lauraanne_gilman | Entries tagged with dispatches from nyc

This weekend was pretty lazy: a lot of reading, some city-hiking, some sleeping in, and I finished off two beta-reads for friends, complete with probably more notes than they were expecting. Ask an editor...

Also, friends came and hauled away the old sleeper-sofa for their new apartment, and I rearranged the lounge to accomodate the new sleeper-chair that will be delivered later this week. It's strange: I've lived with that sofa in this apartment for five years (and have owned it for nearly 20 years). I can describe every room it's been in, over that time; it's got a permanent place in my mental landscape of "home." And now it's gone*.

On the plus side, the new chair-and-a-half will suit the space, and my usage, much better. It's just going to take a little adjusting.

Mostly though, this weekend has been about recharging my brain. I wrote some more of the Sherlock fic and posted a bit of it, and noodled around with something else, but mainly it's been all for-fun goofing with story, not Work. It's good to do that occasionally.

Also: the dogwood trees are starting to bloom, and I have a huge bouquet of irises on my desk. Simple pleasures.

The big excitement around Ch. Felidae this afternoon was the bringing-out of the deshedding tools. Boomer asks, and then Pandora realizes someone else is getting groomed and comes out to demand her share, and half an hour later I call quits (they'd be perfectly happy for me to continue for an hour or two).

It's not a proper grooming session until we have enough to make another kitten. Or, in this case, a small litter of extra kittens. Anyone out there spin/knit with cat hair? I have some lovely golden and tabby fluff for you....

*for levels of 'gone' that mean 'I'll see it when I go to my friends' apartment"

I tried to take the weekend off the Internets. For the most part, I succeeded, mainly due to

a) massive amount of work to be done.

b) utterly perfect early spring weather that got me outside.

c) friends moving into the city the next neighborhood over (technically, they're in Manhattan and I'm in the Bronx, but it's a mile walk between, so screw technicalities).

I didn't get anywhere near enough done, and I didn't get enough time outside, but hey, that's linear time limitations for ya. I could go without sleep to finish things up, but I've reached the point in my life where that feels more stupid than solution. Meh.

The Sunday Morning topic of Important Discussion here at Chateau Felidae was hair: should I cut it short for summer, or grow it elf-long? And, irrespective of either, should I keep the silvering, or not? (I'm thinking keep. I kind of like it).

In other Stuff, it was proposed this weekend that indignation and entitlement are twinned concepts, in that very few of us are 100% oppressed by the existing system (you are Black, but you are a male. You are White, but female. You are a minority religion, and a male. You are a White male Christian who is handicapped, etc in a thousand different iterations) and for each hit we take, we are also given a hall pass.

I'm not going to say yea or nay to the theory (it doesn't take into account those who are 100% minority mixes), but it is...something to chew on, with a side of context.

And so we go into Monday. Wheee?

Last week, Pentecostal blues/rock with Paul Thorn. Last night, Jewish pop-folk with Rachael Sage (where she channeled everyone's great-aunt from Boca in one terrifying but very funny moment). Next week, Brazilian jazz.

In-between: writing to trance.

My musical tastes: ecclectic.

Conversation:
"So how are you today?"
"Amazon is buying Goodreads."
uncertain pat on the shoulder, offer of a narcotic.

Meanwhile, we soldier on. Things to write, revise, edit, mourn, celebrate, promote... Publishing is not for the weak. Or the sane.

Another client meeting this afternoon, before the next strong push on the project. I'm hoping to get some more words down on my own work(s), and sit down to the page proofs that need to go back next week, follow-up on another long-term project that should start soon, and maybe even do some reading-for-pleasure...

Yeah, may not be time for that last. Hopefully this weekend: there are BOOKS! I need to FINISH!

Good Friday, for those who observe such, and Happy Easter. Happy weekend to the rest of us! Who's got plans? Who's taking it as it comes?

The new television* is successfully set up. The new blu-ray player is successfully set up and hooked into the home network (after a mighty battle** skalds would not scorn to sing).

