I'm a bit out of it. I've been in editing mode for about a week now - first, on revisions for Incursion and then I got back the edits for Splinter and I just finished my first run through with the editor on those. It's good work and I'm always glad to spruce up and clean up a manuscript, but the unfortunate side effect is that when you get immersed in the writing process at any stage, there's a hazard of getting, well, out of touch with the world. You miss things. For example, I've wandered around all day putting every date this week in stuff except August 14 on everything. I don't even know what day it is. And folks, I promise I haven't been drinking through this process - not in a few days at least!

Maybe a celebratory drink is in order today. I'm glad to have that done. I've also joined The Independent Author Network and they're working on my webpage now. I'll be sure to post it here once they're done. I put it off long enough. At first I thought it wasn't worth the $24.95 set up fee, but after I got into these edits for Splinter I thought, geeze, isn't it time? That's going to be my fourth major novel (not counting my 4 other novellas and shorter works I self-published). Obviously, I'm here to stay, and obviously, I like going the indie route. Why not? So I took it out of last quarter's royalities and off we go.

One unfortunate thing that threw me a bit behind was a cluster headache yesterday. I haven't had one of those in nearly 10 years! And frankly, I could go another 10 years without the next one and that would be a-o-kay with me! Those aren't pleasant. On the plus side, they pass quickly - usually in an hour or two. On the minus side, they hurt worse than a migrane, and you have to be careful for a day or two after it to make sure you don't over-exert yourself or it could come back. The Lord is with me, though, because it rained today and the weather cooled off about 20 degrees. Looks like the cool rain will stay a few days, so I'm hoping that eliminates the threat of a recurrence. I certainly hope so. We have friends coming to visit this weekend, and then next week starts what I call "the birthday bonanza." We have 3 birthdays in the family between August 20 and August 26 (Rick's is August 21 and mine is August 26). It's always a whirlwind time.

Well folks, I have to be frank and say that between book edits and work, I've had about enough of being on the computer. So I'm off. Take care, and I hope you have a great rest of the week. I promise I'll wear my watch with the date on it for the rest of the week so I'm not such a goof saying "what day is it?" any more this week. Nobody needs that.

Bye!

First, I shall deal with the pink elephant in the room - the George Zimmerman "not guilty" verdict. I have an opinion on it and, as with all opinions, 50% of you will agree and 50% will not agree. So here it is:

I believe there was reasonable doubt in the state's case, and the jury refused to allow the media, the State, and even the President tell them they didn't have a right to have that reasonable doubt. At the core, this case wasn't about race (although it was made to be a factor, and anybody that says it's wasn't is nuttier than Chinese chicken salad). It also wasn't about race, or about the right to have a CWP and use it (although that, too, was a forced factor). Zimmerman never denied killing Martin. The question was whether Zimmerman was justified in using the force he used in that fight. The jury spent over 16 grueling hours debating it, and in the end they just couldn't determine without any question or doubt that Zimmerman wasn't under threat of great bodily harm.

I'll go on to say this: I work in administrative law with my job in professional licensing, and for all of you that say "but the law is the law!" you're right, and you're wrong. The law IS the law, BUT it's also open to interpretation given the evidence and facts presented. It's extremely difficult to ferret out what it means in each given situation, and for a layperson that doesn't work in matters of the law every day, that's a hard thing do to. Law isn't written in plain English, and "legalese" isn't easy to discern. Those poor juries need somebody in the room with them to interpret what the actual consequences they ponder are, and they don't have it. They're left to sort it out on their own in that room, and to come out with a decision that's going to affect one or many lives. It's no easy task. Remember that a jury of your peers isn't lawyers or experts on law. They're regular people with jobs and lives that said "oh crap" when that summons arrived in the mail, because they knew they were being plunged into a world they know nothing about. They're intimidated by all that's thrown at them and being told to make decisions that will affect other peoples' lives forever after they walk out of that room and go back to their lives. 

To Zimmerman and the jury, I say this: be quiet. Don't talk. People will want your story and it will be tempting to tell it, but given the highly emotional nature of this case, just stay out of it. Keep you head low.

