Saturday, July 31, 2010

Saturday, July 31, 2010
Waning Moon
Pluto Retrograde
Neptune Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Sunny and lovely

Yesterday turned out to be a great day, after a very rocky start.

By rocky start, I mean we were all suffering from, shall we say “gastric distress” in the morning — I believe our water’s contaminated, and even boiling it isn’t helping. I used the pH strips I got for Elsa’s testing — extremely high on the acidic side. Fortunately, most of the time, the cats get bottled water, not boiled tap water. I’d put boiled tap water down for them this morning and they refused to drink it. Then, we got sick, so I switched it all to bottled, and they drank the good stuff and were fine.

So, yeah, basically, although I doubt it would stand up in court, the landlords are poisoning us. Plus, my downstairs neighbor moved out yesterday, which means they will start the renovation torture and it will be impossible to think or breathe or survive as of Monday.

If I COULD move out this week, I would. But people in this neck of the woods won’t rent to an unmarried female freelancer, no matter how reliable or what the law says. Besides, I don’t want to live HERE — I want to relocate. Which I’m trying to do, in spite of obstacles. I need everyone to hook into Diane’s heavy-duty moving vibes, and we’ll get it done. The move itself will cost at least $10K, which isn’t chump change, and it’s a case of having someplace to GO.

Immodium AD is a beautiful thing, and we were able to get on the road only about an hour late. We drove up to Old Saybrook, to my favorite “recycled furniture store”. I bought a set of Japanware cups and saucers for the shoot, a beautiful blue outside with a lovely gold glaze inside. It’s a little more modern than I originally envisioned, but it gives us options. I also found an almost-complete set of silver plate flatware that is monogrammed with my initial AND the pattern complements the William Rogers pattern I use daily. This flatware is by Old Company, but it’s beautiful. I may use some of it in the shoot, too. Everything came to $25, well within my projected budget.

We walked across the street to a warren of antique dealers, and I found a pair of Bond Ware cups and saucers with the rose pattern on the outside I wanted, and even inside, which are perfect for the shoot. $10 for the pair, still within budget.

From Old Saybrook, we hopped back on I-95 and headed up to Mystic, CT, where we wandered around the shopping village (rather than the historical village). I found Mystical Elements, the shop I wanted to visit. Their oil suppller is not one I particularly like, so I skipped the oil, picked up some of the herbs on my list, and stocked up on some much-needed crystals — the price and quality of the crystals are great. Also got some candles.

Headed southward again, to Niantic, to all three locations of the Book Barn. Found some books for my mom by her favorite author (Mary Balogh), but nothing for me. Youo know I’m sick when I walk around thousands of books and don’t buy ANY. I had three black cats accompanying me on my travels around the book sheds. It was hilarious. One led the way, telling me where to go, and the two younger ones trailed behind. I miss having black cats.

The drive back was a bit of a chore, because the traffic was bad. Not as bad as coming north, though — both I-95 and the Merritt Parkway seemed to be backed up all the way from Manhattan to New Haven. I felt sorry for those stuck, and grateful that, although traffic was heavy and moved slowly on our side, at least it moved.

Carefully washed the cups and saucers and pulled some other choices out of the cupboard. Couldn’t find what I wanted — those should NOT be in storage, but I’ll look.

Picked up Chinese food on the way home, had a quiet evening of EUREKA and HAVEN. I’m getting a little ahead of HAVEN, perhaps — each case is caused by something similar — strong emotion. Make the connection already and work on it! EUREKA’s fun, though. The invisible cat just made me howl. I could watch James Callis in every scene — I still think he’s being somewhat under-utilized. They brought him in beautifully, but aren’t using him enough. However, next week are the cross-over episodes with WAREHOUSE 13, and that should be fun.

Today, I’ve got to dig out some more dishes and props from storage, then head to Target for bins and other supplies, and find a pair of matching (or complimentary) blank books for a project. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do the photo shoot today, and then, if I don’t like how it came out, I can do another round of photos tomorrow.

Must also read my friend’s piece and re-read the book just accepted so that I can do the marketing and cover art questionnaires and get them back out — along with the photos — early next week.

Had an excellent first writing session this morning.

Busy, but all good.

Devon

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Saturday, July 24, 2010
Neptune Retrograde
Pluto Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Sunny, hot, humid

Yesterday was all about lunch with two writer pals. We went to Monk’s Cafe, which is only two blocks from where I’m staying. Excellent on every level — service, food, drink, price. Great place. It will become one of my regular haunts here in Philly.

Our server is a painter who needs the services of a writer. We all exchanged cards!

We had good conversations on a wide variety of topics, which always makes for an entertaining time. Great, great women. I learn a lot from them. One I hadn’t met before in person — just know her from Twitter. The other is a friend of quite a few years now, Lori from Words on the Page. Good times.

Spent the afternoon working on the material for Confidential Job #1. Plan to finish it and get it out today.

Honored the goddesses of the healing wells last night, on their festival day, with a good long soak!

Watched EUREKA. Love that show. It’s so much fun. James Callis is a brilliant addition to the cast. I realize his character arc can’t be unlimited, but I love the work he’s doing. He got a good bit of attention as Gaius on the re-envisioned BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, but since I’m one of the three people on the planet who didn’t watch it, I don’t know his work from it. I recognized him from his work in FLASH FORWARD — I thought he was one of the more interesting supporting characters brought in. I love watching really good actors like Callis get their teeth into very diverse roles, instead of getting trapped in a “type.”

I had a good laugh on HAVEN — an actor with whom I worked on a show in NY several years ago is on it, and he’s getting away with some wardrobe eccentricities we never allowed. They’re more fitting to this character than the previous one, but still — definitely an actor quirk.

Didn’t sleep well, for some reason. Weird dreams. And I have to stand firm in the contract negotiations. Oh, well, if it means walking away, that’s what I need to do. The piece will sell elsewhere.

The lunch made me realize that I’ve been rather unmotivated these past few months. I’ve used Elsa’s illness and the scumbag landlords as excuses, but I’ve really got to get off my duff and do some more aggressive marketing.

It’s supposed to be 110 with heat index today. I don’t plan on going out. I’m going to stay in the air conditioned apartment (praying the power holds), finish the assignment for Confidential Job #1, and write. I’ve certainly got plenty of projects that need attention.

I wrote a few pages of the first book in the new series last week, to get a feel for it, and will write a little more, and then go back to finishing the outline. I’m outlining the major character arcs for the overall series first, and then breaking things down into individual books, a new way of working for me. But this series wants to be done that way, so I’m going to trust the characters, and then figure out the structure.

I head back to NY tomorrow night. I can’t believe how fast this week flew past!

Stay cool, stay hydrated.

Devon