briefly

Sorry it's been radio silence for the last week. I've been sick all week, and it's really just taken all of my energy to muddle through the workday and my freelancing at home. So, just a couple brief things before I get down to work. Two books:

10) Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. This is the sort of timeless middle-grade book that I adore. The writing is accessible but not overly simple. The story is great. The characters are easy to empathize with. It's really just a well-executed folklore novel. It's about a girl named Minli who sets out from her village to improve her family's fortune. Definitely recommended for everybody.

11) Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. I've read this book before, but it's probably been fifteen years, so my recollection of it was more based on the movie than the book. The writing here is lush, the world-building is evocative, and the characters are intriguing, Claudia in particular. It really made me want to go back to New Orleans and live in the French Quarter. But Louis . . . he's whiny. And self-absorbed. While I understand that of course he would come across that way, as the whole thing is from his point of view, it was still occasionally grating.

I'm now reading a book by Caitlin R. Kiernan, and after that I'm hoping to plow through some of my BEA books from past years, as that's coming up (only two months away!) and I'm definitely going again.

I have a freelance deadline on Monday, which means that next week I'll be frantically working on my novel rewrite before my next project lands. I may take most of May off from freelancing, tempting though the money may be. It's hard to be constantly working. But speaking of my novel rewrite, I think I am at the place where I'm ready to actually start writing again. I'm really looking forward to diving back into it.

Not last night but the night before, I dreamed that I was out in a park somewhere walking my dog when I was snatched by two guardsmen and hustled through a secret door into an elevator that swept me up into a penthouse apartment where my makeup and hair was done, and then I was given more stylish clothing. Then I was forced into a lunch date with a young man of some sort of royalty; apparently the royal family was looking for a good match for him. I was pulled partway through because I didn't give suitable answers to what the young man said to me. They gave my dog back to me afterward. A year later, he decided to look for me because I'd made him laugh. That's really all I remember.

And now I should get back to work. This weekend I'm hoping to fit in some shopping and a beer tasting around finishing my freelance project, but we'll see. Oh, and maybe a movie. Blessed Be!

hanging out with the dream king

Three dreams last night, or possibly one long one and I just don't recall all the connective tissue of it. . . . Anyway.

I was dying. Maybe. there was something wrong with my heart and my lungs, and my doctor said if I didn't die that day, I would start to improve, but that I would likely die. I was in the car--my partner-in-crime was driving--and feeling very weak and tired. We stopped somewhere to pick up my good friend J, who got into the front seat with us (it was a bench), put his head in my lap, and asked me not to die. The three of us went to a big outdoor picnic area, where we were having a gathering of all my friends. (Here's where I'm missing a bit.) The next thing I remember is fleeing the picnic area because a bear showed up. We were running up a mountain, through pine trees, and I was carrying somebody's child. We finally found a slender pass between two rock walls that we could barely slip through, leaving the bear behind. I was trying to calm the child, who seemed oddly intelligent for someone as young as he was. (Here's where I'm missing a large bit.) Then I remember being in an airport with my family. I don't actually remember who had just arrived. But we left the airport, and for some reason I went to this empty house that I was supposed to clean up/take care of, and I didn't. I slept a lot, ate what I could find when I was hungry, and generally hid from the world in this house. Until the day the movers came and I hadn't dealt with anything. The neighbor came over and found me in the closet, and together we started packing up the house.

Dying, running, and hiding. I wonder where all that came from.

let them wash away

Happy April, everyone. How's it treating you so far? Mine is busy. But good. The word of the year is still balance, for me. In light of that, my April goals are going to be about the same as my March goals were, since I started but didn't finish most of those. Two freelance projects. Revise my novel. Work on my apartment. To add to that, I think April is a good time to start taking better care of myself, so I'm going to hit the dentist and the doctor, and try to cut back on the partying vices. (We'll see how that goes; wish me luck!)

There are a couple of events coming up that I'm trying to talk my partner-in-crime into. Dead Can Dance is touring, and I've never seen them perform, so I'd love to see their show. Also, there's a crazy party here in the city commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Titanic. A costume ball with live music and crazy performers. I really want to go to that. Maybe I will with or without the partner-in-crime!

I saw The Hunger Games last Thursday. Now, any of you who know me know that I am skeptical about adaptations. They're so hit or miss. And I LOVE this trilogy, so I went into the movie with some trepidation. But I have to say, I'm pleased with the film. It stayed very true to the spirit of the trilogy. The visuals were stunning. And I was pretty happy with the acting, too. I cried a couple of times--mostly moments involving Rue or Prim--and I don't remember the last time a movie made me cry. This was an intense film, with rapid-fire pacing and lots of tension. Jennifer Lawrence was solid as Katniss; I really appreciated how she let Katniss's emotions shine through. Like the way she shook just before the games began, and her unabashed weeping at Rue's death. Watching this made me want to reread the other two books in the trilogy. I enjoyed this enough that I may go see it again. And I will, in all likelihood, buy both the soundtrack and the sings-inspired-by albums, which if you know me is not surprising.

