Goin’ Crazy (Daily Journal 1/7/26)
This is two morning’s in a row now that I have overslept — something I have rarely done in life, to the point where until these last two days I could have counted on two hands the times I’ve overslept in life, and still had spare fingers left over to make obscene gestures.
Between that and the stress dreams I wrote about here last week, I guess I am running myself even more ragged than I suspected. My days now are spent emptying the physical store, emptying the old warehouse (luckily there’s been no rain so that has become easier), and then getting two things written for Patreon each day. There has been very little free time, and what small amounts exist are basically spent with Mary at the very tail end of the day, about an hour before I fall asleep so that I can wake up and do it all over again.
But progress is being made. The comic book side of the store is now empty, except for the manga section, which a bulk buyer is getting next week. And the book side of the store is nearly empty. One or two more days and that should be done, as well. I’ve yet to tackle the storeroom, and hope to get to it this weekend.
But I also really need to get both the preliminary programming schedule for AuthorCon finished this week, and I really need to get the Splatterpunk Award recs tallied. This will be my last year for the latter, I suspect. With Wrath having stepped down and moving to Thailand, I feel like the best thing to do is for me to step down, as well, and turn it over to a new generation. I’ll probably hold on to overseeing the Lifetime Achievement Award, however.
Anyway… I foresee many late nights and busy days in my immediate future. I keep reminding myself the transition is almost done, and then things will return to normal. Goal is to have the store swept out by Sunday night. And to have all of the warehouse moved and set up by next Wednesday. Some time in between those two I have to get that schedule and ballot done, though. Therefore, those of you on Patreon may have to get an occasional classic reprint or some guest posts until then.
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I treated myself last night to a ticket for David Lee Roth’s 2026 tour. Depending on which venue you attend this year, the prices are Springeteen-level prices, but unlike Bruce’s last tour, I didn’t balk at pulling the trigger. Although, to be fair, I’m going to DLR by myself. For Springsteen, I needed to buy tickets to the Baltimore show for myself, Ronald Malfi, Richard Chizmar, Rio Youers, Rich’s son, and my oldest son. That was six tickets at $497 each, and there was simply no way I could afford to do that. My card would have been declined, at the time. The Diamond Dave ticket was the same amount, but nobody wanted to go with me, so I only had to buy one. I ended up getting front row, center. Very much looking forward to that.
And look, I’m well aware of what the show is, going in. You don’t need to show up and tell me. Dave’s voice is not what it once was. That’s why the team of singers on stage handle the majority of the vocals, while he — ever the consummate showman — entertains the crowd with a mix of stories and jokes and dance moves (no, he can’t jump off the drum riser anymore, but the dude can still move). That’s what I paid to see, and I was happy to do so.
Editor and author Michael T. Huyck told me last night that he’s going to see the Eagles at the Sphere in Vegas. I think that’s the only one of my favorite bands that I never got to see live (unless you count Zeppelin or the Beatles, who were done touring by the time I discovered them). I was lucky enough to see Prince and the Highwaymen one time each. I saw Ozzy, Springsteen, Rush, Queensryche, Guns N Roses, Iron Maiden, and Faith No More multiple times. (Ozzy the most, with 13 concerts). And so many others over the years, once or twice. I was lucky enough to see Van Halen twice — once with Dave and once with Sammy, and both were great shows. But I’ve never had the chance to see Dave solo, so yeah, I was happy to get that ticket.
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Okay. Time to post this and then get to work. Have a great day.