Archive for April 2009
"Editor Sherri" has a nice ring to it
As seems to be the pattern this season, storms came at bedtime and raged while we slept. Couldn't have been too bad, because the kids slept all the way through, except for one bad dream, unrelated to the storm. I'd packed the "tornado bag" and put it in the cellar, then had to go out first thing this morning and get it because Little Bubba had put his school shoes in it. As long as I have the tornado bag packed, I expect everything to be okay. A twister will only hit us if we're not prepared, because that's the way life goes.
Gosh, it's hard to believe how long I've been letting the blog sit unchecked. Checking stats is unnecessary because they're always the same. Hits: 30-60. Top searches: fatherless; boost wi-fi; ass. Lots of spam typed in Cyrillic and Hebrew. Blah, blah, blah.
I guess since it's been a while since my last post I haven't mentioned the newest development in my life: I've applied for a job as an editor with a small e-publisher. The pub is Eternal Press, the ones who publish my friend Tabitha Shay (mentioned in this post, which still gets a lot of perv search hits, even after I cut the Vanessa Hutchens link). I feel really good about this editing direction, and a small-but-established publisher like Eternal Press would be a great place to learn about the job.
So far I've been asked to write a letter of intent and take a test. I learned this morning that I did well and can move on to the next stage, which is editing a sample chapter. If I do that well enough, we'll move on to a full-length work.
I won't make much money with this gig; editors get royalties just like the authors, so it'll be a while before I see any money at all, though it will accrue over time and projects. The time required is very reasonable, so even if I got a real job I could continue editing. I'm looking at this as an education. A broadening of my horizons. A way to put my talents to use.
Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Gosh, it's hard to believe how long I've been letting the blog sit unchecked. Checking stats is unnecessary because they're always the same. Hits: 30-60. Top searches: fatherless; boost wi-fi; ass. Lots of spam typed in Cyrillic and Hebrew. Blah, blah, blah.
I guess since it's been a while since my last post I haven't mentioned the newest development in my life: I've applied for a job as an editor with a small e-publisher. The pub is Eternal Press, the ones who publish my friend Tabitha Shay (mentioned in this post, which still gets a lot of perv search hits, even after I cut the Vanessa Hutchens link). I feel really good about this editing direction, and a small-but-established publisher like Eternal Press would be a great place to learn about the job.
So far I've been asked to write a letter of intent and take a test. I learned this morning that I did well and can move on to the next stage, which is editing a sample chapter. If I do that well enough, we'll move on to a full-length work.
I won't make much money with this gig; editors get royalties just like the authors, so it'll be a while before I see any money at all, though it will accrue over time and projects. The time required is very reasonable, so even if I got a real job I could continue editing. I'm looking at this as an education. A broadening of my horizons. A way to put my talents to use.
Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Hello again
I've been off line for a while, battling the annual ant invasion and healing my hand and planting a garden. By the time I get done with the fence-building and tilling and wheel barrow assembly, my hand is too tired to type. Thank goodness we got everything finished just before the current stretch of rough weather. My muscles are sore, but glad for the exercise; my hand is not glad at all.
Reminderfox has been the godsend I'd hoped, but it only runs in the Firefox browser, which means you IE and Safari peeps are out of luck. It pops up reminders for upcoming events every two hours; so far I have only bills on there, but I will add birthdays as I go.
I am in the midst of a major life change, but not sure what it is; like ta'veren Mat Cauthon in the Wheel of Time books I can hear the dice tumble in my head, telling me the Wheel weaves around me but not the nature of the weave. When the dice come to rest I will know. Probably a mid-life crisis, which I prefer to call a mid-life awakening. It's only a crisis for the people who can't (or won't) accomodate your growth.
Some brief points:
Reminderfox has been the godsend I'd hoped, but it only runs in the Firefox browser, which means you IE and Safari peeps are out of luck. It pops up reminders for upcoming events every two hours; so far I have only bills on there, but I will add birthdays as I go.
I am in the midst of a major life change, but not sure what it is; like ta'veren Mat Cauthon in the Wheel of Time books I can hear the dice tumble in my head, telling me the Wheel weaves around me but not the nature of the weave. When the dice come to rest I will know. Probably a mid-life crisis, which I prefer to call a mid-life awakening. It's only a crisis for the people who can't (or won't) accomodate your growth.
