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LittleBuddhaTW

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Blog Entries posted by LittleBuddhaTW

  1. LittleBuddhaTW
    After an "eventful" last few days over the New Year (you can read all about it in the comments in Chapter 7 of Medellin), I got such a nice surprise this morning when I saw the 2025 reading stats, especially that Swing for the Fences was the #2 most recommended story of 2025, and ranked in the Top 10 in eleven different categories. Even Medellin made the Top 2 in two different categories, and it's barely gotten started yet. Of course, many, many, many thanks to my readers and "fans" for all their support and the little community they've built, and to everyone who has gained something from what I have written. I've gotten some amazing emails sharing very personal and beautiful stories and memories that Swing for the Fences has evoked, or how it has touched someone's life or heart, or inspired them in some way. Reading that kind of feedback makes it all worth it.
    As for a writing update, I had ten days off over the past two weeks, and it was supposed to be dedicated solely to writing. Unfortunately, that didn't go to plan. I finished Chapter 25 of Stealing Home, which is the longest (so far), and one of the most important (if not THE most important). Then there is Extra Innings: Noah, which I have been working on for quite a while. Eventually, I had to scrap the short-story format because it covers an entire year of Noah's life, and my arc/spine just wasn't "right" in that format, so now we have a three-part novella instead. It will still be included in the Extra Innings category, just in three separate parts, and I hope to start posting them very, very soon (like this week, and I won't make you wait more than 24 hours or so between parts).
    As for my latest Reading Recommendations, I have gone back and started re-reading the works of Hans Schreiber. The formatting on Nifty as viewed on my Kindle Fire makes his stories very challenging to read, but you can also read a few of the better ones on the IOMFATS site. I would say my favorites are definitely Rock and a Hard Place, Affair of a Foreign Nature, and Val 'N Tyne. He has many others, though, and I haven't yet read them all because of the formatting challenges with Nifty.
  2. LittleBuddhaTW

    Holiday Update 2025

    By LittleBuddhaTW,


    Daily Musings
    Happy Holidays to everyone! I really miss celebrating Christmas (as a cultural holiday, not a religious one, since I'm not Christian) back in the States. You'll understand why when you read about Colombian Christmas celebrations later on in Medellín. Medellín certainly doesn't have as high a readership as Swing for the Fences, but I'm still relatively pleased with how it's going. I wanted to do something a little different and don't want to be pigeonholed into just one type of story (although I don't think you should expect me to write any sci-fi or gay alien stories anytime soon).
    Some GOOD news and some sad news: I'm currently editing/revising a new "Extra Innings" story, focused on Noah, and will end up being 10,000+ words when I'm done editing ("Tommy & Jonah" only covered one day, whereas "Noah" is covering one year, hence the length, and it was still hard to keep it from ballooning any further. I don't expect most readers to suddenly start liking him, but maybe you'll come to understand him and his motivations better. He has a moderately important role in Stealing Home. 
    As for the BAD news (😪), this will probably be the last "Extra Innings" short chapter I post. The readership data and the amount of feedback I've received have just been too low to justify taking time off from Stealing Home (ROI and all that), when that should be my sole focus now, and I'm now halfway done! I'll be starting Chapter 25 this week, once I finish polishing up "Noah." Then I'll have two 5-day weekends in a row for my holiday vacation, and plan to spend those days doing mostly writing. However, my "sort-of" partner has been nagging me incessantly to go see the famous Medellín alumbrados (Christmas lights and decorations) with him. I've been here so long, though, and seen so many variations and dealt with the horrific crowds of people, that I'd much rather stay home, watch Netflix, snuggle with my dog, and eat natilla (a sweet Colombian Christmas treat with a kind of Jell-O-like consistency) by the plateful. Mixed with arequipe (which is basically the Colombian and Venezuelan name for dulce de leche). Good stuff!
    Anyway, Happy Holidays again to all of you! I truly do appreciate everyone reading my stories, the many websites that have asked if they could host my stories (although GayAuthors, which gave me my first shot at posting my writing, will always get new chapters first, as well as exclusive extra stories), and the many people who have written to me. I try to reply to every email I get, unless they're crude and disgusting, which fortunately, doesn't happen a lot.
    And if you get bored over the holidays, I'd suggest reading anything by FreeThinker. I also really enjoy Eliot Moore's stories, especially For Your Eyes Only and Turbulence.  I haven't read all of his stories yet. Still, there is one that isn't in one of the genres I prefer (adult-youth): Fourteen, a coming-of-age story about the main character, Jeremy, is so profound, and the plot so fascinating, and how he deals with all of the roadblocks that are put in his way, how he learns to survive. Basically, it is just really well written. However, it is also very, very graphic and touches on some very sensitive subjects, so if you are easily triggered, I'd suggest passing on that one.
    At any rate, thank you for reading my latest diatribe. Back to editing/revising Extra Innings: Noah, and then get started on Chapter 25 of Stealing Home. If you run out of things to read over your holiday vacations, just shoot me an email or DM, and I've got tons of suggestions.
  3. LittleBuddhaTW

