Fri. May 26, 2023: I’d Rather Be Reading

image courtesy of  nini kvaratskhelia via pixabay.com

Friday, May 26, 2023

Waxing Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Sunny and pleasant

Are you ready for Memorial Day Weekend?

I am totally not.

Yet I am.

Today’s serial episode is from Angel Hunt:

Episode 36: Quarry or Guardian?

Is her host a hunter or the hunted?

Angel Hunt serial link.

I forgot to mention that Wednesday night into Thursday night, I had nightmares.

The first was that I was called back to work WICKED, because they were short-handed, only I didn’t have my running notes, and they wouldn’t give me a new set. I pulled myself out of that, totally disgusted with myself because: A) That’s not who they are, they want the show to work, and B) the last time I worked the show was in 2010 and my notes wouldn’t even be relevant anymore.

The second nightmare was that I was back in the Cape house, trying to clean it out and being totally overwhelmed. I pulled myself out of that sense memory stress and reminded myself that I am here NOW. I am in a different reality, and building a different future.

Meditation was cancelled, sadly. I should have just sat on my own, but I went down the Census rabbit hole again. Some Playland information, but also lots of other interesting stuff. There was an author. His English-born wife was an insurance researcher. They had four kids, including twins. Her sister, also an author, lived with them, and they had a lodger who was a librarian. Now, is that a dramedy in the making, or what?

There was the 63-year-old actress living as a “guest” in the house of a laborer at the Amoury, his wife, and their older children. There’s a story there. The teenaged “umbrella boy” at the beach, whose slightly elder brother is an office clerk for a film company, and whose father is a building inspector. The grand opera ballet dancer, born in Switzerland, living with her mother, her stepfather (a gardener at a private estate), her brother (who arrived from Basel, Switzerland and now works as a machine operator at an electric company), her four year old son, and her aunt, who arrived from Paris, and now works as a maid.

There were all the usual stone masons and carpenters and painters and office clerks and bank tellers and barbers and railroad workers. There was an increase in dressmakers and women working in dress factories (mostly Italian), and millinery places, along with more Germans, Poles, and Austrians (getting out before the war), and an uptick in “butcher” as their profession. A German painter and her Polish art dealer husband.  A young artist living with her parents (photographers), and her sister is a stenographer for a soap company. Then there were more unusual professions like gravedigger and religious ornamental salesman and marine pilot.

I heard back from the Archives. They are so excited! They didn’t have the photos I had, but they found photos of the same women , but they’re not named. They’re also pulling payroll books and other administrative records, and are thrilled that someone is trying to put names to these women.

So I need my grant money, so I can get down there and do some research! (Yes, I can use the grant for this stuff).

I also put together a residency proposal for next winter. Finger crossed. I’m using this project as one I’d like to work on in residency. If not, I’ll do it anyway. I worked on next week’s Process Muse post.

I did the social media rounds for Legerdemain, checked on the strike news, and the impending debt default. The fuckers decided the Memorial Day weekend was more important than doing their job. Disgusting. Even more disgusting is that the Democrats CAN fix this without caving to the Republican demands, and they CHOOSE not to. So we are going to default and all the people who actually work for a living, all the seniors, all the veterans, you know the people who actually make things WORK,  get screwed next week. This is unacceptable. The Democrats’ unwillingness to actually get in the trenches and fight is disgusting. All Congressional salaries should be frozen until they reach a deal AND they should be locked into the Capitol building until a clean debt ceiling raise is passed. Nothing else is even faintly acceptable.

In the afternoon, I did two client projects, and something came in for today (no four-day weekend for me). I may work on Monday, if something comes in; or try to just double down on work Tuesday and Wednesday, for this pay period. I’m making my calculations for the worst possible outcome; if I’m wrong and it doesn’t happen, then I can work from there. I’m also seriously exhausted and burned out, and don’t know if I can sustain without a break. However, I may not have the option to rest. We have bills to pay, and they’re not going to pay themselves, and if there’s a default, any owed monies won’t get here, and I have to make up the difference.

