I swear, the reason I'm not writing here often is simply that I'm busy. This short story editor gig is crazy amounts of work, and it doesn't help that the January deadline was set too close and got a ton of submissions, and the February deadline was likewise set too close and got a ton of submissions.
March is an anthology month, though, so I'm hoping to use February and March to get ahead of the curve on the April stories.
I realize that didn't make much sense. I apologize. Suffice to say: stupidly busy.
But not so busy that I didn't manage to turn into a complete sloth over the weekend. Holy hell, I started watching Downton Abbey on Friday night, and finished Season One on Saturday, and probably would've gone through all of Season Two on Saturday and Sunday except that Netflix doesn't have Season Two on streaming. I also finished Season 4 of Doctor Who (including the post-season shows) and watched the first episode of Season 5, just because I wanted to get a feel for Matt Smith in the role. (Not as hot as David Tennant, granted, but also, not nearly so angsty. I like his energy.) And I finished another season of HIMYM (because that's fluffy enough to watch with divided attention, like while I'm eating or chatting online).
But I really want to ramble about dating.
I almost had a date Friday night with a guy I've seen a couple of times before, but it fell through, largely because I'm too much of a wimp to stay up late. (And then I had another bout of insomnia anyway. Stupid body. Or brain, whichever.) I did go on a lunch date on Saturday, with a new guy. It went okay, but I wasn't really wowed. Also, I have a date scheduled this week with a guy that I've been chatting (and flirting a bit) with on Facebook that should be fun.
Yes, I'm seeing multiple people at once. Yes, they're all aware of it and are okay with it. Yes, I'm being (and planning on being) safe, in all respects of the word, from avoiding stalkers and creepers to avoiding STDs. (Potential TMI, highlight to read: no, I haven't gotten that far with anyone yet. Yes, there are some possible candidates for it. Yes, "candidates" was plural on purpose.) No, none of them have met the kids yet, and I don't expect that will happen for quite some time, as the kids don't even know that I'm dating yet. Just like I decided to wait until after the new year to start dating again (after a couple of less-than-optimal attempts, anyway), I've decided that I need to keep my dating strictly casual (that is, nonexclusive and with no anticipation of building a long-term relationship) for a good while now that I am dating again.
One of my big regrets from my high school and college years is that I would only consider going out with guys that I thought had long-term potential. (That is to say, to be embarrassingly blunt, whether I would consider marrying them.) And it was pointless, because I judged every one of the relationships I did have wrongly. I'm not sure where I acquired such an antiquated attitude (even my grandfather wanted me to date around more -- I think maybe I read too many historical novels and horrible romances where no one ever had any kind of good relationship with someone who wasn't their One True Love) but I know that it cost me a lot of fun and a lot of insight and a lot of experience that I really wish I'd had.
I spent my high school and college years lurching from "serious" relationship to "serious" relationship, unable to let one go until I'd figured out who my next candidate was (and in several cases, taking steps to establish the new relationship first). I do not want to repeat that pattern. I'm not ashamed of having dated the people I dated back then, but I am ashamed of the way I went about it. I don't want that again, and I'm okay with taking the time to make sure of my feelings before I step into something serious.
I'm not seventeen any more; I no longer feel like I need a romantic relationship to justify my existence. I actually kind of like being single, in fact. I like not having to negotiate and compromise on how to decorate or arrange things. I like having days where I don't have to talk to anyone, or where I can
just pick up and go do things that would otherwise require some level of
coordination.
(Would I like it as much if I was alone more, if I didn't have the kids at least three days each week? No idea. But, since I do have the kids three or four days each week, it's not really relevant, either.)
When I was seventeen, it was understandable that I would conflate lust and love, and that I would confuse my desire for a particular person with my enjoyment of their desire. I was young and hormone-addled and wholly inexperienced. But it's easier to separate my feelings now. Yes, it does feel nice to be pursued. It's been a long time (longer than I knew, really) since I've actually felt like anyone wanted me, and it's a heady experience, and it's fun, and I mean to enjoy it. But that doesn't mean I owe anything to my pursuers, either in terms of sex or commitment, that I don't actually want to give them.
I don't know how long it will be before I'm ready to consider a serious commitment again. I'll get there, I imagine; I seem to be wired that way. But for now, I'm flying casual.
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
New Year's Resolutions
Here's a funny little take-away I got from, of all places, my day job: You shouldn't have too many serious goals at one time. Our annual performance review process allows for up to – but not exceeding – five major goals for each year, and my last several supervisors (I get a new one each year, thanks to the Major Corporate Machine's constant reorganizing) have stressed that you really should try to have no more than three.
So I've spent the last few weeks thinking about my New Year's resolutions, and pondering what are the priorities I have in my life right now, and what are the few things that I really care about changing. What are the things that I'm willing to put some energy into improving? At the moment, my priority list looks like this:
Effort #1: Stop watching so much freaking TV. I've lost whole days to the tube, lately. I'm trying to get caught up on a bunch of shows, and they're great and fun, but in the meantime, I'm not doing anything productive. This, by the way, also includes watching DVDs and shows on YouTube. Basically, any time spent passively watching a screen. It does not, however, include watching movies with friends or on a date, because those are social activities.
Effort #2: Be more productive. There are a gajillion projects I want or need to do. Writing and editing. Promotion of my writing, which is a whole job unto itself. I have an embarrasingly high stack of books I've been meaning to read. Scrapbooking, a little, at least to finish out the year in which I last left off. Re-organize and redecorate the house (or at least parts of it). Some of these are open-ended tasks, some of them are huge, and some just require me to get off my ass and do them.
Effort #3: Be more social. This falls into three sub-categories:
Effort #3a: Family: I'd like to spend more time with my brother and sister-in-law, who are actually fantastic people and who only live half an hour away, which makes it completely stupid that I only see them a few times a year. I'd also like to make a point of talking to my parents (who likewise live only half an hour away) at least once a week.
Effort #3b: Friends: I'd like to spend more time with various friends. It's come to my attention lately that, due to my proper Southern upbringing, I am intensely uncomfortable with inviting myself along on events or over to friends' houses, while the truth is that most of my friends are not only open but enthusiastic about this sort of thing.
Effort #3c: Dating: I've been separated for the best part of half a year now, and I think I'm ready to look around out there again. It's been entirely too long since I've dated, so it's hard to make resolutions about this, but I want to remember not to simply settle, and not to neglect my friends in the event that someone wonderful does come along.
Effort #4: Be a better parent. I waste far too much of my time with my kids. Penny was unequivocally enthusiastic about the time I had lunch with her at school; I'd like to do that more often. I'd also like to get them excited about things and do things with them that get us all out of the house once in a while.
Note #1: I'm okay with having four goals instead of just three, because accomplishing the less-TV goal will actually make it easier to work on the others: by watching less TV, I will have more time to spend on the projects and people on which my other three goals are focused.
Note #2: I feel like working on my weight should be somewhere on that list – exercising more and/or eating better – it falls pretty low on my list of priorities. It shouldn't, but it just does. It's not like I'm going to completely forget about my health or anything, but I'm going to give myself permission not to stress over it this year. Maybe, as I get wrapped up in projects and people and spend more time doing things instead of staring at a screen and chewing my cud, some health improvement will happen organically. And if not, then that's okay, too, and I can worry about diet and exercise again next year, when all this stuff has gotten wrapped into my personal patterns and habits.
It's a lot of stuff to wrap my head around, and it's all but impossible to make rules covering everything here and expect to actually follow them all. I've been turning the whole mess around in my head for a while, as I said, and here's the ideas I've come up with to (hopefully) make it work, along with their explanations and notes:
The List: Because my schedules and deadlines are so ephemeral, there's no way to just assign myself a day-by-day task list. So each day, I will evaluate my situation, and assign myself a reasonable productivity list. That list will include not only big project stuff (e.g., edit 2 stories, spend 2 hours writing, scrapbook 2 months' worth of pictures, etc.) but also the little, routine stuff (e.g., take out the trash, write a blog entry, make lunches, etc.) that has to fit into my schedule. The list will take into account whether I happen to have the kids that day, planned activities, and my general well-being. (As I write this, for example, I've got a sinus infection or a cold or something similar, and so I give myself permission to be a little slack on the productivity front – not to skip it entirely, because I'm not that sick, but to choose tasks that suit my current mental and physical state. I can do some editing right now, for example, but I feel way too mentally blah to want to do anything creative, like writing.) They may include large tasks (e.g., clean out and re-organize the pantry) or small ones (e.g., make an appointment with the eye doctor). There will be no time limit, either minimum or maximum. The goal here is a list of things that I can look at an think, “Yes, that seems like a day that was not wasted.”