I am going to celebrate by wailing on a scene that needs to be revised and put to bed. Hey, you have your victory celebrations, I have mine***.

*my friends insisted I needed a 46-50 inch television for the lounge area. My friends are size queens. The 40" does the job perfectly well without overwhelming the space.
** seriously. It was a battle of wills and ice-cold hate and steely determination, and in the end, the player blinked.
*** and, at some point after that, I need to rearrange the artwork, because moving one piece meant everything else had to be reconsidered, too...

Some days, the Internet allows me to connect with people, to see another side, to experience outside my own comfort zone. And some days, it makes me think a good hard Flood is overdue.

(seriously: a little compassion, a little perspective, and a little less ego should not be so difficult, humanity...)

In other, I guess happier news, it is officially into March, which means my work schedule has kind of exploded. Some of that (writing the new G&T novel, working on the new proposal) I CAN talk about, some I CAN'T talk about, and some I can't talk about YET. (yes, I know, I'm a tease).

So far, the once-a-week-on-the-coworking-space office seems to be doing what it needed to do: shaking up my habits and giving me a different perspective on what I'm doing. I may up the time-split eventually...we'll see. I've never been a "working in my PJs type" anyway. I am going to try to keep the "less work on weekends" trend, but also reserve the right to go into full-on manic meerkat mode, as needed. You'll know when. :-)

So, relevant to the first bit of work, a question for those of you with household animals and technology:

do your animals ever pay the slightest bit of attention to the screen when you're skyping/otherwise involved in digital conversations? And if so, what form does that attention take?

Normally my dreams are of the "ok, ok, thanks brain, I get it" sort. But last night involved, among other things, being part of an archeological SAR team (yeah, I don't know either) jumping (with a zipline, not a parachute) into France. But because I dithered about actually jumping out of the plane (until they gave me the zipline option), I ended up miles south of the target, and had to make my way back through an od mix of historical site and modern hotel. I dodged around a wedding party set-up (including someone I knew playing in the mini-orchestra, and a small yipping dog that didn't like the music) and went through service tunnels carved of stone, before ending in a broken lader over a gorge - I could SEE the monument that was my marker in the distance, but no way to GET there.

And then someone I knew (my brain wants to say it was Steven Gould, but I can't swear to that) showed up on a side rung of the ladder an starts giving me advice. The only part of any of this that makes sense is that yesterday I was deeply irritated by a (non)action of the current SFWA board, and Steven is running for SFWA president, so I guess that's why he showed up? I wish I could remember if the advice he gave was any good...

(I did eventually make it to the site, but I don't remember how, or what we did once there.)

Yeah. Brain, I'm sorry, but I've got no clue.

Woke up to last night's storm still blowing wet and fierce, and my desire to head downtown to the co-working site is very, very low. But there is.So. Much. Work to be done....

First note: the fitbit is easy to affix to either my bra strap or my waistband without a problem. Well, one problem: because of my, hrm, slightly built nature, clipping it to my front leaves a visible lump under fitted clothing, and to the side means I'm constantly aware of it brushing my arm when I type. So... that needs to be figured out.

Today was, as promised, a sluggish-writer baseline day. With the exception of running out to the store to pick up cat food (more or less around the block and down the street) and laundry, I didn't leave my apartment all day, nor did I exercise (except the usual mid-writing-session stretches, which I do to keep the blood moving).

As of 10:30pm, I've walked 5,200 steps (2 1/4 miles, more or less).

That's nowhere near the 10,000 steps/day they suggest, but not too bad considering the circumstances, and probably proof of my family's belief that even when I'm sitting still, I'm still moving.

Now I need to establish an "out and about" baseline, to figure out how active I am when I head downtown for work, and go from there...

So today, in addition to other things (of which more in a few days), I joined fitbit nation. Or rather I will tomorrow, since I just got it set up.

My plan is to get a baseline of how much I actually move on a "regular" day, and then ramp up as needed. It will be interesting to compare an off day to an exercise day....

Oh ye fellow fitbitters, any helpful hints, clues or warnings to give?

