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The Printer Saga

The installation of my new printer has become a sort of saga, marked with bouts of passive procrastination. It all began nigh a month ago, when I realized I needed to buy an electrical strip in order to plug in the printer, TV, and Xbox simultaneously.

Thus, I journeyed forth to Office Max and purchased the required electrical strip — only to discover that the electrical outlet is a two-prong outlet and will not accept my three-pronged plug of my strip. *le sigh*

Verily, I adventured into Home Depot and discovered an adapter that would allow me to use my three-pronged electrical strip in my two-pronged outlet. After a struggle to shove the three-pronged plug into the adapter, which resulted in a war wound in the form of a bruise on my thumb, the printer worked!

And one would think my story would be done, but no!

During set up, I came to realize the printer did not come equipped with a USB cable, as the wireless setting was standard… I do not have wireless… Hey, don’t look at me like that.

Thus and verily, I hath ventured into the wilds once more and have obtained a USB cable of my very own.

I will learn tonight whether this saga is finally at an end.

What I’m Reading

Six-Gun Snow White by  Catherynne M. Valente, which like most of her writing is lush and complex. I love how she keeps the fairtale tone, while mixing in the old penny western tone. Neato.

What I’m Writing

Let’s just pretend I was productive this week. Agreed? Agreed.

Goal(s) for this week: Enjoy my time at FogCon. If I manage to get something written, then awesome. If not, well I have an excuse.

What’s Inspiring Me Right Now

Honestly, I don’t know. For some reason, I’m finding it a challenge to list something here each and every week, as I tend to find inspiration in random insignificant things of everyday life and can never remember them when I need to write these posts.

Where I’ll Be

March 6-9: Floating around FogCon, talking about books and writing and generally having a good time.

March 26: I’ll be a featured performer at Cito.FAME.us. I’ll share the link, when I have more info.

Linky Goodness

Heather Web writes on The Science of Creating Authentic Characters.

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A Perfect Sunday

Sunlight dappled through the trees as I walked with my family down the trail towards the town of Los Gatos. The day was crisp, warming in the direct sunlight and chilly in the shade, as if it couldn’t decide whether to give up its imitation of winter and just jump ahead to spring.

We talked, the conversation running through the current family dramas into other more cheerful territories. My nephew’s blue eyes competed with the sky as he peered out from the child carrier on his mom’s chest. Once free of the stroller, my niece ran around screeching, laughing with maniacal joy as I let her chase me around the trunks of redwood trees and, then, as she loped over the grass chasing birds.

We stopped at Icing on the Cake on our way home and bought a few perfectly decadent cupcakes to have with lunch. When we finally arrived home several hours later, we all collapsed with a happily exhausted sigh into the chairs of the living room, ready for a late lunch and perhaps a nap.

What a luxurious Sunday. I didn’t care that I didn’t get any writing done.

What I’m Reading

I didn’t expect to be enjoying Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson as much as I currently am. Though it contains a lot of technical speak, it’s character focused and that’s  really helping to anchor me in the story.

What I’m Writing

Writing last week was a bit of a bust, although I got barely a stanza down on the novel in poems that’s taking an eternity to write.

Most of my efforts were not so much on writing, but on getting my new printer set up — the one that I’ve had for weeks and still have not tried even once to see if it works. I’ve run into a number of challenges trying to figure this set up out. The main problem at the moment is that the electrical outlet I need to plug the printer into is a two prong outlet, while both the printer cord and power strip I have require a three prong outlet. I don’t really have anywhere else to set up the printer, so I’m hoping I can buy some sort of adapter at a hardware store.

Goal(s) for this week: Buy an electrical adapter, so I finally get this printer working. Finish chapter three. Put a submission packet together.

What’s Inspiring Me Right Now

Even though I’m longing for rain (which we so desperately need), I’m find the longer, sunnier days soothing. Perhaps what I’m personally needing right now is a little more light in my life.

Linky Goodness

Jane Friedman posts 5 Digital Media Resources for Every Writer’s Toolbox, which has some great programs and tips that I’m definitely going to try out.

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For Joy!

It’s been a lovely week all around, with plenty of time hanging out with family and friends, talking and being silly and ridiculous.

I attended the Cito.FAME.us Love is in the Air open mic and Valentines Day party, which was amazing. I love these artists and seeing what they can do and how they open up and grow.

I’ve taken some more organizational steps, switching over my 2014 files to 2015 and getting stuff laid out to do my taxes. While taking a look at my files, I noticed that what really needs organizational work is my creative files — my poetry, fiction, notes, etc. I need to figure out to have each poem and story right where I want it when I need to put together a submission packet. I also need to keep more accurate record of drafts, making it clear the most recent versions in both print and on my computer. I would love to hear suggestions in this regard.

What I’m Reading

Almost finished with The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. I’m not normally into military stories, but this is compulsively compelling and a fast read with really interesting ideas.

Next up will be Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. I previously read Robinson’s 2312, which was good but was highly focused on the technical aspects of each world visited and I didn’t quite connect with it. I’m guessing that Red Mars will be similar, but since it will be focused on a single world instead of many, I’m hoping I’ll enjoy it more. It’s also research, as Robinson will be a guest speaker at FogCon 2015, which I will be attending in March.

