Hello All!
As I post this there is 6 hours left in 2014 (Arizona Time). While the turning of the calendar and the idea of starting anew is subjective, I am truly looking forward to turning a new page and starting a new year, and literally trying to ‘start anew.’
I am doing great, and 2014 has truly ended on a good note, and as a good year. However, it didn’t start out so well.
Starting out a year by flatling is not a good thing. I did exactly that on January 29, and spent a nice 17-day vacation in Good Samaritan hospital. I spent most of this year recovering, with a lot of people in fear that it would happen again.
Oddly, I wasn’t one of them.
This year was utterly derailed because of the aneurysm, both mentally and physically I had to rest, take care, and literally NOT do many of the things I had planned.
The thing that bugged me the most this past year wasn’t the aneurysm itself, or the numerous angiogram follow ups. It was a handful of people who continually insisted that this experience had to have ‘changed me.’
They can’t seem to grasp not only how good I am doing, but how I am the same person I have always been.
I look upon what happened like this, it happened, I dealt with it. I lived. I live. That’s it.
If it had any impact on me in ‘changing me’ it was this, I believe life is for LIVING, this incident just affirmed that even more. So, that is what I do LIVE.
2014 was derailed, but ended up a good year.
I am looking positively foward to 2015. I have the train back on the tracks, heading forward full steam.
My personal motto:
“I never lose, I never fail, I never falter
I learn, I evolve, I grow stronger.”
Ace Masters.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Monday, December 1, 2014
December 1st
Hey Yo.
Well, if you read my post back on November 1st you would know that I had planned on unofficially doing the National Novel Writing Month challenge. I had also planned on posting daily word counts to Facebook and weekly notes on this blog.
Unfortunately, little of that happened because I suffered a shoulder and arm injury on the second. The injury, which is still healing, caused massive muscle swelling, crushing the nerves in my arm. This caused me a lot of pain, even when writing.
The unfortunate news is I didn’t make the 50,000 word count. The good news is I did make 30,000.
This is NOT a failure. This month was a success. If not for the arm injury, I would have shattered the 50,000 word count. I also succeeded in what I really wanted to do, kick start myself back into writing.
And boy, did it feel good to be writing again. I have done some writing this year, but this was the first real creative writing, fiction writing. Not writing reviews or commentary.
The Book of Sven Vaunder is taking shape, and may not have been a good choice for the challenge. I thought I could write this as a novella, but it is going to be more than that. It has also started to take on a life and depth that I didn’t expect, and that is a good thing.
Now it is time for the holidays. So have fun and rejoice.
I can’t wait for 2015!
Ace Masters
Well, if you read my post back on November 1st you would know that I had planned on unofficially doing the National Novel Writing Month challenge. I had also planned on posting daily word counts to Facebook and weekly notes on this blog.
Unfortunately, little of that happened because I suffered a shoulder and arm injury on the second. The injury, which is still healing, caused massive muscle swelling, crushing the nerves in my arm. This caused me a lot of pain, even when writing.
The unfortunate news is I didn’t make the 50,000 word count. The good news is I did make 30,000.
This is NOT a failure. This month was a success. If not for the arm injury, I would have shattered the 50,000 word count. I also succeeded in what I really wanted to do, kick start myself back into writing.
And boy, did it feel good to be writing again. I have done some writing this year, but this was the first real creative writing, fiction writing. Not writing reviews or commentary.
The Book of Sven Vaunder is taking shape, and may not have been a good choice for the challenge. I thought I could write this as a novella, but it is going to be more than that. It has also started to take on a life and depth that I didn’t expect, and that is a good thing.
Now it is time for the holidays. So have fun and rejoice.
I can’t wait for 2015!
Ace Masters
Saturday, November 8, 2014
THE BOOK OF SVEN VAUNDER UPDATE #1
11/8/2014
Well, if anyone read my State of the Master post last Friday, then you know about my Novel Challenge and that I said I would post daily word count updates to my Facebook and full updates each Saturday.
This is the first full update. Unfortunately, my writing on the book of Sven Vaunder has not gone well, and not because of any writer’s block. Sometime last Saturday afternoon I injured my right arm, causing a lot of swelling and crushing a nerve.
