Happy Birthday!

Kyra turned one in June.









That was fast.

Feeling blah

I've been reading my friend netmouse's website, and feeling a bit underwhelmed by my own attempts to get back in shape after a long year of no working out (injury followed by pregnancy followed by having an infant to take care of...). Everyone keep saying, "You just had a baby. Stop worrying about it." But I've got to start worrying about it at some point, or I'll just never get back in shape.

I don't fit into my gi.

Those that know, might be able to imagine how depressing that is. I have to order a larger one through my dojo. Agh.

In other news, my baby is awesome. I know, we all feel that way about our own. But she is.

ooh baby

Kyra at work.


Hangin' out at home.

Hugos

Wow -- I'm really honored! But it's really the whole staff at Locus, and all the hard work and love that goes into the mag that makes it happen.

All Hugos (the physical award) are not created equal, and this one looks especially cool. Imagine that on the ole mantel. Congratulations to everyone who won, especially my friend and co-worker Tim Pratt, who won for his story "Impossible Dreams".

I would have loved to have been able to go to Japan for Worldcon this year, but giving birth to my daughter was certainly the best reason for missing it. She is asleep in my lap as I write this, my little rockstar.

She's been going into work at Locus with me for the past few weeks, with only a couple of rough spots so far. It's great to be back; I really missed it. I think it's actually going to work.

The 2007 Hugo Awards, held at Nippon 2007, the 65th World Science Fiction Convention, on September 1st 2007, are as follows:

• Best Novel: Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge [Tor, 2006]
• Best Novella: “A Billion Eves” by Robert Reed [Asimov’s Oct/Nov 2006]
• Best Novelette: “The Djinn’s Wife” by Ian McDonald [Asimov’s July 2006]
• Best Short Story: “Impossible Dreams” by Tim Pratt [Asimov’s July 2006]
• Best Related Non-Fiction Book: James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B Sheldon by Julie Phillips [St. Martin’s Press, 2006]
• Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro. Directed by Guillermo del Toro [Picturehouse]
• Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Doctor Who - “Girl in the Fireplace” (2006) Written by Steven Moffat. Directed by Euros Lyn [BBC Wales/BBC1]
• Best Editor, Long Form: Patrick Nielsen Hayden
• Best Editor, Short Form: Gordon Van Gelder
• Best Professional Artist: Donato Giancola
• Best Semiprozine: Locus ed. by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong and Liza Groen Trombi
• Best Fanzine: Science-Fiction Five-Yearly ed. by Lee Hoffman, Geri Sullivan, and Randy Byers
• Best Fan Writer: Dave Langford
• Best Fan Artist: Frank Wu

The winner of the John W. Campbell Award
for Best New Writer is Naomi Novik.

Almost back at the mag...

Feeling like I'm up and running again here, which is great. Signed back on at the dojo, and could finally have my black belt by next year if I really stick to it. I've been back at the mag for two days a week for the past 3 weeks, trying to minimize the mountain of work I have to do to catch up. Everyone there has been great about the baby, and very patient.

I'm just mastering the art of getting out the door with baby, which is hugely liberating, though not always entirely successful.

Wow, Facebook is wacky. Someone invited me on, and then suddenly it seems like everyone is on there, and just newly on there, too. I'm not really into the various networking sites -- I have something minimal up on MySpace; I'm on Tribe but really only for local events. But Facebook seems to be more interactive and social. Still deciding if it's worth the time or not...

So here are some more photos, and a video clip.

Kyra Paige

Born on the 15th. 7 pounds, 3 ounces. 20.4 inches. She is a marvel and a source of constant entertainment. It's [Kee-rah] by the way.

The birth was quick, and by all the medical-types' accounts a "great" birth, which is not to say that there was not a stretch of pain-filled, contraction-per-minute hours that I can only vaguely remember now. Epidurals are medicine's greatest acheivement, IMO. She came out squawking and purple. Needless to say, she was beautiful from the first moment.

We're settling in as a family here. The hub is working from home, which is a huge help, and I'm still fielding stuff for the mag, having never had time or even the inclination to try to explain Quickbooks and all the financial stuff to other staff members. It's just too complicated and I'd spend more time answering questions than I do just dealing with it. And I like to stay in touch with everything that's going on, especially with the current Post Office drama. Did I mention that the PO fucked things up majorly? They got rid of all of the international economy rates, and did so with out any warning. They also raised the rates for periodicals by about 30%, hammering yet another nail into the coffin of the magazine industry. Bleah.

Until I'm back full time though, Mzmelia is traveling with Z'boss, and they're off to Readercon next week. I'm looking forward to Saratoga Springs, though...

Home

We made it.

Details to follow.