M.J. Scott's Blog, page 54
December 22, 2010
Merry Christmas
I feel like I should write an inspiring Christmas post but it's been a long and tiring year in some ways and I had sad news re my expected kitten (the upshot of which is that he won't be my kitten and I'll be looking elsewhere for another kitten/cat next week) this week and the orange cat has had a few extra yowly nights because it's been cold and I'm kind of just plain tired.
So I will keep things simple and just wish everyone a lovely, relaxing, safe holiday season!
May you have loved ones and happiness, good food and drink, naps and belly laughs, hugs and good times, inspiration and passion and the odd dream coming true! 2011 onwards and upwards we come!
So I will keep things simple and just wish everyone a lovely, relaxing, safe holiday season!
May you have loved ones and happiness, good food and drink, naps and belly laughs, hugs and good times, inspiration and passion and the odd dream coming true! 2011 onwards and upwards we come!
December 12, 2010
Finishing
The revisions are done! Bring me the finest muffins and bagels in the land. Or, alternatively, Numfar do the dance of joy!
Finishing a book is always a very very good feeling, no matter what draft it is. (For the record, we're on draft 5 of Shadow Kin, so far. Hopefully that number won't go much higher and there will only be line edits, copy edits and galleys to go.)
So hopefully that good feeling will carry me through fighting the crowds to do some Christmas shopping this morning! Then there will be rescuing of my house from it's current revision in full swing way too messy status!
Then I have to haul my brain back (or forward?) to Book 3. Whose hero is going to be lots of fun (In theory...you never quite know what they're going to do once they're given free rein on blank pages belonging to them!)
But for now I shall just bask in being done, done, done!
Finishing a book is always a very very good feeling, no matter what draft it is. (For the record, we're on draft 5 of Shadow Kin, so far. Hopefully that number won't go much higher and there will only be line edits, copy edits and galleys to go.)
So hopefully that good feeling will carry me through fighting the crowds to do some Christmas shopping this morning! Then there will be rescuing of my house from it's current revision in full swing way too messy status!
Then I have to haul my brain back (or forward?) to Book 3. Whose hero is going to be lots of fun (In theory...you never quite know what they're going to do once they're given free rein on blank pages belonging to them!)
But for now I shall just bask in being done, done, done!
December 10, 2010
Gadgeting
I'm a light sleeper. Light sleeping and the orange cat are not always the best combination (to be honest, they're not EVER the best combination it's a bit worse lately as he's still being "I'm lonely" yowly more than usual lately).
Anyway, to combat this, I've been falling asleep with my iPod and headphones listening to audiobooks (which necessitates much remembering of where one actually was up to when one lies down as generally I fall asleep after just a few minutes and wake up hours later in the book lol), or music or some BrainSync tracks. Now, I have mutant ears and cannot wear ear buds, as they fall out as soon as I breathe or even think about moving, so I've got fairly slim old fashioned band over the top of the head head phones but even with my memory foam pillow, they're still not the greatest things to sleep in (not to mention moving around while sleeping is shredding the foam covers like nothing on earth).
So today, when an ad for SleepPhones popped up somewhere I was randomly surfing on the web, I thought "WANT!" and ordered some. And now I'm also lusting after the summer RunPhones version as they might be a bit cooler for summer sleeping plus good for exercising without headphones falling off (plus I tend to wear a headband anyway on the elliptical, so why not combine the two?). But I shall wait and see what I think of the SleepPhones first. But if anyone else out there is like me and likes to drown out the night noises (I'm thinking these will be good for hotel rooms too) I thought you might like to know about them.
I shall report back once they've arrived. US types can by them at ThinkGeek but TG has pretty expensive OS shipping, so for me, buying them direct from the website was cheaper (only $5 or so shipping). I wish more US sites would offer a basic shipping offer. Lots of us would be happy to wear the slower times delivery times and increased risk of something going astray, I'm sure vs being asked to pay more than the cost of the item in shipping as seems to happen quite a bit!
Anyway, to combat this, I've been falling asleep with my iPod and headphones listening to audiobooks (which necessitates much remembering of where one actually was up to when one lies down as generally I fall asleep after just a few minutes and wake up hours later in the book lol), or music or some BrainSync tracks. Now, I have mutant ears and cannot wear ear buds, as they fall out as soon as I breathe or even think about moving, so I've got fairly slim old fashioned band over the top of the head head phones but even with my memory foam pillow, they're still not the greatest things to sleep in (not to mention moving around while sleeping is shredding the foam covers like nothing on earth).
