Occupational Hazards

As a writer, there are some occupational hazards you should be aware of. I'm sure you know about carpal-tunnel syndrome, eyestrain, back pain, etc. But have you considered these others?

Ink stains on all your clothes. (At least if you write by hand like me.)

Ink stains on your family's clothes, too.

Ink stains on the walls. (When you fail to notice your three-year-old sharpening a pen in the pencil sharpener right next to you.)

Other lost-track-of-the-three-year-old disasters (including, but not limited to, half an inch of water on the kitchen floor, a dozen broken eggs, toilet-flooding, etc.)

A tendency to space out in the middle of a conversation when a great plot point suddenly pops into your head.

Compulsive email checking.

Losing track of time and realizing you're ten minutes late for picking your kids up from school.

Accidentally posting on the wrong blog (like I just did).

Any others you can think of?

A Random Memory

When I was in high school, I worked at Blockbuster Video. This was about 1988. Actually when I started it was Major Video. They were later bought by Blockbuster. Anyway, when I started they were running a promotion where if you brought back your video the next day, you got a dollar off your next rental. Woohoo. They called it the One Night Stand. My first night, they handed me a button to wear that said, "Ask me about the One Night Stand." Did I mention this was in Vegas? You can imagine how my first night on the job went. After that I refused to wear the button anymore. I have to admit, I'm a little sad watching all the Blockbusters go out of business. Another little piece of my past fading away. But, hey. Netflix is my new best friend.

What does this have to do with writing. Nothing. But it's a good story, don't you think?