Ok so.
Late yesterday morning one of my older online freinds contacted me and gave me a reason to buy an ebook reader. The long and short of it is she has lots of reviews to get through, all of them ebooks, so it made sense for me to buy one.
So I did.
I bought a Sony ereader, and have spent the last 24 hours or so getting aquanted with it. I’m already wandering around with a handful of books to review (and can post them and offer them wherever I want) and more to read for fun.
I’m in kinda a wacky mood at the moment. I can actually see my way free of the mess that is my books at the moment, and it’s not nearly as painful as I was worried about.
Today and tomorrow is all about getitng stuff sorted out for starting back at Uni on the 5th. Two essays (at least) to hand in, one on Abnormal psychology (and I’m not allowed to use myself as a case study, so I found a case study of some of the things I experienced anyway. Naughty, moi?) and one creative writing. I’ve got two more to hand in over the next couple of weeks, and I don’t want to leave them till thier due date, so I’m working on that too.
OK - just a quickie.
Can anyone give me a hand with the names of my books? I’ve put my notes away somewhere safe, and it’s too complicated to download the archive and open it up (which I’m also doing right now), but if anyone can add to *this* list, I’d be really - eternally grateful.
So I think I have this sorted out.
There’s no reason for me to keep shoving against an immovable mountain - so I’ve found a way to go up, round, over, sidewards.
So the plan at the moment is to do a couple of little fiction things - I’ve got a Friend that wants me to do some micro flash for a site that he likes - and I’m looking at short stories, and how I can use some little ideas for stories and get them ‘off the books’ as it were.
In conjunction with that I’m going to start acting like an almost ‘normal’ person online. I’ve cut back to a tiny handful of sites.
Personal
Kaiberie.com - my ‘personal’ and catch all blog.
Spirit-tome.com - working on it - I don’t know whether it’s going to be my hub site, and Dkaiwilson is being made my professional writer’s site or the other way round, but I’m looking at it.
After fighting it tooth and nail for the last while, the novels that were ‘pre’ head injury may have to be placed on hold for a while. I’ve got enough fragments of notes to create something that might be similar, but would probably be ‘less’. I don’t want to risk that - so I’m going to wait.
Aleph, in the end, broke down to 12k or so in notes. Out 0f 91k, I don’t think that’s too bad - and I’ll be able to write, I hope for my assignments this week…
I’ve always had some sort of affinity with music - I can play just about every instrument known to man (though, note, I don’t claim I can play them well) - I’ve even had a go on the Japanese lap guitars whose name escapes me - I was ok at them too, once I got my head round the fact it was more like a xylophone, where my fingers controlled the ‘bar’ I was hitting, and I didn’t need to wave around like a bloody loon to reach the notes. It’s actually fairly sedate, once you work out what you’re doing. Anyway - I also sing, and pay attention to both lyric and melody. I’m fairly obsessive at points in fact, much to most people’s amusement when they start *really* talking music with me.
Email is officially back, working and downloading to one secure place on my server, then piping out to my email program. It means i can pick up my email, even on campus - but given I rarely take my laptop onto campus with me, it’s only handy for those days that I’m on campus, in the library all day. I am beginning to consider whether I want to do that at least once a week, and get used to being in on a Monday, in prep for next term. Given that my music library is looking more healthy now that I got some of it rescued from the (older) failed drive, it’s not as if I’m hurting for stuff to listen to either. And it does mean that I can do lots of research.
Firstly - emailing me at any of my ‘domain’ based email accounts won’t reach me for ‘up to’ 48 hours.
I’m moving to google apps, for the time being at least. I can still POP download or IMAP my mail, but it means that I’m replying to one set of emails, not dozens. It also means that I’m not managing sixty unwieldy spam filters that take up SO much space on my server (cause, course, I don’t understand enough about spamassassin to make it work from a shared one).
I spent the week working through a lot of ’stuff’. It’s left me kinda down, but I can see the way out of this, sorta easily. Well, I say that, it means changing a couple of things that are effectively what I’ve been since I came online, but that’s ok. I can do it.
Part of it is that I’m changing my personal ‘care’ routine. I’ve spent the last nine years rarely wearing makeup, slapping on moisturiser when I notice my skin is dry and though I go for a bath every night, I tend to wash, dry and then get on (again) with what I stopped to go for a bath. Occassionally, I’ll spend a bit longer on my own care, but mostly, the only time I REALLY spoil myself is at the spa.
I don’t ‘do’ politics. Mainly because normally, I misunderstand something.
But as many of my faithful readers know - I’ve had occassion several times in the last nine years to butt heads with the government over the way they handle the ‘protection’ of money belonging to, or that children are entitled to - and by extention, the absolutely nightmarish way the goverment handles relationship breakdowns, entitlements and debts to thier various departments.