To the media, I say this: smack. It's about time somebody punched you in the face and told you that you don't have a right to make public policy. You got our President elected twice and have forced how much more down our throats by controlling the indecisive. As one that thinks for herself, I'm glad to see you with this black eye. You too need to shut up and go back to being impartial and reporting it "as it is," like you are supposed to do.

Oh, but the fallout. There will be fallout and this is the part I dread. And, if it's anything like the O.J. Simpson case, it will go on for some time. Lord help us all. This particular case is over (no doubt, civil cases will be brought forward now), but the rest of the story is just beginning. God help us all.

Personally, I've really had too much else going on to pay much attention to this case. You know of all the transition at work that's been rocking our world. Well, two of my colleagues are having some health issues, and now we're just praying that we get through this. Honestly, what can we do? We go in each day and do what we can to keep this machine rolling along the bumpy road we're on, hoping and praying that we'll find smoother paths ahead. I have no doubt we will, but it's getting through that's tough.

And you'd think the weekends would be relief, but not this time. Came home from running errands yesterday and there was a dead cat in the road in front of our house. It was Mom's cat, Little Bit. She "adopted" one of the feral cats about a year ago and named him that because he was the runt of the litter, but he grew into a big cat. That cat never really liked me and of course, he got hit in front of my house. So naturally, she's quite upset. Losing a pet is always tough. I helped Dad and Stephen (my brother) bury it. I don't know when it happened. I put our Netflix in the mailbox at 10:30 and didn't see him. We didn't hear anything, but we're pretty far back from the road so we probably wouldn't.

Add to that, our Internet is still spotty at times and they have to come back to "tweak" something with our router. Got an email yesterday that they're coming today, so there went going to church since their "zone" overlaps with that. I really needed church today. Rick's ear and sinuses are bothering him (no doubt, allergy problems from all of this rain, which is causing mold), my acid reflux is giving me fits (no doubt, it's the stress), and we can't get it together. Thank God for getting us through each day, but the aggravations keep mounting. Oh, I've seen worse. I won't call this a "year of hell," but it hasn't been unicorns and rainbows either. I just pray we survive the challenges and make it through.

And we will. I'm down, but not out. This isn't by far the worse I've seen. If I put in into perspective, I'd call this growing pains into what I'm sure is the road to better days and more stability ahead. I'm not broken, not by a long shot. I'm going to hand in there. The Lord's mercies are new every morning and that's what keeps me going, knowing that a better day could be just around the corner. I haven't come this far to be defeated, and I won't give up.

So I'm going to log off. I'm going to make breakfast. I'm going to go to the grocery store, start revisions on Incursion, take care of my home and birds, get on the treadmill, and maybe cross stitch. Tomorrow, I'll work on revisions to Incursion while the termite inspector gives us another 5 year treatment and will go to work when it's done and do what I can. And each day after, I'll take them one at a time, just like this. Maybe if I do that, each day will suck a little less until eventually, finally, we're at better days. Because I fully believe we are on the path to better days. The bumpier the transition, the better the prize. That's my hope. I know the good stuff is coming, if we keep the faith and don't lose heart on the path to get there.

That all, folks. Take care, enjoy the rest of your weekend, and have a good start to the new week.

Bye!

So, what's up in your life? Here's a summary of the fluff and stuff that is my life these days. I think these "wazzup" entries are good to let you know what's inspiring my writing each and every day.

Work's a challenge. My boss retired effective June 30, but her last day was actually June 27. I won't lie - it's been a tough year so far for our staff. That's two members of our staff that have left, and two other people in areas that support our programs have also left. 4 people folks. I keep looking for that revolving door so I can seal the darn thing shut. In reality, it's overwhelming. As I told someone last week, every day is a new challenge that has to be conquered. It really is. We're all literally taking life one day at a time now, hoping that eventually it will balance out and stabilize if we just take it as it comes. And I'll be honest with you: this "surviving each day as it comes" is not acceptable to me. It's crap and I don't like it. But I can also whine and complain and kvetch all the time, and it won't change a thing. It is what it is and we have no choice but to take what we've got and make it something better. So I get up every day, and pray, and boldly face the day, believing that one day this too will pass; one day this will work out; one day the load will lighten and we will be back to something that we can call "normal" again. I have to believe that it will. I've been through worse than this and I'm still alive. And I know the Lord wouldn't allow it if it wasn't the path to a better way and a better day. I've done it before, and it looks like I'm called to do it again. It seems a bit soon to me to face radical change again - it's only been 3 years since the last time - but I haven't come this far to fail and be defeated by it. 

