I get home after an extremely stressful work day to find that they’re raising my rent.

That is all.

Even when I was a kid and young teen, when all the girls were swooning over David Cassidy and Bobby Sherman, I was a bit different. MY version of the cool guys weren’t necessarily the recognized celebrities (e.g., movie stars, TV stars, Famous People(tm), rock stars.). To me, the really cool ones were the ones that made things work – you know the techies, the roadies, the ones that swarmed behind the scenes, makiing the magic happen. Okay, I get this, I’m a geek fan. Even though I can fangrrl Callum, Viggo, Joe Flanigan and the rest of them, I have a soft spot in my heart for the unseen heroes.

Why am I going here? Because last night, bheerfan and I went to see the best combo in the world – a geekish celebrity; a guy that encompasses all that is cool to me: Alton Brown. Even though I’m not much of a cook, (and by that I mean, at all), Alton Brown and Good Eats has been a favorite of mine since day one. It wasn’t just a recipe show. Not just a chef parading around a kitchen that no sane person owns, showing off things that most people won’t ever cook. This was about Food and the Science of Food and How Things Work. ZOMG, a total geek love affair was born.

So when I found out that Alton Brown was coming to the Smithsonian as part of the Resident Associates programming, I was nearly first in line to buy tickets. We had a blast. Alton B is brilliantly funny, entertaining and a total hoot. We also got to preview video from his upcoming special show: Feasting on Asphalt. If he weren’t already married with kids, and if I weren’t totally waaaay too old for such, I’d want to marry him and have his little foodie babies. The new show starts on Saturday, July 29th on the Food Network.

Getting Rejected…in a literary way.
I’ve been corresponding with a New York Agent, to be known as NYA, in the hopes she’d rep my contract for the Matters reprint. I’d e-queried via their agency site, and dropped some names (with permission). (One of the agencies senior agents reps a couple of friends of mine.) NYA senior passed this along to NYA junior, a relative new agent to their firm, but with some years experience at another firm. NYA junior declined to rep this after reading MoB, but I got the BEST REJECTION EVER.

I’ve graduated to a really really good place as a writer.

No form letter, no “not for us”, but instead, first a lovely email with feedback and the decision to decline. Then, after I responded, thanking her for her time, I got this (slightly edited for irrelevant info):

From [NYA]
To: [me]

Thank you…,

I think you have a very bright writing future ahead of you.
…. You have inventive characters and a great writing voice though, so I do hope very much you’ll keep writing. (And I’d LOVE to see your next one.)

[end email]

Seriously folks, this is the cream of the crop when it comes to rejections. Needless to say, she’s the first on my list when the next project is finished.

It’s not a yes, but it’s the next best thing.

Last night, my mobile started ringing while I was driving home. I glanced over at the display; it was my sister. Unfortunately, both the fact that I was driving and that there was an ambulance headed my way (behind me) meant that I had to wait to see what she wanted.

Got home and listened to the message. It was mostly: “Eeeeeeeeee!!!! I passed!!!!!” My little sister, a.k.a. birki_lib (who STILL has no posts!) is now a full-fledged card-carrying librarian. w00t!!!

Graduation day is August 12, one month and one day after her 40th birthday.

Way to go, Laura!! Not an easy feat, completing the last part of undergrad and then grad school while working fulltime.

In other news

* This has been a bit of a crap work week, in particular dealing with one client. Otherwise, the work part is fairly decent.

* My apartment looks like the aftermath of a hurricane. First the picture window was cracked, so I had to move *everything* away from there. This meant cramming my rocker/recliner & ottoman at the other end of the apartment, by one of the closets. (I live in a studio – one room, about 14′ x 17′). Then I had to more all the DVDs that I had lined up on the wide sill at the side of the HVAC convector unit, plus the other stacks/boxes I had below that. Again, stacking stuff up by the closet.

The window’s been replaced, but last night, the cover of the convector fell off as I was trying to rehang one corner that had sagged. Damn thing is metal and really heavy. I called downstairs, but they didn’t have anyone available to come until today.

Part 3 of apartment saga is that once I moved all the boxes/books/shelf in the Great Purge of a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that the paint on the wall to the left of the window was not only peeling/cracking, but frothy in place and bubbling up in others. Looks like that at one point in the 6 years I’ve been there, there was a leak or something. I called them about that at the same time I called about the window, but I don’t know when the paint/plaster people are coming. This basically means that I can’t move stuff *back* to that corner yet. Of course, part of me wants to re-think the layout of the place. Not much you can do with a rectangle that is living/sleeping/office area, but I can try.

I do need some different shelving units. The ones I bought a few years ago are okay (big grey Rubbermaid ones that hold a *ton*) – but I really would like some nifty sleek Ikea/Container Store-like book/media shelves that would flank a TV stand that’s not a cheap imitation of an icebox. (garage sale purchase that came from San Antonio with me). Budget’s really tight right now, so this will have to wait, but I have plans.

