Bones is investigating a murder on an island with the same name as the street I grew up on. Things like that make me blink.

Less than a month to both NaNo and the election. I'll have a lot more fun with one than the other. I'll leave you to guess which one.

file under: reallife Posted by Jen at 7:11 PM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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As much as I hate the name, today is a day to remember those lost seven years ago. Seven years. How could it be that long ago?

Today is also the day in which a large white sheet is covering the in-progress building across the alley at work. We think they're fireproofing things, and the sheet is to keep our building from getting inadvertently sprayed. But it looks like it's snowing out there. Looking out the window just gives a blank view, and it's very disconcerting.

Today is also the day of our last regular season make-up of a rainout of a rainout softball game. As my coach put it, nothing short of biblical will stop us from playing, so I forsee a soggy evening on a muddy or grassy field. Maybe my cleats are dried out from last week...

  Whiskey and Water, Elizabeth Bear
file under: getmoving , reallife , serious Posted by Jen at 10:14 AM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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Thank you, Michael. You're sweet.

  Saving Josh, Trevor Morris, from Moonlight
  King Arthur's Britain: A Photographic Odyssey
file under: celebration , reallife Posted by Jen at 10:59 PM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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Sometimes I forget how much I love it.

Take right now, for example: I have this idea for this year's NaNo that it will have a quasi-Victorian setting, maybe based on reality, maybe a little steampunk, so I looked up books on Victorian history. For those keeping score, that was when Queen Victoria ruled England, circa 1840-1870. I now own three books on Victorian history, because not only are the books full of information and juicy little tidbits that will pad out my daily word count nicely, but sometimes they're just hilarious. I'm sure that someday people will look back at our time and wonder what we were thinking, because that's what's happening when I read these. And I'm having fun. I like learning. History can be interesting!

But I'm not the sort of person to seek out nonfiction books normally. I have to have a good reason. And research for NaNo is a pretty darn good reason.

This is why I know I could be a professional writer. Because I don't mind the research. It's quite fun to absorb all the bits of information during the research phase then have them suddenly coalesce in a somewhat coherent whole during the draft phase.

Here's to research. May it never get boring.

And here's to me, who got a whole lot of books (and the 2nd season of Heroes), because it's that little thing known as my birthday. Huzzah.

  The Hound and the Falcon, Judith Tarr and Inside the Victorian House, Judith Flanders
file under: books , celebration , reallife , thoughts , writings Posted by Jen at 12:33 AM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon who died yesterday from pancreatic cancer, the same type of cancer that my uncle died from. He gave two very moving, inspirational lectures and wrote a book and gave many interviews. He lived strong and filled his last days with whatever he could, and I can have nothing but respect for him. The world has lost a good man. We need more heroes like him. Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

"The Last Lecture" and "Time Management" after the cut.

file under: reallife , serious , thoughts Posted by Jen at 6:20 PM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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It's a sad day when a huge part of St. Louis becomes owned by a foreign company. Anheuser-Busch is now Anheuser-Busch InBev...

I don't even like beer. If I've been to the brewery it was long ago, way before I was able to enjoy the tasting at the end. But I do love the Clydesdales and the dalmatians and the many events and destinations that Busch is a part of, and they are a huge part of St. Louis culture, and indeed the US. Sure, the mean people who bought the company in a hostile takeover say they'll keep sight of A-B's standards, but that's what they said when May company bought Famous-Barr. I call ballocks. And who thought that the Belgians were so rotten?

I wonder if it's still going to be Busch Stadium in a few years. I hope so. I always liked that name. I realize it is actually product placement, but it's been Busch for so long, it doesn't seem that way. Maybe the Busch family can keep their names on some things.

Bye bye Busch. I hope you stay the same, but I bet you won't.

Oh yeah, happy Bastille Day.

  Cemeteries of London, Coldplay
  Guardians of the Keep, Carol Berg
file under: reallife , serious Posted by Jen at 10:09 AM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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This was a nice letter to find in my work mailbox...

"Dear Jennifer:

Congratulations! You have reached a milestone in your career with Washington University School of Medicine. It is with sincere appreciation for your 5 years of continued service and dedication that I write to recognize your efforts..."

Five years. Don't they go by in a blink.*

Only two years until my kids can go to WU for free, haha. Hopefully in two years I'll have a book or two with an agent...

*name that movie

  Goodbye and Godspeed, Deep Impact soundtrack

file under: reallife , working Posted by Jen at 5:26 PM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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From Justine Larbalestier's blog.

file under: reallife , writings Posted by Jen at 1:14 PM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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This is a big day.

