Deviant Dispatches

I need to start keeping track of what's going on for my own sanity. I want to be able to look back and say that things really were going that fast - to say, I hope, that we seem to have worried for nothing. To remember the good in all of this. I also need way more therapy than I can afford (though I'm still getting therapy, trust me), and so I write. I'm labeling the days in accordance with my workplace shutdown. Day 1 (Monday) was my first day working from home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. I'm happy to overreact so that others will survive, so they don't have to worry about whether a ventilator will be free if needed. I'm also still recovering, three and a half weeks later, from influenza A and am not eager to be that sick again. Less than two weeks after my trip to Korea (by the way, I went to Korea!), I got sick. After a little prompting, I requested COVID-19 testing and was told that CDC guidelines wouldn't allow my doctor's office to do ...

Source Due to a late Blackhawks game, not falling asleep till midnight, and a thunderstorm that decided I was being too sleepy, you get this picture of Thor Kitty instead of a blog today. I shall return later in the week with more hijinkery and shenanigans. Because that's what I do.

Ladies and gentlemen: I present to you... the last page of my novel. Some part of me thought I'd never see it again. I can tell that part of me to shove it, because I've finished my second draft. Now comes the hard stuff. All those little yellow post-its? Those are things I need to address in the next edit. All these pages and pages of notes? According to my  editing instructions  for this book, the next edit will be one of the most difficult: correcting all of the major faults. I addressed some of them in the most recent edit (such as changing my main character's age), but I've discovered many more problems. Maybe I should have done the really hard stuff on my first edit, but I'm glad I didn't. One of the huge problems I unveiled was a certain character who could have solved two hundred pages of problems  thirty years ago - now, I need a reason that he didn't. I also added important elements to the world I created - things that may ...

We have a new home! So far, we're both very fond of it. We have a slightly larger one-bedroom, and the extra space was definitely worth it. Unfortunately, none of that extra space was in the kitchen. But we'll make do. The living room is spacious enough to have three separate lounging areas: one for watching TV and playing video games, one for sitting at a desk, and another space that is just full of boxes right now, but may become my knitting corner. The door in the above picture leads to our super-tiny porch, which is just arge enough for two small foldy chairs. You know, the ones that you take on picnics with you and stuff. I can't remember what they're called. (You're smart; you know what chairs I mean, right? We'll have some of those someday.) The bathroom is kind of obnoxious. Water pressure's kind of low, and the single switch in there turns on the fan and light simultaneously. But we have a plethora of closet space, and the rooms we'll spend a ...

Today, rather than performing an analysis of my recent obsession, Mumford and Sons , I'm directing you to some other people's reviews . They differ quite a bit , and one is even downright scathing (I don't see how anyone could hate them so much). Here, have a couple of music videos , too. Then, decide for yourself what you think of them. I've got a novel to write. (Or maybe I'll go back to bed. But probably I'll write.)

It's only Wednesday morning and I'm already exhausted. I have no good reason to be. My two workdays so far have only been three hours long each. That's how today will be, too. I chalk it all up to not having gone anywhere or learned anything on a daily basis for the last two months. To suddenly jump back into it is overwhelming and a bit terrifying. Another part of that is the number of interviews I have this week. Yesterday was my first, and I still have three to go. Plus the two I had last week. Six interviews and two (short) days of work in one week. I guess that explains my sleepiness pretty well. These interviews are stressful for a couple of reasons. 1.) I don't know where they are, being new to this city, so I have to leave early just in case I get lost. I almost did yesterday heading to a tux shop interview. 2.) I always get nervous when I have to perform. Yes, everyone has to deal with that, but it's still a physically exhausting thing. 3.) I don't real...