25 May 2004

I vanquished the nefarious Chapter 24 yesterday, and just for good measure polished off Chapter 25, too. I write non-sequentially, you see, and Chapter 24 was the point up to which Sampo was sequentially written. I've got a little over 150 pages written after the point where the sequential writing stops, but that's fragments: scenes and chapters and even scenelets, demi-scenes, semi-demi-hemi-scenes. Hasn't been stuck together yet. If you wanted to read through, you'd have to stop at the first paragraph of Chapter 26, because after that, it'd be very frustrating for you.

You're not allowed to do that, by the way. I'm not letting anybody read this book without reading Thermionic Night, and Thermionic Night is not yet edited and ready to hand off to Mark and Timprov, much less my first readers, much less people beyond that. (I suppose first readers should mean first readers, making that Mark and Timprov. But they're more zeroth readers, really.) The closer I get to finishing Sampo, the more I have the itch to edit Thermionic Night, and since that's roughly the plan (in the absence of new and compelling plans), I think that's a good thing. Wanting to do what you're going to do anyway: makes things much more pleasant. Highly recommended.

Our internet was down for a little bit this morning, and after that it was idiosyncratic, up and down. The dishwasher man was here and is ordering us a new part and coming back when it comes in, which should be before the end of the week, or so he says. I agree that it should, but, well. Rachel brought us lunch. Yesterday's lunch was with David of the DDB variety -- I can see why people want to name their sons David, because it's a good name. I'd probably want to name a kid David, too, if we didn't already have so many of them in our circles of family and friends. Anyway, we had Rice Paper and Sebastian Joe's, and all was yummy. Then out for pizza and up to book club, both of which went well.

Finished The Cloud Sketcher. The ending was...as expected, more or less. I'm now glancing at a book of essays called Trickster Lives: Culture and Myth in America, the first of my borrowings from the U library. To which I will be returning tomorrow or the next day with a list of things to find for contract work. Aiieeee, contract work. I kicked my brain back into working on Sampo and contract work, and now I'm afraid it's going to explode.

I'm meeting Heathah for coffee at 7:00. So my calendar has an H7 graffito on it, with the 7 going down the middle of the H. Bonus points to anyone who can name the country and the war in which that was a resistance symbol. Okay: anyone who isn't my parent.

Also bonus points to Grandma and Karina for getting born and sticking around another year apiece. I know Grandma has her birthday present now. I just hope Karina has hers...heehee....