This has been causing me a lot of pain and numbness in my hand. It will heal and be fine, but it has prevented me from writing as much as I wanted, and from doing many other things. I can write for a little while, but then my hand starts to hurt. Being right handed makes it worse.
So to this point, I have written a little over 4,000 words, a far cry from the 2,000 words a day I wanted. Tomorrow is a new week, and I will pick it up. I survived a brain aneurysm. I can easily survive this.
Next week I plan to have a much better update and a far better word count.
Well, if anyone read my State of the Master post last Friday, then you know about my Novel Challenge and that I said I would post daily word count updates to my Facebook and full updates each Saturday.
This is the first full update. Unfortunately, my writing on the book of Sven Vaunder has not gone well, and not because of any writer’s block. Sometime last Saturday afternoon I injured my right arm, causing a lot of swelling and crushing a nerve.
This has been causing me a lot of pain and numbness in my hand. It will heal and be fine, but it has prevented me from writing as much as I wanted, and from doing many other things. I can write for a little while, but then my hand starts to hurt. Being right handed makes it worse.
So to this point, I have written a little over 4,000 words, a far cry from the 2,000 words a day I wanted. Tomorrow is a new week, and I will pick it up. I survived a brain aneurysm. I can easily survive this.
Next week I plan to have a much better update and a far better word count.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Order of Business
Welcome to my first State of the Master Blog entry for November. Actually, this is my fourth Blog entry for today in total, considering The Burning Mind and Wrestlementary. Yeah me, for multiple blog entries.
There is something I want to state upfront, I am happy, and I have a great life and great friends (Dave Parrish, Ken Brown and Sue Brown, Chris Rose, Ken chancellor, Clay Stubblefield, to name a few), just wanted to mention that.
Okay, I want to get the least orders of business out of the way first:
Burning Mind – I have posted a State of the Burning Mind blog today, mostly concerning the hiatus of the blog: http://skullablaze.blogspot.com/2014/11/state-of-burning-mind.html
Wrestlementary – A State of Wrestlementary blog has gone up as well, giving some details of plans for the future of the blog: http://wrestlementary.blogspot.com/2014/11/state-of-wrestlementary.html
The main order of business for this post, and this month, is National Novel Writing Month. As of this posting I am not entering the official contest (I’m disqualified according to the rules), but I am going to take the challenge. For those who don’t know, National Novel Writing Month is a challenge/contest to write a 50,000-word novel.
I don’t care about entering the contest, or winning prizes. This isn’t a hobby for me. Writing is my life. I am taking the challenge to kick-start myself back into writing fiction after a long year. My goal is to reach 60,000 words by November 30, 2000 words a day.
I will chronicle my progress on this blog and my Facebook. At 12AM every day, I will post the amount of words I have written that day, and the total words count to that date on Facebook. Every Saturday evening, I will post an update on my progress to this blog.
I will not be posting this novel online anywhere, so anyone following this will have to take me on faith. I do however plan to submit this novel to publishers when ready.
The story I am going to write is entitled The Book of Sven Vaunder. This is a concept that came to me last Sunday night, while I sat outside, staring at the stars and sipping on a coke. It is a fantasy story that will be written in first person and told as a series of journal entries, memoir style.
As I wrote above, I am taking this more as a personal challenge. I need to do this. This year has been tough, and a long recovery. I plan to make this my spring broad back into taking my writing seriously again and moving it up to the next level. A level I have not been at for quite some while.
Ace Masters.
There is something I want to state upfront, I am happy, and I have a great life and great friends (Dave Parrish, Ken Brown and Sue Brown, Chris Rose, Ken chancellor, Clay Stubblefield, to name a few), just wanted to mention that.
Okay, I want to get the least orders of business out of the way first:
Burning Mind – I have posted a State of the Burning Mind blog today, mostly concerning the hiatus of the blog: http://skullablaze.blogspot.com/2014/11/state-of-burning-mind.html
Wrestlementary – A State of Wrestlementary blog has gone up as well, giving some details of plans for the future of the blog: http://wrestlementary.blogspot.com/2014/11/state-of-wrestlementary.html
The main order of business for this post, and this month, is National Novel Writing Month. As of this posting I am not entering the official contest (I’m disqualified according to the rules), but I am going to take the challenge. For those who don’t know, National Novel Writing Month is a challenge/contest to write a 50,000-word novel.