So today, when an ad for SleepPhones popped up somewhere I was randomly surfing on the web, I thought "WANT!" and ordered some. And now I'm also lusting after the summer RunPhones version as they might be a bit cooler for summer sleeping plus good for exercising without headphones falling off (plus I tend to wear a headband anyway on the elliptical, so why not combine the two?). But I shall wait and see what I think of the SleepPhones first. But if anyone else out there is like me and likes to drown out the night noises (I'm thinking these will be good for hotel rooms too) I thought you might like to know about them.
I shall report back once they've arrived. US types can by them at ThinkGeek but TG has pretty expensive OS shipping, so for me, buying them direct from the website was cheaper (only $5 or so shipping). I wish more US sites would offer a basic shipping offer. Lots of us would be happy to wear the slower times delivery times and increased risk of something going astray, I'm sure vs being asked to pay more than the cost of the item in shipping as seems to happen quite a bit!
December 9, 2010
Things I'm lusting after...December edition
While I'm in revision and pre-Christmas work craziness...a selection of the desirable things whirring around my brain:
1. More hours in the day (for writing, for spinning, for knitting, for sleeping, for...everything really)
2. Fibre (of the spinning kind)
3. A DSLR camera
4. For my kitten to arrive (two and a bit weeks left in kitten countdown)
5. Summer clothes (no idea what I wore last summer because there is NOTHING in my wardrobe)
6. A gardener to transform the backyard
7. A portable airconditioner
8. The new teeny mac book air (so pretty, so far down the list of things I need)
9. To be past the point in revisions where I have no idea if the book is any good at all any more
10. For Melbourne to decide what season it might be
11. For everyone to be safe and happy and relaxed for the holidays
12. For the necessary winning lottery tickets and magical powers for all of the above to come true!
1. More hours in the day (for writing, for spinning, for knitting, for sleeping, for...everything really)
2. Fibre (of the spinning kind)
3. A DSLR camera
4. For my kitten to arrive (two and a bit weeks left in kitten countdown)
5. Summer clothes (no idea what I wore last summer because there is NOTHING in my wardrobe)
6. A gardener to transform the backyard
7. A portable airconditioner
8. The new teeny mac book air (so pretty, so far down the list of things I need)
9. To be past the point in revisions where I have no idea if the book is any good at all any more
10. For Melbourne to decide what season it might be
11. For everyone to be safe and happy and relaxed for the holidays
12. For the necessary winning lottery tickets and magical powers for all of the above to come true!
December 5, 2010
November contest winner
Sorry, this is a bit late but the winner of the November contest is Tez Miller, so Tez, email me and I'll get the book out to you!
Given that December is the month of much craziness, not to mention revision finishing, which may yet equal not a lot of blogging, I'm going to skip the contest this month and bring it back in January, so stay tuned in 2011.
Given that December is the month of much craziness, not to mention revision finishing, which may yet equal not a lot of blogging, I'm going to skip the contest this month and bring it back in January, so stay tuned in 2011.
A study in orange
We were talking about bucket lists/life lists at my crit group yesterday, which got me thinking about some of the things I want to do. Learn more about photography is one of them (along with buy a digital SLR). But given I've just paid for cat palaces and a new spinning wheel, the camera yen has to wait. I do have both a point and shoot canon and a fancier does more stuff without being an SLR Panasonic Lumix camera. The Canon and the iPhone tend to get reached for because they're either handy or little. The Panasonic does take better shots than the Canon but it eats its battery really fast plus the battery tends to die if you leave it out of use for a while. (to which I am applying the brilliant solution of buying some extra batteries!). But I shall have to pull it out and play with it some more to satisfy the photography yen for now.
Today, for a giggle, I bought the iPhone Hipstamatic app which makes your photos look like old film camera photos from the seventies etc which is fun.
So today I played around with that, and the recharged Panasonic and the orange cat being the nearest subject, I present...a study in felinus orangus.
First, felinus orangus hipster
And second, felinus orangus more really toastus these days, in close up
There were lots of other things on my list...the question is how does one get the time and/or money to do some of them??? Who's got something they'd love to learn/try/take up?
