Free Book Friday and My Beard is Driving Me Nuts

I'm sick - But what's really sick is that lame beardLooking for a free book? Read on through and answer the questions at the end.

October seems to be defined by sickness. My wife had the Swine Flu, my kids had para influenza, and I'm still sick with the crud. Haven't showered or shaved since August. I may have mentioned it before. I can't recall. October is a blur.

At any rate, sickness is boring, so let's change the subject.

I hit 500 subscribers this week—quite a milestone for the blog. I've been publishing here for almost five years now. I've been honing my craft, developing my voice, coming perilously close to having a regular blogging schedule… It's all thanks to you and your readership. Now that there are 500 regulars, I should probably be ecstatic that you aren't all leaving comments since I've made it a goal this Fall to reply to everyone.

Coming up in the next few weeks are some articles on ADHD & worry, my findings on Seasonal Affective Disorder, and a revealing article on embarrassing impulses. You won't want to miss it. Think of all the material I'll be posting that you can blackmail me with.

My chapter book is coming along in surges. I've set the goal to finish it before the 31st of this month. Assuming I don't just waste the next nine days watching Rockford Files episodes while feeling gray and washed out, I might even make it with a day or two to spare. I was mentioning this on my friend Brodi's website. I'm two thirds through the rewrite, but if I run out of time I could always reduce the ending to its crudest form:
Then something happens.
Oh no! Great angst.
Then Riff gets really clever.
Something happens.
Something else happens.
Yay! He saved the day.

I can tell it's going to be a blockbuster…

And now for the questions. Answer both to qualify. One person will win a copy of comedian Jeff Nichols' TrainWreck - My Life as an Idoit. I recently reviewed this book for ADDitude Magazine. It's irreverently funny, very offcolor, often profane, and not for the fair of heart, but its brutally honest details of Nichols' life on the ADHD edge reveal how a once troubled guy overcame his disabilities and found happiness. It wasn't my cup of tea, but I know I have more than a few ADHD readers who will enjoy it immensely. Please play along even if you don't want the book for yourself.
  1. How do you read this blog? (On the web, RSS reader, Facebook, by fairy proxy, etc.)
  2. What defined October for you?
Have a memorable weekend… Douglas sig

Comments

Brodi Ashton said…
1. I'm old fashioned. I actually go visit the blogs I'm reading. I admit I'm a little confused as to all the RSS, Google reader stuff.

2. I've been sitting here for five minutes, stumped by this question. Can we say "being stumped" defined my October?
October 23, 2009 8:15 AM
Cranberryfries said…
1. I stopped in from Twitter (started following you cause Brodi is funny and she mentioned you so I think I'm safe over here) so I'm reading this off the actual web since I still can't bring myself to pay for a cell phone/plan with web features. :)

2. October is a blur for me too. We've had major family changes and much busier plans that I anticipated. I'd say October is defined by: too much.
October 23, 2009 8:55 AM
Dustin said…
1. I read it by clicking it in my favorites list and using IE. I dont remember how I found it.\

2. October has been a blur for me as well. Full of busy work schedules, sickness, cleaning house, setting up halloween decorations, trying to find costumes for the kids, pumpkin patch, etc.
October 23, 2009 12:09 PM
D.R. Cootey said…
Great answers, everyone. It seems that this month will go down as the Great Blur of 2009.

@Brodi Reading blogs from the web? How positively antediluvian! Personally I have my RSS feed streamed through my OJ in the morning. Saves time…

@Debbie I'm glad you feel safe here since coming from Brodi's. I've read her blog, too. It's scary. ;)

@Dustin Dealing with sickness, too? I thought about Halloween decorations for the first time last night. I might even do something about it tonight before my children's self-esteem is irreparably destroyed due to our non-festive front yard.

~Douglas
October 23, 2009 12:58 PM
faryl said…
(Hope I'm not double commenting - it crashed on me last time!)

Yay for contests!

1. I'm reading this online (using safari as a browser). Second most often used method - on my iphone - usually as a result of clicking on a tweeted link.

2. This October has been defined for me by my ADHD "recovery" process. If I needed to summarize it in one word, it would be "growth". If I had to boil it down to one experience - it was an a recent "episode" with my boyfriend that opened my eyes to the value of true/honest commitment, love, honesty, respect, communication, understanding and empathy.
October 23, 2009 4:00 PM
D.R. Cootey said…
@Faryl I am definitely looking into an iPhone savvy version of my blog when I commence redesigning soon. Unfortunately, Blogger is slower than a snail in a windtunnel at implementing contemporary features…

Good for you. Growth is a great watchword. Well done.

~Douglas
October 23, 2009 4:13 PM
Claire said…
I read it on my google home page in Firefox, then in order to comment, I have to open IE or Safari, select Google Account, hit preview, get told it can't do what I requested, hit preview again, log-in to blogger, preview my post, type in the anti-spammer word, and post my comment.

October is defined in my world by overtime and early snow. Ugh and ugh-er.

:)
October 23, 2009 6:06 PM
Anonymous said…
1. I read your blog in bloglines an rss reader

2. Oct has been all about getting my ADHD kindergartener used to the whole full time school routine.
October 25, 2009 8:50 AM
Unknown said…
1. I was reading this via Firefox, but have just added you to my iGoogle page. Google reader had far too many interesting things to read, so I managed to toss myself into overwhelm pretty quickly.

2. This October is marked by change and adaptation. Big unexpected changes at work and adapting to them, the daily changes and adaptations that arise in the first year of living with someone with a different (non-adhd!) style, looking at a huge scary change as we are shopping for a house...
October 25, 2009 9:06 PM
Jenilyn Collings said…
1. I read it on the web.

2. Taking the kids to Disneyland and physically forcing them on the rides because they insisted they were scared of them. Rides like Peter Pan. Then coming home and having everyone get sick. Yep. That's my October.
October 26, 2009 1:28 PM
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