Some brief points:
- coffee is as enjoyable as ever
- got three strawberries out of the garden yesterday...before the fence went up I found the first ripe strawberries nibbled, still on the plant
- a stray cat has started hanging around...it's nice having him here
- lately I prefer analog life to digital life; still keeping tabs on you, just lurking
- feel like I'm missing someone, but don't know who that would be
- wondering if the average person has a life purpose, or if that is reserved for the really special people
Friday, April 17, 2009
Posted by Sherri Cornelius
Water bill? What water bill?
Kreestee pointed out yesterday that I was a little over 1,000 hits away from 30k, and today I see I'm a little under a thousand away. What should I do to to celebrate that auspicious occasion? If a contest were the event, what would be the prize? Any interest in a kiriban? A giveaway? A signed picture (snicker)? I have at least a week, probably two, to come up with something.
Yesterday the city turned off the water yet again. They're always working on the lines without any notice. Sometimes the water will be off all day, but usually it's back on in time to cook dinner. It occurred to me maybe I didn't pay the bill, but no, I remembered standing at the city hall counter, the week before, writing the check. Once DH got home we bitched about the water always going off, and why wasn't it back on yet.
After we scrambled to get dinner, wondering the whole time what was going on with the city that would take so long, DH looked away from American Idol and said, "You went down there last week to make arrangements to pay Monday. Did you pay it?" Oh yeah. The thing I remembered signing down at City Hall wasn't a check but an IOU. Oopsie. I was there when they opened the door this morning at 8 a.m. and paid the entire amount, including this month's bill and the reconnect fee. Gah!
The dumbest thing is how many times I forgot about this stupid bill. I got it, put it in the bill place, and forgot about it. When I remembered, I wrote the check and put it aside so DH could drop it on his way to work the next day, but the check disappeared. I thought he'd taken it and he didn't know he was supposed to. Then we got a cut-off notice, so I went down there to make payment arrangements after pay-day, THEN DIDN'T PAY!
So after I got past my shame and embarrassment I started looking for easy and free bill tracking options, because if I'm honest I have to say I forget to pay certain bills all the time. Cable and water are the two most frequent. Don't know why. I used to be a bill-paying powerhouse, but the past year or two I've definitely fallen off. The first step is admitting you have a problem.
And what was that I heard just now? A bubbling sound? And there's a City truck, leaving my yard. Yay! Water!!! God, I have a lot of dishes to do...
Yesterday the city turned off the water yet again. They're always working on the lines without any notice. Sometimes the water will be off all day, but usually it's back on in time to cook dinner. It occurred to me maybe I didn't pay the bill, but no, I remembered standing at the city hall counter, the week before, writing the check. Once DH got home we bitched about the water always going off, and why wasn't it back on yet.
After we scrambled to get dinner, wondering the whole time what was going on with the city that would take so long, DH looked away from American Idol and said, "You went down there last week to make arrangements to pay Monday. Did you pay it?" Oh yeah. The thing I remembered signing down at City Hall wasn't a check but an IOU. Oopsie. I was there when they opened the door this morning at 8 a.m. and paid the entire amount, including this month's bill and the reconnect fee. Gah!
The dumbest thing is how many times I forgot about this stupid bill. I got it, put it in the bill place, and forgot about it. When I remembered, I wrote the check and put it aside so DH could drop it on his way to work the next day, but the check disappeared. I thought he'd taken it and he didn't know he was supposed to. Then we got a cut-off notice, so I went down there to make payment arrangements after pay-day, THEN DIDN'T PAY!
So after I got past my shame and embarrassment I started looking for easy and free bill tracking options, because if I'm honest I have to say I forget to pay certain bills all the time. Cable and water are the two most frequent. Don't know why. I used to be a bill-paying powerhouse, but the past year or two I've definitely fallen off. The first step is admitting you have a problem.
And what was that I heard just now? A bubbling sound? And there's a City truck, leaving my yard. Yay! Water!!! God, I have a lot of dishes to do...
I feel a shift coming on
Random thought: does anybody else have a crush on the "FreeCreditReport.com" commercial guys?
