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Fencing started again today. I'm on day two of a nasty headache, so I almost didn't go -- but this was going to be the first session after the beginners course and I needed to know how things would work now (the club is not exactly a star in keeping people informed). Also, next week I'll be on holiday, so starting third week in, when everyone's well settled would be difficult enough for me to consider giving up so I took some meds and dragged myself on.

I was happy to see that all of the other beginners were there (the ones who stayed till the end of the course as we had a couple of drop outs). That immediately made me feel better. At least they are at approximately my skill level... We are now part of the general "intermediate" group, which includes the previous beginners course as well as some fairly serious young fencers.

Kate (the epee coach) did the warm up, which was lucky. She does a lot of footwork exercises and not so much running... I got out of shape over the summer (though that's not exactly true as it implies I was in shape before...) Anyway, I'm sure my legs will be sore tomorrow but at least I didn't collapse already during the warm up.

Then we were told to decide which weapon we want to practice. Most of us have already decided, but some were still hesitant. I'd have liked to stay with Kate as coach but she does epee, so no such luck. I went with foil, which is under Nick, the head coach, who went to the Rio Olympics with Team GB. We had a small group, only seven on foil (five or six on epee and three or four on sabre). I think that's about half of the total number for the adults.

The session was spit into a lesson, followed by free fencing, and then electric fencing at the end. My actual fencing was... desperate. I forgot the little I'd managed to learn; mostly I just waved my foil, channeling a windmill facing Don Quixote. Frankly, it was rather pathetic. I also managed to bruise my opponent by scoring some off-target hits on her legs (we don't have breeches, just upper body protection because you are not supposed to hit the legs!) So yeah, mixed feelings. I enjoyed myself and I'm glad I went, but darn, I do need to get better. But how to practice on my own? Footwork or lunges I can do, but for the actual fighting I need an opponent... I know, that's what the sessions are for, but it's only once week and not very long so it's not enough to make real progress. It'd like to reach some minimal level where I could actually bout without total embarrassment.... Need to brainstorm some strategies!

Tags:

fencing

Back from Nine Worlds and recovering. Of course, my plans for happily doing nothing got interrupted when I saw Earl Grey chasing a pigeon. Managed to catch it in time, but the poor thing was in shock and, well, missing some feathers, so the next thing was a trip to the local Wildlife Rescue Centre. Fingers crossed for the pigeon!

Nine Worlds was interesting, if exhausting—but then most cons are for me. I spent time with two people that I share agent with, each of us with a book on submission, so it was good to chat about the process. My two panels went well, I think, and I attended some quite interesting ones. The highlight was a panel on migration is SFF with Jeannette Ng and Aliette De Bodard, and another one on language comparing English, Chinese and British Sign Language.

( More about this under the cut. )

Another interesting part was the discussion of BSL. An interesting feature of the sign language in is that, unlike spoken language, it is not sequential, i.e., it can express multiple things simultaneously. Spoken language uses sounds that have to be uttered sequentially (you can’t say two words at the same time)—but sign language uses hands, facial expressions and the whole body to convey meaning. The result is such that BSL hardly uses adjectives or adverbs because their meaning is conveyed through modifying the sign for the noun or verb. E.g., a sign for “walk” can be delivered slowly, fast, hesitantly, etc. and the facial expression will aid in explaining the meaning. Of course, there will still be signs for things that can’t easily be signed, as say, colours.

Interesting part of it was also the fact that the language’s beauty then is in its theatricality, and a signing person may favour a speech that “looks interesting” and that doesn’t always translate to what hearing people appreciate.

Two more fun highlights of the con were Aliette’s fountain pen meetup and the “sword punk” session.

The fountain pen session was just a bunch of people sitting around tables and geeking out about pens and inks. I was the only one into vintage pens, so my collection got some interest. I ended up giving one pen to a random person because she couldn’t get enough of it and it’s one I never really liked and it’s just gathering dust in my drawer. Aliette brought a great glass pen, that totally amazed me. I’d never tried glass before and couldn’t quite compute how glass could make a pen, but it totally can. Also, my experience with dip pens has been mixed at best, and this one was total smooth and held an incredible amount of ink.

I also got to try a Jeannette Ng’s Pilot Parallel, which I’d always wanted to try. It’s a very interesting pen, a true italic for super crisp lettering. It’d be great for calligraphy projects or journaling, but probably not for me because my handwriting is too ugly for calligraphy.

The Sword Punk session was fun and really hands-on, a proper taster with actual combat exercises. Being somewhat used to the fencing weapons, I was surprised to see how big and heavy the swords were. You really need both hands to handle them.

