Don’t get me wrong – I love being busy. But there’s busy, and then there’s insanely out of your mind can’t catch your breath kind of busy. Right now, I am experiencing the latter. I have 3.5 days left before I have to have this manuscript out the door. (Yes, yes, I know I said Wednesday at the latest before, but unless I learn to stop time, that just ain’t gonna happen.)
Even the day job is crazy busy and to top it off, I am determined to de-clutter my house this week. Why this week? Because for some reason I got the idea that since the boyfriend is away for the week I would have a little extra time. Hahaha. Ha. Yeah.
To make things worse, cell phone reception sucks where he’s at so I barely get more than a few text messages a day when he finds himself in range. Which means I miss him terribly making it hard to concentrate on other things. Thankfully he returns on Saturday, at which point this manuscript will be out the door and I will have a few days free and clear with him before I have to then turn around and fly off to San Francisco.
And please don’t even ask about my prep for the conference. Pitches, etc will be completed on the plane ride down. Sigh…
I was supposed to do a blog entry for Miss Make a Movie this week, but there has been no time to sit down and think up something halfway interesting. All my writing time has been dedicated to finishing Brimstone. Right now I’m working on it morning, lunch hours and evenings. I’m pretty sure by the time it is on its way I’ll be able to recite it verbatim.
And for the love of all things holy, I haven’t even been to see Batman yet!! Granted, I spent the weekend at our annual Writers’ Retreat, but still…this Friday for sure. And then again on Sunday if the boyfriend is up for spending two hours of me drooling over Christian Bale.
So that is why I have been missing in action of late. Again. I’m sure things will calm down soon. Once I get back from conference I am going to set up a more reasonable schedule. I am. Really.
I am beginning to think the universe has a strange way about it that I will never understand. Sometimes you think you can grasp the way of things, but then something comes up and makes you do a double-take and you wonder if you ever really knew anything at all, or if it was all just trickery--smoke, lights and mirrors. But you don’t really mind so much, because in the end the way it works out is the way it should be. And that the universe knew this in advance, in its own strange and funny way, is of some comfort. Since it seems like someone should know what they are doing, and that someone apparently isn’t me.
But meanwhile, back in the strange little world I live, I have taken in a second viewing of 3:10 to Yuma and determined it was even better the second time around. Which leads one to think that perhaps the third viewing will be even more spectacular. And since I like to test theories, there is only one way to find out. I see another trip to the theatre in my near future.
Revisions: They are coming along much better than I anticipated. I am relatively on target with my word count, timing of when I want this finished, and the scenes seem to be gelling together and no tufts of hair being ripped out in the process.
Eyeball Surgery: Preliminary consultation is booked for October 2nd. Can’t wait. A lot of people are nervous about surgery to the eyeballs, and with good reason. It isn’t like you have an extra set of corneas kicking around. But I know a whole ream of people who have had the surgery including my boss, my mother, close friends, etc and all have told me it is the best thing they have ever done. And given that I like to stay active and play sports and my contacts are not behaving as they should be, this is the best option for me. And oddly, as a kid when I first started wearing glasses, I always had the sense that one day I would see just fine without them again.
New Additions: My brother has informed me that he and his wife will be adding number three to the brood in early March. That brings the total of nieces and nephews to five. And all five and under. We’re overrun with munchkins in Boyceland. It's just a matter of time before they take over.
Weight Loss: Still plugging away. I'm losing about 1 lb a week and for a total of 7 lbs so far. Just 7 left to go before I hit the goal weight. It's getting darker in the evenings which means my outside walks will have to be curtailed soon, so I picked up some yoga DVDs to help get me through the winter.
Looking forward to: In My Wildest Fantasies – Book I in Julianne MacLean’s new Pembroke Palace series. Look for it in bookstores this November. This series is going to be awesome!
For about ten years now I’ve wanted to get my eyeballs lasered. I have fairly bad eyesight, always have, but since I was twelve I’ve been wearing contacts. Which was great -- up until about 10 years ago when my eyeballs decided they didn’t care to be encased in contacts for 18 hours a day. And don’t even get me started on air conditioning. Nothing sucks the moisture out of your eyeballs faster, and naturally I work in an air-conditioned office. Which means I have to wear my blechy glasses all day.
To add insult to injury, any time I want to go out or I’m going to be playing sports, etc. I have to negotiate the timeline. I’ll have to wear my glasses for this amount of time before I can switch to my contacts for the evening. Or if I play ball in the morning I can’t wear my contacts in the afternoon. It’s a pain in the butt. And maybe it wouldn’t be so bad except for the glaring fact that I hate wearing glasses. I mean hate it with the burning intensity of a thousand suns kind of hate it. Every time I look in the mirror and see myself with glasses on my first reaction is, ‘Wait, that’s not my face!’
So after paying off my debt and refinancing the mortgage last February I decided now is the time – before I have to spend over $600 to purchase new glasses. Or, horror, get bifocals. Ah yes, a glasses free existence would soon be mine.