This is what happens when you don’t arrest the insurrectionist members of Congress the day they tried not to ratify the election. They continue with the insurrection. This is why you can’t give ANY of these Christo-fascists an inch and EVERY single one of them has to be completely destroyed. We need to stop negotiating with domestic terrorists.

Today’s agenda: upload/schedule the next 8 episodes of Angel Hunt (which will get me into early July). Maybe do some more work on it. Do the social media rounds to promote today’s episode. Go grocery shopping. Pick up my mother’s prescription. Swing by the library, to pick up a few things that came in. Do client work this afternoon.

Over the weekend, I plan to read the next book for review and also read my friend’s book so I can write the blurb and send it off to her next week. I also want to set up at least some of the Enchanted Garden on the back balcony, hang some pictures, and turn over from the winter clothes to summer clothes. And catch up on filing!

Writing-wise, I’ll do some work on Legerdemain, and, hopefully, tackle the memorial scene near the end of FALL FOREVER, so that draft 4 of that script is done. I’ll have to do some episode videos for the serials, too, and maybe some book recommendations. And do a rough draft of the flash fiction for the artist call.

Next week is about keeping up with the serials, getting ahead on The Process Muse, working on the pieces for Llewellyn, and getting back to “Labor Intensive.” I need to sit down and do a short outline on the story. Some of what I have is going too far into subplots that would work if this was a novel, but it’s a short story, so, nope. Keep it focused.

I’d rather spend the weekend in a book fort, but we’ll see.

Have a good holiday weekend, and I’ll catch you on the other side.

Wed. Feb. 8, 2023: Admin Days

image courtesy of Oliver Menyhart via pixabay.com

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Waning Moon

Snowy and sleety

Yesterday was another somewhat scattered day.

After the laundry and breakfast, I polished today’s Process Muse post and got that scheduled. I hope to work ahead a few weeks on that this weekend.

I did the social media rounds to promote yesterday’s episode of Legerdemain and 28 Prompts. Some of the Monday prompts didn’t post properly, probably due to issues with Spectrum (the internet provider). So I will repost some of those today, too. My apologies.

I managed to turn around the 5 coverages due. They all paid much less than previous coverages (but little else was available), so I’m way under for this pay period. I did get requested for a coverage, which is on my schedule for Friday, and that has a decent bonus attached. But 5 coverages (of this type) in one day burns me out, especially when the rate is so low. Transitioning to something else takes some time and planning, so I will trudge along the next bit, until that happens.

Worked on ideas for the residency proposal. I think I’m about ready to write it. It’s so helpful when they actually let you see the entire application. Too many of these “application portals” won’t let you read the entire application before starting it, or allow one to move back and forth between pages. If I can read the whole thing BEFORE I start the application, I can write the various sections up and polish them before I apply, and that’s necessary.

Found some submission calls for plays. I sent some off to a friend, because I thought they’d work for her. I’m working through the ones I’m interested in, and I think I’ve figured out which play I’m going to submit to a call I saw last week. I revised one of my short plays, and that’s ready to go. A few months ago, I caved and created an Excel tracking sheet for the plays, which contains page count (which gives me an indication of running time), number of actors, etc. That helps me position the scripts, without having to open each one and remind myself. I’m not sure if the fact I have too many plays to remember the details of all of them is a positive or a negative. I have one for radio plays, too, and I need to do one for screenplays, now that I’m stockpiling enough so that I can submit to contests.

Me. Creating Excel spreadsheets on purpose. Pigs must be flying, and hell must be freezing over.

You do what serves the work.

My mom hadn’t received the information packets for additional supplemental insurance (do NOT get me started on how much of a scam that is). The guy she spoke to on the phone last week dropped off a tote bag full of information yesterday, after she told him she hadn’t received what he sent in the mail. All the way from Springfield. That was so sweet of him, and yes, he’s getting a thank you note.

We have to do that paperwork this morning, I have to do some paperwork on my own insurance (because they sent me a letter that Makes No Sense At All).

