Saturday, October 2, 2010

Saturday, October 2, 2010
Waning Moon
Uranus Retrograde
Neptune Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Sunny and cool

Woke up this morning with Iris stuck to one side and Violet stuck to the other. Nice and warm on a cold fall morning! Very cute!

The storm hit yesterday rather than Thursday. The brook held, no flooding, thank goodness, and I certainly appreciate the local police department, who did not give me any tickets! I have a sign I put on the dashboard stating I’m a resident of my building and not willing to lose another car to flood — they’re pretty good about not giving tickets when we’re on flood watch.

Packed 30 damn boxes yesterday, almost all books, and it didn’t even make a dent! I was ready to commit hara-kiri with the corkscrew! I wound up packing some stuff I hadn’t originally planned to pack yet but: A) I don’t need it, so into the box it goes and B) I can get at it right now, and now I can stack boxes in front of it!

Very disappointed with my original choice of realtor. They’re very nice and all, but after all that talk of how they own over 400 properties, they have NOTHING that suits my needs? I find that hard to believe. I’m dealing with individuals and setting up appointments for midweek. The other two major realtors who deal with the area — well, one is just not very nice so I refuse to deal with them, and the other talks a lot but there’s no substance, and most of the properties aren’t pet friendly. When I say my number one priority is pet friendly, don’t say, “This is perfect for you, but no pets and no negotiation.” Um, if either of those two points are true, then IT’S NOT PERFECT. There’s another company who’s swooped in and seems to have a lot of inventory, but there’s something I don’t quite trust about them, and a major national chain who has the same contact listed for a bunch of properties, only he can’t be bothered to answer an email, so forget anything by that company.

The positive in all this is that, when I’m ready to buy, I know who NOT to use. 😉

Finally got back to my yoga routine this morning (my back is killing me) and even got in a few pages of writing. I’m going to pack some more this morning, then pick up some take out and spend the afternoon at a friend’s doing laundry. I may hit Target tomorrow for more bins.

And I HAVE to finish pulling stuff off the old PC, so I can dump it when they do the electronics recycling here in a couple of weeks.

Send me positive house vibes, please! I need some!

Devon

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Sunday, March 14, 2010
Dark Moon
Rainy and mild

So far, the brook’s holding. It’s got about another two feet before it goes over the banks. I’m keeping my car up on the hill and hoping they won’t give me a ticket. Under the previous mayor, during flood times, no one was ticketed for trying to save their cars, but this new mayor only cares about dollars, not citizens, so we’ll see. The flood watch was supposed to expire this morning, but now it’s been expanded to Tuesday morning.

Yesterday was a lost day, writing wise. The power flickered, so I didn’t want to use the computer. I couldn’t concentrate, and didn’t write in longhand. The cats were upset and stuck to me like Velcro. The wind howled like professional mourners keening at a funeral. Imagine that for hours and hours and hours. It rained hard, it rained horizontally.

I read Deanna Raybourn’s THE DEAD TRAVEL FAST. It was very different than I expected, but in a good way. I enjoyed it. I finished the biography of artist NC Wyeth, which was interesting. It didn’t change me into a Wyeth fan from a Hopper fan (not that those are mutually exclusive). Hopper’s work just speaks to me more strongly. But it gave me a deeper understanding of his life and motivations and content.

I’ll be going up and down to check the brook throughout the day; hopefully, it will only drizzle, and we can avoid a flood. I have to find some focus and get back to the page — I’ve got deadlines looming and I just don’t feel like working on anything I should work on. So I better get over it, if I expect to be able to pay bills this month.

Back to the page. Today’s a day I rely solely on craft.

Devon

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Sunrise at Saratoga

Saturday, August 29, 2009
Waxing Moon
Pluto Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde
Rainy, humid, cool

So far, so good as far as the brook holding. I boiled plenty of water, have all the supplies in, and keep watching the brook every few hours to see if I need to move the car. But now Tropical Depression Danny is losing steam (and water), so we might just get out of this intact.

I was woken up by a crying cat. I was all set to scold my beasts, when I realized that they were all staring at me, but none of them was yelling. It was a cat outside.

It was before 6 AM.

So I pulled on some clothes and hauled my weary ass out of bed and down all those flights of stairs and outside to make sure no one was hurt.

It was the little gray and white cat who belongs to someone who rented one of the basement apartments. Which are now being called “garden apartments” and shouldn’t have been renovated, much less rented out because WHEN the next flood hits, those residents will lose everything.

Anyway, Missy was sitting in front of the window, trying to get in, and no one was letting her in. She didn’t want a treat, she wanted to go inside her own home. I don’t have a key, and I surely couldn’t try to open a stranger’s window (which is locked anyway). I let her into the basement, so she could find her own front door, but be out of the rain. She was furious that I didn’t OPEN said front door. I tried to explain I couldn’t, but she wasn’t having it, and swanned outside again, in a huff.

While I was out, I checked the brook, which was low, thank goodness.

I looked up at my window, and saw three little fuzzy faces peering down, wondering what was going on with the unhappy cat.

The saying is true: Dogs have masters; cats have staff. Missy wanted a more competent staff this morning, and fired me.

I’m getting really frustrated with Apple. There’s all this phone tag and no solution. I sent another long, detailed email, and got a message saying “We prefer to handle this by phone.” Well, you’re NOT handling this by phone, you’re dragging it out. I’m tired of being talked at and there’s still no solution. I expect better from Apple. I sent them another long, detailed email — no holds barred. Mobile Me has been an utter waste of money so far — it doesn’t integrate the way they claim it does, and, as I said in my email, by the time I leave for Prague, it has to work flawlessly.

And I re-emphasize: If I was a man, this would have been solved, really truly SOLVED — not all this bullshit “talk therapy” they’re trying, instead of actually solving the problem, which is that they sold me a lemon — the FIRST time I walked through the door.

On happier notes, I did a lot of work on Confidential Job #1 yesterday, and I’m pretty sure I can finish it this weekend, send it off and invoice it on Monday. Of course, to invoice, I have to drive to the Greenwich Library and send it from there, via IE, since I can’t run IE on this machine, and their online invoicing ONLY accepts IE. I’m really tempted to charge them for time and mileage.

I had a second good writing session on AMENDS yesterday afternoon, and another equally good one this morning.

If I felt more confident about this computer, I’d be typing up the chapters as I finished them.

I have a few short pieces to get out, and I pitched a few markets yesterday. One is really exciting — I might be able to sell them some stuff written in and about Prague. If I can get an article about some other spot done before I go, so they get an idea of my style, that would be great. I also offered them clips, so we’ll see.

Found some more markets — I should be able to get my entire backlog of projects out before I leave.

I’m truly over the writers who defend their decision to write for mill content sites, accepting subpar wages and claiming that it’s “easier” to get work, it’s “reliable” and they’re making good money. At $15/article, you can’t maintain the pace you need to pay bills and quality and originality. Because if you COULD, you’d be working for publications that pay real money.

So instead of trying to educate and encourage these people, I’m over them. You say you “can’t” find any work in this economy, you “can’t” get hired anywhere else? Maybe it’s because you’re not good enough.

If you hone your skills in a class and work for some legitimate clients, you’ll get hired at a living wage. IF you’re willing to do the legwork to land the clients.

If you’re not, then, yeah, you’re only worth $15/article, and most legitimate employers who see a mill content site on your resume won’t hire you.

That’s the reality. Grow up and grow a pair.

I better get back to the page — I’ve got the chance for some truly uninterrupted writing time this weekend, and I want to take full advantage of it!

Devon