~~ "She has so many aliases, you'd think she was a spy!" ~~

Monday, August 25, 2008

Conjugatin' the verbs


Tomorrow I get up at a disgustingly early hour and fling myself onto a plane (bless Oxnard Airport and its “be there half an hour before the flight” policy) (since there’s only one gate and the plane doesn’t hold more than about 20 people, security is a snap), and a few hours later I’ll be in Utah and with Ken! Six days of conjugating!*

Of course, the best laid plans, and all that. The original plan was that I was flying out tomorrow and returning the following Tuesday. Ken was riding there and running a rally from the following Tuesday, then heading to Arkansas** (which I was then flying to). But the blown clutch on the bike spewed bits of metal everywhere, and it’ll take longer to clean up safely. So now he’s flying to Utah as well, and flying back to Oregon and working for another week before heading to Arkansas. We’re both flying out on Sunday, because while there were interesting things around Salt Lake City to see and do, it wasn’t near the top of our vacation spots, and we’re both better off getting back to work before the next jaunt.

When he called the rally organizer to say he wouldn’t be there, the organizer said “Damn, you were the favorite to win!” Crap.

But, in the overall scheme of things, it’s probably a good thing. The extra time at work for Ken means less craziness later in September, when we Have Plans (Styx shows in Saratoga and Newport Beach, the annual Historic Home Tour, and, oh, his birthday), as well as October (Great Western War and a visit to my parents in NY). The company in Oregon is asking him for more work, and he also has a lead on a regular job down here, so it’ll be an interesting few months!

Me, I’m just looking forward to CCR this week. We’re having High Tea, and planning on a hot air balloon ride and snorkeling in crater, and sharing a condo with our friends Ernie and Pauline. Plus there’s all the bike friends we see only once a year, and a banquet, and mountains, and a carousel…

~ ~ ~

At some point I’ll have to find time to talk about my amazing weekend and the cosmic two-by-four, too!

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*A friend e-mailed me tonight and asked if that was like Schoolhouse Rock, and I said it was—the adult version. Which now has my brain contemplating adult Schoolhouse Rock stories. Maybe an anthology?! (I know, copyright restrictions…but it's fun to contemplate!) Anyway, the Interjections song makes a whole lot more sense now…

**To visit his 95-year-old grandmother and go to a Styx show. We were overdue for a visit, and Styx is playing in her town, and that’s just what we call serendipitous.

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Currently Reading: Skinny Dipping, Connie Brockway
Lately Listened To: 13th Star, Fish
Recently Watched: Firefly

Sunday, August 24, 2008

"What Dragons Prefer" podcast!


I'm delighted to announce my very first podcast publication!

Not only that, but it's a resale (can't call it a reprint, can I?) of my first professionally published story. "What Dragons Prefer" is a short fantasy tale with a wicked twist at the end. It first appeared in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine in 1996.

You can listen to "What Dragons Prefer" here or download it for future audio pleasure on your computer or iPod.

Because, that's right, it's free! So go forth and enjoy!