Category: Life

There was an attempt: a writing contest

Taylor Burian2 Comments

A couple months ago I saw an ad on Facebook for a writing contest with cash prizes and writing feedback for all entrants, and since I’ve been on this journey of getting back into writing consistently, I thought I might give it a try. I was a little suspicious of how they were going to afford cash prizes until I saw there was an entry fee, but that only made me more suspicious of the whole thing. Was it actually a scam? Unfortunately, at the time, the deadline for signing up was only a day or two away and I knew nothing of writing contests so I had to do some quick research.

Thankfully this particular contest appeared reputable with a long history, so I signed up.

Anyways, the contest itself, through NYC Midnight, was for writing short stories. According to the rules there would be four rounds, and each entrant would have a limited amount of time to write based on a randomly selected prompt setup, of which the final output would be judged and a certain number from each group would move on. The rules also stated that we couldn’t publicly share our work until ten days after results for the round were announced. So, I won’t be sharing my round one entry here just yet.

Sadly, I did not pass round one, and now I’m just waiting for feedback. Cash prizes aside, that was a big draw for me to sign up, so I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of feedback I get on my writing.

I’m always looking to improve, so I’m not going to let this loss discourage me from continuing to write. Once I get my feedback and the ten days have passed I plan on sharing my one short story here, and then maybe you all can also provide some feedback!

We’ll see where things go from here.

Eclipse: a view from South Dakota

Taylor BurianLeave a comment

Yesterday was one of those celestial events that I usually miss because eastern South Dakota is typically overcast and rainy around this time of year, and yet I did manage to get some pictures!

We only got to see about 70% coverage as it peeked through the clouds, and on top of that I was taking pictures from indoors at work where the windows have an exterior tint and some measure of polarization which made for some interesting images. Have a look!

Maybe next time (in like 2044 I guess) I’ll get better pictures.

Fitness for fun and good health

Taylor BurianLeave a comment

What’s the most fun way to exercise?

For most people, myself included, the thought of exercising for the sake of exercising is off-putting. The best way to get people to exercise is to disguise it as something fun. At least, that’s how I see it all.

For me, the most fun way to exercise is definitely some kind of sporting activity (but I’m sure some people would disagree while doing some suggestive waggling of eyebrows.) I’m not big on running up and down a field, but soccer would probably yield the most results from the exercise perspective, while golf is limiting and not full of a lot of exertion unless you’re hitting the range instead. I’ve definitely left the range with sore hands and woke up with some sore upper body muscles.

I’m calling out sports here because I can think of a couple of other activities that get people moving. Mobile games like Pokémon Go and those scavenger hunt kinds of games (like from CluedUpp Games.) I haven’t played the former much in recent years and the latter only once because it costs money and requires a group.

This all just reminds me I need to suck it up and get back to the gym more frequently.

To read and reread

Taylor BurianLeave a comment

What book could you read over and over again?

I haven’t found a book lately that I can say totally qualifies for this honor, but I have had some in the past.

Way back in elementary school is when I discovered Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I think it was probably around 3rd or 4th grade? I was always reading at a level a couple years above most of my peers, and when I first read Ender’s Game I didn’t know some words or fully understand the context and complexity of the story, but I was enthralled. I read that book several times, taking a couple weeks or months in between reads without reading anything else so that I could digest it before reacquainting myself with the story.

Middle school up to about sophomore year of high school was when I read some Dragonlance stories and what was available of The Wheel of Time, and although I didn’t reread them as voraciously as I had with Ender’s Game, I did reread a few of them at least a couple of times.

Reading Harry Potter didn’t happen for me until book six was released. After that I read them a couple of times, mixed in with more Wheel of Time, and then reread some of them leading up to book sevens release. After book seven I didn’t reread them, and it would be several years before I chose to read and reread something new.

I think the last book I actually reread multiple times was Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. My older brother recommended I check it out. This was probably during the last couple years of college, as I recall reading The Human Division in its serial release format around that time. Even after that I would still circle back to reread that first book. It’s been more than a few years since my last reading of Old Man’s War and now I kind of want to go back and read it again.