At times like this, I'm very thankful for the Law of Undulation. It means that it's literally impossible for this to last forever. Either this will pass, or the world will end and it all goes up in ash. Lovely thought, there. I'm sure we all pray for the former but frankly, there are days that the latter doesn't look so bad. I had a friend that would say "this would be a good rapture moment!" when it got really stressful, and I must admit there have been some of those times too. Of course, I'd remind her that "the Lord isn't letting us out that easy" and we'd all get a laugh. 

So how do I cope? Well, you know me - when the going gets tough, I get writing, and it seems that sci-fi is my go-to genre for times like these. That's okay, because I like sci-fi. I had someone inform me last week that they though it was awful that I was turning to sci-fi and why don't I do romance? So I did the math for them: I like sci-fi + that's what ebook readers are buying + I don't really give a crap what you think because it's not like you actually read a thing I write anyway = I'm writing sci-fi. It's pretty simple, really. People that know me are going to judge my writing based on what they think of me. Strangers will judge my writing by whether or not it's any good. And there are more people I don't personally than I do personally know. It's not vector calculus. 

Rick and I went to the one and only drive-in movie theater a few weeks ago to see World War Z and Man of Steel. We really wanted to see Man of Steel, but it was a double feature and they only let a limited number of people in, so we had to go early and see both movies. I liked Man of Steel, but World War Z wasn't really my thing. I'm not really into zombies, but it seems that's a very popular thing right now. I find it ironic that the brainless, walking dead are popular in a culture accused of "dumbing down." Every time I get in my car, I see brainless activity, and it seems that brain dead crap is always happening in the car in front of me. What's up with that? You wouldn't believe some of the crazy maneuvers I see, and I only have a 10-15 commute each day. It's half of what it used to be, but I see just as much careless driving. It's funny: I know several people teaching their kids to drive and they go on about how driving is a privilege, then they run read lights, swerve lanes, cut off people in traffic, and run Yield signs like they don't exist. There's you're zombies, folks. The brain rots behind the wheel of a car. People ask if I'm afraid to fly and I say no - it's safer to get on an airplane than to get in a car, and I get in the car a lot more often. Why should I be scared to fly? I'm safer at 30,000 feet because those pilots didn't get their license in a Cracker Jack box  like many SC drivers obviously did. 

Zombies driving - that's amusing. You know what's more amusing? People that call and complain about how depressed they are and how awful their life is, and then then they wonder why nobody wants to talk to them. I've heard a lot of people complaining about this little phenomenon lately. Nobody likes a Debbie Downer. There are 4 things that will run people out of your life faster than the Zombie Apocalypse: crying, whining, complaining, and anger. If you're looking to do some housecleaning in your personal life, employ any of these things and that'll do it in swift order. I've seen it happen and will humbly admit that I've made this mistake. I think it took me going through two major life changes and noticing that only my family remained before I realized that I couldn't monopolize everybody with complaining or fussing about the unfairness of life or they'd leave. I've seen other people suffer this same fate by kvetching about their awful  life and crying over the depressing state of things until they raised the rivers to flood stages. I'll even give you a case in point: I know somebody (I promise, not me, but somebody that would bar-b-que me if I mentioned them by name here) that had someone call them every day complaining about being depressed. She tried to cheer this person up to no avail. Finally, one day, the person called while she was in the middle of cooking supper and asked her to come over. The person I know said no, I can't do that, the family will be home soon. "So?" the person said, "I'm depressed! They'll be okay!" That's it, she said. No more. They didn't speak for a while. A couple of months ago, the person I know had a family member get sick. She told this friend, who she decided to forgive and slowly allow back into her life. You know what the friend said? "Oh, stop whining. They'll be fine!" and she curtly said she had to go because she had a visitor and hung up. Do you think the person I know still calls that one a friend? No - and the ex-friend has no idea why she's been cut off!

