reasons i suck

Darkness

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Thanks to everyone who voted in my book poll yesterday. Is it perverse of me that, now that I’ve seen which books are leading in the voting, I want to pack the least popular choices? Yes. Yes I think it is.

One of the weird things about traveling by train is that they let you check three big bags. I almost have too much luggage space for my trip, and I’m tempted to add some extra gifts to make the boy’s holiday super special.

And speaking of extra gifts, I have one more to buy, but I have to buy it online, download it to my desktop, then make a Christmas card for my son so he knows to look for it on that happy morning. Strike that. I have to *remember* to buy it. And it can’t be while he’s awake, either; I’ll have to do it in the groggy early morning hours, when it’s impossible to remember anything. ::shakes fist at mirror::

Anyway, today’s kind of a big day. It’s not my son’s birthday, but it is his birthday party. We’re only having 3 other kids (by his choice) and we’ve reserved time at the local parkour gym. They’ll get a lesson and then some birthday pie. (We’re not People of the Cake.) Then it’s home to eat his favorite dinner food (expensive delivery pizza) and open the rest of his presents.

Unfortunately, we’ve had heavy winds overnight and too many neighborhoods are without power. I’m not sure what will happen if the electricity is out there. It’s not like they have a ton of electrical equipment (more like mats, boxes, and pipes to walk on) but light and heat will be totally necessary.

And, weirdly, I had a horror movie moment this morning. While I was waiting for the bus that would take me and my gigantic bag of library books to the retail core, I looked down the street to see if the bus was coming. It was weirdly dark. Like, Encroaching Shadow of Evil dark.

It gave me a silly thrill and made me determined never to write a scene like it in a book.

Now I have to get the barista to rinse the grounds out of my mug, then refill me so I can get back to work.

Crowd-sourcing my to-read pile

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Which books should I take on my train trip? Vote in my LiveJournal poll.

That train trip I have been talking about?

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It’s only four days until my big train trip across the country. Already! Time, it flies. My son and I have been pretty excited about the trip, and I’ve been kicking myself that I didn’t take the train more often. Yeah, it takes longer, but if the journey is part of the pleasure of the trip, you’re not losing out.

We also have a Superliner Roomette reserved. It’s a room of our own, for those times when an 8yo gets to feeling kinda crazy and would drive the other passengers crazy. Also, my son is a night owl, and is brimming with energy at the end of the day[1]. Better for him to have a little place for his craziness.

And we knew it would be small. I mean, we knew. We saw the dimensions right there on the site linked above (although they had a different flash applet to show the roomette’s features.

Then we saw this video.[2]

Holy crap, that’s small. Especially for a two-day trip with a kid who spends most evenings practicing “Chairkour.”[3]

Erm, maybe we won’t be spending all that much time in there after all. However, on the trip back, I’ll be spending two days in one of those, with no kid, no internet, no nothing, except my books, my work in progress, and the passing view of the country. Heaven!

We’ll see how well I hold up.

[1] No, we haven’t murdered him for it, but it’s been close.

[2] Facebook users, you’ll have to click through to see that embedded video.

[3] An indoor apartment version of parkour, ‘natch.

Two requests for recommendations, homeschool and software editions

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First things second: Does anyone reading this record their computer game play sessions? I mean the way you see them on YouTube, where the screen shows the game with the player narrating. It would have to be Mac-compatible, of course.

I’ve done a bit of research into different programs, so I’m not looking for links to reviews. I’m looking for folks who are using a certain piece of software and feel they can recommend it. iShowU looks like a winner for this. Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions.

Second things first: The science books I’ve been using for our homeschooling just suck. I have to admit it. They’re ass. Is anyone using a book/set of books/something else they like? They’re for a bright but only half-interested 8 year old.

Thanks very much.

Just got back from our “tour” of Seattle gingerbread house displays.

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They were beautiful, but there weren’t very many to see.