TV: Until the day's productivity goals are done, I get no more than 1 hour of TV. (Yes, I'm letting myself have some TV before I do my work. I sometimes want to watch YouTube videos in the morning while the kids are eating breakfast, or unwind with a show while I have dinner by myself.) Once the day's goals are all met, I can watch all the TV I want. (Nyah.)
Parenting: One day in the next week, one of my goals will be to make up a schedule for things to do with the kids. That schedule will include: 1 day each month that I will have lunch with each kid (2 lunches/month, not including summer break), and 1 day each month that we will do an out-of-house activity, along with a list of activity options. Once that schedule is made up, I'll load those dates and activities into my calendars so that I remember to do them. That's not saying I won't need to change some of them, but it takes less inertia to move a date than to create it.
Social Stuff: This one is trickier, because it necessarily involves other people. And unlike my children, I don't have significant control over my friends' and families' schedules. I do want to take at least two solo long-weekend type vacations this year, at least one of which will be to an author's convention (GayRomLit or somesuch, depending on how the schedules fall out) where I can meet some of the Torquere staff in person; the other will either be to visit a friend or see a new place; I'm not sure yet. I want to make a date with KT and Kevin to come down to their house every so often (once a month? Every six weeks? Eight?) during the week, on a night I'm child-free, just to hang out. And ditto for hanging out with Jenn and Brian. And my friends who live in town, too, but those are easier to arrange and don't so much need to be scheduled to remind me to do it. But I need to remind myself that it's okay to say, “Hey, what's going on; can I come over and hang out?” and that if the answer is that they're too busy, it doesn't mean I'm being rude and needy; it means THEY'RE TOO BUSY, and I should try again another time.
So there are my New Year's resolutions. I don't know if I'll stick to it. Sometimes, YouTube is just too compelling, sometimes I go through mental downs where I don't want to be social, and sometimes, my kids are infuriating and don't deserve to be taken out anywhere. Such is life.
But here's the thing about a resolution. It's not an unbreakable vow. It's resolve. You plunge into the fight and sometimes you take a hit, but resolve is squaring your shoulders and going right back in. If these annual goals and targets were easy, they wouldn't be so significant.
I grew up in a house surrounded by art inspired by Don Quixote and Man of La Mancha, after all. It would be a little crazy if I didn't want to reach for unreachable stars once in a while.
So I've spent the last few weeks thinking about my New Year's resolutions, and pondering what are the priorities I have in my life right now, and what are the few things that I really care about changing. What are the things that I'm willing to put some energy into improving? At the moment, my priority list looks like this:
Effort #1: Stop watching so much freaking TV. I've lost whole days to the tube, lately. I'm trying to get caught up on a bunch of shows, and they're great and fun, but in the meantime, I'm not doing anything productive. This, by the way, also includes watching DVDs and shows on YouTube. Basically, any time spent passively watching a screen. It does not, however, include watching movies with friends or on a date, because those are social activities.
Effort #2: Be more productive. There are a gajillion projects I want or need to do. Writing and editing. Promotion of my writing, which is a whole job unto itself. I have an embarrasingly high stack of books I've been meaning to read. Scrapbooking, a little, at least to finish out the year in which I last left off. Re-organize and redecorate the house (or at least parts of it). Some of these are open-ended tasks, some of them are huge, and some just require me to get off my ass and do them.
Effort #3: Be more social. This falls into three sub-categories:
Effort #3a: Family: I'd like to spend more time with my brother and sister-in-law, who are actually fantastic people and who only live half an hour away, which makes it completely stupid that I only see them a few times a year. I'd also like to make a point of talking to my parents (who likewise live only half an hour away) at least once a week.
Effort #3b: Friends: I'd like to spend more time with various friends. It's come to my attention lately that, due to my proper Southern upbringing, I am intensely uncomfortable with inviting myself along on events or over to friends' houses, while the truth is that most of my friends are not only open but enthusiastic about this sort of thing.
Effort #3c: Dating: I've been separated for the best part of half a year now, and I think I'm ready to look around out there again. It's been entirely too long since I've dated, so it's hard to make resolutions about this, but I want to remember not to simply settle, and not to neglect my friends in the event that someone wonderful does come along.
Effort #4: Be a better parent. I waste far too much of my time with my kids. Penny was unequivocally enthusiastic about the time I had lunch with her at school; I'd like to do that more often. I'd also like to get them excited about things and do things with them that get us all out of the house once in a while.
Note #1: I'm okay with having four goals instead of just three, because accomplishing the less-TV goal will actually make it easier to work on the others: by watching less TV, I will have more time to spend on the projects and people on which my other three goals are focused.
Note #2: I feel like working on my weight should be somewhere on that list – exercising more and/or eating better – it falls pretty low on my list of priorities. It shouldn't, but it just does. It's not like I'm going to completely forget about my health or anything, but I'm going to give myself permission not to stress over it this year. Maybe, as I get wrapped up in projects and people and spend more time doing things instead of staring at a screen and chewing my cud, some health improvement will happen organically. And if not, then that's okay, too, and I can worry about diet and exercise again next year, when all this stuff has gotten wrapped into my personal patterns and habits.
It's a lot of stuff to wrap my head around, and it's all but impossible to make rules covering everything here and expect to actually follow them all. I've been turning the whole mess around in my head for a while, as I said, and here's the ideas I've come up with to (hopefully) make it work, along with their explanations and notes:
The List: Because my schedules and deadlines are so ephemeral, there's no way to just assign myself a day-by-day task list. So each day, I will evaluate my situation, and assign myself a reasonable productivity list. That list will include not only big project stuff (e.g., edit 2 stories, spend 2 hours writing, scrapbook 2 months' worth of pictures, etc.) but also the little, routine stuff (e.g., take out the trash, write a blog entry, make lunches, etc.) that has to fit into my schedule. The list will take into account whether I happen to have the kids that day, planned activities, and my general well-being. (As I write this, for example, I've got a sinus infection or a cold or something similar, and so I give myself permission to be a little slack on the productivity front – not to skip it entirely, because I'm not that sick, but to choose tasks that suit my current mental and physical state. I can do some editing right now, for example, but I feel way too mentally blah to want to do anything creative, like writing.) They may include large tasks (e.g., clean out and re-organize the pantry) or small ones (e.g., make an appointment with the eye doctor). There will be no time limit, either minimum or maximum. The goal here is a list of things that I can look at an think, “Yes, that seems like a day that was not wasted.”
TV: Until the day's productivity goals are done, I get no more than 1 hour of TV. (Yes, I'm letting myself have some TV before I do my work. I sometimes want to watch YouTube videos in the morning while the kids are eating breakfast, or unwind with a show while I have dinner by myself.) Once the day's goals are all met, I can watch all the TV I want. (Nyah.)
Parenting: One day in the next week, one of my goals will be to make up a schedule for things to do with the kids. That schedule will include: 1 day each month that I will have lunch with each kid (2 lunches/month, not including summer break), and 1 day each month that we will do an out-of-house activity, along with a list of activity options. Once that schedule is made up, I'll load those dates and activities into my calendars so that I remember to do them. That's not saying I won't need to change some of them, but it takes less inertia to move a date than to create it.
Social Stuff: This one is trickier, because it necessarily involves other people. And unlike my children, I don't have significant control over my friends' and families' schedules. I do want to take at least two solo long-weekend type vacations this year, at least one of which will be to an author's convention (GayRomLit or somesuch, depending on how the schedules fall out) where I can meet some of the Torquere staff in person; the other will either be to visit a friend or see a new place; I'm not sure yet. I want to make a date with KT and Kevin to come down to their house every so often (once a month? Every six weeks? Eight?) during the week, on a night I'm child-free, just to hang out. And ditto for hanging out with Jenn and Brian. And my friends who live in town, too, but those are easier to arrange and don't so much need to be scheduled to remind me to do it. But I need to remind myself that it's okay to say, “Hey, what's going on; can I come over and hang out?” and that if the answer is that they're too busy, it doesn't mean I'm being rude and needy; it means THEY'RE TOO BUSY, and I should try again another time.
So there are my New Year's resolutions. I don't know if I'll stick to it. Sometimes, YouTube is just too compelling, sometimes I go through mental downs where I don't want to be social, and sometimes, my kids are infuriating and don't deserve to be taken out anywhere. Such is life.
But here's the thing about a resolution. It's not an unbreakable vow. It's resolve. You plunge into the fight and sometimes you take a hit, but resolve is squaring your shoulders and going right back in. If these annual goals and targets were easy, they wouldn't be so significant.
I grew up in a house surrounded by art inspired by Don Quixote and Man of La Mancha, after all. It would be a little crazy if I didn't want to reach for unreachable stars once in a while.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Too Much TV
I find myself once again in the position of doing three jobs instead of my usual two. Which is seriously cutting into my blogging time.
Also, it has several weird side-effects on my brain, which are probably interrelated, and can most adequately be summarized as: I'm freaking scatterbrained. Like, even more than usual, which if you've been around here long you will know is pretty damned scatterbrained. So I apologize in advance for the random, almost Joycian, tone of this post.
When I go home at night and am done with work for the day, I don't want to do anything remotely intellectual, so I end up watching a lot of TV.
As of this weekend, I'm all caught up on Sherlock. Still loving it. Can't wait for more. Which is fantastic because I generally don't like mysteries. (Yeah, I know, I watch Castle, but that's all about Nathan Fillion and the characters, not the mysteries themselves.) I think possibly my very favorite thing about Sherlock is how everyone, everyone, everyone thinks Sherlock and John are lovers. In my mind, it happened over a few beers in the writers' room:
"You know the entire internet is going to be shipping these two."
"God, yes. But I don't see any way to discourage it."
"Then let's not. Let's just run with it. Make it part of the show bible that everyone just assumes they're sleeping together."
"That's horrible. And brilliant. Do it."
It fills me with utter glee every time it happens, or every time Watson mutters under his breath about people talking.
(Do I ship them? Absolutely. But in a strange way, because Sherlock is very asexual to my mind. But the fact that John can't keep a girlfriend fills me with delight.)
Holy shit, I think I just linked Sherlock and Collin, a little bit. Because I'm a nerd.
Speaking of my being a nerd, yesterday I got restless and went out shopping, and I bought Christmas decorations I probably didn't need and also I bought a pair of shoes. They are simultaneously the hippest and nerdiest thing that I currently own.
Hip, because, well. They're Converse. Not even cheap knockoffs!
And nerdy, because the reason I got them was because I'm putting together my Doctor Who cosplay costume:
(The shoes are red in that picture, but he has an apparently unlimited supply of them in various colors.) Complete with working up a Doctor-appropriate (happily excited!) patter about a somesuch field that had been bombarded with thisorthat particles that must have caused a radical rearrangement of certain physical characteristics -- tall to short, thin to fat, and, yes, male to female. And yes, I did in fact order a sonic screwdriver with some of my birthday money. I need to hit up some thrift stores for a buttondown shirt and a tie, though.
So, yeah. NERRRRRRRD.
I'm only just beginning season three of the new Doctor Who show, though, which makes me wonder if I'll be able to catch up before MarsCon. I love it, but I find I can't watch more than about two episodes at a time. It's heartbreaking, even when I'm laughing hysterically.
But I just finished season three of How I Met Your Mother, which is almost as heartbreaking at times, but I pop through those shows like candy. It helps that they're shorter, I suppose. And that I know everything is going to end happily for everyone, no matter how painful it is to get to.
And now, my dear friends, I have rambled enough. Or possibly just a bit too much. It's hard to tell. But at any rate, I'm still doing three jobs and at least two of them are pinging urgently right now, so I'd best get to it. I'd promise to try to write more regularly, but... it's probably not in the cards for this week, at least. If I don't post before then, have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Also, it has several weird side-effects on my brain, which are probably interrelated, and can most adequately be summarized as: I'm freaking scatterbrained. Like, even more than usual, which if you've been around here long you will know is pretty damned scatterbrained. So I apologize in advance for the random, almost Joycian, tone of this post.
***
When I go home at night and am done with work for the day, I don't want to do anything remotely intellectual, so I end up watching a lot of TV.
As of this weekend, I'm all caught up on Sherlock. Still loving it. Can't wait for more. Which is fantastic because I generally don't like mysteries. (Yeah, I know, I watch Castle, but that's all about Nathan Fillion and the characters, not the mysteries themselves.) I think possibly my very favorite thing about Sherlock is how everyone, everyone, everyone thinks Sherlock and John are lovers. In my mind, it happened over a few beers in the writers' room:
"You know the entire internet is going to be shipping these two."
"God, yes. But I don't see any way to discourage it."
"Then let's not. Let's just run with it. Make it part of the show bible that everyone just assumes they're sleeping together."
"That's horrible. And brilliant. Do it."
It fills me with utter glee every time it happens, or every time Watson mutters under his breath about people talking.
(Do I ship them? Absolutely. But in a strange way, because Sherlock is very asexual to my mind. But the fact that John can't keep a girlfriend fills me with delight.)
***
Holy shit, I think I just linked Sherlock and Collin, a little bit. Because I'm a nerd.
***
Speaking of my being a nerd, yesterday I got restless and went out shopping, and I bought Christmas decorations I probably didn't need and also I bought a pair of shoes. They are simultaneously the hippest and nerdiest thing that I currently own.
Hip, because, well. They're Converse. Not even cheap knockoffs!
And nerdy, because the reason I got them was because I'm putting together my Doctor Who cosplay costume:
So, yeah. NERRRRRRRD.
***
I'm only just beginning season three of the new Doctor Who show, though, which makes me wonder if I'll be able to catch up before MarsCon. I love it, but I find I can't watch more than about two episodes at a time. It's heartbreaking, even when I'm laughing hysterically.
But I just finished season three of How I Met Your Mother, which is almost as heartbreaking at times, but I pop through those shows like candy. It helps that they're shorter, I suppose. And that I know everything is going to end happily for everyone, no matter how painful it is to get to.
***
And now, my dear friends, I have rambled enough. Or possibly just a bit too much. It's hard to tell. But at any rate, I'm still doing three jobs and at least two of them are pinging urgently right now, so I'd best get to it. I'd promise to try to write more regularly, but... it's probably not in the cards for this week, at least. If I don't post before then, have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 5, 2012
Don't Judge Me
Here's the deal: work is insane. My documentation specialist is having some personal issues that have severely limited her ability to, well, work, and so I've been doing all the documentation for the last couple of weeks, on top of my own usual work. Plus there's a proposal going on, and while I'm not directly sucked in, I'm still getting a lot of documentation-style requests, getting tables prettied up and spreadsheet formulas double-checked and stuff like that. Eventually I'll have to do a scrub on the finished product, too.
It's been a busy week or so at home, too -- we had a Hallowe'en party on the 27th, and then there was Hallowe'en itself last week, and then I had a Girls' Night party this past weekend, all of which required some level of preparation and shopping and cleaning and such. To go with that, there's all the usual life stuff going on -- school conferences and taking the cat to the vet and paying bills and "No, you're not wearing that to school, now march right back upstairs and change," and snuggling on the couch and reading with the kids and making birthday plans for this weekend. Penny wistfully told me that, since Matt and I had separated, she never gets to spend time alone with me any more, which is a fair complaint, so I'm taking off work tomorrow (when she's out of school anyway) and spending it with her.
