I give thanks for...
1-My family, both immediate and extended. Family means I am not alone unless I choose to be. Family means I have ready ears, absorbent shoulders, built in lunch and shopping partners, a steady stream of family gossip, and more birthday parties than I can shake a stick at. Oh...and a high cellphone bill. :D I love them all, and can't imagine my life without them being a part of the journey. God forbid I should ever have to. I thank them all for their contributions to my complexity.
2-My friends, both close and far, past and present. Having friends means I have yet more shopping and lunch partners, more ready ears, additional absorbent shoulders, and yet more gossip and birthday dates to remember. Oh...and a high cellphone bill. :D My life would be way-boring without them. My friends, both past and present, helped define who I was, who I am, and who I will be tomorrow. They are the family I choose.
3-The wolf-mutt, Vartha. AKA: white hurricane, miss nose, goober dog, fuzzy face. I thank her for giving me unconditional love, plenty of laughs, and a walking partner. She never complains when I wake her up and she is always overjoyed to see me, even when I’m in a bad mood. Watching her run and play and chase birds and squirrels never fails to lighten an otherwise dismal day.
4-My husband is employed with a good company. Which means I have money to pay bills, keep the roof over our heads, food on our table, and clothes on our backs, and have just a tiny bit left over to buy a few luxuries or give to those who have much less.
5-My encouragers, readers, critique-ers, and butt-kickers. My writing endeavors wouldn’t be the same without you, and I probably would be further behind the eight-ball in my writing career without the encouragement to keep going, and the steady stream of butt-kickings when the demons of self-doubt swarm the battlements. I am grateful for your many and varied contributions, whether I like them or not.
Happy Thanksgiving, and Happy Holidays.
- Mood:
thoughtful
Like I said, I love this town.
Further updates on the travails of the intrepid Man. He's still in a lot of pain, but he is healing quite nicely according to the in-home care nurses. His back to work date has been tentatively scheduled for mid-December. Who knows? My coping beans might last until then.
Onto the writing. I have finished Chapter 21 and am in the midst of Chapter 22, hip deep, thank you. I'm not happy with Chapter 21, at least not with the ending, but I had to call a halt to it somewhere for the sake of my own sanity. What started as 8 pages and me thinking it was done, became 18-20 pages and me not happy. On second glance, I agree with my critique partners: it was incomplete. Doesn't matter; I wanted to be finished and moving on before this.
Chapter 22, section 1, is suffering the same bloat. I know I need to wrap up the book, but holy bat boobies, I think my writing has lapsed into circular logic. I have one more section to write for Chap 22, and then onto 23, the afterword, the set up for the next book. Once finished, I will put it in front of the Moxie 4, do the edits they suggest, and hopefully embark on my trip through Editing Hell by Dec. 1st.
Wow. Almost 2 years for this first draft of Null and Void. (Still far better than the 10 years for the first book, Moni, Moni.) Soon, I will have to plot and start on the second book in the Voidwalker trilogy, which I will likely start in the middle of editing Null and Void. Dang it, I don't even have a title for the next book. I have one for the third, Magnetic Mage, no idea for the second. Then there are the short stories I want to complete and submit, and the other books to write, like my detective trilogy and the epic fantasy trilogy, which are also vying for space on my docket.
So many ideas, so little time. See? If I don't write everyday, it leaves my brain free to go off on tangents and formulate ideas. Great for the idea pipeline, but pretty soon those ideas might clog up the works. I have to get them on paper before I lose them forever to the black hole of Calcutta I call a memory. Even if I only write the skeleton of the idea down, it takes time, and its a distract....ooo, shiny! New ideas are the shiny new toy you are so eager to play with you let the other toys languish for a while. When trying to write a book. the oooo, shiny factor of a new idea causes problems. Better than the alternative of complete writer's block, I suppose. I'll take the proffered shiny toy over a lump of coal any day.
Enough delaying tactics. Time to get busy playing with the old toy.
- Mood:determined
The Man's surgery went better than expected, according to his doctor. What a relief! The Man was up & around within a few hours of surgery, and actually pretty chipper, though that last was probably the good drugs talking. He said the food & room service were pretty good, too. That happened on Wednesday, Oct 21.
The Man was supposed to be released on the 22nd before noon. I spent the evening of the 21st getting the family room upstairs ready for The Man's extended recovery and didn't get to bed until midnight. I was told to be at the hospital by 7am because the doctor usually did his rounds in the early mornings before his first surgeries. So I get to the hospital by 7am. The Man wakes up with a case of hiccups that continues throughout the day. The nurses only give us the silly home remedies to try to stop them, none of which worked for more than five minutes.
