Gillian Polack's Blog, page 174
July 2, 2012
gillpolack @ 2012-07-02T23:44:00
I have a list for tomorrow,for I keep forgetting things. If I can finish the fourteen things on that list (fourteen - a doddle!) then the rest of the week will be a breeze. In fact, those fourteen things are all that lie between me and a normal workload at this point. I don't know how this has happened, but happened it has.
A normal workload? Finances? My life is changing into something unrecognisable.
A normal workload? Finances? My life is changing into something unrecognisable.
July 1, 2012
gillpolack @ 2012-07-02T16:06:00
I bought chestnuts to roast (it being winter) and forgot about them and they dried out and looked very sad and felt very papery. So I boiled them. Afternoon tea today is rather scrumptious.
I finally feel as if I'm making progress with various papers and articles. For weeks no matter how much work I did, nothing was crossed off lists. Today I got to cross two things off lists and to give a daruma a black eye. Each time I release a book, I complete a daruma. Each time I complete a daruma I miss my Japanese friends and either cook much Japanese food or sing many children's songs. Today it's children's songs. Tooryanse...
And I just realised that my chestnuts are missing a cup of tea. How can I eat boiled chestnuts without a cup of good, strong tea? Then I must write my last 2000 words and cross them off my list and I am in a happy place. Except I'm in a happy place already. Chestnuts and tea and memories of fine friends.
I finally feel as if I'm making progress with various papers and articles. For weeks no matter how much work I did, nothing was crossed off lists. Today I got to cross two things off lists and to give a daruma a black eye. Each time I release a book, I complete a daruma. Each time I complete a daruma I miss my Japanese friends and either cook much Japanese food or sing many children's songs. Today it's children's songs. Tooryanse...
And I just realised that my chestnuts are missing a cup of tea. How can I eat boiled chestnuts without a cup of good, strong tea? Then I must write my last 2000 words and cross them off my list and I am in a happy place. Except I'm in a happy place already. Chestnuts and tea and memories of fine friends.
gillpolack @ 2012-07-02T11:31:00
My Monday morning is a bit exciting. I keep appearing places (like the NSW Writers' Centre newsletter, for I will be teaching there in a bare few weeks http://www.nswwc.org.au/products-page/editing/grammar-basics-and-the-perils-of-punctuation/ - the newsletter has the new cover and the website the old, which just shows the changes a month can bring) and I shall soon appear in more places. What's more, my computer is working almost properly.
On Sunday I'm part of a Write--a-Book-in-a-Day team,raising money for paediatrics at the local hospital. More details here: http://csfg.wordpress.com/what-we-do/write-a-book-in-a-day-contest/ The other team members are:
Mitchell Akhurst
Lisa Fuller
Ross Hamilton
Ian McHugh
Nicole Murphy
Shauna O’Meara
Rob Porteous
Cat Sheely
Jane Virgo
We will be sensible and serious throughout the whole process. Maybe. And we will write a good book. That's most definite. My role (apart from writing) is Supplier of Butchers' Paper.
I had other news, but none of it is as urgent as the hot buttered crumpets that await me for lunch.
On Sunday I'm part of a Write--a-Book-in-a-Day team,raising money for paediatrics at the local hospital. More details here: http://csfg.wordpress.com/what-we-do/write-a-book-in-a-day-contest/ The other team members are:
Mitchell Akhurst
Lisa Fuller
Ross Hamilton
Ian McHugh
Nicole Murphy
Shauna O’Meara
Rob Porteous
Cat Sheely
Jane Virgo
We will be sensible and serious throughout the whole process. Maybe. And we will write a good book. That's most definite. My role (apart from writing) is Supplier of Butchers' Paper.
I had other news, but none of it is as urgent as the hot buttered crumpets that await me for lunch.
June 30, 2012
Ms Cellophane
I need to celebrate! I need to celebrate in a Gillianish way.