Here’s the collection laid out on the floor:

swords

And this is a photo the con’s photographer got, featuring yours truly (blue shirt) trying some moves. See how far apart my hands are?

sword fight

The approach to the fight is very different from fencing—it’s much more physical and requiring a lot of muscle power vs “just” dexterity and stamina. It seemed both cruder and more realistic, as the aim really is to kill and avoid being killed as compared to scoring points in Olympic fencing. It was interesting to see how my burgeoning fencing skills were sometimes helpful (e.g. distance awareness) but usually detrimental, as I kept wanting to disengage with a weapon that’s too big and too heavy for the manoeuvre, my footwork was wrong and I kept trying to lunge, without much effect. I was told not to go for low hits as that would risk getting my head chopped off in exchange for a leg wound… Fair enough! And we practiced “helicopter moves” (swinging the blade over your head at the opponent) and swinging to knock their teeth out with the pommel… It was good fun, but I think I’ll stick to fencing.

After that, I strolled through the dealers room and ended up taking the Hexarchate quiz at Solaris' stand. I turned out to be a Shuos! Don’t know what to think about it… :D At least it wasn’t Vidona, hehe… They had the badges, so I took the Shuos one, and then sneaked in a Nirai as well. :D

Today was a recovery day. I hope I'll haver no more pigeons or any other "gifts" tomorrow....

Tags:

Going to Nine Worlds this weekend, which is smallish and local (though it’s still 2000+ people and I’m staying in a hotel to avoid evening travel, so I’m not really sure if I should call it either smallish or local…)

I’ll be on two panels: Writing What You Know (Friday, 10 am — I hope I’ll be awake by then…) and Breaking into Film and TV Writing on Saturday at 5 pm (much better time slot, hehe!)

I’m also doing two fun things: the first is the Fountain Pen Meetup set up by Aliette de Bodard. I’m brining lots of inks and pens for people to try — some beginner level pens anyone can play with, as well as my favourited to share with the others.

This reminds me that I’ve never posted a picture of my Waterman 452 ½ after clean up—here it is, all nice and shiny!

pen

And some other pens I’m taking:

From left to right: Wateman 52 Ideal, Waterman 452 ½, Swan Marbie Todd ½ (forgot the model, it’s an early eye-dropper, about 100 years old), Parker Lucky Curve Lady, Parker Duofold AF, and a Mentmore

I’m also doing a Sword Punk session — historical weapons taster which I’m really looking forward to, especially now that fencing club has paused for the summer.

I'll be catching up with some friends and meeting others I only know form on-line, so it should be fun. Looking forward to it!

Tags:

nine worlds,
pens

I’m finally back, and life’s returning to normal. I’ve had a very intense three weeks, starting with writing and work for the Solar System Astronomy course I’m doing, then a friend’s visit, and then a trip to see my parents.

I’ve had a great time when my friend was here. She’s a spec-fic writer as well, and at a similar stage of her “career,” though she’s had way more short fiction published (I write very little short fiction, so that’s how I explain that, lol). She’s also working on a novel at the moment, and we’ve been brainstorming each other’s plots before so it was great to compare notes and talk about the projects. We did a lot of sight-seeing, too, and generally had a great time chatting, enjoying the sights, food and drinks. She made a blog post about it here, if you want to check out some pics.

I had a great time, especially as I have very few physical friends where I live. I’ve moved too much; even in London, which is still a bit of a trek, there are only a few people beyond an acquaintance level. So it was amazing to be able to hang out in person. We have regular Skype chats, and it’s great (certainly better than nothing), but still not the same. It’s the silences that make the difference—just being there, without the pressure to keep talking, to fill the empty space that feels to unnatural online.

Or maybe I just need to learn to Skype better…

After that week, which was lovely but still tiring with all the walking we did, I went to Poland to see my parents—and dropped right into a whirlpool of THINGS THAT NEED DOING. My parents are ageing and I’m the only child so increasingly my visits are about fixing and arranging whatever needs to be fixed or arranged. We bought a new fridge and new phones for both parents (my mum got her first smartphone—I’m amazed she hasn’t called me yet since my return to report a problem…) There was work in the garden and on the internet (somehow most of their settings disintegrate in my absence), and plenty other small tasks like changing bulbs as my father is missing his right hand and my mum can’t climb a ladder. All in all, it was exhausting. I’m happy I could do everything I did, but returned so tired my husband elected to leave me alone, even though we hardly saw each other over three weeks. I guess it’ll take a few more days till I’m back to normal energy levels (not that those are high anyway).

