Another Election Story

Once upon a time, a relative of mine ran for election.  (I am actually related to a few people who have now or in the past chosen political service. None of them share my last name, which amuses me because well, my last name makes people assume I am related to politicians.)  In a show of support, I took time off work and drove several states away to be there for whatever happened that election night.  

I caught up with family, we grabbed dinner, and then headed to the place designated for the campaign staff and volunteers to gather for the results.  I was basically there due sheer nepotism, having done nothing to support the campaign other than show up once everything was done. 

The race was close.  But around ten pm or so, to my best recollection, the local stations were willing to predict that at the current rate of returns, my relative was going to win.  Relative's opponent was less sure.  So, after about another hour, my relative spoke to those assembled to say that while there had been no official concession on the part of opponent, it looked like the campaign had been successful thanks to the work of those gathered and those who had voted.  

Shortly after that, once I had gotten close enough to give relative a hug, I decided I had a long car trip back and I was going to go to bed. 

Savvy readers might already suspect that the year I refer to is 2000.  That I had gone to bed while the presidential election was also undecided and assumed I would have the news when I woke up in the morning.  As it turns out I breakfasted and waved goodbye to family and returned myself to the DC area and still didn't know.  

I could show you charts of how many votes are normally counted on election day (not many, really, not even with electronic voting in the picture) but all of this is really to say the following.  There are many, many things about this year and this election that are very different.  Not knowing the real, true, full, elections results - if that is what happens, because I don't have a crystal ball - will not be.  

So my advice is this: vote, if you haven't already, and you can.  Rest.  Engage in self-care.  And remember that your brain sometimes tells you that watching results is good for you, but sometimes the sleep, the time watching a movie, and so on is just as useful, if not more.  You can set up someone who will text you when something actually happens.  Or await the news alerts.   

Newsletter - Part 2

Over on the newsletter, I've got part two of figuring out what to read and maybe how attending virtual book events can help.  

Edited to update link

StrengthsFest

I was supposed to be in Montana last week.  I've known Becca Syme for a while.  I loved her series in the RWR about unlocking the way that you work best and took both her Write Better Faster and Strengths for Writers Class.  So, when she announced a retreat last year, a retreat to learn and dive deep surrounded by other folks on the same journey, I was in.  I had a few friends I knew were going to be there, and discovered others there.  

Obviously with COVID 19 it went virtual.  There were some bumps, some rearrangements, but overall it was great.  I often suggest to folks who aren't sure if they want to take another personality test to take a look at a few of the Quitcast videos.  I think that they do a great job of using the Clifton strengths to help you figure out how to be your best you, rather than, oh yeah, you'll probably never like spreadsheets.  (For the record, I love spreadsheets.)  

It was four days of intense information and I am still processing it.  In my case, my strengths are super complimentary, which means I don't have one fighting the other.  But of course it means I can easily get carried away on a sea of happiness and learning fun, and leave my original goals behind.   

Let's Go Steal a Podcast - Boys Night Out

I was back on "Let's Go Steal a Podcast" to discuss the "Boys Night Out Job" episode, the companion episode to the "Girls Night Out Job" episode.  

2019 Reading Tally

This is now my thirteenth year of tracking reading data.  Links to all of the many evolving and various previous years here. 

Total read: 143*.  Not a bad year, but not the highest.  6 were novellas. 
The earliest was from 2008.  74 from 2019. 54 from 2018
I read 115 distinct authors, 68 of which were new to me.  The new to me category seems a little odd, when you factor in it includes Michelle Obama, but I had not previously read her, so that is how we are counting.  
Kris Ripper's Queers of La Vista series made them my most read author this year, at 5.  
June and July were banner months with 22 each.  (It helps to have a bunch started. And then have some travel.)  
33 audio books, 110 were ebooks.  45 library books, some of which I already owned in another format or purchased later. 
17 non-fiction, but romance remains my number one at 69 (heh), and YA at 44.  73 contained diverse main characters or people, by my count at least 66 of these were ownvoices across one of the represented marginalizations, or were non-fiction.  

*I counted re-reads if I re-read the whole thing a didn't just skip to my favorite parts. Novellas released singly counted as one, anthologies counted as one.    

