You know life would be a lot simpler if other people would do their jobs right. I just spent an hour and a half backtracking numbers to find a discrepancy, only to find that fund accounting put ROCSOP adjustments in a report they sent me that shouldn't have been included and, in fact, it said at the top of the report were not. Argh!

But before that whole fiasco I got in five pages on Magpie - yeah! - and Dianliao and Magpie are about to meet. And posted two crits, though, sorry, Larry, I'm probably not going to get to you today :( E-mailed friends about plans for this weekend, heard from my editor about final edits (she wants revisions in August, while the play is running, and will get her editorial letter to me mid-june. While I'm in rehearsals. I'm scared :P), and busted a gut laughing at a line in eBear's latest e-mail:

"You know, men don't realize how disposable they are."

Amen! And that probably tells you how other aspects of my week have been going ;)

- D

Anyone who is reading this blog needs to hightail it over to Abyss & Apex, http://klio.net/abyssandapex/, and read the latest issue. Now. Cuz I loved it ;) I think my favorite story was Nightdweller, but it's a close tie with How Greta Dies. And, yes, one of my friends is an editor, but it's free! And better than doing work at work, wouldn't you agree? :P I finally got the chance to read it today (after putting it off much in the way I hoard chocolates for just the right moment) and was mucho impressed.

That said, I also wrote four pages in Magpie today - yeah, me! - got a very good crit from eBear (not meaning to be coy with Sanlar, sorry. He's just not the type to sit around going - this is my evil plan to dominate the world. Gonna have to work on that) and posted one crit of my own. Need to do a couple of more.

Taught sculpting today and am feeling pleasantly exercised and sore. Am planning on going to dance class tonight, but we'll see. One of my friends choregraphed Cabaret for the Longwood Players so I'm trying to get a group of friends together to go see it this weekend. Among other plans ;)

Last night was Bible study, which was fun. I didn't cry this time - thank God (eep! no pun intended!) - in spite of the fact that I'm suspiciously emotional right now...Good discussion on the last chapter of John, but I think I talk too much. Elaine thanked God for my "exhuberance" in the closing prayer. Hmm...I can't help it if I have opinions. About everything. Usually in a very vocal way. And afterwards myself and three of my friends got in discussions about ex-boyfriend problems (all of them were contacted by their exes this week in varying degrees of weird ways) and decided that it's time for another "let's go out and get trashed, er, have fun" this Saturday night :)

John (my agent) called me on his cell. He's on the road for the next four days, hoping to read Soul Stone and the revised Carver on planes, and will call me next week. But he didn't want me to think he was ignoring my call yesterday. Are there any men out there reading this? That's called consideration. Learn it.

:P

And I took one of those stupid e-mail forward tests and discovered that :

Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile,
> rather impulsive personality; a natural leader who's quick to make
> decisions, though not always the right ones. They see you as bold and
> adventuresome, someone who will try anything once; someone who takes chances and
> enjoys an adventure. They enjoy being in your company because of the
> excitement you radiate.

Hmm...any comments from the peanut gallery on that one? :)

- D

Am feeling very...spacy today. I think I fried a couple of circuits in my brain with my binge-writing episode yesterday. I have posted three crits - yeah me! - and written nothing today. The desire to start my next YA book is nagging at me, and I really, really want to, but I need to read more in my books on Venice than the table of contents :) Otherwise there will be no setting in the opening chapter. Just dialogue and "she ran through the streets." Which does not an opening chapter make, last I checked ;)

I wasted too much time online in my writing chatroom last night. I should have been reading books on Venice instead. But I had lots and lots of fun ;P And lost track of time and got to bed late. Which may be contributing to the space-cadet feeling. But I did send off a sub - yeah me! the first this month (okay, so it's only been six days, but let me celebrate the small joys, 'k?) - to A&A. I hope they like it (crosses fingers). Or at least don't laugh uproariously upon opening the file :) And I called my agent and left a message. That is all I did to further my writing career today, so I'm not feeling like a very good novelist. :(

And I'm still pissed as hell at the way Alias ended on Sunday.