I have to sign a contract on a big project and get that in the mail (no electronic signatures allowed for it), and then, in a few weeks, I’ll actually be able to talk about it, which will be nice.

And pay bills. There is a trip to the post office on the agenda for the this morning, no matter what the weather, because some of these have to go out as certified mail.

The SD reader card I ordered arrived yesterday, so I can take the SD cards, download the photos to the computer from the last 15 years or so, sort them, and store them on the external hard drive, since I couldn’t pull anything after 2012 off the Macbook.

The big orders I put in the other day are being shipped piecemeal, with a flurry of packages arriving this week and next. Kind of fun.

The Midnight City Tarot made it to the post office in Springfield, so I might actually get my hands on it in the not-too-distant future.

Soup class was fun. Jeremy is such an uplifting teacher, encouraging us to experiment, and use the recipe as a jumping off point. He wants to do a class where all he does is hand us a list of ingredients, and then we tell him how to create the soup, which sounds scary and fun.

Had some nightmares last night, which is always a warning sign, so I have to pick them apart, figure them out, and heed the warnings.

This morning, I have to put in new printer ink, do a lot of paperwork, and scan some research material that I have to return to the library. I have to do the social media rounds for Process Muse, the new episode of Angel Hunt that drops today, and 28 Prompts. I hope to do some more flash fiction pieces later this week. I have two scripts in today’s queue.

Have a good Wednesday, my friends!

Wed. Aug. 9, 2022: Just Chugging Along

images courtesy of Wikilimages via pixabay.com

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Waxing Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter Retrograde

Cloudy and cooler

Yesterday was another hot day, although the temperature started going down later in the day. But I hadn’t slept well, which was not a good way to start.

I had trouble getting going in the morning. I had to deal with stuff on the personal front, of course, with everything going on. I managed to get the book review written and out, and was assigned my next two books for review. I worked on catching up with emails, and handling a bunch of admin. I pushed back the release date for DEVELOPING THE SERIES so that I can finish proofreading it and make sure the students really get it well before it goes into general release. I did the promotion for Episode 5 of LEGERDEMAIN that dropped yesterday, “The Luminous Lady.” The ad I made for it is one of my favorites.

I worked on the poem a little.

I let myself grieve when I needed.

There was a thunderstorm in the late morning, which helped break some of the heat and humidity. But then, it was warm and sunny again.

We headed back to the quilt shop in Williamstown. And ran into a detour, because there was a gas leak, and a big chunk of Rt. 2 was blocked off by the fire department. So I had to take back roads. The fact I knew which backroads to take pleased me.

Anyway, we went to the quilt shop, and I picked up some fabric to make holiday-themed curtains for the Kitchen Island Cart from Hell. Because this weekend, when I’m working on seat covers and kitchen island curtains, I might as well do all of them at once.

A big guy working the lines came into the quilt shop, curious because his grandmother used to quilt, and he was interested in looking at the quilts. That, of course, triggered a story idea for me, so those characters are percolating. Now, the question becomes are they their own set of characters in their own world, or do I fold them into one of my other worlds?

On the way back, we did a stop at Wild Oats for a few things, and I paid my next year’s membership. I got to introduce my mom to the general manager, who is a sweet, smart, wonderful guy, and that was good.

Did a script coverage in the afternoon. Then, it was cool enough to prepare the rest of the Farmers’ Market vegetables as roasted vegetables, and served it over couscous. The rest of this week will be leftovers from the past few days of crockpot, primavera pasta, and roasted veggies.

Right after I finished, it was time for the cooking class with Chef Jeremy over at Kripalu (via Zoom). He’s moving into a full-time faculty position, after being the Executive Chef there for 12 years (which, as he said, is “like 187 Chef years”). He’s such a brilliant teacher, and he loves it so much, I’m glad he has the opportunity. And I’m excited to, at some point, study with him again in person.

Anyway, class was tons of fun. As usual, I learned a lot (like the difference between a tian and a gratin).

After class, I had another script to cover, but I got everything done.