This year I tried talking about good reads quarterly to see if that would help me member things I loved in January at the end of the year.  And instead my top ten is now a top twenty.  Ooops.  

-The Hungry Hearts anthology - edited by Elsie Chapman and Caroline Tung Richmond has some great stories all set in a fictional town with a great batch of restaurants and food.  The stories range from sweet love stories, to ghosts and mobs and murder.  It will make you hungry and show how food is such a great connecting force.
-Blair Braverman's Welcome to the Goddamn Icecube is a travel memoir, looking at journeys to cold places.  But it was an interesting reminder of how so many travel memoirs are about folks who get to travel without worry.  Not always an easy read, but Braverman's frankness about the challenges of facing those moments where you know nothing has happened to you yet, but it might, and how tough that can be to communicate to others, made it a memoir that seemed truer to me than some others I have read.
-Jessie Mihalik's Polaris Rising was recommended to me several times before I finally decided to give it a shot.  Sci-fi is often far more interested in the bits of climate or the operation of space doors than I am.  Polaris Rising is for me, a delightful on the run, maybe my fellow prisoner wants to help me escape not just this ship, but the even bigger group chasing me story that just happens to involve interplanetary escape.  It was great.  I have marked the arrival of the next story on my book calendar.  
-Anna Zabo's Syncopation has a new band member joining after another leaves following a video being posted online making it look like the lead singer is violent.  It involves some kink and everything about the two characters love of music as they learned to appreciate each other was really wonderful
-Therese Beharrie's One Day to Fall - I loved this story of two somewhat cranky people who run into each other at the hospital and have to deal with altered family relationships and figuring out their new place and if they even have time to think smoochie thoughts at each other.  
-Caitlin Crews' A Baby to Bind His Bride - For those familiar with the Presents line, this is bonkers in the way of Presents in that a woman shows up at a commune to discover her husband who was presumed dead in the hopes of being like, cool, cool, please take your awful family back and I'll be on my way.  And then of course she ends up pregnant and they have to figure basically everything out.  There is some imprisonment, because Presents dudes are terribly controlling.  I felt the groveling balance made up for it, but YMMV.  
-Olivia Dade's Teach Me  - We read this for romance book group, and it was everything I had hoped for.  Full disclosure, I am friends with Dade.  This book about two teachers of a certain age navigating a shifting school year, divorce (more recent for him), and what it might mean if they fell in love was just delightful.  My angst meter is very broken.  But to me this felt low angst, there were career concerns, and of course, can I trust happy concerns, but this demonstration of mature people falling in love was a delight.  
-Claire Kann's If it Makes You Happy - I loved this Gilmore Girls-esque story of a young Black woman going to visit her grandmother for the summer, and ending up in a summer royalty situation where her ungirlfriend and her possible crush compete for her attention.  Warning: Her grandmother and others do participate in some fatphobic behavior.  She handles it well, but it is tough.  
-Aminah Mae Safi's Tell Me How You Really Feel - Also Gilmore Girls-esque, but if what you really wanted was Rory and Paris to be a enemies to girlfriends style couple.  Sana keeps firing the lead in her movie, so her film club advisor forces her to cast Rachel.  
-Ruby Lang's Playing House - I adored this story of two New York urban planners finding each other at various open houses and then discovering that maybe there is something there.  Sure, come for the real estate nerdery, but stay for the moment where a mom tells her kid in front of the siblings that they were right.  
-Tara Pammi's An Innocent to Tame the Italian - This is also a Presents, and also bonkers.  She hacks his system, he locates her and basically is like so now I need you to both patch my security and be my fake fiancee.  And off they go.  
-Becca Syme's Dear Writer You Need to Quit - Syme and I met when we both worked on a contest together, and I've admired her posts on how knowing yourself can lead you to better sort through the conflicting productivity advice out there.  She in this book, and in the Quitcast podcast focus on writers, but I think a lot of this advice works for other folks to.  
-Olivia Waite's The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics - This book did everything I had hoped for when Waite first announced a story with an embroiderer and an astronomer.  The ideas about who gets to be at the table, why it always looks like the women there are just listening, and what it means to face publicity.  
-Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert I read alongside Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz.  These two ended up pairing well together in that both were books about folks with chronic conditions and discussed how that changes and alters your relationships with others, and creates some additional angst when healthier folks in your life don't quite get it.  Enjoyed both a lot.  
-Priya Parker's The Art of Gathering took me a while to read, not because it wasn't great but because it created so many aha moments.  Parker looks at how some of the ways we create gathering work at cross purpose to the event we wish to create and how to dig deeper on that.  
-Angie Thomas' On the Come Up - I started out reading this and then switched to audio (thanks, library!) and found I really liked listening to it.  All respect to the reader, I'm not sure she has a career ahead in rap, but it helped to animate those sections.  The story is about Bri, who feels like the least helpful member of her struggling family, and is focused on making it big as a rapper so she can change that.  Angie Thomas writes some of the best, layered sibling relationships.  It was also a really modern look at the choices we make about living up to or defying stereotypes.  
-Rachel Spangler's Edge of Glory - This is the story of two winter Olympians, a skiier and a snowboarder.  It is a slow burn, but also just a really great look at two athletes who do not have time to be distracted, unless of course, they just are.  
-Sara Rees Brennan's In Other Lands - Speaking of riffing off other fantasy tropes, this book made me exceedingly happy as it poked fun at literally every thing I have ever whined about in fantasy.  The main character is super snarky and barges into everything, so you have to be willing to go with that, but I snickered and texted someone halfway through that they had to read it.  
-Kris Ripper's Gays of Our Lives - This is the first in a series about a small California town that has an active and social LGBTQ community.  This story features the classic grumpy hero and the ball of sunshine hero, and I just adored it to pieces.  And immediately bought the next one.  
-Mia Garcia's The Resolutions - I read this in one day, specifically New Year's Day.  This book is a wonderful story about four friends who decide to make each other's resolutions.  And one of the characters is so clearly struggling with the burden of living up to this, all while smiling and telling everyone that everything is fine, that I do not think I could have read this over a few days and not really been mad at everyone.  So, for me, the one day read was the way to go.  It does all get resolved and the journey was well worth it.

