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December 31st, 2009
eeknight
 | 06:42 am - 2009 recap
Everyone else is doing one. Now it's my turn.
I know 2009 was tough for a lot of people on and off my flist. I've had tough years too, but this wasn't one of them. The birth of the Sprog made it one of the best years of my life. After years of quiet heartbreak this little miracle showed up. Our trip down the rabbit hole began.
He brought a lot of joy and worry. Joy is self-explanatory. I'm not a fan of worry, however, mostly because I'm intimately acquainted with it. Over the years I've taught myself that when I'm worried I either have to do something about it or let it go as beyond my control. I respect, embrace, and make use of fear, fear is a great motivator and guide, but worry is just funking and a timewaster.
In my relationships I've had a tough time keeping up with friends. Chats has to know that she's still #1 even as she steers the child-raising ship. I'm sure we've neglected way too many friends since he was born. I even did a shit job with Christmas cards this year.
Career has been going pretty well, but I let too much slide in favor of watching the Sprog gurgle and explore. I just have to accept that
condSprogmoreinterestingthanWork == TRUE;
always will be until my trip to the Undiscovered Country, and build my life around that conditional statement, finding ways to get the writing and other career-related stuff accomplished. Sales appear to be chugging along, though I won't know for sure how 2009 was until about nine months into 2010 because that's the way royalty reports work. I'm even seeing some money from overseas. 2009 was the first year I received royalty money from another country over and above my advance (merci, France). Getting into audio helped matters a great deal. I'm hoping I can launch a new book project in 2010 to carry me after I've finished up the Age of Fire series. Though of course if #6 takes off like gangbusters I'd find a way to continue it.
Minor triumphs include giving up my penismobile in favor of a family-friendly wagon. Saying goodbye to the Pursuit Special was tough, especially since it still had an unknown number of great years in it. The Pursuit Special was the first car I ever owned I couldn't drive into the ground. I just did my regular maintenance and she purred even at ten years old.
I also used getting the new kitchen appliances for a fresh start with my cooking. Chats and I were living off carry-out, last-minute stir-frys, Indian-in-a-can, and other glorified student cuisine for way too long. All my fault as I'm the alleged cook in the family. So I'm rebuilding from the ground up. I've even been taking classes at a small local cooking school and kitchen supply store. I'm open to relearning everything I thought I knew, starting with omelets and moving on from there. I'm proud to say I'm doing a lot more with fresh veggies, beans, rices, nuts, fruits and so on, studying vegetarian stuff from all along the silk and spice roads. It's been rewarding in many ways.
What most disappointed me this year? Letting too many deadlines slip, and slip again. Ignoring my friends. Not getting to the wonderful gym we belong to often enough, despite the great child-care facilities that make getting a workout in even when you're in charge of a child a breeze. Some of these are easy fixes (chucking the Sprog in his carseat and getting to the gym). Why are bad habits so much easier to start than good ones?
All in all, a great year. 2010 will have a tough time even coming close enough for horseshoes or hand grenades.
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suricattus
 | 07:36 am - First Night
I have decided, considering the kind of crap too many folk dealt with the past 12 months (or even the past 12 days), to go back to the Traditions of My People and claim the eve as the start, not the dawn.
Therefore, as Previously Posted:
Happy New Year!
Being on vacation, my grand total effort yesterday involved going to the gym, getting my H1N1 shot*, sending off my last freelancer invoice of 2009, making chicken stew, and reading a book start to finish (ah, luxury). Today, the plan is to skip both the gym and the shot, and emphasize the reading and noshing and drinking of wine, as the snow falls outside. Then we'll welcome in both the New Year and the Blue Moon with appropriate pomp and dignity (which is to say: very little) and tomorrow I'll start as I mean to go on -- well-rested, with time for both writing, and friends and family. It's a plan, anyway.
How will you mean-to-go-on in 2010?
*despite being a freelancer (out of the daily germ-pool) and not in any of the high risk categories, I decided that making myself a roadblock to any potential epidemic was worth the sore arm. Also, my mom kept bugging me.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/purplelemon/sassips/content.gif) content
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December 30th, 2009
dancinghorse
 | 05:02 pm - Tweetorama
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mercuryeric
 | 11:48 am - Tying up loose ends...
So, this past year, I started the "make stuff" lemming, and I owe seven people stuff what I make.
At least four of the seven are folks I know, and have e-mail addresses for; three of 'em are people I only encountered here on LJ.
I plan on finishing up the "things" in the next, oh, 90 days or so, which is well after the self-imposed cessation of activity here.
