Today on Geeky Dads Talk About Geeky Things I welcome back Andrew Swearingen where we continue our 80’s movie’s discussion! Today we’re chatting about our top 5 movies from 1984!
Remember you can get a discount by using the code GEEKYDADS at checkout when you purchase candles from Wick & Sarcasm
I waited in line for forty-five min for a soda this week. I know, saying that makes me sound crazy, and I’ll admit, my annoyance and impatience got the best of me when I first pulled in.
I may have uttered words like-
“Stupid Edmond drivers!”
“Look at these idiots!”
“This place is mismanaged!”
“These suburban families and their trendy soda!”
Yeah- I know. I got issues!
Yet, here I was doing the same thing I was complaining about. Eventually, I settled in and enjoyed waiting with the family for a soda. We joked about how long it was taking and even started timing how long it took a car to get through the window once they pulled forward. It was good fun and gave the kiddos something to focus on and joke about with us.
Swig is just a drive-through soda shop. Like a Starbucks or Dutch Brothers, but with Soda. There isn’t anything spectacular about the soda. I could go down to Sonic and get them to fix the same drink, which would taste about the same. But something is fascinating about trying something new and different. Maybe it’s FOMO. I’m not sure, and I wish I could say.
The kids enjoy it, and it’s something to do on a Sunday afternoon when we’re all bored and resting up to prepare for the next week ahead.
I like to get in, out, and back home. I tend to get anxious and overwhelmed and often need to remember to stop and enjoy the moment. I hate waiting. And I often find myself cursing under my breath at the driver in front of me who doesn’t already know their order when they pull up to a drive-thru speaker.
What can I say? Again, I got issues!
I waited in line for forty-five min for a soda yesterday. I got the Buttery Beer! It was a large Root Beer with Butterscotch and Vanilla Crème! And it was awesome!
Steve Rzasa is releasing “Remains” and has the book up for pre-order. This story is a prequel to Steve’s Mercury Hale universe and is marketed as: “From Procyon’s Historic Vault.” I’m excited about this one.
I’m partial to the Mercury books because Steve and I have crossed over characters in our work and because Mercury is just a fun, energetic, kick-butt type of character. Plus, if you know Steve the way I do, it’s safe to say there is a little bit of Steve in Mercury.
You can pre-order the book for $1.99 right here! PREORDER REMAINS
I wake up before the house stirs. The superintendent sends a text saying, “School is canceled for ice.” This is the third day. The cat darts past me to the back door, where he paws until I let him outside. I fix my coffee and scroll through social media while I wait for my only drug of choice to brew. I’m not too fond of the habit and wish I could break it. I’m speaking of checking social media first thing in the morning, not my coffee. I see a post from an author friend in a writer’s group, “I want to Quit Writing. Please talk me out of it.” I identify with this statement. I’ve said the same thing.
I have a few words bouncing around in my head. Words of encouragement others have shared with me. Sometimes these words help, and sometimes they seem good. Sometimes they sting.
The coffee still brews, but the smell alone is waking me up. I open my notes and write a line that doesn’t feel right. What came out on the screen was not as good as what was in my head. That happens from time to time. The coffee has finished. I drink a cup and head to the shower, where I think on it some more.
Today, I’ll blog about wanting to quit writing. I will make it simple and honest. The truth is there is nothing simple about the work we do. It’s frustrating and painful. At times it feels pointless. However, it is honest. Writing makes us confront most truths, all but one, and that’s the truth most writers prefer to avoid. It is that the industry is not always right, nor is it fair.
Most writers feel they won’t measure up. Insecurity sits perched upon our shoulders like a blasted tumor we can’t eradicate. Before too long, we realize we compete with an oversaturated market, algorithms, and other endless amounts of noise. We ask ourselves a thousand questions…
“No one cares about my stories.”
“No one is going to buy my book and read this.”
“Maybe I’m wasting my time.”
“Maybe I’m too old to get a book deal.”