But then came Coop’s vet bills and the cost of having to let her go. And then I decided to do the floors, which I had been putting off since I moved into the house five years ago. But my goal remained – get the eyes done before I went to Nationals in San Francisco. For added incentive, my boss just had his eyes lasered. The prices are just right. Cost of getting eyes lasered start at $490 per eye. Of course that’s the starting price and I’m estimating a total cost of anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000 by the end of it. But given what I spend on contacts, supplies, glasses and appointments/fittings every year, I’m saving in the long run.
Except for one thing. The dog. I had planned on getting a new dog in early 2008. That means by the time you tally up the cost of the dog, vet bills, neutering/spaying, crate, miscellaneous supplies...eeehhhh...
So now I have to decide – eyeballs or canine. I can do both. It’s just the timing that’s the issue. If I get my eyes done before the dog, then the dog may have to wait for another year. If I get the dog first...well it’ll be the floors all over again. It will get put off as other expenses come up and the next thing you know I’ll be sporting a hideous pair of bifocals and a scowl of epic proportions.
I don’t have to make any definite decisions right now, but given how I like to plan ahead, I usually start reviewing my options well in advance of making a decision.
And right now it looks like the canine situation may get put off until late 2008. Sigh...
On the plus side – I’m going to see 3:10 to Yuma again tonight with the girls. More than likely I’ll be wearing my glasses.
Go see this movie now.
Up until now, Unforgiven had held the top spot as my favorite western of all time. With all due respect to Clint, I'm sorry to inform him he is now a close second to 3:10 to Yuma. This movie was phenomenal. Granted, I am a big (okay huge) Christian Bale fan. But this movie stands on its own merits, my CB obsession notwithstanding.
The story was poignant. The character of Dan Evans, his lot in life and the things he faced as a man a bit staggering as they were revealed bit by bit. He had the deck stacked against him and no way to fight back against it. He tried to do the right thing by his family and yet fate seemed determined to keep beating him down. Still, it was easy to see, to this character it was his family that came first. Then you had Ben Wade. His own backstory was pathetic in its own right, but he chose a much different path, with far different results and little remorse.
And when these two characters come together and these two character dynamics are set in motion, the story explodes on the screen. The actors themselves, both CB and Russell Crowe make you instantly forget you are watching the actors and you become engrossed in the characters, in what is about to happen, on how it will all play out. I found myself holding my breath, gripping my seat, silently wishing for a desired outcome. You become one with the characters. I simply forgot I was sitting in a theatre.
I had planned to go back the next day, but I was still mulling the story over in my mind and was almost glad when the movie times didn't allow me to make the Saturday show. I considered Sunday, but after a full day of my chapter meeting decided to wait until movie night with the girls this coming Friday. I'm hoping to get as many viewings in as I can before it leaves the theatres. And there's already room on the shelf for when the DVD comes out.
So if you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend it. It is definitely a not to be missed experience.
Ahhhh...finally....just one sleep away....
The outline scene sheets are done. Tomorrow I am going to slap the post its on the storyboard, give it a quick review and by Tuesday I'll be buckling down and starting the revisions. I can't wait to get this book done and out. I feel like I've been working on it too long and it's time to get it in the can.
In other good news, I found out the other day that Brimstone finaled in the historical category of the Toronto RWA Original Golden Opportunity Contest, so that was a nice piece of news to pick up when you're in the middle of revisions. The submission now goes to Leis Pederson at Berkley for final ranking and I'll hear in mid-October where I placed.
Our chapter meetings start up again next weekend (coinciding nicely with softball playoffs so Sunday should prove a rushed day to get from ball field to meeting on time). I'm looking forward to getting back into the regular groove of meetings and finishing up my last 4 months as El Presidente. After four years on the executive I'm ready to kick back and let someone else handle the job next year!
The weight watchers is going great. I've lost 6 lbs so far, just 8 lbs to go. This points thing is so easy it should be illegal.
And just 5 days until 3:10 to Yuma!! It's getting great reviews (quelle suprise) and I can't wait to see it. But for today, I am off to the Atlantic Fringe Festival to check out a thing with a medium. Should be interesting.
Okay, not to actual humans, I'll leave that to those of you with infinite patience and the ability not to lock children in closets when they act up. But I started thinking that while I am sans canine, I still wanted to do something to help one of the shelters or rescue organizations. At first I thought of walking the shelter dogs, but then as I was looking at the websites I saw that another way you can help is taking in the shelter dogs to basically foster them until they find their forever homes. This is better for the dogs who can then become socialized in a home atmosphere instead of being stuck in a kennel at the shelter.
I could help out and do some good, it would keep me around dogs, and yet I didn't have to make a long term commitment until I was ready. I also get to practice my dog training skills on any of the unsuspecting canines that come into my home. Hmm...this sounds like an idea worth investigating.