Object lesson number 1:
Make sure your backup system works, even if you’re relying on an external drive.
Object lesson number 2:
there is NO PHYSICAL way to backup 200gbs of drive - ever - don’t let it get that far.
Object lesson number 3:
Copying something to a drive then deleting it from the source is not backing up (don’t ask ;))
Ok - there are caveats to this.
One - I don’t know how many I’m going to have spare - I’m making home made cards for the family this year, because I always think they look stunning. And it turns out I’m quite good at it, but the catch is, I have finite supplies. Those finite supplies might run out before I have hand made ones to send round too many people (and see three).
Two - I MIGHT auction off a couple for the Nanowrimo fundrasing whoja - via bidding and then donating through my firstgiving page, so if you’re up for that, there will be a different list, and customisations too ;).
(this is the first of a couple of posts from me today/tomorrow - things’ll settle down again soon, promise!)
Mom is still down, so this is a really quick post 
So far we’ve gone to the spa - we’ve been doing lots of other stuff - walking the dog in the country, going to kiddies playparks, visiting the deer park - playing with the cat and the dog, introducing mom to freinds…it’s been really nice 
I thought I’d share. I don’t have it yet (he’s going to pick it up on Friday, and will propose at some point (officially - with the ring) at some point after that. He ‘officially’ proposed May, and of course, I accepted, but we’ve gone thorugh disaster after disaster with money since (and I’m a poor student - his job isn’t AS bad, but still, we’re struggling without the support the CSA is supposed to give us, and tends not to).
Anyway - without further ado - we went ‘brand new’ instead of second hand this time:
I went to speak to my doctor this morning, who came to the conclusion that I had two options until my neuro appointment in the middle of December. He said that he thinks my migrane is worse than normal because of my ‘constant’ headache.
One - anti epelectic/antidepression meds (I didn’t tell him what the other docs had said) - and I refused. Sodium valporate was the last meds I’d been placed on before I started having migranes - and my history with antidepressants.
So - his other idea was to try me on beta blockers.
Up until this morning, I’d never heard of beta blockers - not properly anyway - and so, I was surprised when he told me that they were used for treating heart problems - and for blocking pain, because it reduces some reaction that creates adrenaline.
So we got home, I picked up my meds, and waited till we’d gone out with T & L for a halloween project at the local ranger station. An hour later and my headache is gone!
There is a catch - of sorts - to this. The side of my head is numb - so it’s probably a nerve problem. Possibly. Perhaps. I’m going to have to see how it goes over the next few days. So far, though it’s looking promising, if a bit concerning that I’m having to use tablets that are quite so hardcore, against the backdrop of other tablets I already take for my migranes. (Zomigtiptain, a sedative, and cyclazine)
Have I set up my book in Liquid story binder? (check!)
Have I set up every type of file and sorted it into a set of views based on my writing moods (check!)
Do I have a playlist (check check)
Do I have at least one plot (seven! - and no, that doesn’t mean I’m doing seven! - though…that’s only, technically - 350k - or 5k a day or so)
Am I needing to allow for anything? (mom is down for a week, but I can sneak a lot of the writing passed her as work for Uni, cause I’m doubling up this year)
Do I have something set up for a treat for around the middle of the month? (check - mom and I are going to the spa for some fun)
Am I ready for tonight, midnight? (if I can stay awake, CHECK!)
(quick note for my faithful readers - the quickest way to get a meaningful update out of me instead of ‘just twitter’ is to ask nicely, not threaten never to talk to me again ;))
Kushie, who we adopted in June, is doing amazingly well. Since she started getting out last month, she’s shown some signs of anxiety (won’t go anywhere where she can’t see me till she gets caught up in the sheer joy of being outside) but has, at the same time, explored every nook and cranny of the garden. Problem being she’s also exploring the whole of the house in the same exuberant manner. Today, she was climbing the curtains and digging in the washing pile…
Just a quickie - I’ve added some galleries to my site - I’ll pick out some images later and add some narrations and explain some of them - but the black monolith models + the silvery skeletons (necrons) are my other half’s - the woman in the tank is mine
I hate cleaning. I mean - I really dislike it. The house is never as clean as I’d like - and I always feel like I’m about six steps behind the place I should be for cleaning. I mean, we moved over two years ago, and I’m still sorting through half packed boxes and getting rid of stuff.
I went to see John Barrowman and his sister, the irrepressible writer Carole E Barrowman, at the literary festival this weekend. I really enjoyed the talk they gave, and I even managed to bring up the National Novel Writer’s Month (which I’ve passed on the information for) when there was an open Q&A session.