For anyone who might care, the "don't bust your ass on the weekends, take some regular downtime" routine went something like this:

Saturday morning, the household didn't even start to stir until nearly 10am. Even the cats slept in (after ElderCat threw up at 4am, anyway). And then it was raining and I felt no urge or need to do...well, anything. So I sat on the sofa and rewatched both seasons of Sherlock, and knitted, and thought sort of idly about the things I needed to get done.

Knitting: the art of being productive while procrastinating.

Sunday I'd PLANNED to go downtown for brunch, but, well, that didn't happen. I did get to sleep in until 9, though! And no cats threw up (that I was aware of). A slightly less lazy day, in that I finished my MindMeld response (mainly, cutting my 1500 word response into something vaguely more on topic), and got the laundry done and read part of a Book Not Mine. I till nee to re-edit the response, though, because it still isn't quite saying what I wanted to, and it's due tomorrow, oh shit. It may end up becoming a full blog post, instead. In my copious spare time and braincells.

And then a call for dinner with my sister, in town for 24 hours, so that's what I did instead of the Oscars. :-)

OH in the House:

"...this chapter needs a better transition."
"Suddenly, a shot rang out?"
"...actually, that could work."

(some time later)

"I need an ingest / in jest pun."
"If I told you to let it pass, would you think I was kidding?"
"....marry me."

Every morning, one or the other or both household felines comes forth and yowls in my ear FEED ME! I'M HUUUUUUUNGRY!

So i get up - never before 6am, rarely after 7am, I am a well-trained human - and feed them. One serving of gooshy food each, in different bowls, in different rooms.

Inevitably, as in EVERY DAMNED DAY, CatofSize will finish his food first, and wander over to stare at ElderCat, who is still eating. She, 5 days out of 7, will wander off, because she does not like being stared at. He will then attempt to eat her food (unless I see him and yell).

Meanwhile, 4 days out of those 5, ElderCat wanders over and eats what he left in his dish, so when he comes back - having eaten all hers - there's nothing left.

Cats. Either they're fucking with us for some great alien lab test, or they're just fucking with us.

The subject header is fron a story, but the experience is from life:

I was talking to a friend while I was reheating last night's leftovers for lunch, and I said, idly, in passing, "I think this needs fish sauce. Hang on a sec."

An my friend, flabbergasted, said "you have fish sauce in your cabinet?"

Me: "The fridge, actually. You don't?"

Note to self: to some otherwise lovely people, fish sauce is weird/exotic/icky. They're still nice people you can associate with, really.

What, you mean other than snow? (and sledding. Sledding was fun, although I am now bruised in certain places I should have been expecting)

Well, having finished off everything else I had pending, and only having client-work to keep me occupied until Monday, I have turned my attention to a New Project. Which means, I did a hell of a lot of research-reading, talked to someone who qualifies as an expert in one of the things I need to research, and generally poked at the first chapter until I wasn't embarrassed to be seen in public with it. I mean, I still dress it funny, but I'm okay with that, it will grow into its own fashion sense, eventually.

"There was a handprint in the door. Just the handprint, nothing else. No skin, no blood." If a hand had been hot enough to leave a char-mark, it would have been terribly damaged, the person in intense pain. Assuming it was a person at all. "Did you do that?"

Fee is badass. She might even be as badass as she thinks she is. But Nur is way more badass than that.

I also worked on other things that are not spoken of yet (if ever), started some freelance copy-writing, arranged for transport for next weekend's rally in D.C., met with a client via the wonders of Skype, and told a few people about the NEWS. What NEWS, you ask? Oh, the NEWS I'll tell you on Monday.....

Snow has stopped. I haven't poked my nose outside, but it looks like about a foot of the white stuff out there. Compared to the folks in New Haven and north, who are reportedly looking at 30+ inches (!) we barely had a storm....

