User blog:Banningk1979/On work, life and everything in the middle

Wow, it seems as though it's been a while since I really had time to sit down and type out a message to the community as a whole. Needless to say, I have missed everyone around here and really cannot wait until the busy season slows down and I start having somewhat normal work days once again.

So, for those of you who don't know, I took a new job at the start of this month, working as a carrier for the US Postal Service. My first day was December 1st, and tomorrow will be my first actual day off since starting. I've been putting in 12 hours a day, 7 days a week since I took the job (not counting four days of orientation, which were 8 hour days) and I honestly believed that Christmas might be my first day off. Maybe my boss saw my fatigue today or something, because she told me to take tomorrow off. That's 22 days of straight work, so yes, I am exhausted, and as much as I would love to stay up all night and really take advantage of my time off, I feel the sandbags already forming under my eyes.

So, let's move on.

Earlier this month I posted my story Jeff the Killer 2015, which has received some rather mixed to negative reviews. I sort of wanted to break the silence earlier on that, although there really isn't too much to say. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I don't make it a habit to defend my work. Writing is art, and people are either going to like it or not. While I will admit that at least one or two comments seemed almost to be geared more towards insulting me than critiquing the story, I still hold firm my belief that everyone has a right to their opinion, and I will not allow myself to venture down the path of calling people out and asking what they meant by this or that. What matters most to me when it comes to that story, as with all of my stories, is that I was satisfied at the end. I believe that I produced a quality piece of writing, and I would never be ashamed to show it off or take credit 100% for the final product. I take my writing very seriously, and I would never post anything that did not fit within my own rather strict personal quality standards. To those of you who have supported my work over the time that I've been here, thank you. I largely write for myself, but there is a large piece of me that belongs to this community, and it means the world to me when my efforts bring positive reactions here.

I have a possible stand alone story in the works. I haven't written anything down yet, as my time is mostly dedicated to sleep and work, but if I get some more free time I will attempt to write it out and post it. There are some exciting ventures in the works between myself and Chilling Tales for Dark Nights that I am looking forward to sharing with everyone also.

In closing, my time has been stretched really thin with the new job. However, the pay and the oppurtunities to advance are simply too amazing to pass on. I will continue to push through the long days regardless of how heavy my eyes feel when I get home at night. I hope everyone is having a great holiday as well. However you choose to celebrate, I hope you do so in the company of family and friends.