“I should give up. I wasted so much of my time and money.”
Yet, amid these questions, a story still lingers, calling to us from the fog, urging us to sit and write it.
I’ve learned a few truths after struggling with anxiety over the past year. Publishing is often tricky. Competition is often unfair. Social Media is sometimes abusive. And when we measure our self-worth as authors by a lack of success in these three areas, we begin to think that maybe, we won’t make it.
I’ve said these things. I have quit and walked away. But here is the last truth I have learned and why I return every time. And I’ll leave you with this:
Writing brings me joy. What about you?
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The Argument
JJ: Hey, Iggy! You got a sec?
IGGY: I’m swamped right now, J.J. Go bug Oz.
JJ: No, I need to talk to you. And besides, you’re just reading Silver Surfer. Listen, I got a great idea!
IGGY: Oh, man. Listen, J.J., Anytime Oz shows up and says he has an idea, I end up in some sort of mess.
JJ: But this is different. I’ve decided I’m going to start blogging again.
IGGY: Dude, blogging is dead. Now go away. I got to keep this neighborhood safe.
JJ: Keep the neighborhood safe? Man, Iggy. You’ve been reading too many Mercury Hale novels.
IGGY: Those are memoirs, not novels.
JJ: I bet if you asked Mercury if he thought blogging was a good idea, he would agree.
IGGY: He would say you’re crazy.
JJ: Call him.
IGGY: Mercury isn’t taking my calls right now.
JJ: Oh, the dude is ghosting ya, huh?
IGGY: No, he’s got his own problems to deal with.
JJ: Oh, yeah. Like what?
IGGY: Steve Rzasa has been acting up again.
JJ: What did he do now?
IGGY: He quit his job.
JJ: That’s not too bad.
IGGY: Yeah, well, if Mercury has to put up with as much stuff from Steve as I have to deal with from you, then he’s got his hands full.
JJ: Well, I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to be blogging again.
IGGY: Seriously? Why would you waste your time doing that?
JJ: Because no one else seems to be. Plus, it means I don’t have to waste time doing TikTok or Reels.
IGGY: I’ve already told you. TikTok is what we should be doing. Everyone else is.
JJ: Yeah, but I stink at TikTok
IGGY: Allen Brokken does TikTok. I bet his characters are happy with him.
JJ: Yeah, but Allen is good at TikTok. I look like a dweeb.
IGGY: Please don’t do this. I mean, why? Why would you start blogging again?
JJ: I have a lot of things I want to say.
IGGY: That’s why you have me. And we should be working on figuring out who Mr. Chesterson is and why all these strange things keep happening in the neighborhood. Now make yourself useful, and go write.
JJ: Oh, I already know who Mr. Chesterson is.
IGGY: Wait, you do?
JJ: You’re getting off-topic. I’m going to start blogging again. Maybe three to four times a week.
IGGY: You’re serious? J.J. Please don’t do this.
JJ: Nope, I’ve made up my mind.
IGGY: Okay, okay. What’s your niche going to be?
JJ: Oh, that’s easy. “Just Whatever.”
IGGY: “Just Whatever?”
JJ: Sounds cool, right?
IGGY: J.J. That’s not a niche. That’s not even an itch.
JJ: It makes sense to me.
IGGY: That’s your plan? “Just Whatever?” What does that even mean?
JJ: Oh, no. You’re missing the point. There is no plan. And it means “just whatever.”
IGGY: J.J. You have to have a plan.
JJ: Dude, I’m Gen-X. Having no plan is sort of our thing.
IGGY: No, no, no. J.J. What does any of this even mean?
JJ: It means I’m going to write about “Just Whatever” pops into my head that day.
IGGY: Oh, man. J.J. We’ll be ruined.
JJ: I know, cool, right?
IGGY: We’ll never sell another book.
JJ: Hey, Iggy. Do me a favor.
IGGY: What?
JJ: Be sure to like, comment, or subscribe.
IGGY: Oh, dude. What are you doing?