Have any of you seen any movies recently that really blew you away? Or read any books that did so?

And now, plenty to do, so off and running in the office. Blessed Be!

she broke your throne

This morning is colder than it's been for the last couple weeks, and it makes me happy. The colder it is, the better my mood is? Sometimes . . .

Two books for you:

8) Norse Code by Greg Van Eekhout. This book was a fun urban fantasy. I appreciated the Norse mythology; it was a refreshing change from all the usual British Isles fairy tale/folklore fantasies. I liked the characters, particularly Mist and Hermod. Ragnarok was deftly dealt with, and the underlying question of whether or not we have a hand in our own fate isn't overly pushed. I would definitely recommend this to other fantasy readers.

9) The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. I love this book. Love. First one in a while that made me cry at the end. It's about a boy named David who takes refuge in books as his family life falls apart, and ends up traveling to a magical kingdom. It's rather like a fairy tale; David begins his journey with help, but as he goes along there are three perils to overcome and by the end of his journey he is both alone and well on his way to growing up. There are many fairy-tale references included, and it is very touching to watch David grow into himself. Anybody who likes a good read should check this one out. It's a keeper for me, and not only that, I'll be looking for other John Connolly books to read.

Zoe continues to settle in well, although she's still quite skittish with my partner-in-crime. I wonder if she was abused by a man in her previous home, or if she had some rough male doctors at the ACC. But we're working on that. They had a good moment together on the couch last night. And as for Zoe and me . . . she follows me around. Especially when I'm the only person home, Zoe is right behind me far more often than not. It's pretty adorable.

A brief check-in on my March goals:

Cat? Check.

Finish apartment? Well, I've made progress. I have some paperwork to go through. After that I think it's just art and knickknacks.

Freelance projects? I'm on my third one. So we're good there.

Edit novel: I've started. I haven't made the serious dent I was hoping to make, but at least I've begun. After the freelance project I'm working on now I'll really dig into the novel.

And now, to work. There's plenty of it, and I am determined to make time to clean out my office in the near future.

all that i ask

Last night I dreamed that I was in some sort of reform halfway house for girls, with my friends A and C. We were the girls who hung out in the back of the room smoking cigarettes and talking when we were supposed to be paying attention. We were the girls who snuck into town after curfew. Etc. For part of the dream we were sitting on a table in the back of a crowded room smoking under a no-smoking sign. Then we were in a cafeteria, sitting at a long table, picking at our lunches and smoking and I had just found out I was pregnant. The father (one of my friends in real life) was really excited, telling everyone he knew and just beaming with happiness until I cornered him and told him I didn't know if I was keeping it. Then he got angry and asked, "Don't I have a say in that?" That's really about all I remember.

Happy Friday everyone! It's beautiful out right now. I ca't help wishing that I could skip out on work and go read in the park for a few hours. But, I 'm sure I'll get some days like that once summer Fridays start. Which isn't for another two months. Sigh. I can be patient . . . or I can try, at least!

Anyway. I need to be really productive today. Just thought I'd share the dream. It's been a while since I had a pregnancy dream. The first year or two that I lived in NYC I had a whole series of dreams about having a child. Her name was Cole; she had curly blonde hair. The dream last night wasn't anything like the Cole dreams, but it still reminded me of her. Anyway. Time to get to it. I hope you all have a good weekend!

a quick one

Happy Ostara, all. Technically it was yesterday, but we're doing ritual today. After I freelance and tidy the house, after I have a going-away drink for a coworker. We started at our current company on the same day, and he's moving out and on to bigger things.

I feel like there's constantly too much going on. I need to rebalance work versus freelance versus social life. I know I've said that a couple times already; it seems to be the theme for this year. Balance. I'll get there, eventually. But in the meantime, back to work for me. I'm SO CLOSE to being caught up at work, and once that happens I can spend some time organizing and cleaning my office. Thank goodness.

Oh, and also? It's Oregon weather today. It made me a little homesick when I walked out of my building this morning.

not a lot

My birthday was this weekend. Friday I bought myself a fancy pair of new shoes. Saturday I had a birthday party. Sunday I went to a screening on The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. Monday I took the day off, and we had a backyard barbecue with a couple friends in the evening. It was a good birthday weekend, overall. Aside from that, I don't have a lot to talk about, really. I'm overcommitted on the freelancing. My writers group just finished critiquing my novel, so as soon as I'm done with the aforementioned freelancing I can dive into my rewrite. I haven't been good about sleeping enough. And it feels like spring outside.

I've enjoyed all the social activity recently, but I'm looking forward to scaling back on that and spending more time at home. I think that's my plan for the rest of this week, except yoga tomorrow.

And now, to work.