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A big shout out to my brother for updating the blogage. Yay--I'm a real boy Gipetto! I never would have thought of purple, but I like it. I have also created a spot at MySpace. Feel free to be friends!
Next, a thank you to Shawn Monique @ Romance Divas for including me in her "Pre-Pubbed Author Spotlight." My interview is up--check me out!
And finally, a HUGE round of applause for my partners at Romance Writers World for helping me get an important submission out the door. You rock!
When this show hit the Fox air last year, I tried to watch it. Well, I had it on. The first episode didn't work for me--pretty slow with the backstory, and I couldn't latch on to who the characters were and what grand conspiracy they wanted to unwind.
I got it now. Over the weekend, FX aired a Prison Break marathon to prep for the new episode that aired last night. I found myself flipping back and forth between that and the basketball tournament. Consider me sucked in--the new eppie last night actually made jaded and cynical me cry.
Stop laughing!
As always, when focus and concentration is needed...lots of distractions come my way. Here are just a few:
The NCAA basketball tournament - I've been following college basketball since I drew breath, so it's not like I didn't know this was coming. But it is where I start to miss the laptop. Add to that the fact that I run our office pool (with decidedly low food stakes), and there's one more thing to keep track of.
EoQ - better known as end of quarter. Making sure I can shove all that information about the early modern era into my last two lectures. All while keeping my fly zipped. Nothing like discovering later what all the snickers were about. Add to that the fact that there's only one week between quarters, which mean I must get my next syllabus ready to go and start prepping for those lectures...and there's lots more things to keep track of.
Shopping! - While the downstairs of my happy home is happy, the upstairs needs work. And I'm on it! This week I found severely marked-down barstools for my kitchen AND a comforter set and rug for the bedroom. Next up: paint. I hope to use the long Easter weekend to paint the room.
All of those are things I love and need to do (and I get paid for one of them!). But I'm pooped and the headache monster struck last night. Drugs all around. Today I'm multi-tasking--going to my parent's to watch 'ball, be fed, and grade papers!
GO BUCKS!
So...I'm uploading the pre-revision master copies of my manuscripts to one of my Yahoo! groups and what? Witness has 0 kb? 0 pages? 0 WORDS???!!! Where did my manuscript go?
Honestly, I rolled my eyes. It's been that kind of day. I am a blonde--naturally--and I'd had to resave that particular file because of disk corruption. So crap. I always empty my recylcing bin, I don't have 'clutter.' Ever. I'm certain I don't have one single keystroke of that story in my posession.
But I know who does. Nancy. My friend's mom. Sounds weird, I know, since my own mom doesn't get to read me, but you haven't met Nancy. A year ago October, I spent the weekend in the North Georgia mountains with Jen, her baby girl Julia, and Nancy (plus Nancy's friend). Nancy and I got to talking about my stories, because at the time, I was trying to finish Witness. So when we all got home, I e-mailed her Angels. When I saw her this past holiday season, I sent her Witness. Yes I did--she loved it. And yes, she still had it.
I love you Nancy! We're heading back to Clayton, GA, this weekend, and while I'm still staying away from chicken (we both got deathly ill that October), I might just give you a big, slobbery kiss.
Are you resistant to change? I can be...I like a good routine, but a rut? Not so much. There's a rut I need to get out of, and something's going on that I didn't anticipate--and I'm not sure how far out of my rut it's going to pull me.
For you hopeful types, I'm not talking about a man. In case you haven't noticed, I don't talk about that here, but thanks for your support :D
No, I'm talking about my exercise rut. I know I've blogged about it before, the move, new shoes, blah blah blah. This weekend it hit me. I'm turining into my mother. She has a progressive nerve disorder with some humorous name (I have it written down in case I need to ask my doctor), but it renders her unable to keep her blance, or to grip things well, etc. She's just become rather unsteady--more than typical for age. I don't want that to be me, so I need to keep in shape to help stave off the possibility. I went into my local Curves chain last week, and was promptly dismissed because, well, I don't look like I need to lose weight. I don't--I'm well within the boundaries for my height, and I know how to dress to hide those problem areas (thanks Alease). But that doesn't mean I should rest on my laurels. I decided not to go with Curves, because they can only take me so far, and have recommitted to the gym and Mr. Billy Blanks, the oddly hairless inventor of Tae-Bo.
The other shift is with my writing and the time and concentration I spend on it. With teaching, I find I get my work done for a week of class, then am free to go to the RWW forum, open a WIP, or whatever. My focus is more clear right now than ever before. It's a scary thing!
This morning, I took my students to Discovery Place to view an exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It's a once-in-a-lifetime event - these guys don't come out to play very often. I had a group of 12 students and faculty participate.
Amazing. The exhibit features an introductory film, and then you have a handheld recorder that works like a phone - you dial in the number of the display you want to hear about and it talks to you. The exhibit featured artifacts from Qumran, replicas of important pieces of the scrolls (including the Bronze Scroll), and examples of notable religious texts, like the Gutenburg Bible. The centerpiece, naturally, was a collection of actual sections from the scrolls.
The excerpts feature everything from commonly known Biblical texts like Psalms and Isiah to non-canon religious literature like Enoch, as well as descriptive literature about the Essenes and their perspective on the messiah and the end of days. The scrolls themselves are small, and the writing even smaller than I'd imagined.
I plan to go again with faculty, and after Charlotte, the exhibit moves to Seattle. I may catch it there as well, when I visit in June. If it comes to your neighborhood, don't miss it!