    Medellín and Stealing Home

    By LittleBuddhaTW,


    Daily Musings
    So, now that Swing for the Fences has ended, my latest novel has started posting, Medellín. It's very, very different in tone and theme than Swing for the Fences was,  but I just ask (and hope) that readers give this one a chance, as it is probably my most personal and favorite story to date that I've written. Very heavy on the teenage angst, with the addition of bullets, bombs, and multiple love interests for Hunter (who is probably one of the most unsympathetic and unlikable narrators I've ever written).
    For all those who are sad that Swing for the Fences has ended, it really hasn't. I'm well into the writing of the sequel, titled Swing for the Fences: Stealing Home (or just Stealing Home). It will be 45 chapters like the original, but these will be much, much longer chapters. I've been stuck on Chapter 20 for a few days, because it's such a pivotal chapter, and then needed a break from that, so I've been reorganizing my outline for the second half of the novel, which will, hopefully, make it better. I love being in those characters' heads again, especially Nick's, but there are also some very intriguing new characters and friends for Nick, and I don't think it would be much of a spoiler to say that Nick and Jack will face a few little bumps in their relationship along the way. I'm aiming for a Spring 2026 release, but if it's done sooner (although the two rounds of editing/reviewing take a lot of time), then I'll release it as soon as Medellín is finished.
    And, as I promised, to add to the Swing for the Fences Universe, I will occasionally be posting some short stories about one or more characters in various situations during the timeline of the original novel, but told from the third-person POV, so we'll get another perspective that doesn't come with Nick's own perceptions affecting the narrative as you get with first-person POV. And I've been playing around with third-person POV (my Halloween story, The Boy Who Hunts Ghosts (...And Kisses Them) was written in third-person. Maybe I'll eventually write a whole novel in third-person POV, but first-person's always been my favorite. Anyway, this series of short stories (I almost have the first one ready to go, just need to make some more edits) will be called Swing for the Fences: Extra Innings, just to keep the theme going (even though the series itself has nothing to do with baseball, but was inspired by an Elton John song).
    And, last but not least, once Stealing Home is finished, I am still planning on getting back to work on When I See You Again, although I warn you that I may have to make some edits/changes to the first five published chapters to make sure everything fits with what I want to do for the rest of the novel. No idea how long it will be, but I imagine it will come nowhere close to Swing for the Fences or even Medellín, maybe 20-25 chapters (including the five that I already wrote). Anyway, we'll see.
    I hope all of my American readers had a lovely Thanksgiving. Even here in the jungles and mountains of Colombia, there is an American expat couple who have a catering business, and they do wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas spreads, so I had that delivered yesterday and it was delicious. I still have a pumpkin pie cheesecake that I haven't even tried yet. Speaking of cakes, two REALLY cute guys just knocked on my door about 5 minutes ago trying to sell cakes, but they wanted 60,000 Colombian pesos (COP) for them, which I am not wiling to spend on a dry, flavorless Colombian cake. Sorry, boys! I really did have to think about it a moment, though, because they were so handsome and polite. Oh well ...
  4. LittleBuddhaTW

    Nifty Archives Not So Nifty

    By LittleBuddhaTW,


    Daily Musings
    So… the Nifty Archive isn’t feeling all that “nifty” right now.
    Last Wednesday morning, I submitted Chapter 25 of Swing for the Fences as usual, expecting it to be posted that evening. That’s how it has always worked in the past. But by Thursday, nothing. Other stories had gone up in the Gay Male/High School section, but mine hadn’t.
    I resubmitted Thursday. Still nothing.
    Friday came and went. Still nothing.
    I emailed the archive at nifty@nifty.org AND stories@nifty.org. No response.
    I even reached out on Twitter/X. Silence.
    Meanwhile, plenty of other stories continue to be posted in the same section — except the continuation of mine. This morning, I went ahead and submitted both Chapter 25 and Chapter 26, since Chapter 26 was scheduled for today anyway. And still, nothing. The story is stuck at Chapter 24 with no explanation.
    There’s nothing “controversial” in Chapter 25, so I’m stumped. Does anyone know what’s going on or who I can contact to get some clarity? After 24 smooth uploads, this sudden blackout makes no sense at all. I’d hate to lose what is probably one of my largest audiences. So, if anyone has any suggestions, ideas, contacts, or information at all that would be able to help me out, please give me a shout! PLEASE! PRETTY PLEASE!
    On a brighter note — Medellín is now 100% completed and ready to go as soon as Swing for the Fences finishes posting. It’s a very different story: darker, more violent, more passionate… and, yes, a little more erotic. Writing it was deeply personal for me. I’ve lived in Colombia for the past seven years, so the novel became something of a “love letter” to my adopted home. Because of that, it required very little research — I’ve been living the research every day for years.
    In the meantime, I’m making some final revisions to the later chapters of Swing for the Fences. Once that’s done (in just a few days), I’ll be diving headfirst into the sequel. It’s going to be a bit of whiplash shifting from the dark, dangerous world of Medellín back into the lighter, more hopeful world of Swing for the Fences — but it should be fun.
    Both stories share one thing in common: flawed protagonists. Hunter in Medellín is far more broken than Nick in Swing for the Fences, and many readers may not like or understand him at first. But that’s part of the point. Hunter doesn’t like or understand himself for a long while either.
    So, coming full circle, if anyone can help in any way at all with my little "Nifty" problem, please DM me here, leave a comment, or email me at littlebuddhatw@proton.me, I would be forever thankful ... and might even be willing to make it worth your while by gifting a new chapter to read before anyone else, or even the first chapter of Medellin to read.
    And please don't forget to follow me on Twitter/X, where I often post info/news and promo pics from the novels: @littlebuddhatw
    UPDATE: Nifty finally uploaded Chapters 25 and 26,  so the story is all caught up. If someone out there helped with that, thank you!
  5. LittleBuddhaTW

