Books and Other Stuff

In a couple of minutes, I'll have to start my night audit, but until that happens...

I made an account on LibraryThing tonight and merrily went about cataloguing all the books in my library - only to discover that I can't remember what books I own. At least not all of them. The other thing I discovered is that I own a lot of Heinlein, more than any other author. It's weird because as much as I like his work, he's maybe my second or third favourite author. Also, I'm not a huge science fiction fan in general.

This has got me thinking about my travel plans and my mini library, and how, for the time being, I will have to pack it up and store it - which isn't a huge deal; it's just that I have to find somewhere to store it, where it will be safe from water and extreme temperatures and my Dad*. My parents have been storing so much of my stuff for so long, I hate to ask them to hold onto anything, but if I follow my plan of reducing my possessions to 6 Rubbermaid containers, maybe they won't mind so much.

I still haven't made a list of the stories I want to focus on. I need to do that ASAP, because until I do, I'm just going to be writing little bits and pieces of everything and not getting anything done. Ugh.

I have a million lists to write (and more importantly, execute) and I have no idea where to start. I'm too bloody excited to focus on anything for more than a few minutes and it seems like whenever I say to myself "You're going to do it right now", something else comes up. IE: I could start making lists at this very moment, and would be making myself, but I have to start my paperwork for the night audit. I'm not complaining, exactly. I'm too happy to complain about much of anything - I'm more just thinking out loud (there needs to be a term for when you're doing this with text. Thinking out text or typing out loud or something).

Anyway, night audit time. Then, post night audit, list making time.

*My Dad loves to read, but he and I have a different philosophy on the value of books. He seems to think that their only value is in being read, so as long as you can continue to read them, everything's good. I agree that books are meant to be read, but I think when they're not being read, they should be on a shelf somewhere, rather than propped open on a nightstand, with a the front cover bent back in the bathroom or on the floor beside the bed.

A Happy Christmas to You

This picture creeps me out for a few reasons, not the least of which being that the birds in it seem to each have four legs. I thought it was fitting for the last in my miniseries of Creepy Holiday Art from Yesteryear.

Anywhom, MERRY CHRISTMAS! I woke up at 5:30 in the morning, bursting with excitement, and, because I couldn't wait any more, opened my stocking. My cousin texted my sister and I at twenty to seven, so since Rhiannon was awake anyway after that, we opened our presents while it was still dark out. I texted out my Merry Xmas message, figuring that it would be late enough in Ontario - and not remembering that not everyone I know is in that time zone. I think I woke a few people up.

Now I'm crazy tired and don't really want to bake pies, but want to eat pies later.

I got a lot of cool stuff, which I want to list, and might, when I am not so ass-tired.

I finished Siddhartha on the 23rd and loved it.

Now I'm going to cut this short, because I work tonight and need to make pies... and really want to sleep. A lot.

Another Post Called :)

My surprise came today! Actually, I'm going to keep this post fairly short because my surprise was a book* and I'd like to get back to reading it.

It came wrapped in wonderful book-covered paper, with a wonderful note from a wonderful man. I may overdose on wonderful by the end of the day :)

The book is Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha. The simplest way I can describe it is to say it's about the title character's quest for enlightenment/Nirvana/inner peace - but really, you should read it for yourself, because I can't really do it justice. Anyway, I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

I'm a little under half-way done and, as I've said, would like to get back to reading it, so this is where I cut my post short. My advice, dear reader, is, if you haven't already, go and track down a copy and start reading it as soon as possible.

Also, I read one of those lists that they put up on MSN occasionally a few days ago. This one was What Not to Buy Your Man for Christmas or something equally lame, and it recommended against giving books as gifts. Such a load of crap. I think books are among the best gifts a person can get - this one especially.

*I've been in suspense about this surprise for what seems like ever. My one and only guess about what it could possibly be was this book. So glad I was right.