A Lack of Healthcare Story

When I was 21 I was kicked of my parents' insurance.  I had a job, but it was for a tiny company and I was paid monthly and not always super timely even though one of my job duties was to print the checks. I absolutely meant to do something with the COBRA packet I received and then I got busy, and there were the holidays, and so, yeah, I missed the deadline.  I probably could not have afforded COBRA without help, but that was small consolation because in February after standing for days on a convention floor, my knee dislocated as we finished packing up and my elbow broke my fall.  My knee (somewhat ironically) was fine.  My elbow ended up requiring surgery because I broke off the edge (not the center pointy bit, the side pointy bit which yes probably has a better name than that) and needed pins to put it back where it belonged, and months of physical therapy to regain range of motion. I was really lucky that I had family who was able to help look after me, drive me to all these appointments, and help me pay for this.  

Obviously I realized my error in letting my health insurance lapse and once things were on the mend started looking into getting my own insurance.  And guess what I ran into.  Pre-existing conditions.  Even though I had already had surgery, even though I had already attended multiple physical therapy sessions and had regained most range of motion, the insurance company didn't want to cover me because I had a known condition that might cost money.  

Again, I was really lucky and managed to push through that and get coverage.  But we are talking lots of time on the phone. Nowadays a series of laws, HIPAA and ACA have made such stories go away.  For now.  Right now I have heath insurance through my job. So the fact that I have injured my knee several times, suffer from seasonal allergies, have asthma, and other various conditions are all covered by my insurance.  

Prior to the ACA, my day job had me reading a lot of companies summary plan descriptions.  And some of them covered pre-existing conditions. And some of them had a waiting period.  Something along the lines of six months or a year before the employee or the employee's covered dependents could be covered for pre-existing conditions. And a pre-existing condition can be anything you've ever been treated for. Any time you had a visit about a thing, that maybe visits and visits later turns into a diagnosis.  

And really, it's easy to fault employers and insurance companies on this.  But insurance is capitalist by design. Their job is to save money.  That just happens to be at odds sometimes with our goal of getting good health care.  It is a clear case of the system working as designed even as it fails many. I do think ACA is imperfect.  I do think we could come up with a better solution.  But repealing it and replacing it with something that covers less people is not the right approach. 

