i look bad

8 Things about me

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1) I’m going to the Jim Butcher reading tonight on the UW Campus.

2) I forgot to shave or pretty myself up. Oops. Can’t take the fat unshaved guy anywhere.

3) I finished the rough of my Project Number Next proposal yesterday, but the polish is going to take a while.

4) I need to read this at some point when I have time.

5) Having turned in Man Bites World over the weekend, I’ve actually played a couple of computer games. Imagine!

6) Playing Call of Duty 2 on “Easy” is like going to war as Private Wolverine. There’s a lot of “Hey! Who’s shooting me in the back!”

7) Regarding point 2) I could have picked up a razor at the drug store and shaved in the bathroom at work, but fuck it. I’m tired.

8. I’m so forgetful I forgot what number 8 was supposed to be. Oh yeah. I got a raise at the day job. Extra Kit-Kat bar a month! Whoo-hoo!

This is the kind of nice guy I am

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I’m going to give you a fantastic but easy apple gingerbread dessert for St. Paddy’s Day. Why? Because I care about you and your taste buds, that’s why.

Sherwood, you’ll want to skip right over this.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Core and peel a pound and a half of apples. Then slice them up into half-inch pieces and mix with 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp lemon peal and spread it out in the bottom of a greased 8X8 inch baking pan.

Sift 1 and 1/4 cups of flour, 1 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground cloves into a small bowl. We generally use the dry powder ginger, although if you’re a purist who can’t abide the idea, you can peel and grate a tsp and a half of whole ginger and add it to the next bit.

In a large bowl, cream 1/4 cup of butter with 1/2 cup of sugar. I use the stand mixer for this. After they’re well-mixed, add one egg and 1/2 cup molasses. Not the black strap kind. Gross. Beat until smooth.

Finally, put 1/2 cup of water on to boil. When it’s bubbling strong, toss in 1/2 tsp baking soda.

Beat the molasses mixture, alternately adding the flour mixture and the boiling water. When it’s all mixed nicely, pour it over the apples and slide it into the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, then cut into squares and serve warm with fresh-whipped cream.

It dirties a few bowls, but it’s so very worth it. It was even worth it back before we had the stand mixer and I had to cream the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon. My wife loves it and this year, because I’ll be day-jobbing during the day, she’ll be making it herself.

But that’s dessert. The main course will be reuben sandwiches; two years ago we realized we didn’t much care for the boiled potatoes and cabbage, only the leftovers the next day. Now we skip the meal I grew up eating every March 17 and went straight to the good stuff. Thank you, modern times, for helping us treat family traditions with the contempt they deserve.

Because it wouldn’t be a blog without complaining

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I still feel like crap. My throat is still raw and I’m exhausted all the time. There are so many things around here that need to be done and I can’t keep up with them all, especially since I’m running myself ragged. If somebody doesn’t vacuum the living room carpet soon, it’s going to rise up and destroy us all.

I’m still doing my writing, because that involves sitting and being in a weird trance state. Raising a kid, though? I’m failing. Not that he minds doing whatever the hell he wants–most kids get to watch a lot of TV when they get sick. Mine pops in Three Stooges and Addams Family DVDs when I get sick.

Tired. Bed now, if I can get the kid to wash up.

Oh what a difference a shoe makes

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In the past, when I wanted to think over a plot problem, I would take a long walk. I was one of those guys who slumped down the street, head lowered, probably muttering to himself (which is no longer so alarming thanks to cell phones), solving my stories as best I could.

Then came the pain. I’ve always had knee pain, but my ankles finally began to hurt, and my heels and my feet and… wow. It got bad. I was born with twisted legs, and they’ve always been a problem, but this was the worst thing ever.

I got to the point where I saved my walking time for family outings, but even then it was tough to keep up. I came home to ibuprofen and ice packs and “give me a couple minutes, okay?”

So, I made a trip to Super Jock and Jill, where a sales person named Kira had me walk back and forth in the store. She declared that I has pronation in my right foot (I’d thought I was supinating) and selected a pair of shoes for me.

It’s been a couple weeks, but the difference has been incredible. I still have pain, but it’s nothing like it was. Yesterday, I took a long walk. The pain was entirely manageable, and it’s entirely gone today. Sure, I have to wear these ridiculous-looking running shoes, but I can at least get out of the apartment and do some thinking again.

Giftmas

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This Christmas, my wife bought me a Wii Fit Plus and a huge (as in eight inch by five inch tin with a candy bar in it. At first, I was surprised by this. Wouldn’t the “Dark Chocolate Caramel & Sea Salt Bark” counteract the exercise games?

Apparently not, because I’m not the one who was supposed to be eating it. I had, in fact, been saving it, but when I opened it today, all but an inch-and-a-half was gone.

Now, I’ve certainly been guilty of giving people things I wanted. For years I gave books that I wanted to read to my friends, with a polite request to read it when I was done. Hey, I was poor.