I don’t care about entering the contest, or winning prizes. This isn’t a hobby for me. Writing is my life. I am taking the challenge to kick-start myself back into writing fiction after a long year. My goal is to reach 60,000 words by November 30, 2000 words a day.
I will chronicle my progress on this blog and my Facebook. At 12AM every day, I will post the amount of words I have written that day, and the total words count to that date on Facebook. Every Saturday evening, I will post an update on my progress to this blog.
I will not be posting this novel online anywhere, so anyone following this will have to take me on faith. I do however plan to submit this novel to publishers when ready.
The story I am going to write is entitled The Book of Sven Vaunder. This is a concept that came to me last Sunday night, while I sat outside, staring at the stars and sipping on a coke. It is a fantasy story that will be written in first person and told as a series of journal entries, memoir style.
As I wrote above, I am taking this more as a personal challenge. I need to do this. This year has been tough, and a long recovery. I plan to make this my spring broad back into taking my writing seriously again and moving it up to the next level. A level I have not been at for quite some while.
Ace Masters.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
The Past, The Now, and the Upcoming
First thing I want to mention is that I am in Great Health, Great Spirits and have GREAT NEWS!
Three weeks ago (Wednesday September 10) I had my second angiogram since being released from the Hospital. It is probably my fourth or fifth Angiogram over all. Last Thursday (September 25) I had the follow up appointment with Doctor David Wilson (who performed the operation on my brain aneurysm), and received the results.
I have been given the all clear and a clean bill of health. There has been no growth in the blood vessel and no return of the aneurysm. The doctors have scaled me back to only needing an Angiogram once a year. So, I don’t need another one until next September!
Thank you to all who have said a prayer and for everyone’s thoughts and well wishes.
I labeled this post The Past, The Now, and the Upcoming
The aneurysm is now part of THE PAST. Of course, I am going to keep an eye on it.
If the aneurysm had any lasting effect on me this year, it was knocking this year off course. I have not really accomplished what I wanted to do this year. In fact, I fell into a usual trap for me, one I try to avoid. That trap being that I spend so much time trying to get caught up, that I don’t get anywhere.
That brings me to THE NOW. I have decided to let go of what hasn’t been accomplished this year, and to focus on what to accomplish. To that end, I have scaled back what I am going to be working on for the rest of this year and focus on getting 2015 kicked off perfectly.
For the Now, my focus is mainly going to be on the From My Heart to Your Health comic book anthology, the Wrestlementary blog, working on my artwork and enjoying the upcoming holidays. I am also considering one major project I have never undertaken before.
THE BURNING MIND: The Burning Mind is my comic book blog, which really got derailed. I planned an article a week and a review a week. But that didn’t happen. I have tried to get caught up with the reviews, but am so far behind it is just getting ridiculous.
So, effective today, over the course of October, I will post all the reviews I currently have done, then I will put The Burning Mind in a two-month hiatus. It is not going away. It will relaunch on January 1, 2015.
WRESTLEMENTARY: Along with my fellow Pro Wrestling fans and friends Dave Parrish, Chris Rose and Wes Kozalla, we have the Wrestlementary blog rocking and popping. This blog is not going anywhere. Working on Wrestlementary has really helped me to get back into the swing of writing.
NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH: This is the Major Project I am considering. I may take part in National Novel Writing Month in November. I haven’t completely made up my mind, or what story I will write.
If I do partake, I will chronicle my progress on this blog.
THE UPCOMING, by this I mean 2015. I am already preparing for 2015, and have a laser like focus on what I plan to accomplish. 2015 will be dedicated to my writing. Everything I do is just an extension of my writing. I am a writer, first and foremost.
This focus isn’t just writing itself, it is also studying writing, enhancing my skills and perhaps learning new ones.
On this note, I also plan to launch a new blog on January 1, to be called Raw Flesh. This idea is to post 500 to 1000 words every week on a story I will tell over the course of the year. What that story will be I have no idea, I may just write it stream of consciousness.
Raw Flesh basically means that what will be posted will be unedited.
I may launch a second blog in July, where I will focus on posting Flash Fiction.
This past January, I launched a few other blog besides this one, Burning Mind and Wrestlementary. I will start writing for these blogs in 2015.
