Category: Life and Other Fun

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and we’re done

Well, not quite *done* exactly. I have finished at the old home. Yesterday I went back to get my succulents and other odds and ends that got left on moving day, and with the help of a friend, we cleaned the place to the point where it is cleaner than it was when I moved in, other than 12-year-old cream-colored carpets that wouldn’t come clean even with bleach.

I have today off work, ostensibly for settling in, but I’m pretty wiped out today, and sore all over. If nothing else today, I need to finish emptying the truck and put the plants out back so I can take the truck back to my sister-in-law and get my car back.

Then I can take the week to slowly begin unpacking. I may try to finish setting up the kitchen today so I can cook an actual meal this evening. My next most important bit is the office, so that it’s set up Wednesday when the cable installer is here.

Once that stuff is done, I think I’ll set myself a goal of at least two boxes per day to get emptied and all the stuff in them can find a home. I have so much more storage in this house! Plus a whole two-car garage, where even more can be stowed.

I still need to come up with a kitchen table and chairs and a washer/dryer, but I figure that’s what tax refunds are for.

I also have a lengthy wish list on Amazon of things I need or would be nice to have in the house. The longer I’m here, the longer the list gets. (https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2XS9D465BNIUP?ref_=wl_share if you’re so inclined).

The cats are starting to settle in. They’ve discovered the joys of a front-facing window on a street with lots going on, and Freya thinks the stairs are an amusement park ride.

For now, however, I’m sipping on some Death Wish Coffee and contemplating a hot shower. I might even find some writing time at some point today. Does anyone know which box I packed Brain, my muse, in?

Photo by Théo Dorp on Unsplash

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do what you love

When I was younger, I used to hear the adage “Do what you love, love what you do,” but I don’t remember knowing too many people who loved what they did for a living. I don’t remember a single adult in my life as a child who didn’t spend more time complaining about the day job and trying to get away from their day job than they did talking pleasantly about coworkers or the actual work.

I was also led to believe that no one “normal” can make ends meet as a creative. All the musicians I knew had day jobs. The only writers I knew of were those lucky ones who escaped the day job by sheer talent and perfect time/place. Art was something for personal satisfaction, not something you could expect to make a living at.

I don’t think I set out to find a job that I loved as much as I do the technical writer career I sort of backed into by accident over twenty years ago, but here I am. It is so satisfying to know every day that I get to do something that I am remarkably good at, something that I love, something that allows me to impact not just the company’s end users, but the actual development of the product and how it is presented to those users.

That isn’t to say that there isn’t stress, or that I don’t have days where I just…don’t want to…but even on those days I still love what I’m doing.

I get to solve puzzles, troubleshoot software, wrestle with words and constantly refine language and it’s use one our product and in our online help. It isn’t something I’d thought I’d be doing when I left high school, but I feel it is exactly where I was meant to end up.

Happy Wednesday, Readers! I have so much to do, both for the day job and for the moving work. Tomorrow it’s a half-day’s work, and then I’m off to start the job of hauling my belongings from one place to the other. Take care of you and those around you. Be kind and be happy.

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the light at the end of the tunnel

I’m nine days away from moving day, and let me tell you, I’m exhausted. There is light at the end of the tunnel, there’s just a lot of tunnel between me and that light.

I’m surrounded by boxes and bins. They’re stacked everywhere. I’ve got a wall of boxes in the office. There’s a bunch of boxes stacked in front of the closet in my bedroom. The entertainment center in the living room is surrounded by boxes. The dining area is starting to look like a tower of boxes.

It’s hard to believe there could still be anything to pack. However, there seems to be stuff everywhere that still needs to fit into boxes. And I’m still living in this house, so not everything can get packed.

Being a very Virgo Virgo, I have lists for packing, cleaning, things that need to be done two days out, one day out, and the day of moving. There is a satisfaction that comes with checking off boxes.

I go out to the new place on Sunday to sign the lease and do the walk through with the landlady. She even has a checklist for inspecting every room.

For now, though, I have some Death Wish coffee in my Stormtrooper Pew-Pew mug, and lots of work for the day job to get done.

Have a great Thursday, Readers.

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moving right along

I have found my new home! In a little under two weeks, I will be moving to a lovely little townhouse in Stockton, CA. Good thing I was already mostly packed up.

Between here and there I have a lot of cleaning to do and packing to finish. I plan on making a few runs with my sister-in-law’s truck filled with boxes, so there is less the movers have to do. Movers are pricey.

My new place is a small three bedroom, with lots of storage and two full bathrooms. Not that I need two full bathrooms, but you know. And a garage. I’ve never lived as an adult in a place where I had a garage. There’s a fireplace in the living room and laminate floors throughout, goodbye carpet!

