Fiondil and Schedules

One year ago, my friend and mentor Fiondil was found dead in his room by his housemates. My writing world was pulled into a tailspin with the news. I still feel as if I lost an anchor and have written very little since his passing - my heart is still hurting.

Fiondil brought Lord Namo to life, not as the Grim Reaper
pictured above (on Deviant Art by Maris-cz), but as
an impeccably dressed, smooth talking Vala, with
a wicked sense of humor and limitless compassion. 

Two people were responsible for my love of Tolkien fan fiction. Nilmandra wrote a truly wonderful history of Elrond in which he is the true tragic hero, almost in a Grecian format. So excellent! And then there was Fiondil, who took on the superhuman beings called the Valar and gave them form, personality, and the occasional sense of humor. His "War of the Valar" has been, and still is, one of my favorite stories of his, but there were many, each beloved, each chapter relished.

In honor of his passing, his long-time editors have started posting his final, unfinished, story on Stories of Arda. They will post one chapter a week (time and health allowing) and I'll have a chance to read Fiondil's words once more, as if he is still only a quick email away. And weep once more for the friend I lost and miss so much. I think both aspects will be well worth the doing and I'll be reading chapter one later this morning after ...

My driveway is twice as wide and another section long, but you get
the idea. Fortunately, I think we only got a few inches to deal with.
Still, that means I'll have to be outside shoveling at 4:30 am to get to the
gym by 5:00 am. 

Schedules are sometimes difficult. Today, for instance, I have to build snow shoveling into my morning routine. Of course, the amount of snow is nothing like what my friends in the East Coast have had to deal with over the past few days. We just got a few inches - normal for this time of the year. But I'll want to have the driveway cleared before I set out for the gym. A few extra calories, but also an additional 30 minutes before I can leave the house.

When I have extra tasks added to my schedule, I often dream of it all night. It makes for a restless night with less sleep than I should have. Given that I usually get about six hours of sleep normally, things that cut into that should be banned from my life - LOL. But, unfortunately, my subconscious pays no attention to "should be's".

So today's post is short, but heartfelt. Here's hoping each of you has a Tuesday of happiness and wonder. For those of you buried under the East Coast snow, I hope you can start to get yourselves shoveled out and that you can enjoy the snow a bit before you have to get back to work. Happy Tuesday, everyone!