So, if you're ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) banzai , tranceptor , or nickhartz , and you're reading this, check your LJ messages, and shoot me your e-mail addresses, so I can make sure you get your "things."
Best,
-E
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suricattus
| 11:12 am - in Anticipation of First Night....
Long-time readers of this journal know that I'm not much for year-end wrap-ups, nor do I do Resolutions as such. Long-time friends will also attest to the fact that, while I am always on time, my sense of the greater Time is fluid, and I'm far more likely to forget what month it is than to tick off the passing of a specific yet arbitrary date.
And yet, I love New Year's Eve/First Night. No matter how you observe -- surrounded by casual friends or thousands of strangers or gathered with only your nearest-and-dearest -- it's a powerful, simple celebration of change and survival and contemplation and anticipation.
Many people have decried 2009 as the worst year ever, and I won't deny there were a lot of downsides... but there were also moments of great joy and hope and pleasures. New friends and new experiences, old friends revisited, great things accomplished, and dreams realized and revised. I danced more this year than I did last, and if I cried, I cried on the shoulders of dear friends, and was there in turn when they needed my shoulder.
Occasionally I hear people say "Next year has to be better!" No, it doesn't. It doesn't have to be worse, either. It's just another 12 months to do things in. Go, do.
May the best of the past year
be the very worst you encounter in the new year
filled with the dreams you dared not hope for
and the songs you didn't know how to sing
And if you are still searching
may 2010 bring you at last
to the shores of where you need to be.
And happy birthday to matticrafts and ellen_datlow!
Current Mood: content
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eeknight
 | 07:16 am - Life imitates bad situation comedy
Last night was diaper delivery night. The guy comes rather late, like after eleven. I expect he's used to just stopping at a house and doing the pickup and dropoff on the porch like an old-fashioned milkman. Not an option for us. The condo is porchless and even diapers get stolen. Oak Park must be on some weird portion of his route, like the very tail end of it (his van, from what I can see as he chucks the yellow bags, looks really full). After that, I totter into bed and crash. Sometimes fully clothed.
Well, last night I found out there was assorted baby stuff under me, binkies and bottles and whatnot. The best way to get the Sprog to take a good long nap these days is to lay down with him (either Chats breastfeeding or me giving a bottle) in our bed and let him doze and nurse. We call them "nursie-naps." But the Sprog is like a great civilization, he leaves distinct evidence of himself wherever he inhabits for others to find later. I kept rolling onto baby items, or moving my pillow and finding my ear resting against a teether.
As you'd expect from my life, it wasn't fresh or original. The whole night could have been on an old Jackie Gleason Show kinescope, if not a Stooges short. Totally cliche. Just me pulling objects from under my back, looking at them, and then setting them on the nightstand. At least my performance was low-key. I didn't overplay it or make ridiculous expressions or engage in light banter with da wife.
I would hope that had I been writing it I could have livened it up a little by getting up and going to the toilet and having Chats notice that there's a tiny soft plastic spoon stuck in my hair like an antennae thanks to the unexpectedly strong bonding powers of applesauce, or waking up sucking on a binkie, anything but "dad rolls over, gets annoyed at baby paraphernalia trapped under his butt."
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December 29th, 2009
suricattus
 | 01:48 pm - Some day I will write a book in full, start to finish. This is not that day, this is not that book.
3,945 new words for the day, and I'm calling it: the structural draft for Bonnie/PSI #3 is done, two days ahead of my self-imposed deadline*.
It's trailing plot-threads, and way too short, but there is a beginning, a middle, and an end, complete with pacing, motivation, and ass getting kicked. And, if I do say so myself, a killer ending line.
Now I get to finish going over the proofs for Bonnie/PSI #1, and then do the reread on Bonnie/PSI#2, and... someday very soon, you'll get to read all three, in 9 month intervals. I do hope you have fun with them...
Here's a peek at the cover for #1: HARD MAGIC
If I can finish off the freelance gig this afternoon, I'm done for the year. Yayyyzzzzzz....
*the actual due date for the editor-ready draft is 2/15
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/purplelemon/sassips/exhausted.gif) drained
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suricattus
| 12:18 pm - how I amuse myself....
WiP excerpt:
“Nifty, apologize to the nice imp for breaking its arm.”
“Twice,” the Roblin said.
“Twice breaking its arm. But you only have to apologize once.”
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/purplelemon/sassips/giggly.gif) amused
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suricattus
| 07:49 am - in passing....
An interview w/ me is up at Temple Library Reviews.
Also: it is 20 degrees colder right now than it was yesterday at this time. Also, windy as hell. Winter's back.