It has a cute little balcony on the second floor, perfect for a little coffee spot. I’m also enjoying “shopping” for things I’ll need, by which I mean, throwing all the things I want on a wish list, which can double as an idea list for anyone wanting to do housewarming gifts.

I’m excited to get my new kitchen aid mixer set up in my new kitchen!

I generally dislike moving, at least this part of it. I love setting up a new house though. It’s amazing how much work there is to get done!

My coffee cup is nearing empty, so I guess that means I should get busy. May today be filled with kindness, Readers!

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#amwriting

Sunday, Sunday…this week Sunday means writing, cleaning, and packing/moving boxes to clean. Oh, and refreshing my hair color. I’m trying a slightly darker green this time. Sunday is also the day I watch paranormal type shows. I’m currently binging on Ghost Hunters Classic on Discovery.

I’m working on the zero draft of a book I didn’t know I was writing, a fourth book in the Blood Witch Saga. I didn’t know there was a fourth until I wrote the epilogue of book 3.

Still working on finding a new house to move to. I’ve seen a couple that I really loved, but the last one went to a veteran and his family, and the landlady in the other is taking her sweet time to decide.

I hate this part, the search and what feels like begging for a home.

I have tomorrow off for MLK Jr. day, so I’ll get a little extra writing time this week, which is always nice. I have a vague idea where this story is going, a few plot points along the way and I know (mostly) how it ends. This is the part of writing that I love the most, feeling my way through the plot, building new worlds, creating new characters.

I should get up and get busy with stuff that doesn’t include the computer. There are boxes to move and floors to be cleaned, etc.

Hope your day is awesome, Readers!

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brain monkeys

Sometimes, inspiration is hard to come by, and the imposter syndrome looms large. As I stare into this year with a big move on the immediate horizon and the terrifying prospect of searching for literary representation battling my desire to take my writing career in a forward direction (versus just going with what I know is safe but nowhere near as satisfying), it would be easy to let it all overwhelm me.

I do my damndest to write every day, even if the words suck. Even if it’s only a hundred words or so. Every word written is a weapon against the dark.

As I was writing the Epilogue to the third Blood Witch book over the holidays, I was struck with the notion that there was more to the story, that this trilogy was actually a quartet. So, I started on book four.

As of right now, the plot is a bit nebulous: I know where it begins and I know where it ends, but the middle part remains something of a mystery.

I’ve never been a writer who plots it all out with an outline and all. I mostly let my characters tell me where the story goes, so I’m sometimes surprised.

I’ve been a bit paralyzed by fear in the search for representation. I know these books are kind of in a niche within a niche, which makes it harder, and I know that agents get a ridiculous number of queries, so no answer is not a comment on my work, but that does nothing to quiet the monkeys in my brain.

I think I’ve decided to wait to query anyone else until after the move. In the meantime, I will continue pouring words into book 4, and polishing books 2 & 3. I am pretty happy with book 1 and all of the plot editing is done for 2 & 3, at least until an editor gets their hands on them.

So, here’s to a Tuesday in January of 2022. May it be amazing, Readers, and filled with kindness.

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one year on

One year ago today, I was working from home and had one of my monitors tuned in to watch the certification of the electoral college votes. I was watching not because I expected anything would happen, but because I was relieved that we would finally have a competent adult in the White House.

Well, I expected a few theatrical objections from the Republican side of things because they’d already proven that they were incapable of behaving like rational adults. I didn’t expect to be watching a full-on insurrection.

In fact, I was so incredulous when it started to be clear that something was happening, that I called my mother to confirm what I was seeing was real. For clarity, I don’t have cable tv, I was streaming on YouTube, so I was looking for confirmation that the news was showing the same thing.

Needless to say, not a lot of work got done the rest of the day as I watched the coverage.

There was a lot of shock and some fear on my part, a lot of disbelief too.

In the days that followed, as more and more information came out, that disbelief turned to anger, and over the last year, as we learned more and as social media posts made during the insurrection went viral, that anger grew.

In the last year, some of those people went on trial and went to jail, or had to pay fines. The length of the sentences grew as they went along, working their way up to those who committed the more heinous acts that day.

This is not over, not until those at the top face justice. Not until the full truth about who was involved behind the scenes is known. Not until those in office who were involved are expelled.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the very existence of democracy in America is on the line.

On this anniversary, I hope a somber remembrance will lead us to better days, dear Readers.

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the Harry Potter problem

I have a troubled relationship with Harry Potter. On the one hand, I love the magical world and all of the people who occupy it. On the other hand, there’s the world’s creator, who has shown herself to be…well, a terrible person.

