why we're worn out, and just waiting for the guard to change...

WASHINGTON — Last fall, Blackwater Worldwide was in deep peril. Guards for the security company were involved in a shooting in September that left at least 17 Iraqis dead at a Baghdad intersection. Outrage over the killings prompted the Iraqi government to demand Blackwater’s ouster from the country, and led to a criminal investigation by the F.B.I., a series of internal investigations by the State Department and the Pentagon, and high-profile Congressional hearings.

But after an intense public and private lobbying campaign, Blackwater appears to be back to business as usual.

The level of disgust in Ch. Felidae is at Orange.

that was the saturday that was

advice for survival: step away from the computer. go outside. have a soothing drink. watch kids playing. play a little yourself. get some sunlight. take a nap.

the world will still be here when you get back.
---------------------------

Meanwhile, countersigned contract and on-signing monies have arrived for "Dreamcatcher," which I finished up last week. Next week my editor will have the manuscript itself, and then I will have the on-delivery monies, and in August y'all will be able to download it for your very selves, if so inclined. The circle of life, publishing-style.

A lot of working is the plan this weekend, a lot of movie watching, and a lot of power napping. I seem to be focusing in three hour bursts, then needing an hour of down-time. Combined with my very odd sleeping patterns the past week, and it's probably a good thing I haven't had to deal with the local-time 9-5 world much recently. That will change on Monday. Urk.

As an aside: how much do I love being able to walk to my gym? A lot. How much do I love having a Starbucks next door to my gym where I can work after working out, and then take a bus home, door to door? A lot, lot. A latte lot. Mmm, mocha....


Today's darling, to steal a phrase:

An hour later, I was thinking that maybe I was going to have to redefine my idea of kinky. Tying someone up and covering them with butterscotch and strawberries was totally normal. This? This was a little weird. And uncomfortable. And I really wasn’t sure I did trust Sharon enough to let it happen.

Not that she would hurt me; I trusted all my co-workers with my back. I even trusted them with my front. It was the insides I was still sorta protective about.