8 August 2003

The first thing is that Set This House In Order rocked my world. Really. Matt Ruff had my trust from his previous two books, and he did not let me down. I highly recommend it. There were a few points where I thought Ruff was foreshadowing something stupid and obvious, and he wasn't. So that was a happy thing.

Oh, and the second thing is that it's Bobbie's birthday. Yay! Happy birthday, Bobbie.

Hey, you know how people ask, "What's your problem?" Well, right now....

My current problem with the Not The Moose Book: I have no romantic experience with non-geeks. I believe there's one major character in the book who is not in some form a geek, and he's the one I have to get seduced by the end of one of the chapters I was working on yesterday. Eek! And it's not a setting where they can do a movie-style date with fancy dinner out or anything. Eek ack! What do these people like, anyway? Especially if they're Soviet spies. Anyone with experience in seducing male non-geek Soviet spies under a big hill in Finland, please write immediately.

My current problem with "Heart-Shaped Hole": I'm not sure the motivation for a major choice the main character makes comes soon enough. That is, I fear that people (who are editors) will decide that the motivation is unbelievable when they get to the action, not later when the main character discovers what else was actually affecting her behavior that she didn't know about. I hate asides like, "what I didn't know then was that...." So...we'll see if I can hint without bashing the reader over the head.

My current problem with Reprogramming: I am much too interested in my new projects to want to take time to edit an older one. Nevertheless, it needs it, and it's worth saving, so I persevere.

My current problem with "Making Alex Frey": it's in my journal, so I have to type it. Otherwise, it's going well.

My current problem with the apartment: much of it still squalid. We'll be getting to that today. Also, it is in California. Also, the neighbors are Too Loud. Also, it doesn't have any...oh wait, it does have chocolate in it. (I told you-all that one, right? About how I had horrible cramps once when I was dating Scott, and called him up nearly in tears: "The problem with this house is that it doesn't have any chocolate in it!" And he brought me chocolate without laughing at me about it where I could see him, but now he's still laughing at me about it? And is also still laughing at me about the whole, "Am I intense?" thing, so really I think Scott should be grateful that I provide so much retrospective amusement for him.)

My current problem with the move: it is too far away, temporally. Also too soon. Also too expensive. (But not too cheap: not all opposites represented in union here.) Also requires too many factors to be coordinated. Also features lots and lots of books. Which would be fine, except it features their hauling, not their reading. Not so fine. Oh, and also it's too far away spatially. But that can be dealt with over the course of several days. Several desert-and-mountain-filled days....

My current problem with Laura J. Mixon's Burning the Ice: I remember reading a short story from this book, I think in Analog? Or else I started reading this book before. Either way, I don't remember being particularly impressed, and I'm about to put it down in favor of something borrowed from David.

My current problem with the book piles: they are too large. Also, too many of the books therein are hardbacks (which I would prefer not to take on the plane) or books on which I feel I will be taking copious notes (ditto). I would feel all jealous of the people who get to go to WorldCon this year and hang out and see each other, except I'll be up home looking at houses then. Maybe I'll be looking at the house by then. That ought to be sufficient distraction and consolation. Raise a glass in my honor, folks. A very, very small glass, possibly containing orange juice or something, considering my tolerance level.

My current problem with verticality: uh, nothing, actually. I was just kind of in current-problem mode. I'm doing just fine vertical today, feeling pretty normal. Yay! It must have been the blueberries. They'll cure what ails ya.

All of the above problems can be dealt with, too, the squalor and the books and everything. I may need a few more blueberries, but we've still got a pint in the fridge. And I may need some time. But as I have both blueberries and time in stock here (and also thyme, not that that'll help), I think it'll work out fine. My list for the rest of the week (today through Sunday) looks manageable, and as I told David, I'm not sure whether that's because next week's list is such a PITA or because I'm delusional about how much work this week's list entails. Or both! It can always be both.