(basically, because some of it decided to be rain/sleet earlier yesterday. Had it stayed cold, we'd be looking at 2x the snow, I suspect. Not that I'm bitter or anything... Sadly, the penalty of being an adult is having to think "okay, good, it didn't hammer us with three feet, so it's not going to cost a large fortune for the cleanup." Easier to be a kid.)

It will probably all be rained/melted away by Monday, so I intend to get out and play a bit today!

(there are no pics because after 5 years snow-is-snow and snow-covered-cars are still snow covered cars, etc. We'll see if things are more interesting after the sun rises)

Today involved me hauling downtown for a Sekrit Business Meeting (it went well, thanks), and then hauling back home again before the storm AKA Nemo turned to full-on snow.

We won't get hammered the way southern NE will, but da Bronx looks to be taking its fair share. Earlier today there was a beagle doing the OMG HAPPY Snow HAPPY! dance outside my window. A little while later a Yorkie was doing the OMG HALP RESCUE ME! dance.

The next 24 hours are all about nesting and holing up. I am doing the traditional storm carb-loading, with pasta and a bottle of Lion' Whisker, which is a SA red blend I recently discovered and am quite fond of. I probably should not drink this entire bottle of wine my ownself. But when watching snow falling and reading innnnteresting research materials, it's hard to keep an eye on the bottle level....

Friday was The Day that Didn't Happen (meetings were rescheduled, phone calls that were promised didn't happen, etc). Least said, the best. Although there were nice incidentals, good work, and a lovely dinner with a friend that day, too.

Saturday was My 5th Anniversary Living In NYC Party. A LOT of people showed up. A LOT of food and booze was consumed. A lot of talk and laughter and people NOT checking FB or Twitter. Yay party. I kicked people out around 11:30 because I'm old and tired and I was going to see many of them the next day anyway...

Sunday was the annual Superbowl Party, even though a team not the Giants was playing another team not the Giants. As always when that happens, I went in hoping for a fun, interesting, well-played game (and that my exhaustion doesn't end up with me face down in my chili, because a) ow and b) my friends would totally liveblog that).

And what we got was.... well, it was fun, and it was interesting, and it was certainly one for the history books, although not for the usual reasons! (for those who missed the game, there was a power outage that resulted in a major delay). I don't believe that "momentum" changed, but I do think that it gave the Niners' coach time to insert his boot firmly, because his team came out like someone had kicked a firecracker up their shorts and we had a hell of a post-brownout half.

Oh, and there's a new Bonnie & Venec short story up - and a recipe, and a contest! - at Fools For Love!

And now it's Monday again. I have Hopes for this week. How about you?

Five years ago today, I was giving the last sweep to my old apartment in New Haven, handing the keys over to the new tenants (who happened to be friends of mine) and trying to figure out where the cats were hiding before the moving truck guys showed up. 12 hours and Some Adventures later, I was eating pizza in my new apartment in NYC, trying to figure out where the cats were hiding.

When I first moved here, I figured okay, 4-6 years. Then I'd start to get restless feet again. *looks at feet*

(of course, since then I've gut-renovated both the kitchen and the bathroom, so that may be cooling the feet down a little...)

This weekend I'll be having some friends over to celebrate the fact that I've finally almost got the apartment set up the way I want it. :-)

for those so-amused, the kitchen renovation photos are here. I took far fewer bathroom reno photos, mainly because I wasn't here much of the time.

Crossposts: http://suricattus.livejournal.com/1610319.html

ElderCat has a torn (and slightly bloody) ear. She let me clean it with a damp q-tip, and it doesn't look infected, but I'll be keeping a close eye on her today. She seems calm, almost bored by the entire thing, so I'm not going to stress. Much

No idea if CatofSize was involved or not. They've lived together for 8 years now - never cuddly but always mostly-peacefully, and never before with damage. Do NOT want to deal w/ a change in the status quo....

EtA Sunday PM: the ear flap is slightly swollen today, so off to the vet she goes ~~tomorrow morning.~~Tuesday afternoon (delayed so sick-me doesn't have to go out in the snow/slush).

