Shadowhelm's (MH Bonham) Journal: Or Where the Heck Was I?

Cold, Malamutes and Useless Information

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:36:36 GMT

The forecasters are saying we'll hit -18F tonight, but that's nowhere near Butte's ambient temperature of -30F. Yes, you heard me right. MINUS THIRTY BELOW. Now, I've experienced -25F or so, but -30F has got to be really friggin cold. My imagination doesn't even go there anymore. My guess is that it froze somewhere along the way.

Now, before you start calling me wuss (and I can hear you Alaskans shouting insults at me), I've been in some pretty gnarly weather. I've raced sled dogs in Idaho, Minnesota, Wyoming and Colorado in temperatures that would send Frosty the Snowman to a sauna. I've been in whiteouts, snowstorms and other weather that left you wondering if you got a free micropeel skin abrasion with mushing. I've been in the real Southpark, Colorado with wind so bad that it burst the windows on the only store around. The wind speeds were clocked at 75 to 90 mph at that time. But the concept of -30F plus wind has left me speechless. Or rather, glad I'm indoors and warm and not out in it.

On the other hand (or paw), my Malamutes think this is the best weather ever. They've been complaining how their monkeys keep the house too hot and prefer to lie outside on the snow and feel the cool wind through their hair.

So, while the Malamutes enjoy the cold weather, I've been working on projects. For the first time ever, I've actually gotten to use a book on Heraldry for an article. Being a geek all these years have finally paid off and I've been able to work on articles about things like family crests and nobility titles of the 13th century for actual money. It's kind of cool because I'm producing content for a very well known website as a special project. For some reason, they thought I'd be perfect for doing the work (I had mentioned I had done a fair amount of research into things), but it might have been the feedback scoring and the fact I've written so many books. Anyway, the money is pretty good for content providers. It's nice to know that the useless information isn't so useless after all.

Subzero, Montana and Rich Texans

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 07:38:31 GMT

This next week is going to be cold. Cold as in, OMFG it's -21F as in MINUS F--ing DEGREES FAHRENHEIT and that's not wind chill. Wind chill should drop us down into the awe-inspiring -40F wind chill, which means that anything exposed is going to freeze. It's going to be chilly, to say the least. Now, I've been in such weather and even ran dogs when it was pretty close to that. If you're dressed for it, it's not as friggin cold as it sounds. Even so, with the dip into 9 above this morning, I was quickly reminded what cold is all about.

Back over the summer, I had the unpleasant experience of sitting next to a rich ~~Texan~~ person from a southern state who was certain that the Bitterroot was where she wanted to retire. I looked at her sideways. Our conversation went along these lines:

ME: "It's cold in the wintertime."
PERSON: "That's ok, I miss the cold." (with an air of not believing me.)
ME: "You don't understand. It gets REALLY cold here. And we get snow."
PERSON: "I hear it's not too bad."
ME: "Depends on your definition. We get over three feet of snow where I live and we dip into the subzero weather for weeks at a time."
PERSON: "I hear the weather is really mild here."
ME: "Yeah, FOR MONTANA. ~~Are you really this big of an idiot?~~"
PERSON: "They call this the 'banana belt.'"
ME: "Bananas don't grow in Montana. In fact, any bananas you have outside in winter would freeze hard and you could club someone with them. ~~Don't be an idiot and listen to all the realtor hype. They want to sell you something so you will put it on the market with them when you thaw out.~~"

Trust me, it wouldn't have mattered where she came from. I have family and friends in Texas and know damn well they aren't this stupid. The problem was, she discounted everything I said and listened to the realtors. I mean, if you've never experienced -20F or below, you might be in for a bit of a shock. When we went looking at homes, we went early in February to look for places. (As a result, we ended up with a place that looks awesome in winter, go figure.)

My point is that she had no idea what she was getting into. I told her to check the average temperatures for this area. I bet she didn't. So, she probably bought a place and indulged in some high-tech littering in the form of building a trophy home on a piece of farm land. Only to discover she didn't like it and put it up for sale.

Now, this is my paradise, but quite frankly, I know this isn't for everyone. The snowfall is less than I'm used to (when you get 120 inches of snow a year, a little over 36 inches seems mild) and the temperatures are more consistent. The worst shock was the bugs and the first summer, which was hot. But there you go.

