Not a Blog

Email Woes

April 17, 2013 at 6:06 pm
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My e-mail is down again. Happened last week for most a day, then somehow fixed itself. Now it’s happening again, and does not seem inclined to get better.

I get my email through Mozilla Thunderbird. When I log onto Thunderbird, I can see that I have lots and lots of new mails, but whenever I try to open one… or scroll down, or do anything else… Thunderbird freezes and goes non-responsive. It has happened over and over again. Nor will the damn thing unfreeze unless I turn off the computer and reboot. A real pain. I’ve rebooted a dozen times, run half a different virus checks, and nothing. Tried booting up Thunderbird in safe mode, no help.

And of course this happens when Ty if off. Ty is my in-house computer guru. The computer always breaks down when he’s away, never when he’s here. And he won’t be here again till Monday.

So if you’ve sent me an email, don’t hold your breath waiting for an answer. You won’t get one. Not till Monday, best guess. Unless a miracle occurs.

I hate this damn machine. And Windows. And Thunderbird.

If only I could send email with DOS. DOS never fails me.

FIXED. For now, at least. Thanks to Stephen, the Gandalf of Computer Wizards, from Oz.

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Power Out

March 9, 2013 at 1:23 pm
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Snowstorm last night, and this morning a power outage. No big thing, power is back on now, but I lost a whole morning of work, and that’s not good. I am stressed out enough as is with all the stuff on my plate, and every lost hour hurts. If only I did not need to sleep…

POSTSCRIPT. This post is being misunderstood. I lost hours, not words. With the power out, I could not turn on my computer. (Well, actually, I had a backup power source, so I ran off that for a while, but the outage was long enough so that eventually that shut down as well).

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Parris Is Coming…

January 7, 2013 at 11:12 am
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… to London.

She left a few moments ago for the airport, to spend a week in Old Blighty visiting with friends, spoiling the godchildren, and seeing the Pre-Rafaelite exhibition at the Tate, which is supposed to be amazing.

I’m staying here, to hold down the fort and write. And write, and write, and edit, and write some more. Too much damn work to do, and I am way behind on everything.

But I’m bummed. Especially about missing that Tate exhibition, which closes in a week or so. All work and no play…

((I really do need to learn to say no. I swear, I’m trying. No, NO, NOOOOOOOOO)).

Miss the Phipps already. Take good care of her over there, you Barmy Brits.

I shall labor on, writing fake history, feeding the many monkeys on my back.

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Goodbye, 2012

December 31, 2012 at 11:25 pm
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An amazing, if exhausting, year.

Here’s hoping 2013 is the best year in human history.

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Merry Xmas

December 25, 2012 at 4:23 pm
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Here’s hoping all my fans and readers had a terrific Xmas.

Santa was very, very good to me. Books, turtles, jewelry, a coffeemaker (I mainline the stuff), monster movies, a tiny miniature of myself, a Richard Powers original, a dragon for my garden… what more can a boy want? (Aside from his lost youth, and a year’s worth of 50 hour days to get more done).

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All Quiet

December 6, 2012 at 12:05 pm
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Sorry for the silence. Very busy this week. House guests, home construction, long hours writing. No time to post.

I will be back, probably sooner rather than later. But not today.

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Turkey Day

November 22, 2012 at 11:20 am
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Happy thanksgiving to all my family, friends, and readers.

I have a lot to be thankful for… and you guys are a huge part of that.

It has been another amazing year.

Keep reading, all. I’ll keep writing.

Now go eat some turkey (or ham, or goose, or terducken, whatever your pleasure).

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Back Home

September 30, 2012 at 11:40 pm
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Got back from LA yesterday evening.

I had a great visit out there… well, aside from losing the Emmy (I am now 0-4 all time), but it IS an honor just to nominated, yadda yadda yadda. Some amazing meetings followed, with some amazing people, most of which I can’t tell you about… yet. But maybe one day.

And it’s always nice to be back in Santa Fe, with Parris, the cats, and the minions. And to escape the LA heat as well.

But the amount of crap that has piled up in my absence is daunting. There’s just too damn much. Even with three assistants, I am falling further and further behind, and more and more stuff keeps getting dumped on my plate. Somehow just walking back into my office after a trip sends my stress level ratcheting up to ten. Or maybe to a hundred, depending on your scale.

sigh

There is no help for it, I suppose. Price of success, and all that. And I know, lots and lots of folks would love to have my problems. No one needs to tell me that.

Even so…

(Today’s football games did not much help my mood either. Life is meaningingless and full of pain…)

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Getting Older

September 20, 2012 at 9:45 am
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Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow…

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‘Nuff said.

Off to LA in a few hours for the Emmys. Cross your fingers. (But don’t hold your breath).

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Venting

February 25, 2012 at 5:09 pm
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Sorry, but I need to vent.

I am being nibbled to death by mice.

And this morning a elephant landed on me.

*gurgle*

There are not enough hours in the day. There are not enough days in the week. There are not enough weeks in the year. Sometimes it feels as if I work all day every day, only to wind up further behind by the time the sun goes down, as more mice come swarming through the cracks and more elephants come lumbering through the doors.

I really really really need to learn to say No.

No, I will not come to your convention, thanks for asking.

No, I will not read your manuscript/ galley proof/ book, but good luck with that.

No, I will not write a story for your anthology, I am a year behind writing stories for my own anthologies.

No, I will not write a preface/ introduction/ foreword for your book.

No, I will not do an interview.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

Such a simple word. Such a short word. Why do I have such trouble uttering it?

Once I give my word to attend a con/ write a story/ do an interview, I feel honor bound to deliver, to follow through, to make good my promise. But I give my word too often and too easily, I need to realize that. I do, I do, I DO realize that… on an intellectual level, but maybe not in my gut. And so while my brain is saying, “you can’t do that, you do not have the time,” my lips are saying, “sure, love to, sounds great.”

I need to remember my mantra. One page at a time. One word at a time. One chore at a time. You cannot do everything today. Put out the biggest fire, the rest will still be burning tomorrow. No. No. No.

*sigh*

Thank you for listening. This too will pass. Tomorrow it won’t seem so overwhelming.

Excuse me, I need to go step on some mice.

End of venting.

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