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December 28th, 2009
suricattus
 | 08:17 pm - Some Mondays come with a side of Meh.
Today, apparently, the well needed to refill and the brain needed to wander through Leverage fanfiction and back issues of Food & Wine and New York Magazine. Good for the soul; crap for the deadlines. But gym was gone to and laundry accomplished. And I wrote nearly 1,000 words on the WiP, and did half of the interview questions for Odyssey, and poked at the page proofs. So that's something, right?
Tonight I really have to finish up the freelance. Or go to bed early. Flip a coin?
Meanwhile, the brain also wandered over this entire "this is my job" thing going on in my brain, and I wrote up this lengthy post...and then decided that it was overindulgent and pointless, and cut it. Which is pretty much where I am tonight.
Meh.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/purplelemon/sassips/blah.gif) meh
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dancinghorse
| 05:00 pm - Tweetorama
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rachelcaine
 | 01:55 pm - The sky is always falling. Or not.
So, Seth Godin posted a blog that declared that bookstores were dead. And 2009 sales proved it. Entry here: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/
Er, Seth? Wither cometh the proof? I see no stats, other than the generic "the typical American buys one book a year for pleasure" statement.
For clarification, here's what Publisher's Weekly had to say about the year's bookstore results on 12/14/09:
Despite the severe recession, bookstore sales through the first nine months of 2009 are down by less than 1%, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales, which include results from college bookstores, were $13.56 billion through October, off just 0.7% from the same period in 2008. Bookstores have fared better than the overall retail market, which was down 8.2% in the nine-month period. Sales have generally been better in the second half of 2009, when comparisons with 2008 are easier as the recession deepened. In October, bookstore sales were a bit disappointing, falling 0.9%, to $1.03 billion, after posting a 7% increase in September and a slight gain in August.
Hmmm. So ... OTHER stores fell 8.2%, but bookstores were down by less an an overall 1%. Yet *bookstores* are dead.
Someone's facts are a little wonky here, and I don't think it's PW's.
For reference, check out the Zogby poll done for Random House in 2008:
http://www.zogby.com/random%20house%20final%20report.pdf
Not a huge sample size, but the statistics are certainly still trending heavily in favor of print vs. electronic delivery, and although about 50% of the respondents bought "10 or fewer books a year," that's still a far cry from "one."
Periodically, someone will declare the sky is falling, books are dead, and the New Hot Tech will inherit the earth.
I think this could be one of those times. And now I shall go buy a book.
-- Rachel
Current Location: All corners of Deadline Hell appear the same ...
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://www.rachelcaine.com/journal/Annoyed.gif) annoyed
Current Music: "This is War" - Thirty Seconds to Mars
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eeknight
 | 09:56 am - Christmas 09
While the weather created some difficulties, it was a pretty great Christmas. Chats got me a beautiful Saddleback messenger bag. The perfect rugged look, although most days I'm about as rugged as a bowl of oatmeal. Looks like something a Pony Express rider might have carried. I've been wanting an easier-to-navigate-the-urban-jungle "vertical" bag for a while for holding the laptop, books, etc. and as usual da Wife really came through. Chats really does great gifts.
The Sprog bought me some comfy new lounging pants. They have log cabins, pines and moose on them.
My friend Howard bought me the HeroScape starter set, which looks frightfully addictive.
( Sprog pics, plus my cake )
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suricattus
 | 06:25 am - aaaaaaaand....
I have sent an e-mail to the airlines I maintain frequent flyer miles on, informing them that while the newest restrictions are even being considered, I'm going to be taking my travel miles to alternate venues (even if the train does take longer).
I'm all for safety, but there's safety and then there's insanity. You cannot defend against every possible thing someone determined to die might do. Not unless you are willing to give up the very act of living, yourself.
EtA: from CNN: "Airline terror suspect's family members say they tried to warn authorities." Not two days ago, not two weeks ago. Two MONTHS ago.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/28/airline.terror.attempt/index.html
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/purplelemon/sassips/annoyed.gif) annoyed
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December 27th, 2009
suricattus
 | 09:53 pm - did I miss a memo?
So, it being December, I am making my plans for 2010 conventions (Pcon in Dublin, daytripping Lunacon, Balticon, pending DragonCon, all others uncertain at this point*) and I come to a sticking point.
WFC apparently is refusing to do any on-line registration. You have to download a pdf form, fill it out, write them a check/credit card #, and send it via USPS.
Guys, I know WFC marches to the beat of its own bagpipe, but WTF? It's 2010. Most of us do things on-line whenever possible -- yes, really. We enter in the credit card and we hit "send" and we don't print out fiddly bits of paper and mail them and then wait to hear if it's been received or not.
