Category Archives: Diary

Enabled

There is an astonishingly large amount of “you need this unused bit of electronic stuff that I have lying around, pay me a pittance when you have the money free in a couple of months” going around in my life right now. As a result, I have my first real grown-up stereo set-up after buying a CD deck as my treat to myself for delivering the pagan pregnancy book (how have I, a bass-loving cellist, survived listened to classical music without a subwoofer until now?), and as of last night I also have a replacement ’03 Latitude laptop for my well-loved and well-used ’94 Lifebook (interestingly enough, also a gift from a friend a five years ago). The Lifebook is too slow for me now, won’t recognise USB flash drives no matter how many drivers I download, only functions on dial-up, can’t read CD-Rs on which I store files, and is just not up to what I need it to do for me these days. It saw me through five books, two published and three unpublished, as well as plenty of articles and short fiction. The Latitude is pretty much equivalent to my own desktop, which is yay, because now I have an alternative place to go to work/play when I need to get away from where I’ve been working on the desktop in the office. I wonder what I’ll write on it first. Other than Swan Sister once I get back to it next week, that is.

So heartfelt thanks to those of my friends who think of me, and who believe that things like music machines and computers ought to be used instead of gathering dust.

And I perpetuate the passing-on karma: yes Mum, you get the Lifebook when we come down to see you this month.

What I Read This January

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Agatha Raisin and the Love From Hell by M.C. Beaton
Never Too Late by John Caldwell Holt (reread)
Jane and the Barque of Frailty by Stephanie Barron
A Stroke of Midnight by Laurell K. Hamilton
Assassin by Grace, Lady Cavendish
The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (reread)
Persuasion by Jane Austen (reread)

Sigh of Relief

Done, gone, away.

Now I need to walk away from my computer for a bit, think some more about a preface, and begin writing that. I have handwritten notes somewhere that I should track down.

Also, there should be celebratory chocolate. Because I really do my job well.

Over Deadline

The best-laid plans to finish this project yesterday took a beating, thanks to a health emergency in the extended family. Good thoughts for my mother in law would be appreciated.

Encouraging thoughts to help me through the last half-chapter, my second pass through the MS to make sure I didn’t leave any notes to myself while reading and to tie up loose ends, polishing my review memo, and writing a preface would help too. I’m now a day over deadline which is stressing me, although my editor is being incredibly understanding about the various circumstances that have affected delivery of this tech review. It’s the principle of the thing.

I’ve been going to bed early, straight from the computer, and taking lots of Tylenol these past few days. I really, really want it all to be done by the end of the workday today, but in reality I think I’ll have to hand the preface in at the end of the week. I’m unhappy about that.

Cross-Eyed

I am so fried.

I have to put this away for now, and finish it tomorrow. Because of the unexpected amount of work that developed in the middle of this job I’m behind where I need to be, despite working all weekend, and part of this will be handed in late. I am not pleased about this, but to be fair it was beyond my control.

I’m going right to bed to read something completely unrelated until I fall asleep.

Monday Morning

Now that it’s a new work week, the professional issue that has gnawed at my sense of right and wrong all weekend has been handed to the appropriate person to deal with, and my job had just been made a whole lot easier. I can go back to doing what I’m supposed to do without stopping every few moments to do an hour of back-up research, which has been making my job take about three times longer as it ought to take.

I attended a lovely calm Imbolc ritual yesterday, which was a welcome oasis in the maelstrom of ethical indignation. I also took the evening off to watch Smallville, The Dresden Files, and Battlestar Galactica with HRH. (The Dresden Files, for those who also read Jim Butcher’s books and are curious, is not a bad adaptation. It doesn’t try to tell the story of the books themselves, and there are variations from the source material (Karrin is completely different, for example) but otherwise, it’s translated the feel and spirit of the books by doing something different with the source material.) It’s nice to have one night per week where we both settle down for appointment television, and talk intelligently about it during commerical breaks. Other than that, my weekend was pretty much devoted to work.

Speaking of, back to.

Prayer of Thanks

Dear God/dess/all aspects of the Divine:

Thank you for bringing Janice into my life. If you hadn’t, she wouldn’t be talking me down from a metaphorical ledge where I’m currently standing with an equally metaphorical semi-automatic, and there would be a lot of unhappy people dealing with fallout. Someone just broke one of my cardinal professional rules, you see, and I’m livid.

Patience. I must have patience. I have to, in order to maintain sanity until the person I must speak with about this Issue is back in the office next Monday.

So I just thought I’d say thanks.

Love,

Me.