Addendum: the ex-friend is the one that told me switching to writing sci-fi was awful. Hence, my not caring. I'm pretty sure that if that one were abducted by aliens, they'd bring her back shortly!

The take away: if you want people to be there for you, you have to at least act like you give a crap about them and what they care about. It's my famous tag line: you must at least act like you care even if you don't care about them and their issues any more than you care about the extra 40 minutes in a Martian day. I'll even take it a step further and give you a litmus test: if you're about to call somebody to vent or have a heart to heart, ask youself if you can name two things going on in that person's life that's important to them right now, today, this minute. If you can't, put a sock in it and make the call to find out what's up with them before you commence kvetching. Or read their blog. That'll do it. And don't dare ask for prayers unless you've prayed for others yourself. I know a lot of people guilty of that. Someone asked me to pray for them once. I said sure, remember that I asked for prayers before too. Can I ask that you keep praying? Blush. Oops, forgot. Sorry - but I will! Well, up yours too. You just made the "whatever" list, as in  "Lord, I don't wish them ill, but they're stuck on themself and only You can reach them, so whatever you deem appropriate, do it to lead them to a better balanced life." There. Done.

I know I talk about not complaining too much, and here I am doing it. Guilty as charged. I'm calling it as I see it, but I feel examples are in order and frankly, there are a great number of frustrations in my life now. I'm trying, I really am, to get back in balance. It isn't easy, but I don't give up. I'll just keep writing my awful sci-fi and go on with life :)

We're studying the  Book of Revelation in our Sunday School Class now. It's interesting. It's also hard to take things too seriously when you consider that it's all going up in disaster and flames one day. The problem is that it hasn't happened yet and we don't know when it will, so we're called to keep on keeping on and taking care of this rock we call home until the day comes that we're released through death, rapture, or disaster. Hmm. Those are things you try not to think too hard about.

We just got back from the beach for the 4th of July. We had a good time, but it was typical 4th of July issues: wall to wall people and sweltering heat. There's only one place you can go 4th of July weekend that isn't crowded, and that's church. Every other place is crowded, and you see it no matter where you go. Even here at home it's crowded. However you celebrate, you have to pack your patience. But we did have a good time. We saw the fireworks at Broadway at the Beach and we saw the Good Vibrations show at The Carolina Opry. I really enjoyed that. They played rock songs from the 60's - 80's and put on a great show. If you're in Myrtle Beach, you should see it. I believe they have that show on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during the summer and Tuesdays and Fridays other times of the year.

But the long weekend is over and tomorrow is back to work time. I shall face the challenges that come and keep working on my writing. And so, it will continue this day, much as every other.

That's all. Thanks for hanging in there, and I hope you have a great week. Here's a video to get us all going.

Bye!

I can't believe it. I recover from a sinus infection to get a virus. It hit Rick too. We went to Doctor's Care over the weekend and the doctor said that's been happening a lot lately. Apparantly, this cooler weather that people wished for during our long, hot summer is a breeding ground for infections, viruses, and all sorts of nasty things that take you down. Not pleasant.

On the one hand, it's good to have some time at home. It's a rare privledge to have time in the mornings and afternoons when you aren't chained to a desk, so to speak. But on the other hand, I feel miserable, so I really can't do much with this time. I've worked on my writing some when my head wasn't hurting. But otherwise, it's been sleeping and watching TV. And by the way, there is nothing decent on. I'm not sure whether mornings or afternoons are worse. Mornings you have a choice of bouncy, too-perky chat shows or "paternity tests gone wild!" trash TV. And the afternoons are soaps and judge shows. Who's guilty. Who's innocent. Who really cares?

In a way, it makes me gain an appreciation for having a day job. Unless I'm working on a writing project or the house needs care/cleaning, there's really not much to do. Hmm. And if I'm in pain then cleaning/house care is out, so there you have it.

The one good thing that's come out of this is I had a chance to go through Move again. Sick or not, you know I'm going to take advantage of extra time to work on writing projects! It turns out that my publishers want a minimum of 60K words now, and this novel is around 54K - so I need to add a few chapters. And so, the work shall continue on this project. I'll get there.