But those were books. When you finish a book, you can hand it to a friend. Fancy candy, not so much. My wife, she’s a smart woman. Oh, and it’s really good candy.

New morning, new year

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This past year saw a lot of changes for me. Child of Fire (Amazon.com | Indiebound.org) came out, obviously, which is a goal I’ve been working toward for a long, long time.

But I also went through a round of major revisions on Game of Cages (Amazon.com | Indiebound.org) which was extremely challenging and made me question myself and my actual writing/career plans. I went to San Diego Comic Con and endured the press of a hundred thousand people. I did face-to-face interviews. I did a signing.

Basically, I came out of my shell (a little). I can’t say I liked it much, but I’m willing to do what I have to. Let’s call it a year of personal growth opportunities (translation: I was pushed into a lot of uncomfortable situations).

One thing I didn’t do, which I’d planned to do, was steal time from my schedule for exercise. I’m not any bigger than I was at the start of the year, but I’m holding steady at a point I don’t want to be in. More on that later.

One thing I learned that I didn’t expect was that I don’t read fast enough to be a writer. It’s not just that I take forever to do my research, I take forever to do my revisions, too. I only read 15 books a year.

It’s untenable and has to change. I’ve already started working on this, but I’ll have to put more effort into it this year.

And, since so many others are doing it: Ten years ago, I was working for Children’s Hospital in Seattle (temping, actually), while they stocked up on medical supplies in anticipation of Y2K. In the years since, I tried to move to Los Angeles to pursue screenwriting, ditched that idea. I tried my hand at low-budget filmmaking but found I wasn’t suited for it. I started writing novels and found success. My family came damn close to bankruptcy because of health care issues, but we came through it, stronger than ever.

And of course my son was born. I don’t talk about him too much here for his privacy’s sake, but he changed my whole life; I remember the time before he was born as though it had been lived by a different person.

New morning, new year. I’m going to start working on book 3 now.

Christmas wrap up.

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Get it? “Wrap?” Huh? Huh?

Okay. I’ll tell this one briefly, if I can even manage that any more: The boy received quite a bit of love from Santa this year, mostly in Lego form. My wife received the light-up bicycle safety vest she so subtly hinted at (“Ooo! Check out that guy’s vest! I’ve been seeing those around and they’re awesome!”) although it wasn’t the one I would have preferred. It was, however, the very last one in stock at REI, so I didn’t have a lot of options.

Her surprise gift was a down comforter. Our old one has worn thin and she was waking up in the middle of the night from the cold. The new comforter is fantastic. She sleeps much longer than she used to, and I’m happy to see how well it’s working for it.

Me, I received clothes (I explained to my son that he would know he was an adult when he was happy to get underwear and socks as gifts) and a Wii Fit Plus.

The Wii is actually pretty awesome. The interface is a little bit of a struggle, but that might be on me, not the machine. The exercises (I haven’t tried them all yet) seem like fun. Added bonus: we have to keep the living room organized to use it, which is nice.

The biggest problem is getting a turn with it.

Otherwise it was all quiet time at home with family, and a brief but welcome visit from an old friend. And that’s how I like it.

God help me…

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I just created a Mii character called Ray Lillii. Once I look up the steps for connecting our Wii to the web, I’ll try to post a pic of him. And of my Mii.

Also, I joined SFWA. I thought I’d give it a try. If it works out, I’ll be glad. If not, I get to quit in a huff or whatever.

edited to add: That’s too glib, actually. I’m pleased to have joined SFWA; it’s something I’ve wanted to do for many, many years. Over the last few I’ve been doubtful, mainly because I’ve learned that I don’t join very well, but we’ll see.

You know what’s weird?

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Skimming through a long post about last July’s Comic-Con–with pictures–looking at all the film and TV stars, then suddenly seeing a picture of myself.

And it’s a picture I don’t hate, which makes it even weirder.

Some catching up

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This will be a quick rundown, because it’s late and I want to sleep, but I also want to cover some things:

Yesterday, I got two flu shots, seasonal and H1N1. That evening I was coughing and by bedtime I was feverish and shivering. The fever broke around 4:30, and I went back to sleep. Right now I feel mostly okay, but damn, why didn’t I go to bed earlier.

My son had his eighth birthday party today. It went well.

I mailed Man Bites World to my agent. Only 15 minutes in line at the post office! I promised it to her by Giftmas, and she’ll have it. I just wish I’d had time to polish the prose more.

Tomorrow, I’m going to celebrate the mailing by spending a sizable portion of the day reading.

But, while so many of you poor folks were out killing brain cells watching AVATAR, I stayed home with the family to watch HOGFATHER. It’s a flawed show but it’s wonderful, and the end always puts tears in my eyes. My wife absolutely loves it. Go Christmas!

And now I collapse.