Merry Xmas Continued

I remembered what I was going to say. I could have just added it to the bottom of my other Xmas post, but I decided to do a a new one, just so I could put up this picture of the Tree Child playing keep away with one of Jareth's magic crystals. At least, I think that's what's going on in this picture. That's it, executive decision: all blog posts between now and Christmas will feature a frightening and/or confusing piece of public domain holiday art.

So, what I remembered: my laptop went effing insane today. It was going ridiculously slow this morning, so before I turned in for the day, I started running a whole computer scan. When I woke up, it was going ridiculously ridiculously slow and it took me about 15 minutes to check my email. The scan was still running, so I disconnected from the interwebz and let it run. It was still running after Rhiannon and I had watched Pride and Prejudice, so I left it running and went back to sleep. Then I was woken up by strange flashing light from behind me, and I rolled over to see Modo's screen flashing black and then white, but with the menu bar at the bottom looking totally normal. No idea WTF is going on there, but I had to leave for work, so I couldn't really stick around to investigate. I really don't want him to be broken. I have horrible luck with laptops (one stolen, one broken), Cameras (one broken, fixed and then stolen, one really effing broken) and all things technological, so I'm afraid he might just be dead. Erg.

In other news, it's after 4 and I haven't started my night audit. I should get on that. I don't think I'm going snowboarding today. Blah.

Merry Xmas!

I'm too lazy to find another public domain Xmas picture, so I'm reusing this terrifying snowman that I dug up for my Devereaux Court Christmas post. Now that I'm thinking about it, though, he kind of clashes with my blog. Oh well.

I know it's officially over, but happy Solstice anyway. Also, Merry Christmas (or whatever winter holiday you celebrate) and Happy New Year.

I'm supposed to be going snowboarding tomorrow, but considering I'm ass-tired, kind of sick and have sore ankles, and I won't be able to sleep between now and then, I may well skip it. I don't know. I'm undecided.

We have to listen to Christmas music at work. If we change the station, we get fired. I may kill someone.

I didn't make it to the post office today to check for my surprise :( I woke up way later than I intended to, after the post office was closed. If I snowboard tomorrow, I won't be able to go until Thursday. Blah.

I ordered a camera last night and my credit card-bank card hybrid was a bag of dicks, so the payment hasn't gone through yet, so they haven't shipped it yet, so I won't be getting it before Christmas, which sucks, but isn't a huge deal. Anyway, it's cute and pink. I would put a picture, but my browser is being a bag of dicks as well.

There were other Christmasy things I wanted to mention, but I don't remember what they are, so I guess this will be the end of my xmas post. If I think of anything else, I'll tack it onto the bottom.

:)

Possibly this is my 800th post titled :) I blame it on the fact that I can't stop smiling. Honestly, I look through old blog entries, mentioning how I just feel off or through my old notebooks, where, unconsciously, I've written things like I hate my life and I actually can't remember feeling that way. I know I did. I remember the events or the existence of the emotions, but the feelings are completely gone. Right now, I'm smiling and it seems like I always have been.

Christmas is coming and I'm not going home for the first time in my life - but I'm actually not too upset about it. I'll hang out with Spooey, work, probably have a holiday drink. Nothing terribly exciting, just a nice, quiet Christmas.

(It's 2:00am, so I'm sending good wishes for good luck.)

I've started working on another new story. I really like the idea of this one a lot, but I feel guilty when I work on it, because really, I should be: finishing Caution and Creep, editing Caution and Creep, editing Emmeline, writing Little 15, editing Sunshine, writing 200 Pages, writing The Things That Aren't, writing Sugar Dust, rewriting Taken, rewriting The Inn at Night or working on a million other stories that are in Title Limbo at the moment. But the new one has Death in (the character), and I like it. Maybe I should make a list, pick 5 and only work on them, until I'm done. Caution and Creep has got to be up there... I've had readers waiting for over 2 years.

I had pizza today. Bad idea.

Ok, it's ten after two, so I'mna make me some hot chocolate and start the night audit.

