September 2005

The Convention Report
Conquest had its good points and its bad points. I succeeded in my goal of arriving tipsy to San Francisco. I love 1st class and I've discovered I really like the Muller-Thurgau Riesling. I drank half a bottle on the way down to San Fran. The stewardess gave me a second bottle as I was exiting the plane. I shared that bottle with Monica before dinner. I have learned that while I have a decent metabolism when it comes to hard alcohol, there is nothing like a single glass of white wine to give me that warm feeling of lassitude. More than that makes me very happy.

I'm not going to get into the travesty that was the management of the convention because it was their first year and lots of other people have detailed the mess already. Yes, I did go down to game but my main reason was to visit with my friends and I did a whole lot of that.

I got to play in Dave and Rob's Villains & Vigilantes game. As has become the norm, my character was knocked out or killed by her own teammates. This time, it was a spectacular death when our (dumb as a) Brick tossed a 150 foot robot at the missile I and a couple of my team mates had just disabled. Big-ba-da-boom. Dead. Next up was a brief but amusing Castles & Crusades game with Rich, Greg, Matt and Chad. Sunday was a blast trying out the new WoD Mage game. What a hefty game book. Very pretty, too. The gaming part of the convention ended with the Team Volare LARP: Requiem. I got to play their character homage to River from Firefly with some of the psychic stuff, all the babble and none of the fighting ability. It was a blast. I succeeded at two of my three goals and was nominated for the best RP award. I didn't win. No worries there.

I also got my Team Volare name: Sparkle Kitty. There was some after convention discussion about the translation because the original Spanish (Or is that 'Lessperanto'?) name given to me actually meant the "brilliant bank." El Grimm Fandango, the Tango Dancer of Death, redubed me "Gatito de la Chispa!" "Gatito" or "Chispa" for short, depending on how much everyone has been drinking. I really like it.

Over all, it was a good convention for visiting with people. I even got to have dinner with Yony. Bill and I are already discussing the 7th Sea LARP we will be running at DundraCon. I'm looking forward to that. I'm not sure if I'm driving down or flying down for it yet. We'll see.

While I was there, I made out like a fat rat at the flea market. I picked up three C.S. Lewis novels I never knew existed: "Out of the Silent Planet", "Perelandra" and "This Hideous Strength." I've ripped through the first two and am about to start on the third. I really like Lewis's writing. Though, sometimes, I wish he wasn't so heavy handed with the biblical metaphors.

August Books Read:
1. Desperation by Stephen King - Not one of his better ones but the ending was better than its ending.

2. On Writing by Stephen King - The first half was amusing but useless for writing. The second half has all of the really interesting stuff.

3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JKRowling - Definitely one of better Potter books. I'm happy to have read it.

4. The Sandman: Book of Dreams Anthology edited by Neil Gaiman and Ed Kramer - Pretty good. All the stories stuck to the feel of the world of the Endless by Gaiman.

5. The Talisman by Peter Straub and Stephen King - I've read this one before. It's good, if a little depressing from time to time. I like the combination of the two authors working together.

August Stories Written:
1. Dick's Muse - A fun little Kendrick story that introduces the idea of "minor muses" and why you shouldn't piss them off.

2. The Komatsu - A surreal stand alone story based on a dream about a woman fleeing a demon in vehicle form.

Tarot Card for the Day: King of Swords

Calming Down
Things around Casa de Jennifer are finally settling down. The new roommate is almost all moved in. The playroom is still a disaster but is slowly getting into shape. Esme approves of the new roommate. All construction is done and the condo is slowly but surely getting cleaned up. At least, the list I wrote up last night is getting smaller. One big thing for me, my curtains being re-hung should happen this weekend and I will be very glad of that. Of course, I'm fighting with my urge to throw even more stuff out. Soon. When I'm a little saner, another purge. Probably of my bedroom.

As it seems that the Tuesday night game has gone by the way side (Le sigh), I have joined a new D&D game. Mostly, I joined it because my fabulous ex-boss PR asked me to and I can't say no to him. He's a pretty good GM, too, as it turned out. The game has 3 'Softies, 1 Googelite and me in it. Apparently, there is a lass from Renton in it as well but she's been a 'huge flake' lately. We play in one of the Red West buildings. It's a pretty nice building. I had not been in it before. I'm a little afraid that the game is going to be all hack and slash. But, PR assures me that it won't be despite the way the guys min-max like crazy.