The 1 hand + 1 finger typing is getting easier. I miss being able to watch the screen while I'm typing because watching the keyboard reminds me I'm putting my thought down, rather than just watching them flow onto the screen automatically. It's distracting. Plus my hand gets tired easily. It seems to have reached a healing plateau, maybe because I started using it before it was ready. I think now that I did crack a bone, maybe two so I'm keeping it braced. Forcing myself to give it the time it needs, no matter how cranky DH gets for having to do the things I normally do, like cantaloupe chopping and opening jars and doing dishes. Actually, he's been pretty good about it, and the kids have, too. they've been doing most of the dishes, so I bought Abby a pretty pink sponge to fit her small hands.
It's only partly because of the hand that I haven't been online much. I'm having one of those shifts in consciousness that comes every so often where I reassess my interests. The kids are old enough, the marriage is stable enough, and I have no worries at the moment. Oh, I have plenty of things I could worry about, like having no health insurance, but I'm tired of worrying about those things. I've got it pretty good here in my little corner of the world. Maybe it's the bad economic stories I keep seeing on the news, or maybe it's because I have a decent car, but for some reason I don't feel as poor as I did a couple of months ago. It's a nice feeling.
Ready to find a way to make some money, get in shape, make a difference in other people's lives. I'd like to do all those things in one activity. I'm trying not to worry about the financial aspect, instead trusting that enough money will be there if I find my calling. So what do I enjoy doing? Where do my natural talents lie? What are my limitations? Those are important questions I need to answer, and I may explore that in the next post.
The 1 hand + 1 finger typing is getting easier. I miss being able to watch the screen while I'm typing because watching the keyboard reminds me I'm putting my thought down, rather than just watching them flow onto the screen automatically. It's distracting. Plus my hand gets tired easily. It seems to have reached a healing plateau, maybe because I started using it before it was ready. I think now that I did crack a bone, maybe two so I'm keeping it braced. Forcing myself to give it the time it needs, no matter how cranky DH gets for having to do the things I normally do, like cantaloupe chopping and opening jars and doing dishes. Actually, he's been pretty good about it, and the kids have, too. they've been doing most of the dishes, so I bought Abby a pretty pink sponge to fit her small hands.
It's only partly because of the hand that I haven't been online much. I'm having one of those shifts in consciousness that comes every so often where I reassess my interests. The kids are old enough, the marriage is stable enough, and I have no worries at the moment. Oh, I have plenty of things I could worry about, like having no health insurance, but I'm tired of worrying about those things. I've got it pretty good here in my little corner of the world. Maybe it's the bad economic stories I keep seeing on the news, or maybe it's because I have a decent car, but for some reason I don't feel as poor as I did a couple of months ago. It's a nice feeling.
Ready to find a way to make some money, get in shape, make a difference in other people's lives. I'd like to do all those things in one activity. I'm trying not to worry about the financial aspect, instead trusting that enough money will be there if I find my calling. So what do I enjoy doing? Where do my natural talents lie? What are my limitations? Those are important questions I need to answer, and I may explore that in the next post.
Wordpress "nexting"
For those of you on Wordpress, you probably already know about that "next" button up there in the upper right corner. Well, my finger hurts again so I'm nexting through these blogs for entertainment, since I can't type well anyway. Here are some things I've noticed through my nexting.
The biggest thing I realized is that random nexting is practically useless for finding new reading material. Much better to use tags.
My finger hurts. Good-bye.
*note to self: find a filter to install on the family PC so the kids aren't accidentally exposed to porn.
- There are a lot of blogs about a lot of crap I don't care at all about. Being gay, real estate, knitting, Christianity...tip of the iceberg.
- There are a lot of blogs I can't read because they are in a foreign language.
- Teenagers are really pompous about their teenage status. Apparently they've been told teenagers are whiny, emotional, dumb, crazy, etc, and they seem proud of these labels. Are these no longer considered bad traits?
- There are a lot of whiny, emotional, dumb, crazy teenagers with blogs. (Not you, Z)
- There are a lot of businesses with free WP blogs.
- The modifications I've made to my template were a good idea. It looks pretty good compared to most free blogs, not as good as some.
- Clicking the mouse button with my index finger makes my middle finger hurt. switching...
- There are really a lot of people with decent writing skills who do not appear to be writers. Guess I'm not so special after all...
