Flashback Dec. 19, 2003

Office party for Christmas today as well as one of our student worker's 21st B-day. And I'm going to have to start loading my car at night. Her birthday present is sitting on my desk with the rest of the office Christmas gifts.

Got the newsletter emailed out and some new people have joined the list; people whose emails I don't recognize. :D

Alt. BM Site's update is delayed due to financial considerations. It does give me time to work on the graphics.

Weekend plans: Mythos LARP at the Faire site. I need to establish my NPC bard character. I've bought a leather-bound journal to write in while I'm playing.

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New ideas

I plan on uploading the update for Alt BM on Jan. 5th. That should be enough time for contributors to get their submissions in. Everything else is due on Jan 19th.

My big new idea is called "Flashback." Occassionally, I write myself dated notes and in an effort to clean out notebooks, I'm posting them in the blog. Saves me from having to come up with new material on the days when I haven't got anything, and also lets you into this wacky brain of mine a little more. Right, like you really want to know more. Those entries will be titled "Flashback" with the date, so you're warned.

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That's All I Ask of You

Oh it was beautiful. The Saenger Theater's Italian Baroque style fit with the stage scenery for Phantom of the Opera. And I loved how they shifted to different locations of the opera house with the minimum of sets. Highlights would be the crashing chandelier, the elephant for Hannibal, the moving staircase as the actors went down into the basement, and the candles that came up through the stage floor. I'd love to see how that was managed.

I took yesterday as my be-a-lazy-bum day. I refused to get dressed and spent the day coloring desktop wallpaper, and trying to organize the From Mars archive into something I can put up and people will be able to use the links inside it. I also finished the second story in the Evil Jack series "In Sickness." *Shrug* It was my lazy bum day and I wasn't working on anything I didn't feel like. Which means original works have become too guilt ridden and a must-do.

I will get back to them.

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What a week

We have been so busy at work, I haven't had a chance to type in the blog daily. I doubt next week will be much better since all the renewals are due by January 1st. We went to my sister's for Christmas and had a lovely time. She got Phantom of the Opera tickets for me for tonight. Course her way of keeping me in the dark, left me the distinct impression she needed my boyfriend and I to help her move. My boyfriend would have appreciated a heads up on what clothes to get though.

The other odd thing was I went and took pictures of Normal Hill, which is the oldest part of campus and I have always gotten strange vibes from it. I was hoping for something to submit to Ghoststudy. I took the pictures with my digital camera, put that camera back in my purse and left it alone. (That would be how it traveled up to Natchitoches.) Go to download the pictures this morning and there is nothing on the camera.

Oh well, so much for my ghostbusting. Have to go get ready and get the new printer installed.

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Daily Report

I'm still speechless. Return of the King is phenomenal. No scouring of the Shire, but I understand stylistically why Peter Jackson changed it. And the Witch-King's helm crumpled like tissue. *Insert jumping up and down and giggling* And I want Eomer's helm. And shiny pretty swords for the hacking and slashing. And the green Arwen dress Museum Replicas is selling is in the movie, but I still say that is an ugly green. I'd rather have the riding dress or some of the velvet she wears. Or Eowyn's dress.

Editing week this week and I'm working on "The Rose." It dates back to 1996/1997, when I thought I could create a short story collection of rewritten fairy tales. It's my "Beauty and the Beast" story with a science fiction setting and unhappy ending. In an undetermined future of Earth, the people who have settled in space have ended up mutated and passed those mutations to their children. A mutant goes to Earth to discover what happened to her brother. In my original version, the Beast died of a broken heart when Beauty rejected him. I decided that's not realistic enough for any of the characters. Probably influenced by Emmett Till's murder story, but I think it will work to crystallize Beauty's characterization. And I thought I was wasting time with Crime Library.

Writing, I haven't been able to make much time for. Tonight I need to go home and work on web updates. The newsletter needs to go out; I really need to put up a sign-up box here as well.

Alt. BM Site needs the most work I'm afraid. We have to get set up for no-ads and FoxFire's Palace sub-domain. I need to make graphics and tweak others. Nothing too hard, just time consuming when I'd rather not spend my time at home. And tweaking the wall paper, I always forget that.

And I have to go to the store and get the sandwiches for the party at work tomorrow. The bad thing is that store would put me halfway to where I want to be instead of home where I will work. A laptop would come in handy for these situations.

I try as hard as I can to stick to the update schedule, but I have to admit the days do slip by. I should have the update ready for tonight. I'm not even close. Though the big deal is to get the no-ads and sub-domain done. I can finish the rest of the tweaks later. But all this blabbing about it doesn't get me any closer to finishing.

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Don't expect to accomplish anything

It's Return of the King night.

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No time for anything fancy

"How many great literary works were written in totalitarian nations or under societal pressures, such as obscenity laws? Outlining seems like no restriction when compared to the rack or a firing squad." (J. Madison Davis Novelist's Essential Guide to Creating Plot 45)

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Monday morning

Well, I got a lot done, but precious little of it was writing. Okay none of it. A writing schedule goes out the window when you have a boyfriend to go see. I'd bring my writing with me, but I know I wouldn't get anything done.

I do have two days this week to get some headway. Nothing will happen Wednesday night but "Return of the King." And I have to go Christmas shopping.

