Of Fitbits, Looksmaxers, & Chapter 6

[mallorys_camera]

A Fitbit that won't stay charged for more than 16 hours is worse than no Fitbit at all.
Reluctantly, I accepted this yesterday and prepared my Fitbit for its final journey to the lithium-ion battery waste facility. Om Ami Deva Hrih...

Do I need a Fitbit? The damn thing has never accurately measured my activity on account of it straps to my wrist, not my ankle, and when I'm walking fast on a treadmill, I hold on to the side rails, I don't move my arms. I take it as an article of faith that the Fitbit measures my sleep patterns, and that's the bodily function I'm most concerned with because I never feel as though I get enough sleep! But does it really?

Whatevs, there won't be a new Fitbit this month. My share of the heating oil delivery referenced yesterday is an astounding $440. I don't know whether this is due to the Law of Supply & Demand—winter this year is brutally cold; people have been going through a lot more heating oil than they usually do; supplies are short—or whether it represents price gauging. Probably both.

Anyway, there won't be any discretionary income purchases this month.

And probably not next month either.

###

Meanwhile, the Social Security Administration is apparently instructing employees to tell hysterical callers, Suicide is one option.

And then there's this article about a male narcissist cult. Members of this cult are called Looksmaxers, and they revere Matt Bomer, whom I would agree is the most beautiful male human ever spawned upon this planet.

###

In News of the Work In Progress, I am deep into hammering out Chapter 6. This one is tricky because there are so many points at which the whole thing could slide off into melodrama, particularly the Spooky Baptism Scene at the end of which Neal is actually gonna swoop down and rescue Grazia. Most of the chapter should be written in a hyper-realistic style with a lot of vivid visuals but minimal humor until after the rescue scene, when the tension lets up, and Grazia can go back to her regularly scheduled wisecracking.

From there, the writing style should get lighter and lighter and lighter until the final poignant line at the end—The heartbreak for me is the lonely guardianship of all those memories, floaters from an increasingly ephemeral past—when the reader suddenly remembers: Oh, right. Neal's dead.

I mean, the whole point of this section of the novel is to make Neal a vivid enough character so that the reader forgets that he's dead.

###

I am hoping to complete Chapter 6 over the holiday weekend.

We'll see if I can.

Comments

[rebeccmeister]

I've been looking at my utility bills fairly closely, and my understanding is that in theory our state is careful about regulating heating energy costs closely - when utility companies want to jack up the price, they send a proposal to the state, which usually gives the proposal a thumbs-down until the proposed rate is less exorbitant. However, general costs for oil/gas/electricity have definitely gone up this winter. And hey, an Internet search found me a dashboard!

https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/Energy-Prices/Home-Heating-Oil/Average-Home-Heating-Oil-Prices


I just got something from National Grid about an extended energy affordability program, but I make too much money so I tossed it in the recycling bin.

Time to start identifying side hustles for the side hustle, or something. Ugh. It's rough.

[mallorys_camera]

Unfortunately, the price of heating oil is not regulated in New York State; it’s market‑based and can fluctuate by supplier, region, and season. Ugh indeed.

[suzannareads]

I use an annoying pedometer app called Pacer, which scolds me when I am not making my step goals.

Looking forward to chapter 6!

[mallorys_camera]

Halfway done with it! 😀

[fuzzilla]

That’s right, I started reading this yesterday and put it down after “Social Security administration says - hey, suicide is an option” (not your fault that reality sux but I had to go surround myself with fluffy, fun, silly things).

God speed on the writing, sounds like you’re making great progress.

[mallorys_camera]

Part 1 is almost finished. 25,000 words down, 60,000 to go!

[michaelboy]

Fitbit. I've worn one for several years and most days I average 13-15k. Not sure if it is accurate or not. It reminds me of those pedometer gizmos that usually were featured in the ads sections in the back of magazines, long before the internet.