but then you make me crawl

The long weekend was nice. Three days of a bit too much socializing and not quite enough working. But my partner-in-crime got more art up on the walls. I managed some freelancing and some instrument playing and some office organizing. We saw some good friends. Overall, a successful weekend, I'd say. Now I have three workdays to plan my partner-in-crime's birthday, buy my plane ticket for my trip home, and do a week's worth of work before my sister J and her partner B show up for a visit. Yay company!
There's been a lot of big life changes happening for people I know. Births, deaths, commitments, partings . . . I'm still just trying to maintain my zen. Things happen for a reason, I find. Which isn't always what people want to hear, but it's what I believe nonetheless.
My lunch today is a friend's brunch leftovers. I'm already looking forward to eating it!
Two books:
30) Interworld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves. I had a really good time reading this book. It's a little more sci fi than Gaiman usually goes, and the fact that all of the Walkers were different versions of the same person was a lot of fun. But this one isn't a keeper for me; I just don't see myself rereading it.
31) Street Magic by Michael Reaves. I love this book. I have a copy in storage in Oregon, but picked up a copy in New York when I found it so I could reread. It feels so natural, the way the characters and plotlines come together, and although some of the characters are down on their luck, you can feel the hope shining through the language of this book. It's really good. Recommended for anyone who likes urban fantasy.
I should probably get to work. Plenty to do. Happy Tuesday, everyone, and I hope you all had a good Labor Day Weekend.
Blessed Be.

i feel so symbolic

Just a brief hello. This week has been good. Productive. And last night at writers group B and J both said that my chapter 1 is much tighter and stronger. Thank goodness!
I've got some plans this weekend: dinner guests tonight, an evening out tomorrow, and Sunday is crawfish and The Avengers. Around that I'm hoping to do some work on my novel and some work around the apartment. And maybe go for a walk or two.
To continue unfucking my life, I've decided what my goal is for next week: Getting up earlier in the morning. That may sound like a small thing, but for the last couple of months I've been staying in bed until the last possible minute, which means I'm starting my day in a rush and I'm often late to work. No more of that. I will start being responsible about how I approach my morning time.
Summer hours start on May 21. I can't wait to have those Fridays to do whatever I want. It's going to be amazing.
And now, to work. Have a good weekend!

why do we

Happy Monday, all. How were your weekends? Mine was pretty good. Friday was writing time and then a bar with friends. Saturday was the Metropolitan Museum of Art followed by a Mets game and an evening out. Sunday was a beautiful afternoon gardening with my partner-in-crime followed by a good author reading at Word in Greenpoint. N. K. Jemisin and Paolo Bacigalupi. They were both very personable and entertaining, and there was a brief but good conversation about world-building after they both read from their new books. I am much more inclined to read Paolo's YA books now that I've seen him do a reading. Before last night I wasn't particularly interested, mostly due to the issues I had with his book The Windup Girl. 
And now it's back to the grind. It should be a decent week; work is heavily weighted toward the beginning of the week, so there'll be plenty of time to get everything done, even if it doesn't all happen on the day it's scheduled. I've got some fun things happening in the evenings this week (crawfish! writers group!) but there should be plenty of time to work on the novel and the apartment.
A book for you: 14) Skinwalker by Faith Hunter. I really enjoyed this piece of paranormal fiction. It involves some Native American folklore, plus the usual vampires and witches and such, so that was a nice breath of fresh air. The main character is interesting, with all of her flaws and contradictions. I can't say too much because I wouldn't want to give anything away, but I felt like the premise was well-executed, and I didn't see everything coming before it happened. I think my only complaint is that there was a little too much lust between Jane (the main character) and nearly every male character in the book. But I was willing to overlook it since the rest of the story was so enjoyable. Definitely recommended, and I'll be looking for the rest of the series.
Here's a question: Do you like my book mentions brief, as they are, or would you all enjoy them more if I went a little more in-depth about the books I'm reading?
Strange dreams last night. I had four familiars. A cougar, a bear, a fox, and (I think) a hawk. The cougar came to me first, while I was on the train. Which, understandably, caused a lot of panic. I thought the cat was trying to eat me, and I eventually managed to wrestle it into a headlock until the train came to a stop and the doors opened. After the other passengers disembarked, I released the cat and fled. I went to an information counter and started telling them to call animal control. And then the cougar sauntered up, like she was waiting for me to figure things out. Things are fuzzy after that, but I went somewhere and they explained to me that she was my familiar, and then ushered the other three familiars into the room as well. Later in the dream I was taking a walk in a snowstorm with a man and a woman, both of whom had brown hair and were bundled heavily against the cold. She was carrying a guitar, and as we crossed a bridge somehow slipped down the river beneath us. The man ignored her cries for help until he was done with what he was saying to me, at which point the woman (his sister?) had managed to climb back up. After that I can only recall a vague moment of someone shouting "Save the queen!" and I was there with my familiars. There was another dream earlier in the evening, I was at my old coworker M's house, and hadn't seen her in a long time. She had two beautiful little girls and was happily married, but her husband wasn't home then. We just chatted, and I played with the kids, and slowly other people trickled in like there was some sort of gathering going on. I remember being vaguely put out that I didn't even know she had children before I showed up at her house. And a third dream: I was walking somewhere to meet a couple of my friends (one of them was my friend J, but I don't recall who else), and my shoes fell apartment, so I snuck in through a back entrance to a shop and was trying their shoes on. I feel like the shop was underground but I'm not sure. My friends caught up with me there; there was a cute dog that we were all petting. I bought some sandals. We all went to this weird empty warehouse-type office building, and were all sitting around one room, and we all got sick.
And now I have to get to work. Blessed be!

daydreaming of the deli girl

Happy Monday everybody! How was your weekend? Mine was good. Really productive. I wrote five thousand words, did a bunch of copyediting, got most of my handwashing done, practiced clarinet both days, watched Easy A, which I loved, and finished two of the books I've been muddling through!