    SFTF Chapters 21 & 22

    By LittleBuddhaTW,


    Daily Musings
    So, Chapters 21 and 22 of Swing for the Fences have both been posted now, and they're what I would consider "transitional" (and shorter) chapters, giving Nick and Jack some time to "settle in" as new boyfriends and be happy and in love for a little while. But stay tuned for Chapter 23 (which will be posted on Wednesday, September 3rd), as some more "excitement" will come along to challenge Nick and his friends.
    The second round of revisions/edits for Medellin is taking longer than I expected, due to a lot of changes and rewrites I've been making along the way, which I hope will make the story as a whole much better. For those who love the kind of innocent, sweet, saccharine love story (so far) of Swing for the Fences, Medellin will be much,  much darker in tone, with the complicated and more mature romance(s) being more intense, but experienced within the backdrop of a violent drug war. I hope some of you will enjoy it when it comes out later this year! But, because Swing for the Fences is so long, it still shouldn't affect my overall schedule, hopefully. I've also gotten some summaries and a couple of character sketches for some new story ideas that have been running through my head. There's also a sweet scene towards the very end of Swing for the Fences that we don't "see" (because Nick isn't present and the story is from his POV, obviously), only partially told about afterwards. So, I'm thinking of doing a quick short story version of that particular scene, told in the third-person for something a little different, and I would post that as we get closer to the end of Medellin to get everyone in the mood for the SFTF sequel (that I really, really hope I can pull off on-time!).
    It's a very ambitious schedule and timeline, I know, but I've been enjoying very much so far, and especially the emails and comments have been great. And if you are enjoying Swing for the Fences, please don't be afraid to drop me a line and let me know if you're enjoying it or not, or maybe something you'd like to see in a sequel, whether a scene, or a relationship, or even a new type of character. For example, I didn't really introduce and exchange students in the original SFTF, but most elite boarding schools have them, so I already have a few ideas for some exchange students to stick in the sequel (one of which will actually be a crossover of a very minor character from Medellin who gets the chance to study abroad at Harrison West). Just don't ask me to include "more sex" in my writing. I'll include as much or as little as the story requires.
    So, last week, I highly recommended reading The Eggman's "A New Life" story, an oldie but goodie. I just finished it today (it's quite long), so for my recommendation for this week, I have to go back to my all-time favorite (yet mysterious and no longer active) author, Dom Luka. You really can't go wrong with any of his stories, but my favorites are the original three:
    The Ordinary Us The Long Way, and its sequel, In the Fishbowl Desert Dropping You really can't go wrong with a Dom Luka story, and they're looooong, so expect it taking at least several days to get through one, depending on if you're binge-reading (like I do) or only a couple of chapters at a time.
    Lastly, if you're American, I hope you have an enjoyable, long Labor Day Weekend! I'll be spending most of mine writing, but it'll be nice to have a day off from work on Monday.
  6. LittleBuddhaTW
    It looks like it's been about 16 years since I've written a blog here. I guess I'd forgotten they even existed.
    So, I'm back writing again after about 20 years, with my second complete novel, Swing for the Fences. Chapter 20 will be released on Saturday morning (August 23rd). After that, only 25 more chapters to go. The chapters in this novel are much shorter than I'm used to writing, hence the large number of chapters.  My next novel, which I have almost completed, Medellin, will only have 30 chapters, but the chapters will be much longer, at least twice as long as in SFTF.
    I'm now starting my second round of revisions/edits of Medellin, which shouldn't take too long, so it should be done soon, and I'll start posting it as soon as SFTF is done. It's definitely a very different type of story than SFTF, and I hope everyone will enjoy it.
    When I'm done with Medellin, the plan is to get started right away on a sequel to SFTF. Although I haven't gotten nearly as many views, reactions, or emails as I would have liked with the original SFTF 😭, I still have so many more stories about these kids that I need to get them out somehow, so I'm pretty committed to getting it done, depending how the second half of the story goes over.
    Other than that, I have a couple of other works in some stage of preparation, including one called "What Part of My Body Hurts The Most" and one called "Erection of the Heart." But those are so far down the road, I'm not sure when I'll really get started putting serious effort into them, since SFTF Part 2 will certainly take some time. I might try to throw a short story or two in there, though. We'll see.
    Anyway, it's a bit of an overcast day down here in the Andes Mountains. I'm hoping for some rain to help cool things down, but I'm not sure I'll get lucky with that. Maybe tonight. I should go do something fun in the jungle or in the mountains this weekend, but between my work (for which I'm also a writer) and my writing hobby, I haven't had a whole lot of extra free time lately. My partner hates it and has been begging to go out, but once I get on a writing tangent, I tend to get lost for a while, because I, too, am anxiously looking forward to seeing what happens with these characters.
    So, what am I reading now? I really LOVE the classics and haven't read a lot of "newer" stories in a long time, unless someone can point me to something I'd really like. Write now, I'm re-reading "A New Life" by The EggMan, which is available right here on GayAuthors. If you haven't read it yet, I suggest you take a look. It really catches that late 90s to early 2000s vibe of gay fiction that was circulating at the time and was quite popular back then.
    Anyway, a happy weekend to everyone and happy reading/writing!
  7. LittleBuddhaTW
    Yikes, I can't believe it's been, like, 8 months since my last blog! It's amazing how quickly life passes by sometimes ...
     
    Anyway, since my last blog post, I closed on my new house, spent about a month dealing with contractors to completely renovate the whole place (quite the undertaking -- both in terms of the stress involved and the cost!) But, I'm all settled in and love it. The commute to work is awful, but living sort of out in the country is nice -- peaceful and quiet! Moving from a 600 sq. foot apartment to a 2,400 sq. foot house required me to buy lots of furniture and spend lots of time decorating. It's not all done yet (will it ever be?), but it's probably about 80% complete.
     