By noon, the discharge paperwork was done, and we were still waiting on the doctor. At 330pm, I go home for a few hours. I come back around 6pm. Still no doctor. At 730pm, the on-call doctor finally released my husband from the hospital...over the phone. By 830pm, we were on the road, rushed because we had to hit our pharmacy before it closed at 9pm. 9pm, we walk through our own door Thank God the on-call doctor perscribed a medication to stop the hiccups. And the freaking RNs didn't know about said medication? Excuse me?!?
Worse, I had lined up one of our friends to help me get The Man home and up the stairs. That friend was on hold all day just like us. Unlike us, our friends at least had something productive to do while he waited...like giving a new job with one of his friend's new company a test-drive. Good for him. Still sucks that he had to wait all day, though.
After all of the work and $ to get the upstairs room set up for The Man, he slept there one night. The next day, we dismantled the sleeping arrangement because we discovered that The Man could navigate the stairs just fine, thank you, and he wanted to sleep in his own bed. Understandable, and great news. However, crisis and major stress time was over,so I had a melt down.
For some reason, I fixated on the time we'd wasted in stressing about getting the room set up which in the end, The Man didn't need. Further, because of said wasted time, I did not get any writing done. To use my friend Ro's phrase, I was all out of coping beans, the jar of which was not only empty, but sported an IOU note, too. The Man did his manly thing and talked me down. Saturday was a wash.
Sunday found me back at the computer, trying desperately to finish chapter 21. I thought I finished it, but my Moxie partners have requested that I actually finish it rather than cutting it off. *sigh*. That is today's project. After that, I think I have the wrap up and the afterword (next book set up) to finish, and then I am off to plot the next one, and work on the second draft of the first. WOOT
- Mood:Wry
- Music:Sleepthief: Labrynthine Heart
The "sisters trip, 1, 3, 4" to Seaside, OR went famously. The weather was absolutely fabulous: sunshine and blue skies the entire trip. We visited Tilamook, Cannon Beach, Astoria, and a variety of places inbetween. Saw a few lighthouses and did a BUNCH of walking, not just on the beaches, either. We ate at Moe's one day (I had to try the clam chowder); we got done just before low tide. We walked the 1/2 mile or so to Haystack Rock, took a ton of pictures, jumped over tide pools, and watched the sun start to set. Beautiful.
And we SHOPPED. We all picked up "take home gifts", and a bunch of Christmas presents. There is a store in Seaside that sells leather coats and other accessories for $20 or less. I picked up a leather bomber-type jacket for The Man as a take home gift/X-mas present. $20. How could I pass that up?!? (The Man loves it.) We also found something there for Dad, the man who has everything. Well, he doesn't have THIS. Sisters 1, 3, 4 went in on the present together. Once home, I offered Sister #2 a chance to get in on the action. She accepted. WOOT.
The trip home was equally fabulous. We decided to bypass Portland on the way home, by way of Mt. St. Helen. We left Seaside before 8am, and didn't get to the Volcanic Monument until noonish. The escapade up to the viewpoints closer to the mountain took another couple of hours. We saw birds, hawks, and right in the blast zone, 3-4 cow-elk. Spirit Lake still has dead trees and pumice floating in it. After 30 years, the blast zone and surrounding affected areas still look bleak, but you can see where the vegetation is trying to recover. There are huge spots where man helped out by planting seedling conifers; I think someone said they've planted over a million. There are groupings of snags (still standing dead trees) to encourage wildlife to return. The flow site still looks awful. Probably for the best. The old girl is still kinda pissy, and she has 2 cones now, both still growing. I hope the pictures I took do this part of the trip justice.
We stopped in Yakima at 4pm for some dinner, and decided to push on to Boise. We crossed the Columbia River at Umatilla. The sun was just setting, so I took pictures through the tinted windows. In fact, I took a bunch of pictures of the sunset on the way home. Lots of reds. It was gorgeous. We pulled into Boise just before midnight. I was in bed within 15-20 minutes.
Best of all, I didn't gain any weight while on vacation. Didn't lose, but didn't gain. Don't know how I managed that one, but perhaps all the walking helped.
Next week, The Man goes in for surgery to correct a previous surgical screw up. Needless to say, he's been a bit of a twitch, and my vacation came at a great time. He'll be home for at least 8 weeks, we think, but he might have the opportunity to work from home a bit while he recovers. I certainly hope so.
I am still on the job hunt. I'm not going to look too hard over the next few weeks while The Man gets over the worst of the recovery period, but I DO need to get on the stick if for no other reason than to pay hospital bills. Christmas is going to be limited this year.
I am into chapter 21 of the book. I did very little writing before the trip, did a bit of editing on the trip, and am finally going to get back to the forward progress today. I have missed my personal deadline of Sept 30th, but I hope to be done by the 25th, the next Moxie meeting.
