Saturday, January 5, 2008
Waning Moon
Mars Retrograde
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and mild
Working on those articles nearly killed me yesterday. And not because the content, research, fact-checking, or writing is difficult; but because I didn’t want to do it. I wrote a sentence. I got up and wandered around. I wrote a half a sentence. I puttered in the kitchen. I wrote three words. I played with the cats.
No self-discipline at all. Meanwhile, I got more and more frustrated, because I want this monkey off my back. And if I’d just sat down and concentrated, it would have been done a lot faster. Learn from my mistakes, my friends. It was nearly midnight by the time I got them sent out.
Thanks to a friend of Chaz’s, I think I’ve found a way to keep my Canon limping along for a few more months. I went printer shopping yesterday, and my head was spinning. The two top choices so far are the Canon Pixma830 – but I worry that I’m just digging myself into the same hole by sticking with Canon. The other printer that does everything I want and need and with which I fell into printer-lust is the HP Photosmart C7200. I also looked a few small printers that I could just use for manuscript printing. I might go ahead and indulge in one of those now and then try to coax my current Canon along for a few more months until I’m sure what I really want.
For once, I don’t want to make a panic buy. I want to get the best printer for my needs. Unfortunately, because technology isn’t my strong suit, and the people in the stores are out to make a sale, not look out for my best interests, I need to learn as much as I can so I make a smart decision.
I’m also trying to figure out if the SanDisk Multi-Use SD card will work with my camera BEFORE I rip open the packaging. They don’t seem to make the exact same SD flashcard I always used with the camera. This looks almost the same, but it’s marked “multi-use”. The website doesn’t even list my camera so I can check compatibility (and my camera’s not that old), and their Customer Disservice can’t be bothered to answer the email I sent asking them about it over a week ago. If I haven’t heard back by Monday, I’ll rip open the package, test it, and, if it doesn’t work, sell it on eBay. I also emailed Canon to ask them. In spite of the Printer Kerflamma, their customer service is usually good.
And, of course, Hex Breaker called to me all day long, wanting attention. But I needed to distance myself, even for a day.
I went to the bookstore and didn’t buy anything. You know it’s a cranky day when I do that. I had my heart set on one particular book, which they didn’t have. I didn’t want to order it – I wanted to walk out of the store with it in my hand. It’s a new release – there’s no reason it shouldn’t be there, except they haven’t gotten around to unpacking it yet.
And Strand Books sent me a batch of books for a project – they always take such good care of me. I was expecting them to be medium-condition paperbacks, and they’re brand new hard covers. I have to put them in the acknowledgments of almost everything I write. Because they’re very, very good to me.
Lyd, in regard to your comment on the gift card, you’re suggesting I commit fraud, which I believe is a felony. Besides the fact that I am not willing to do that, I believe that making public one’s medical records so an insurance company can enter one into a contest is twisted and wrong. I prefer to file a complaint against them and have the proper authorities kick their greedy, twisted, disgusting little asses. I hope you keep commenting – I do appreciate them, even when I don’t always agree with them! 😉
I wrote a new chapter for the revision of Tracking Medusa this morning. It’s Harry’s funeral, which happened away from the readers’ gaze in the first draft. It introduces Jonathan Alden, Gwen’s ex-husband. Although it doesn’t specify that’s what he is, it’s clear he’s an ex something. I kind of like the reader discovering the husband part later in the book, when Justin discovers it. It also sets up more of the love-hate dynamic between Gwen and Karl, and has Tom Albright doing his detective work. Kitty is also introduced here, instead of waiting until they reach the Earl’s house in Scotland. It helps strengthen what comes later in the book. I’ve stuck the pages between the current Chapters Two and Three – since it had to happen before the chase sequence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and I had to get Karl out of there early so he and Justin could have their confrontation at the Library BEFORE Justin went to the Met. It needs work, deepening, detailing, but the character set-ups work, and placing it here strengthens what happens when it all comes together at the end.
I’m on my way to my friend’s place in CT. I’m taking Hex Breaker with me, and that will be my focus today. I’ve got more articles to work on tomorrow, and I need to finish up the work for next week’s blog tour hosting on A Biblio Paradise. But right now, as far as I’m concerned, Hex Breaker is the priority.
Devon