They were both really funny - some of the stories they told were just brilliant, and I get the distinct impression that though it was ’scripted’ that they derailed it slightly. John talked more than his sister (and got up and danced whilst telling one of the stories) but I have to say, I was really impressed with thier relationship. And I’m looking forward to reading the book - when I get through these dammed assignments.
My other half came back with presents from London last week - and an illness, that he also gave to me. So today has been spent mostly sleeping, toying with presentation ideas (got three to give in the next seven weeks), reading, sleeping some more, and writing.
So, the blog at spirit-tome is almost set up. I’m trying to decide whether I want my wordcount counter brought over, along with all of the project plugin.
More importantly though, I’m now almost through with design fun ’stuff’. I’ve got one last site to set up, which is Booksbykai, but I’m saving that till I’ve done some writing.
I’ve spent the last few days thinking about what I’m doing with my life in the next few years.
I’m about to hit my big ‘planning for my five year project’ stage. Last five years was all about websites and servers - which I’ve managed in spades. I wanted to be more successful than I am for some things, but I’ve done a lot of things that I’m proud of too.
I’ve got between four and six weeks before I find out what the result of the investigation into my accident is - I am generally VERY concerned that they’re - somehow - going to find a way to shift the blame, but I do feel that the fall, whether I can remember smacking my head or not, is responsible for all of the pain I’m currently in.
I’ve spent today thinking again. Not because I couldn’t write, but because I had an awful lot of time where I was either walking and playing ‘dodge the sunlight’ or when I was lying in bed with my head under the covers somewhere.
There’s a whirlwind that blows thorugh each of lives once in a while - the one that changes and shakes things up. It could be a chill wind, making you pay more attention to the things around you, or, converesly, it could be a warm breeze, as soft as the carress of a loved one.
Rumours of my demise are…well, I’d say greatly exagerated, but the way my head feels at the moment, I have my doubts that they were a lie.
My sense of humour is about the same as always, but my multitasking skills have fallen apart, noisily and messily. I’ve been writing very little these last few weeks - which isn’t a great thing, though, my migranes and seeing things, have left me with a lot of snippets and plotlines to investigate.
We were at a reading ‘Slak’ on Thursday night, and I did about the bravest thing I’ve ever attempted, since wandering onto campus that first day. It’s hard - but no harder than anything else I’ll probably have to do. I read ‘Mania’, which is running in Scribe and Quill at some point soon.
So, uhm. Sorry.
This week we had a freind visiting us - and between that and the almost permanent headache I’ve been stuck with, I’ve been fit for very little other than a tiny bit of Warhammer Online, and touring our gorgeous home with someone that was expecting something different. Although, what, we’re not sure.
Next week, I start my new classes at Uni. I’m doing three double writing modules this term, and abnormal psychology - after x-mas, I’m doing the same doubles, and Psychology and Law. Plus, my I’ve started planning my Nanowrimo, and some interviews between now and November to give it max publicity. I can’t believe I’ve been a municipal liason for six years!
I’ll cover the Livejournal stuff first.
I did one of my LONG overdue cleanouts - deleting some of the communities I used to run that are no longer active (sorry!), and deleting freinds that had either deleted thier journals, or more importantly, hadn’t updated in some time. I’ve also updated my userprofile.
I’m taking steps back (big steps in the case of Ryze, where I’m letting my subscription end this month, for a few months - little ones in the case of some other things, like limiting my online time, and procrastinatory ’stuff’ as far as I can) but at the same time, I’m trying to get immersed in a couple of my loves - namely blogging (teaching people to) and writing (fiction, non fiction, cnf, and poetry).
Sunday, I smacked my head - I’m not sure how hard, or even what I hit it on (whether it was the concrete floor, the corner of a unit, or the coke case racks), but I hit my head.
Monday was a bit of a wipe - after screaming and fighting off spids most of Sunday night, my other half took me to the docs. They sent me for a CT, which was completely clean, apparently.
They said that my headache was an abnormal migrane, and to take my migrane meds. I did, I felt a bit better.
Submissions/Acceptances/Rejections
Seven queries
Two rejections
One outstanding from last week.
Previous Deadlines
Nothing to report this week
Upcoming deadlines
On The Premises: Revelation: One or more characters discover that something believed to be true is actually false. (30 Sep 2008) - got something really nice going
Malpractice: An Anthology of Bedside Terror: Bloom Memorial Hospital (30 Sep 2008) - having fun with this - need beta readers (see notes at bottom)
SNM Horror Magazine: Demons, exorcisms, real-life vampires or real-life zombies (20 Oct 2008)
Falling Star Magazine: You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away (01 Nov 2008)
First Line, The: First line: While not the intended effect, the outcome was surprisingly satisfying. (01 Nov 2008)
Mslexia: Balloons (fash fiction under 150 words) (14 Nov 2008)
In the Footsteps of Gilgamesh: Interpretations of the Epic of Gilgamesh (01 Dec 2008)
New Concepts Publishing: Tempted Anthology (31 Dec 2008)
SFReader Short Story Contest: 7th Annual SFReader Short Story Contest (31 Dec 2008)
SNM Horror Magazine: Stories of dark erotica, bondage, sexual situations horror related. (20 Jan 2009)
So Kushie, in her infinite ‘catdom’, has decided that the absolutel best time to start really showing her personailty wasn’t when the kids were at home to laugh at her antics, but rather, when it’s just me and her and the camera battery is completley dead.