    Work is busy, busy, busy ... and more stressful than usual lately. When I get home in the evening, I just want to crash on the couch and watch television (or just pass out from exhaustion). But, it pays my mortgage, so I can't complain too much.
     
    On to more 'important' things, though ... Yes, I have started writing again. WISYA hasn't been 'speaking' to me lately, so I'm not sure at what point I'm going to pick it up again. I've 'tentatively' started a new serial novel, called "Home By Now" (unless I change). It's a bit on the 'dark' side, but I like how it's going so far. I at least want to complete a few chapters or more before I start posting, and I really have no clue when that will be, but progress (or something like progress) is at least happening ...
     
    Final note for the evening ... I'm now reading the 'Twilight' series for the third time, and saw 'New Moon' on opening weekend. For the longest time, I refused to read the books or see the movies, but I finally caved when I was bored one weekend, and now I'm hooked! No, Stephenie Meyer won't be winning any literary awards anytime soon, but there is something really captivating about the story ... and it doesn't hurt that Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner are soooo dreamy! ;-)
     
    Anyway, that's it for now ... Hopefully I'll be back again soon ... :-)
     
    *Hugz*
    Buddha
  8. LittleBuddhaTW
    Yes, I know I've been horrible about keeping in touch lately. Things have been crazy at work, and I'm in the process of buying my first house, which is a lot more involved than I'd expected. But, home prices and mortgage rates are low, plus that $8,000 new homebuyer tax credit ... so, now is a good time to do it. I've put in an offer on a place about an hour from work. It's kind of far, and a little bit out in the sticks (a nice, newer development, though). It's a short-sale, which means about 2 months waiting for the seller's bank to make a decision, and it needs some work ... but at the crazy low price, it'll be worth it, and I'll have plenty of money left over to make some immediate upgrades, like hardwood floors, new carpeting, new paint, granite counter tops in the kitchen, all new stainless steel appliances, and of course, lots of new furniture and a new home theater system. Yeah, I'm gonna totally pimp out that joint!
     
    I offered the listed price on the house and have asked the seller (i.e. the bank) to pay the closing costs. Unfortunately, with short-sales it's possible that the seller (the bank) could counter with a price HIGHER than the asking price, since the seller and the seller's bank aren't always on the same page as far as how much of a loss they're willing to accept. If that happens, hopefully it won't be too much more, otherwise I won't have as much money to spend on the place right away, and then it wouldn't necessarily be worth it. We'll see, though ... I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
     
    Baseball season has started up again. I signed up for the Comcast "MLB Extra Innings" package, so I can watch all of the Tigers' games this year, even though I'm out-of-market. I used to get MLB.tv, but I got tired of watching all the games on my tiny laptop screen, so it's great to be able to watch on a full-size TV now. It'll be even better when I get into my new house and buy a 50" Plasma high-def television, with surround sound. And, it'll be just in time to watch the Florida Gators and Tim Tebow win another national championship! WOO-HOO!
     
    Anyway, there's a game starting in about 30 minutes and I need to feed the cats before it starts, or they'll be whining the whole time.
     
    Laterz!
     
    Buddha
  9. LittleBuddhaTW
    Being at the informal GA get-together in D.C. this afternoon, I was reminded by EVERYONE how long it had been since I'd blogged or written anything. So ... I'm going to at least blog for a couple minutes ...
     
    I had a very nice time this afternoon hanging out with some of my fellow GA brethren (and sistren ). It was great seeing Dan and Trebs again (we had an awesome time out in San Francisco in November 2007), and finally getting to meet the fabulous Sharon! I also got to see Rigel again, and meet a couple new folks -- SonoLuminus, her husband ("The Other Joe"), and Robbie (who's quite ... errmmm ... cute ). It was also nice being in DC at the height of the inauguration fervor. The whole city was alive and full of people, tons of excitement and positive energy in the air. There's no way I'm going to try to brave the city on Tuesday for the actual inauguration (waaaay too many people), but it was nice to experience at least just a little of it all.
     
    Work has been really busy for some months now, but is going well. I did have a bit of a health scare recently, though. I hurt my back helping to move a table at work a couple weeks ago, and when I went to the emergency room to get it checked out, they found that my blood pressure was very high (160/110). So, I had to go see my doctor, and he put me on blood pressure medication. I'm going back tomorrow to get the results of my blood tests & urinalysis, as well as an EKG. I'll probably end up on cholesterol medication too. It's kinda scary, since I'm only 31 and all, but at least I caught it early, and I guess the back injury (which is all healed now) was a blessing in disguise of sorts. I've totally changed my dietary habits, and hopefully I'll be able to give up smoking soon. I need to start exercising more too.
     
    Anyway, enough of that ... I'm going back to watching the Ravens game!
     
    *Hugz*
     
    Buddha
  10. LittleBuddhaTW

    12 September 2008

    By LittleBuddhaTW,

    In my last blog, I mentioned my frustration at getting my company's ownership to hire additional staff that I think we need, particularly this really, REALLY hot boy (we'll just call him "Ben" for now) that I interviewed at the end of August. Anyway, things have been happening very fast over the past few days, much to the surprise of our management team. We've realized that we have to let an employee go (which is going to be very difficult -- she's been with the company for 6 years and everyone really likes her -- but, her skill set just doesn't match up with where we are heading now) ... so, I've been given the green light to go ahead and hire Ben. I'll be making an offer to him today.
     