Oh, and the day after my return, I had the mid-term exam for the Solar System course… I got 83%, which wouldn’t be so bad if I hadn’t flunked two calculation questions that I should have been able to solve, except my brain failed me. The heat didn’t help, either, as it was about 30 Celsius (mid 80s Fahrenheit) and of course no airco…

I’m hoping to get back to writing tomorrow or Wednesday. I’m so close to finishing the first draft; I really want to get it out of the way. Onward!

ETA: I did manage to briefly visit my usual pen & ink shop in Warsaw and scored Iroshizuku Yama-budo ink. Yay!

So, every now and again I entertain the idea of going back to uni to get an astronomy/astrophysics degree. It's insanity, because there's no way I could justify the cost for what would essentially be a very expensive hobby. I'd have to start from the very beginning because none of my MA in English would be transferable. And let's face it, last time I did semi-serious math was thirty years ago (I did college level algebra and calculus in high school, because I went to specialised STEM class, but that won't help me now).

I've been doing EdX courses for a while, and they range from okay to great [1] but each time I start a new one, I go through the same introductory stuff--and when we do eventually get to the meaty stuff, it's too little to really stay in my brain for any length of time. As a regular student I'd be doing more of the good stuff until I was comfortable with it, and then move in to more good stuff, etc. That's the advantage of structured education vs. the tasters I'm getting now.

Anyway, I've been thinking of the uni thing again, as EdX now offers some college credit courses--and you don't need to pay the full fee until you finish the course (the only initial fee is $50 to verify identity and set you up for two proctored tests). I decided this was a good way to test the idea, and I signed up. Yay! Except... the course has a very strict schedule with assignments due at the end of each week.

And the course started last week.

I wasn't going to let go (especially after I paid up), so I spent the entire day yesterday going through unit one to complete all due tasks by the deadline. I finished at 2 am, when I required a calculator to tell me what was 2+3...

So far, so good--but I have a friend coming over to stay this week, and the week after I'm going to see my parents... So guess what I've been doing today? If you answered: "unit 2" you score a point!

Took me six hours to finish the unit, which isn't too bad as they estimate each week to require 20-25 hours of work (hahaha, no way). At this stage, I'm still not learning anything new, but it's a good refresher of Kepler's laws and orbital mechanics. I'd go faster if my math weren't so bad... I type out all the formulas in Excel spreadsheets, and it's really just basic algebra but I need to double check everything or I make mistakes. I still failed two questions (out of 57) so wasn't too happy about it (it's really basic stuff).

I still have the first review-test to do (open-book, but one try per question), but I'm too brain dead to do it now. Hope to finish tomorrow -- and then do another marathon after my friend leaves and before I go to see my parents.

Needless to say, word-count for the last two days was zero. I really should have planned this better...

Tags:

My internet has been intermitted the last few days for some reason, which is getting on my nerves--especially as it may require a phone call to the supplier, and the very idea makes me shiver.

Yesterday we celebrated husband's birthday with a trip to a concert (Jeff Beck, husband's guitar hero). I enjoyed the show, and quite liked the opening act Imelda May, whom I haven't heard before. The event was at Chelsea Hospital, which is a lovely open air venue. We met husband's friends for a snack before the show and continued with drinks afterwards, so it was a rather pleasant evening, and he enjoyed it a lot, which was nice to see.

Unfortunately, for some reason I couldn't sleep afterwards. I'm never a good sleeper, but this night was particularly bad. I think I finally fell asleep around 6 am. I stayed in bed into the afternoon, but woke up tired and cranky anyway. On top of that, my ankle still hurts, and it got worse after all the walking we did yesterday. So I ended up having a rather miserable day today. (And of course I should be in bed already, but, well. I'm not).

On the brighter side, my copy of Revenant Gun arrived yesterday, and it's now happily on the shelf next to its siblings. :)

My own novel is about 90k now, and it's reached the stage when I think I need 20k to finish, but know from experience that the 20k will end up being anything from 10 to 40k... But I'll do my best not to let it sprawl too much. It's a rambling mess at the moment so the edit's going to be hard... I'll do the initial pass and then start begging for betas because this novel will definitely need some help.

Had a fun session tonight.

I was late, partly on purpose because my ankle still hurts too much for warm ups, and because the warm up exercises are so intensive they leave me gasping for breath for the rest of the session. But when I walked in five minutes late, it proved there was a new coach guiding all of us (the warm ups are for all participants, not just my beginner group) through footwork exercises. So I was angry at myself for missing the beginning but well.

The exercises were fun and not too heavy--and later I found out that the new coach was a former national champion, though his beer belly has grown since the day... He's supposed to be back next week, so that's something to look forward to.

Then we were back with our beginner group. There were only three of us present, so we got a lot of individual attention and a chance to practice. We ended with bouts, and I actually won mine! That was more luck than skill, but I'll take it anyway, as it may not come back...

And then the other two participants had to leave early so I had the last five minutes alone with the coach, and he gave me some useful hints. Now only to remember them for the next time!

Tags:

fencing

At fencing today we finally moved to metal weapons. Hooray! It's actually easier to fence with those because they are mostly straight while the plastic things are seriously droopy so it's really hard to aim. Metal kit meant putting all the clothing on: plastron, chest protector and jacket (no lamy yet)--and it wad super hot. Like, swimming in your own juice hot.

Our coach was absent for the second week in a row due to family emergency, so we got two young guys who normally coach kids. I didn't mind, actually. They are less focussed on drilling bits of technique, so that's a loss (the coach had us practice every move with him; they just demonstrate and leave us to it), but at least I didn't feel them looking at me like I was geriatric. I guess at their age anyone past thirty is geriatric so that doesn't matter... And it was fun to do some actual fencing--though I wish I could be a better opponent to my partner. All the other people in the group came with friends, so he and I are the only "singles" and stuck together--which is fine by me but he is young and fit and with the most experience because he's father's been fencing for a while, so I'm not exactly a worthy opponent. He's very nice about it, though, so that's that.

BUT! At the end of the session, with two minutes to spare, we were told to change partners and play a bit. I got a very young girl, somewhat shy, so I thought I could take her on with sheer aggression. So I moved in, but failed to keep my front foot straight and my ankle gave... My lunge turned into a horizontal fleche and a splat on the floor, which must have been quite spectacular. Unfortunately, this is an old ankle injury that I seem to have aggravated. I've had ice on it since I got back home but it's swollen and hurting... I really hope it's not going to get worse... I don't want to miss next week as we're going to have our Level 1 assessment!

Tags:

fencing

Last night something happened to my computer. Suddenly, windows started opening and closing, applications starting then closing, all on their own. It looked like something possessed my machine--or like someone took it over. I managed to save my work and shut it down, and that was it. I switched off internet in the house and tried to turn it back on--no such luck. It makes the typical mac's "boom" sound as if starting, but nothing happens. It was an old MacBook Pro, but it still worked perfectly.

I had been planning to buy a new, smaller one, and my husband would take over that one, because it had huge memory and the fastest processor available at the time (I used to do video editing so I needed it, and now he's trying to do some music producing, so it would be perfect for him). So this has forced my hand. I just got a new Mac, and have spent almost the entire day setting it up -- normally the Time Machine would do the job, but the memory on this one is too small so it refused to do the full transfer.

Luckily, my files seem to be intact. The Cloud back up worked, and I haven't lost o word from my WiP. That's a huge relief.

Now reinstalling/reauthorising software, getting preferences set up and other such joy. And some stuff I need to re-buy, because I only had one computer licence... As if buying a new one wasn't expensive enough.

But at least I can stop hyperventilating. I was so worried my files were lost...

Current Mood: relieved

Tags:

computer,
macbook

I've been reading

yhlee's fencing posts with increasing interest. It seemed like so much good fun--and combined with exercise that I very much need. And then I discovered a local fencing club advertising for a beginners' class--they were so undersubscribed, they were offering the first lesson for free, just so you can come and see how you like it. So I figured, what the heck, at least I'll know what it feels like.

My first lesson was last week--and I think I caught the bug. I had so much fun! Mostly, I loved trying something so completely new to me, learning new terms and moves. There's something energising about it, and not simply because you get to get your heart rate going. I'm not sure yet what it is that I found so intoxicating, but there was certainly something. I hope one day I'll be able to put a name to it.

I've now paid up for the ten-week beginner course. Today was the second lesson. It was still very exciting, and I loved doing it, but there were also some difficult moments. First of all--and I suspected that would be the case going in--I'm way older than everyone else. The group is now seven-strong: three participants are just teenagers, two are in late twenties. Well, I'm fifty (groan), and not in top shape. I got to practice with the only guy in the group, probably eighteen or nineteen-year-old--it was good fun but I knew I was slowing him down and he wasn't getting the full value of the lesson. I was out of breath and had to take frequent breaks.