The new refrigerator is here and is very snazzy... if a bit big for the kitchen. The kitchen is made for a "side by side" fridge. I bought a "freezer on top" one. Thus, the doors don't have the room to open up all the way. That's alright. It opens up enough and does what I want it to: keep the perishables from perishing. Though, I have to be careful when opening it... it's on wheels that easily turn. Both Ron and I have pulled the fridge out of place trying to open the door. Also, for future reference, there is no water line for an ice maker or door water dispenser. Go me for figuring that out before buying it! Now, I can go grocery shopping and get things like butter, cheese, milk, ranch dressing, etc...

One of my LiveJournal friends is really into making glass things: beads, plates, etc... Recently, she posted a picture of a small plate she made and, except for the color; it was exactly what I had been looking for as candle plates for the two candles for my mantle. So, I asked if she did commissions and she does! Yes! Now, she is doing two of the plates in green for me. If they look as good as I hope, I'll probably commission a couple more from her. Maybe for me. Maybe as gifts. I'm not sure, yet.

I've started writing for Savvy Insider. It's a webzine for the "Art of Single Living." The editor solicited me based on what she saw in my LiveJournal. I thought that was pretty cool. It doesn't pay right now but it is a fun gig. Basically, I get to write about stuff from my POV in a very tongue-in-cheek manner. Stuff about buying houses, finances, debt free living and other such things based on my experience. Maybe some of the things I have been through and have done to dig myself out will help others. Plus, it's good writing Karma. My writing docket is currently cleared of contracts right now. So, I have the time. It's good for the portfolio. It's also good for the creative side of me. I wrote two new stories. Now, four articles. I have another story waiting and a possible review coming down the pipeline.

Now that the construction (thus, the insane amount of noise) is done and the playroom is getting in shape, I'm thinking about fostering again. Of course, kitten season is pretty much over now. Still, some late season kittens may come in. I'd love to get a couple of healthy ones after we complete the play room. I just need to make sure that the room is ready and safe. Esme will have a royal fit about kittens in the condo again but she'll live with it.

Tarot Card for the Day: King of Swords, Inverted

Touristy & Wordy
This last week I got to do some of my favorite things: Explore Seattle and do some good writing. Last weekend, Lunesse and her SO came up for the Dead Can Dance concert and to do some sightseeing. I got to tag along with Lori. We went to Pike Place Market. I had never gone. Cool stuff. Some of it reminded me of Saturday Market in Portland. I spend money on a silver ring and a couple of rocks. Yes, rocks. I love rocks. Also, I found a place to return to once I have the main parts of the big all decorated with the maps of Middle Earth and Arwen's Standard of Gondor. (Yes, I'm a big geek. I know it.) It has some wonder stonework I could put up.

We walked all over Pike Place Market and Pike street. It was amazing and I kept up! That was the part I was so chuffed about. This was the first time I had done a big walk since I had (re)injured my knee but it held up. We walked all the way down to the commuter ferry to Bainbridge Island. We got round trip tickets and I enjoyed the ride immensely. I would really love to do that again sometime soon. I really like traveling across the Sound. Each way took about 35 minutes.

From there, we went to a really good sushi place. I have no idea what it is called but I know it is right next to a giant silver PI. It is on the right if you are looking up at the PI statue. The sushi place had frozen saki that was so smooth I couldn't believe it. It also loosened up the stiffening muscles around my knees as they had finally decided to give out. It was an excellent trip and I got to knock off too more things from my list of Touristy things I've done in Seattle.

On the writing side of things, this last week was a really good week for me. I had an article published at Savvy Insider, there were two good reviews of The Right Words that mentioned me by name in a positive light, I picked up a review contract from Black Gate to review the novel of a friend of mine called Four and Twenty Blackbirds and I wrote like a madwoman.

Back in the Kendrick series, I'm working on one of my longer short stories called The House of Hands. It is actually three little stories wrapped up in a fourth one. I got 3700 good words on it and two of the inner stories done. The third inner story is a bit more complex and finishing out might give me a bit of trouble but I think I'll be able to finish the rough draft next week. I hope.

Another friend of mind is working on a project to benefit the victims of Katrina. It is currently called the Fate Project and is based on those "choose your own adventure" books. This one is based on the "losing" endings where you die or lose in some way. Since the story ends are only 350-700 words long, I have drafted two fantasy endings already and I am pondering a third. I will send them in next week after a polish. It's a fun project to work on.