I think I will indulge in chocolate tonight in order to get out of funk, and stop typing this, because I do not think anything I have said in this post is remotely interesting to anyone except myself. But some days that's what you have to settle for :P

- D

- D

I'm impressed with myself :P

Twelve - count, em - twelve pages in Magpie today. I think I made up for my dry spell last week :) I have no idea if they're good or not (I'll let my critters tell me that, since I just posted them on the OWW), but they're on the page. As eBear says, throw it and see what sticks :) It's only 29,000 words, but it's a start! I'm not sure how long the rest of the book will be, but given that she's not even at the Imperial Court yet...whimper...There's no way I could (or would want to) keep this up all week, but I'm ordering myself to take a break tonight. Otherwise I'll really start writing s**t. Maybe I'll work on more ideas for my Venetian YA book. Come up with a title? Hmm...wanders off in a self-induced fog from pinge writing...

What a weekend! :) Hung out with friends, beautiful weather, and the Alias finale (which I will rant about at the end of my blog so that the rest of you non-Alias fans don't have to deal with it :P).

Friday night I met up with my friend Leane out by her apt. in Forest Hills. We walked to a place for coffee and sat and talked for several hours. Great discussion about everything from the power of beauty and constraints of women in society, to growing up on a ranch (her, not me. I'm city born and bred), to the affect of abortion on our society. Oh, and what's going on in our lives, too :) But I love having friends that I can really get into things with, pick apart something and examine it from all sides. It's stimulating.

Saturday...what did I do Saturday? :) Some work in my yard, errands (picked up one of those storage/cloth closet things at Target for all my extra clothes. Scary thing is, it's already full :P), and grocery shopping. Then Saturday afternoon I decided to cook. Since I have rehearsals starting next week I thought it might be wise to have stuff pre-made for meals. So I made beef chili, black bean soup, penne pasta and chicken, my dill/orzo/chickpea salad, and this scallops and bulger salad. Lots of cooking. Froze the soups, put the rest in the fridge. Then I headed over to Steph's b-friend Simon's for a barbecue. They ran low on gas, and the next thing we know the guys are coming back into the kitchen with a hanger...to rig the gas tank thingy to stay on its side so they could get the last drop out of it :)

Sunday I put together the extra storage closet thing-y and went book shopping :) I spent fifty bucks on books about Venice. Went home and did some serious brain-storming, and while I don't know how it's going to end, I have vague ideas for the plot of my next YA book. Which makes me happy ;) I can't wait to start writing it, but the first chapter is still taking shape in my head/germinating and isn't ready yet. Also brainstormed some of the different transition scenes I need in Magpie. But didn't write any. My allergy medicine is NOT working and my head feels very groggy/out of it. I just can't seem to concentrate! Went to church, and then home for the Alias finale.



Vaughn, married?!?!? Nooooooo! I will have to stop watching the show if that is the case. I mean, they've set him up as a loyal, forgiving guy, and this is totally out of character! Even if it has been two years, you figure six months to a year to look for Sydney (because why wasn't the body there?) and realize she's not going to be found, then time to get over her, then meet someone else (even if he did marry Alice McPlotDevice), fall in love and get married? When you still don't have closure on your last relationship? I just don't buy it. Which means, if JJ did have him get married, I will throw things at the television. Hard, sharp things. This show asks you to suspend a lot of disbelief (A LOT) but makes it possible in part through its strong characterization. This I won't accept :) I seriously could not fall asleep last night I was so mad! My roommate and I sat there yelling/discussing possibilities for fifteen minutes after the show ended! I mean, so now we go back to longing looks across the conference table? Rewind a season? Argh! I am NOT going to be able to make it a summer without knowing. You should see the discussion on the list about this! Everyone' s mind is blown, and no one is happy!



In other news...you know it's bad when your dad sends you a link to an online dating service and begs you to try it :P How depressing is that? And that was my weekend. I will get word count today, I will! :)

- D