Gillian Polack's Blog, page 171
July 12, 2012
gillpolack @ 2012-07-13T09:05:00
I've started the day with a guest post on the other side of the world, and soon I shall be shopping. The guest post was because another friend had kindly let me celebrate my book on her blog. We talked about what might suit her and she really wanted the true (and somewhat spooky) origins of the mirror in Ms Cellophane. There are pictures...
gillpolack @ 2012-07-12T19:53:00
When I said I'm researching all Friday (in the last post) I'm doing what I did in France and England this time last year and working on my photo references for teaching and for my own world building. To this purpose, I shall be visiting the Maritime Museum and the rest of the day will be probably spent on Sydney Harbour. I need to go right up as far as Parramatta to see some rocks (I've already checked the tides, so this will be first thing in the morning) but the rest of it is not yet planned (apart from the Maritime Museum, obviously). The camera I used last time couldn't get the detail I need for teaching and for later reference, so I must spend another day on Sydney ferries. I know, sometimes my life is very drear...
I thought you might like a picture of the tedious trip I made last time - when I hadn't worked out where the tidal system operated and how it affected the ferries, which is why some portions are to be done again. Note, Chaz - this is not Newcastle.
I thought you might like a picture of the tedious trip I made last time - when I hadn't worked out where the tidal system operated and how it affected the ferries, which is why some portions are to be done again. Note, Chaz - this is not Newcastle.
Sydney 20 and 21 July
Most of my friends are full of winter and can't make decisions, so....
On the 20 July (the Friday) you can find me at a coffee shop until 7 pm (I am suggesting Coffee Trails, which is Shop 5, Lee Street because it's close to Central Station and it looks interesting). At 7 pm any of us who have accumulated will find food. It will all be done the old-fashioned way ie at 7 pm we look for a restaurant that has space and won't poison us - anyone late will have to find us. If someone has a mobile and wouldn't mind being contact point, that would be great, otherwise, we'll just have to hope that there are no stragglers and that we can find somewhere interesting. I may not be easy to contact the few days before this, because my life is full of meetings and deadlines, so I can't do what has been suggested and wait until Friday until people know their availability. I am researching all Friday and won't be contactable, anyhow. So, unless someone comes up with a better idea, I'll be at Coffee Trails until 7.
On the Saturday, things are easier. We have someone who's willing to book (yay for kind friends!). If you want to join us in Haberfield the Saturday night, email me or message me or phone me or something by Wednesday and I'll let G know numbers before I get out of contact range. I'll also give you the restaurant details (which I don't quite know yet - I think I do, but we just need to confirm).
If you know anyone who might want to join us, please pass this message on. I can't do much chasing, what with one thing and another. I would love to spend time with my Sydney friends and some of you have promised over and over that we'd catch up. Now's the time to redeem your promises!
On the 20 July (the Friday) you can find me at a coffee shop until 7 pm (I am suggesting Coffee Trails, which is Shop 5, Lee Street because it's close to Central Station and it looks interesting). At 7 pm any of us who have accumulated will find food. It will all be done the old-fashioned way ie at 7 pm we look for a restaurant that has space and won't poison us - anyone late will have to find us. If someone has a mobile and wouldn't mind being contact point, that would be great, otherwise, we'll just have to hope that there are no stragglers and that we can find somewhere interesting. I may not be easy to contact the few days before this, because my life is full of meetings and deadlines, so I can't do what has been suggested and wait until Friday until people know their availability. I am researching all Friday and won't be contactable, anyhow. So, unless someone comes up with a better idea, I'll be at Coffee Trails until 7.
On the Saturday, things are easier. We have someone who's willing to book (yay for kind friends!). If you want to join us in Haberfield the Saturday night, email me or message me or phone me or something by Wednesday and I'll let G know numbers before I get out of contact range. I'll also give you the restaurant details (which I don't quite know yet - I think I do, but we just need to confirm).
If you know anyone who might want to join us, please pass this message on. I can't do much chasing, what with one thing and another. I would love to spend time with my Sydney friends and some of you have promised over and over that we'd catch up. Now's the time to redeem your promises!
