs’ Startup diary Things We Do While Waiting to Die is the Substack from the good folks “making your writing (and art) life not so freaking exhausting” with a “free database of 2100+ literary magazines, 1200+ writing contests, a tracker, and other fun stuff” including “[ugh]” their Twitter substitute just in case the bird dies.
They do great work, they are in early days, and everything so far is free—they’re doing this solely with passion and caffeine. Follow them on Twitter, or Instagram, or just head over to their website to check out all their great features. If you are submitting to litmags, you need Chill Subs.
⚫.o