Belated Internet Validation

I had once said to someone that if I could convince a certain parental unit to go on a thing called a podcast, and then agree to actually abide by said stranger's result, I would try.  But neither of those things are true.  But, even if I could have somehow subtly directed the family to a podcast* well, yeah.  Once upon a time there was the game "Taboo".  (Yes, I know it still exists.  It gets less play these days in my family.  It may become clear why soon.)  We played it a lot.  My brother is quite a bit younger, so we sometimes allowed assists if he encountered a word that he was less familiar with.  I once brought my best friend to visit and we had, unsurprisingly, spent the whole long drive talking about all manner of things and we were ridiculously in sync with the extra eight hours of together time and able to offer clues like "Carrie had one" (answer: sunburn).  I can no longer remember what the answer was for which my not-quite-double-digits-at-the-time brother offered "Guys like it a lot" (I think it was beer, but there was an excellent pause as much of his team clearly thought words they weren't sure they should say in front of a young child). 

So, I was in charge of the buzzer for a round in which the answer for the other team was "Gotham City".  I buzzed when the clue giver said "city" arguing that it was part of the answer.  The clue giver argued that it was not on the list of restricted terms.  I argued that the answer was never listed as a restricted term, but surely you couldn't give out the answer or part of it as a clue.  Suffice it to say the discussion did not go well, and resulted in a cancellation of the game for the evening.  (The rules do back me up on this, which as you likely know, hardly matters after a certain level of team spirit deterioration.)

Well the Judge John Hodgman complainant has a similar pen/pencil debate and in their case the clue giver argued that since pen and pencil had different etymological origins, it should not count, which is at least a different argument.  In their case the clue giver went so fair as to contact the game manufacturer who, interestingly sided with them.  (Possibly due to an excess of customer service orientation.) Judge Hodgman agreed that pen and pencil are similar enough that no, one cannot be used in the clue for the other.  So, the internet agrees with me. 

*Remember my family disagrees with books, they are not anti-fact, but they are anti-conceding arguments, and those who want to suggest I fit in, can stuff it. What? I'm kidding.

Pride, I Have it

I once went to a sermon where a radical action-oriented minister mentioned that she's had a congregant say to her that rallying, protesting, and writing to congress wasn't the only way to make the world a better place.  She agreed.  And in that vein I wanted to make something clear.  I worked for about ten years with amazing teenagers from my congregation and others in various capacities.  They were all amazing.  (Seriously.  The adults were often more problematic.)  And as I discover various things from college graduations, to medical school enrollments to jobs of various flavors, to decisions to out themselves as transgender or enroll in seminary or start a blog I continue to be proud.  But, I am proud of each and every one of them.  Even though I had only the teeniest to do with any life success they have put together for themselves.  Working with teenagers is often viewed as a fast track to insanity, but honestly, I remain utterly hopeful about the future of this world thanks to my work with them.  This world is so lucky to have these folks, they are going to change, enhance, and sometimes just exist and make it a better place.  All of them.  All. 

Tara's Muscles Chat

We are well into the physical therapy phase of my knee recovery, leading to, well lots of learning and relearning how people do things like walk normally. (I'm really good at limping now and apparently there is no good future in this, so fine, normal walking is the new black.)

So, a sampling of things my various leg, foot, and butt muscles are saying.

"Oh, sure.  Now you remember me."

"Wait.  I thought we weren't doing that any more."

"Ha, ha, we've been doing all the work and now it's your turn!...Wait, we still have to work to?  What? Who agreed to that deal?"

"This feel weird.  Does this feel weird to you?"

"Are you sure that's the way that's supposed to work?"

"Oh, no, not doing that.  Nope.  Not, wait, what?"

"Hey, that, actually didn't hurt.  Oh, wait, no, that. Didn't like that."

"Ouch."

"Is this faster?  It feels faster than we've been going."  

2013 Reading Tally

Total number: 185*. 17 of those were novellas**. 

Last year I didn't think I'd beat that total, and yet, it looks like I did. And the other years too.  Again, I think this is making it hard, hard, hard to repeat.  But who knows. 

TBR pile is still towering at more than a year.  Something to work on. 