July 11, 2012
gillpolack @ 2012-07-12T14:43:00
The walk up the street was cold and wet and reminded me that it'll be a few more days before I'm sprightly. Still, I ran all my messages and one more, and I feel wildly empowered. Also wildly wet. Most of my clothes are drying over the heater.
gillpolack @ 2012-07-12T13:23:00
I'm full of minor successes. I can now put socks on again, for instance, and my zip-up half-boots, which means I can go outside without the chillblains I developed in my sock-free few days getting any bigger. I have mastered the art of turning into one of the creatures the fourth Doctor encountered on the Ark in Space by wrapping my hand up in different substances each day, in order to wash. If I had bubble wrap, I would do the thing properly and make the right noises to go with it. I have sorted my computer.
Time for that walk up the street!
Time for that walk up the street!
gillpolack @ 2012-07-12T11:48:00
I'm in danger of catching up with things. Oh no! How did this come about? Also, my finger itches more than it hurts.
I'm going to live daringly and undress it tomorrow and let it live without the support to which it's become accustomed. I'm also going to live daringly (for I can now put on my coat) and run some messages this afternoon. Mostly the library and getting more painkillers, for I seem to have diminished my supplies on both counts.
I still hurt and I'm still tired, though much less, and one day all my muscles will decide they belong to me and stop protesting that fact. The good thing is that it's only Thursday. No serious problems from the fall - just a lot of annoyances. I shall continue to sort them out, one at a time, until it's time for my next daft crisis.
I had a half crisis last night, when the computer didn't work, but that turned out to be one of those "I shall update your computer whether you like it or not and I shall change settings and not tell you you can't actually work on it while so doing" things. Microsoft at its best. I don't understand their occasional need to put updates above actual work by the person who owns the computer. The only thing I lost last night was an hour's work. It was annoying, however, for I had things to do and places to be online and it would have cut my today's work down by an hour. I would have lost more time still, but I got my netbook out and worked there until the moment when it' too, decided it needed the update. The netbook is less antiquated and dealt with the update in a far calmer fashion, taking 10 minutes to deal and not an hour and a half. During those ten minutes I went to a happy place (for I was sore and frustrated and it was after midnight) and watched ROD the TV. Nenene ranted on my behalf, so I got back to work.
I was so frustrated by everything that I woke up at an unholy hour, crept onto the computer and did some of the missed work. Only then was I able to sleep. This makes me suspect that the small events have made me a bit nervous. This is why the library trip this afternoon. And tomorrow morning I'm skipping work (I never skip morning work!) and go shopping with a friend. (I still can't carry much, and so her offer was much appreciated).
And now I'm wibbling, which possibly means a short rest before I tackle the thousand and one small jobs that are my duty of the day.
I'm going to live daringly and undress it tomorrow and let it live without the support to which it's become accustomed. I'm also going to live daringly (for I can now put on my coat) and run some messages this afternoon. Mostly the library and getting more painkillers, for I seem to have diminished my supplies on both counts.
I still hurt and I'm still tired, though much less, and one day all my muscles will decide they belong to me and stop protesting that fact. The good thing is that it's only Thursday. No serious problems from the fall - just a lot of annoyances. I shall continue to sort them out, one at a time, until it's time for my next daft crisis.
I had a half crisis last night, when the computer didn't work, but that turned out to be one of those "I shall update your computer whether you like it or not and I shall change settings and not tell you you can't actually work on it while so doing" things. Microsoft at its best. I don't understand their occasional need to put updates above actual work by the person who owns the computer. The only thing I lost last night was an hour's work. It was annoying, however, for I had things to do and places to be online and it would have cut my today's work down by an hour. I would have lost more time still, but I got my netbook out and worked there until the moment when it' too, decided it needed the update. The netbook is less antiquated and dealt with the update in a far calmer fashion, taking 10 minutes to deal and not an hour and a half. During those ten minutes I went to a happy place (for I was sore and frustrated and it was after midnight) and watched ROD the TV. Nenene ranted on my behalf, so I got back to work.