And my second job -- the writing/editing gig -- has really taken off and exploded lately. I don't know if I'd mentioned it on this blog yet, but I'm being promoted to editor of the entire short story line for Torquere. It'll be official in January, but I'm starting to get pulled in now, learning the ropes by way of assisting the current shorts editor, helping to vet submissions, hashing out the 2013 themes and calls, etc. On top of that, I'm still proofreading, still editing for JMS Books, still the editor for an anthology that's due out right after the holidays. And still, when I can squeeze it in, writing. (I woke up early Saturday with a story idea and wrote almost 1000 words before I even got out of bed. Thank goodness I keep the iPad on my bedside table.)
I come into work in the morning, and there's always something that needs to be done immediately, if not sooner. And when I get home in the evening, it's usually the same. So when I do get an evening or a day off, I tend to spend it like I spent yesterday -- loafing on the couch watching a really unhealthy amount of television. For the record of shame: two episodes of the BBC's Sherlock (DVD/BluRays of which would not be an unwelcome birthday present, by the way), three episodes of Doctor Who (2nd new season), and... I lost count, but at least six episodes of How I Met Your Mother (because they're like popcorn or candy and everyone, everyone, everyone on that show is gorgeous and lickable, even the wacky sidekicks). But, you know, I also did the grocery shopping and several loads of laundry and made an amazing pot roast for dinner, so I wasn't utterly sloth-like. And I watched about a dozen episodes of SciShow, too, so I didn't entirely let my brain melt.
So now I'm off to work like crazy (I had three tasks waiting in my inbox when I logged in on top of the usual Monday stuff, and I took off this twenty minutes to let you all know why I haven't written in the last week -- don't you feel special?) and hopefully after this week, things will settle down a bit and I'll be able to get back on the blog.
It's been a busy week or so at home, too -- we had a Hallowe'en party on the 27th, and then there was Hallowe'en itself last week, and then I had a Girls' Night party this past weekend, all of which required some level of preparation and shopping and cleaning and such. To go with that, there's all the usual life stuff going on -- school conferences and taking the cat to the vet and paying bills and "No, you're not wearing that to school, now march right back upstairs and change," and snuggling on the couch and reading with the kids and making birthday plans for this weekend. Penny wistfully told me that, since Matt and I had separated, she never gets to spend time alone with me any more, which is a fair complaint, so I'm taking off work tomorrow (when she's out of school anyway) and spending it with her.
And my second job -- the writing/editing gig -- has really taken off and exploded lately. I don't know if I'd mentioned it on this blog yet, but I'm being promoted to editor of the entire short story line for Torquere. It'll be official in January, but I'm starting to get pulled in now, learning the ropes by way of assisting the current shorts editor, helping to vet submissions, hashing out the 2013 themes and calls, etc. On top of that, I'm still proofreading, still editing for JMS Books, still the editor for an anthology that's due out right after the holidays. And still, when I can squeeze it in, writing. (I woke up early Saturday with a story idea and wrote almost 1000 words before I even got out of bed. Thank goodness I keep the iPad on my bedside table.)
I come into work in the morning, and there's always something that needs to be done immediately, if not sooner. And when I get home in the evening, it's usually the same. So when I do get an evening or a day off, I tend to spend it like I spent yesterday -- loafing on the couch watching a really unhealthy amount of television. For the record of shame: two episodes of the BBC's Sherlock (DVD/BluRays of which would not be an unwelcome birthday present, by the way), three episodes of Doctor Who (2nd new season), and... I lost count, but at least six episodes of How I Met Your Mother (because they're like popcorn or candy and everyone, everyone, everyone on that show is gorgeous and lickable, even the wacky sidekicks). But, you know, I also did the grocery shopping and several loads of laundry and made an amazing pot roast for dinner, so I wasn't utterly sloth-like. And I watched about a dozen episodes of SciShow, too, so I didn't entirely let my brain melt.
So now I'm off to work like crazy (I had three tasks waiting in my inbox when I logged in on top of the usual Monday stuff, and I took off this twenty minutes to let you all know why I haven't written in the last week -- don't you feel special?) and hopefully after this week, things will settle down a bit and I'll be able to get back on the blog.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Holy Crap
Has it really been over a week since I last posted here?
Bad blogger! Bad, bad, bad!
So, um, short summary of the last ten days, then...
Let's see, that weekend, I went to Busch Gardens with the kids to see Howl-o-scream and celebrate Jess' birthday; that was mostly pretty fun, though by the time we wrapped up, I was really wishing I'd brought a sweatshirt along.
Then last week, I got to celebrate another book release -- Seductress: Erotic Tales of Immortal Desire, which contains my short story "Succubus, Inc." (Also available in print!)
I had a very busy weekend -- on Friday, Elizabeth came over and we had pizza and watched the first couple episodes of the new Doctor Who. Yes, I've finally taken that plunge. I'm not hooked enough (yet?) to watch an entire season's worth of episodes in a sitting or anything, but it's definitely on my list of things to do when I have a quiet evening.
Saturday, I drove up to Jenn and Brian's for the afternoon and evening. They showed me the first episode of Sherlock (apparently my theme for the weekend was BBC shows) and I returned the favor by introducing Jenn to Vlogbrothers and Crash Course and all other things Nerdfighter. (And yes, I quite liked Sherlock, too, and I will be getting caught up on it ASAP.)
And then I was up early Sunday morning to meet Vicki in Colonial Williamsburg to take some photos of her for her burgeoning photography business. I have to say, I was quite pleased with how some of them turned out. (In exchange, she's going to do my family Christmas portraits for me so I don't have to do a lot of running back and forth with the timer on the camera.)
And then yesterday, I had the best writing/editing day EVAR. (Seriously. I'm going to be a guest at a con!)
In the meantime, I'm planning a small, all-ages Hallowe'en party for this Saturday, and an equally small, but adult-ladies-only Pure Romance party for next Saturday. (Interested? Drop me a line!) I'm going to a painting-and-social thing tomorrow night (yay, Groupon). I'm working on editing an anthology that will be coming out in January, and doing some other editing work as well, and I'm trying to squeeze in some time for actual writing from time to time, too.
Mentally/emotionally, I've been doing okay. There are ups and downs, but lately there are more ups. It helps that I've been doing and planning fun things with people I enjoy, and finding constructive ways to occupy myself when I'm alone. (Yes, like watching Crash Course videos. It is not possible to be depressed when there are cute, smart, funny guys teach me about science and history!)
So that pretty well catches us up, I think. Sorry to have flaked out on you all -- I promise to try to do better!
Bad blogger! Bad, bad, bad!
So, um, short summary of the last ten days, then...
Let's see, that weekend, I went to Busch Gardens with the kids to see Howl-o-scream and celebrate Jess' birthday; that was mostly pretty fun, though by the time we wrapped up, I was really wishing I'd brought a sweatshirt along.
Then last week, I got to celebrate another book release -- Seductress: Erotic Tales of Immortal Desire, which contains my short story "Succubus, Inc." (Also available in print!)
I had a very busy weekend -- on Friday, Elizabeth came over and we had pizza and watched the first couple episodes of the new Doctor Who. Yes, I've finally taken that plunge. I'm not hooked enough (yet?) to watch an entire season's worth of episodes in a sitting or anything, but it's definitely on my list of things to do when I have a quiet evening.
Saturday, I drove up to Jenn and Brian's for the afternoon and evening. They showed me the first episode of Sherlock (apparently my theme for the weekend was BBC shows) and I returned the favor by introducing Jenn to Vlogbrothers and Crash Course and all other things Nerdfighter. (And yes, I quite liked Sherlock, too, and I will be getting caught up on it ASAP.)
And then I was up early Sunday morning to meet Vicki in Colonial Williamsburg to take some photos of her for her burgeoning photography business. I have to say, I was quite pleased with how some of them turned out. (In exchange, she's going to do my family Christmas portraits for me so I don't have to do a lot of running back and forth with the timer on the camera.)
And then yesterday, I had the best writing/editing day EVAR. (Seriously. I'm going to be a guest at a con!)
In the meantime, I'm planning a small, all-ages Hallowe'en party for this Saturday, and an equally small, but adult-ladies-only Pure Romance party for next Saturday. (Interested? Drop me a line!) I'm going to a painting-and-social thing tomorrow night (yay, Groupon). I'm working on editing an anthology that will be coming out in January, and doing some other editing work as well, and I'm trying to squeeze in some time for actual writing from time to time, too.