It averages to 15 a month.  March was the biggest reading with 26 books. May the wimpiest with 9.

134*** distinct authors.  I read 5 Jill Shalvis books, which was my highest number for any one author this year. (Also second year for Jill Shlalvis as my highest author.  Yay for prolific authors!)  65 new to me authors.  Oldest book was from 1912. Newest is officially from 2014, but due to an early release I was able to read it in December.  90 were from a year not 2013 (or 2014).  Although a lot of those were from 2012. 30 of them had been lingering in my TBR pile.  4 were paper books.  5 were audio books. 

Romance was again highest genre/category at 98. YA was second at 56. Others include non-fiction, new adult, fantasy, mystery, urban fantasy, literary, women's fiction and middle grade.

Most common subcategory - Contemporary.

Number of books that were part of series, serial**** or installments: 98

Ten, or eleven,  books I told people about (because I liked them):

Storm by Brigid Kemmerer - YA series (although I would note that I liked the books a lot, but there's one arcing problem for the Merrick family, so each one ends a little abruptly in my opinion).  Becca saves a guy from some bullies in the high school parking lot and finds herself drawn into a strange situation when it turns out he can control water.  And now that she knows, people think she's one of them. 

Rule by Jay Crownover - a NA about Rule and long time family friend Shaw hook up on her birthday and now they have to figure out if a tattoo artist and a pre-med student who used to be close to his dead twin have a future.   I had some tiny nitpicks about some of the details, but overall loved this. 

Ink by Amanda Sun - a YA about a girl sent to live with her aunt in Japan after her mother dies.  And she discovers one of her classmates can make the ink characters move.  And apparently her presence amplifies it. 

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry - Echo can't remember quite what happened the night she ended up in the hospital with scars on her arms.  And her dad and stepmom seem to want to move on and pretend it's all okay.  Noah's trying to gain custody of his siblings after their parents died in a fire.  But his slipping academics, among other things, are not helping, so the school counselor suggests Echo tutor him. 

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman - Ostensibly, I read this for research, but I really enjoyed it.  I think Kerman tells the story with a healthy frame and it also provides a really interesting look at our prison system.  (Yes, I'm planning to watch the show too.)

The Couple Who Fooled the World by Maisey Yates - Proof that if you tweet that you have a story about a virgin and an ex-prostitute I will head to the estore even before I discover that they are also heads of rival tech firms who fake a relationship so they can team up on a joint project. 

Dead Heat by Bronwyn Parry - Australian romantic suspense.  A park ranger discovers a body and a police officer who transferred from the city after an undercover op went very badly now finds himself working a murder and, well, attracted to this ranger.  One of the challenges in romantic suspense is how to show how these two people who haven't met have time to learn to appreciate and fall in love with each other and this is wonderfully done. 

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein - Just read it.  Okay fine, WWII story of two young women  - a pilot and a spy - who become friends.

The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan - Jane has figured out the secret to having a large dowry but managing to keep away fortune hunters - be a social disaster as in wear atrocious gowns and speak with no filter.  Oliver is illegitimate, and working on getting some political assistance so cannot afford to make a wrong step. 

A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrochers - A young woman in college hooks up one night with her stepbrother, deciding that is a sign the year abroad in Italy is a great idea until she finds herself having, erm, inappropriate feelings for a guy who is just about to become a priest.  I told several people it was either going to be awesome or terrible, and ultimately, I had some quibbles but enjoyed it a lot. 

Cora's Heart by Rachael Herron - I wrote (another) fangirly email to Ms. Rachael after I finished this one.  I've enjoyed the whole series and yet each one just - so good.  And the degree of difficulty was high, because I have been burned by many a story that sounds like this.  Cora was a foster kid, abandoned by her real family.  Married just out of high school got her some family (although her mother in law was still on the fence) and then her husband died in her twenties.  Now, Mac, her husband's cousin who didn't even come home for his funeral and who there might always have been a little lingering something, is back.  And oh.  Go read it. 

And yes, I do seem to like messy cross purposes and feelings.  In books, that is. 