In other writing based thoughts, I've decided that, on the third (or is it fourth?) anniversary of writing it, November will be, "Revise Regresser's Evolution for Submission" month. Instead of working on short stories, I will polish it, add in the writer group suggested changes, add in the missing scenes and finally get it to the point of submission. I'm tired of it languishing in my computer to remind me from time to time in the dead of night that it is "almost" done and really should be finished.

Tarot Card for the Day: Ace of Pentacles

Mister Wolf
This has been a rough week at work. Crunch time to get SP1 out the door. It's nice to be fought over by the various dev teams but it can be a bit confuzzling when I get yanked from one project to the other. I have to do a quick mental change. But, my QA-fu is strong. I am starting to feel like the person trying to hold back the flood by patching individual holes in the dam.

I guess I'm sort of like Mr. Wolf from Pulp Fiction. I'm the expert. I'm pulled in to fix the problem. The only issue with this is the fact that I'm not officially leading anything right now. So, I've already accidentally stepped on one guy's toes. He didn't seem to notice but my dev lead did and politely stopped it. I'm just so used to walking into a situation and taking charge that, sometimes, it's hard to remember that I don't always have to do that.

In any case, this last week made me feel like I really validated myself to my new lead and the company. Two days on a product I had barely touched before and I had 10 bugs on my dev's plate. A couple of them critical bugs. It made me happy to find them. Happier that my dev complimented me on finding them. Nice to not have an adversarial relationship with my dev. Helps that we're friends, I suppose.

On the family front, my dad has been diagnosed with diabetes. I don't like hearing about my folks getting older, breaking down and getting sick. Frankly, it sucks. Despite our disagreements, I really am pretty close to my parents. I love them, respect them and do miss them. So, I pinged a bunch of my friends on living with diabetes or living with someone who has diabetes. Mostly, the advice that came back was that he has to learn to watch what he eats, to eat well and to exercise regularly. I passed all the advice forward to my mom. I'm not sure how much my dad is going to like that advice. He really likes his food and drink a lot.

It is ironic how the cure to so many common ills seems to be: Eat well and exercise. It is the one bit of advice no one wants to take. It is often the cheapest solution in the long run but one that takes constant vigilance and the most time. However, in our culture of instant gratification, no one wants to take advice that requires a consistent effort and self denial. This includes me. I don't like it but I've put myself into a situation that does require it. I don't know. It's just something to ponder. Eat well and exercise regularly. Seems so simple but isn't.

The housing market in my area is rising like crazy. Now that the siding/windows/etc construction is done,a bunch of people are selling in my condo complex. First, I started hearing about 3bed/2baths listing at $244K and $248K. Those were sold and off the market within a week. Now, there is a 3bed/2bath 1350 sq ft in the next court over being listed at $278K. My condo is 3bed/2bath, 1400 sq ft. I bought it two years ago for $200K. Interesting, yes? They have better countertops but I have more room.

My next door (as in, same building, same level) neighbors are moving out and going to sell their place. I've recommended them to my fabulous real estate guy who told me the longer I hold onto the condo, the more I will be able to sell it for. I wonder how much the condo next to me is going to go for. I guess living three miles from the main MS campus does have its perks. I hope that my new neighbors are interesting/cool people. If not that, then quiet and pleasant like my downstairs neighbors.

This hasn't been a good week for writing for me. I did polish the two Fate Project end stories, write and polish a third and send it all off. The editor seems to like them. I may end up writing more for him. But, my poor story, House of Hands, is stalled at a really interesting point. But, I've been so tired from work and the early arrival of Aunt Flo that I just haven't had the energy to put into it. Maybe this weekend if I don't have to work.

In the meantime, I'm working on the rough draft of my review of Cherie Priest's novel, Four and Twenty Blackbirds. It's an excellent novel. Gothic Southern Horror. Not something I normally pick up. I liked this one a lot. I may have to get some more. However, at the same time, I am both urged to finally finish putting Regresser's Evolution in final draft form (thus the November goal) and trying to bolster my low self-esteem doing the "I DON'T suck" dance. Just because Cherie wrote an excellent first novel doesn't mean I can't. There is no one-to-one correspondence here. I am being published. Just in short story form and I haven't tried to get RE published yet. But, I will.

Tarot Card for the Day: Ace of Pentacles, Inverted