personal

Ye olde book trade

It was a long day at work, toiling away on a project I’m not at all familiar with, doing the sort of work I actually haven’t done in a couple of years (back when I was an editorial assistant) with a bunch of new procedures with which I’m not at all familiar. It was the new procedures and unfamiliarity with the manuscript that made it tough going; the meat and potatoes of the work itself, while still really time-consuming, was like falling off a log.

In that it hurts a whole heck of a lot and is embarrassing when people see you slip.

It promises to be more of the same for most of the week. At least I know I have something to fill the days.

Weekend’s end

I spent all of yesterday in Maryland to celebrate my sister’s birthday. Like last year, we met up for lunch in Towson, and then she and my mother went off to shop, while my father, brother-in-law, and I drove over to the Maryland Historical Society, which turned out to actually be a quite interesting museum. Then we met up for dinner at a tapas place in Baltimore, where I had some of the tastiest duck I’ve ever eaten.

This morning we drove home, and along the way I finished reading He Died With His Eyes Open by Derek Raymond. There are some good things to say about the book…although maybe more about the person who bought it for me as a gift. Ultimately, the bleak and grimy poetry of some of the noirish writing aside, the book was a disappointment.

I’d probably say the same for Red Dwarf: Back to Earth, although that, obviously, was a disappointment of a different kind. Now that I’m all caught up on the show — minus, of course, the new series being filmed now — I have to say, my favorite remain the earlier episodes. Somewhere around series 5, the show took a turn. Maybe it was the loss of Holly, maybe it was the new filming process. It rallied a little in the series just before BtE — shooting again before a live-studio audience — but my common complaint watching later episodes was: more money, less funny.

This is what I’m doing instead of watching the Super Bowl, mind you.

Fried day

Yet another meeting this morning, one that promised a not particularly fun time of it next week. But for now, it’s the weekend, and I’m focusing only on that.

Weekends are good. There ought to be more of them.

Seeing shadows

The weather was a little colder today — naturally on a day when I finally wore a lighter coat — but it was still remarkably unlike today last year. I remembered watching Groundhog Day last Groundhog Day — and remember when that was just a funny movie, not some weird cultural touchstone everyone had to reference? — but I was a little surprised to re-discover that I’d stayed home because of an ice storm. Last winter was actually kind of ridiculous, but it’s still amazing, a year later, to see that I wrote things like “I’m really kind of sick of snow at this point” — considering that we’ve had practically none this year.

One thing I have had plenty of this year — and how’s that for a segue? — is meetings. Today was no exception, with a morning meeting and then afternoon lunch (free pizza!), where we were encouraged to mingle with our co-workers.

I don’t think I have any meetings planned for tomorrow, but I also don’t have any ice storms planned to save me from them should one occur.

Wednesday, right?

Somehow I managed to avoid having any meetings today. This clearly will not stand.

Meanwhile, it’s almost eleven o’clock at night, I just took the dog outside in short sleeves (me, not him), and I wasn’t even particularly uncomfortable or cold. Tomorrow, though, I’ll likely take a jacket other than my winter coat — a recent purchase, surprisingly comfortable, though much too warm in 60-degree weather — only to be faced with an unexpected blizzard. It’s just been that kind of winter.