*I counted re-reads if I re-read the whole thing a didn't just skip to my favorite parts. 
**My rule has been that things I can buy separately count as a book, so a book that was released with three novellas, or a collection of short stories counts as one read.  With the rise of electronic publishing the number of novellas that are released all by their lonesome has gone up, but hey, if it was a separate payment (or borrowing) transaction, I'm counting it. 
***I counted authors, not pen names, where possible. 
****Series is based on the book being part of a series, whether or not I read any others.

Post-NaNo Thoughts

I participated in NaNoWrimo once again this year, and won, ahem, early. The draft is still about 5000 words from being done and then will require some impressive rearranging and revising but it's a story that had been percolating in my brain for a long time, which I had joking claimed would be done by 2020, so (fingers crossed) I am ahead of schedule.  (Sometimes setting a low bar for yourself is a good thing.)

I wrote more than I've ever written for NaNo, and while some (much) of that will get cut, rearranged, and changed beyond belief later, it's still really good. As with everything, the joy of doing this as a global group is that lots of other people were writing and suffering or hitting the zone along with you.  And of course, I did more than some people and less than some people.  (Seriously, there's someone out there that wrote 900,000 words.  I just want to nap reading that. (I mean, yay for them, but wow.) 

So the point of this is, I wrote just over 70k, and that's amazing. It's easy to get caught up in your progress compared to others, instead of basking in how well I did compared to my own goal (which was to hit 50k early and keep on writing each day, which I did).  So, yay.  Going to try and get the first draft wrapped up this week.  And then I get to bask for a minute or two before I start revising things. 

References Available

My Fictional Skills and Experience:
Once played Tetris for a six hours*, demonstrating focus, logic, and ability to work through distractions.  
Managed seven fish tanks in Fish Adventure, overseeing feeding, happiness, decoration, and breeding programs, demonstrating ability to manage multiple projects. 
Have played Where in the US is Carmen San Diego, Where in the World is Carmen San Diego and Where in Time is Carmen San Diego, demonstrating ability to grow and use skills acquired on one game to expand my abilities in another.
Achieved expert levels in Sally's Spa, Sally's Salon, and Sally's Yoga Studio, demonstrating abilities to manage increasing levels of responsibility and multi-tasking. 

*Possible exaggeration.  I don't recall. 

2010 - The Reading Stats

I begin to wonder if starting to track this in 2007 was a bad idea, since I haven't achieved that level of reading productivity since. Of course, it's nice to know I have done it.
For 2010 the total was 117, an average of almost 10 a month, which is actually the lowest since I started tracking. (A big slacker, I am.)
Highest reading month was a tie between March and August with 16 each. And lowest was October with 3. (Again, no consistent trends, especially since I did a lot of travelling in July, so wouldn't have been surprised for that to be the high month.)There were 83 different authors in that batch* which seems consistent with the previous years. There was a three way tie for author I read the most at 5 - Jennifer Crusie (helped by some re-releases and a re-read** on my part), Gena Showalter (in a repeat appearance) and Nora Roberts (also a repeater in this spot).
Series* were a little lower this year, clocking in at 32. Not surprisingly romance remains the leading category at 76. Some high other categories or sub categories (since most books fall into a few categories) were paranormal (30), category romance (21), contemporary (21) and young adult (20). And in the high for me (but not really overall), I read 4 non-fiction books.
I remain a new release junkie, although the total was a lower percentage than in the past and was skewed by some re-releases - 57 were from 2010.
And ebooks were a slightly higher percentage again at 97.

*I counted authors rather than pen names.
**I counted re-reads if I re-read the whole thing from start to finish rather than skipping to the good bits.

Ode to Eva

We often like to think of ourselves as people of our own creation, completely different from those we came from. Until you start to see the patterns and threads that contributed to who you are. My grandmother Eva lived her life in Hawai'i, so was separated by distance from my immediate family, but the threads still remain. Grandma and her brother were raised by their mother Lucille (my middle name is a tribute to her) after their father killed himself.
She worked as a nurse for many years, and also met and married my grandfather, policeman Eugene. They had a simple wedding, the Catholic version of eloping, and had their wedding brunch at Woolworth's.
Together they had six children, the eldest of which was my father Frederick.
My grandmother read romance novels - categories were a particular favorite and loved to work with her hands. As children, my siblings and I received quilts, Christmas stockings, felt advent calendars, and fairytale inspired ornaments from her.
Her six children led to sixteen grandchildren (making all the above all the more impressive since she had a lot of grandkids to spoil). There is also a growing number of great and even great-great grandchildren.
Eva lost her husband Eugene, her partner for over fifty years, a decade ago. Her son Frederick predeceased her also. But last night, at the age of 94, she went to join them, after finally giving up the fight against congestive heart failure.
So, thank you Eva, for the love of reading and crafting, both of which have served me well.