Happy Anniversary to my parents. I'm so proud of you for staying together and staying in love. <3 <3 <3

Happy Birthday to Kate and Gordon! *party*

And this website turns six. Six years I've been doing this. Six years of very infrequent blogging and not so often with the layout changes...

I really should have gotten a new layout up. I've got one almost ready, but I've been a bit stymied by the changes MT4 made to their default code, so it's...not...quite...there yet. Soon.

Still writing, still reading, still dreaming. Have a great day, folks.

  New Moon, Stephenie Meyer (yes, again)
file under: celebration , reallife , webetcetera Posted by Jen at 10:04 AM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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I woke up around 5 am this morning because the bed was shaking. At first I thought it was the cat, hiding under my bed all night, finally having enough and making a ruckus to wake me up and let him out. But no, no cat under the bed. He was crouched outside my door, probably rather freaked.

There was an earthquake along the southern Illinois-Indiana border, and we felt it all the way over here. I thought it might be, once I determined the bed-shaking was not the fault of the cat, but I wanted confirmation. Apparently my cognitive skills aren't the best in the middle of the night, so my search for 'earthquake st. louis' didn't immediately yield the right site. Finally found it, and lo, a big red square in the midwest! Very odd.

I've only ever felt one other earthquake, and it was much smaller. I was outside in my parents' backyard, laying on the grass and staring up at the clouds, and I felt a tremor run beneath me. I didn't realize what it was at first (you know, daydreaming, head in the clouds) until my mom asked me if I'd felt anything out there. The news had reported the quake.

I sincerely hope that I never get so used to the feeling that I know exactly what it feels like.

My neck is still hurting after waking up sore yesterday. I don't know what I could have done, but it's not cool. So to make myself feel better, and hopefully make you smile too, a lolcat:

see more crazy cat pics

TGIF!

file under: funny , reallife Posted by Jen at 4:15 PM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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...at least, that's what I'd like to be doing right now, and not be at work. It's too pretty of a snow to be inside. And then run inside to hot cocoa and other warm things to get rid of this sore throat. Damn winter and low humidity.

And bugger cars that need repairs. At least some of the repairs are covered by warranty (because of a nice serviceman, I suspect) but there are other things that need fixing that are required normal maintenance, so I just get to eat that. And it's fun to know that somewhere along the way I lost an oil cap. Shows you how I didn't look under the hood.

Eh. I didn't need to drive today anyway, and excess money just means I buy books. I've still got a fair amount in savings, even though I won't like losing the extra I was planning to put forward for Worldcon in August.

Gotta get cracking on that book, then.

  Finale, Pippin
  Nightingale's Lament, Simon R Green
file under: reallife Posted by Jen at 12:27 PM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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So if you've been reading this blog for a while, you might know that the writer's group that I participate in has written an anthology of short stories based on landmarks of St. Louis. I'm in it, with a modern day faerie tale that takes place at the Muny (the Municipal Theater in Forest Park, the oldest and largest outdoor amphitheater in America, with trees growing out of the stage...)

And by golly, the book is out! You can check out the page at www.toastedraviolibook.com (though there's not much there at the moment) which has a link to buying the book online, do a book search on Amazon for Toasted Ravioli, or (the best way) ask me for a book in person. That way you get a discount and a signed copy and I (or the group) gets more money.

Or better yet, come to our first signing this Saturday (tomorrow, eek) the 26th of January at Legacy Books, 5249 Delmar (at Union) from 12 pm to 5 pm. All the authors will be there, so you can get a full complement of signatures on your new book, and the authors will read from their work. There should also be a Q&A session for the curious.

I hope to see you there!

  No Such Thing, John Mayer
  Hood, Stephen Lawhead
file under: books , celebration , reallife , writings Posted by Jen at 12:40 AM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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OMG I BOUGHT A CAR.

Well, almost. Financing still has to be worked out. But for all purposes I have a used Toyota Matrix. It's bright red. LIKE WHOA.

I always have to pause when I refer to multiple Matrix cars. I know, since I went through the lovely engineering math classes at WU that the plural of matrix is matrices but I don't know how many other people do, and I feel silly saying "Matrixes," but that's how most folks would pluralize it...I can't figure out which one to say. And I suppose it's silly, since I've only bought one...you get the picture. Regardless, matrices were something I actually understood in Engineering Maths...course, show me one now and I don't think I could do much of anything with it. But at least I have a cool car.

Dunno, do I look like a red Matrix girl? No? Too bad. That's what I've got

'Twill be expensive. Looks like no more Borders runs for Jen...but I'm writing my own, right? Oh Lord please let this be the right decision!

  Faith, Sheila Nicholls
  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets--have to reread in time for the last book!
file under: reallife Posted by Jen at 12:25 AM | Permalink MTIfCommentsActive>|

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