It was the first night in weeks where it was cool enough to sleep, and I slept. Although I had a nightmare, and Charlotte woke me up at 3 AM. But I managed to fall back to sleep, and got up a little after six.

The damn computer took nearly an hour to do an update, and then none of the programs talked to any of the other programs, so I had to go in and wiggle things around until it worked again. I am not an IT person, and I shouldn’t have to fake being one just to get the computer up and running every morning. Especially since it’s still under warranty (although no one has any interest in honoring the warranty). And I’m only using 25% of the computer’s capacity.

I did not have these problems with my Mac.

Anyway, I have a meeting to prepare for this morning, the workbook to finish proofing, the poem to polish, and then three scripts to cover this afternoon, so it’s another busy day. But good busy.

Spiro Squirrel tried to remove the kitchen window screen again yesterday afternoon and Willa was right there, letting him know that was not an option. When I heard her scampering down the hallway early this morning, I was sure he’d somehow managed to get in and she was chasing him around the house, but she was just running up and down the hall because it was cool enough to run again. All the cats were perky this morning, because it was cool enough to feel like themselves again.

Hope you’re having a good one.

Wed. April 6, 2022: Room For the Writing I Love

image courtesy of Adina Voicu via pixabay.com

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Waxing Moon

Cloudy/Rainy/Chilly

It was supposed to rain yesterday. Instead it was sunny, so people ran around enjoying it! I did a large grocery shop in the morning, to get us set up for the next couple of weeks. I also bought a pot of multi-colored pansies and a bunch of lavender tulips. Flowers for spring. I love pansies, because they’re so cheerful.

All the seedlings were moved out onto the porch, so they could enjoy the day, along with the cats (who moved themselves).

I finished the set of bios for Monthology celebrities tied to the Playhouse, the Gorgons, and the Valkyrie. I’d promised them to the collaborators, as fodder for the City’s tabloid. If none of this makes any sense, you can read about the shared world anthology here. It was fun, and these characters are for everyone to play with and have fun with. They are, at best, tertiary characters in my story. I felt bad that I was so late getting it in, although everyone in the group is great.

I wrote four pages of the radio play tentatively titled “Owe Me” that’s part of the Dramatists Guild project, with an eye toward sending it to the producer with whom I’ve been negotiating. It’s different from the comic horror; it’s more of a psychological ghost story. That went well. I’m letting the dialogue/plot flow, and then I’ll go back in and layer more sound cues (in radio, you have to figure a sound cue about every 30 seconds, approximately one cue every half page or so). I sometimes have clumps of sound cues to drive the plot, but then I have to layer in other cues when they get to talking, that either underline the dialogue or contradict it.

I’m percolating on the comic horror play that went off the rails. I think I will draft “Owe Me” first, and then go back to it, once I figure out how to get it back on track.

I pitched for a radio writing job that would run from May through August, and pays well. I’m sure the competition is fierce, but nothing tried, no chance at all. Plus, it was fun to include the new Pages on Stages website. I have to add in my bio page today.

The Conference wants me to take on some mentoring slots, and I’m not sure if I can take that on. A lot depends on how the upcoming negotiations for a couple of gigs go.

I covered two scripts in the afternoon. I started reading Deanna Raybourn’s newest Veronica Speedwell, AN IMPOSSIBLE IMPOSTER, which is a lot of fun. Knowledge Unicorns was a lot of fun, although everyone is eager for Easter break.

I signed up for a Buddhist series of seminars for the next five days, based on the work of Pema Chödrön, whose work I like and respect a lot. The rage I feel at fellow humans for allowing the slaughter in Ukraine to continue, and allowing the radical right to overtake this country, combined with the sense memory of the stress I underwent during this period last year, desperately searching for a place to live and organizing the move, is interfering with my ability to function well, and I’m hoping to learn some techniques that will help. Passivity is not an option, and there are so many people for whom I’m losing all respect. And yes, I am fully within my rights to judge those who allow genocide through inaction, or because the images make them uncomfortable. They are a threat to ALL our safety.

