I’m So Excited · 17 May 2014
I am so excited, I can hardly stand it. Unfortunately, I cannot tell anybody why I am excited lest I jinx myself. Not that I believe in luck or jinxes or anything like that, but it seems prudent not to let anybody know until it really happens. So I guess I will just need to write down all my excitement so I can go through life without exploding with the good news.
The good news is that I am going to have a piece in The Seattle Times. (Actually, by the time I post this, it will have already run, because I do not want to tell anybody before it actually happens.)
I was actually going to post the piece here on my website, but decided to send it in to the sports editor for their Take 2 column. Take 2 is: “A different spin on sports by The Seattle Times staff and readers.” I have been reading them for a while, but did not even think that I had anything to submit. In fact, I had been looking for the essays from readers to return to the Times, which was where I had my first piece published by a large newspaper. Then, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I did have a piece ready. Or close.
I have had the idea for a piece about track and field percolating in my brain for quite some time. Maybe even since last season. I finally wrote it and was almost ready to post it to MediocreMan.com. I was down to a final edit, when I read the latest Take 2 column. That was when the ton of bricks fell. Instead of posting the piece right away, I could submit it to The Seattle Times to see if more than a few people might like my description of a track and field meet.
The problem was that I would be left with slim pickings for my own blog. I would need to put out something substandard or unfinished. (Which if you have been reading my Musings of MediocreMan for very long, you realize that happens a fair amount.) Still, I was in a quandary. I could not decide. Should I take a chance on getting the gold or just be somebody who only thought about entering the race.
I decided that fear has no place in my thinking. After all, I know that God does not guide us through fear. I decided to go for the gold and see if The Seattle Times might print another piece of my writing.
Naturally, that meant I had to post one of the substandard pieces. It was funny because originally, I was satisfied with the piece and was going to run it that day anyway. But after rereading it a time or two, I had decided it was not really what I wanted to say. Or at least that I had not said it very well. I posted it with a little resignation. And thoughts about the plans of mice and men.
I was actually not looking forward to checking my email on Monday morning after I submitted the piece. After all, I hate rejection as much as the next person. And as much as I might say that I just count the rejection letters as stepping stones to my writing future, I know it is just a lie I tell myself so that I will just keep submitting. So despite my trepidation, I opened my email.
That is why I am so excited.
The editor said that after a quick glance, he was pretty sure they would run the piece. I could hardly believe my eyes. I read it over and over. The “pretty sure” was not comforting at all and put a bit of a damper on the excitement, but I had plenty to sustain me. He had said after just a quick glance. And next week. We emailed back and forth a couple times (one was just asking if he wanted a picture and the second one was sending the picture), and I am still excited. Another piece published in The Seattle Times!
I cannot tell anybody about the piece until it runs. Maybe because I can hardly believe it will. Maybe because (even though I am not superstitious) it seems that if I spill the beans, the column will not run. They will cancel the whole thing before my piece gets published. Something bad will happen if I speak. But that is just the fear speaking. Still, I do not want to jinx myself about my newest piece running in The Seattle Times. Even if it is just using my blog as a diary, I had to tell somebody. Because I’m so excited, I can hardly stand it.
© 2014 Michael T. Miyoshi
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