The aneurysm may have slowed me down a little bit and derailed some plans, but it didn’t stop me. I’m getting back on track and will be going faster than ever before.
Ace Masters.
Three weeks ago (Wednesday September 10) I had my second angiogram since being released from the Hospital. It is probably my fourth or fifth Angiogram over all. Last Thursday (September 25) I had the follow up appointment with Doctor David Wilson (who performed the operation on my brain aneurysm), and received the results.
I have been given the all clear and a clean bill of health. There has been no growth in the blood vessel and no return of the aneurysm. The doctors have scaled me back to only needing an Angiogram once a year. So, I don’t need another one until next September!
Thank you to all who have said a prayer and for everyone’s thoughts and well wishes.
I labeled this post The Past, The Now, and the Upcoming
The aneurysm is now part of THE PAST. Of course, I am going to keep an eye on it.
If the aneurysm had any lasting effect on me this year, it was knocking this year off course. I have not really accomplished what I wanted to do this year. In fact, I fell into a usual trap for me, one I try to avoid. That trap being that I spend so much time trying to get caught up, that I don’t get anywhere.
That brings me to THE NOW. I have decided to let go of what hasn’t been accomplished this year, and to focus on what to accomplish. To that end, I have scaled back what I am going to be working on for the rest of this year and focus on getting 2015 kicked off perfectly.
For the Now, my focus is mainly going to be on the From My Heart to Your Health comic book anthology, the Wrestlementary blog, working on my artwork and enjoying the upcoming holidays. I am also considering one major project I have never undertaken before.
THE BURNING MIND: The Burning Mind is my comic book blog, which really got derailed. I planned an article a week and a review a week. But that didn’t happen. I have tried to get caught up with the reviews, but am so far behind it is just getting ridiculous.
So, effective today, over the course of October, I will post all the reviews I currently have done, then I will put The Burning Mind in a two-month hiatus. It is not going away. It will relaunch on January 1, 2015.
WRESTLEMENTARY: Along with my fellow Pro Wrestling fans and friends Dave Parrish, Chris Rose and Wes Kozalla, we have the Wrestlementary blog rocking and popping. This blog is not going anywhere. Working on Wrestlementary has really helped me to get back into the swing of writing.
NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH: This is the Major Project I am considering. I may take part in National Novel Writing Month in November. I haven’t completely made up my mind, or what story I will write.
If I do partake, I will chronicle my progress on this blog.
THE UPCOMING, by this I mean 2015. I am already preparing for 2015, and have a laser like focus on what I plan to accomplish. 2015 will be dedicated to my writing. Everything I do is just an extension of my writing. I am a writer, first and foremost.
This focus isn’t just writing itself, it is also studying writing, enhancing my skills and perhaps learning new ones.
On this note, I also plan to launch a new blog on January 1, to be called Raw Flesh. This idea is to post 500 to 1000 words every week on a story I will tell over the course of the year. What that story will be I have no idea, I may just write it stream of consciousness.
Raw Flesh basically means that what will be posted will be unedited.
I may launch a second blog in July, where I will focus on posting Flash Fiction.
This past January, I launched a few other blog besides this one, Burning Mind and Wrestlementary. I will start writing for these blogs in 2015.
The aneurysm may have slowed me down a little bit and derailed some plans, but it didn’t stop me. I’m getting back on track and will be going faster than ever before.
Ace Masters.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
The State of the Master
The State of the Master
The State of the Master was originally launched back on January 1st, of this year (2014). The intent of this was/is to be more of a personal blog, where I will discuss my projects, personal thoughts and ideas.
My plan had been to start writing on the blog back in January, but – as with my other blogs, projects and life – suffering a brain aneurysm on Wednesday, January 29th and spending two weeks in the hospital put all that on hold.
2014 was a year I had big things planned, little did I realize those big things would dwindle down to one thing: living.
Needless to say, this has not been the year I planned.
I suffered a brain aneurysm, my aunt died from cancer while I was in the hospital, my turtle Max died while I was in the hospital and I had to put my believed dog Lady down to due cancer.
It has been a hard year, but here’s a secret – I’m harder.
I am doing excellent with a near perfect clean bill of health. I just need to do checkups and have an angiogram twice a year for a while, to make sure the blood vessel that raptured is holding together.