Without further ado, the last couple of books I read:

40) City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare. This is book four of the Mortal Instruments series, and it was a lot of fun to delve back into the world of the Shadow Hunters. I enjoyed getting to know Simon better as a character as he struggled with his new identity. It's definitely worth reading, and definitely a keeper, but I didn't feel like it was quite as good as the first three. There was a lot more teenage emotional angst in this one. And while I really like where the story is going, and understand that some of the angst really is necessary to the plot, I had a couple moments when I wanted to grab the characters by the shoulders and shake them. that said, Cassie is a consistently good urban fantasy YA author, and I definitely recommend her.

41) Territory by Emma Bull. I love everything I've read by Emma Bull, to be honest. Her books blow me away. This one is Tombstone, and Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holliday, plus magic. What's not to love? I don't want to be any more spoilery than that, for those of you who haven't read it, so I'll just say that I love the slow build-up with the magic. I adore the characters, especially Mildred Benjamin. And I could easy hang out in this world for a few hundred more pages!

42) Live Nude Elf by Reverend Jen. This is basically a memoir of the two years she spent writing a sex column for Nerve, and all the crazy things she did so she could write about them in said column. I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would; Reverend Jen is a quirky, candid narrator with a good sense of humor. However, I don't think I'll be revisiting this title. I only need to read about violated jars of mayonnaise and seventies-inspired key parties once, really.

So, think I'll make it to fifty titles this year? I'm sure I will. I don't think I'll match last year, though. How on earth did I read seventy books last year? Maybe I'll aim for fifty-five this year. That's not a bad number.

There's a deli I go to every morning to buy my coffee before I start my work day, and the girl who works the cash register is great. Quirky, slightly retro sense of style. Tattoos on her hands. Amazing jungle green nail polish that inspired me to go find a bottle in that color. She's always friendly. But she's not there on Mondays. Somehow I never remember this, and am always saddened when I enter the deli to discover that my deli girl isn't there behind the counter.

Ah, well. On to my Monday. There's a lot to do at work today, and freelancing and band rehearsal after. Ta!

baby it's cold outside!

14 degrees right now, to be exact. At 10 am. Brrr. I'm cozy in the apartment with some sporadic space heater assistance for now, but I've got brunch plans at noon. And you know what? I'm going to walk all the way there and home again after. I'll bundle up. I love a freezing day with wide open blue skies and air so frigid that taking a breath is like a drink of ice-cold water.
I've got a lengthy to-do list for this weekend, as always. But I'm taking time out for me, too. I slept in this morning (until 9:20!), and will do it again tomorrow. I've got a freelance deadline Monday, so we'll see how that goes. But I'm enjoying the project, and looking forward to reading the rest of it.
Lately I've really been craving a simpler life. Just me, a small cottage, some wilderness, and a whole lot of creativity and art. Doesn't that sound lovely? And perfect? Sometimes I just want to crawl into the photos that Terri Windling posts on her blog. She lives in a cottage in Dartmoor. Rima Staines lives in her village. The Frouds and William Todd-Jones live somewhere nearby. It sounds like a dream world, a fantasy land brimming with everything I could ever ask for.
So how do I make that happen for myself? I'm not sure. Ironically, I don't feel like I can afford to live somewhere like that. Literally. I think that maybe the best thing I can do for now is to keep living and loving and creating and reaching out to other creative people. It's a tricky thing, this life we live.
It's time to be off. I do feel that a bigger web presence is important for me to have, but I've got to balance that with everything else. Besides, there's brunch ahead!
Bright blessings!

take a look around

Somewhat lazy Saturday so far. I've done some freelancing, ran some things to the thrift store, tidied that apartment. That's about it. Starting to feel nibbly, but haven't played my clarinet yet, but my partner-in-crime is asleep on the couch so instead of making noise I'm here, talking to you. Went to yoga yesterday after work; that felt really good. After, I sat in a cafe with LG and did a smidge of writing. Banged out an outline for the third short story on my list for this year, and did some brainstorming for my radio play episodes. The remainder of the evening was spent drinking, which was a little foolish but fun, so oh well. Oh, read another book!
24. Mathilda Savitch by Victor Lodato. It was weird. The writing was distinctive, and consistent, and quirky. The main character, Mathilda, has some ISSUES. To be fair, so do her parents. Mathilda's older sister dies about a year before the events of the book. It is interesting to watch Mathilda deal with her grief, and see how she deals with her life. But I don't think it's a keeper for me. It somehow just didn't quite draw me in enough.
I think that's all I've got for today. I turned the computer on to do some writing, but all I've done so far is bum around on the Internet. Time for some discipline, and some teen superhero action!
Happy Saturday, everyone!

she dreams of dreaming

My weekend was a little crazy! It involved catching a cold, packing half of my apartment, and attending a surprise party. And culminated in a great dinner at Mojave followed by a surprise kitty visitor at my partner-in-crime's place. His name is Gato, and he's the sweetest, lankiest tabby I've met in a long time. He hung out all evening! Pictures hopefully to come, if my partner-in-crime took some as instructed.
So. I've got to run to band rehearsal, but I wanted to point out this interview with Neil Gaiman in the New Yorker. I think that man is so brilliant! I also wanted to point out the irony of me stumbling across this article about resting regularly.
So. Happy Monday, and Happy Ostara yesterday! Blessed Be!