Aloha 'oe, aloha 'oe...A ho'i a'e au
Until we meet again.
"Aloha 'Oe" written by Queen Lili'uokalani

Edited, because I forgot to count myself.

Panda Friday

As we head into a long weekend which I will follow up with jury duty (so Tuesday I will either have lots to say or nothing, hard to say,) I leave Tai-Shan, resident 'baby' panda at the National Zoo, taken April 2007, napping in a tree. I totally wish I could do this. (Without worrying I would roll over and fall out.)

7 Things: Call Centers

1. The average person's career in a call center is two years. Average. It is a high stress environment and most people move up or out pretty quickly. Certainly there is variation within different fields and there are of course lifers who tilt the stats, but there you go.
2. The call center I worked in did not allow me to send an obnoxious caller to the person next to me who was bored and have them pretend to be my supervisor, but some do. This is not to play with you or to deny you you fabulous rights as a caller, it is simply because in this day and age everybody asks for a supervisor, even when we have explained that the request they are making violates the law. Sometimes talking to someone different makes them happier.
3. If I had a nickel for every caller who threatened to have me fired, have their lawyer call, and/or sick the IRS on me, I would be able to buy a nice dinner. So you people throwing that around, we are not impressed.
4. I always did my job (I won't promise I was always sweetness and light, but I always did my job.) In the call center I worked in, our role was mostly informational, although certainly that information helped guide people through situations, so there was very little I could do. I could not give them free benefits or refunds or gift certificates. But, for people who were nice or understanding and or kind, I could certainly give them the benefit of my time end experience. Mean people didn't get that (or seem to care).
5. The call center I worked on required me to request permission before I put people on hold. I honestly only ever did that when I needed to make another call or get information from someone else. Nonetheless some people (one caller in particular comes to mind) seemed convinced I was planning to drop them into some sort of call center abyss. While I certainly can't speak for all call center reps, I would say that I was not doing that, and refusing permission just made the call take longer.
6. Call center employees certainly don't get paid a lot, but that doesn't mean we aren't good at are jobs. Sure I can tell you about people who weren't so great, but more of the people I worked with were great at their jobs. (Of course, being good at your job often offers you that chance to move into a different role, but still.) My point is, don't assume the rep you are talking to is stupid. Don't treat the rep as if they are stupid, chances are they know more about their subject matter than you do.
7. So in the end, my recommendation is that if the rep you are talking to doesn't seem to be giving you the results you wish for, instead of going ballistic or threatening to blow the place up (actual things that happened to us), take a deep breath and ask them to explain what's holding them up. You won't always like it, but at least they won't write a nasty note* in your file. And you might learn how to prevent the situation in the future.
*The nasty note usually won't hurt you. But good call center reps, will read the notes next time you call.

Cherry Con

I am going to do this in sets of five - partly to avoid a post that is tome length and partly to create a semblance of organization.

Five Things About the Goodies:
1. The decorations and goodies and freebies and all of that rocked.
2. Blinking Sunglasses
3. Flamingos - pens, headbands, table decor, key chains, and lollipops.
4. Bubbles!
5. Books - Oh my all of the books!


Five Things About Cincinnati and Covington:
1. Lovely.
2. Incredibly nice people (with the possible exception of one bus driver who wouldn't let us all on even though the bus didn't look very full).
3. Covington really suffers from a need, in my opinion, for a Starbucks that is open on Sunday. Just saying.
4. The Levee was great fun.
5. Great public transportation (even if the routes seem strange). Seriously, I am very picky about public transportation (or lack thereof).

