Sep 23, 2008 | Life, Rants, Revising, Submissions, Writing |
Do you get a lot of it? Because I don't seem to lately. I go to bed at a reasonable hour (sort of) and then I lay awake thinking about what I need to do, what I want to do, and what is going to happen. Not a lot of fun to be tired and have your mind race.
When morning rolls around, the hubby gets up for work. And I can't help but get up with him. Right now, his parents are visiting. And there's a whole relationship with coffee that I thought I understood but apparently don't. I love my coffee in the morning, don't get me wrong.
But my FIL is SO worried about it, like I'm going to oversleep and he will have to sit there without it for hours on end, that I make sure I get up and put a pot on. I just can't listen to the endless questions every night — “Will you make coffee in the morning?” or “Is there going to be coffee in the morning?” or “Are you making coffee?”
As IF.
So, even if I haven't slept well, I have to get up and make the coffee. Add in the stress of revisions, submissions, and waiting for news and you have an insomniac writer. Guess I could work on the next book idea…..
Do you have trouble sleeping? What do you do for it? Do you have a crazy FIL who obsesses about coffee? Let's talk. Just wake me up if I'm dozing….
Sep 19, 2008 | Life, Submissions |
There is a sense when you've turned in a book that everything is about to fall apart. Or at least that's how I feel. I know this is normal. All my writer friends tell me so. Published authors still get worried about what their editor will think when the manuscript is turned in. (It goes without saying that unpublished writers are anxious when they send out books!)
Anxiety: A state of uneasiness and apprehension, as about future uncertainties.
This is my state today. I'm in that no man's land between having turned in the book, waiting for the response, wondering whether to work on something else, and just thinking I ought to climb into bed and pull the covers over my head.
Anxiety comes with symptoms, among them headaches, nausea, insomnia, trembling, pacing, inability to concentrate, etc. There are many, many symptoms. Mine consist of the nausea, insomnia, and restlessness mostly. The headache is always an option with me. 🙂
I've pretty much decided this is part of the writerly state, part and parcel with the job. Every job has its stressors; I'm experiencing mine now. The book is gone and there's nothing I can do but worry about it.
Anything making you anxious today? Any anxiety remedies?
Sep 9, 2008 | General, Life |
What I've learned about renovation that differs from HGTV:
1. It takes longer than 30 minutes.
2. There is only one Carter Oosterhouse — and all the other semi-decently good looking carpenters and contracters are also employed by HGTV. Because they aren't at my house.
***
My renovation project has officially gone over time. I think. See, I distinctly remember someone telling me it'd be done in a week (it's not a big project, really). But that was probably before they factored in — what I like to call — the drunken drywall dude.
Oh, I'm not saying he was drunk on site. But he IS a drunk. And that affects how quickly he works, when he shows up for work, and when he has to leave. Because alcoholics need their drinks and they need their recovery time. Take, for instance, the exchange on Friday afternoon when he asked me if he could come at 8AM and work until about noon on Saturday to finish the drywall. And I said sure, because hubby and I don't typically get motivated to run around town until noonish anyway.
Now, when I tell him it's okay, I'm looking at him sort of askance and thinking, “Yeah, like you'll actually be here.” The day I was told he'd be here at noon, he didn't arrive until almost 3. And it was nearly Friday night and he looked like he needed a drink. Eight AM on a Saturday seemed about as likely as a short trip to the moon and back.
What do you think happened?
Exactly. I'm up at 8, waiting. No dude. Nine comes, no dude. A different dude, not drywall, arrives to put speaker wires in the wall and do some other things. This guy is nice, competent, and a great worker. I like and trust him. If he says he'll be here, he'll be here.
Drywall dude never shows. Never calls. Nada. Monday morning, drywall dude arrives with another dude (presumably a babysitter of sorts) and they finish the drywall. Do you think he said a word to me about Saturday?
Nope.
But that's not my only adventure in renovation yesterday! In the afternoon, a different guy shows up — not with my renovation contractor, I can tell, because he has no company truck. He's in a green truck, he's not wearing a shirt (and, alas, he looks nothing like our example above), and I'm thinking he must be at the wrong place. He gets out of the truck, digs around for a shirt, manages to get it on, and comes to my door.
It's the tile guy from my builder come to finish my backsplash. Did I mention I've lived in this house for over a year? That the tile people have made and broken more appointments than I can even remember? He showed up unannounced (good thing I was home!), alone, and with tile that looked suspiciously wrong. After much banging on the tile, frightening the cats, and asking my opinion about the color once he'd sealed it, the backsplash is done and tile dude is gone. I can only hope the color holds out once the sealer dries.
So, that's my excuse for not having a Monday post. Adventures in reno land, minus the good-looking hunky shirtless guy in a toolbelt and jeans. And that crazy HGTV tries to make it look so easy (and sexy), don't they? What kind of house project adventures have you had?
Sep 4, 2008 | General, Life |
I have workmen in my house, hammering, sawing, and making noise all day — and I'm eyeball deep in revisions. So, nothing new from me. Except I could use a quiet afternoon all to myself…..
Whass up with you?
Sep 1, 2008 | General, Life |
Sunday night, the weather was nice, just a little breezy. He sent an email at 8AM that said it was getting pretty windy, though they still had power. He expects it to go out later in the day. But, he's got that generator and plenty of supplies. He also said they'd had 6 to 10 inches of rain by about 11 something last night when he sent his first update.
Aug 31, 2008 | General, Life |
I've been watching the news about Gustav with growing dread and a sense of panic. When Katrina hit, I was in Hawaii. I don't think any of us knew what to expect then. Did I mention I have family there? A brother and his family, aunts, a grandmother, a cousin. They are north of New Orleans in a town on the edge of Lake Ponchartrain. Last time, they were lucky. This time?
I don't know, but my brother isn't leaving yet. He's waiting to make a decision. And I look at this picture and say, “What in hell is there to wait for? A miracle!?” My grandmother is in a nursing home, and they've already evacuated. The aunts and cousin? No idea. We aren't close, so I don't know.
So keep New Orleans, and all of lower Louisiana most especially, in your thoughts. I'm hoping for a miracle too. But I don't expect it. I hope my brother piles the family in the car today and decides to come to Alabama. We're waiting with open arms and a safe haven.