Snow, Cold, Gongfu and Iron Goddesses

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:36:17 GMT

I know it's late when I accidentally blow away an article I was working on. I guess I should consider myself lucky that I only lost the first ~~finely crafted~~ sentences and the references. I should've saved it, but I hadn't even finished the paragraph that it didn't seem worthwhile to save -- that is, until I blew it away. Interestingly enough, I was writing about gongfu-style versus gaiwan brewing for tea (yeah, esoteric stuff) and when I blew it away, I decided that Ti Kuan Yin, the Iron Goddess of Mercy, was having no mercy upon my writing and I should work on it tomorrow. After all, if I wrote something brilliant now, just think how brilliant it will be if I'm actually awake. <snort>

Today I woke up cold because I had a struggle trying to get the fire working last night. In a perverse turn of events, somehow the fire decided to catch at 10 am and all I had to do was add another log to get a hot fire going. Which is good, because I don't think the temperatures got above 20F. Tonight, it's supposed to get to -2F. But if you think that's impressive, we're supposed to get -18F Monday night. Yeah, that's cold. Really cold. We're supposed to get snow Friday night too.

You know it's cold when we bring out the bison blanket.

Snow, Hairy Stars, Christmas Trees and Church Ladies...

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:17:53 GMT

Yesterday morning I woke up to four inches of snow. That was about four inches more than the weather forecasters stated we were going to have, and I wondered what sort of day it was going to be. Basically, I spent the day going to physical therapy and other appointments. Between them, I decided to drop by the Liquid Planet for a tea and try for a double stamp. The question was "What celestial bodies were at one time referred to as Hairy Stars?"

We're not talking Lon Chaney Jr. here. I was almost stumped but quickly accessed my external memory and got it with "Comets." Yeah, I cheated. Sue me. It's like a "shout out" for Cash Cab. Only more technical. Would you have gotten it?

We put up the Christmas tree, and I must say its lovely. This year, I received Christmas ornaments from my parents' house too, so I've been slowly adding those to my tree. The connundrum came when it was time to put the tree top on.

Me: "Santa Claus, Angel or a tree top ornament?"
Husband: "Father Christmas."
Me: "Not an angel?"
Husband: "Satan was an angel."
Me (looking at the angel, bemused): "Yeah, you're right, but Satan is close to Santa" (In my best Church Lady voice) "Could be SAY-tan?"
Husband: "But that's not Santa, that's Father Christmas, you know, patterned after Odin."
Me: "Good point."

We picked the pagan Santa to top our Teutonic tree.

Something tells me I'm warped.

Black Friday Mayhem and General Conundrums

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 07:12:29 GMT

I don't know who coined the term "Black Friday," but it's a sinister name for a bad idea. I mean, it might just mean that the stores are going into the black after the Friday, but I tend to think more along the lines of stormy weather and the amount of ink used to write in one's checkbook.

Pretty much every year I've chosen to not participate. At least not in person. Oh, I sometimes buy something online because someone waved a coupon under my nose, but more often than not, I was planning on buying the item and decided to wait to see if I could get it at a discount. This year I got my Christmas shopping done by October. I've done that in previous years and it's a good thing.

To be honest with you, I should be working towards making more money and not spending money. I've got plenty of work to get done and I've been slacking because of the season being what it is. With the various vet bills and whatnot, the work is welcomed. But things get busy and I don't get quite as many articles written, and so, I try to ramp up. I feel pretty good when I get 3 articles done a day until I hear about those who do close to 10 a day and make a ridiculous amount of money. Then, I sigh and realize that even though I am prolific, I'm nowhere near as prolific as they are. I figure I write about 30 to 40 short articles a month, on top of the other work I do. Not bad, but then, just when you think you're prolific, someone shows you up.

It is the way of things.

Current work:

10 articles for various clients
Finish Editing Samurai Son
Evaluate 3 pet books
Work on Siberian Husky Book
Restart working on WolfSongs 2
Finish writing Exiles of the Chi'lan

Hmm, I guess I am busy.

Best. Turkey. Ever.

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:52:09 GMT

Okay, so I wasn't sure about this "brining" thing. It took me trying to figure out how to brine the damn bird without a giganic bucket, which required me lining the stock pot with an over bag. stuffing the 24 lb bird into the bag and crockpot and pouring 2 quarts of apple cider, 1 cup of orange juice, 10 cloves of garlic, 8 bay leaves 4 branches of rosemary, a cup and a half of salt and 1 cup of brown sugar, plus extra water all over it. Somehow I didn't have a flooded kitchen in the process, although I did have to clean out two shelves in the refrigerator and lower the top shelf twice to get the bird in.

