Yay!

I *heart* my new employee.

And I'm writing again!

(Go, ME!!!)

Forget everything you thought you knew about Windows

I have taken the Lord's name in vain.

It is indeed possible to delete a file off the network whilst it is in use. Or, at least, you can make its contents go 'kapoof!'. I know this, because yesterday, it happened to my accounting data file.

Yep. It did.

Sew. One emergency call to the accountant's office (thank dog we were so late getting our year end over there.) One rush courier. One very quiet nervous breakdown. A few rhetorical questions about who the heck has not been backing this shit up, because really, we both know the truth.

So, time warp back to...

June 26th.

S'Ok. I can handle that. It's just a matter of re-entering everything that's happened since then. (insert ever-so-bright smile here) I'm not so sure I can write a bestseller at the same time, but everybody's healthy, right???

Also hired a girl yesterday, I think that's going to be a good thing. I like her, she seems pretty smart, no facial piercings.

Both phone lines are ringing, and I'm starved.

Rusty

I'm so very glad you guys can't see what I'm writing right now. It's bad. It's very bad.

Well, there's only one cure, and y'all know what it is.

Keep.

Going.

I come to the end of a paragraph, and there's no obvious direction to go from there. No momentum. Will Brian and Evelyn arrive on time for supper, or will they be late? Who can stand the tension???

The scene has a point, so I'm going to have to just grit my teeth and drag myself through it. One-sentence paragraphs, a list of who did what, and then who said what. It's as painful to write as it is to read. And then - magic! - a character does something unexpected. A part of the setting bursts suddenly into full color. Action, reaction, imagination, interest - a scent, a spark.

And finally, a decent paragraph.

Hey, um, are you, like, hiring?

So, a guy comes to the counter. He's wearing a ballcap, he hasn't shaved in a few days, and I'm pretty sure he's hiding a stubbed-out cigarette in the palm of his hand.

"Hey, um, I heard you guys were, like, hiring, so I skipped out of work early and came right down here."

Sure, dude. You're, um, like, on the very tippy-top of my list.

Like, not.

Repeat after me: It's OK to suck. (Renee)

I hope. 'Cause that's what I'm doing right now. It's been at least a few weeks since I wrote anything, so what was I expecting? I know, I know.

So, there's an idea that I'm playing with, and so far, so good. I wrote 1000 words the first day, 200 yesterday. This morning I woke up and realized (in the same moment, I love when that happens) that I'm starting in the wrong place - a year too soon. And so it flows from there. 500 new words today, and counting.

And to support my habit, I'm making some changes to my priorities.

I've been focused on my company, which needed to happen. I've been a really, really good computer girl. A super manager, an excellent clerk. A good mother when I'm actually home. A decent wife, though my husband did wonder out loud in my hearing whether he ought to buy some of that AXE body spray.(S)

But I haven't been any sort of writer at all, and that matters too. To be honest, I think the break has actually done me some good. It's true that all these other things are important, and I've been able, in the crunch, to preserve most of the things about me that I like. What I'm going to do is let the filing slide a bit, maybe let the office get a little (gasp!) messy. I can't help it if I have to stop and serve customers. But one thing I have learned is that you can't wait for perfect circumstances, that'll never happen. Cram it in, writers, wherever you can.

Hijacked!

My life has run away with me.

I get up, feed kids, get them dressed, get the big one to the bus. I wash my hair, go to work, get home at 6:30. Eat a hot meal lovingly prepared by my wonderful husband. Play with kids, take a shower, preside over baths, teeth-brushing, stories, get Big One in bed. Get Little One in bed. Sit on the couch, in the general vicinity of my husband, staring at the TV screen for half an hour, go settle Little One in bed again. Brush my teeth. Kiss my husband. Go to bed, read for twenty minutes. Pass out. Wake five or six times in the night with Little One, who is teething and might have a bladder infection. Get up. Start over.

This is dreary, I know, I'm sorry. Today I'm tired, I'm drained. I miss my writing, and having contact with my writer friends. I need some exercise. I need. Some time. To write.

I've been out of touch with my WIPS for a few months now. I'm out of touch with me. I'm doing what I have to do, I don't feel like a failure this time. But geez.

Today, anything that isn't an emergency is going to wait. Anyone I don't have to talk to, I won't. I'm going to write.

I don't have any idea *what*, but I'm going to brainstorm some ideas, and see if I can't shake these blues.

A slice.

More than my fair share of whackos this week, I must say, many of them applying for the dubious honor of occupying the chair next to mine. Too bad one can't run a help wanted ad like this:

Wanted: Somebody like me. Reasonably smart and moderately good-looking, non-smoker, must have some kind of personality and an excellent sense of humour.

Cause let's face it, that's all I really need. I can teach the rest.

From which you can go right ahead and assume that I haven't been having any luck with the hiring thing, and therefore am still missing The Beloved something awful. And my kitchen, too, I really miss cooking. I do, however, go home to a hot meal every day now, which is really nice.

Email from customer (I've omitted the screaming CAPS and added some punctuation)
My nephew's laptop doesn't work. I turn it on and the power light comes on but the screen is just black. It's only a few months old. What do you think is wrong, is it the mainboard or the hard drive?

My response(more or less):
Gorsh, I really can't tell without seeing it. Why don't you drop by and I'll take a quick look to see if I can narrow it down?

Customer:
I can't come in because I live in Alberta. I just wanted some help. I'll take it to Calgary the next time I go.

(sigh)