Month: January 2017

Welcome to the pre-existing condition that is my nightmare.

Fortunately, there’s a cure.

Un fucking believable screw up regarding my hours at work tonight.  I don’t know what to say about it in public but I was good and wound when I got here. Yes I’m blogging from work.  I quit already, I’m an at will employee. Wut they gun do fire my sorry ass? Bit, please

The battery on the MR2 gave its first evidence that it was not happy earlier this week; stopped turning over reliably two days ago and died like the inverse Energizer Bunny yesterday.  Dja s’pose the markedly nipply weather had anything to do with it?

Posted my first fanfic today, too. No mOm, I’m not telling you where it is….

Many thoughts

I was thinking last night that there’s a point that comes during the long conversion from selfish clod to self-actualized human where you just have to drop the rope you’re tying yourself up in.

Racism doesn’t just tie you tight to almost everything bad about your own culture, it ties you up and incapacitates your own mind. You look without seeing, feel without empathy, hear without understanding and speak without compassion.

I have another novel in prospect.  It’s called Earbud, and it’s not set in the Upsun Universe (or if it is, it’ll be because of something the Sixers Plus Henchmen are doing in the background.) It will be interminably chatty, though. It’s WOT I DO. It’s not like I have any other projects to be working on.

leftovers

Brief overview of current projects, with projected completion dates.

Novels (all complete, Midnite Moving Co. will be released on Leanpub shortly)

Upsun – complete

Sweep off the Waves – in for edits

Hair Sinister – in for edits

Midnite Moving Co. – about to drop

Sweetie’s House of Tentacles – will be ready after the trilogy is published. (Bonus book of in-universe slashfic if you buy the other four.)

Memoirs and Nonfiction

Elements of Modern Stupidity – The story of my life so far

Broad Hints – the best of my short non-fiction, mostly culled from my blog from 2004 forward.

The Recovering Racist – a curriculum for settlers

Tarot for Atheists – Tarot for storytelling and psychological insight

Homilies 1998 – 2015

The Book of Kind Words – A modern take on the Victoria compendium

Allegra’s in the Kitchen – a cookbook, everyone is doing it

366 Days of Truth and Reconcilation (perpetual calendar)

Poetry

Some words before we’re through (collected)

The Labyrinth

In Colours Unsuspected

The Netmaker

Children’s fiction

The Oscar stories

Grandma Comes Apart

Songbooks

Singing in the Hallway (Allegra’s Filkbuch)

Choons (Everything but the Filk)

 

How could I possibly work full time? And I’m only posting this because my mother is publishing 6, count ’em, 6 books of family history this week.  Why no I’m not competitive why do you ask.

awake, of course

Mike feasted me at Yianni’s last night, and the lamb shoulder was quite splendid. I even drank alcohol last night, and for my trouble I have a faint pain behind my right eye. Back to sobriety!  I love the stuff, but it doesn’t love me.

Since I’d already had five solid hours of sleep, I’ve kipped for a  couple of hours and now I’m awake in the dark and quiet, but I shan’t repine despite my wakefulness; I have the LAST CHAPTER of the current book, which is going to be a monster, in prospect; the book will be somewhat shorter than I intended, but I may plump it up during editing, since I invariably put more in to be clear than I take out avoiding repetition or extraneous stuff.

Jeff has produced (I do not know how many hours he put into it, but it was work) a wonderful cover for MMCo, which you can all see when it goes live on Leanpub. My only contribution was the basic design idea (which Jeff immediately improved, by adding an unmarked white truck), a creative commons picture of a man against a starfield, the font and a suggestion re the basic shape.

Back to work….

5 ! days ! off

First day I’m going to hang out with Mike, because I feel like I’ve forgotten what he looks like. Then, Victoria for a flying visit and back for a Tuesday since I’ve got a shift.

UNFORTUNATELY the schedule in the f*cking office only goes until Saturday so I’ve got an email in to the manager (we have no supervisor, which is an ongoing issue of boiling hot contention for reasons I can’t get into) to confirm in writing that I don’t have to work until Tuesday night.  If I don’t have a response by noon I’m going to phone her.

I’ll have you know I cleaned the housekeeping office

I scraped dried coffee blerg, elderly scotch tape and who the hell knows what off many surfaces tonight.  Nobody will notice but me, and that makes me happy.

 

Hello, new bingo card, based on my writing….

 

Yesterday the whole fam damily, less Jeff, went to Edmonds pool and frolicked.  I only had two hours sleep at the time so I stayed in the hot tub – every time I got out I was chilled TO THE BONE.  Alex is a complete joy. Paul was still thinking about his happy family time at 10 pm and texted me to give him a lift.  I AM SO LUCKY AMONG MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY I feel set among stars.

shitposting

I’d like to thank my mother for invisibly preventing me from saying what I really think about a popular fantasy writer in public. The circle is small.

But Jesus, what a gendered slur.

Same for the manager at work, who has ONCE AGAIN handed out the dress code as if this will magically prevent her from getting spanked when the big boss comes in three days.  Does she ever come in on midnights to audit the housekeepers? No. Does she proactively deal with ongoing supply and consumables issues? No. Does she proactively deal with the housekeepers who sleep, steal, lie and prevent other people from doing their jobs (we know who they are…) No. Does she proactively deal with the staff who take 9 weeks to correct payroll errors including missing an entire week and causing a rent cheque to bounce? No. Does she ensure we have the equipment we need to do our jobs properly, including such new fangled telephony magic as CALL DISPLAY? (LET’S JUST THINK ABOUT THAT ONE FOR A FUCKING MINUTE NOW I WORK IN A CALL CENTRE AND THEY WON’T PAY FOR CALL DISPLAY.) There are other issues, but you get the general idea.

I made my bed. Now I’m lying in it.

darkness

Had to stay late at work this morning, watched Jack Reacher II with Jeff (I loved it – Tom Cruise does action movies with quality) and then SLEPT FOR 9 HOURS. Woke up with my dry eyes feeling happy and rested and I suppose I should be hungry, but of course I’m not.

I need to start setting the alarm for four hours after I go to bed so I am no longer sleeping through life, then get up and do things…