It was worth it. I'll repeat: Best. Turkey. Ever.

My husband said "Cook all turkeys like this one." That's awesome.

The white meat was moist and flavorful. The dark meat fell off the bone. Yup. Yummy. Even the dogs and cats got a bit, which they enjoyed.

We chose to eat Thanksgiving early because we'll be out and about on Thanksgiving proper. We have a gazillion leftovers, which is awesome because our meals will be set the next several days.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:48:01 GMT

I've been planning Thanksgiving dinner and pulled out my issues of Bon Appetit. Now, honestly, this isn't a magazine I would buy, but either one of my sisters got it for me or I got it as a freebie from Amazon or an airline or something. So, I have the November and December issues.

One of the amazing things to me is how they seem to think that odd ingredients add cache to the meal. I don't know about you, but carrots and potatoes are ok, but carrots, potatoes and parsnips aren't. I mean, parsnips? I can't even find them in the farmer's market, which carries odd things like kohlrabi, icicle radishes and kale. Does anyone really eat parsnips anymore? I asked my husband and he made some comment about it being "Tiny Tim food." So, I looked it up on Wikipedia and discovered that parsnips have more or less been replaced by the potato. What's more, wild parsnip may be confused with poison hemlock. Mmm, appetitizing.

I continued reading and saw that one meal they had an appetizer of pickled shrimp. Again, would you really eat pickled shrimp? Or how about the three wines with the dinner? You have an appetizer, wine, salad, wine, main course, wine, dessert. Not the same wine -- different wines. You're lucky with me if there's one wine because I usually don't drink. But I have mead, so that probably counts for something somewhere. Only there's no list for mead.

My mom, may she rest in peace, was a good cook, but didn't experiment much. Part of it was that my dad (may he also rest in peace) was a picky eater and a meat and potatoes man. My mom came up with meals that either her mom made or ones that worked over time and were crowd-pleasers. She didn't go out of her comfort-zone on food and declared that (in not so many words) anything different than how she would make it didn't taste good. To a certain degree, she was right because a lot of people can't cook. But honestly, there are plenty of recipes out there that are perfectly yummy but would've put her out of her comfort zone. Still, she knew how to put on a Thanksgiving feast that couldn't be beat.

This year, I'm doing the turkey thing, but I'm being particular about how much time I spend making everything. There are some yummy organic stuffing mixes, pumpkin pie mixes, organic French bread rolls, organic turkey gravy and other foods that cut down the work considerably. I made the cranberry chutney, which was very easy and tasty, even though my mom would've balked at the thought. The hardest part will be the bird -- and I might consider brining it if I really think I can put it in a pot. My mom never brined turkey. I may just to make sure it's moist.

Traditional, and yet, non-traditional. Just don't expect pickled shrimp or parsnips on the menu.

Haegl and Working

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:59:00 GMT

Poor Haegl. He's going under the knife this Monday because of prostate problems. Evidently, he has an enlarged prostate which has enlarged other parts of his anatomy painfully, which means he needs to be neutered. (Funny, I've never heard human doctors recommend that for their patients ;-) Anyway, if his prostate gets smaller after the neuter, we know he had an enlarged prostate and the neuter did the trick. Otherwise, it might be cancer, and we don't want to think about that.

Calvin has been a PITA (Pain In The Ass). He's doing the typical things that dogs do, thinking he'll wiggle his way into Alpha. Ha! Not with Malamutes. He tore up one of Haegl's favor toys, so now I have to find a replacement. I tried giving him a Kong Saucer with biscuits in it, but he's so stupid, he can't figure out how to pull them out and gives up. I tried adding peanut butter, which was unsuccessful, since Calvin thinks that's too weird. He tried to steal Haegl's toy under Haegl's nose. Haegl gave him a look like "should I just beat you up and get this over with?" Luckily, Calvin didn't have to find out about that since I took the toy from him and gave it back to Haegl. Haegl is very patient.

So, that's the dogs. Work is somewhat interesting as I finished writing articles such as How to Read Labels for Cat Nutrition Values, How to Remove Burrs in Hunting Dogs and Cancer Options for Dogs. Yeah, not the most exciting stuff, but it does pay money, which is always helpful. Working on the edits for Samurai Son tonight.