    Since becoming a manager, this will be the first hiring and firing that I've done. It's also going to be a bit of a tumultuous 4th Quarter of the year, as we'll also be completely re-organizing our staff, in addition to the personnel changes. So, I expect it to be a very busy next few months. We're not really sure how several of the other employees are going to react to the release (we'll have a buffer of about a month of overlap, so that will give us some much needed transition time), so managing their expectations and reactions is going to be rough. We also might be letting our IT guy go in favor of hiring a third-party company to manage our entire network and IT development. That is going to be a challenge to manage as well, plus our IT guy is well-liked by most of the staff. Two releases in such a short period of time, plus all of the other major re-organization, is going to cause a lot of waves.
     
    Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep last night. It's never a pleasant thing to have to release someone, especially someone you like. I think it is the best decision for the company, though, so it has to be done.
     
    Anyway, Chapter 6 of WISYA is almost done. I'm going to try and have it ready for Sharon to review by the end of the weekend.
  11. LittleBuddhaTW
    It's been a long time coming (almost a whole year!), but Chapter 4 of "When I See You Again" has finally been posted. Many, many thanks to Sharon for a wonderful editing job. Chapter 5 is under way ... not sure when it'll be ready, but I'm shooting for at least one chapter per month, maybe a little more for a while, since I'll have some extra time to write during my vacation, which starts next week.
     
    Please be sure to stop by my discussion forum and leave your comments on the new chapter. Readers' feedback is what keeps me inspired to write, so keep it coming!
     
    Take care, and have a great weekend!
     
    *Hugz*
     
    Buddha
  12. LittleBuddhaTW
    Yeah yeah, I know it's been a long time ... but, the good news is that I've just finished writing Chapter 4 of "When I See You Again" and sent it to Sharon. Hopefully it will be ready to post by next weekend. I plan on starting Chapter 5 tonight, and hopefully can make some good progress tomorrow, since I have a day off from work.
     
    Over the past couple of months, I've gone back and re-read almost all of the stories listed on my "favorite stories" page, and that helped motivate me, in addition to being in the heart of the baseball season. I've got another vacation from August 15-24, so I should get a lot written then, and that just so happens to be when the Little League World Series is on!
     
    Anyway ... I went to Seattle for the 4th of July to visit my aunt and uncle, and we had a GREAT time. I got to see all the sights, enjoyed the AMAZING view of Lake Washington from my aunt's deck, and even went to Safeco Field to watch the Seattle Mariners play the Detroit Tigers (unfortunately, my Tigers lost! ) One really cool thing, though ... my uncle is best friends with the actor who plays 'Dr. Anspaugh' on the show "E.R.", and he went to the game with us ... VERY interesting guy!
     
    One last thing ... I still get quite a bit of email about SOOTB. I just checked my mail tonight, and a woman (or girl -- I'm not sure) had found the story while searching for Elton John lyrics, and she wrote to tell me how much she loved it. Kinda makes me wonder how many people have come across my story that way! lol
     
    Well, I don't want to take up too much time writing this, and I should get back to working on Chapter 5!
     
    *Hugz*
     
    Buddha
  13. LittleBuddhaTW
    Hey guys, sorry I've been out of touch for so long ... things have been really hectic since I got my promotion at work, and I'm doing a lot of translation work in addition to that, so I haven't had much time for anything other than working. But, I'm still here, and I still plan on writing ... I just need a little time for things to get settled down! *Hug*
  14. LittleBuddhaTW
    Well, I made it back from San Francisco safe and sound late last night, and was back to work bright and early this morning. First of all, the business part of the trip was a big success, and although I worked long hours the whole time, it was well worth it. The hotel we stayed at was VERY nice, and I met lots of cool people in the industry. I also got to do some interpreting, as there were some representatives from Chinese companies there, and it worked out well since they didn't speak English very well ... MAJOR brownie points for me with my boss!
     
    Now, on to the other stuff ... first off, Dan and Trebs were amazing. I wasn't expecting too much, especially since I had to work a lot and wouldn't have a whole lot of time to hang out. Fortunately, I tweaked my schedule so that I had Friday evening and Saturday afternoon/evening to hang out with them. They were excellent hosts, extremely good to me, and showed me all around the city (pictures to follow later when I have a chance to upload them). Trebs was as friendly and kind as I expected, and Dan and I were like two peas in a pod.
     
    As for the specifics, we went to the Castro district on Friday night, and while Trebs occupied Joey, Dezlboi, and ShadowGod at Starbucks, my new best buddy Dan and I made several trips to the bar next door to do shots of tequila. And yes, we were pretty sloshed by the end of the evening, especially considering I had a few drinks before I went out (part of the whole business trip thing, doing deals and stuff, ya know).
     
    On Saturday, Trebs and Dan picked me up from my hotel and showed me the sights. We drove all around town, walked around Fisherman's Wharf, went to see the bay and the Golden Gate bridge, got some great Ghirardelli (sp?) chocolate, drove around some more to see the city, went to dinner (excellent restaurant choice, Trebs!), then drove up to Twin Peaks to see the city at night. The highlight of the afternoon, though, was going out to the beach and watching the sunset. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen, and I don't know how I could possibly describe in words how moving it was. THANK YOU SO MUCH, TREBS AND DAN!
     
    And I'm sure many of you are wondering ... yes, Joe is VERY HOT in person. Unfortunately, I think I scared him a bit on Friday night since I was so drunk and obviously staring at his (cute) butt the whole time (but Dan was, too!). However, being a little more sober on Saturday, I found out that Joe is a very sweet guy, and it was a real pleasure to finally meet him. I also got a great good-bye hug from him that made my knees buckle ...
     
    And, not to leave anyone out, Viv, Snowy, ShadowGod, SunGod, and the rest were also very nice and friendly, and I really enjoyed talking with them and getting to know them.
     