Mentally/emotionally, I've been doing okay. There are ups and downs, but lately there are more ups. It helps that I've been doing and planning fun things with people I enjoy, and finding constructive ways to occupy myself when I'm alone. (Yes, like watching Crash Course videos. It is not possible to be depressed when there are cute, smart, funny guys teach me about science and history!)
So that pretty well catches us up, I think. Sorry to have flaked out on you all -- I promise to try to do better!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Adventures in Moving Pictures
Saturday, I went to see Snow White and the Huntsman with Adin.
She really badly wanted to see it; I was mildly interested because the trailer looked pretty, but mostly was in it just for the fun of it.
My expectations were largely met -- there were some bothersome holes in the way they crafted the story (the geography was particularly confusing, and whatever rules encompassed the queen's magic, and they raised a significant issue about the magic mirror that they never came back to... but OMG gorgeous). The eye candy was worthy (when the movie was over, Adin looked at me and said, "I get it now. Chris Hemsworth? I get it.") and even if it wasn't the best directing or acting ever, I sure hope the costume and makeup and effects people get some awards somewhere, because dayum. The evil queen's wedding gown, for petesake!
But... okay, spoiler warning...
The part of the movie that kept me on the edge of my seat was trying to figure out how they were going to resolve the romantic triangle between Snow White and the Huntsman and the prince. They built up this relationship between Snow White and the huntsman, and then the prince shows up, and for a while, I was expecting her to regretfully turn him away. But then she kissed the prince? But then she was dead and it was actually the huntsman's kiss that revived her, so did that mean...? At one point I whispered to Adin, "Bet they kill off Prince William to clear the way." But then the climactic big battle scene hit, and I thought sure the huntsman was going to die saving either her or the prince... but he didn't, either. And then we're at the end and Snow White is being crowned queen and there's Prince William in the audience... and the huntsman watching from the back... and then the credits roll.
Whhuh? All that and you're not even going to tell us which guy she picks? But...!
I sulked for a minute, and then realized that left me free to imagine whatever scenario I liked. Up to and including one in which she kept both of them. Because? Yum.
"Dammit," said Braz, "I wish I could get HBO just for one day, so we can see the Game of Thrones finale without having to wait."
It only took him a day to talk himself into it, so last night, after I'd kissed Penny good night, I drove over to their place and settled on the couch to watch it.
It was good. Not, I think, quite as good as the previous episode, but there was plenty there to enjoy. And it ended in the middle of a scene, with a hell of a cliffhanger (and for Braz and I, who've read the books and know how the scene ends, maddeningly short of a critical moment).
Better than the episode itself, though, was watching it with friends. There's something that may need to continue.
But now I have to wait most of a year for the next season. Argh.
She really badly wanted to see it; I was mildly interested because the trailer looked pretty, but mostly was in it just for the fun of it.
But... okay, spoiler warning...
The part of the movie that kept me on the edge of my seat was trying to figure out how they were going to resolve the romantic triangle between Snow White and the Huntsman and the prince. They built up this relationship between Snow White and the huntsman, and then the prince shows up, and for a while, I was expecting her to regretfully turn him away. But then she kissed the prince? But then she was dead and it was actually the huntsman's kiss that revived her, so did that mean...? At one point I whispered to Adin, "Bet they kill off Prince William to clear the way." But then the climactic big battle scene hit, and I thought sure the huntsman was going to die saving either her or the prince... but he didn't, either. And then we're at the end and Snow White is being crowned queen and there's Prince William in the audience... and the huntsman watching from the back... and then the credits roll.
Whhuh? All that and you're not even going to tell us which guy she picks? But...!
I sulked for a minute, and then realized that left me free to imagine whatever scenario I liked. Up to and including one in which she kept both of them. Because? Yum.
***
"Dammit," said Braz, "I wish I could get HBO just for one day, so we can see the Game of Thrones finale without having to wait."
It only took him a day to talk himself into it, so last night, after I'd kissed Penny good night, I drove over to their place and settled on the couch to watch it.
It was good. Not, I think, quite as good as the previous episode, but there was plenty there to enjoy. And it ended in the middle of a scene, with a hell of a cliffhanger (and for Braz and I, who've read the books and know how the scene ends, maddeningly short of a critical moment).
Better than the episode itself, though, was watching it with friends. There's something that may need to continue.
But now I have to wait most of a year for the next season. Argh.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Geekery and Sundry
Hey, gang! Late post today, I know. That's because I've been lining up posts for my guest day over at the Torquere Press blog. There's going to be talk about our dream jobs and pictures of hot guys and excerpts from my latest release, so if that kind of thing floats your boat, then paddle on over there to check it out!
Otherwise... Not much to talk about. I'm working from home today, and again tomorrow. It's looking like a busy weekend, but hopefully a fun one.
The new season of Game of Thrones has launched, so I'm looking forward to that. You know, when it comes out on DVD next year. I'm sure I would never watch illegally-acquired videos that aren't available for legal download outside of an HBO subscription(*).
Also, I'm in love with the new Geek and Sundry channel on You Tube, and I don't even watch a lot of videos, so you know if I'm making time for this, it's awesome. Wil Wheaton's Tabletop feature makes me want 1) to play more board games with my friends, and 2) to buy one of those awesome gaming tables.
* By which I mean, I would totally watch illegally-acquired GoT episodes. How effing stupid is HBO, anyway? If they offered the eps for sale individually on iTunes or their website or whatever, I would buy them. I would even wait a week or two for their subscribers to get that first-run benefit. But I'm not waiting a whole effing year for the DVD to come out to watch this season.
Otherwise... Not much to talk about. I'm working from home today, and again tomorrow. It's looking like a busy weekend, but hopefully a fun one.
The new season of Game of Thrones has launched, so I'm looking forward to that. You know, when it comes out on DVD next year. I'm sure I would never watch illegally-acquired videos that aren't available for legal download outside of an HBO subscription(*).
Also, I'm in love with the new Geek and Sundry channel on You Tube, and I don't even watch a lot of videos, so you know if I'm making time for this, it's awesome. Wil Wheaton's Tabletop feature makes me want 1) to play more board games with my friends, and 2) to buy one of those awesome gaming tables.
* By which I mean, I would totally watch illegally-acquired GoT episodes. How effing stupid is HBO, anyway? If they offered the eps for sale individually on iTunes or their website or whatever, I would buy them. I would even wait a week or two for their subscribers to get that first-run benefit. But I'm not waiting a whole effing year for the DVD to come out to watch this season.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
News and Such?
What's with the exhaustion lately, dammit? I went to bed at 9:30 Tuesday night, and at 10:30 last night, and I still feel like I want to crawl back under the covers for a half-day or so.
On the other hand, I feel like I've been weirdly busy. Aside from work stuff, I've gone through edits on a story that's coming out at the end of this month (squee! that never gets old!) and gently poked two editors for news on other stories. (I know that's a no-no, but it's been over 3 months since I heard from either of them. I thought a gentle request for information was not entirely out of line.) I've edited a short novel (a really good one, too, which is always awesome!) and written a couple of scenes in a couple of my own projects.
I've made plans for lunch tomorrow, and talked to Penny about attending a gallery show and contest that my brother is in this weekend. (We've agreed she'll bring a book to read, in case she gets bored before it's over.)
I've drunk surprisingly little coffee, and chewed a slightly ridiculous amount of gum. (Soon, I will be out of gum, and then it will be time to kick ass, I suppose.) I've made mini-pizzas and sausage chowder and baked chicken.
The frog and dragon game obsessions continue, slightly abated but by no means extinguished.
Tonight will be TV night -- we need to watch Castle from Monday and Big Bang Theory as well.
And that's... about it, I guess.
I'm leaning strongly toward taking tomorrow off, so I'll see y'all on Monday! Have a great weekend!
On the other hand, I feel like I've been weirdly busy. Aside from work stuff, I've gone through edits on a story that's coming out at the end of this month (squee! that never gets old!) and gently poked two editors for news on other stories. (I know that's a no-no, but it's been over 3 months since I heard from either of them. I thought a gentle request for information was not entirely out of line.) I've edited a short novel (a really good one, too, which is always awesome!) and written a couple of scenes in a couple of my own projects.