* I’ve been contemplating recently on how to make some decent money writing. It’s not easy, if you’ve ever read alg‘s LJ, you know that trying to make a living as a writer is a rather futile endeavour. But, it occurred to me that while I’m waiting for Matters to be republished (early next year), working on Blood Bargain (e.g. book 2), I might also be able to put together a longish erotica story that I can submit to Ellora’s Cave. They pay fairly well, and I do have a few snippets/stories lying about that might fit the bill. It’s definitely an idea (and not a new one, I’ve talked to other folks on this and they are actually working towards this. I just hadn’t applied it to me…d’oh!) I’d definitely go for the gay pr0n, and I’d do this with a pseudonym, so if you have any name ideas, I’d love to hear them.

* Footballer’s Wives – what a hoot! I finished series one and watched the first episode of series two last night. It’s totally mind candy and the best kind of trash TV. Why had I not known about this show before?

* Eureka – was way better than I expected, if a little cliched. WTF, it was fun and I’ll watch it again.

* I think I need to make myself a Captain Jack Harkness icon.

* TGIF…that is all.

Haven’t had much of a chance to catch up on LJ today, but did take a quick break to see this news item.

Can I just say WTF? As in What the EVERlasting FUCK?

250,000 first printing?

$275,000 for promotion?

My mind boggles.

I really really really don’t understand the publishing industry.

Should I present myself as a part of a secret supernatural family? Would this make NY publishers sit up and beg me to sell them my book for a ridiculously high amount of money?

::headdesk::

I just don’t get it.

You know it’s hot when the a/c kicks on in the wee hours of the a.m.

I’m a total heat wimp and have NO freakin’ clue how I survived nearly 25 years+ in Texas. Not that DC in July is so much different, except for the fact that I expect our heat wave to go away much sooner. ::g::

In any case, it’s a hell of a good reason to stay indoors!

For those of you who appreciate John Glover, here’s a neat article from AfterElton.com. Evidently, Wolfe Video is releasing An Early Frost, a groundbreaking 1985 AIDS movie that includes John G, Aidan Quinn and others.

Watched the rest of the Entourage eps last night (yay, cable On Demand!) and am now caught up.

I’m off to work and hopefully the day will be quick and painless. I had a crap Monday and really would rather the rest of the week go well.

Just heard today that HBO has greenlighted (greenlit?) True Blood, the new series based on Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire series. The show is slated for late 2007.

Also, SciFi has picked up The Dresden Files, based on Jim Butcher’s books. This series will premiere in January ’07.

This is FABULOUS news!

As for me, I owe comments galore and probably missed some birthday greetings. RL has been a bit wonky, but hope to be back on track soonish.

Spent the weekend either napping or mainlining Season 1 of Footballer’s Wives. What a hoot!

I really really really could still be sleeping now.

Thing is, the grocery order will be arriving sometime between now and 11:00 a.m., so I need to at least pretend to be awake.

OMG, okay, weird serendipity here – as I’m typing the above, the grocery guy gets here. Wonder if that’s how my day will go?

…So I’m up waiting for Callum Keith Rennie to arrive…

::looks around, pretends to not listen for a knock on the door::

…waits…

::la la la, just sitting here reading email::

….waits…

…waits…

Damn. Don’t guess that worked. ::g::

David Hewlett, how are you so awesome?

I am loving the SGA Season 2 DVDs (Region 2) – there is commentary so far on ALL the episodes! Although, Peter Deluise and Gary Jones commentary – uhm, dudes, enough with the potty jokes, because what are you, 12? And why Gary Jones, I have no idea, b/c Walter, the gate tech from SG1 has nothing to do with SGA.

I’ve only listened to one of their commentaries all the way through. They don’t talk about the episode, just make really dumb jokes. I totally prefer when either of the Martins team up with Joe Flanigan and David Hewlett – the commentary is fantastic. I’ve gotten through the first 2 DVDs so far – just watching the commentaries and the extras. I think the next disk is on the menu for today.

SGA Premier

Oops, there be spoilers here

“I want to be very clear about something: Gynecological exams are never sexy. Absolutely never. Understand me: never. If only you had a cervix.”

For those of us who value good writing, I recommend Pod-dy Mouth, a blog by an incognito published author. She’s taking self-published titles and doing a Miss Snark. (from whom I snagged the above link)

In other news, today is my little sister’s 40th birthday. Happy Birthday, Laura!! It’s hard to believe that you’ve joined my decade – I still remember the days when you were “Little Lima”, hanging out at the pool, graduating from high school, getting married. That was just yesterday, right? In any case, hope the day is FANTASTIC!