Five Things The Authors Talked About:
1. Just write it. Sometimes the stuff that you'll end up cutting later is an integral part of the process, letting you get to know your story. If you keep polishing the first chapter, you'll never get to the end.
2. You'll be able to do a better job of polishing the first chapter once you have written the end.
3. Fuzzy goals are hard for readers to follow. Concrete is better.
4. Lots of people will give you advice and rules - down to the kind of binder clip. Take what you need, ignore the rest.
5. Anything you can do - collaging, or a soundtrack to get yourself into story mode helps.

Five Things I Know About the Cherries:
1. Cherries rock! I may not remember your name - or I may remember that there was an XXXX and a XXXXX but was XXXX the blonde or the brunette - but I still know, you all rock.
2. Cherries know how to have fun.
3. Cherries know everything. (Clearly). Books, alcohol, football, religious symbols, the wonder of Veronica Mars and the joy of Manos Del Uruguay yarn.
4. There are all kinds of Cherries.
5. Cherries are wonderfully creative - write those stories, quilt those quilts, knit, crochet, make clay dogs, cherries do it all.

Five Things that Are Probably Less Funny in the Re-telling:
1. Krissie read a sex scene aloud (having been dared) and we made our blinky glasses blink to represent the hotness.
2. I made someone take a picture of me blowing bubbles because I was at a party last month and couldn't do it.
3. I tried to convince people that they wanted to give me the ARCs they won. (Okay, that was actually serious, I would have given them back though. I just want to read them.)
4. What is the button on the back of the tiara for?
5. What happened to that bridesmaid?

Five Things

A fellow cherry talked about living how you want since you never know how long you have. As I mentioned, a high school classmate died unexpectedly in her sleep last week. So, I thought I would come up with five things I haven't done and pledge to get them done. They aren't grand, they are just things I have been meaning to do and haven't made proper space for.
1. Swim. In the pool in my apartment building. Last summer I was so caught up in the whole unpacking thing. This year - no excuse. Did it - several times. I actually miss it now that it is closed.
2. Finish a story. I would love to finish my NaNo story, but since I'm putting a deadline on this stuff, just something.
3. Finish a sweater with sleeves. You laugh, but as many sweaters as I have cast on this year...none of the long sleevers have made it off the needles. (And I wonder why I can never find any needles.) Progress. The Crazy Sweater. Yay!
4. Contact at least five people I have fallen out of touch with. As is so often the case, when these things happen you realize how much you wish you had stayed in better touch with people. This was way easier than I thought. I not only reached out to over five people, I heard back from over five people. Yay!
5. Get the boxes out of my kitchen. I know, I know. I keep trying to attack it methodically, but clearly I need a better method. Not much fun, but it is tied to getting my place in shape to invite people over. Progress. More Progress.
Updated with progress - 9/13/07, 11/14/2007

Things I Should Not Admit

I was standing behind a nice looking guy in the line at Starbucks yesterday. I stepped up to check out the sandwich selection and when I returned to my space said guy turned around and said, "Apologies if this is intentional, but you have a sticker on your pants."
Ah, yes. I had the sizing sticker that they slap on pants in just the right place so that it will be completely useless as you paw through stacks of pants in search of your size. But apparently it does make people talk to you in Starbucks.

Pretty Lights

Not a great title, but I avoided the cliche. The DC area welcomes many transplants each year. Many of them seem surprised that I have never joined the hordes down on the Mall for the fireworks. Now, I love fireworks. We used to celebrate as a family, several times we rented a hotel room or, once, did a dinner cruise so that we had a great view of the fireworks, and then a great view of the traffic jams heading home. There are lots of places to view the displays that are not the Mall. Now, I love the Mall. It is a beautiful place, but even before the new security restrictions, the idea of camping out in the July weather (which was very nice this year, but that is atypical) for many hours surrounded by progressively drunker hordes to watch an hour of pretty sparkles and then spend almost several hours getting home - still surrounded by drunken hordes, but now moving drunken hordes - has never appealed.
While the hotel room option is not an every year thing, I have several times watch the displays from less crowded venues - such as the Georgetown waterfront. I hear the Cathedral grounds is a another great one too.
But this year, I watched them from the top of my building which was so cool. Our location and relative height meant that we saw at least four different displays. I tried to work my geography and figure out which ones, my best guess is DC, Alexandria, Silver Spring, and I can't figure out the other. Anyway, it was great fun.