Tag: coffee

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travel in the time of COVID

One week from today, I will be in Denver, CO for a convention unlike most others I have ever attended. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious about the travel and the collection of people in small rooms. Sure, I’ll double mask on the plane and the con has good COVID practices in place (everyone must be vaxxed and have a negative COVID test for starters), but my only experience with “crowds” was in August this year, and there were only twelve of us.

I considered not going. Several times. However, Sirens is a place that feeds my soul, and if I’m honest, my soul has been sorely in need of feeding.

Sirens is a place where we get to explore the world of speculative fiction (sci-fi, horror, fantasy, etc) through the lens of voices that are not considered “traditional” in that space. By which, I mean: women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, etc. (Reminder that this year’s anthology, “Villains and Vengeance” is available now!)

It’s part reader’s conference, part writer’s retreat and part networking weekend. This will be my third time at Sirens.

Of course my COVID anxiety is only just part of my anxiety, because there is also the uncertainty of travel, particularly since I am flying Southwest, and my agoraphobia, which has only gotten worse since the start of COVID. I have the advantage of a) flying an airline I know well, out of airports I know well; b) the con hotel is also familiar; c) FRIENDS.

I think having friends who know/understand my *stuff* is my biggest coping mechanism. It provides a safe space when there is no safe space. I anticipate a need for a lot of hermiting time when I get back.

For now, though, Readers, I have a few hours before I have to start the day job and my coffee is fresh and hot. I think that means it’s time to write. Happy Friday!

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Yesterday, while cleaning, I found my box of Halloween decorations that I’d forgotten I even have. Orange and purple lights, two black light bulbs, caution tape. I haven’t lived anywhere that I could really decorate outside for a very long time.

My current home doesn’t face the street either, but I miss setting up decorations. I don’t really get trick or treaters, but I’m thinking I will dress up the porch anyway.

I no longer have the dummy heads that I made all those years ago, so I need something for my witch. I may swing by the Spirit store when I go for my walk to see if they have something I can use. I need a little joy these days.

The company I work for is having a contest for costumes and for decor, so maybe I ‘ll get bragging rights.

While I dig for the right clothes for my witch, I will also be digging out the clothes that I need to pack for Sirens, which is now less than two weeks away.

I will be adding to my “members only” story over on Ko-fi this week, the first part is up and open to all. For only $1 / month, you can get access to the story as it goes along.

My coffee cup appears to be empty and writing time awaits. Have an amazing Sunday, Readers!

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who needs sleep?

I seldom sleep much past 5am these days. Not that I don’t want to. I’d love to be able to sleep in the way I used to…but at the same time, getting up so early means I have time to write that I wouldn’t have if I slept in. Always the trade off.

I’ve seen stuff going round social media lately talking about Revenge Bedtime Procrastination, which sure, I sometimes have that going on, but I think this early morning nonsense is born of the same urge, that feeling like I need more time in my day.

It isn’t like I’m overworked. I do a good 8 hour day like most folks, but being alone means I also need to do all the things that need doing, and sometimes it just feels like I’m getting nowhere fast.

So yes, I was up at 4 am this morning and I already have a couple hundred words on the page to show for it.

I also have an empty coffee cup, so I need to see about filling it with some more Death Wish Coffee. We have finally arrived at the time of year where I can drink my coffee without a fan on in the mornings. It’s cool, almost even crisp this morning, though it will be warm enough for fans by the afternoon.

Happy Tuesday, Readers! I hope the day brings you good things.

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wherein Natalie is a dork

The first few weeks on any job can be trying. There’s so much to learn about the company, the product and your role/team. For an introverted agoraphobe like me, there’s all the stress of meeting new people and orienting myself to the culture of the place.

It can be overwhelming, no doubt.

At this moment for me the fact that I can do it in the safety and comfort of my own home helps. If I was meeting all of these people face to face in this short space of time, I’m not sure how well I’d cope.

However, one of my favorite things about coming in to a new situation is the opportunity to make order out of chaos. I’m wrapping my hands around my first real project, one which will give me a lot of hands on with our product, as well as help me really get to know that project through reorganizing and updating the documentation.

