Copyright – Douglas M. MacIlroy
An 80-hour week followed a 60-hour week which followed a 50-hour week – all a result of nine months of dedicated preparation. We ate, drank, and slept grant applications – with all the coffee, snacks, and bad jokes we needed to keep up with the frenzied pace of finalizing the eight projects. Being ahead of schedule was only a reprieve until we began examining each page of 24 five-inch binders to be absolutely confident of absolute accuracy – reading, cross-referencing, and verifying or reprinting. With the deadline met it’s now time for peace and pretty pictures (until next year starts on Monday).
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99 words. Feedback appreciated. Another piece of non-fiction inspired by work. Thankfully the insanity of application season has passed with the deadline. Now I get to address the myriad of things I’ve managed to successfully ignore for the past three weeks.
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Your love, help, and support is still needed for Rara and Grayson: also known as The Queen Creative, Posting Tuesdays, and Rarasaur. How to help. Learn more at #RawrLove.
What story comes to mind when you see that picture? Join in! Friday Fictioneers is a weekly blog link-up based on a photo prompt. The Challenge – write a one hundred word story that has a beginning, middle, and end. (No one will be ostracized for going a few words over the count.) The Key – make every word count.
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*Featured and Post Image Copyright – Douglas M. MacIlroy
**The ads (which may appear) below are not mine, but they keep this free for me. Do with them as you choose.
This Is My Corn 
Lets hope ya have a SHORTER DAY on Monday.
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It will be. 🙂 The 2am nights won’t come around again until this time next year.
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Dear Melanie,
I don’t think you need a comma after met but you do need one after peace.
I’m worn out just reading. Nicely done.
shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you Rochelle. I made the correction.
I was still worn out while writing. 🙂
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You seem to have taken out a word and don’t need a comma in that line at all. Or maybe I saw something that wasn’t there?
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I moved the comma, then took it out, then put it back in. It’s out again now. Originally I skipped the word “for” and it read “it’s now time peace…”. There was a grammar mistake, but I think it was the missing word and not a misplaced comma. It looks like our brains filled in the missing word and then played a trick on us trying to fix what wasn’t right. 🙂 Thanks for the help!
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Dear Melanie, Good story and I’m worn out reading it! Deadlines can kill you. That’s probably why they call the lines dead. Very good – thanks for the read! Nan 🙂
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If I wasn’t so passionate about what I do the work these last few weeks would have killed me. It’s the only time of the year I see 2am with the consistency I did last week. Thank you, Nan, for reading! 🙂
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Dear Melanie,
Reminds me of Friday Fictioneers. Sheesh. Good job.
Aloha,
Doug
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It is a bit similar – work, rework, work, finish…wait for results. 🙂
Thank you Doug – and thank you for the inspiring picture.
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Ooooh my brain would eventually melt, you have way more stamina than I!
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Oh it did melt, which is why I went with nonfiction this week. I could think no original thoughts.
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Melanie, It sounds like you need a vacation after that. Those are terrifically long hours. I’m glad you pulled through well. Good and well-written story. 🙂 —Susan
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I do need a vacation! It was so hard to come to work today. I’ll take one in a couple of weeks. Until then, I have to many other jobs at work that need attention. No rest for the weary. 🙂
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Love the use of numbers in this. Somehow they get the emergent nature of the project across very well.
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Thank you! Even as a words person, numbers put things in perspective for me. I’m glad they worked for you in this story.
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