*I’d like to note, because this has come up before, the blanket I refer to as a wolfskin blanket, is actually a fake one. It’s incredibly warm and comfortable though, as the cat keeps showing me*
I’m worried about my freinds and colleagues in the direct path of Gustav so if any of you happen to be reading this, I know it’s a bit obvious, but be careful? Or, if careful is out cause you have to go outside, at least be safe.
Submissions/Acceptances/Rejections
Footnotes to a lesson - The World is Dead - SUB
Previous Deadlines
World Is Dead, The: How people (or zombies) have developed to cope with the new situation of the living dead (31 Aug 2008) - Submitted yesterday, much to my delight - “Footnotes on a lesson”
Dia de los Muertos Anthology: Dia de los Muertos (31 Aug 2008) - “Dandy” won’t be submitted to this anthology, cause it just lacks *something*. I might see about subbing it to a halloween themed *something* otherwise, I can clean it up and keep it for next year.
Lucrezia Magazine: The Halloween Issue (01 Sep 2008) - not doing
Shakespeare’s Monkey Revue: Food (15 Sep 2008) - Not doing
I was skimming some of my news feeds, and caught this post on the NYtimes.
I think what really riled me was that she said …”"It all just came out of me,” she explained, acknowledging her hopes, as she had in the posting, that perhaps she deserves a book deal.”
So let me get this straight. Because she’s a bit neurotic, and can say some rude or degoritory things in public about her family - has four kids, and intimated that she, or they, or all of them have ADHD, she deserves a book deal?
So I’ve spent the whole morning, when I should have been writing my zombie stories, chasing the Child support agency to find out what in the hell they’re playing at.
Long story incredibly short - we’ve been having to phone the CSA several times a month to get the payments the ex is sending them, found and sent on to me. This came to a head last month when they said they take 21 working days (that’s a month, more or less) to clear payments if they have an incorrect reference number. So July’s payment was going to be 21 working days too, cause we couldn’t get the reference number changed on the account before then. And guess what?
Well, I’m back to battling with the CSA again. They are ‘losing’ payments from the ex, and worse than that, they’re refusing to do anything about it. Last month they held the payment for 21 days (they claim this is the length of time it takes to ‘clear’ through thier system) and this month they are claiming that he hasn’t paid at all. (’this month’ being July). He’s further claiming that there’s been a problem with August’s payments, so things are fairly tight around here at the moment. And I’ve still got school uniforms to buy.
I’m currently sitting on my Mom’s couch - my other half and our cat is at his dad’s (cause my stepdad is allergic, and cause I’ve still got the kids till tomorrow evening) thinking about the last time I was here on my own.
It was before my tattoo (which came up in conversation today too), it was before my other half, but only just. And my world slid about eight inches sidewards weekend.
A lot of good came out of it, but I spent a lot of the drive up thinking about what I’ve done in the last 12 years. Most of it, not good, or at the very least, unremarkable.
If you read the first article on this, I covered the evolution of my pattern of blogging. I thought I’d go a bit more techie.
I started blogging on static HTML pages. It was irregularly updated, and basically, it was a personal website, with artwork and short stories.
From there I moved to b2 evolution. It was kinda cool - I liked the multi blogging ability, but I got spammed to DEATH. The central commenting system wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t all that great (for what I needed). I found it hard to template too, but at that point I was just learning PHP, so it wasn’t hugely important to me.
From there, I moved to Greymatter (breifly), and again, found it hard to use and template. At which point I decided to get serious.
I tried Moveable type. That was in 2004. I again, found it incredibly hard, so moved, in pretty rapid succession to WordPress.
And I’ve been there ever since.
The WordPress evolution itself hasn’t actually been that dramatic at the core. The posting system is about the same - but there have been tonnes of improvements and tightenings to the code. It’s evloved with the web itself in many ways.
I also think it’s become easier for people to use - it’s fairly easy to teach people to blog now, which is the most important thing - but at it’s core - WordPress feels the same and I like that comfortable, comforting feel that the core will always be fairly recognisable, and that no matter where I go, I’ll always use WordPress.
Spirit-tome - a writer's blog