I've made plans for lunch tomorrow, and talked to Penny about attending a gallery show and contest that my brother is in this weekend. (We've agreed she'll bring a book to read, in case she gets bored before it's over.)
I've drunk surprisingly little coffee, and chewed a slightly ridiculous amount of gum. (Soon, I will be out of gum, and then it will be time to kick ass, I suppose.) I've made mini-pizzas and sausage chowder and baked chicken.
The frog and dragon game obsessions continue, slightly abated but by no means extinguished.
Tonight will be TV night -- we need to watch Castle from Monday and Big Bang Theory as well.
And that's... about it, I guess.
I'm leaning strongly toward taking tomorrow off, so I'll see y'all on Monday! Have a great weekend!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Identification
I've been re-watching Leverage lately -- ripped our DVDs down to my iPad and am watching it while I'm at the gym. And also when I'm just sitting around with nothing else to do. I did all of the first season and am now about halfway through the second. It's quite the addictive little show. Now, I like crime caper shows anyway, but I started thinking about what it is that pulls me so hard about this one. And what, for that matter, pulls me in to any show I watch regularly.
Good storytelling is part of it, but I don't think that's the whole. I've started and then dropped shows that had good storytelling -- and stuck religiously to some shows with barely any storytelling at all.
The answer I keep coming back to is: how much I like the characters. And not just like, but identify with. The more main cast members I can identify with, the more the show will hold onto me.
Leverage has this in abundance. I mean, obviously I'm not a genius thief, but they've all got personality traits that I see in myself. And I think the show's success is that they've hit on a combination of personalities that appeal to almost all people. And, oddly, link more strongly to negative feelings than to positive ones.
Oh, certainly, there's competence and intelligence and strength and charisma, but those aren't the qualities that draw us in. It's the downer ones, really, that make us really identify. We all occasionally feel socially inept. We all feel like we're getting lost in the masks we create to hide behind. We all feel like we're undervalued and under-appreciated. We all get tired of being treated and judged as if we're one-dimensional. We all feel like we're scrambling for control that insists on remaining stubbornly out of our grasp.
And it works, because when a group of people who embody my own shortcomings triumph, it brings that sense of victory and joy straight home. It's not just their win; it becomes mine.
Almost all the shows I've loved and religiously watched did this to some degree. Babylon 5. Firefly. Sports Night. West Wing. Big Bang Theory. Buffy. And when I think about the shows that violate this rule, then I'm looking at a list of shows with some other quality that held me there -- I stayed with Dollhouse despite weak character identification, for example, because I trust Joss Whedon's storytelling and I knew the mindfuck would be glorious (and it was).
That's it. Nothing particularly deep. Just a random musing that fell out of my mental wanderings on the way home from the gym yesterday.
Good storytelling is part of it, but I don't think that's the whole. I've started and then dropped shows that had good storytelling -- and stuck religiously to some shows with barely any storytelling at all.
The answer I keep coming back to is: how much I like the characters. And not just like, but identify with. The more main cast members I can identify with, the more the show will hold onto me.
Leverage has this in abundance. I mean, obviously I'm not a genius thief, but they've all got personality traits that I see in myself. And I think the show's success is that they've hit on a combination of personalities that appeal to almost all people. And, oddly, link more strongly to negative feelings than to positive ones.
Oh, certainly, there's competence and intelligence and strength and charisma, but those aren't the qualities that draw us in. It's the downer ones, really, that make us really identify. We all occasionally feel socially inept. We all feel like we're getting lost in the masks we create to hide behind. We all feel like we're undervalued and under-appreciated. We all get tired of being treated and judged as if we're one-dimensional. We all feel like we're scrambling for control that insists on remaining stubbornly out of our grasp.
And it works, because when a group of people who embody my own shortcomings triumph, it brings that sense of victory and joy straight home. It's not just their win; it becomes mine.
Almost all the shows I've loved and religiously watched did this to some degree. Babylon 5. Firefly. Sports Night. West Wing. Big Bang Theory. Buffy. And when I think about the shows that violate this rule, then I'm looking at a list of shows with some other quality that held me there -- I stayed with Dollhouse despite weak character identification, for example, because I trust Joss Whedon's storytelling and I knew the mindfuck would be glorious (and it was).
That's it. Nothing particularly deep. Just a random musing that fell out of my mental wanderings on the way home from the gym yesterday.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
I Need Cheese
I need cheese... because mostly what I have this morning is whine.
Work, blah blah underfunded blah blah burning through vacation time blah.
Penny's insulin pump saga blah blah delays allergies blah blah.
Sleep blah tired blah blah.
Diet backslide blah blah lack of willpower blah fat.
I will say I was pleased to figure out that I can use HandBrake to convert .avi files into .mp4 files (thereby making certain shows usable on my iPad that weren't before).
And also that Game of Thrones is totally kicking butt. I was slightly disappointed in the Sex-and-Exposition scene from the previous episode -- not the technique, which is a traditional way to fit in dialog while giving us some eye-candy (and HBO is generously fan-servicing the ladies along with the men -- they're not granting us a full half time, but it's a solid 25 or 30 percent, which is pretty good for a fantasy show that traditionally would market primarily to guys) -- but in Littlefinger's performance during it. I can grant that his show-no-emotion demeanor must be difficult for the actor to pull off, but he was talking about some heavy emotional stuff, and I thought we should have seen a little more.
But this episode was much better. Robb, who up until now has been something of a closed book, had some very nice scenes (in particular, there was an exchange of glances with Catelyn that I really appreciated) and made me warm up to him a lot.
I can't wait for HBO to release this on DVD so I can own it.
Work, blah blah underfunded blah blah burning through vacation time blah.
Penny's insulin pump saga blah blah delays allergies blah blah.
Sleep blah tired blah blah.
Diet backslide blah blah lack of willpower blah fat.
I will say I was pleased to figure out that I can use HandBrake to convert .avi files into .mp4 files (thereby making certain shows usable on my iPad that weren't before).
And also that Game of Thrones is totally kicking butt. I was slightly disappointed in the Sex-and-Exposition scene from the previous episode -- not the technique, which is a traditional way to fit in dialog while giving us some eye-candy (and HBO is generously fan-servicing the ladies along with the men -- they're not granting us a full half time, but it's a solid 25 or 30 percent, which is pretty good for a fantasy show that traditionally would market primarily to guys) -- but in Littlefinger's performance during it. I can grant that his show-no-emotion demeanor must be difficult for the actor to pull off, but he was talking about some heavy emotional stuff, and I thought we should have seen a little more.
But this episode was much better. Robb, who up until now has been something of a closed book, had some very nice scenes (in particular, there was an exchange of glances with Catelyn that I really appreciated) and made me warm up to him a lot.
I can't wait for HBO to release this on DVD so I can own it.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Weird weekend.
We took the kids out to Outback for dinner Friday night, just because. We hadn't been there since probably before Alex was born, and they did pretty well, except for some whining from Penny early on about the choices I was giving her for side items.
The TV died Friday night. Matt was watching a Netflick and it just turned itself off and wouldn't turn back on. Eventually (by which I mean sometime Saturday) we got our "spare" TV up and running, but it's an LCD that I got from my grandmother that, despite being only two years old, has kind of crappy picture quality. Plus, it's a flatscreen that doesn't fit in our entertainment unit, so making it our primary TV would require a pretty huge rearrangement of the living room. But we'll see; Matt took the old TV to a repair shop, and eventually they'll call to let us know how much it will cost to fix it.
It was not a good weekend for Alex and the potty; he had two accidents Saturday and one Sunday, all three of which were... let's just say "messy" and leave it at that, shall we? But at least he was in relatively chipper spirits.
Sunday afternoon, we took the kids over to Braz's apartment to hang out and play Rock Band. His Wii console was kind of screwed up, so we took ours, and somewhere in the shuffle my Wii Fit Plus disc got lost. I'll have to go back over there sometime this week and look for it; I just can't imagine trying to do my morning workout using the original Wii Fit anymore.