Cheers to all-
- Mood:
chipper
Job: still unemployed. It really isn't looking good for regaining that job, so I will be restarting my job search when I get back from vacation. Kind of a bummer because I liked that job, and loved working again with Ed. He's not happy either, though he is trying to be hopeful. It is a hard road for him. I'm just resigned to the fact that it isn't going to happen.
Vacation: I am excited about this vacation. You'd think that being a full-time writer & stay-at-home would not require vacation time. It is more stressful than you think. I'll be going to Seaside, OR for a week with two of my older sisters, #1 & 3. I am sooo looking forward to it. Change of venue, ocean view, different shops & sights. Time away from household concerns. Good times with my sisters who are best friends. I'll be taking my laptop in case I get ideas or inspired.
Writing: I finally got over the chapter 17 hump. I was hung up for a long time on the second section. The moxie group told me why: very tense scene, a lot riding on the side-action, all the tension nonverbal. I got through that scene--did it well according to the girls--and pushed through the 3rd scene the following week. I blew through chapter 18 in a couple of weeks, and am now deep into the climax of the book (first scene of chapter 19). Chap 19, scene 2 starts today. I want to be through 19, and maybe even 20 before the week is out. Lots of work. I think The Man is going to lose me for a few weeks to the push.
In addition to my writing, I was finally able to give my talk on Villains to the Boise Spec Fic group. Turn out was low, but I can always post the presentation to the list-serve in the files section. It helped at least one person immediately, so I consider it a success. I have been asked to give an online class for the Murder in the Grove online workshops, to be held in February. The class will encompass the two talks I have given to the Spec-Fic group, in expanded formats.
I feel some trepedation in giving an online class. I know my material, but I could always know more. Plus, I am unpublished, so I tend to wonder if I know enough to be of use to anyone, and if anyone will take me seriously like I know what I'm talking about and have good advise. I know this is just the monkey-mind talking, but there it is. To offset the worry, I think I will start to develop the actual class in December, doing lesson plans, etc. I dont want to be caught with my pants down and doing things last minute. That would not be helpful.
Diet & exercise: On a separate note, the diet is going well. I maintained the same weight for a few weeks, neither gaining nor losing. Those were the same weeks that I was busy cleaning house & making it presentable for out of town guests. This portion control thing really works. I can eat whatever I want, but the portions have to be very small. If I go to a restaurant, I usually take half of the meal home, even if it is an appetizer. Eat slower so the food has a chance to hit bottom and make me feel fuller faster. My exercise regimen has been on hold for a few weeks, again because of the flurry of delayed spring cleaning (in September), which included garage and shed reorgs. Exercise begins again today. I will continue on the diet & exercise even on vacation. It is fairly easy to maintain, and I don't want to lose ground. I've lost 17lbs now, I think. Woot!
My in-laws were here the week after Labor Day, hence the flurry of cleaning and straightening and reorganization. The Man and I enjoyed their visit, low-key and pleasant. On that Saturday, we ordered bbq from Andrew's Rib Shack, and got a whole bunch of additional foodage. My parents, his parents, both our girls, the oldest's boyfriend/fiance, and our two good friends, the Redhead and her new husband. This is the first occasion our respective parents had a chance to meet. It was a fun evening, low key, lots of laughter, good times. The Man and I were glad when everyone went home. We missed them all, but we were glad to have the house to ourselves again. We took a week of downtime to recover, only doing minor jobs and errands. That was when I got through scene 1 of chapter 19.
I wrote scene 1 of chapter 19 almost in one sitting. I then spent the rest of the week editing it, adding, filling it out. If I do that for every remaining scene, I won't get done with the first draft of the novel by the 30th, which is my goal. I need to get words on the page, do cursory revising, and then go back and fill in the holes after Moxie gets a chance to read it. I can consider those revisions part of the 2nd draft, if necessary. I can't afford so much initial revising. I have to turn off the perfectionist in me, just for a little while. The first draft doesn't have to be perfect. The second draft needs to be as close to perfect as I can get it, then I can send it out to the test readers for review. Revise again according to their comments. This should be a much shorter process than the 1st draft. I would like to be seeking an agent by spring, if not sooner.
- Mood:determined
I went to work. The first week was hectic, but productive and fun. I have a lot of old co-workers, the majority of whom I like, at the new job. Second week showed more progress on getting workflow and office procedures organized. By the time Friday came along, I had the rough process/workflow up and running, and we were testing it to make sure it would work. Seemed to be. However, Friday afternoon I was informed that myself and several others in another department were being laid off due to a budget problem. Ed, my boss, reassured me that it had nothing to do with my job performance, or anything personal, just a budget having to be met. He also told me he is going to work miracles to get me back on the payroll as soon as possible, give it a month or so.
