Today, I’m shifting virtual house from Jack the Giant Killer, to the newly arrived Windows7 machine, at present nameless. This means that I will not much be around the internets today.
Everybody wish me luck for a smooth and easy migration.
I’m going in.
Here at the Cat Farm, it has been a Week of Parts.
We had the exploding computer part, and the going to the dentist part, and the Steve’s eye exam has been rescheduled for the third time since January part, and the delivery of various boxes of used books from geographically distant parts of the country part, and the arrival this morning of a bitchy headache, of which I Do Not Approve, and the arrival of the Win7 machine, of which I Do Approve, at least in theory, since I’m not going to undertake to transfer programs and files from one computer to another computer while I have a headache.
Into this week of Parts have come emails — two, one from Kimpton Hotels, and one from Starwood — tempting me to take a winter break. Surprisingly, I find myself most tempted by Kimpton, which offers me a quirky Kimpton-y room in a hotel built inside of an historic building in downtown Philly, walking distance to museums and The Shopping. It’s been a long, long time since I just hung out at a museum for a day, never mind a couple of museums over three days. It would, my brain says, Be Nice.
Mind you, it’s still winter in Philadelphia, too — in fact, at last report, Philadelphia was having more winter than we here in Central Maine are currently enjoying — and I’m not a fan of walking in the slush and the wind be it city or country — but the idea of a little museum-touring mini-vacation is. . .awfully attractive.
So, if you could drop everything and take a winter break — where would you go, and what would you do?
I went to the dentist this morning. This is monumental, because as a rule, I Don’t Do Dentists. However, I promised Steve that I would go for a checkup and a cleaning, and I made the appointment, for March 17, and told the office that the only way this would work was if there was valium, which the dentist prescribed, so I had it on hand when the call came in yesterday, saying that they had a cancellation and could I come in this morning at 7:30. Steve being willing to act as driver, I agreed.
Mostly it went OK, though I made a tactical error in not fetching along a teddy bear or other stuffie, and so had to borrow the House Wolf. You’ve gotta give points to a dentist’s office that has a stuffed wolf on-call.
The good news is, no cavities. The bad news is a low-grade infection, which I sorta knew, but was ignoring, also, there are a couple teeth that need to be capped, because I’ve dern near ground them down to nothing. So — another appointment in four months to take care of business and I will be taking a bear along.
This is the point where you wonder why the heck I’m telling you this stuff, and this is why. . .
Over the course of my life I’ve lost at least six friends and colleagues to complications of dental issues; cases of that low-grade infection that was just ignored, or higher-grade problems that needed Serious Money to fix, when there wasn’t even Non-Serious Money in the checkbook, so it was just let go, for a while, and a while longer — until it had gone too far.
Dentists are expensive, dentists are scary, but seriously people, take care of your teeth. If you Don’t Do Dentists, figure out what you need to do to make the experience liveable. Valium, music and earphones, stuffed animal, a friend to sit next to the chair and hold your hand — whatever it takes, right?
Promise me.
So, Steve took Jack the Giant Killer into the shop this morning while I ran errands in the opposite direction, and went to gym, too! Presently, I’m working on Number Ten Ox, who has been wired up with the funny keyboard and the trackball. We have only just located the HDMI wire, so later this afternoon, I’ll have a Big Screen to work from, too.
What with one thing and another, I got zero writing done yesterday. Hoping very much to do better today. For those playing along at home, the manuscript now stands at 33,194 words in this iteration, which seems likely to stick. And the next time I run into the Backroom Boys, I’m gonna beat their punkinhaids. Just sayin’.
Though I didn’t get any actual writing done yesterday, I did get a the Sunday chores done, including the Brushing of the Coon Cats.
This chore is enlivened by the fact that each of the Coon Cats has a different approach to being groomed.
Mozart takes the What Fresh Hell is This? approach, which includes writhing away from the brush as if it were on fire, swearing loudly, and screaming that a murder is being done and won’t anyone help him! He swears, in his high, squeaky voice, the entire time his claws are being clipped, folds his ears down so they can’t be cleaned, and will have nothing to do with the anti-static towel that smells like flowers.
Trooper, on the other hand, Understands that the Thumbs wish to groom him. After, all he is magnificent, as Trooper is the first to admit. He allows the brush and the comb with an air of regal complacency, is testy, but calm during the manicure, and resigned in the matter of the ears. He graciously declines the smelly towel.