As a tech writer, I am fairly used to this as we are often the last role a company thinks to fill, and the first to be let go when money gets tight, so documentation is almost always in a state of flux. It might even be one of the reasons I love being a tech writer.

This type of project really makes me happy. It’s probably related to the reasons I love a jigsaw puzzle or those solitaire games like Freecell, where your job is to organize the cards in a particular way.

I am well aware of my dorkishness, thank you very much.

Now, I’m off to grab a cup of coffee before I get a little Blood Witch writing in before the start gun goes off on my day of organization glee. I hope your Thursday is FABULOUS, Readers. May kindness be abundant.

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the taste of autumn

There is just the hint of autumn on the air this week. It is different here in California from the autumns I remember as a kid. Back then, this time of year brought the smell of dry leaves and apple cider, the cool temperatures that kissed the grass with frost in the early mornings and the expectation of a new school year, which itself came with new clothes and supplies (yes, my love of pens and notebooks started early).

Here, as we creep out of summer and into autumn, the nights turn cool while the days stay warm. There is no demarcation of a new year to celebrate because the work year runs along without that summer playing in the sun or the start of school, and as adults, I no longer have to wait for September for new clothes (or pens and notebooks).

The night begins to slowly overtake the day, the sun sinking earlier in the day and the nights a little bit longer each day until Yule. Tomorrow marks the Pagan holiday of Mabon, a time of rest and reflection when the harvest is done and stored up for the winter. It is a good time for physical and mental house keeping. Clear out the clutter and sweep out the cobwebs.

I’ve got a little taste of autumn in my coffee this morning, with some Death Wish Pumpkin Chai and some hazelnut creamer. And, I’ve got an hour or so to write before I embark on the day job. I call that a good start to a Monday.

Hope the day treats you well, Readers!

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let me tell you a story

There is something to be said about the ways a round of interviews during job hunting can help narrow your focus on what it is you do and why.

Sure, I get tired of talking about myself all the time (I’m not really all that interesting to be honest), but as you answer the same or similar questions, it really does help you hone an understanding of what you love about what you do.

The last few rounds of job-hunting helped bring a few things into focus.

  1. I love helping people to help themselves. That really is a lot of what technical writing is all about. My job is to make the instructions so clear that a user can do their job without needing to access customer support.
  2. I am a storyteller at heart. You may not think that’s something that pertains to technical writing, but you’d be wrong. The story I’m telling is about the user’s journey in using the product, or it’s about the product itself and how users can make the most of it.
  3. I am at my best as a writer, both technical and other, when I can get out of my own way and just let the words flow. It can be a challenge for me to turn off my internal editor, but my writing is always stronger when I do. Editing can come after the words are down.

This being my first week in this new job I’m on the other side of the story, the part where I am learning the story of the company and the product and what my place will be. It is a necessary step toward being able to then help write that story.

And that step needs more coffee! I’m off to start my day, Readers! I hope yours is awesome and filled with kindness.

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new day job

There is something fitting about starting a new job on my birthday. It feels like new beginnings.

Today I start as a technical writer with a company called Quantcast. Which means I also start my new job with learning new things. A lot of new things. I already have 52 emails, most of which are meeting invitations and training classes I need to slog through.

My morning of course will be filled with onboarding stuff and meeting my team.

Then I’ll buckled down and start reading, taking training and all that good fun.

I also had a breakthrough that fixed a plot problem in the third Blood Witch book, so that is now back on track.

But for now, I need to go jump in the shower and then get second coffee started. DeathWish Coffee to the rescue!

Have a wonderful Monday, Readers!

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let’s build

I get asked fairly often how it is that I do what I do. For a long time I didn’t realize that not everyone has an endless loop of stories in their heads or characters that pull up a chair to have a chat. It seems inconceivable to me and I know that in those brief periods of writer’s block I felt like I was going crazy without them.