    Anyway, thanks again to Trebs and Dan for their AMAZING hospitality. They really spoiled me while I was with them, and made the trip that much better. Thanks to Joe as well for the hugs and for putting up with me on Friday night.
     
    I can't wait for the next get-together!
  15. LittleBuddhaTW

    Damn, I'm tired!

    By LittleBuddhaTW,

    The title of this blog says it all ... I'm exhausted! I've been working at least 50-60 hours/week for the past couple months, and it's really wearing me down. For those of you who are wondering when the next chapter of "When I See You Again" will be posted, it's probably not going to be until I get back from San Francisco in early November. It's about halfway done, but I've just been too exhausted to do much writing over the past few weeks.
     
    I'm definitely looking forward to going to San Francisco next week. Even though it's a business trip, it will be pretty laid back, and my boss has some fun activities planned for us while we're there. I just found out yesterday, though, that our flight leaves from Dulles at 8 AM next Wednesday, and since my boss and I live so far apart, and he's closer to the airport, I'm probably going to spend the night at his house the night before, and we'll leave from there at around 5 AM (which is gonna suck, but at least he's driving, so I can sleep in the car). He lives waaaay out in the boondocks, so maybe I'll get some target practice in on Tuesday evening.
     
    I'm also really looking forward to meeting those of you who will be out there next weekend. I've already given my cell phone # to some of you, so feel free to call me when you get into town. I'll be "working," but I can take calls anytime, and we might even be able to get together for drinks or something before our originally planned Saturday evening get-together.
     
    Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still alive and haven't stopped writing.
  16. LittleBuddhaTW
    So, I had my annual performance review and salary review at work. I got "Above Average" on my rating, which I think I definitely deserve, since I work my butt off for them, and the salary isn't as competitive as other companies in the translation & localization industry. They did give me an 8% pay raise, and I should be getting between $1,500 - $2,500 for a bonus at Christmas time, which will help. They also want to move me into middle management within the next 6 months to a year, which will increase my salary, benefits package, and bonus package. Hopefully that will happen, because my plan is to start looking for a house this time next year, and once I have that, I would really like to explore the possibility of adopting a child. My parents aren't really keen on that idea, but I've been feeling my biological clock really ticking for a while now.
     
    I've sent Chapter 3 of the new story to Sharon for editing. She's been doing a great job so far, and we're lucky to have editors here at GA like Sharon who are willing to donate their time to read through the messes some of us authors send them, to hopefully make our stories better.
     
    I know I've been saying since the beginning that it would probably be two weeks between chapters, and so far it's been once a week. But, after Chapter 3, I think it will actually be two weeks before I post Chapter 4, since I haven't even started writing it yet (the outline is done, though) ... but, we'll see. I'm also going to be releasing the first chapter to Nifty this weekend. I always keep the chapters at GA ahead of Nifty, but posting to Nifty has its benefits, mostly in bringing more people over here.
     
    The Detroit Tigers are pretty much out of the hunt for the wild card spot now, which is really disappointing. They were the best team in the Majors before the All-Star break, and then they just fell apart. Hopefully, their GM will do some stuff in the off-season to get their starting pitching in better shape (I'd really like to see the Tigers go after Johan Santana, who will be a free agent -- and they have the money to do so now). Fortunately, they have a good GM/CEO, so I think next season will be a good one.
     
    The Florida Gators are also off to a great start, but they're going to have a few big tests in the next couple weeks, namely Auburn and LSU. Tim Tebow, the Gators' star quarterback, has been absolutely phenomenal and has almost single-handedly carried their offense so far this year. He's only a sophomore, but is #1 in contention for the Heisman trophy. Anyway, we'll see what happens.
  17. LittleBuddhaTW
    As I've mentioned before, I think Shia LaBeouf (the cutie from "Transformers" and "Disturbia") is TOTALLY HOT!!!
     
    TMZ posted an AMAZING picture of him today, so if you wanna see it, click on the link below:
     
    http://www.tmz.com/2007/09/17/labeouf-in-labuff/
     
    How that can be the same kid from "Even Stevens," I'll never figure out ... *fans self*
  18. LittleBuddhaTW

    New Story Update!

    By LittleBuddhaTW,

    Well ... some good news ...
     
    Chapter 1 of the new story is ready to go (it's called "When I See You Again" -- same title as a previous effort I made, but totally different story, characters, etc. ... I just liked the title ... hehe). Sharon has finished editing, and I'll be sending it to Joe at the end of this week once I have all of the pages for my site updated. Chapter 2 has also just been sent to Sharon for the first edit, then I'll revise it some more and send it back one more time for a final look-through.
     
    I doubt I'll be able to keep up the pace I did last year with SOOTB, since I don't have as much time to write as I did back then ... but, I'll try to get two new chapters posted per month.
     
    Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know that everything is on track. I'm pretty nervous about this one, trying to catch lightning in a bottle for a second time isn't easy, so I hope the story isn't a total flop. *sigh*
  19. LittleBuddhaTW

    A New Story?

    By LittleBuddhaTW,

    It's been a long time coming, but I've finally started working on a new story. No promises as to when I'm going to be able to start posting (I'd like to have at least a few chapters done before I post anything), but it's off to a good start and I seem to have found the inspiration I needed. It will also depend on if Sharon is still willing to edit for me ... *hint hint*
     
    All I'm going to say about it so far is that baseball is a pretty major theme, and there are also some similar themes to SOOTB (although no re-curring characters and no music). Anyway, we'll see how it goes. I really like it so far, though.
     
    On to other things ...
     
    I had a week-long vacation this past week, which I really needed. I didn't really do anything, just watched a lot of baseball, rested, and enjoyed a break from everything. It's going to be a nightmare when I go back to the office on Monday, though. That's always the problem when I take time off work ... things seem to always get f**ked up when I'm not there.
     