Another good thing is extra time with the birds. I feel a bit bad about disrupting their schedule, but they're taking it well. They've been wanting to come out a lot, and I've been letting them. Ollie's been singing up a storm this morning too. It's always good to have extra time with them.

As for the rest of today, I guess I need to make lunch and see if there are any little things I can get done around here, like lanudry or something. I might as well knock something off my "to do" list while I'm here. Days off are rare and if there's any way to take advantage of it despite my ill health, I better do it.

That's all today. Take care.

Bye!

I think what I really need is to cut my life back to basics and take stock of what I have and how to best nurture the things most important to me.

Fall is naturally the busiest time of year for me, and coiencidentally it's when people want to "get together" the most too. Football season is usually the excuse for this - "let's get together to watch the game!" And I've been a social butterfly these past couple of months and participated in all sorts of gatherings, visits and get togethers.

But folks, this butterfly needs to retreat to her cocoon. No offence, but the Carolina's bye week didn't come soon enough for me this year. I need to sit out a few. The season is going on, but my "to do" list and my schedule don't get it. There are things I need to tend to around the house and with the technology committee at church. I know I said I was going to take a hiatus from my in-progress writing projects, but I really do want to get back to them with as few distractions as possible, and that means I need to put my nose to the grindstone and get things done now. And if you want me at my best during the busy holiday season, well, I need a break.

I mean no offence, of course. I just need some time to myself every now and then to catch up, rest up, take stock, and move on. I need to recharge my batteries and right now I'm running low. I've come to the conclusion that I must be an anomoly, because this seems to be a need that not many other people have. Other than my family, only Rick and one other person has admitted to needing time to themselves. It seems others actually clamor to fill those empty spaces in their lives to the point where there's no quiet, no hiatus, no opportunities to simply "be" and exist in communion with the Lord and the world. Doing, doing, doing. Well, I admire their energy and their tireless dedication to their social schedule, but I'm not afraid I can't operate like that. My life is very full right now and all the "blessings" keep me quite busy. It can be a challenge to find those moments and days with an empty spot on the calender. And they aren't usually give, so it looks like I'm going to have to take them.

I'm burned out. I need to clear off my plate to I can be true to my priorities and focus on what really matters - not on what the world says should matter.

So I'm starting today. I'm sitting out the USC-Florida game. I know, it's a big one and how could I. It's simple, really. The need for quiet in my soul outweighs "the big game." As I said, I need some time to catch up on some stuff around the house and with church so I'll be free to resume work on Move next month when I end my writing hiatus, and what better time than by focusing on that while the rest of the world (around here) is tuned into the big game. Plus, I still have Feathered Frenzy to finish, and I already have an idea for my next writing project which is a novella I hope to start in 2013. And promotion work on my already published works never ends. So there's lots to do there and I really need to get focused and get back to work on my writing soon, and taking care of the other things on my plate will really help with that.

I know life won't always be like this. I'm quitting volunteer activities in 2013, so I won't have to make decisions based on things like this soon. That was another decision I made this week. I need fewer meetings in my life and the truth is that I need to focus my time away from work on home, family and writing and that doesn't leave time for much else. I wanted to be more involved at church, and I will certainly continue to be a greeter and help with activities as I can, but I can't be bound to a committee anymore. It just doesn't work in my busy life.

As for the rest - well, eventually I'll retire from work, so that won't always be eating up most of my weekdays, but that's far away as I'm not even at the halfway point of my career. Frankly, I do have concerns about being bored if I didn't work, but those aren't concerns I need to ponder now or any time soon. Until then, it's the immovable object in my life and I have to work around it. Those aggrivations and annoyances aren't going to stop and I have to march on and do what must be done because it's my responsibilty and financial support, now and in the future. That's a reality for most people and it's something that should be easy to understand and respect.

Yes, life is busy, and sometimes it won't give you what you need so you have to take it. That's what I'm going to to today. Because if I don't take care of myself and my needs, then I'm not much good to anybody else, now am I?

That's all today. I hope you have a great weekend.

Bye!