Each story starts as either a character who just springs to life in my mind, or as world building. Brain, my muse, loves world building. I have hundreds of partially defined worlds in my head at any given time. Sometimes it starts with a concept, say a universe where corporations govern, or gender-bent Victorian era. Sometimes it begins with a character, say an orphan raised in restrictive religious colony that shuns technology but is herself a technological wonder or a pickpocket who is quick on her feet.

Those are the easy things. The stuff that comes before the writing.

Of course, the challenge then is to populate those worlds with characters that will get the reader’s attention or to find a world for that character to live in.

When it comes to plot, I often start writing without one. The first words I get out tell us something about the character, usually by dropping in on them in the middle of some scenario or situation that may ultimately have nothing to do with the primary plot, but gives us a good idea who this person is.

Most of the time, I let the plot fill itself in as I write. Sure, this means that sometimes I have to do some extensive re-writes to make sure it all comes together, but I find that this is where the story comes to life for me. Sometimes I have specific plot points in mind that I want to hit along the way, but not always.

Of course, because Brain is fond of world building, I sometimes craft these meticulously detailed worlds that then sit idle until the right set of characters come around. I have a notebook full of these, and a folder on my One Drive as well.

Now, if I could just get Brain back to the work of telling this story! I have two weeks until I start my new job to try to finish the zero draft of the third Blood Witch book. My coffee is getting cold, Readers, so I’ll leave you here. Have a fabulous Sunday.

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sunshine and kindness

August is something of a transition month for me. When I lived in Upstate New York as a kid, it had this impending feeling of autumn, but with the heat and free spirit of summer. Corn of the cob and macaroni salads filled picnic tables, kids splashed about in Lake Ontario, and trees were just starting to show the kiss of color that autumn would bring.

Thoughts would turn to shopping for school clothes, the smell of leaves and fires, the anticipation for hay rides and haunted houses.

Of course, now that my life no longer rotates around the school calendar, August is the start of a string of birthdays/holidays that begins with my brother’s oldest child’s (who is no longer a child) birthday, mine, my mother’s, Halloween, Thanksgiving, my brother’s birthday, Christmas, New Year’s and then my brother’s youngest child’s birthday (she is no longer a child either).

Add in there a trip to Austin early in August most years for a birthday celebration of another kind, plus various conferences and vacations, and most years August is the start of time accelerating to race through it all.

I leave for Austin on Thursday (vaccinated and masked), but until then, I’m trying to hold back on the gallop and keep this thing slowed down a bit while I can. I’m writing a lot, and editing the Sirens Benefit Anthology, and even working at designing a cover for it.

Right now, I’m savoring my Death Wish Coffee and contemplating thinky things. I plan on filming some poetry videos while I’m in Austin, so stay tuned for that to happen.

And now, Readers, I’m off into my Sunday. May yours be filled with sunshine and kindness.

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what matters is now

For a long time, in my teens and early twenties, I was sure that we would see the end of the world in my lifetime. Part of me clung to science fiction in what I only now recognize as hope that I was wrong, or some unacknowledged notion that even if Armageddon was to happen, some part of who we are, the best parts of who we are if I’m using Star Trek as an example, would live on outside the scenario I was taught.

Even after I learned my way out of that fear, and out of that particular flavor of Christianity, I maintained a love of sci-fi and in particular dystopian stories. The little spark of hope, that even if the worst of humanity prevailed, something good could remain was a driving factor in what and how I changed myself.

I’ve traveled a lot of roads spiritually and academically since then, and what I believe has changed and grown as I did. In some ways, the more I learn, the more I question, and I am less sure of a good deal many things than I have ever been.

One thing I do know, however, is that what I believe about where we come from, what comes after this life, whether or not there is a god or gods, does not define how I live my life. I no longer believe that my eternity rests on a belief, or on a specific god or on a specific ritual. Or, if it does, I am not interested in it at least.

What matters to me is this life. How I live now. How I treat others now. How I grow and learn now. Love and kindness are what motivate me, both for how I approach the world and how I approach myself.

We’re here, on this earth, now. This is what matters.

Those are my thinky thoughts for this Sunday morning, Readers! I hope you are well and that your life is filled with love and kindness. I’m off into the world of The Blood Witch with my Death Wish coffee in hand.

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