Yesterday, I watched the reunion special on HBO Max, because despite that woman and her TERF views, the movies have been a big source of comfort in my life. I watch them when I need something familiar and yet not real, I can immerse myself in that world and forget the real world exists.

However, I am very aware of her problematic, and vocal, opposition to the notion that transwomen are women. As a part of the LGBTQA+ community, and as someone with transgender family and friends, I simply can’t abide those who would punch down at an already marginalized group of people.

I will never understand how having a penis or not having a penis matters to anyone other than the owner of said penis.

Oh, my, I think I’m getting derailed. Back to Harry Potter…

For the most part, the reunion was a lovely trip back in time, and we get to watch those kids grow up and become amazing actors. I’ll admit to crying when they memorialized those who had died since they were at Hogwarts…to be fair, I was pretty weepy anyway for some reason. Watching them talk about what the movies meant to them, how they became the characters, and what they took away from the experience was moving.

And then there were those clips of her. I mean, sure, she created this world for us to enjoy, but I think I’ve come to a place where the books belong to her, but the movies have a life outside of her, so it felt odd to have her there, even if the clips were from 2019.

I refuse to give up the movies because of her, much as I refuse to give up Buffy because Joss turned out to be an asshole. She can have the books. However, I will not spend another penny on merchandise that will continue to fill her pockets.

Fancy a trip to Hogwarts, Readers? I think I do. It’s a cold day here, perfect for cuddling kitties, drinking tea, and curling up under the electric blanket with some magic on the television. It’s the last day of vacation as well, so I aim to relax. Tomorrow it’s back to work.

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ease on down

It’s been a hell of a year, hasn’t it?

On the one hand, it feels like 2021 flew by and I have no idea how we’re in the last week of the year. On the other hand, the events of January 2021 feel like they were two years ago, not one.

A lot changed for me this year.

I got laid off of a job I was enjoying, but which didn’t pay me well. I struggled financially to the point of needing to be bailed out by friends. I applied for, and received, rent relief from the California government (though it took forever). I started a new job on my birthday that I both love and that rewards me financially (and treats me like a grown up adult person). I finished writing two books and started querying with the first one in the series (still querying).

And here at the tail end of the year, I’ve made the decision to move closer to my family, now that I have a job that is permanently remote.

It seems somehow fitting to be at the end of the year and packing up my life. It gives me a chance to review all the steps that brought me here…to clear out what is no longer necessary and savor the things I love. Quite fitting for this time of year, I think.

I haven’t heard back yet on the house I want. The landlady made it clear when I applied that she’s “looking for the right tenant” so she is taking her time making the decision. I am still looking, but there were very few listings in the week leading up to Christmas, so I anticipate I should start seeing more listings next week.

In writing news this week, I wrote the epilogue for the third blood witch book, and it surprised me by leaving an opening for a fourth book…which I then wrote the first chapter for, so that’s a thing that is happening.

I have this whole week off from the day job, and I’m using it to both write and get myself packed up. It’s about time I got off the computer, cranked up some tunes, and got busy. Y’all take care, Readers, and ease on into 2022.

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sleigh bells and rudolph

I am one of those people who generally dislike Christmas music. There are a number of reasons. The first big one is that there are so few new Christmas songs, so we get inundated with the same ten or so songs in multiple variations. Do we really need every single recording artist to record Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?

Then there’s the fact that everywhere you go, you get slammed with that music non-stop. Gone are the contemporary songs that stores usually play. I probably would like Christmas music better if it was one song out of five, rather than wall to wall Drummer Boy and Frosty the Snowman.

Of course, the fact that so much of the traditional Christmas music is based in a religion I left decades ago. Nothing against those songs per se, just not my thing, you know?

There’s also my disdain for false cheer, forced happy endings and the like. It’s one of the reasons I don’t watch Christmas movies too. Or romance. My music tastes are varied and wide, but my comfort music is generally dark and loud. There’s a reason I clean house to stuff from artists like Halestorm, Dorothy, Flogging Molly, etc.

Today is the day that my disdain starts to dissipate though. Starting on Christmas Eve, I am much more amenable to the stuff. I may even turn on some alternative stuff today while I’m packing or cleaning. We’ll see.

And tomorrow I have no problems with it, at least in small doses. As long as it is background noise, and not taking over the whole affair. But I feel that way about most music, if I’m spending time with others. Alone, I crank it up though. In other words, it’s almost time to be Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.

Whatever you celebrate, whatever you believe, whoever you love, I am sending you all my love this holiday season, Readers. Give yourself a hug from me.

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