For me, I was hoping to have A Key, and Egg, An Unfortunate Remark ready to send to my agent before I left for upstate NY. I leave on Monday (by train!) but looking over the number of words left to revise, I know it’s not going to happen. Sorry, [my agent]. Maybe at the start of the new year? I feel almost like I have a handle on the voice at this point, so revisions are doing much better than expected.

Now I’m off to help pack. We have quite a bit to do before we go, not least of which is prepping enough activities to occupy an 8 year old on a long train trip through the snowy northern U.S.

Meanwhile, check out these pics of the gingerbread houses. Everything is made of food (mostly candy, gingerbread, and icing).

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The Fremont Troll!
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More at the set.

Some crap about my life

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While Minnesota is getting socked with snow, we’re getting unusual rainstorms. The radio is not only talking about flood warnings for several counties, but landslides, too. Man, I wish we hadn’t moved into that clifftop mansion.

Yesterday was a good writing day, the first one in a while. I’ve been complaining about what a struggle this book is, but silently. Only to myself. I know there are a lot of writers out there with a lot of despair and frustration to vent, but I try not to do it very much myself. (It’s kinda dull) But what happened? I let myself complain to some friends, and while talking I realized what I was doing wrong. So, yesterday = good. And god forbid that public whining is part of my process.

After writing, the whole family went to see Rudolph, The Next Verse. It was comic improv theater about the difficulties Rudolph had on the night of his famous flight. And of course, those troubles (and other details) were decided by shouting 4-9 year olds. The whole thing was very funny, had a lot of firearms and radiation in it (courtesy of the kids) and a bit of singing, too. My son was one of the kids who got up and danced during the “Radioactive Candy” song. Thanks, Andrew!

After the show, we dropped in on Half-Price Books where I bought an ARE of Child of Fire. I’d given mine away for reviews and whatnot, and I’d always regretted not keeping copies for myself (Posterity!) They had a copy some reviewer had sold them (shelved in Mystery, for some reason) so I snapped it up for my collection. And yeah, I checked for my own signature/inscription, just to see which dear friend had boxed and sold it off for a couple quarters, but surprisingly it was a rare unsigned copy.

And now I’m off again to the local cafe to try to have another good day.

Repost from last year: A CHRISTMAS CAROL

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This is one of my favorite versions of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. I posted about it last year and, like an old fruitcake, I’m giving it away again. Click the link above to find out why, or just watch for yourself. Embed below.

Animated movie meme

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I got this meme from Andrew Wheeler at Antick Musings, and, as usual, it’s one of those long annotate-this-list things:

All the animated movies in the world, sort of

– X what you saw
– O what you haven’t finished/seen or saw sizable portions
– L what you loved
– D what you disliked/hated
– Leave unchanged if neutral
Continue reading

Because I’m a complete bastard…

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I just emailed this picture to a former co-worker, declaring it’s my new office dress code.

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Facebook users, you may have to click through.

I wish umbrella hats were more acceptable, fashion-wise. They’re extraordinarily practical.

The turkey-and-stuffing sandwich diet: or, how I lost 18 lbs over the Thanksgiving holiday

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Actually, there’s no reason in the world for me to have put “how” in the subject header, because I have no idea how it happened. My random snacks have been largely meat-based–is this a pseudo-Atkins? I’ve just returned to the gym, but only three times a week and not last week because of the holiday and the flight to L.A. for the book trailer. Or maybe it was the three-day (near-)fast of my L.A. trip itself.

Then again, maybe it’s because I quit my day job and my body is flushing out all that artery-clogging sorrow.

More likely, despite being at 280+ for so long, my body was never comfortable there and has seized on what little activity I’m giving it to shed some unwanted me. I should never have let my various pains drive me to a sedentary life; instead of easing the strain on my legs and back, it only made them worse.

I still hurt, of course–that’s never going to stop–but it’s not as bad as it was. Also, I’m less concerned with the actual number on the scale (which is why I only get on it once a month or so) than with how I feel. I feel better. And thank Pikachu for that.

Next project for me: The Cranberry Diet: How to slim down while feasting like a glutton! I look forward to the free-publicity I’ll get from health expert denouncing me as a huckster and moron.