Ok, it looks like I have all my chapters in some form or another. I've already retyped about 140 pages so far. It's interesting to read the book this way. I notice things about chapter flow and overarching themes that I wasn't paying enough attention to the first time. This isn't really how I wanted to do my readthrough, but I guess it had to be done at some point.

I just wish I didn't have to type it all as I read. My hands get tired after about 80 pages, and I have to pause for a while.

That's how I'll be celebrating the new year, though - typing. Wee.

I don't really know where to start. If you've been reading Sarah's blog you'll know the whole story by now. I've found it hard to write about (for a few different reasons) but here goes.

So my house had some unexpected visitors last week while I was away. And they decided they needed some of my stuff more than I did. So some of my things - TV, VCR, radios, computers - have found new homes somewhere in the wide world, and I don't know where. We're still working with the insurance company to see if they will help us replace some of the stuff.

Apparently when you announce to the universe that you want to be a writer, said universe does all it can to make sure you experience a full range of life events. I'm chalking this up to cosmic assistance in writing.

So anyway, the books:

Books: I'm not really good at backing up my writing. I haven't really figured out a good way to do it. I've tried several ways, but haven't really stuck with any one method. So now that my main tool for writing (my laptop) is no longer available, I'm trying to reconstruct my book from the various portions I have backed up various ways. I'm still not really sure how much of it I've got. Most of it, I think. The current project is to sort out all of the hard copies I've printed out for my first-draft reader and never had the heart to throw away. At least, I hope I haven't had the heart to throw much of it away, I don't really remember. I'll keep you updated here as to how much I've found.

Apparently, if I were a work of art, I would be Vincent Van Gogh's The Starry Night.

I am a tiny village at peace while overhead rages the tumult of the heavens. Objects whirl and flash around me in a fevered haze only partially reflected in reality while I remain grounded and secure in my isolation.

Which work of art would you be? The Art Test

So I've been planning to take this week off for the last month. The whole week. No work, just tidying up my house and writing.

Monday someone scheduled a meeting I needed to attend. This someone is quite a bit higher up the corporate ladder than me, so their meetings win over my vacation if I'm within a three state radius. The settup for the meeting went something like this -- "I don't think this person is right. How bout you two set up a meeting and we'll make him defend his position, because I think there must be some mistake." Now, I don't think there is a mistake, and I said so several times, but hey. Look who has the bigger cubicle. Not me. So I decide to start my vacation a little late and come in Monday for this meeting. The person who had agreed to set it up (because I'm not important enough to set up this particular meeting. The guy defending himself has a bigger cubicle than me) didn't get around to scheduling the meeting until the afternoon, so I didn't exactly get to leave early.

Before going into the meeting, I'm told, "Don't get confrontational." I say OK. After all, I think the guy is right anyway. What am I going to confront him about? So we go into the meeting, the guy defends himself well enough. But somehow I'm made to look like the doubting thomas who wanted the meeting in the first place. Yeah, that's why I ditched vacation. (Give me a minute, maybe I can sound a little more bitter.)

So I came out of that meeting with more work to do. Stayed a little late on Monday to get it done (after all, I was already there). The thing about making progress, though, is that somehow it always leads to another meeting. This time I needed to include people in LA. So I asked them if they could schedule it for next week - and they scheduled it for Wednesday. Can't complain there, these people have offices with actual ceilings and doors, not just cubicles. So I took off Tuesday. You can look below to see just how productive that day was.

Wednesday came and the conference call was scheduled for 12:30 (central time) and I was planning to bolt as soon as it was over. It got pushed back to 1, then 2, then 3:30 then 4:45. So I spent all of Wednesday at work too. And instead of coming up with a solution from this conference call - you guessed it. More work for me and another meeting.

So I said the work would take a couple of days and took Thursday off. I fully intended to call in today, but I didn't. I just slept as long as I could and then held the couch down. And kept a good eye on the TV. They can be tricky, you know, that living room furniture. I'm not feeling guilty about wasting the day. I got out my Christmas decorations -- see? They're strewn about the floor by the TV. And I tried recreating a recipe from a restaurant. Polenta with gorgonzola and mushrooms.

It's hard to find good gorgonzola cheese. Polenta takes a little practice too. And the mushrooms could have used a little more something. I'll figure it out eventually.

Books: I started a dream diary, does that count? No, I guess not.

Ok, Sarah is back from Australia and on my case to blog again. Aren't you lucky? I had the day off today. I bought a bunch of shoes. Real productive day. Now I have shoes for rain, shoes for snow, shoes for walking a lot and two sets of shoes for every day.

Now I need some new socks too. Funny how these things don't last forever.

Books: Now I'm working on a short story that can be published in a magazine. The idea is to whet everyone's appetite and prove to a book publisher that I can write. Let's hope it works.

Ok, Sarah is back from Australia and on my case to blog again. Aren't you lucky? I had the day off today. I bought a bunch of shoes. Real productive day. Now I have shoes for rain, shoes for snow, shoes for walking a lot and two sets of shoes for every day.

Now I need some new socks too. Funny how these things don't last forever.

Books: Now I'm working on a short story that can be published in a magazine. The idea is to whet everyone's appetite and prove to a book publisher that I can write. Let's hope it works.