Sprite. . .loves the whole process. She adores being brushed, purrs while she’s combed, puts her paw forward to be clipped — I honestly think she’d let me paint her claws for her. She eeks! if I forget to clean her ears, and can think of no better end to her spa experience than to be stroked with a towel that will make her smell like a flower.
I’m thinking of pairing her with Mozart so he can see how it’s done, but I’m afraid he’ll teach her Bad Language.
The plan for the rest of the day is eat lunch, write, wait for the tech to call with news of Jack’s condition.
How’s Monday treating you?
*Today’s title comes from Warren Zevon, “For my next trick, I’ll need a volunteer.” Here’s a link.
9. Black Widow: The Name of the Rose, Marjorie Liu, Daniel Acuna
8. Agent of Change, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (e)
7. The Emperor’s Agent, Jo Graham (e)
6. Eternity and a Day, Aline Hunter (e)
5. Kindred Rites, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (e)
4. Billy the Kid, the Endless Ride, Michael Wallis
3. The Steerswoman, Rosemary Kirstein (e)
2. Uncovered, Jordan Matter
1. Dancers Among Us, Jordan Matter
So this morning, with a snap! heard through the house, Jack the Giant Killer, the venerable Windows XP desktop, left this mortal realm. I’m hoping this is a temporary death and that Jack can be revived with the installation of a new power supply, and that the neutrinos escaping from the explosion of what is now certainly the Former Power Supply didn’t nuke the hard drive.
It would be. . .mildly inconvenient if I lost the hard drive, most of the important stuff is backed up. And the Book is Safe — I apologize to the writers reading here, I should have said that first.
If Jack is truly lost to us, I’ll be hooking Ox up to the big screen and the Funny Looking Keyboard. I do NOT have the budget for a new desktop this year. Gah.
For now, I’m writing on the Mencken Table via Ox, from which I will be sporadically available to the internets.
In the meantime, having done the day’s murder, I have chores to do.
Everybody stay safe.
(The heading comes from Rachel’s Song, by James McMurtry. Here’s your link.)
Today, we celebrate the sixteenth anniversary of the birth of Kennebec Mozart. He’s celebrating by sleeping in his special corner in my office, with his back pressed firmly against the radiator. A little later in the day, Steve and I will toast his good health and long years on-station here at the Cat Farm with vanilla ice cream.
Since we’re right in the middle of the Major Morning Nap, I’m not going to disturb him for a photo op. Here’s a picture from October:
Advertent readers of this forum will recall that, on February 21, I purchased an Article of Clothing, specifically the Lady K’abel Coat, from J. Peterman.
The Article of Clothing arrived today, and, true to Internet Tradition, Pictures have been taken.
Here we have the stage before the model arrives. Princess Jasmine Sprite, Roadie of the Night, holds the area against interlopers:
But wait! The roadie spots an interloper!
At last, the model arrives. The audience is stunned as she shows them. . .
Super Coat!
The model points out the fine work:
All too soon, the show is done. The audience files out in reverent silence, while the model and the roadie share A Moment:
A disordered list of stuff, because I’m feeling disordered this morning.
1. The Nebula Ballot has been announced. Here’s your link. Congratulations to all the nominees!
2. If you’ve read Carousel Sun, please consider placing a review on Amazon, BN, Goodreads, &c. I’m grateful to those who have already taken the time to review. If you aren’t comfortable writing a review, please consider recommending Sun and Tides to your genre-reading friends (books make great gifts!).
2a. Uncle Hugo’s SF Bookstore still has signed copies of Carousel Sun in stock, as well as many other Lee-and-Miller titles. Here’s your link.
3. If you’ve read Necessity’s Child, please consider writing a review for it, as above. Thank you.
4. The National Carousel Association’s 2014 Convention will visit ten carousels in the NYC area, including Jane’s Carousel, the Central Park Carousel, and more! Here’s your link.
5. It snowed last night, about an inch. Today it’s slightly sunny, but cold.
6. Hope everyone is having a lovely Thursday.
Steve reminds me that today! is Book Day for the mass market edition of Necessity’s Child!
So, those who’ve read/listened to previous editions, you want to tell people who may have been hanging back, not sure that they want to read a book that’s not in the “main line” why they should give Necessity’s Child a chance? No spoilers, please.
Go!