I was so frustrated by everything that I woke up at an unholy hour, crept onto the computer and did some of the missed work. Only then was I able to sleep. This makes me suspect that the small events have made me a bit nervous. This is why the library trip this afternoon. And tomorrow morning I'm skipping work (I never skip morning work!) and go shopping with a friend. (I still can't carry much, and so her offer was much appreciated).
And now I'm wibbling, which possibly means a short rest before I tackle the thousand and one small jobs that are my duty of the day.
July 10, 2012
Courses and workshops - nearly here!
It's time to remind you of where I'll be teaching during the second half of the year and when. Most of my teaching is quite early this semester, so that I can get my PhD in on time. Then I get a break to write and fill in forms, and then there's one final course...
I don't know what I'll be teaching next year, or where (since I don't know what I'm actually doing next year). This means for all you souls who keep telling me, "I've always wondered about this course," you might be wondering forever if you don't take action.
Now, in date order:
July 22 - NSW Writers' Centre, Rozelle, Grammar basics and the Perils of Punctuation, 1 day only
August 2 ANU Writing - a novel approach 8 Thursday evenings. This was very popular last semester, which is why it's up there again so soon. It only needs one more enrolment to go ahead.
August 7 ANU Medieval women 6 Tuesdays. This course is good for worldbuilding and character development as well as for those who simply love the Middle Ages. It's also a bit short on enrolments right now, so we're guaranteed a small class and being able to follow personal interests. I so want this one to happen because I will have all my new cool teaching materials for it (post-thief). Also, with all my work on the Beast this year, we should really be able to make the Middle Ages real *and* understandable (sometimes one is easier than the other).
1 September ACT Writers' Centre (Gorman House) History for Fiction Writers 1 day workshop - more about general skills than about a specific period, though this workshop has turned itself to specifics on occasion. This is my most-demanded workshop, with grammar and punctuation running second. People always leave it saying sadly, "So much work to do." this makes its popularity a mystery.
28 September, Conflux (Canberra) This is my last fling before those last weeks. It's a 2 hour workshop on History in your Fiction - basic, but grounding. Also fun.
November 1 ANU Writing your family's history My very last course for the year! 6 weeks long. By the time I teach this, my doctorate will be with the examiners, so I shall be in fine, fine fettle. This is another course students seem to like, which is why I chose it to finish the year.
And that's all for six whole months.
I don't know what I'll be teaching next year, or where (since I don't know what I'm actually doing next year). This means for all you souls who keep telling me, "I've always wondered about this course," you might be wondering forever if you don't take action.
Now, in date order:
July 22 - NSW Writers' Centre, Rozelle, Grammar basics and the Perils of Punctuation, 1 day only
August 2 ANU Writing - a novel approach 8 Thursday evenings. This was very popular last semester, which is why it's up there again so soon. It only needs one more enrolment to go ahead.
August 7 ANU Medieval women 6 Tuesdays. This course is good for worldbuilding and character development as well as for those who simply love the Middle Ages. It's also a bit short on enrolments right now, so we're guaranteed a small class and being able to follow personal interests. I so want this one to happen because I will have all my new cool teaching materials for it (post-thief). Also, with all my work on the Beast this year, we should really be able to make the Middle Ages real *and* understandable (sometimes one is easier than the other).
1 September ACT Writers' Centre (Gorman House) History for Fiction Writers 1 day workshop - more about general skills than about a specific period, though this workshop has turned itself to specifics on occasion. This is my most-demanded workshop, with grammar and punctuation running second. People always leave it saying sadly, "So much work to do." this makes its popularity a mystery.
28 September, Conflux (Canberra) This is my last fling before those last weeks. It's a 2 hour workshop on History in your Fiction - basic, but grounding. Also fun.
November 1 ANU Writing your family's history My very last course for the year! 6 weeks long. By the time I teach this, my doctorate will be with the examiners, so I shall be in fine, fine fettle. This is another course students seem to like, which is why I chose it to finish the year.