Despite my health scare, I have not changed my lifestyle or my outlook on life. I have had people tell me I have changed, for whatever reason – but they don’t know me very well.
My outlook on life has always been the same: Life is for living, so live it.
What is the meaning of life is a simple question to me, with a simple answer. The Meaning of life is Life Itself.
Today, July 27th is my 40th Birthday! For the first time since sometime in my twenties, I am having a birthday celebration! Even while I was in the hospital, I never doubted I would be fine, but I am still fortunate to be here. Thanks go to: my dog Zoie who found me and alerted my mom, my mom, an excellent surgeon, Doctor David Wilson and the support of great friends (Dave Parrish, Ron Summers, Ken and Sue Brown, Clay Stubblefield, Nikki Early), not to mention my cousin across the Pond in the UK Jon Paul, who facebooked me every day, checking up on me..
For me, this 40th birthday is special. I am not celebrating my birthday, but life itself.
For all those who ask, I am doing GREAT.
Is it amazing how one’s outlook and attitude can affect them.
I look at my aneurysm like this: It happened. There was nothing I could do about it then – except recover, which I have.
There is nothing I can do about it now. I refuse to dwell on it, be depressed or miserable and let it destroy my life. Instead, I will let it drive me even more to succeed!
Success such as returning to studying artwork, and already making greats strides, something I had let slip for over a decade.
For the rest of 2014, I am going to define success by continuing my recovery, learning new skills, prepping and planning new projects (short films, comic books, etc.), LIVING LIFE and looking forward to making 2015 The Year of the Master.
“Life is for living, never let anything stop you.” - Me
Thanks for reading.
Later,
Ace Masters
The State of the Master was originally launched back on January 1st, of this year (2014). The intent of this was/is to be more of a personal blog, where I will discuss my projects, personal thoughts and ideas.
My plan had been to start writing on the blog back in January, but – as with my other blogs, projects and life – suffering a brain aneurysm on Wednesday, January 29th and spending two weeks in the hospital put all that on hold.
2014 was a year I had big things planned, little did I realize those big things would dwindle down to one thing: living.
Needless to say, this has not been the year I planned.
I suffered a brain aneurysm, my aunt died from cancer while I was in the hospital, my turtle Max died while I was in the hospital and I had to put my believed dog Lady down to due cancer.
It has been a hard year, but here’s a secret – I’m harder.
I am doing excellent with a near perfect clean bill of health. I just need to do checkups and have an angiogram twice a year for a while, to make sure the blood vessel that raptured is holding together.
Despite my health scare, I have not changed my lifestyle or my outlook on life. I have had people tell me I have changed, for whatever reason – but they don’t know me very well.
My outlook on life has always been the same: Life is for living, so live it.
What is the meaning of life is a simple question to me, with a simple answer. The Meaning of life is Life Itself.
Today, July 27th is my 40th Birthday! For the first time since sometime in my twenties, I am having a birthday celebration! Even while I was in the hospital, I never doubted I would be fine, but I am still fortunate to be here. Thanks go to: my dog Zoie who found me and alerted my mom, my mom, an excellent surgeon, Doctor David Wilson and the support of great friends (Dave Parrish, Ron Summers, Ken and Sue Brown, Clay Stubblefield, Nikki Early), not to mention my cousin across the Pond in the UK Jon Paul, who facebooked me every day, checking up on me..
For me, this 40th birthday is special. I am not celebrating my birthday, but life itself.
For all those who ask, I am doing GREAT.
Is it amazing how one’s outlook and attitude can affect them.
I look at my aneurysm like this: It happened. There was nothing I could do about it then – except recover, which I have.
There is nothing I can do about it now. I refuse to dwell on it, be depressed or miserable and let it destroy my life. Instead, I will let it drive me even more to succeed!
Success such as returning to studying artwork, and already making greats strides, something I had let slip for over a decade.
For the rest of 2014, I am going to define success by continuing my recovery, learning new skills, prepping and planning new projects (short films, comic books, etc.), LIVING LIFE and looking forward to making 2015 The Year of the Master.
“Life is for living, never let anything stop you.” - Me
Thanks for reading.
Later,
Ace Masters
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)