(no subject)

I have no idea how long it took me to notice his deletion, but .... shit.

Does anyone know what happened to william_mize? Did he change his LJ? Get fed up with it and quit?

If you have contact with the guy, please let him know I miss his wisdom and hope he's doing well.

In which I ramble on about writing, and why I suck at it

I've always wanted to publish a novel. Not just any useless novel, mind you, but a Hard-SF tale that would have something new to say, that would grab readers and shake them by the collars shouting "I'M FUCKING BRILLIANT, ASSHOLE! TELL YOUR FRIENDS!"

It's never going to happen.

It's not that I'm not good -- while not a fantastic writeer, I'm not half bad, except for one small, niggling point: I can't finish anything. I start, and I clip along for a while, and then something happens -- I get bored, or I start second-guessing the story, or life gets in the way. Lately, it's been mostly the latter.

I have The War for Earth plotted. I know who the heroes are, and what they want. I know how far they're willing to go to get it. I know who the antagonists are, what they want, and how far they're willing to go to stop the heroes and get their way. I know the universe in which the story happens, I know how it got to be the way it is from today ... but I have no time.

I've also got a fanfic-ish story set in the Doctor Who universe plotted. But, again, no time. Which is kind of ironic, when you consider what the Doctor is.

I've got 20 pages of essays to write in the next four weeks. I get a grace period of a week in which nothing is due, so I can work my butt off, but there's no time for non-essential work. I've written notes, so maybe I can get something done this summer. My dreams have changed, slightly, though. I no longer dream of being published; I just want to finish the damned thing. Once I have that done, then I'll see about getting it rejected by as many publishers as possible.

(no subject)

I'm craving crispy meatballs in brown gravy over mashed potatoes like you would not believe. Sigh.

My Birthday gift is known to me now

I came home today to find a long skinny box on the porch. I shrugged and picked it up -- and the hammock inside (which, apparently, was to be my birthday present, I discovered while talking to Elli) came sliding out of the broken end of the box.

Oops. To keep as much surprise as possible, I've not looked any further at it, but what I saw, I like.

Ah well -- I likes it, and now I'll have to be begging the beloved to let me put it up a month early -- or as soon as the weather gets consistently better, at any rate.

(no subject)

Ok, kids. Remeber this question?
Here's the answer. Well, first, let's go with commentary:

satyrlovesong suggested that, while a decade back, when we knew each other quite well, she'd have said Dragon, but that she couldn't say what it might be today.

elisandra of the beautiful -- well, everything -- took advantage of her status as Fiance and was a smart ass. She already knew the correct answer, though, so I won't count that against her.

ciarhwyfar says she can't tell, because she hasn't spent enough time around me. I find myself wondering who she is, because so far as I know, we've spent NO time together.

mslulu said "Bear," and had a fairly good justification for it. However, she'd have guessed wrong.

edgylesjr said "Mongoose," and like Mslulu, gave a decent reasoning. Like Mslulu, though, he was wrong.

The totem I claim -- or that has claimed me, you get to choose -- is Hawk.

Now, I'm not super-into Shamanism; I've pulled out of it a LOT in the last few years, but I still believe in the power of said shamanic archetypes. Here's Hawk in a nutshell:

Hawk, your call awakens me in the night,
and I see what the daylight reveals.
One day, I, too, will pull people from the darkness.

Hawk carries a message in his shrill cry which only those with Hawk medicine can decifer. His piercing shriek slices through the shroud of unknowning, asking you to seek the truth. His cry represents illumination in the darkness of ignorance.

Hawk will not let your talents and skills go to waste, instead, he will scope out the situation to make sure you use as much of your talents as possible.

Hawk can solve a problem by flying above the situation. He removes himself from it, observing it only as a passive viewer. This allows Hawk to see the big picture. Hawk's broad vision allows you to see the past, present, and future all laid out before you. Once you are aware of the opportunities in front of you, Hawk will help you to wisely choose your moves to make the best of your potential