And that's all for six whole months.
gillpolack @ 2012-07-11T10:15:00
I am - as you know - celebrating my novel by saying 'yes' to guest posts. The estimable David MacDonald asked me if I would write on research and the post just wet up: http://www.davidmcdonaldspage.com/2012/07/wednesday-writers-gillian-polack/ I wrote this the week after the malware and this was the post I was writing when the keyboard was dying and I have just read it through and discovered that these things do show in my writing. Goodness knows what my writing this week looks like!
gillpolack @ 2012-07-10T23:59:00
My seven things to do today become ten and I've actually done seven of them. I'm only fine for a short while before the hand swells again, so I might have to leave it at seven. Or eight. If I can do just one more thing... This is not ambition. This is keeping my life (just) under control.
For those Sydney friends who missed hearing, I shall be sociable when I visit this time round (to teach on 22 July at the NSW Writers' Centre - book now or miss out on my grammar and punctuation edification and especially miss out on my Star Trek joke).
On the Friday there may well be a group of folks meeting somewhere in Haymarket (need suggestions of place and also, maybe, someone local who can book - Claire suggested Asian food and I have a strong preference for Malaysian or Indonesian) for dinner and on Saturday a group of us are congregating in Haberfield, also for dinner.
And now, do I hurt at my computer or do I hurt in bed? Such important questions. I can, of course, be greedy and do both, sequentially.
For those Sydney friends who missed hearing, I shall be sociable when I visit this time round (to teach on 22 July at the NSW Writers' Centre - book now or miss out on my grammar and punctuation edification and especially miss out on my Star Trek joke).
On the Friday there may well be a group of folks meeting somewhere in Haymarket (need suggestions of place and also, maybe, someone local who can book - Claire suggested Asian food and I have a strong preference for Malaysian or Indonesian) for dinner and on Saturday a group of us are congregating in Haberfield, also for dinner.
And now, do I hurt at my computer or do I hurt in bed? Such important questions. I can, of course, be greedy and do both, sequentially.
July 9, 2012
gillpolack @ 2012-07-10T15:08:00
I am procrastinating. I've cut my work down to only 7 more things today (for I hurt) and still, I procrastinate. I've managed to clean, disinfect and rebind my fingers (I had killer skills with this sort of thing as a teen, for I was a girl guide, and it seems those skills have returned) and to do a load of washing and to answer some emails. Also to get very, very excited about a new review book. And sleep. I'm managing sleep. But typing is slow and my brain is slower.
Let me procrastinate for a moment longer and remind you of where I've been online recently (not just for the new book), and then let me remind you of my fabulous competition. After that, I will have run out of excuses.
My snapshot interview is here: http://www.davidmcdonaldspage.com/2012/06/2012-aussie-snapshot-gillian-polack/
My Momentum blog post where I talk about chocolate (of course) and Sharyn's memory of the original draft novel.
CSFG kindly jubilates.
I drop in on Sue Bursztynski
and on Mary Victoria
Nicole Murphy interviewed me on writing habits and processes.
And Donna Hanson asks me about beta reading.
And, of course, the post about the competition is here: http://gillpolack.livejournal.com/1015248.html
Sorry about the lack of mark-up in some places. My bandaging skills are amazing, but my keyboard skills suffer as a result.
Let me procrastinate for a moment longer and remind you of where I've been online recently (not just for the new book), and then let me remind you of my fabulous competition. After that, I will have run out of excuses.
My snapshot interview is here: http://www.davidmcdonaldspage.com/2012/06/2012-aussie-snapshot-gillian-polack/
My Momentum blog post where I talk about chocolate (of course) and Sharyn's memory of the original draft novel.
CSFG kindly jubilates.
I drop in on Sue Bursztynski
and on Mary Victoria
Nicole Murphy interviewed me on writing habits and processes.
And Donna Hanson asks me about beta reading.
And, of course, the post about the competition is here: http://gillpolack.livejournal.com/1015248.html
Sorry about the lack of mark-up in some places. My bandaging skills are amazing, but my keyboard skills suffer as a result.