Well, aside from all those books I haven’t found anything new. Maybe I’ll find something new to read over and over again soon.

Living in another world

Taylor BurianLeave a comment

If you could be a character from a book or film, who would you be? Why?

I think I usually hear this kind of question phrased as which book/film/television world would you live in rather than being a specific character. Why would we want to be a specific character? We already know what happens to them, right?

I honestly don’t know which character I would be if I could pick one. There are quite a lot of book and film properties out there to pick from for just one character.

Maybe, since the question is still a little vague, we get to choose the character we want to be without living through the events of their story. If that’s the case it opens things up a bit, because, let’s be real here, nobody wants to live through the same struggles and hardships most characters go through during the events of their stories.

If I get to be this character while existing in our current world, I would pick someone capable of magic. Maybe Simon from the Dungeons & Dragons movie. Wild Magic sounds like a lot of chaotic fun and could make for great (or disastrous) party tricks.

Yeah, let’s go with Simon.

Latest project: a book nook!

Taylor BurianLeave a comment

Last I backed a Kickstarter campaign for these Dreamy Mini Alley book nooks, and a couple weeks ago it finally showed up! I opted for the DIY kit rather than getting a pre-assembled one because I love putting these kinds of things together.

Well, I started working on it yesterday evening for a few hours and then worked on it some more today for the last seven or so hours. (This is why I didn’t get around to writing a response to today’s daily writing prompt about pets.)

All it needs to be fully complete are some AA batteries for the lights, and it will be perfect. I did make sure to test the electrical components (by using a 2-AAA battery holder I have for another project)  after they were assembled to make sure things lit up and the switch worked. So I know it should work just fine.

Anyway, without further ado, here are some pictures!

There’s a little mirror acting as the back wall to create the illusion of further depth and to see the other shop door correctly (it was designed to be mirrored.)

Some mistakes were made along the way, and it wouldn’t be a fun DIY kit if I hadn’t made any mistakes, but I corrected them along the way. I think it turned out great!

To work for free

Taylor BurianLeave a comment
Daily writing prompt
What job would you do for free?
View all responses

I’m going to keep this Friday post brief since I ran short of time today.

So long as people need to provide for themselves in a way that requires an exchange of goods or services for other goods and services, then no “job” should be done for free.

That being said, if we lived in a future where our every need is provided for in a way that we DIDN’T have to worry about money and living paycheck to paycheck, where we could pursue whatever work we wanted, I would probably do all the writing I want to do but don’t really have time for now!

It would be so easy to just sit down to write for hours and hours without worrying about money.

Happy Friday!

What Olympic sports I like

Taylor BurianLeave a comment
Daily writing prompt
What Olympic sports do you enjoy watching the most?
View all responses

My family used to watch the Olympics, both Summer and Winter, a lot when I was younger. As a kid I wasn’t all the interested and it was just kind of something that was on. We would naturally hope that the athletes from the USA would do well, but I never cared much.

As an adult, I still don’t care much, but I have a much deeper understanding and respect for the athletes. The things they do for training, the lifestyles they have to lead, just to be able to perform at the “Olympic” level is fascinating and also a little sad sometimes. So, for the events/sports that I do end up watching, I can appreciate the action better and actually feel somewhat invested. That being said, I don’t typically watch a lot of the Summer games (and there are a LOT of events for the Summer Olympics.) I much more prefer watching the Winter games, especially the ice related ones.

I did a little bit of skateboarding and snowboarding (briefly) as a kid, so I naturally gravitate towards those events for the Olympics, but I’ve grown to enjoy most of the ice-based sports for the Winter games, which means I watch a substantial portion of the events as compared to the Summer games. The Summer games I enjoy, outside of the skateboarding and BMX events (which go hand in hand for me as part of the “extreme sports” grouping I grew up with), are typically the martial arts ones. On occasion I do enjoy seeing the archery and fencing events, but they aren’t top of the list.