Some positive stuff on the plantar fascitis. Ultrasound and wrapping my ankles seems to help. I don't know why, but it leaves me relatively pain free for days.

Awesome!

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:06:32 GMT

Calvin and the Last of His Kind

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:19:11 GMT

Have you ever felt that the Universe, God, or Whatever was playing a terrible joke on you?

Take Calvin. PLEASE. I beg of you.

Calvin is a big Alaskan Husky that was purported to be a lead dog, although I suspect he was too stupid to be the actual brains. I made the mistake of trading a perfectly good rig (a three wheeled cart) for Calvin and his late partner, Rigel. The former owner failed to tell me of Calvin's propensity to bark. And bark. And bark.

I should've guessed something was up by the fact he was debarked.

Calvin, bless his pin head, made a lousy distance lead dog because both he and Rigel were tour dogs and when he saw camps, he headed right to them, regardless of what I wanted to do. Rigel was the brains of the outfit and Calvin, well, Calvin was Calvin.

When we first got Calvin, Rigel jumped up on Calvin and began humping him. Calvin didn't notice, or maybe even enjoyed it. He was too busy barking at everything, including the wind, the leaves, the squirrels, the other dogs in the kennel, and the sound of his voice.

When we moved up to Montana, I was down to eleven dogs. Over the two plus years, I lost all my huskies to old age and their ailments. Panda was, sadly, the last to go. She just stopped eating to the point where I couldn't get her to even eat meat. That left Calvin all alone.

As soon as he knew he was alone for good, he started barking. And barking. And barking. We felt remorse and great pity.

I knew I couldn't leave him there, but I wasn't really happy about upsetting the balance in the house. We have four Malamutes in the house, which is sort of a balance of terror. I gave myself all sorts of excuses for why now was not a good time to bring him in, but the reality was that I had to. I started by reintroducing him to Mishka and Haegl, who were most likely to put up with him. They acted like it wasn't a big deal.

So, he came in today. So far, knock on wood, it's going ok. We'll see about tonight.

And sometimes we catch a break

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:09:22 GMT

What I would like to know is how they find me ;-)

I'm not exactly pounding down the door looking for assignments, but I've been contacted several times recently for work. I'm not complaining, mind you, I just wonder how it happens that while I focus on other work, people who I have not contacted in eons appear and offer to work with me. It feels good, to be honest with you, but a little puzzling. I enjoy working, but let's face it, the economy is in the toilet and the pet market has always been a bit shaky even during the best of times. So, when I have someone emailing me from a while ago, it's puzzling, but it also feels pretty darn good.

News, local channels and other worthless time wasters

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:36:39 GMT

Today the satellite company brought me my lovely local channels. I know that the joy of being able to watch the local news is probably lost on some people, but I've really missed not being able to find out the news in my community by turning on the news. Yeah, I have so much excitement in my life.

What I don't understand is why I need to had a HDTV hookup for local channels even though my TV only does Crappy Old Standard Definition. Eventually, I'll have to get an HDTV, but honestly, I don't think it's worth the money. Yes, it is better than standard TV. No, it's not worth the money to rush out and buy a new TV when my old one is only 2 years old. Furthermore, I inherited a huge screen TV from my parents that doesn't fit anywhere at the moment. When I can splurge on a new entertainment center, I'll set it up. But not until then.

One thing that has me bothered is that I'm pretty sure I was supposed to own my previous DVR, but they didn't see that. It doesn't really matter, except there are shows I want to copy and save for later viewing. So, because I'm the geek, I've been tasked to moving that data off the DVR. As though I don't have enough to do.

Sigh.

I ended getting some seven or so articles done these past two days

Visited the Hospital

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:42:47 GMT

I visited the hospital where jessica_de_milo is at. I was unable to see her in intensive care because of the work the doctors are doing, but spent time with her mother, friends and sister. They are understandably worried and we talked about how it all happened and also told stories about Jessica. I hope to visit with them again in a day or so and hope to hear good news.

Jessica's mom requested that I send folks over to Caring Bridge for updates on Jessica. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Jessica De Milo

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:30:38 GMT

A fan and friend of mine, jessica_de_milo was recently in an auto accident. She's currently hanging onto life and needs your good thoughts and prayers. Right now, I am thinking of ways to help the family.

