Gone now

Today was a day of getting things done, taking care of the piles of untended correspondence and bills, taking the girls to get their shots, getting my license renewed, etc.

Then I got a call. My friend Jess, who has been ill with terminal cancer, passed away today. I've been friends with her and Marvin for what seems like forever. She was a kind, generous, and gentle sort, never demanding your attention but always worth it. I keep seeing flashes of her, at an afternoon party, at my bridal shower, at her wedding, laughing and smiling, or listening intently to someone talk. She was one of the good ones, and even though everyone knew it was coming, it still is a shock and feels outrageously unfair that she should be gone.

And then I received an email that Jane Yolen's husband David also passed away today. I have been checking in on her journal once in a while, and knew that his health was deteriorating. My sympathies to her and her family. From Jane's journal, a Millay quote...

Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave,
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.

So if you see this today, have a toast (or a kind thought) for Jess and David. The world is a lesser place without them.

Crazy crazy

I recently emailed a friend, saying that things had been crazy here. I meant crazy busy, but pretty much that same day, everything broke loose. Someone scooped my checking account number and passed $3,200 in checks in two days, essentially wiping me out and then some. And being in Ft. Lauderdale for ICFA didn't help. ICFA was great though. Met some new folks, always fun, and got to spend some time with Peter Straub, Gary Wolfe, Ellen Datlow, and Jim Kelly, among others. Came back to deadline though, and now I'm seriously exhausted.

On the good side, Locus is up for a Hugo, officially announced today, and my name is on the ballot along with Kirsten and Charles. Totally unexpected, but pretty exciting. Maybe the hypertension is worth it after all.

... Come home, toss and turn till the fifth watch.
Two swallows in the rafters hear the long sigh
-Li Shang-yin

Fridays

Today was kind of crazy. Picking and balancing photos of Octavia Butler, trying to get the last appreciations in (Harlan wrote some 2,200 words), tracking down unpaid invoices, and somehow never got to write a word. It's so glamorous, ain't it?

Speaking of glamour, saw the jet-setting Scott Westerfeld for an afternoon this week. He's a truly pleasant person, unfortunately Justine was wracked with wicked flu and couldn't join us. Someday we'll play that game of poker though. I'm onto MAGIC LESSONS by her, a delightful romp, as Mz. Carolyn would say.

So I'm getting some last bits o' work done, waiting for the hub (who's out drinking with buds and will return at some undetermined time) and having some mescal to cool the stress. Wishing someone would call and say "hey let's go do something crazy" but doubt it will happen. My going-out-all-the-time days have come and gone, and though I'm still rarin' to go and shake the world up, it's hard to find a good cohort these days.

Oop, must go save Roomba, who has been bested by the underneath of our living room chair. Yay for robotic vacuum cleaners, tho.
Toodles.

Been a while

Been avoiding ye ole blog. All seems like so much blah blah blah right now.

Read:
MAGIC OR MADNESS, by Justine Larbalestier
HIS MAJESTY'S DRAGON, by Naomi Novik

Reading:
ACCELERANDO, by Charles Stross (no excuse, just didn't get to it before now)
20th CENTURY GHOSTS, by Joe HIll

Listened to:
BLACK HOUSE, by Stephen King & Peter Straub
various podcasts by Cory Doctorow and Jim Kelly, worth downloading for sure
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, by Jane Austen
BURN, by Jim Kelly

Octavia Butler dying shook me up. She just wasn't that old. And though she hadn't written that much recently, she was one of my favorite writers when I was in my twenties. It's hard, and sad, to imagine that there won't be any more of her stories.

Never let your heart open with the spring flowers: One inch of love is an inch of ashes.
-Li Shang-yin