What I've decided is to give a bag that Elizabeth-my-character might carry (on a bad day) full of goodies (including bookplates and the first edition of the book) to the person who produces the most delightful photo of Ms Cellophane in her new incarnation. The photo might be daft. It might be mad. It might be bad. It might be dangerous. It might be Byronic. It might feature tourist places, or chocolate. The ebook might be on a netbook, or an e-reader or a mobile phone or something else entirely.
Send your photos to me at Gillian(dot)Polack(at)anu(dot)edu(dot)au by 1 August. This gives you, your best friends and your worst enemies time to get hold of Ms Cellophane and be wildly creative.
PS My publisher has expressed a fond wish that at least some of the photos be NSFW. My publisher has also expressed an interest in possibly posting the most interesting photo on the Momentum website. My favourite photos, will be shrunk to size and be put either on Facebook or on my website.
What I've decided is to give a bag that Elizabeth-my-character might carry (on a bad day) full of goodies (including bookplates and the first edition of the book) to the person who produces the most delightful photo of Ms Cellophane in her new incarnation. The photo might be daft. It might be mad. It might be bad. It might be dangerous. It might be Byronic. It might feature tourist places, or chocolate. The ebook might be on a netbook, or an e-reader or a mobile phone or something else entirely.
Send your photos to me at Gillian(dot)Polack(at)anu(dot)edu(dot)au by 1 August. This gives you, your best friends and your worst enemies time to get hold of Ms Cellophane and be wildly creative.
PS My publisher has expressed a fond wish that at least some of the photos be NSFW. My publisher has also expressed an interest in possibly posting the most interesting photo on the Momentum website. My favourite photos, will be shrunk to size and be put either on Facebook or on my website.
gillpolack @ 2012-07-01T09:39:00
My computer is being a total pain today. Once programs are up and running they mostly work (except that emails don't seem to want to send) but it takes forever to get them up and running. It's an old computer and it's reaching (or maybe is past) its capacity. That malware was probably the last straw.
Well, I hadn't had a crisis in days, so obviously this is my new one. I can finish some work this morning, but obviously will have to wait for tonight and transfer it all to my netbook to send.
This isn't a *bad* year, but it's certainly a challenging one!!
I'll post my Cellophane celebration later, for I've run out of time right now, since it took me an hour and a half to check my email and get to this page.
Well, I hadn't had a crisis in days, so obviously this is my new one. I can finish some work this morning, but obviously will have to wait for tonight and transfer it all to my netbook to send.
This isn't a *bad* year, but it's certainly a challenging one!!
I'll post my Cellophane celebration later, for I've run out of time right now, since it took me an hour and a half to check my email and get to this page.
gillpolack @ 2012-06-30T17:30:00
I have such a good supervisor. He's already returned me comments on the Introduction and Chapter One and he's pinpointed the exact problems and, what's more, I agree with him.
I'm worried about the loss of the literature review, except that the literature review was not a good literature review and didn't help the dissertation along at all, and the vast bulk of the literature is covered in the main dissertation (because that's how I write, in any case), so if I move the last little bits into the main dissertation, then all the literature is covered, just not the way I expected. It's only a few hours work to remedy the situation, what's more. And it will all make sense. And then we both pull the whole thing to bits again, just to make sure it continues to make sense.
I have a couple of weeks before that happens, however, for there is more than a few hours work to do on other aspects. Still, all going well, by the end of July the bulk of the dissertation will be done. Since Wednesday is my last teaching day before two weeks off, I even have time to do it.
As I keep saying, all I have to do is get through until Monday (or maybe Wednesday) and my life will be back to normal levels of work.
Today is not so good (except my computer has now another set of backups - thanks Griff!) and tomorrow morning won't be much better, but after that, life will improve.
My treat to get me through the interesting 24 hours is Haven, season 2. Now I'm over the worst of the virus, I no longer need to spend half my waking life in bed, feeling sorry for myself, so I can do the special treat thing. I do a chunk of work and then watch for a bit and do my exercises and then do another chunk of work. Eventually, I'll run out of urgent chunks of work and be up to the less-urgent and, one day, I shall run out of work. I've never run out of work yet, but one never knows.