Had nightmares again last night, but I am privileged to only have them as nightmares, and not have to live them. Yet. If the GOP regains control, it’s game over for anyone with a brain and a heart.

I have to go and pick up one of my mother’s prescriptions today. It would have been nice if I’d known about it yesterday, when I was at the grocery store right next to the pharmacy, but that’s the way it goes.

More work on the radio plays, work on The Big Project, hopefully, more editing on CAST IRON MURDER, script coverage and contest entries are all on the agenda for today. Along with some admin. I need to clean out the Inbox.

Have fun, people!

Tues. April 27, 2021: Die For Your Employer Day 339 — And the Retrogrades Begin

image courtesy of Kerbstone via pixabay.com

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Last Day of Full Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Partly cloudy and cool

The Retrogrades are starting, which worries me. I’d hoped to get the house hunting resolved before that happened, but no luck.

I had a good, solid writing weekend, which was necessary. I wrote an entire chapter on Sunday morning.

It took me all morning on Friday to complete the paperwork for the second category of the contest, but I did it and sent it off. I made good progress on the final category (I’d already completed about half the entries for this one, too). So I’m on track with that.

Saturday, I was up early, wrote, did laundry and housework. I’ve been craving fast food like crazy the past few weeks. I haven’t eaten beef for months, because it always made me sick. I haven’t ordered/eaten fast food in about two years. But I decided to go up to Burger King, which is about three miles from here, just off the Rt. 6 exit, and hit the drive through. I haven’t eaten from Burger King in at least 3-4 years, maybe longer. I ate at McDonald’s about two years ago, and was as sick as could be after.

But I risked it anyway. I had a Whopper, my mom had a bacon cheeseburger, we split an order of onion rings and an order of French fries, and had chocolate shakes.

I haven’t drunk cow’s milk in nearly a year, either, because it was making me sick.

Basically, I craved things that were bad for me, and I decided to take the risk.

Did the drive-through window – and realized that, in the 10 years we’ve lived here, it was the first time I’d done that. And yes, of course I wore my mask at the window, and the workers were all masked, too.

Got everything home, and we ate. And ate. It was good, hit the spot, filled the craving.

I didn’t feel as bad as I expected after, although I felt full and heavy. Everything was much saltier than when I cook, so I was thirsty as all get out, and drank a lot of tea and juice all afternoon.

Neither of us was hungry by dinner time, so we didn’t eat.

It was pretty nice outside, albeit a bit windy, so we took Willa and Charlotte out in their playpens. However, because that idiot a few streets over continues to run the woodchipper and chain saws all day every day from 7 AM to 9 PM, it was impossible to actually enjoy sitting outside. Or get much done inside, that required concentration. If you need to run a woodchipper that much, you’re either a serial killer or incompetent, and it shouldn’t be allowed.

I didn’t feel great at night, but at least I got some sleep. I felt okay Sunday morning, although it will probably be a few years before I do that again.

Baked biscuits for Sunday morning breakfast. It was rainy and raw.

I got some paperwork done, got out a few information requests on rentals, got out some LOIs. Got some writing done.

I felt pretty discouraged, all the way around.

Spent most of the day on contest entries.

Monday morning, I was up early and wrote, in spite of feeling resistance to it. Once I started, it was fine.

My mother had terrible nightmares. I realized she’d packed her dreamcatcher over the bed; I unpacked another one, hung it up, and she slept well last night.

I headed onsite to the client’s extra early, since the landlord said he and the septic people would be over to go over the plan for the replacement, which starts next week. I got everything done that needed to be done onsite in a jiffy, dropped things off at the post office, got back to the house – and they never showed up and never contacted me. Frustrating.

Got some more packing done, although I’m behind where I wanted to be at this point. I need to pack faster, purge more, and get stuff up on craigslist this week.

But I did the rest of the work I needed to do for the client remotely, so it worked out. I got out a stack of LOIs. I heard back from a couple of rentals – two very nice, one in particular is a house that might work, although it’s small. The other is bigger, but means moving back to NY State, just outside of Syracuse, to a town that has a rather high crime rate. The cost of the move itself might put it out of reach, although the space is terrific, with a garage and a deck. There was one rental, though, for a loft – they want copies of birth certificates for every member of the household. How is that even legal?