Have a wonderful day, people.

Black Nail Polish

I really should have a tag for nail polish, since so many of my posts lately seem to be brought on by waiting for it to dry. Today it's black. I remember when black nail polish was completely badass, something only skids (Skids were what happened twenty years after Punks, ten years before Goths, fifteen before Emo kids) wore. Now, it's more Hmm, that's not as sparkly as your other nail polish. Anyway, I like it.

I've been at work for a little over an hour, just kind of hanging out, working on yet another story idea. I really ought to finish the millions of stories I've started, and I likely will finish at least a few before this one goes anywhere - I'm mostly just trying to get down everything that's in my brain, then it will stay in my lovely notebook until, one day when I'm going through said notebook, I go, "hmm. That was going to be a story."

I need to get containers and pack up all of my stuff that's at my parents' house, and it's just occuring to me now that one whole container will probably have to be devoted to my notebooks. I have a ridiculous number, upwards of fifty, and I don't see myself wanting to part with any of them - plus, most of them are full of story ideas and the very beginnings of some of my stories (which reminds me, I need to find the pic that sparked Aigaion Girl), and I don't want to lose those. Ugh. I'm such a packrat sometimes.

I'm sort of zoning out mid-blog, so maybe I'll cut this short. I may come back to it later, though; I still have another hand to paint.

Good Morning!

I'm at work and really should be working, but instead I'm blogging and waiting for my fingernails to dry.

I spent the first chunk of my shift going over the eight or so pages of 200 Pages that I've completed. Honestly, if I wasn't so burnt out from eleven eleven wish, I think I could finish it in a couple of night shifts - certainly within a month, because unlike eleven eleven, I can just produce word vomit, not edit it, and as long as I include all the necessary scenes, leave it at that - although, now that I've said that, I do feel like I should get my MC pinned down a little better -then maybe I'll get drunk and channel her for a few days.

Also, I finally finished part 12 of Little 15, which is going to end up being a novella, instead of a short story (it was revised to 'short story' after I realized that my original oneshot had taken two chapters to finish).

Caution and Creep is still looming over me and 56,000 words in, I kind of feel like a tool for shelving it. Also, I shelved it in November of 2008; I really ought to finish it. There's too much to deal with, story-wise, and it would really be stressing me out, if anything other than my desire to be elsewhere ever stressed me out these days.

I'm getting a surprise! It's coming on either Thursday or Friday (or maybe Monday, given our wonderful postal system) and I'm super excited. I want it now! But I'm getting good at acting patient; waiting for wonderful things is a big part of my day-to-day :) Also, my family sent my and my sister's xmas presents today, so we should be getting them sometime in the next week or two. We have to send their stuff tomorrow.

Clayton leaves tomorrow (well, I guess today - actually in less than three hours) for Ontario. He was supposed to leave a couple of days ago, but he decided to fly instead of bussing it, so we got him for a few more days. It sucks that he's going, but I know that I'll see him pretty soon - and he's going to be happy where he's going, and that's all I could wish for any of my friends.

Ok, my nails are dry and it's after 3:30 in the morning, so I should probably start doing some actual work now. Ooh, then two days off!

Erg.

I deleted all of my text messages today. I could cheerfully kick myself in the face for that one. I was trying to delete a conversation because when my inbox gets too full, my phone starts deleting messages. It does this with the oldest first, and there was a message I particularly wanted to hold onto. I know the date it was sent, the exact time, where I was standing when I read it and what it said. And I get that really, the physical message was a bunch of ones and zeros magnetically written on a piece of metal - but I still wanted to keep it, and I'm still a little bit (incredibly) bummed that I deleted it.

Despite that, I'm still in a fairly good mood. It's hard for me not to be. Really, other than my impatience to be elsewhere, doing elsewhat, I have very little to complain about; everything here is great, it's just that it'll be greater when I'm where I'm supposed to be.

I'm a little bored at the moment, but whatever.