    And, my trip to San Francisco is getting closer. Even though I'll be there for work, I'll still have a little free time, and I'm really looking forward to meeting some of the folks from GA who are going to be there. I'm a little shy in person, though, so I'll probably be clinging to Dan and Trebs for much of the evening, but it should still be fun.
     
    I took a break from watching baseball last night (since the Tigers game was in a 4-hour rain delay) and watched "Disturbia". I really liked it, and as I think I've mentioned before, Shia LaBeaouf is H-O-T!!!!! *fans self*
     
    Anywho, that's it for now. I'll keep everyone updated on the progress of the new story. Hopefully it won't be long now!
  20. LittleBuddhaTW
    It seems like all I've been doing since I moved back to the States is work ... I basically have no social life. I spent five years at college in Florida, then almost six years in Taiwan ... I had my life and friends in those places, and not being in school and not really enjoying going to clubs and stuff, it's really hard to develop a social life and circle of friends from scratch. It really sucks.
     
    Sure, I'd count most of my co-workers as friends, and we do have some social activities (we're going to a water park together in mid-June, and maybe an overnight trip to an amusement park in August), but not a whole lot. On the plus side, I'm doing very well at my job, making pretty good extra money by doing freelance translation in my spare time, and I'm learning A LOT about the translation industry. The owner of one of our partner companies in Spain came to our office today, and spent almost the whole day teaching me stuff, and I learned more in those 5 hours than I have in several months of being at work, and he is a SUPER nice guy (and that Spanish accent drives me CRAZY! hehe)
     
    We've been so busy lately that we've had to get a temp to come in and help out. He's REALLY cute and only 19 years old ... unfortunately, I don't get to work with him (I'm in meetings and on the phone with clients all the time, while he works on proofreading patent translations). At least he's nice to look at ...
     
    I get to attend a sort of translation industry trade show in San Francisco for 3-4 days in October. Hopefully I'll have time to get together with dkstories and Trebs while I'm there ... that would be pretty cool.
     
    Other than that, nothing much else has been going on ... if anyone has any ideas on how to get a "life", please feel free to share! *sigh*
  21. LittleBuddhaTW
    Voting for Dubya would lead one to believe so ... the fact that Sanjaya is still on "American Idol" is the final proof.
     
    OK ... so I *love* "American Idol" ... I didn't even know what it was until a few months ago, since they didn't show it over in Taiwan. I'm sure it will wear off eventually ... but for now I'm enjoying it. Why? Probably because it gives pathetic people like me the room to dream that "normal" people have a chance at something great. At any rate, the fact that people keep voting for this Sanjaya kid, the absolute WORST performer on there, is just mind-boggling. Apparently, a lot of it has been precipitated by this VoteForTheWorst.com site, which encourages people to vote for the worst performer and thus ruin the show. What these idiots don't realize is that what they're really doing is trashing the dreams of someone who actually does have talent, while embarrassing someone else who doesn't belong on that stage (and knows it).
     
    When I found out tonight that Chris Richardson (who is TOTALLY GORGEOUS ... not to mention pretty darn talented ... one of the top two or three performances from last night) was among the bottom two vote getters, I almost had a conniption fit ... and that Sanjaya kid wasn't even one of the bottom vote getters! GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
     
    OK ... enough of that for now.
     
    Nothing else is really going on in my life. Work is ok, I guess. My boss keeps giving me new responsibilities, but not more money, which sucks. I like my job (sort of), but I think I'm more valuable than what I'm getting paid. Nevertheless, I can see how I do need more experience before I can get a higher paying job, and where I'm at now is giving me lots of experience. In about a year and a half, I should be able to get something a lot better. Anyway, we'll see ...
     
    As for stories I've been reading, I'm following Dom's new story. It's not my favorite of his so far, but I'm enjoying following the continuation of Owen's life, even if he only seems to be a minor character in this one. I had started reading John Francis' "Pieces of Destiny," and was really enjoying it, but now it seems to have just stopped. Bummer ...
     
    When am I going to write again? I have no idea, honestly ... I have tons of ideas ... constantly ... but that's part of the problem ... too many ideas to just sit down and put one to paper (or screen, as the case may be). Also, when I get home from work in the evening, I'm just too darned tired to sit at the computer any more ... either that, or I have extra translation work to do.
     
    I've been thinking about maybe going back to Taiwan, although I don't think it's very likely. There isn't much room for career advancement over there, and I wouldn't want to go through all the hassle of packing up my life again to move halfway across the world ... it's quite a strenuous experience. Who knows, maybe I will in another year or so, but for now I guess I'll stay here, pay off my credit cards, and see what happens.
  22. LittleBuddhaTW
    It's been about a month since my last blog entry, so I thought I should write something.
     
    Not a whole heck of a lot has been going on in my life. I haven't really made much of an effort to meet people since I got back from Taiwan, so my social life is basically non-existant. I either don't have the motivation to get out there and do something with my life, or I'm too lazy. I've been beginning to wonder if I made the right choice to come back to the States. Things just haven't been working out the way I had hoped/planned. I don't dislike my job, and I'm lucky to have really nice co-workers (except for this one old Chinese lady that everyone dislikes) and a really nice boss (an ex-Army guy with the personality to match, severe Type A personality -- but he really is a great guy and treats us all well) ... but, I wouldn't want to be doing this forever, especially not for the money I'm making. I mean, shit, with the money and effort that I put into my education (double major at a really good university, and a M.A. in one of the most difficult foreign languages you can possibly undertake to learn), and nothing really good is emerging. It's thoroughly depressing.
     