Disappointment was inevitable. Frustration, a bit of anger, and hurt feelings also came with the news. How can you run a brand new shop without the backend, the office, running smooth or at all? You have to spend money to make money in a start-up. All the new division has to do is land one big account, and everyone will be so buried they will be in extreme jeopardy of failing. I still don't get it. Unfortunately, the powers running the company are reactionaries, not pro-active. My boss Ed isn't included in that mess. The decision to lay me off was made without his input. And he's supposed to be the VP of the division? Brilliant.
On happier notes, my diet and exercise plans seem to be working. So far, the scale says I've lost 7lbs. Clothes are fitting a little better, and I have more energy and motivation to do things. I have a doctor's appt today, so we'll see what he says about it.
One advantage to not working at the moment is that I have the opportunity to continue the fixes to my schedule. I'm going to try to get up at the same time as I would for work, and go to bed at the same time, too. I've slipped on that for the last few days, but I need to NOT go back to my old habits of staying up until all hours, and getting up later in the morning. I need to get up early, and go to bed at a reasonable time, that way, when I start back to work, the adjustment won't be as severe as before.
If I can keep on the work schedule, I have the perfect opportunity to plow away and finish the first draft of Null and Void. 2nd draft will be easier to do in pieces since I'll already have the hard part--the initial writing--all done. 2nd draft is all editing, with a little bit of new writing as a possibility in the event I missed something. I am looking forward to getting the first draft completed. I need to get it written before editing can commence.
Just finished reading: Inda; The Fox; King's Shield, by Sherwood Smith. EXCELLENT series. Engaging, absorbing, and the characters leap off the page. 3rd person omniscient, but extremely well done. All three books blend bits of humor, much action, and heartbreak. Yes, all three books brought tears to my eyes at multiple points. I can't wait for Treason's Shore to appear on the shelves.
- Mood:determined
Amazing, I now have more time on my hands. The game took at least 3-5 hours out of each day, on average, sometimes less, more often, more. What a time sink! Combined with my other computer activities, I figure I spent 8-12hrs of each day parked in my office chair, and I wasn't getting that far in my writing either. Low motivational ebb. This same sedentary life also packed 20lbs onto my frame, and further reduced my energy levels at the same time it increased my insomnia symptoms.
Time for a change. Both The Man and I have addictive personalities. We were addicted to our online game. We knew we needed to replace it with something else, so we bought a Wii, a Wii-Fit, and other such accessories. A few weeks before this, we bought the flat screen tv, and plugged in a media server. Old TV and entertainment center, as well as all cable channels, dvd players, etc, are gone. The media server allows us to play any dvd, surf for and watch any tv shows from various websites, or stream movies from Netflix. Installing the Wii was no problem. We can play it anytime, and we do.
With the $$ we saved from playing the online game, I purchased a gym membership. I attend the gym most every weekday, sometimes meeting The Man for swimming and hot tub, or going myself to use the machines. I need to get in shape. I need to get healthy. I am tired of feeling like a slug.
Part of my life change was to rejoin the work force. I control the finances in this here outfit, and I didn't like the direction they were going. In order to pay off bills, make any move we decide on in the future more feasible, and build up the reserve accounts and our retirement funds, I need to go back to work for a while, maybe a few years, maybe more. This will have the added benefit of relieving a lot of stress on The Man, stress he can't afford to have. Hopefully, with two of us working and bringing in the $$, it will allow him some breathing space and energy to get himself motivated to get in shape and stay that way.
How does this impact my writing time? I won't have 4 hours a day to write anymore unless I stay up too late. But The Man and I have decided on a workable schedule where I'll have 1-2hrs a night to write, and he'll be able to work on skills to improve his career. Writing is my career, but I need a job to finance the household until such time as I get that all important publishing contract.
So, I got that job. From decision to job offer-5 days. It isn't what you know, it is who you know. Networking, keeping contact with former bosses and employers whom you trust and admire, maintaining good relationships, is the key to getting a job in troubled times. I am lucky: a former boss has been trying to get me to come work for him for the last year. When I finally come around to the idea, he is the VP of a brand new division, and my call is so timely as to be a Godsend. Fortunate. Lucky. Blessed by God. I must have made the right decision.
I feel so positive right now, so eager, so motivated and energetic. Maybe it's the new meds, but I have a feeling that this is God's way of showing me that I've finally made the right decisions. I am at peace with my life and the direction it is going. Praise be, and miracle of miracles.
Hugs and peace to everyone.
- Mood: happy
- Music:Transformers 2 soundtrack
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stefwithnf- Stefanie Hobbs
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