Update!

It seems like only yesterday that I was flashing self-portrait shots of myself clutching an allegedly finished manuscript of a second book…

But it wasn’t yesterday; it was nearly a year ago, and perhaps you’re wondering what gives.  (And if you are, then that makes two of us.)

You know, it’s funny the way no one ever remembered what my second book was about, and equally funny how I could never come up with a title for it.  If I ever again find myself in a position of trying to force an unnamed book that no one can remember into completion, then please, by all means, direct me to this blog entry and offer me the option to learn from my past and get out while I’m ahead.

The book was not particularly well reviewed during the first round, arguably even more poorly received five months later after a complete overhaul, and four months after the picture above was taken – months spent starting from the beginning and gutting most of what I had – I gave it to two friends and, well, neither of them ever mentioned it to me again.  That was six months ago and I know you may find this hard to believe, but even I can eventually take a hint.

So the untitled second book of forgettable subject matter has been tabled indefinitely, for revival later in life (or maybe not at all; WHO KNOWS).

Remember how we set the goal to spend 2013 giving 60%?  There was another part of the Newsweek article that inspired our lackluster efforts that I want to bring up:  when working on long-term goals, it’s important to keep working, even if that work winds up being sub par.  The article’s case-in-point was Jerry Seinfeld who, early in his career, set himself the goal of writing jokes every day.  It wasn't always much, but the point was to come up with something every single day, and every day he did, he put a little “x” on his calendar.  The focus, then, wasn't on the overwhelming goal of "making it big," but on the much more tangible goal of "not breaking the line of x's."

Translating this as literally as humanly possible, if things have been a little scarce around here, it’s because starting earlier this month, I’ve had a string of x’s on my own calendar that I’ve chained myself to.  New book, and we’ll just keep our fingers crossed that this one is more willing to work with me than its predecessor.

So happy x-marking to all of you!  And I hope you are not too emotionally traumatized after the season finale of Downton Abbey last night.  I am in mourning, both because of the plotline and because I now have nothing to look forward to on Sunday nights.

(It’s a wretched and difficult life I lead, in which I am a slave to Sharpie x’s and have to wait long, cruel months between seasons of imported British television period dramas.  Speaking of which, I could say so much…SO MUCH…but last time I said so very little and still managed to spoil poor Sam, so all I will say today is that holy hell, over the past three weeks Branson has become my new favorite thing about this show.  Is it Season 4, yet?!)