We all went back over to our house for dinner. Had hamburgers and an assortment of sides. The original intent was to grill, but the igniter on our grill is apparently busted, so we broiled instead. Eventually, I guess, we'll find a long-handled lighter to get the grill started. But the burgers all turned out great, and we had a lot of fun sitting around and talking.
Matt and I wound up the evening watching the last couple of episodes of the first season of Veronica Mars on Netflix. (I am so hitting the 'net when I get a chance; I just want to know how I'm supposed to feel about certain characters, and I don't care about the spoilers!)
And then, just before I went to bed, I decided to check my email one last time, and was glad that I did: waiting for me was an email from Torquere, accepting the story I'd sent in a couple of weeks ago, whoo!
Like I said, weird weekend. Lots of ups and downs. I'm almost more tired than I was Friday.
We took the kids out to Outback for dinner Friday night, just because. We hadn't been there since probably before Alex was born, and they did pretty well, except for some whining from Penny early on about the choices I was giving her for side items.
The TV died Friday night. Matt was watching a Netflick and it just turned itself off and wouldn't turn back on. Eventually (by which I mean sometime Saturday) we got our "spare" TV up and running, but it's an LCD that I got from my grandmother that, despite being only two years old, has kind of crappy picture quality. Plus, it's a flatscreen that doesn't fit in our entertainment unit, so making it our primary TV would require a pretty huge rearrangement of the living room. But we'll see; Matt took the old TV to a repair shop, and eventually they'll call to let us know how much it will cost to fix it.
It was not a good weekend for Alex and the potty; he had two accidents Saturday and one Sunday, all three of which were... let's just say "messy" and leave it at that, shall we? But at least he was in relatively chipper spirits.
Sunday afternoon, we took the kids over to Braz's apartment to hang out and play Rock Band. His Wii console was kind of screwed up, so we took ours, and somewhere in the shuffle my Wii Fit Plus disc got lost. I'll have to go back over there sometime this week and look for it; I just can't imagine trying to do my morning workout using the original Wii Fit anymore.
We all went back over to our house for dinner. Had hamburgers and an assortment of sides. The original intent was to grill, but the igniter on our grill is apparently busted, so we broiled instead. Eventually, I guess, we'll find a long-handled lighter to get the grill started. But the burgers all turned out great, and we had a lot of fun sitting around and talking.
Matt and I wound up the evening watching the last couple of episodes of the first season of Veronica Mars on Netflix. (I am so hitting the 'net when I get a chance; I just want to know how I'm supposed to feel about certain characters, and I don't care about the spoilers!)
And then, just before I went to bed, I decided to check my email one last time, and was glad that I did: waiting for me was an email from Torquere, accepting the story I'd sent in a couple of weeks ago, whoo!
Like I said, weird weekend. Lots of ups and downs. I'm almost more tired than I was Friday.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Vacation Time
Spring Break looms! Penny has a half-day of school today, and then she's off all next week.
I'll be bringing her to work with me Monday morning, so I don't know if I'll get a chance to do a blog entry that day or not. If I don't, then I'll be in Atlanta for the rest of the week, so you probably won't hear from me again until the 12th, unless something so awesome happens that I feel the need to post from my phone. Be strong, and try to limp through the days without me.
I realized taking the kids to school this morning that I forgot to get the eggs and candy for Alex's class Easter party, and I still need to pick up a couple of baskets for Easter, so I may be skipping my workout today to run to Target and then take stuff up to daycare. Oops.
In other news, I learned yesterday that the official publication date for my novella will be August 14th -- mark your calendars! I have a lot of mini tasks before that -- not just editing, but turning in forms to help the marketing and art departments do their thing. And to go along with some marketing suggestions the publisher made, I started a separate writing blog. It's over here.
Not that I worked on writing much yesterday, despite having a couple of hours free in the afternoon. Matt's been watching Smallville on Netflix lately, and I think the show is cute and watchable but I could mostly take it or leave it... except that I'm well on my way to a minor obsession with the Lex Luthor character. And his father. The dynamic between them is fantastic. Anyway, there's a recurring character in the first season that I was beginning to wonder if she's part of the larger Superman mythos, and I don't know most of the villain's names (especially the alter egos) well enough to match them up against the name in the show, so I hit Wikipedia to find out. (The answer turned out to be no.)
And then I spent the rest of the afternoon surfing about the show. Starting, naturally, with Lex. (I can't help it. Major kudos to the actor, really, for making a character who has that much self-control manage to be so revealing. Also? He's kind of hot.) But then I wandered off into other tangents, reading up on other characters and plotlines and... Wikipedia is dangerous, kids, and don't let anyone tell you different!
Anyway, if you're planning to celebrate Easter, then I hope you enjoy your celebration. And if not, then at least enjoy the approach of spring! Spring Break, here I come!
I'll be bringing her to work with me Monday morning, so I don't know if I'll get a chance to do a blog entry that day or not. If I don't, then I'll be in Atlanta for the rest of the week, so you probably won't hear from me again until the 12th, unless something so awesome happens that I feel the need to post from my phone. Be strong, and try to limp through the days without me.
I realized taking the kids to school this morning that I forgot to get the eggs and candy for Alex's class Easter party, and I still need to pick up a couple of baskets for Easter, so I may be skipping my workout today to run to Target and then take stuff up to daycare. Oops.
In other news, I learned yesterday that the official publication date for my novella will be August 14th -- mark your calendars! I have a lot of mini tasks before that -- not just editing, but turning in forms to help the marketing and art departments do their thing. And to go along with some marketing suggestions the publisher made, I started a separate writing blog. It's over here.
Not that I worked on writing much yesterday, despite having a couple of hours free in the afternoon. Matt's been watching Smallville on Netflix lately, and I think the show is cute and watchable but I could mostly take it or leave it... except that I'm well on my way to a minor obsession with the Lex Luthor character. And his father. The dynamic between them is fantastic. Anyway, there's a recurring character in the first season that I was beginning to wonder if she's part of the larger Superman mythos, and I don't know most of the villain's names (especially the alter egos) well enough to match them up against the name in the show, so I hit Wikipedia to find out. (The answer turned out to be no.)
And then I spent the rest of the afternoon surfing about the show. Starting, naturally, with Lex. (I can't help it. Major kudos to the actor, really, for making a character who has that much self-control manage to be so revealing. Also? He's kind of hot.) But then I wandered off into other tangents, reading up on other characters and plotlines and... Wikipedia is dangerous, kids, and don't let anyone tell you different!
Anyway, if you're planning to celebrate Easter, then I hope you enjoy your celebration. And if not, then at least enjoy the approach of spring! Spring Break, here I come!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Hearty
"Mom? Do you hardy Aqualad?"
"What?"
"I mean, which of the Teen Titans do you hardy?"
"I don't even know what that means."
"It means when you almost love someone."
"Oh. Heart-y. That's called having a crush."
"Okay. Which of the Teen Titans are you crushing on?"
"Um, none of them, really."
"...Why?"
"Because they're kids. It's fine for a kid to have a crush on a kid, but it's kind of gross for a grown-up."
"Oh."
"...Do you have a crush on one of the Teen Titans?"
"Yeah."
"Which one?"
"Aqualad."
"Huhn. Why do you like him?"
"Because he's so handsome."
"Fair enough. Aqualad and not Robin, huh?"
"Yeah... Robin isn't that handsome."
"Okay."
"...Mom?"
"Yeah, sweetie?"
"I changed my mind. I'm not crushing on Aqualad."
"You're not?"
"No. I love him."
"...Okay."
"What?"
"I mean, which of the Teen Titans do you hardy?"
"I don't even know what that means."
"It means when you almost love someone."
"Oh. Heart-y. That's called having a crush."
"Okay. Which of the Teen Titans are you crushing on?"
"Um, none of them, really."
"...Why?"
"Because they're kids. It's fine for a kid to have a crush on a kid, but it's kind of gross for a grown-up."
"Oh."
"...Do you have a crush on one of the Teen Titans?"
"Yeah."
"Which one?"
"Aqualad."
"Huhn. Why do you like him?"
"Because he's so handsome."
"Fair enough. Aqualad and not Robin, huh?"
"Yeah... Robin isn't that handsome."