I feel really bad about this because I had been meaning to go to an event she invited me to, but like most things in my life, I was too tired, too unmotivated, or too whatever. In other words, I really didn't have a good reason to not go. So, I'm feeling pretty sad and crappy and feel sorry for her and her family because if she does survive, she'll be recovering from a brain injury.

She's a bright kid and if the worst does happen, the world will be a much sadder place.

Why I'm Upset Ted Turner is Getting Genetically Pure Bison

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:42:29 GMT

Your Federal Government is about to hand over about 80 bison to multi-billionaire Ted Turner -- and no one is crying foul save the Native Americans. These bison come from one of the last genetically pure stock left anywhere (most bison you see have cattle genetics mixed in). Ted Turner, who owns Ted's Montana Grill and who has 50,000 head of bison already. Who also charges $4000 for canned hunts.

Now, I've got nothing against someone making an honest living. I'm not against canned hunts per se either. But what I'm against is the Federal Government giving away part of our country's heritage, that being wildlife, and, in particular, the bison. It's as if the Federal Government gave away Yellowstone to a private contractor. Too big? How about Old Faithful, then? Or maybe Mount Rushmore?

One of the differences between the United States and other countries is that the wildlife isn't owned by a single person. It's owned by all the citizens of the United States. So, when the Government gives away bison to a private individual, they've robbed us, pure and simple. Those bison don't just below to Ted Turner -- they belong to you and me. And within those bison are the genetic codes that may mean the survival or extinction of the bison. What will happen to those bison is anyone's guess, because once they pass into private ownership, all the platitudes mean nothing. Ted can do whatever the hell he likes with the bison -- offering canned hunts or serve them up for burger or use those genetics to strengthen his own herds. They're worth more than the $4000 per animal he can get with them. And even if they weren't, since when are we giving wildlife to individuals?

The tribes who live on Fort Belkap, the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribes, and the Wind River Reservation tribes, Northern Arapaho and Shoshone tribes, sought to take these bison to repopulate their reservations. These bison, once found brucellosis free, should go to either public lands or tribal lands for repopulating the Western US. But evidently, the people who are most deserving of these animals are denied once again.

Stuff I Tweeted About

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:35:01 GMT

My Twitter tweets for today:

13:25 It's out!!!! Check out 'Howling Dead' by M. H. Bonham (Paperback - O... bit.ly/2RoAwA #

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Stuff I Tweeted About

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:35:02 GMT

My Twitter tweets for today:

11:09 RT @USOlympic Cast your vote for the USOC October Female Athlete of the Month twtpoll.com/lm64jn #twtpoll Vote for Catherine Bouwcamp #

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Stuff I Tweeted About

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:35:01 GMT

My Twitter tweets for today:

11:54 Survived yesterday. Whacked the passenger side mirror of my car on a tree. Not happy, but we'll fix it. #
12:42 Breakfast or lunch? Technically it's after 12 pm and I've actually done some work. #
13:31 Should I work or just sit and read and relax? #
14:38 Got a press release written. Not as painful as I thought. #
20:32 Finished my second article. So, now to either reading or working on editing the novel. Bronchitis sucks. #

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Stuff I Tweeted About

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:35:01 GMT

My Twitter tweets for today:

10:45 Woke up to a downpour of rain this morning. Now sun. We're supposed to get rain and snow the next several days. #
10:57 Unemployment topped 10% according to new numbers. Who are we kidding? It's really been that way for a while #
14:15 Should get ready for physical therapy. Joy. #
16:08 Crap day. I think it's time to curl up in a hole. #

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Stuff I Tweeted About

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:35:02 GMT

My Twitter tweets for today:

13:36 Slept in late. Have to go into town today. #
13:40 Timewasters or Would Somebody Feed My Friggin Hatchlings? networkedblogs.com/p16845402 #
23:21 How to spot a DUI in Montana networkedblogs.com/p16895308 #
00:19 Mmm, organic eggnog. Yes, it IS better than the swill in the grocery stores. #

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How to spot a DUI in Montana

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:16:39 GMT

Yeah, it's Missoula. Sent to me by my Sensei.