I contacted Lab Rescue Nova Scotia and asked them for some information. They take in Labrador retrievers and lab mixes. I really like the breed because they're good family dogs but I've never actually had one before so this would give me a good way of determining if it would be a breed that would fit my lifestyle. So I'm mulling over the idea. And who knows, maybe in the process I'll find the perfect dog for me.
Meanwhile, back in Revision Land things are starting to fall into place. What a relief. The book doesn't need to be blow-torched into a fiery ball of flames after all. Good thing. It would have made it most difficult to write the other three books in the series without the first one.
And...just 10 days till 3:10 to Yuma opens!! Woo hoo!!!
Welcome to my week from hell.
Monday dawns and it is time to start revisions. I am about to jump in the shower but first hop on the scale. Wait...what? I squint at the numbers. Jump off and get back on. They stay the same. It appears a few extra pounds had decided to attach themselves onto my body somewhere (probably in the vicinity of my ass). Great. Lovely. Welcome to the week. Sigh.
I shrug it off and decide to dive into revisions. It proves slow going. I need to cut 50 pages, but where? A little frustrated that nothing jumps out and says ‘cut me’ in the first few chapters, I head off to work. There I suffer through the annoyance of a co-worker who seems determined to drive me to drink. At lunch, I pop onto the web and view my library account. I have a DVD overdue. Crap. I console myself with the fact that come the end of the day I will be on my way to the theatre with Julia to see Rescue Dawn for the second time. Yay! The movie was just what the doctor ordered, and every bit as good the second time as it was the first. Monday redeems itself on a high note.
Tuesday I step on the scale. The odious pounds are still there and I’m pretty sure they invited a friend or two. I wonder if humidity could cause water to retain in my cells and thereby expand the size of my ass. I should have paid more attention in science class. I am about to start my revisions when it hits me—I am supposed to meet with my critique partner on Thursday. Which means I have to send her the last installment of Brimstone this morning. I do that before I start into the revisions. Revisions go slow again. No major cuts. Argh.
Another day, another dollar. My neck is sore from being hunched over the computer all day and sometime between 9:00 and 5:00 I realize not only do I need to finish knitting the baby hat for my cousin’s shower on Saturday, but I also need to knit two more baby hats for a friend before the end of the week which I had forgotten about. Great. More things to do this week. Lovely. While I’m chastising myself for bad time management, I sort through the next few days and try to figure out how I am going to knit 3 hats and critique 24 pages for my CP. It doesn’t look good. To make myself feel better, I go on line and order a copy of the Harsh Times DVD, an independent movie Christian Bale did between Batman Begins and Rescue Dawn. Nothing like retail therapy and CB to brighten the day. Fired up, I finish the first baby hat.
Wednesday. Stupid @#$% scale. The revisions are going. That is about all. Still no major cuts to be found. Wonderful. I pack up my knitting and head to work. I spend the day working on rent rolls, hunched over my computer until my spine begins to atrophy. I haven’t walked in five days thanks to rain, high temperatures and hideous amounts of humidity that would have me passing out by the time I hit the first corner. I’m wondering if this day could get any worse.
But wait, it isn’t quite so hot today. I manage a walk after work and pick up my mail. And what is there only 24 hours after ordering? Harsh Times. And finally my entries from the Windy City contest! Oh happy day! Oh happy, happy—
What? I look at the final judges scores. They are less than stellar. Not bad exactly, even perhaps respectable, but yet...I glance at the numbers again as if somehow staring at them long enough will somehow get it into my brain just why they gave me said numbers. There are three sheets, three sets of scores, but only one set of comments from one of the judges. They are somewhat helpful, and a whole lot disheartening. There is still work to be done. More than I had anticipated. And little direction other than a number which could mean anything, everything or even nothing. One didn’t even like my title.
I consider finding a dark hole and crawling in.
But it is Wednesday. And Wednesday means it is movie night. Maxx and I are off to see Rescue Dawn. She for the first time, me for the third. I grab my keys and go. I get my times screwed up and am late. Late. Me. Miss Notoriously Punctual to the Point of Irritating. Maxx razzes me for not being on time. I try to bite my tongue with only moderate success. No point taking out my bad mood on her. And after all, I was late. Not much I can defend there. Luckily we still had time for her to get popcorn and catch the coming attractions.
It’s been a crappy week so far, a definite come down from the high on Saturday of finishing the second draft. Reality is a harsh mistress.
The opening credits role. Screw reality, I decide. It’s highly overrated anyway. I settle in and get lost in the fantasy and once again all is right with the world.
Don’t get me wrong – I love being busy. But there’s busy, and then there’s insanely out of your mind can’t catch your breath kind of busy. Right now, I am experiencing the latter. I have 3.5 days left before I have to have this manuscript out the door. (Yes, yes, I know I said Wednesday at the latest before, but unless I learn to stop time, that just ain’t gonna happen.)
