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July 9th, 2009

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July 6th, 2009

05:59 pm - Words on paper I finally managed to write today. After a long, thought-filled hiatus. I managed 2,600 words on the first, rough draft of a new story, tentatively titled, "Wear Life Like a Eulogy." It felt good to get out and write. I'm in Starbucks in Chapters, comfortable, excited, and filled with the promise of "the new." I've been so blindsided by life over the last few weeks. Writing is what I love to do, and I'm glad I'm finding a way to fit it back into my life again. Could it be that the block is lifting? I will give myself the space to watch, wait, and see. Current Location: Starbucks Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: their piped in stuff Tags: personal, writing

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June 17th, 2009

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June 15th, 2009

07:48 pm - Someone Call the Fat Lady to the Stage In court today, with the combined efforts of me, my lawyer, my ex, and his lawyer, we came to an agreement on all of the outstanding issues of the divorce. We signed the memorandum and handed it to a judge. Our case has now been pulled from the trial list. Wow. The next step involves finessing the wording on the final agreement. And then, wham, we will be officially divorced. I am in shock at the moment. I had to pick up groceries after, and was so stunned that I spent most of the trip staring at the shelves trying to remember what we eat. Current Location: my office Current Mood: shocked Tags: divorce, personal

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June 11th, 2009

03:49 pm - Cafe time I'm sitting at a cafe, sipping a Chai frappe, and nibbling on a butter tart. Today is my birthday and I'm a mix of happy and sad. Happy because I get to spend today with Michael. He is an amazing man who has truly made my life better. I would never have guessed or even dreamed that a relationship could be as loving, comforting, supportive, and healing as this one has been for me. Thank you, Michael, for bringing more joy into my life than I will ever be able to measure. Sad because my two sons are away (one at camp and one with his dad), and I miss having them around on my special day. My mother and sister are out of province, too, so I'm feeling particularly separated from my "peeps". Current Location: urbana cafe Current Mood: contemplative Current Music: June 2009 mix Tags: birthdays, personal

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June 4th, 2009

10:32 pm - Ouch Still in short post mode. The splint helps a little, but my hand aches after a short time at the keyboard. I hope this passes fairly quickly. Current Location: in bed Current Mood: exhausted Tags: personal

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June 2nd, 2009

03:45 pm - WorldCon is a Go After All Today I received an invitation to the launch for Tesseracts 13. So I suppose I AM still going to WorldCon. Now I should really try to find a room before I end up on the street... My thumb still aches. I can't sit at the computer for long and it's driving me crazy. Current Location: my office Current Mood: sore Tags: conventions, personal

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May 28th, 2009

06:29 pm - Bummers all around I have tendinitis in my left thumb. Now wearing a splint, icing, advil, etc. Can only type for short periods. Found out last night that Tesseracts 13 Won't be in print until September 15, so no WorldCon launch. Grr... If anyone out there in LJ land wants to buy my WorldCon membership (I paid $240 Canadian) please let me know. It's in Montreal this year, from August 6 to 10. Current Location: my office Current Mood: sore Tags: conventions, personal

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May 20th, 2009

01:35 pm - It happened It's a miracle, you're thinking to yourselves. Yes, I drove to the Starbucks in Chapters today, and YES, I worked on the novel. I wrote a new chapter one and half of the new chapter two. Both of these chapters will appear before the original chapters one and two, for those of you who have read the previous drafts. I'm feeling good, so far, though I know these are very rough drafts. I have plenty of work ahead of me, but at least I've found the stamina to begin! Current Location: my office Current Mood: accomplished Tags: writing

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May 19th, 2009

09:30 pm - I own a van A Chrysler Grand Caravan to be exact. And gold coloured (they call it sandstone) if that's your next question. A 2008 with about 20,000 kms. I miss my Jeep a little. At least I had one final wave-to-a-fellow-owner on the drive to the dealership to trade it in. It's a Jeep thing...you wouldn't understand. *sigh* Current Location: in bed Current Mood: exhausted Tags: personal

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April 21st, 2009

10:14 pm - Home, for a change I have been extremely busy of late. Things I have done: - drove to Arlington for reddherring1955's mom's funeral - drove to Toronto for my cousin Jonathan's wedding - drove to St Catharine's to help my sister pack up her life for the move - with my mother's help, finished the rough draft of my income tax return (will take the pack to my accountant tomorrow) - had one wickedly nasty bout of stomach flu (or food poisoning? either way, BLEH!) I've also been reading David Morrell's The Successful Novelist, and though I'm not far in, it's been useful already. It actually guilted me back into writing again. I've done a couple of days of Club 100 which isn't much, but considering how little time I've actually been home (and not behind the wheel of my car), it's a miracle, IMHO. The kids are in bed, and my sister is hanging with me at the moment. She goes back to Alberta soon, which is a total drag. I will now return to burying my head under a pile of "to-do". Current Location: in bed Current Mood: exhausted Current Music: the sound of kids snoring Tags: personal, travel, writing

