Flu
At 8:30 this morning I got up, stumbled across the hall to a neighbor's room, and asked the one who's in my accounting class to let me know if we have any homework for Friday because I was not going to accounting. I got back out of bed about an hour later, got dressed, and oozed over to the Health and Wellness Center. I say "oozed" because I was walking really slowly and pacing my breaths so that I wouldn't cough too much.
The people at H&W were actually a lot more helpful than I thought they would be, meaning a doctor did a basic checkup thing (temperature, stethoscope, ear-light-shine, throat-light-shine, what are symptoms, etc.) and then told me to take some tylenol, get lots of sleep, and not go anywhere today if I could possibly avoid it. Thank God for microwavable Indian food.
So I went back to my room, sent emails to my professors apologizing for my lack of presence in class today, and went to sleep. I got up about an hour ago and am going to start in on my Spanish studies as soon as I get back from the vending machine downstairs, because I am ravenous. Estimated bedtime is between 8 and 9 o'clock. Sorry, Soujin - I just don't think watching slug-leech-trashbag creatures is a good idea for me tonight, but I will totally watch it with you another time if you want. You and Sonar have fun, and good luck with the phobia!
On another, happier note, yesterday I outlined what I need to have happen with my Shifters for everyone to be mostly happy. It's going to be an interesting transition from the former theme - that was more about the politics and fixing the holocaust-type mentality, whereas this story is more about the characters and their lives. Of course, I'm still going to try to fix things politically, but it looks like this probably won't be the standalone book that I thought it would be. Book 1 will be what y'all have read so far plus Thal. That much I'm pretty sure about...it's what I have to do after I hit the point where I left off with Shifters 2.4 (i.e., just after the major Thal breakout, which I was going to try to avoid but it's looking like I'm not going to be able to) that worries me. I know what I need to have happen and now have a pretty good idea of how to get there, but...
Let me put it this way: it turns out there was a reason why I've been so obsessed with figuring out all things Srahenian. It's things like this that make me wonder if muses aren't just figments of an artist's imagination, because so far, everything has been useful - even the stuff that seems completely pointless when I start to work on it.
Right now I'm working on making Srahenian culture less like that of feudal Japan (not that I'm an expert on that - everything I know I learned from reading Shogun). Aspects I'm keeping include the obscene amounts of ornamentation, rigid social structure, and emphasis on honor. Also, female noble dress is kind of stereotypically Asian, but I'm trying to change it around a little.
Male noble dress is more Middle-Eastern/Aztec/Egyptian...I can't decide whether or not to have them wear real shirts, robe-type garments, or nothing from the waist up (unlikely). I'm pretty sure whatever top coverings happen will be sleeveless, and I'm probably going to go with robe-type, because Srahenians are basically peacocks and robes will allow for more ornamentation. They love colors (especially cool colors like blue and purple accented with metallics or mirrors) and shiny things, particularly beads and embroidery. I have no idea if they paint their faces or not...I imagine they do, though, to some extent, depending on House. I figure each house will have some kind of basic style.
So that's where I am right now. I'm fairly pleased with how things are shaping up, and I'm really looking forward to everything even though I don't know how it'll all fit together yet.
And I'm feeling better than I was. The doctor said this is a five-day illness, and I'm already on day three, so hopefully I'll be recovering by spring break.
The people at H&W were actually a lot more helpful than I thought they would be, meaning a doctor did a basic checkup thing (temperature, stethoscope, ear-light-shine, throat-light-shine, what are symptoms, etc.) and then told me to take some tylenol, get lots of sleep, and not go anywhere today if I could possibly avoid it. Thank God for microwavable Indian food.
So I went back to my room, sent emails to my professors apologizing for my lack of presence in class today, and went to sleep. I got up about an hour ago and am going to start in on my Spanish studies as soon as I get back from the vending machine downstairs, because I am ravenous. Estimated bedtime is between 8 and 9 o'clock. Sorry, Soujin - I just don't think watching slug-leech-trashbag creatures is a good idea for me tonight, but I will totally watch it with you another time if you want. You and Sonar have fun, and good luck with the phobia!
On another, happier note, yesterday I outlined what I need to have happen with my Shifters for everyone to be mostly happy. It's going to be an interesting transition from the former theme - that was more about the politics and fixing the holocaust-type mentality, whereas this story is more about the characters and their lives. Of course, I'm still going to try to fix things politically, but it looks like this probably won't be the standalone book that I thought it would be. Book 1 will be what y'all have read so far plus Thal. That much I'm pretty sure about...it's what I have to do after I hit the point where I left off with Shifters 2.4 (i.e., just after the major Thal breakout, which I was going to try to avoid but it's looking like I'm not going to be able to) that worries me. I know what I need to have happen and now have a pretty good idea of how to get there, but...
Let me put it this way: it turns out there was a reason why I've been so obsessed with figuring out all things Srahenian. It's things like this that make me wonder if muses aren't just figments of an artist's imagination, because so far, everything has been useful - even the stuff that seems completely pointless when I start to work on it.
Right now I'm working on making Srahenian culture less like that of feudal Japan (not that I'm an expert on that - everything I know I learned from reading Shogun). Aspects I'm keeping include the obscene amounts of ornamentation, rigid social structure, and emphasis on honor. Also, female noble dress is kind of stereotypically Asian, but I'm trying to change it around a little.
Male noble dress is more Middle-Eastern/Aztec/Egyptian...I can't decide whether or not to have them wear real shirts, robe-type garments, or nothing from the waist up (unlikely). I'm pretty sure whatever top coverings happen will be sleeveless, and I'm probably going to go with robe-type, because Srahenians are basically peacocks and robes will allow for more ornamentation. They love colors (especially cool colors like blue and purple accented with metallics or mirrors) and shiny things, particularly beads and embroidery. I have no idea if they paint their faces or not...I imagine they do, though, to some extent, depending on House. I figure each house will have some kind of basic style.
So that's where I am right now. I'm fairly pleased with how things are shaping up, and I'm really looking forward to everything even though I don't know how it'll all fit together yet.
And I'm feeling better than I was. The doctor said this is a five-day illness, and I'm already on day three, so hopefully I'll be recovering by spring break.