- Sometimes you click next and see naked people. *
The biggest thing I realized is that random nexting is practically useless for finding new reading material. Much better to use tags.
My finger hurts. Good-bye.
*note to self: find a filter to install on the family PC so the kids aren't accidentally exposed to porn.
Don't be playin' no pranks on me.
I'm in no mood.
Totally hung over from all the fragrance I inhaled yesterday on the field trip to the children's museum. I rode the bus to and from the museum, and that was by far the hardest part. All those parents with perfume and aftershave, and all those clothes washed in detergent with renewing scent beads or whatever they call them, and all those kids freshly washed with poison-er, I mean scented soap... I want to be supportive of my children, so I won't complain about it in front of them. They might wonder why Mommy needs to close her eyes all the time, or why she doesn't notice them talking to her, or why she can't sit with the other mommies, but damn it, I WILL be there for my kids. I just have to modify my there-ness. I'm physically present at school functions, but I may not be totally mentally there. Hopefully I can make up for that by being fully present at home. As I always say, at least I know what's causing it, thereby making it easier to reduce the impact.
Apparently Jenny McCarthy has a new book out about a link between environmental chemical exposure, like to mercury in fish and VOCs in carpet (and if anyone would like me to expand on those or provide links, just holla), and autism. She's paired with a doctor to write this book, so maybe it will be taken more seriously than if it was just Bulldog McCarthy on her own, with her crazy eyes and sharp tongue. If I felt better I'd do the linking and all that, but right now I'll just say I think there probably IS a link, and it makes me angry that scientists aren't really considering that as a possibility. As a person with a near-debilitating problem with environmental chemicals, it makes perfect sense to me. I think the research WILL eventually be done, and in 20 years it'll be, "Remember when we didn't understand the link between all those chemicals and illness? Ha ha ha, we were so naive back then. Good thing we know EVERYTHING now." (right).
Despite the fragrance, I was glad to have gone, and my daughter enjoyed having me there.
I dreamed about books and writing and publishing all night. I wish I could remember more than random details. Some of you know I've been going through some internal turmoil about my writing career (or lack thereof). You know how when you need to pee, trying to put it out of your mind just makes you need to pee worse? That's me.
You guys have a great April Fool's Day, hope all the pranks are harmless, and I'll see you on the flip side.
Totally hung over from all the fragrance I inhaled yesterday on the field trip to the children's museum. I rode the bus to and from the museum, and that was by far the hardest part. All those parents with perfume and aftershave, and all those clothes washed in detergent with renewing scent beads or whatever they call them, and all those kids freshly washed with poison-er, I mean scented soap... I want to be supportive of my children, so I won't complain about it in front of them. They might wonder why Mommy needs to close her eyes all the time, or why she doesn't notice them talking to her, or why she can't sit with the other mommies, but damn it, I WILL be there for my kids. I just have to modify my there-ness. I'm physically present at school functions, but I may not be totally mentally there. Hopefully I can make up for that by being fully present at home. As I always say, at least I know what's causing it, thereby making it easier to reduce the impact.
Apparently Jenny McCarthy has a new book out about a link between environmental chemical exposure, like to mercury in fish and VOCs in carpet (and if anyone would like me to expand on those or provide links, just holla), and autism. She's paired with a doctor to write this book, so maybe it will be taken more seriously than if it was just Bulldog McCarthy on her own, with her crazy eyes and sharp tongue. If I felt better I'd do the linking and all that, but right now I'll just say I think there probably IS a link, and it makes me angry that scientists aren't really considering that as a possibility. As a person with a near-debilitating problem with environmental chemicals, it makes perfect sense to me. I think the research WILL eventually be done, and in 20 years it'll be, "Remember when we didn't understand the link between all those chemicals and illness? Ha ha ha, we were so naive back then. Good thing we know EVERYTHING now." (right).
Despite the fragrance, I was glad to have gone, and my daughter enjoyed having me there.
I dreamed about books and writing and publishing all night. I wish I could remember more than random details. Some of you know I've been going through some internal turmoil about my writing career (or lack thereof). You know how when you need to pee, trying to put it out of your mind just makes you need to pee worse? That's me.
You guys have a great April Fool's Day, hope all the pranks are harmless, and I'll see you on the flip side.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Posted by Sherri Cornelius