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April 8th, 2009

03:44 pm - More whining about taxes I have spent the last three days either at my mom's or on the phone with her, discussing my tax return. She likes to do it, ENJOYS helping people with their taxes. I know, I can't believe it either. Every time I think I've got my act together, that I'm almost done, she asks me about another bunch of deductions and I go home and scrounge through my filing cabinet for those receipts. All power to her, she's reduced the tax I owe by a huge chunk of cash. And my accountant bill will be much smaller when all is said and done. I still have a few weeks, after all, in Canada, the deadline is April 30th. Current Location: my office Current Mood: exhausted Tags: financial, personal

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April 4th, 2009

10:32 pm - Force the Summer This afternoon, I brought the kids to marcy_italiano's Force the Summer Party. We managed a game each of Bocce, all in our summer gear. It was cold, but fingers crossed that our efforts have forced the summer to hurry up and arrive a little sooner. On the writing front: not much to report. Still mulling over the notion of submitting to agents, trying to figure out which direction to take first and maximizing my query letter. Current Location: in bed Current Mood: exhausted Tags: personal

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March 31st, 2009

02:57 pm - Ad Astra report Okay, this won't be much of a report, more of a memo... I thoroughly enjoyed Ad Astra this past weekend. My reading was well attended (thank you to all who came out!!) and my other panels were enjoyable. Michael's GoH duties were fun to watch -- now I know how the other half lives ;). I've spent the last day and a half sitting and reading and bringing myself out of post-con mode and back to reality. I am allowing thoughts to simmer and hope to start another new short story asap. Current Location: the den Current Mood: calm Tags: conventions

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March 26th, 2009

09:24 pm - A submission, you say? It's true, I swear! I mailed "Cold Feet" to Writers of the Future today. Woot! That puts my number of submissions for the year at four. It's sad, but it's all mine. The shiny counter: 4 / 52 submissions. 8% done! I figured I would dabble in my financials, starting the business statements for my tax return. I planned to work for about an hour then do some other submissions. Five and a half hours later, I was rushing out the door to pick up my older son and hadn't even gotten as far as I wanted to get. Did I mention I loathe tax season?? Current Location: in bed Current Mood: exhausted Current Music: the sound of my kids reading Tags: financial, personal, submissions, writing

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March 25th, 2009

08:51 pm - Ad Astra Convention Once again, I will be attending the convention, Ad Astra Con 2009, this coming weekend, March 27 to 29, 2009, at the Crowne Plaze Toronto Don Valley Hotel, Toronto, Ontario Here's my schedule: Saturday, March 28 **originally, I was to appear on this panel, but my older son's hockey team is now playing their final game around that time **4:00 PM Creative Block, with Ruth Stuart, Joanne Ellen Hansen, Kent Burles, Gemma Files - Salon 241 Sunday, March 29 12:30 PM Reading ... Come on by, there might be treats! - Crowne Room 1:00 PM Marketing Yourself, with Hayden Trenholm (moderator), Michael Green, Michelle Rowan, Eve Silver, Suzanne Church - Ballroom Centre 2:00 PM Tesseracts Anthologies, with Claude Lalumière (moderator), Madeline Ashby, Douglas Smith, Robert Boyczuk, David Nickle, Suzanne Church - Ballroom Centre I hope to see you there! Current Location: in bed Current Mood: busy Tags: conventions

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08:44 pm - Almost in the mail I made a few last minute changes to "Cold Feet" and sealed it in an envelope ready to head out to WotF. Tomorrow, I will mail it on the way home from driving my older son to school. I am DAYS ahead of the deadline. Go me. Current Location: in bed Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: the sound of the kids horsing around Tags: writing

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March 19th, 2009

11:11 pm - edit, edit, edit Spent some time at Urbana Cafe today, editing. "Cold Feet" is closer to ready and I finally had a chance to work through a good chunk of reddherring1955's crit of "Flight." But now it is late and I am spent. Current Location: watching TV Current Mood: exhausted Tags: writing

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March 18th, 2009

10:37 am - Did I mention... I've received a couple of rejections in the last few days: a 38-day pass from Strange Horizons and a 32-day nope from Interzone. Now I have absolutely no stories out at any markets. Is this intentional? Yes Will I be changing it soon? Yes (with a WotF entry) Will I be discussing the why's and the strategies soon? As soon as I can get around to it. Current Location: the dining room Current Mood: busy Current Music: silence Tags: rejection, writing

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10:29 am - How did that giant pile of work end up on my desk?? Yikes. It's Wednesday already and I haven't accomplished very much of anything yet. Sure, I've done the dishes and washed the bedding and tidied my house. Sure, I've printed the stories I need to read over. I've even met with a few people who I haven't seen in a while to catch up on things. While I was doing all of those things...no writing of my own has taken place. I must find time to work through reddherring1955's comments on "Flight." I must make time to read through, "Cold Feet" before the WotF deadline. Gosh I hate it the way those deadlines just fly closer by the day! Someone invent me a time turner! Current Location: the dining room Current Mood: busy Current Music: silence Tags: personal, writing

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