    I've done quite a bit of freelance translation work in my spare time over the past couple of months so I can get my credit cards paid off more quickly. I don't really like doing it, because I don't have the patience for that kind of work, but it pays decent. I don't understand how people can be full-time freelance translators. I guess it's nice that you can make your own schedule and pick and choose the projects you take, but it's extremely monotonous, feast or famine, and not much room for career advancement. But to each their own, I guess.
     
    I signed up for that "Blockbuster Total Access" service where they mail DVD's to you, instead of having to go into the store. I like it, cause you can get all kinds of independent and foreign films that you couldn't usually find in the stores. I've seen a few good ones so far. I watched "Beautiful Thing" and "Joe the King" this weekend. Both were EXCELLENT. I would highly recommend both, and "Joe the King" reminded me of Vance's kind of story quite a bit ... I could picture him writing the screen play for that.
     
    As for reading, I haven't been doing a whole lot of that lately. I have been following Dom's "In the Fish Bowl," but so far don't like it as much as his other stories. I really hope he'll finish up "With Trust." But, having written a couple stories myself, I know that if the inspiration isn't there, it ain't gonna happen. I've also been reading "Pieces of Destiny" by John Francis over at AwesomeDude. I really like the way this story is going. I'm also still following EleCivil's "Laika," and was really happy when I saw the latest chapter posted last week ... it'd been a while. It was a GREAT chapter, too, and the interaction between Brandon and Nick was extremely well-written. I could literally feel what they were feeling as I was reading ... the emotions were so familiar and so well described.
     
    Anyway, that's about it for now ... not much else to say.
  23. LittleBuddhaTW
    Has it really been a month since I last blogged? Wow!
     
    Anyway, I've been keeping busy with work. This week is especially insane, since we have a 75,000 word Chinese to English rush project coming due. I'll probably have to stay late the next couple of nights to get everything proofread. Also, my assistant is out until Thursday, so I've been having to do twice the work, and it seems that when he's out, all the crazy requests start coming in.
     
    One thing that's turned out to be kind of cool with my job is that my boss seems to really like me. He confides in me a lot, stuff he doesn't talk to anyone else about (and probably shouldn't be talking to me about), asking for my advice, etc. It's kind of a good feeling. My current job isn't exactly my "dream job," but I still think I'm doing a lot better than most people. Plus, I've got a good boss, something that seems pretty rare nowadays.
     
    I'm also picking up about $500/week's worth of extra translation work to do at home and on the weekends, so I should have my credit cards paid off by this summer ... woo-hoo!
     
    Our company picnic is coming up this Friday. I'm making my famous pasta salad, and I'm trying to find a Durian fruit (look it up!) to take.
     
    Remember how I mentioned before that Kevin Zegers is, like, the hottest guy ever to walk the face of the earth? Well, I've changed my mind. Shia LaBeouf (from 'Disturbia,' and soon to be starring in 'Transformers') now has my vote for the hottest guy. He's sooooooooooooo dreamy! I watched him in "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" last weekend, and it was really good. I also watched "Alpha Dog," and it was much better than I expected, albeit extremely depressing.
     
    Anywho, I'd better start getting dressed for work (which is a lot easier nowadays, since the company announced that casual Friday is EVERY DAY!)
     

  24. LittleBuddhaTW
    Today marks Elton John's 60th birthday, and he's "still standing" better than he ever did. He is playing a special celebratory concert at Madison Square Garden tonight, which will be streamed live on MSN Music at 8:30 PM. Here is the link in case anyone reads this in time and wants to catch it (although it should be available for at least a few days afterwards for anyone who wants to see it, and there will probably be a DVD, too):
     
    http://music.msn.com/eltonjohn?GT1=7704&
     
    I had a pretty productive day today, running errands all morning, and bought a new set of speakers for my computer just for the concert tonight. I really need to get a new computer (the laptop I'm using now is about 3 years old). Unfortunately, computers are expensive, and I need to get my credit cards paid off before I invest in a large purchase like a computer. The good news is that I got a nice tax refund this year, which will go a long way in paying those off. I should be all set by this fall (or maybe end of the summer).
     
    I watched a REALLY good German film yesterday, called "Summer Storm." It's a gay coming-of-age story, starring Robert Stadlober (a really HOT German singer, who also has a nice butt ). It's one of the best gay films I've seen, right up there with "Get Real" and "Beautiful Thing." It's definitely worthwhile if you get the chance to see it.
     
    And finally, the Florida Gators made it to the Final Four in the NCAA Championship Series. They'll be playing UCLA next, and it's very possible that there could be a re-match of the last national championship football game if Ohio State makes it to the final game as well. That would be interesting! GO GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!
  25. LittleBuddhaTW
    So, I've decided that the hottest guy alive is Kevin Zegers (he was the kid in those cheesy "Air Bud" movies - but now he's all grown up, and boy has he grown up!) His most recent movie, "It's a Boy Girl Thing," was actually produced by Elton John and his partner, David Furnish. If anyone doesn't know who he is, go Google him ... trust me, he's F-I-N-E.
     
    I was soooooooooooo disappointed last week when Sundance got booted from "American Idol." He was definitely my favorite of the guys, ever since he totally tore up the classic blues song "Stormy Monday" in his first audition. Now that he's gone (in favor of the "ghastly" -- as Simon would put it -- Sanjaya Malakar) my fave guy is Chris Richardson. Not only is he pretty talented, but he's HOT. Yeah, I guess I'm shallow ... oh well.
     
    Anywho, I think I'm gonna go drool over more pictures of Kevin Zegers now.
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