Hang loose, let the ocean worry 'bout being blue...
Last day of August. It's as though time is linear and continues forward whether I want it to or not. Although considering the last week, I'd like for it to continue forward to a nicer place, please.
Update on the me: My little red car has died. Dead died, it is really most sincerely dead, it is a giant paperweight and will likely drive no more. On Tuesday, about 10 blocks from home, the rattling noise that I had been promising the car I would have looked at stopped, and the power stopped, and it just very quietly stopped doing anything at all other than coasting forward. I was able to pull onto the side of the road, into a legal place to park even, and even in a mostly straight way. So that was the easy part. But what happened is, it seems the part that holds the timing belt on, uh, disintegrated. And since I just had the timing belt replaced 12000 miles ago, that should not have happened. But it's been 2 years and 10000 miles, so I don't know that the garage where I got that done will do anything about it. We're going to look into that, but I do not hold out hope.
So ... we need a car. Which means we need a car loan. Which we can't afford. For those of you who who don't know, we have been having some major money issues for the last year and more. We're kind of short on cash. OK, a lot short on cash. Dammit. But we're going to try to get a car loan anyway. I guess. Because what can one more bill hurt, really? Uh....
On the bright side, I am *This Close* to being done with this rewrite. In fact, I only have the final scene to actually rewrite. Which I should be doing right now, but I'm banging my head on it a little. Why should the final scene be any different? But once I've done that, I'm going to do a quick pass-through to fix a few things I noted needed fixing, try and get the inconsistencies down to few to none, and fix a few name changes. And then I am sending this baby off to Happy Editor Jak, who will be glad that I actually DID finish this, like I promised. Ahem. So, uh, it takes a year to 14 months for me to finish a major rewrite. Heads up to me.
Happy Editor Jak (tm) probably won't be able to read it for a month, but getting this done and off my plate for a few weeks, so it can percolate, and I can let go of some of the emotional attachment, is good. I can start thinking about the second book, and I can maybe futz with the other book I was working on a year ago. Also there are about 20 books that I want to READ coming out in September, and it will be nice that I can maybe get a few of them read and not feel guilty about it. ("Untold", you will be mine, Oh Yes. And "Shadows," and "Chaos of Stars," and "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown," and "Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations..." and "Ghost Hawk," and "Two Boys Kissing" and "Across a Star-Swept Sea" and "He Said She Said" and "Love in the Time of Global Warming" and "Antigoddess" and and and and .... that's not even including all the books in my to-be-read pile. Because that pile is getting ridiculous. Plus there are more that I have on my radar that aren't even in a pile yet, because I was waiting to have some time.
Middle aged means realizing you might not have time to read all the books you want to. Yipes.
In other other news, my not-exactly-a-secret-because-I-apparently-suck-at-secrets dance project is going very well, and I am happy as can be about it. Everyone involved is absolutely wonderful, and I think this is going to turn out even better than I'd hoped. (Everyone who is surprised that I suck at secrets, I'm sorry I've disappointed you. Or something. But there can't have been that many of you. Most of my friends figure this out pretty quickly.) When the project is finished and the dances are out of their respective bags, I can share more about it, and the process, and maybe some pictures or something. But the final product will belong to someone else, so I can't promise video.
So there it is. The end of August. Labor Day weekend. Considering how the last couple of months have been, I am hoping for a quiet yet happy and successful fall. Dad better be staying home on Monday, for one thing.* I'm just saying.
*For those who don't know or don't remember, we had two years in a row where Dad had some serious health problems. On Labor Day. Unrelated to one another. The new family rule is that Dad doesn't get to work out or gig or go anywhere on Labor Day. Just in case.
Update on the me: My little red car has died. Dead died, it is really most sincerely dead, it is a giant paperweight and will likely drive no more. On Tuesday, about 10 blocks from home, the rattling noise that I had been promising the car I would have looked at stopped, and the power stopped, and it just very quietly stopped doing anything at all other than coasting forward. I was able to pull onto the side of the road, into a legal place to park even, and even in a mostly straight way. So that was the easy part. But what happened is, it seems the part that holds the timing belt on, uh, disintegrated. And since I just had the timing belt replaced 12000 miles ago, that should not have happened. But it's been 2 years and 10000 miles, so I don't know that the garage where I got that done will do anything about it. We're going to look into that, but I do not hold out hope.
So ... we need a car. Which means we need a car loan. Which we can't afford. For those of you who who don't know, we have been having some major money issues for the last year and more. We're kind of short on cash. OK, a lot short on cash. Dammit. But we're going to try to get a car loan anyway. I guess. Because what can one more bill hurt, really? Uh....
On the bright side, I am *This Close* to being done with this rewrite. In fact, I only have the final scene to actually rewrite. Which I should be doing right now, but I'm banging my head on it a little. Why should the final scene be any different? But once I've done that, I'm going to do a quick pass-through to fix a few things I noted needed fixing, try and get the inconsistencies down to few to none, and fix a few name changes. And then I am sending this baby off to Happy Editor Jak, who will be glad that I actually DID finish this, like I promised. Ahem. So, uh, it takes a year to 14 months for me to finish a major rewrite. Heads up to me.
Happy Editor Jak (tm) probably won't be able to read it for a month, but getting this done and off my plate for a few weeks, so it can percolate, and I can let go of some of the emotional attachment, is good. I can start thinking about the second book, and I can maybe futz with the other book I was working on a year ago. Also there are about 20 books that I want to READ coming out in September, and it will be nice that I can maybe get a few of them read and not feel guilty about it. ("Untold", you will be mine, Oh Yes. And "Shadows," and "Chaos of Stars," and "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown," and "Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations..." and "Ghost Hawk," and "Two Boys Kissing" and "Across a Star-Swept Sea" and "He Said She Said" and "Love in the Time of Global Warming" and "Antigoddess" and and and and .... that's not even including all the books in my to-be-read pile. Because that pile is getting ridiculous. Plus there are more that I have on my radar that aren't even in a pile yet, because I was waiting to have some time.
Middle aged means realizing you might not have time to read all the books you want to. Yipes.
In other other news, my not-exactly-a-secret-because-I-apparently-suck-at-secrets dance project is going very well, and I am happy as can be about it. Everyone involved is absolutely wonderful, and I think this is going to turn out even better than I'd hoped. (Everyone who is surprised that I suck at secrets, I'm sorry I've disappointed you. Or something. But there can't have been that many of you. Most of my friends figure this out pretty quickly.) When the project is finished and the dances are out of their respective bags, I can share more about it, and the process, and maybe some pictures or something. But the final product will belong to someone else, so I can't promise video.
So there it is. The end of August. Labor Day weekend. Considering how the last couple of months have been, I am hoping for a quiet yet happy and successful fall. Dad better be staying home on Monday, for one thing.* I'm just saying.
*For those who don't know or don't remember, we had two years in a row where Dad had some serious health problems. On Labor Day. Unrelated to one another. The new family rule is that Dad doesn't get to work out or gig or go anywhere on Labor Day. Just in case.