Today, for a giggle, I bought the iPhone Hipstamatic app which makes your photos look like old film camera photos from the seventies etc which is fun.
So today I played around with that, and the recharged Panasonic and the orange cat being the nearest subject, I present...a study in felinus orangus.
First, felinus orangus hipster
And second, felinus orangus more really toastus these days, in close up
There were lots of other things on my list...the question is how does one get the time and/or money to do some of them??? Who's got something they'd love to learn/try/take up?
November 30, 2010
Random numbers
The inside of my head goes something like this at the moment....
Raining! Cold! Work! Revisions! Christmas! Holy crap, it's December! Orange cat is meowing again! Cat palace! Garden! Raining! Sunny! Work! Revisions! Sleepy! Spinning is cool! Hot! Cold! Orange cat! Kitten! Chocolate! More caffeine! U2! Work! Revisions! Morning is too early! Christmas! Work! Bon Jovi! Glee! Revisions! Bump into something! Lose something! Did I do that other thing?! Forget something! Work! Revisions! Zzzzz! House is messy! Where's my clone army?! Revisions! Traffic! Remember something previously forgotten! More caffeine! Work! Socialise! Argh!
No wonder we all pass out after Christmas dinner, December tries to kill us!
Raining! Cold! Work! Revisions! Christmas! Holy crap, it's December! Orange cat is meowing again! Cat palace! Garden! Raining! Sunny! Work! Revisions! Sleepy! Spinning is cool! Hot! Cold! Orange cat! Kitten! Chocolate! More caffeine! U2! Work! Revisions! Morning is too early! Christmas! Work! Bon Jovi! Glee! Revisions! Bump into something! Lose something! Did I do that other thing?! Forget something! Work! Revisions! Zzzzz! House is messy! Where's my clone army?! Revisions! Traffic! Remember something previously forgotten! More caffeine! Work! Socialise! Argh!
No wonder we all pass out after Christmas dinner, December tries to kill us!
November 25, 2010
It's good to be a cat!
When my little Jessie girl passed away, I decided any new kitten needed to be a mostly indoor kitty. Jessie never went beyond my backyard and the orange cat limits himself to the front porch and the backyard but a young frisky cat might want to roam.
Because I don't like the idea of completely indoor cats (plus the orange cat would probably have a meltdown if I tried to keep him in completely), I decided to get a cat enclosure.
So I did some research and weighed some options. There's a couple of companies that do cat enclosures around (or if you're handier than me you could probably build one yourself). I however, went with the expert version. A process which has involved me completely digging out my garden beds, experimenting with bodgy paving and doing a fair bit of prep work.
Today, Dale from Catnip came to install the cat palace. Catnip do wire enclosures (there are other companies that do netting type things but I don't really have anything to enclose with netting. The good thing about Catnip, is the enclosures can be disassembled and move with me and they can also be extended later on down the track.
This way, the orange cat (and the fuzzy kitten when he arrives) will get fresh air and sunshine (and grass to nibble on once I plant some in pots) plus they can be up high (which the orange cat hasn't been able to do for a few years due to his arthritic knees). I'm sure there will be a bit of an adjustment on his part, and the cunning plan is to occasionally let him go out if he wants while keeping the fuzz ball in but it's safer for both of the and the pigeon and sparrow population will be safe (though as I've said before, any bird that gets caught by an old athriticky cat whose hunting technique involves meowing loudly probably is better out of the gene pool).
And here is the end result (and Tabasco's opinion so far in the vid). Excuse the garden rubbish, I'm still cleaning up.
Because I don't like the idea of completely indoor cats (plus the orange cat would probably have a meltdown if I tried to keep him in completely), I decided to get a cat enclosure.
So I did some research and weighed some options. There's a couple of companies that do cat enclosures around (or if you're handier than me you could probably build one yourself). I however, went with the expert version. A process which has involved me completely digging out my garden beds, experimenting with bodgy paving and doing a fair bit of prep work.
Today, Dale from Catnip came to install the cat palace. Catnip do wire enclosures (there are other companies that do netting type things but I don't really have anything to enclose with netting. The good thing about Catnip, is the enclosures can be disassembled and move with me and they can also be extended later on down the track.