And the instructor, even though he's really nice and friendly, but I can't help the feeling he's wondering what I'm doing there. I kind of don't blame him, as some of the young ones want to go into competition fencing, which well, isn't going to happen to me, but still, it makes me feel a bit… redundant.

But, I love the action itself, so I'm not about to lay down my sword (not that I have one, mind you, just metaphorically). I hope I won't be as sore this time as I was after the first lesson (the lunges! Honestly, I could barely walk for three days, and had to climb stairs one step at a time!) so I can do some endurance training… It's never going to be much, but at least maybe I won't get out of breath so quickly.

And I'll practice footwork, and maybe some targeting, if I find something I can hit without destroying the walls. I'll show them! ;D

Current Mood: determined

Tags:

fencing

I've always loved swirls of colour. That was one thing that drew me to glass--I stayed away from most art because I fail even at stick figures, so that was never going to work. But I love glass and mosaics and things to do with colour, even if I never got to seriously pursue either.

I did try glass, at one time, and it was totally amazing. But it was too expensive as a hobby, and required a long drive, so I gave up. I have a bird as a memory of my endeavour, which is probably the most basic thing you can make from glass, but hey, I made it! And see the colour swirls? Yeah!

(And now I made it into a new icon, hehe.)

So just yesterday I stumbled upon something called "fluid art" (a short primer here). It's probably nothing new to anyone but me, but for me it was a revelation. Look at those colours! The process seems mesmerising--and something I could actually do myself. It's never going to be "Art" with a capital A, but that's not the point. The colours! I just keep staring at the swirls and the "cells" and the glorious chaos. Wow.

Current Mood: intrigued

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The novel's passed 20,000 words. I guess it's moved from a zygote to a foetus now?

I want it to go to college and move out, the sooner the better.

Writing is painfully slow, given I've done almost nothing else this week, but hey, any progress is progress. I'm not unhappy with what I've produced, either, though obviously it's only a first draft and will need tones of work to shape it.

And, on the lighter note, I've just typed this into a chapter (my MC has been thrust into a command role she's distinctly not comfortable with):

I read a story once where a junior officer had an experienced one implanted into her head. It seemed crazy, but now I could definitely use some advice on the whole "command" thing.

Any idea where I could have got TAHT from? :D

I feel strangely guilty if I don't finish a book I started--to the point that I once finished an entire trilogy while only mildly liking book one. To be fair, I'd already bought all three books on the strength of the author's name (bad mistake), but still.

It's even worse when don't dislike the novel, or maybe even like it but don't love it. I'm a slow reader, and my to-be-read pile grows faster than I can manage. And I do feel certain pressure to, ahem, "keep up with the field." And some of there are books from people I actually know...

I'm trying to teach myself to not stress about not finishing. If I don't love the book, it's okay to just test-ride it for a few chapters and then put it away, right? In that case, I should consider it research: I've tasted enough to have an opinion, and I save the time to "research" more books.

Thinking about it, it actually would give me time to re-read the books I do love. And discover more, instead of slavishly finishing whatever I start... So here's the new resolution: I won't feel guilty about not finishing!

Well okay, at least I'll try... :D

Current Mood: determined

Just returned from Eastercon. Exhausting drive in rain/snow and holiday traffic; I really should have taken the train. Oh well, I'm back now, and the cats are happy. (Or at least Major Tom is; Earl Grey, the five-year-old, just stared at me with this face saying, "Oh, you're back? Well, make yourself useful and feed me!" Major, the seventeen-year-old, gave me some proper cat-love...)

The con itself was good if not great. I was hoping to connect with some folks I never got to see, but then I met some others who proved really nice. I attended a few good panels and moderated one for the first time ever--and apparently it wasn't a disaster.

Here I am, pretending to know what I'm doing (I'm on the left):

And here's my relieved face after the panel (with panelists Adrian Tchaikovsky, Justina Robson and Micah Yongo):

Now I need to recharge and get back to the novel. At least I feel motivated and more upbeat about it. Got some excellent comments from Ricepaper friends :) and good encouragement from the agent to trust myself and stop second-guessing my every move... I'm planning to dive back in tomorrow, before the weasels get me again!

Current Mood: optimistic

Tags:

eastercon,
writing

Arrived in Harrogate for Eastercon (the British Science Fiction Convention). What was supposed to be 4 1/2 hours journey ended up being full six hours in rain and heavy traffic.

I am so glad I decided to come a day early. The con starts tomorrow but with the traffic I would probably only arrive in the evening (of course I would promise myself to leave very early but that would never happen).