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So little to do, so much time

Strike that, reverse it.

I just remembered that I have to updates due next week: the newsletter and Alt. BM site. And the website needs more work done on it.

One of these days I will have this stuff done way before time.

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Megadoses of Vitamin C

Felt physically like crap yesterday (and the Blogger system wouldn't let me on to put in an entry). Felt worse today and took myself to the doctor. Probably just the common cold, bleuh! Currently taking over the counter medicine that was recommended and if it doesn't clear up in a week, time for antibiotics.

And I got a new (to me anyways) washing machine. But it needs a little help. Balancing and it's leaking from the outtake pipe. And on the last load I put in it, it decided to go waltzing across my back porch. All I know is right now I'm in no condition to deal with possessed appliances.

Writing isn't going as well as it should. Today I was occupied by trying to get to the doctor and trying to make sense of my money. Fun combination :p And this weekend isn't shaping up to be a catch-up weekend on it either.

Oh well, if only all my plans that go astray were for such wonderful reasons.

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Well, Mom is happy

"Now we just have to find a man for Kai" was her exact quote. *Snort* My sister looked none too pleased with Mom's offer for matchmaking. I had to tell Mom because I got home about 10 seconds before she did, and her shift is from 2pm - 10pm. The last thing I want is for her to start panicking that overtime is taking that long.

No sugar yesterday (HUZZAH!), but no writing either. *Blushes* Gee, funny how I don't feel guilty about missing those two hours.

Lunch is almost over, so I best wrap this up. Here's to hopefully getting over on time tonight.

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Walking on Sunshine!

Okay I think I finally got the white space I want with post titles.

Faire is over with for another season. And as usual, cast awards party is on the coldest night of the year on Saturday. And I didn't get any of the pig! *WAHAAA!* That's okay, because our scullery boy, Brian, promised more pigs for next year. But Sunday was bright and beautiful to end the season with. We had a cast wedding (a real wedding), and it was a beautiful ceremony. The bride was our Lady Scarlet O'Hara (not her character or real name). In Gone With The Wind, Scarlet makes a dress from curtains to try to woo Rhett. Our Lady Scarlet was stationed over in Iraq up until our second week, and came back with a new gold and white dress--made from curtains from one of Saddam Hussein's palaces. For her favors, she cut up the skirt because "everyone deserves a little piece of Saddam."

Faire season is over, and my diet and writing schedule begins today. Which I'm sure is confusing most people with the title I picked for this post. Maybe it doesn't if you know the song. I don't think I should say anything else; I don't want to jinx it.

MeatLoaf is a good choice for composing right now also. *Smiles* So yes, I'm in a good mood despite the pain in my foot and back and the six or seven buckets of mail facing us today. And I don't know what weekend we'll have free to do site pickup.

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Not Enough Hours in the Day

My to do list is huge (no big surprise there). Overtime at work (K-time really doesn't feel worth it). An hour long commute back home. Is it any real wonder why I don't feel like doing anything when I get there?

I didn't think so.

Once Faire season is over, I'm restricting my sugar intake again. I'm sure part of the exhaustion is fluxation in blood sugar levels.

And during the ride home last night, I came up with my writing project list (the stuff that hasn't been regulated to the work on it in the next decade list). 10 items at different stages. I decided that the only way I'm going to make any headway into that list and make it a list of eight stories in submission land is to put myself on a strict writing schedule. Not counting overtime, I work 40 hours a week. If I can plan to spend 20 hours a writing tasks only, I should be able to conquer the list without much pain. And it should give me a good foundation for when I can quit the other job and live off my writing. It's an hour long drive and I have a vivid imagination.

2 hours a night Monday through Friday equals 10 hours plus 5 hours Saturday and Sunday equals 20 hours. Of course, it has to wait till next week to get started. :p Here's to setting goals for myself.


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Finding it funny...

that I was the one who was badgered into keeping one of these and now seem to have more daily posts. Maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment.

Tickets have been bought for Dec. 17th. *Insert evil giggles here* Bring on the orcs! Bring on the orcs!

In related news, I liked how one hawker for a jewlery booth was taunting kids last Friday at Faire. "I have the One Ring and you don't." The booth has replicas. Also has hair twists which is what I advertise for them.

New website because I brought a new pretty Scrimshaw on Crystal. My coworkers have already gone snarly at me for showing them this website.

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Time for Writing?

Doesn't appear to be much. Overtime is kicking into gear at work, and I'm exhausted and wired on caffinne by the time I get home. I did get more of the chronological plot outline for the Chosen typed last night. The next step once I finish that is to create the novel plot outline (deciding when ancient history will be revealed to the protagonists) and expanding into the scenes I will need.

Which, when I stop and think about it, is the same level of work I put into the crossover.

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Bilge Pump Weekend

*Giggle* I got new CD, I got new CD. Yes, the Bilge Pumps were with us for the entire Thanksgiving weekend. Not as good as having them for the entire Faire run, but better than not having them at all. I bought the third CD for 4 songs ("Donkey Riding,"--and they think we give them hard cities *snicker* "Roll the Old Chariot Along," "The Dark Lady," and *yelling* "OLD DUN COW" MACINTYRE!!!!!) and "Pirating the Seas" and "The Night Pat Murphy Died" are loads of fun during the stage shows.

Maybe more later today.



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