Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Too Many Things & Too Little Time

Last night I came home from work, doused Gimpy with her pain meds and did my workouts. As I’m motoring along on the treadmill I’m making a mental list (yuh, that’s right, a list…imagine…) of all the things I need to do before Reno that still have not been done. Things like figure out what the heck I’m going to pack, and what should go in the carry-on, and what should go in the luggage bound to be lost and probably end up somewhere between Salt Lake City and one of the unnamed islands off the coast of Bora Bora. Then there is the dilemma, what if I get there and they tell me my carry on is too big and I need to put it in as luggage?? The horror of losing both my bags is too terrifying to contemplate, so I had to add another thing on my list – check how big my carry on can be.

Then I flip on the TV to catch the news…okay fine, I flipped it on to catch Access Hollywood, but that’s news of a sort, right?? Anyway, as I’m flicking about during a commercial I realize it’s Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. I may have mentioned my intense sharkaphobia, or the fact that any time I am about to travel I start seeing shark things everywhere – TV, magazines, pictures my friends send me to freak me out. It’s like some weird cosmic joke the travel gods like to play on me, even if my plane is going nowhere near water. Strange.

Anyhoo, after watching that – because I have to watch, I can’t help it – I went upstairs to soak in the tub and start a new book, but as the water was running I was hit with an idea of how to start the first two pages of Desire & Brimstone for the RWA Idol session. I made a mad dash to the bedroom for my notepad and started scribbling. Two handwritten pages later I had a rough draft. By the end of the evening I had typed it up, submitted it to my critique partners to have a look at, and redid a second and then a third draft. I think I’m almost there with a version I’m happy with, just a little more tweaking required. So that is one thing I can cross off my list.

It’s funny when and where inspiration will hit you. For some reason for me it always seems to happen during my after work tub soaks. I’ve waterlogged more notebooks that way, but I’m not complaining. I don’t much care where it hits, or when, just so long as it does.


Meanwhile, I am about 2/3 the way through completing the formatted outline for D&B. I'm still tagging as I go, so that seems to be saving time, at least I hope it will, since time is the one thing I'm running low on.

So what’s left on the list to do? Well, there’s the whole major house-cleaning. My mom is coming down to house/dog sit for me while their kitchen is being renovated and there is no way I can NOT clean the house. I mean c’mon, your friends you might be able to get away with a semi-messy house, but your mother? Mmm…no. So that’s gotta be done. I still have to get some American deniro, so a trip to the bank is in order. I have to finalize my schedule so I make sure I’m where I need to be for the documentary, and make the sessions I’m most interested in. Add the excerpts for D&B and Saving Grace to my website, and probably a few other things I’ve forgotten but will remember in the hours before I have to leave on Tuesday to catch my flight so I end up rushing around like a mad woman.

Now…if I can just recall where I left my passport…

12 comments:

Maxx said...

No more than 45 linear inches (L+W+H) and fit in an overhead or underneath the seat in front of you.

Kelly Boyce said...

Which begs the question, what other kinds of inches are there? And what exactly is a linear inch? Do you mean it can't total more than 45" when I add the L,W & H?

Are there circular inches?

Maxx said...

STOP IT!!!!

Just throw some things in your fucking bag and be off with you!

Maxx said...

I am terribly sorry for my outburst. It will never happen again. Someone scanned my bananas and got me all worked up.

Yes Kelly, you add the L,W,H and the total can be no more than 45".

Now go make a list of all the things you need to pack.

Maxx said...

And buy me something purty. Shiny things are always good. Vodka is cheap at the duty free. Any cute boys willing to come back with you are certainly welcome as well.

Tess said...

I hear you on the list thing! I'm doing it as well. I have a packing list on my Palm (I have to also pack for my vacation in BC following Ren), but need a To Do before leaving as well.

Good luck with yours!!

Tess said...

Oh, I forgot to say - cool on the bathtub inspiration :-) Funny how water relaxes and inspires us. Must be something elemental.

Hmm.

Arrghh - must now go free cat who has wound his leash round and round the deck post. You'd think at 16 years old, he'd a figured this out by now. grumble, grumble

Melissa Amateis said...

Inspiration does strike at very odd moments. For me, it's often right when I'm falling asleep and I'm too lazy to reach over to the nightstand and grab my pen and paper. If I DON'T write it down, though, it's almost always gone by morning.

Donna Grant said...

I'm with you on the lists, Kelly. I have them everywhere. I've already started getting out my clothes for the trip.

Kelly Boyce said...

It also helps that she manages a travel agency. How she manages her men is a whole other post.

Maxx said...

or a whole other blog as the case may be

Anonymous said...

well, take the inspirations strikes where you can!

I feel your pain on the overwhelmed with to dos before Reno. ARGH.