I'm meeting my agent first thing in the morning. It will be nice to catch up and discuss both the current novel and the new one.

I will be moderating my very first panel on Sunday. It is kind of exciting and a little bit scary. Still, I feel better about being a moderator, because initially I was going to be on the panel. Only later I found out who the other panellists were and they are much more experienced than me including an Arthur C. Clarke award winner. So yeah, I'd rather be asking questions than answering them next to him like an equal.

By the way, I have downloaded Dragon voice recognition software trial I am trying to use it right now. I get very self-conscious about dictating so this is very awkward, but I do hope I will learn to use it because it's faster and more convenient. Or it should be once I get used to it, because dictating this note took me I think three times as long as it would have taken me to type it…

So… I've been spending money. My pen budget for the year is gone. But I got the pen I wanted for a while…

But first, a purchase I made last year, though it took forever to arrive: my own wonderful Patterner, excuse me, Waterman 52.

pen

It’s wonderfully wet and flexible, a real pleasure to write with, even if it exposes all the flaws in my terrible handwriting. It’s not the prettiest pen, especially after I soaked it to clean it and ended up discolouring the barrel… (It’s BCHR — hard rubber hates water, who knew?) I’m going to have it serviced to get the colour back, but even as is, I love the way it writes.

The next purchase was a sweet stubby & flexible early Swan Marble Todd eyerdopper:

Sleek and black and it makes my writing look almost pretty! The magic of stub nibs!

And then I went crazy and bought this beauty (or rather, it will be beautiful after it gets polished but still):

Waterman 452 ½ (4 stands for silver filigree and ½ means it’s slimline). I’ve always wanted one, and now I got it… And it’s stubby, too, which is just how I love them. Yay!
(The pictures don't do it justice... I'll repost when I get it polished!)

And I finally gave in and got a display box, too:

No more pens for me for a while, but pen-wise, I’m a happy bunny. :)

Current Mood: geeky

...is proving difficult.

For one, I'm still totally jet-lagged and not helping myself by going to bed at 6 am. But that in itself is a symptom of other worries and a new case of brain-weasels. Suddenly I'm doubting everything about the project; it seems pedestrian, boring, unoriginal and easy to screw up from the representation angle. I can't imagine anyone wanting to read it, not with such a glut of other excellent projects on offer.

I'm trying to tell myself that I'm not likely the best judge of the matter, and that I should at least get deeper into the novel before I really know its bones, but… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm about to strap myself into a narrow chair inside a metal tube for about ten hours. NOT looking froward to it.

I'll arrive back in the UK around peak traffic, so that means another 90 minutes in a taxi crawling down M25. And back to the cold... :/

But I'll be cack with the cats! I can already see their reproachful glances at having abandoned them for 11 days... My dear boys!

I am also looking forward to getting back to my novel. The first chapter I have needs work before I can move on, but I'm eager to try to fix it. Looking forward to getting help from ricepaper folks. We seem to have a nice bunch of people there. :)

See you on the other side...

Current Mood: resigned

Tags:

travells

...sucks big time.

I'm in Tucson now and was going to enjoy the Festival of Books but I barely survived two panels. I got cold with the airco, lost my voice completely even though I hardly spoke, and now I have no energy to do anything.

The highlight of the day was catching up with Nancy Kress, who was my instructor at Taos Toolbox. I'm glad that was the first thing I did today, because I lost most of my energy soon afterwards.

We've had plans for some exploring tomorrow but I'm not sure I can manage... :(

The third attempt at seeing the Grand Canyon was successful and boy is it a beautiful place. The colours and the vastness are just breathtaking. So here I am enjoying the sunshine and the incredible vista:

Afterwards we went to see the Barringer crater, which was effing impressive.

It was really cold though, with night temperatures dropping way below zero--so the result is that I'm now feverish and sniffy and with a with a creeping cold... :/

I'll try to take it easy for the next few days. We're in Tucson now and I'm planning to attend the Festival of Books on Saturday and Sunday. I really hope I won't spend the rest of this holiday sick... :(

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Dwelling in Possibility

Recent Entries

Fencing and Flailing

Nine Worlds

Nine Worlds

Home again!

Not so smart

Strange days

Fencing progress

Ouch!

So my computer died...

It's contagious!

Fluid Art

Is it a bird?

On not finishing books

Home!

Eastercon

Pens!

Returning to writing after the holidays...

Homeward bound

Being ill while on holiday...

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December 2019

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