I complained to the AG’s office, and I’m having a conversation with my state senator about it. That is wrong. It also opens the door to identity theft. A landlord does not have the right to birth certificates.  That opens the door to all kinds of discrimination and identity theft.

A recruiter wanted to talk to me about an LOI I’d sent. But the “application” demanded dates of high school and college graduation, which is a workaround on the age discrimination laws, so I called him out on it and refused. I got a very nice apology from him, and that he’s taken up the issue with IT to fix it, and asked to have a conversation anyway, so I agreed to have a short one this morning.

Will probably talk to the property manager for the small house this afternoon.

Put together a LOI package for a potential local client who used to work in theatre, and was email introduced by a mutual friend. So we’ll see if that’s something we can work out. I’m always leery of local clients, because they never want to pay, but she’s a washashore and from professional theatre, and understands that work is paid.

Decent first writing session this morning, although it was hard to get started. Will do some client work, get out some more LOIs, have the talk with the recruiter. I expect it will be a waste of time. I haven’t spoken to a single recruiter in the past ten years that wasn’t a complete and utter waste of my time and energy. My experience is that they don’t actually give a damn about any potential employees. They just want names on their sheet to meet quotas. However, this guy responded and claimed he was dealing with a problem, so I feel like I should give him the benefit of the doubt.

The retrogrades have me even more on edge than I already was. I’m ready to fall off the edge.

Deep breath. Keep going. Because there’s no other choice.

By the way, my first choice for the Kentucky Derby this weekend is Midnight Bourbon. I love him. I love his personality. I still have to do some more research on the rest of the field. I think all the horses are more relaxed and have progressed better without fans in the stands.

Thurs. Sept. 19, 2019: Focus Back on the Writing

image courtesy of voltamax via pixabay.com

Thursday, September 19, 2019
Waning Moon
Pluto Retrograde
Neptune Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde
Partly cloudy and cool

Hop on over to see the latest on the garden in Gratitude and Growth.

I had terrible nightmares Tuesday night into Wednesday. I dreamed someone was casting fishing line and I got a fishhook in my face.

Good work on ELLA yesterday morning and this morning. GRAVE REACH is going well, too.

Yesterday was a loooong day at my client’s, not just because I had to go in an hour early for a meeting. Part of it was that I had a migraine; another was that I’d had an excellent session directly before on GRAVE REACH, and it was difficult to switch headspaces.

As usual, the Remote Chat was outstanding. Owl Labs has put together a report on remote work. I downloaded it and look forward to reading it.

NIGHTMARE IN PINK, the next Travis McGee, was also frustrating when it comes to the female characters. There’s some gorgeous writing, such as calling cubicle offices “people kennels.” But the women in the books are awful. And McGee self-romanticizes his obsession with sex. He pretends not to objectify the women he screws and leaves, but he does. He justifies it to himself. He can lie to himself; he can lie to them; I’m not buying what he’s selling. I might have when I was twenty. But I know better now.

I listened to the radio broadcast of “Horace House Hauntings” that was done in Florida last spring. It went well. In spite of the gaffe made by one of the actors, who was so charming he took the audience along with him and they applauded when he recovered, overall, it went well. So I damn well better get “Pier-less Crime” polished and out to them.

I have a commitment tomorrow, so I may not blog here. But you can hop on over to Affairs of the Pen, the Ava Dunne blog, where I talk about creating the passenger ensemble for Savasana at Sea. Another Upbeat Authors post will be up on Monday, which is the Equinox. Then we’ll really notice how early it gets dark.

Have a great weekend.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Heather in front of the house

Monday, May 9, 2011
Waxing Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Pluto Retrograde
Cloudy and cool

I’m still in CT. It’s so green and bloom-y here! So much farther along than the Cape. Quite beautiful.