What I’m Writing

Chapter/poem two of the novel is poems has been completed! Progress has been far slower than I’d like it to be, in part because I need to re-prioritize my time. But still, progress, huzzah!

I completed one other poem last week, a Valentines Day poem, which I read at the fantastically fun Love is in the Air party last week.

Accepted! Nonbinary Review has accepted my poem “Eve and Pandora” for their upcoming issue #4, focused on Bulfinch’s Mythology. Eeeeeee!

Goal(s) for this week: Get my printer set up. Finish chapter three. Put a submission packet together.

What’s Inspiring Me Right Now

I’m having a hard time naming something specific this week. I feel a general sense of momentum, of engagement, partly because I’m working to submit work on a regular basis and partly because I’m actively connecting with artist and writer community in person and online.

My main feeling at this moment is to not let hesitation or fear herd me into poor use of time. It’s all well and good to watch TV/movies and play video games, but it needs to come after making myself and my creative work a priority.

Linky Goodness

My friend, Laura Ayer, pointed out Bullet Journal, which is a method using the traditional paper and pen method to plan and manage one’s monthly tasks (I recommend watching the introductory video). I love the idea of this, but don’t know if it’s for me. I’m kind of all over the place when it comes to paper, though having a clear method would like this could be a good solution.

If any one has done the Bullet Journal method or something similar, I would love to hear about your experience.

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Happy February! Love is in the air!

It’s crunch time at my day job, which leaves me little headspace for anything else.

A beautiful, windy storm blew in with violently shaking trees and spats of pouring rain. I love sitting in my house listening to a storm — though I am very grateful it didn’t knock out the power in my area.

What I’m Reading

Just started in Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg. I loved the movie and the book is proving to be quite good as well.

I’ve finished  Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon, which is fantastic and has me thinking lots of thoughts that I’ll pool together later this week.

What I’m Writing

I’ve made it halfway through the second chapter/poem of the novel in verse. The chapter was proving more elusive than I expected, but it’s falling into shape now. A sample from the chapter:

the Queen stitched
with numb but steady fingers
the image of her mother’s gardens,
trees jeweled with tangerines and persimmon,
walls cloaked with jasmine and wisteria,
her mother poised like a fae
about to pluck a crimson rose
from its branch, embroidering the mantle
she would gift to her child

Several other poems drafts have also begun to take shape, one of which I’m planning to read at an open mic this week.

Submitted: Four poems were sent off to Poetry Magazine. Woo!

Goal(s) for this week: Finish chapter two. Put another submission packed together.

What’s Inspiring Me Right Now

Community. I love seeing my fellow poets and artists and musicians rock the mic or post some amazing work online. I love seeing their efforts recognized. It’s inspiring and joyful. It’s also wonderful when these fabulous artists share feedback on my work, guiding me in the right direction. The people at Cito.FAME.us are wonderful, as are my lovely friends in my Writing Gang who I met with on Skype last week. I love speaking about words. I love living words.

Where I’ll Be

I will definitely be attending the Cito.FAME.Us Valentine’s Day Party, which will also have a limited amount of open mic readings.

Linky Goodness

Therese Walsh’s post, “Monotasking: The Forgotten Skill You (and I) Need to Re-Claim, ASAP,” fits in nicely with this year’s (for me) theme of minimalism and focus:

“I’d heard that multitasking is a fallacy — that when we think we’re doing two things at once, we’re usually only doing one and not as well as we might believe.”

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Forward motion is forward motion

I spent Saturday night in San Francisco with my friend An Xiao Mina, who happens to write a tech blog about meme culture and many other interesting things. We spent the afternoon eating sushi, getting lost in the city, and watching a fiction reading in a little cafe.

Sunday was primarily consumed with my minimalism efforts, as I trolled through stacks of old magazines deciding what was worthy to stay. It was a long, boring process, but it feels good to have most of that out of my house.

What I’m reading

I’m still working on Ancient, Ancient, by Kiini Ibura Salaam, and  Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon.

Both I have been slowly enjoying and both I’ll be finishing this week.

What I’m Writing

I’ve worked on poetry in some form or another everyday this week, but did not finish anything.

I’m okay with that. Forward motion is forward motion.

Goal(s) for this week: Type up one to two novel poems. Finish and send out a submission of four poems to Poetry Magazine.

What’s Inspiring Me Right Now

The crisp cold days, full of blue skies and a plethora of imaginatively shaped clouds.

Opportunity of the Week

The Emerald Tablet is looking for original work that in some way reflects an influence of your choice as part of an ongoing reading series (so you would need to be able to perform at an upcoming event. The submission requires that poets and writers include an original fragment of fiction or poem that shows how their own works were influenced. I rather like how poems can be in conversation with one another, so this appeals to me.

Linky Goodness

Dissolving barriers between the real world, the digital world, and the creative world, a look at the 365 Project as a Creative Process, by Marisa Goudy.

“Certainly, a year of photos taught me to see my life from countless new angles. Early in 2014, my newborn and I were trapped inside by the polar vortex, tested by a four-year-old who was stuck in the Frozen vortex. With one creative outlet to depend upon every day – my 365 project – I kept the walls from closing in on me. Later in the year, as I rediscovered my public self, I was able to look at my world with new wonder and discernment, knowing I had to capture at least one moment of each day.”

I tend to be terribly inconsistent with daily goals, but I love the idea of them.