Timewasters or Would Somebody Feed My Friggin Hatchlings?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:26:30 GMT

Sure enough, I get on Facebook and I get one of those annoying messages. You know the ones: the ones that tell you you haven't been to such and such application in a gazillion years and dammit, they're going to slaughter all your cows, take over the kingdom or give you bad karma all because you're too friggin busy to play and too poor to actually justify paying for the application so you can keep everything in stasis.

I've blocked Farmtown and Mafia Wars, dumped Dragon Wars and decided my karma points were in the negatives anyway. But then, there's Hatchlings. And if they didn't have those gawd-damn dragons, I'd jettison it too.

But I own dragons. Not bad looking ones either. But cool looking dragons and scaly cool carp and a Kitteh! So, I have to go back to Hatchlings every few days and feed the damn things so they don't run away. I mean, I get a note saying "one or more of my hatchlings is unhappy! Feed it before it runs away." Who wants unhappy, runaway dragons, I ask you?

So, every two or three days, I waste about an hour looking for eggs and feeding the little bastards. They can be pretty ungrateful wretches too, saying "More Please." and whatnot. I should just free them all. But I can't. I keep looking at them and feel an absurd sense of pride that I own 4 dragons. How dumb is that? So, this is my time waster, along with Spider Solitaire. Maybe someday, I'll forget and they'll all run away and then I won't have any money to pay the pet catcher.

That's ok, too. In the meantime, somebody feed my friggin hatchlings! I'm sure they're unhappy.

Stuff I Tweeted About

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:35:01 GMT

My Twitter tweets for today:

22:56 NaNoWriMo or Why November Sucks networkedblogs.com/p16776287 #

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NaNoWriMo or Why November Sucks

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:44:20 GMT

Every year NaNoWriMo comes around in November and every year I'm riddled in guilt because I really wouldn't mind participating in it. NaNoWriMo, for those not in the know, is the National Novel Writing Month where you're supposed to put aside your life and write your hearts out and get a novel done in a morth. But NaNoWriMo comes in November, which for various reasons, has always sucked for me. Let me explain.

Inevitably, whether I worked a Real Job or whether I'm freelancing full time, somebody has some sort of deadline that needs to get done that requires monumental effort on my part. It's the near end of the year crisis, you see, and if I don't get my work done, the planets will fail to align and the solar system will implode. Ok, maybe not that dire, but every manager in a job I had tended to act like that. Like any good skeptic, I told them this was just some stupid man-made crisis and in 100 years no one would give a crap, but it mattered to me to enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas. And you wonder why I never was promoted.

The freelance thing I take seriously because it's actual money in my pocket. Almost everyone wants something done by some time in the late part of the year which means I'm working towards getting money for Christmas presents. Or buying a turkey. Or something.

Then, there's World Fantasy and the CWA Conference. I used to attend the CWA Conference regularly so that took out four to five days. And then, there's the wild animal chasing season. Then, there's Thanksgiving. You get the idea. Family health problems were also an issue in the past.

So, I'm looking at NaNoWriMo and sighing once again. I have plenty of work and no time to sit and worry about starting another novel -- I've got to finish editing Samurai Son. I've got a gazillion other things to get done. And none of them have to do with sitting and pounding out a new novel on the keyboard.

Currently scheduled:

Finish tech review of dog college class section.
2 short articles a day (about 1000 words).
Siberian Husky Book.
Samurai Son edits.
Press release for Howling Dead.
Create press kit.
Set up constant contact.
Update website.
Application for PhD or second masters.

Yep, my life is very busy. 30 days isn't enough. And that is why I'm not doing NaNoWriMo and why November sucks for it.

Brainless in Montana

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:12:00 GMT

Coming back from World Fantasy has convinced me I have no brain. I've been stumbling around the past two days bleary-eyed and wondering if there's enough caffeine in the world to make me feel better. Add a semi-migraine (I've been taking meds to combat it, have no fear) and a normal workload and I'm back to wondering if I can ever get back up to speed. Two cons in two weekends is nuts. Seriously.

The cats have decided to glue themselves to me. I suspect they're planning on crushing me with their weight that grows to the mass of a black hole when they sleep. I woke up with them curled around me. I suspect they suck the warmth from my body or intend to lull me to sleep so they may eat me. Either way, they win.

Today was an in-town day, which meant groceries, etc. I went back to work on stuff that has languished since I went on a two week con spree. This means catching up and actually getting real work done, which might actually pay money. Of course, November being what it is makes me go out in the woods and rushing about. But in between, perhaps I can get work done.