Crossposts: http://suricattus.livejournal.com/1608998.html

Well, that weekend went by in a blink. I know I got things accomplished but mostly I'm looking around thinking "well, I'm glad I have this pocket day to get more things done before everyone's back in their offices tomorrow."

If you're in the States, do you have today off for MLK Day? (Publishing mostly switched from Columbus Day to MLK Day as a paid holiday, years ago.) If not, is it an annoyance, or a whachagonnao shrug? I have fond memories of paid holidays, myself...

Meanwhile, I'm having the not-unfamiliar urge to go ice skating. This is actually possible around here - there are good, not-insanely-crowded, not-madly-overpriced rinks in NYC. However, I hate rental skates - they never fit right, the blades aren't properly maintained, and there's not enough ankle support. Wondering if it's worth it to buy proper skates for the 1-2x a year I actually use them...

(and yes, I was one of those annoying single-digits, fearlessly zipping around the skating rink. My parents breathed a sigh of relief when I decided that I didn't want to continue lessons, because that meant they didn't have to weigh the 5am drives to the rink vs telling me I couldn't do something I loved... But I look back now and think "dear dog, I was an athletic child. Skating, skiing, horseback riding; ok, maybe I earned the "Forward, Faster" motto honestly...)

And in another random switch of topics, I am thinking about putting my current motto up on hallway wall. But me + stenciling = mess. Anyone have any experience with vinyl letters?

The Year-End Project has been...not exactly put to rest, but it's on a back burner, 40,000 words prepped and waiting for Discussions.

So, what's up, what's on deck?

Right now, the main priority is getting "Miles to Go" into final shipping shape for the Kickstarter backers. They're also due a few stories (I haven't forgotten, guys!). Plus, working with the good folk at PlusOne to get the second novella done, etc etc. That's January/February.

I also owe some other folk stories in the next six weeks. That's front-burner for January. Also, revisions to the books I handed in to my editors in, respectively, October and December. And there's February/March, sorted.

After that? I don't know. A lot of possibles. If the reaction was good, more Sylvan Investigations. The short story e-collection. Possibly another Gin & Tonic mystery or two. Hopefully, another fantasy or three. Waiting on callbacks.

Also, A Project I Can't Talk About Yet, but that has me really excited.

I do know that in the second half of this year I have three novels coming out - the next Gin & Tonic mystery, FIXED, and the Portals fantasy duology, HEART OF BRIAR and SOUL OF FIRE. So it's going to be a busy 2013 no matter what....

And that's how I like it. :-)

This post is mostly to remind you that you still have One. More. Day in which to enter the last contest of April and win a signed copy of BLOOD FROM STONE!

I went outside today for the first time since...Saturday? Was like the first day in a foreign country.

Treated myself to some fresh pastry for lunch, which I probably will regret, and then came home before I started to cough and somebody called the CDC*. Then I took a nap. How can I be getting better and still so worn out? Now there will be more page proofs, and some work on the manuscript draft, and whatever else I have the energy to do.

I am so very ready to be healthy again, please thank you.

Anyone else sick? What stage are you in?

[*however, it has been pronounced that I have boring old every-spring flu, not anything exotic. Alas, I am NotAStatistic]

Current Mood: bored of phlegm

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A Meerkat's Bolthole

where personal and professional lives collide

Entries tagged with dispatches from nyc

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I could get used to this weekend thing...

Various and sundry worked through the weekend...

Friday is both Various and Sundry...

WIKTORY!

Spring is coming in, but keep the scarf wrapped round your throat...

My brain is often a scary place. Sometimes, though, it's just...WTF?

Fitbit, Baseline #2

Fitbit in a wee bit

That Was the Weekend That Was

Life With Cats: Food Politics

Every now and again the world reminds us we aren't the end all and be all of experience...

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was your weekend?

And Nemo came, and Nemo went.

Friday's Finding Nemo

Superbowl Sunday, and those other days, too.

Moving Day, 5 Years later

Feline updatery

Various and Sundry are having a Random Monday. Or, Monday, Randomly.

Into the New Year

I have no clever header subject