"Okay."
"...Mom?"
"Yeah, sweetie?"
"I changed my mind. I'm not crushing on Aqualad."
"You're not?"
"No. I love him."
"...Okay."
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Eat Your Cake
Penny has very specific requests for her birthday cake, this year. She wants strawberry cake, with chocolate icing and yellow icing roses on it.
I called half a dozen bakeries yesterday, and not one of them could give me a strawberry cake base. They couldn't even put red food coloring into a white cake base so I could pretend (since I'm pretty sure Penny would not know the difference). Which made sense for the grocery store bakeries that get their cakes pre-made elsewhere, but I was a little eye-rolly about the specialty bakery in town not being able to do it for me.
The specialty bakery will, however, sell me pre-made icing roses, for 25 and 50 cents apiece (depending on size). So I do believe I will be making Penny's birthday cake by hand again this year, and it will be strawberry cake with chocolate icing and yellow roses. (Unless, of course, she changes her mind between now and this weekend, when I go to the grocery store and buy the cake mix.)
We ended up with not just Jill, but Braz for dinner last night. I had to make some last-minute changes to my planned menu, but aside from having Matt stop at the store to pick up some more vegetables, it wasn't too disruptive.
After dinner, we sat around and talked, and put the kids to bed, then sat around and talked some more, until Jill and Braz headed out again a bit after 9. Then I took a shower and Matt and I watched Leverage. (Not their best episode, though it had some truly wonderful bits. And I think I spotted their strategy for trying to hide the fact that the actress playing Sophie is pregnant.)
When that was done, I uploaded some pictures I took on my lunch break yesterday (flowers and bugs, cropped nice and close -- one day, I'll get myself an actual macro lens, but they're expensive). I liked the bee picture best, but this morning two of my dragonfly shots had comments from people I don't know.
And then we went to bed. Zzz. Not a terribly exciting evening, but all in all, a good one.
I called half a dozen bakeries yesterday, and not one of them could give me a strawberry cake base. They couldn't even put red food coloring into a white cake base so I could pretend (since I'm pretty sure Penny would not know the difference). Which made sense for the grocery store bakeries that get their cakes pre-made elsewhere, but I was a little eye-rolly about the specialty bakery in town not being able to do it for me.
The specialty bakery will, however, sell me pre-made icing roses, for 25 and 50 cents apiece (depending on size). So I do believe I will be making Penny's birthday cake by hand again this year, and it will be strawberry cake with chocolate icing and yellow roses. (Unless, of course, she changes her mind between now and this weekend, when I go to the grocery store and buy the cake mix.)
We ended up with not just Jill, but Braz for dinner last night. I had to make some last-minute changes to my planned menu, but aside from having Matt stop at the store to pick up some more vegetables, it wasn't too disruptive.
After dinner, we sat around and talked, and put the kids to bed, then sat around and talked some more, until Jill and Braz headed out again a bit after 9. Then I took a shower and Matt and I watched Leverage. (Not their best episode, though it had some truly wonderful bits. And I think I spotted their strategy for trying to hide the fact that the actress playing Sophie is pregnant.)
When that was done, I uploaded some pictures I took on my lunch break yesterday (flowers and bugs, cropped nice and close -- one day, I'll get myself an actual macro lens, but they're expensive). I liked the bee picture best, but this morning two of my dragonfly shots had comments from people I don't know.
And then we went to bed. Zzz. Not a terribly exciting evening, but all in all, a good one.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Insanity
As Matt and I were putting the kids to bed last night, I felt terribly sleepy. I didn't want to do the Wii Fit workout that was on my to-do list for the evening; I just wanted to curl up on the couch and read for a bit, and then go to bed early.
But I was good. I turned on the Wii Fit and I did my 40 minutes. And you know -- by the time I was done, I felt a little better about it.
"You know what tonight is?" Matt said, as I was turning everything off and shoving the Fit board back under the couch.
"Um... Wednesday?"
"Leverage night!" He was already reaching for the TiVO remote as I headed into the kitchen for my soda and fudgie bar.
I was feeling better, but I was not in the mood for TV. Not even Leverage, which is possibly one of my favorite TV shows ever. I still just wanted to read for a bit and then go to bed early.
But there was no sense ruining Matt's enjoyment. I decided I'd watch a little while I ate my fudgie bar, and then if I wasn't hooked, I'd go to bed and watch the rest of it later. (Yay, TiVO.)
But Leverage hooked me, as it always does, and I really enjoyed the episode. (Anyone surprised if I admit that I think Chris Kane is hot? Didn't think so. Also, the chicken-fried steak thing made me squeal with laughter.)
When the show was over, I tweeted: I did not want to wiirkout, but I did, and felt better for it. I wasn't really in the mood for TV, but Leverage sucked me in. / I had wanted to go to bed early tonight, but given how my night's going, maybe I would be better off staying up until 2?
I didn't stay up quite that late, but I wasn't quite in bed yet at 11:30.
I woke up at 5 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. I gave up trying at about 5:30, and got up and did another 20 minutes on the Wii Fit. (Note to self: Seriously, I need to put my glasses on next time. Trying to focus was making me dizzy. My uncorrected vision is no longer good enough for everything but reading and driving.)
Of course, now that it's too late, I really want to just go back to bed.
But I was good. I turned on the Wii Fit and I did my 40 minutes. And you know -- by the time I was done, I felt a little better about it.
"You know what tonight is?" Matt said, as I was turning everything off and shoving the Fit board back under the couch.
"Um... Wednesday?"
"Leverage night!" He was already reaching for the TiVO remote as I headed into the kitchen for my soda and fudgie bar.
I was feeling better, but I was not in the mood for TV. Not even Leverage, which is possibly one of my favorite TV shows ever. I still just wanted to read for a bit and then go to bed early.
But there was no sense ruining Matt's enjoyment. I decided I'd watch a little while I ate my fudgie bar, and then if I wasn't hooked, I'd go to bed and watch the rest of it later. (Yay, TiVO.)
But Leverage hooked me, as it always does, and I really enjoyed the episode. (Anyone surprised if I admit that I think Chris Kane is hot? Didn't think so. Also, the chicken-fried steak thing made me squeal with laughter.)
When the show was over, I tweeted: I did not want to wiirkout, but I did, and felt better for it. I wasn't really in the mood for TV, but Leverage sucked me in. / I had wanted to go to bed early tonight, but given how my night's going, maybe I would be better off staying up until 2?
I didn't stay up quite that late, but I wasn't quite in bed yet at 11:30.
I woke up at 5 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. I gave up trying at about 5:30, and got up and did another 20 minutes on the Wii Fit. (Note to self: Seriously, I need to put my glasses on next time. Trying to focus was making me dizzy. My uncorrected vision is no longer good enough for everything but reading and driving.)
Of course, now that it's too late, I really want to just go back to bed.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Naturally!
Naturally, I got everything set up to move over here, and wrote my last, forwarding journal entry for the old address, and out of sheer habit, I logged into the FTP client to upload it, and... it worked. The block that was in place yesterday is not there today, for whatever reason.
Much ado about nothing. But I still think this move is for the best, in the long run, so here we are, for better or worse.
Not that I have much to talk about today, anyway. Alex is starting to get over his cold, so he's sleeping better. He woke up around 3 last night, coughing, but managed to fall asleep again on his own. Whoo!
I think I've managed to convince Penny to trade out Yo Gabba Gabba for Dora the Explorer for her morning TV. I feel better about it; Yo was aimed slightly younger than Penny, say 2 or 3. (Sesame Street is still the only show I've found that works as well for 6-year-olds as it does for toddlers.)
Much ado about nothing. But I still think this move is for the best, in the long run, so here we are, for better or worse.
Not that I have much to talk about today, anyway. Alex is starting to get over his cold, so he's sleeping better. He woke up around 3 last night, coughing, but managed to fall asleep again on his own. Whoo!
I think I've managed to convince Penny to trade out Yo Gabba Gabba for Dora the Explorer for her morning TV. I feel better about it; Yo was aimed slightly younger than Penny, say 2 or 3. (Sesame Street is still the only show I've found that works as well for 6-year-olds as it does for toddlers.)
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