Saturday was a damned long day. Up at 4, out the door a little after 5. Traffic wasn’t too bad most of the way down (except around Providence, as usual). I was glad to hop on the Merritt around New Haven, because a section of I-95 was closed due to an accident, and, at the time I was in the area, people had been stuck behind it for over three hours.

Arrived a little after 9, took care of a few things, ran some errands in my former hometown, which meant dealing with the over-indulged suburbanites. Don’t miss them at all.

Spent the afternoon covering the Kentucky Derby via live stream. Had a decent, but not brilliant betting day, but not overstudying brought back some of the enjoyment. I think I’ll study a little for the Preakness, but not overly much. My favorite horse did not do well in the Derby itself, but one of my other choices came in third, so it wasn’t a total loss.

Roughed out the article, sent out a few questions on some injuries that occurred during the course of the day, hoping none of them are life-threatening.

Went to bed EARLY. Had lots of weird, disturbing dreams.

It amazes me that, after being here just a couple of hours, I was fighting a migraine again. Although I’ve had a few headaches since the move (on several different levels), they are nowhere near the frequency and severity that I have down here. I wonder how much is physical environment and how much is emotional? And how does one separate them out?

Sunday was a gorgeous day. My mom found the card I’d hidden for her for Mother’s Day– with a little coaching. I’d hidden it a bit too well. Violet cried the first three hours I was gone,and wouldn’t have anything to do with anyone for the rest of the day.

Had a good morning yoga session.

I read the papers, worked on my article, caught up on email, caught up on student comments. I’ve been having trouble finding a couple of things in my new home region, so I thought I’d check “old, familiar places.” No luck here, either (sigh).

Picked up a book by an author whose work I’ve read before and enjoyed. But (probably because I’m teaching a course on setting), I’m finding her setting so vague and “Castle Anywhere” that I get frustrated. And the depiction of the relationship between the two protagonists is annoying. Yes, it get it that they’re fascinated with each other — you don’t have to beat me over the head with it in every scene. I’m paying attention! 😉

Got a little bit of writing done, a scene on Yet-Something-Else-I-Shouldn’t-Be-Working-on-Right-Now. But had a HUGE breakthrough on SPIRIT REPOSITORY, so not feeling so guilty.

Got to brainstorm with two writing pals (separately) about new career trajectories for them. Love that! Love to help talented friends look at new possibilities.

The images from my dreams were so disturbing that I was afraid to go to sleep on Saturday night. I HAVE to figure out a way to incorporate them into a piece. I don’t usually write horror, but these would be appropriate for a horror story.

Lots of writing on the agenda today, and then packing in preparation to GO HOME. Now that I have a home I love, I hate to be away from it, even for good things.

Saw a very pretty fountain — not cheap, but a fair price, considering materials and workmanship. However, the description said, “Avoid extreme temperatures.” Considering what a harsh winter we had, I thought I should check. So I called the store and asked them for the temperature range I should avoid.

Clerk: Y’know, extreme temperature. Like, too hot or too cold.

Me: I know the definition. I need the temperature range.

Clerk: I dunno.

Me: Could you find out?

Clerk: No. You’d have to ask the manufacturer.

Me: Who’s the manufacturer?

Clerk: I dunno. It’s on the box.

Me: Could you take a look at the box and tell me, please?

Clerk: You’ll read it on the box when it arrives.

Me: Since I’m not going to order it unless I know it can take the temperatures, that’s not going to happen.

Needless to say, the store lost the sale. Talk about totally different than the local Cape stores, where I was looking, in general, and asked about temperature concerns. I was told, “If we carry it, we’ve tested it. We brought in a bunch of these planters last fall and over-wintered them outside to make sure the manufacturer was telling the truth.” Now THAT’s customer service! 😉

I’m leaving early tomorrow to head back to the Cape, so Lori Widmer has graciously agreed to guest-post, in preparation for Writers Worth Day on the 15th. This week, I have to catch up on the garden, get out a few proposals to convince a couple of companies which fascinate me that they can’t possibly live without hiring me part-time, write a lot, and prepare to head, on Friday morning, the the next site job.

Devon