Or am I missing some great backlash against on-line commerce?
There are also no hotel rates listed. Hopefully that will be remedied in the next few months, so I can deal with Budget Issues...
*I'm not doing Readercon because I'll be teaching @ Odyssey the week prior and fully expect to be exhausted. WorldCon is yet to be decided -- have to see a) how the finances work, and b) if I can really afford to take the time off, when I'll then have to turn around and head to France for two weeks the next month. The cats would kill me. Although I am willing to hear arguments....
Current Mood: annoyed
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dancinghorse
| 05:00 pm - Tweetorama
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mercuryeric
| 10:48 am - Two minute warning...
After Lord-knows-how-many years and posts, I'm preparing to sweep up, turn off the lights and lock the doors on this 'blog. Most likely, I'll shut it all down in January (after I archive the posts here for potential revisiting elsewhere).
Add to that, over the last few years, I've been more than a little disappointed in how the management of LJ has blundered in its dealings with users, and the place feels, well, a bit stagnant. I don't use it to broaden a social circle anymore (in fact, I find I'm culling the "social network" I've developed here, for a variety of reasons), and that's telling.
I'm planning to add a dedicated (though likely sporadic) blogging space to my website, so feel free to visit me there; I'm also still on Twitter. MySpace, Vox, and ComicSpace are for the chop, though; I have no concrete reason why, but my instinct this year is to retract some of those online feelers into a consolidated web space.
I've "met" dozens of folks I am truly fond of via LiveJournal, and I'm a bit wistful about seeing it go, but I've no time to devote here, so it's just been a catch-all shill spot for the better part of a year and a half. Frankly, that bugs me.
Hoping your holidays were pleasant and filled with love and happiness, and that the coming year is a bright one.
Best,
-E
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/square/y/confused.gif) thoughtful
Current Music: "Every Day I Write The Book" / Elvis Costello
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suricattus
 | 11:17 am - Avatar review -- getting it off my chest so I can breathe easier
Dear Reader: if you have to ask me "is this the first book in the series" when the cover clearly states BOOK ONE? I'm just not going to respect you at all. And my first instinctive response (unsent) is going to be homagawd snarky. Just sayin'.
In other news, I have now seen Avatar, and so can post an actual Informed Opinion.
And my AIO is ( not really a spoiler, but... )
After, we ended up at a new-to-me restaurant -- Whym. American comfort food, and we were mightily comforted. They have a small but acceptable scotch list, but I went with the mood of the group and had a mojito instead. I had two, in fact, which is my limit for mojitos (do not let them fool you. They are things of great and terrible evil, and if I have three, I become a force of great and terrible evil. Or at least later embarrassment.)
Oh, and I also picked up a new cookbook, while wandering through the B&N. *looks innocent and helpless and it totally mugged me, I swear...*
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/purplelemon/sassips/shocked.gif) awake
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December 25th, 2009
suricattus
 | 09:49 pm - I spent Christmas Eve playing pool with a guy named Lefty.
The subject line sounds like a killer opening line, doesn't it? But it's nothing but the unvarnished truth. The slightly varnished truth would include the dancing, the bowling, and the lesson about not ordering doubles just 'cause the bar service was slow.
And it would also talk about the fact that, when you go to bed at 3am, getting up at 8 is just damned painful. Somehow, those same five hours are easier to take when they're 1am to 6am, and I don't know why.
Yet, we did wake [and as much as I love my apartment, I have to admit that living in the East 20's has its definite charms], and we did make it to the morning showing of Sherlock Holmes.
( not exactly spoilery, but some thoughts on the movie itself )
We also saw a number of previews, including Iron Man 2 (I cringe from how bad it might be, but will be there anyway) and the remake of Clash of the Titans, which looks to be another stunning leap forward in FX, if nothing else.
And then I met up with family for the Obligatory Chinese food. We noted, with much dismay, that there are an awful lot of Gentiles having dinner in Chinatown on Christmas Day, these days. Goose wasn't enough, you had to have Peking duck, too?
And now I am home, for a few hours anyway, before heading back downtown tomorrow to see Avatar with friends (in 3D. I am talked into these things...how? Must be Sekrit Coastie Mind Tricks). And then more Holiday Socializing, leading into First Night.
But first, must finish freelance gig. And short story revisions. And author proofs for HARD MAGIC. And look longingly at the TBR 2010 pile that's already starting to build....
I hope y'all had a good day, however you spent it!
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/purplelemon/sassips/tired.gif) tired
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dancinghorse
| 05:04 pm - Tweetorama
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