Monday, September 29, 2008

Rest in Peace

After browsing through cd after cd after cd, I finally located the exact picture I sought. Excited, I loaded the picture onto my computer, spun my chair around and

WHAM....

ran into my cd/dvd drive which was still open.

It's hosed.

It won't spin.

It won't close.

It won't open.

It's dead.

Funeral services will be held later today followed by a pyre.
Please send all condolences to:
Drive Farewell
c/o Clutz R Us
2 Broke to Replace Drive
Greatly Missing, IT
24067

Sunday, September 28, 2008

A View of NC State

Parents Weekend at NC State was this past weekend. The most desolate part of the world is a university campus on an early Sunday morning. Well, if you call 10:15 am early. My husband and I were due to meet our son at exactly 10:50. Not a moment before as he allots his sleep like a miser counts his coins.

Since we had time to spare, my husband and I hiked through campus seeking one of the many, many "great" coffee shops they always brag about. But guess what? They're not open on Sundays.

We finally discovered a tiny shop in the student center that served stale coffee from large urns. The two of us, plus an employee pouring coffee for himself, comprised the huge morning rush for the cashier. I provided a few minutes of entertainment when I requested decaffeinated coffee.

Yeah, right. On a college campus...where caffeine empowers students to keep their glazed eyes partially open during those large, 600 student classes.

I was shown a foil cylinder of Tasters Choice Decaffeinated Instant Coffee. Yuck. I selected juice.

We settled in front of a TV sipping our drinks and munching muffins, and learned of Paul Newman's passing, of SNL's lampooning of Palin, and saw a replay of Letterman's response to McCain's cancellation.

Still no movement on campus except a smattering of parents and those who worked.

Sports news danced across the TV screen, wrapping my husband with its vibrant airwaves. I yawned, dug through my new SCBWI satchel and thought about reading or filing my nails. Instead I tapped into the university's wifi system and checked email.

My iPod Touch is fun. However, my mail is via RoadRunner.com. Roadrunner is so protective of their services (I'm being generous) that I can receive email on my Touch, but I'm not allowed to send any. Great, isn't it?

Anyway, I digress.

My son finally awoke and met us outside his dorm. He drove us to a the church he attends - a huge rock 'n roll service with a large stage for the band and the preacher. I have to admit it was pretty cool. I wanted to film a piece of it but I forgot my camera was in my satchel, in the car. But I'll tell you more about this church some other time.

After service, we ate hardy, then returned Jim to his dorm. We woke his roomie still huddled under his blankets. It was 1:30.

It's been many years since I attended my liberal arts college in central Pennsylvania. Juniata College was a sprawling campus in the mountains, the approximate size of my 1200 student high school. I remember sleeping late, staying up late, having fun, trying to avoid studying. But never can I remember having a schedule that permitted me to play until 3 or 4 am, sleep until noon, then head off to classes.

Guess it's a good thing I'm a parent now and not a student.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Yike!!

I had such a wonderful time at the Carolina SCBWI conference this past weekend. We checked in Friday afternoon and didn't stop discussing writing & illustrating until, well, I guess it stopped when I walked in the front door of my house when I returned earlier today.

My head is swimming with ideas, challenges, and thoughts of future stories. Many terrific people jazzed and inspired me.

The schedule was very busy but I made some time to catch up with old friends and make a few new ones. It would have been nice to be able to kick back and chat more, then again, I'd have to miss one of the workshops!

Being the "conference photographer" (ya'll might not agree once you see some of the pictures) I was moving and hopping all over the place. This afforded me many opportunities to sneak a peak at everything that was going on.

Now I'm home, my body kinda tingles as it's finally beginning to relax.

Yikes! So much to remember...So much to do...So much more writing that will have to wait until I reassess my characters.

And I promise to upload some pictures soon. :^))

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Fall into Business

It's September. Colleges are halfway through the first term. Local schools are in full swing. And I'm traveling.

Determined to have finished the latest re-visioning of my MG fantasy, Dragon Tears, I joined up with a friend of mine to write 2 days a week. It worked well, for the first week. Then the trips lined up.

The trip to north Jersey to visit my parents for their birthdays.
The trip this coming weekend to the Carolinas SCBWI Writer's Conference (Yeah!)
The trip next weekend to NC State for parents weekend.
The trip the weekend following that for UNC parent's weekend.

Then I believe we're home ... until my trip to Blowing Rock on 10/17 to trail ride for the weekend.

And then we're home for good. I think.

What about my story? Words float screaming to be written. Jack is sullen that he's forced to remain quiet while I flit from place to place.

But the day after tomorrow (not the movie) I drive to Durham to get a much needed shot of "kick in the butt" motivation to finish this draft of the book. Then one final draft to pull together all the parts and pieces of all the various story threads and then I'm done. Finito. Finished. Ended. At least until the next review.

I'm anxious to return to work on Dutchman's Creek (my ghost story). As a friend of mine posted on her blog, sometimes a decrepit building can bring a story to mind. This is my muse for Dutchman's Creek: