Breaking the Silence

[fivecats]

Letterboxes
February 2006 Chapel Hill, NC
____________________________________

I wish I could say my silence here as been due to long nights of tireless keyboard tapping as the Victorian novel has been taking shape, the story practically writing itself.  I truly wish I was falling asleep, slumped over my keyboard with my fingers red and raw, the keys making a very odd impression on my face throughout the night.

That would, however, imply that more than 200 words have been added to the manuscript.

See, last week The Boy returned for Spring Break, bringing the usual difficult weather with him.  For the first few days it was confined to him simply creating and leaving messes.  By mid-week it was clear we were "not meeting his needs nor expectations" and by Friday his face was less than an inch from my face and he was screaming at me, wanting oh-so-despirately for me to throw the first punch. 

Instead, we informed him that he was not to return to our home without an expressed invitation to do so.  And that such an invitation was not going to be forthcoming for the summer.

By Saturday the weight of his actions had settled in on him and he had a long talk with Bonn in the living room.  I'm glad they were able to discuss things and that he was able to apologize to her for his actions (although he didn't do so to me).  I'm also glad he knows he's not coming back here for the summer regardless of how positive their discussion was.

The day job side of things is being busy.  Trainers are here for the week on the new system that's going live on May 1st.  I'm sitting in on the training sessions because I'm Project Manager (woo hoo) and, thanks to several cups of very strong tea, I'm not snoring my way through the sessions.

The CoolPix is back and I've been taking pictures on my regular walks.  Such a nice thing to have working again.  In fact, I did a Stock Image-like shot for them that's going to be used as part of the cover image for a book coming out sometime this year.  I wish it was something more artistic, but I suppose a book cover photo credit is a book cover photo credit.

...

Comments

[basefinder.livejournal.com]

OMG - I so wish I had gone back to the post office with my camera the other day....

While on Dyess Air Force Base the other day, I took a look in the post office where I had a letterbox all those many years ago. To my surprise, the old boxes were still in use -- much like the ones in your photo only with combination locks. As far as I can tell they date back to the late 1950s. I didn't have my camera at the time, but made a mental note to return and get a shot.

Our efficient work and early departure caused that mental note to fall by the wayside, otherwise I would have an eerily similar photo posted tonight!

:-)
Scott

[fivecats.livejournal.com]

Great minds thinking alike, I see.

Actually, this image was one that was on my CoolPix memory card before the dreaded drop just before Christmas. So I suppose that makes it great minds thinking alike across the span of a few months. :-)

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[velvetink.livejournal.com]

Those letterboxes - are they at a post office or in an apartment block? Way different to the ones here in post offices. Cool how they have a glass window, they look old.

congrats on two counts 1) of book cover - that sounds great, I wouldn't knock it back, and 2) not snoring through your work sessions {heh):P I think both worthy achievements.

re; the boy :0 *sighs* with you. Feel you did the right thing. There comes a point where you have to let them know they can't walk all over you and treat your house like a hotel {messes). You know you have my understanding on this one. I won't tolerate that one inch from my face stuff either. It's a good sign he apologised to Bonn before he left and hopefully will do so to you some time down the track when he's stewed a bit. (((((((((big hugs)))))))

[fivecats.livejournal.com]

They're in the local post office in Chapel Hill, right across the street from the University. I'm there usually once a week or so to mail off Netflix DVDs. It's a nice walk across campus and it comes with a good incentive (more DVDs).

The book cover is okay. Not great. At the same time, though, I'm considering it a start. I'm going to make myself available to the art director who I've heard complain about the lack of specific image types they've wanted for certain titles. It doesn't pay anything extra, but I have enough of an ego to like to see my name in print every now and then, whether it's for writing or for photography. :-)

The Boy, as an issue, seems settled for the moment. The one lingering effect of his visit, for now, is that he managed to take most of our bath towels with him when he left. I'm guessing he and his roommates will be drying off after showers in much greater comfort than they were before.

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[zombiefodder.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about The-Boy-problems (not "boy problems" - that's something different), but I'm glad to hear that it came to a satisfactory resolution.

Congrats on the photo credit. That's pretty cool.

Also, congrats on being a "Project Manager." Not a bad thing to add to the ol'resume.

[fivecats.livejournal.com]

The Boy is out of the house (for now) and that's seen as a good thing all around. In his Saturday conversation with Bonn he admitted to falling back into old habits, so at least he's being more self-aware than he was before. Now, if he can only learn to stop those behaviours before they run rampant.

The photo credit is good. I only wish it was for an image I took myself, rather than one set up by the editor to replicate something that she wanted. Eventually, I'd like to see one of my more artistic images be used. (And, since it won't cost the Press anything to use them, it will actually save them money they'd otherwise have to put into stock art costs. That means they have incentive to use my work as well)

"Project Manager" is my boss' way of saying, "Here, you deal with this because I don't want to." Still, you're right. It'll be a good resume line.

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[drood.livejournal.com]

Oh golly. I'm sorry about the yelling and the stress. I don't know how you cope, sometimes.

[fivecats.livejournal.com]

It's similar to your recent Adventures in Kitchen Remodeling -- you take things one day at a time and hope for the best knowing one of these days it will all be resolved.

Hopefully for the best.

And without having had to kill anybody (because then you have to dispose of the body, clean up the mess and be paranoid about all of that CSI DNA stuff for the rest of your life).

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[ladyamybug.livejournal.com]

oooo-i love this picture. when i was a kid, the post office in our little town in wyoming had the same really old mailboxes.

sorry to hear the boy is causing discord again. :o/

[fivecats.livejournal.com]

I never had a post office like this when I was growing up. I love the look and feel of the room they're in. There's a real sense of history there, to the point where I immediately get very quiet when I'm there.

The Boy has only called a few times since leaving, and each of those times were very short calls with him needing some specific information. We've been very friendly during those calls.

When he was in high school I kept telling Bonn that his and mine relationship would improve after he left home. Mind you, I didn't expect things to get this rocky before that happened. :-)

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[victory-rose.livejournal.com]

I notice that 666 is missing.

Congrats on being back, having the camera, the photo credit and the work thing. There, that's done. ;-)

Family - you know, sometimes, I'm so glad I don't have one of my own. Sometimes it would be nice if I could have an intelligent conversation with someone other than the cats though - only a couple of them are talkative, and they both tend to complain more than saying anything, let alone something intelligent.