It’s been a productive few days for this Lima. Freecycle Guy picked up the majority of the books/tapes on Saturday, and is coming by tomorrow for the balance. I had dinner Saturday night with beledibabe, who brought me the coolest Honourary Mountie pin that she’d snagged from the Folklife Festival from one of the Corporals that we saw last week at the Smithsonian presentation. Saturday a.m., I got up at the asscrack of dawn (okay, 6:30 a.m.) because I needed to write…and write I did. About 5,000 words of backstory and history that was sorely needed. I’d been flailing over these characters and now I think I have a handle on them. I’m also fairly well along on the revised chain of events. Some things are going to go, some are staying. In any case, most of the scenes/events have to be shuffled around to accomodate the new plot threads.

This is the part of writing I LOVE – the world-building; the event-building, the creation of characters. Even though most of the 5,000 words will never make their way into the finished book, I created four people, gave them names, histories, backgrounds, emotions. I know why they do the things they do, which to me, is essential in writing believable characters. One of the best at this is Laura Lippman, who crafts amazing people – even the tertiary characters have life. You know they exist beyond the pages of the story. I am grateful to the events in my life that have not only thrown me into her company, but allowed me to call her friend. She is not only one of the best writers around, but a fabulous person and I hope to learn from her.

The absolute hardest part of the writing for me is to let myself get through the first draft. I’m a bit of a perfectionist in making the words work together, making everything fit, that I lose track of the fact that I need to actually complete the story. My first book clocked in at just over 91,000 words. I’m about a third of the way there, but am tearing those existing pieces apart and re-building. Some days, it’s easier than others. ::g::

Today is going to be much of a no-writing day, as RL intervenes with day job duties. I have one of my favorite set of clients arriving in a few minutes for 2 days of meetings as we finalize a massive project. Tonight, we’re all going to dinner, which will be fun. Even though I’m working the day job, my brain is still ticking with plot threads, dialogue and characterizations. Just last night I figured out how I could tie all the various plot pieces together and how I could connect the motives of each of the characters. This…this is what makes it all worthwhile.

My last minute dinner plans were canceled…at the last minute. So, instead of dinner with a friend, I came home to pull out more books and VHS tapes to give away.

I had begun this decluttering phase just before the great blackouts of oh, 2 weeks ago, with the intent of paring down my books to the bare minimum (which, as an avid reader and a writer, that’s a lot more than some ::g::). I also realized that it was way past time to rid myself of the dozens of commercial VHS movies I still had. Uhm, I don’t even *own* a VCR anymore!

Due to the power failures, this initiative was shelved (pun intended) but not for long. I spent some time this past Sunday afternoon, clearing out a baker’s rack that I used as a bookshelf, piling books into the very handy Peapod delivery grocery bags.

There were more than I thought, as things were piled rather deeply, but I netted about 5 bags.

In talking to a co-worker today, she reminded me that Freecycle was a good option. So I posted. In less than an hour, I had my first response. A guy is willing to come take the books and tapes off my hands.

That said, I knew that this was a most excellent reason to tackle the various plastic crates and hidden boxes o’books in the closet. Also, a couple of small shelves needed pruning.

I just stopped, because I’ve run out of bags/boxes.

Final count:
14 boxes
18 bags

I haven’t tackled the stacks of books in the 2 closets on the shelves (it’s a really tall closet with deep shelves. About half of these will go. The other half are inscribed first editions that will eventually go out on a real bookshelf.

I’m beginning to think my apartment is somehow related to the Tardis, because dudes, I have no earthly clue how all this FITS!

My plan is to remove all the clutter of the small shelf units and plastic crates, move the DVDs that are now several rows deep on the big gray storage shelves and eke out some sort of order.

I’ll probably have another big purge, but I’m wiped.

I’m feeling very accomplished and relieved.

Now, if only freecycle dude shows up tomorrow.

::keeping fingers crossed::

Despite the fact that it’s like walking through a sweat bath outside, my evening couldn’t have gone better.

Left work early (always a plus!) to meet beledibabe and her hubby for a quick dinner at Harry’s, a small restaurant/bar in DC. Walked over to the Smithsonian in the aforementioned sweat soupy air (the words “I’m melting” did actually get spoken by moi). We arrived at the Ripley Center lecture hall at the precise hour, seating ourselves in time to see the three Mounties (2 men, 1 woman) dressed in red serge clomp across the stage, their high browns echoing on the wooden floor. Their hats, already in place, sat side by side downstage, perched at the edge–a brilliant stage setting.

It was true love for beledibabe and me, as a slide show presentation unfolded, each of the Mounties in turn stepping up to the lectern and giving their part of the history and duties of the RCMP. The presentation itself was interesting. I loved some of the photos they used, but itched to correct some of the misspellings in the slide show. Both C and I laughed when it turned out that only a handful of the folk in attendance had heard of the Musical Ride, and of those, several of them were officials representing Alberta. (This was all part of a series of events celebrating Alberta, in conjunction with the Folklife Festival and part of the Resident Associates programming.)

I was beside myself when I realized that I could identify much of the insignia on their uniforms. OMG, I am SUCH a Mountie groupie!

I’m utterly in the need for some due South re-immersion and some Fraser love.

All in all, a successful night.