A final note on all of this, though, is that despite me saying I enjoy these events I’m not a big sports guy to begin with, so it should go without saying that I don’t follow the teams or individual athletes and have no vested interest in their practice, progress, and success. I just watch whenever I feel like it (when the games are on, of course.)

Community improvement

Taylor BurianLeave a comment

How would you improve your community?

This is a tough question…

On one hand I can approach this less seriously and throw around (potentially) lofty ideas regardless of feasibility, and on the other I could do what I usually do and analyze the hell out of it while only sharing a small amount of my thoughts.

I’ll just stick with the “lofty idea” one.

Lofty idea: more public events/classes for teens and adults, like the fun ones through the library system. Space/class sizes would still be limited but if there were more of them then people wouldn’t have to miss out too often because the classes/events wouldn’t be “one and done” on an annual basis (because it already feels like they don’t exist.)

Meeting people and making friends as an adult is already a challenge, and modern dating can be even more of a challenge, especially when it feels like the only thing to do out here is go to the bars. (I live in an area where there are, on average, more bars than churches by a fair amount.) So, why not introduce more ways to be social without breaking the bank AND finding people who might have common interests? Or even just having activities for date nights that aren’t just going out to dinner and maybe a movie? How about an hour long class on archery? Or a two hour stained glass session?

A community is only as strong as the bonds we forge together in a personal way, face to face. Not digitally where everyone can hide behind a keyboard and avoid reality. (I say all this knowing full well how introverted I typically am and avoiding social outings with strangers.)

My life post pandemic

Taylor BurianLeave a comment
Daily writing prompt
How have you adapted to the changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic?
View all responses

I’ve talked about it before multiple times but only really as brief mentions for other topics.

The way I adapted to live during and after the pandemic.

During the pandemic, I ordered a LOT of food through DoorDash and Grubhub. An embarrassing amount, considering I was basically confined to the house and could have cooked my meals anytime I wanted. Afterwards, when restrictions lifted and I was going back into the office nearly everyday, I try to avoid that and remind myself of just how much money I could be saving by not using those apps, but I still do use them on occasion. It’s nice to be able to have something delivered to the office (on very rare occasions) when I know I’m going to have a busy day full of meetings. It’s also nice to use those apps purely for reference too! I can pull them up, see nearly every restaurant near me, and check what hours and menus are for each. Then I can either order for pick up or remind myself I’m not really THAT hungry to warrant ordering out. The cost of convenience is not really worth it anymore.

Technology and the home work setup changed during and after the pandemic in a way I never really thought I would feel okay with accepting. I need my separate spaces for work and home. During the pandemic this sucked because I basically lived in my bedroom for 20+ hours a day. Work, eat, play, sleep. At the time, I built a room divider to help separate my bedroom into sleeping area and gaming/working area. (It’s just a 4×8 sheet of wood cut to a 4×7 shape with a cube storage shelf screwed onto it for stability and organization.) After the pandemic was more or less ended, I moved my computer setup back into the basement along with the room divider so that I could kind of shut it off from the rest of the basement for some privacy and to serve as a backdrop for when I was streaming.

Before the pandemic hit and everything shut down, I used to go to Walmart and other late night stores all the time. 2:00AM and can’t sleep? Walk around Walmart and do some light shopping. Although technically I did that a lot anyway because I enjoyed the peace and quiet of shopping when nobody else was around. Now I can’t really do that, unless I wanted to spend time at gas stations that are open 24/7. I’ve had to adapt to the idea that I’ll just have to be quick and methodical about my grocery shopping excursions and plan them as best I can at times of the day when the crowds are lightest. That usually means early mornings are an hour or two before close.

I’m sure there are probably some other ways I’ve adapted to life post-pandemic but if I can’t think of them off the top of my head they probably aren’t as broad or significant as the things I mentioned above. Oh well, life changes all the time and I’m sure I’ll have to adapt to new things again in the near future.