This way, the orange cat (and the fuzzy kitten when he arrives) will get fresh air and sunshine (and grass to nibble on once I plant some in pots) plus they can be up high (which the orange cat hasn't been able to do for a few years due to his arthritic knees). I'm sure there will be a bit of an adjustment on his part, and the cunning plan is to occasionally let him go out if he wants while keeping the fuzz ball in but it's safer for both of the and the pigeon and sparrow population will be safe (though as I've said before, any bird that gets caught by an old athriticky cat whose hunting technique involves meowing loudly probably is better out of the gene pool).
And here is the end result (and Tabasco's opinion so far in the vid). Excuse the garden rubbish, I'm still cleaning up.
November 22, 2010
Numbers
I think the year has officially reached the completely-crazy-lead-up-to-christmas part where the to-do list and social things and the year's goals and a thousand other things start to form a hectic sort of tangle to conquer before it's time for time off.
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
At this time of year, my virgo brains starts making list and calculations and numbers. Right now it goes something like:
1 revision due in 2-4 weeks
9 sleeps until U2 concert
1 election to vote in
2 parental birthdays in the next 10 days
1 orange cat to convince that 5am isn't breakfast time and sleeping all night is good
20 sleeps until the Bon Jovi concert
7 months til my next book is due
34 sleeps until Christmas
At least 3 big day job projects to finish
1 spinning class left
6 or so Christmas functions
1 complete nanowrimo fail
36 sleeps until Kitten day
And the list goes on. I'm looking forward to a well earned post Christmas collapse! Until then, caffeine is my friend!
Anyone else eyeing the silly season to-do mountain with a mix of anticipation and trepidation?
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
At this time of year, my virgo brains starts making list and calculations and numbers. Right now it goes something like:
1 revision due in 2-4 weeks
9 sleeps until U2 concert
1 election to vote in
2 parental birthdays in the next 10 days
1 orange cat to convince that 5am isn't breakfast time and sleeping all night is good
20 sleeps until the Bon Jovi concert
7 months til my next book is due
34 sleeps until Christmas
At least 3 big day job projects to finish
1 spinning class left
6 or so Christmas functions
1 complete nanowrimo fail
36 sleeps until Kitten day
And the list goes on. I'm looking forward to a well earned post Christmas collapse! Until then, caffeine is my friend!
Anyone else eyeing the silly season to-do mountain with a mix of anticipation and trepidation?
November 12, 2010
Princesses
I watched The Young Victoria last night, which is something I've wanted to see for ages and really, I have no idea why I didn't get to it when it was in cinemas. I really enjoyed it even though it's bittersweet to think Prince Albert died fairly young and Victoria went on for 40 odd years without him.
I'm always intrigued by royalty. Being a princess ain't all it's cracked up to be. Sure you get gorgeous frocks and some spanking great jewels but there's a lot of politics and control and duty and what has to be a strange private life to go with it. Power and obligation vs the personal turns up in my writing a bit. In one of Barbara O'Neal's writing courses, we had to figure out our favourite fairy tale and mine was Cinderella (much as I fought that discovery for a while). Now, I think the appeal of Cinderella for me is the "finding the place where you belong and are appreciated" theme rather than the "be rescued by a prince" theme but it's undeniably a royalty/princess story, if somewhat from the other side and stopping before she has to deal with being a princess.
I've never actually written a princess (not many princesses in urban fantasy) but I have some ideas that might be close to princesses. We shall see. At the moment I have to focus back on my messed up assassin girl. She's definitely not a princess and would stab you if you tried to make her one!
So who likes royalty? Or who has a favourite fairy tale?
I'm always intrigued by royalty. Being a princess ain't all it's cracked up to be. Sure you get gorgeous frocks and some spanking great jewels but there's a lot of politics and control and duty and what has to be a strange private life to go with it. Power and obligation vs the personal turns up in my writing a bit. In one of Barbara O'Neal's writing courses, we had to figure out our favourite fairy tale and mine was Cinderella (much as I fought that discovery for a while). Now, I think the appeal of Cinderella for me is the "finding the place where you belong and are appreciated" theme rather than the "be rescued by a prince" theme but it's undeniably a royalty/princess story, if somewhat from the other side and stopping before she has to deal with being a princess.
I've never actually written a princess (not many princesses in urban fantasy) but I have some ideas that might be close to princesses. We shall see. At the moment I have to focus back on my messed up assassin girl. She's definitely not a princess and would stab you if you tried to make her one!
So who likes royalty? Or who has a favourite fairy tale?