I'm worried about the loss of the literature review, except that the literature review was not a good literature review and didn't help the dissertation along at all, and the vast bulk of the literature is covered in the main dissertation (because that's how I write, in any case), so if I move the last little bits into the main dissertation, then all the literature is covered, just not the way I expected. It's only a few hours work to remedy the situation, what's more. And it will all make sense. And then we both pull the whole thing to bits again, just to make sure it continues to make sense.
I have a couple of weeks before that happens, however, for there is more than a few hours work to do on other aspects. Still, all going well, by the end of July the bulk of the dissertation will be done. Since Wednesday is my last teaching day before two weeks off, I even have time to do it.
As I keep saying, all I have to do is get through until Monday (or maybe Wednesday) and my life will be back to normal levels of work.
Today is not so good (except my computer has now another set of backups - thanks Griff!) and tomorrow morning won't be much better, but after that, life will improve.
My treat to get me through the interesting 24 hours is Haven, season 2. Now I'm over the worst of the virus, I no longer need to spend half my waking life in bed, feeling sorry for myself, so I can do the special treat thing. I do a chunk of work and then watch for a bit and do my exercises and then do another chunk of work. Eventually, I'll run out of urgent chunks of work and be up to the less-urgent and, one day, I shall run out of work. I've never run out of work yet, but one never knows.
June 29, 2012
gillpolack @ 2012-06-30T10:49:00
This morning is all about small errands. I've washed dishes and put rubbish out and swept floor and now I have an hour and a half of doing small work-tasks, to clear the deck for another day of bigger stuff. (No dancing for me tonight, though not for the reason I thought - the virus isn't quite gone and dancing is not going to be possible. This is Gillian-timing demonstrating its amazingness.)
One of the tasks ahead of me this weekend is to finish with a half dozen books and to take notes and then put them away.
The publisher told me about the book I'm currently halfway through that, "This is different from anything the author has done." It isn't. It's a lovely book, but it follows a similar path to previous works. I'd still have bought it, for I love the author's work (it's one of my "I have scholarship - must spend the money on small press books" volumes - not that the scholarship has come through yet), but I am a bit disappointed not to find that change in direction. I could have written about that change in direction.
I never know, when publishers and editors tell me things like this whether it's their personal investment that makes them see the books or stories as very different (for it happens quite a lot) or if it's that they haven't read enough of the author's previous work to know. I'm hoping it's not the latter. Anyhow, when I say "My stuff is a little different," the same type of editor says, "It can't be" and then returns it with an "It is - and not quite enough mainstream for us. Why didn't you tell me?" This is why I'm really relieved when an editor who says, "This book is different" is not actually interested in seeing my work. There's an honesty there. Also, it means that maybe s/he sees their author's work as different because they don't know just how far different can extend. My stuff isn't difficult, but it's hard to classify.
Three reasons instead of two. Which, using Gillian-logic, means I can demolish three books before lunchtime and clear the decks for finishing the stuff of yesterday, this afternoon and maybe, just maybe, do even more catch-up this evening.
Tomorrow is not catch-up day. Tomorrow is all about celebrating Cellophane. Kindle-owners can already pre-order my book from Amazon, after all. (I have the link because Mum wanted it, last night. She'd never pre-ordered an e-book and she was wildly excited: http://www.amazon.com/Ms-Cellophane-ebook/dp/B008BSOOQY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340969233&sr=8-1&keywords=ms+cellophane )
One of the tasks ahead of me this weekend is to finish with a half dozen books and to take notes and then put them away.
The publisher told me about the book I'm currently halfway through that, "This is different from anything the author has done." It isn't. It's a lovely book, but it follows a similar path to previous works. I'd still have bought it, for I love the author's work (it's one of my "I have scholarship - must spend the money on small press books" volumes - not that the scholarship has come through yet), but I am a bit disappointed not to find that change in direction. I could have written about that change in direction.
I never know, when publishers and editors tell me things like this whether it's their personal investment that makes them see the books or stories as very different (for it happens quite a lot) or if it's that they haven't read enough of the author's previous work to know. I'm hoping it's not the latter. Anyhow, when I say "My stuff is a little different," the same type of editor says, "It can't be" and then returns it with an "It is - and not quite enough mainstream for us. Why didn't you tell me?" This is why I'm really relieved when an editor who says, "This book is different" is not actually interested in seeing my work. There's an honesty there. Also, it means that maybe s/he sees their author's work as different because they don't know just how far different can extend. My stuff isn't difficult, but it's hard to classify.
Three reasons instead of two. Which, using Gillian-logic, means I can demolish three books before lunchtime and clear the decks for finishing the stuff of yesterday, this afternoon and maybe, just maybe, do even more catch-up this evening.
Tomorrow is not catch-up day. Tomorrow is all about celebrating Cellophane. Kindle-owners can already pre-order my book from Amazon, after all. (I have the link because Mum wanted it, last night. She'd never pre-ordered an e-book and she was wildly excited: http://www.amazon.com/Ms-Cellophane-ebook/dp/B008BSOOQY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340969233&sr=8-1&keywords=ms+cellophane )
gillpolack @ 2012-06-29T22:54:00
I've caught up with 40 emails and a ton of small things. They don't help with any of my deadlines, but they make me feel better for I have now given cheek to friends. Once I had done that, I remembered that things that need doing are mostly for Ms Cellophane. I have promised blogposts, some fascinating and some merely daft, and, of course, there is the competition. The competition is merely daft, of course, but should be fun.
What I shall do is finish some more small things (since obviously my mind is pretending to have a logjam and won't think until they're done) and then have an early night and start anew. Or finish the references for the article then start anew. Or both.
I'm not over the virus yet, but I'm past the absolute worst and at the stage where I can pretend to be half-normal. I only really need half-normality to operate. This is the great advantage of chronic illness. If most days are like working with flu, then when one has flu, one can work, mostly.
What I shall do is finish some more small things (since obviously my mind is pretending to have a logjam and won't think until they're done) and then have an early night and start anew. Or finish the references for the article then start anew. Or both.
I'm not over the virus yet, but I'm past the absolute worst and at the stage where I can pretend to be half-normal. I only really need half-normality to operate. This is the great advantage of chronic illness. If most days are like working with flu, then when one has flu, one can work, mostly.
gillpolack @ 2012-06-29T22:36:00
I think the worst of my chapter and the worst of my virus are both over. I shall take a bit of a rest and get back to the chapter in the morning. I can't remember any of the other things I had to do! I'll get back to that in the morning, too. And sometime in the next 24 hours I'll catch up with email and comments. So there!!
June 28, 2012
gillpolack @ 2012-06-29T15:34:00
I've done half my urgentworkfortheday (the closer I get to deadline the more rushed my voice sounds - I'm not actually moving nay faster though) and all my messages. I have crumpets for Sunday afternoon, since chocolates were not enough if the day is cold and wet. Crumpets and hot drinks and chocolates and that mirror, amidst all the food, possibly leering (although this mirror doesn't leer - it just inspires me to write about mirrors that do).
I can't remember what all my deadlines are except for the big one. This is a bad sign. I've done my messages, though. I shall not starve, and nor will my friends. Although I forgot to eat lunch. I'm forgetting lots of things today. Possibly it means that the end is near, or that tomorrow will have an extra second or.... that I need a cuppa and a bit of a rest before I go back to the fiddly stuff that is footnotes and House style.
I can't remember what all my deadlines are except for the big one. This is a bad sign. I've done my messages, though. I shall not starve, and nor will my friends. Although I forgot to eat lunch. I'm forgetting lots of things today. Possibly it means that the end is near, or that tomorrow will have an extra second or.... that I need a cuppa and a bit of a rest before I go back to the fiddly stuff that is footnotes and House style.
