Mud!

mood: tired
music: beautiful silence
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The yard is wonderfully muddy. Wonderfully? Yes, because it means that the weather is catching up to the calendar and the snow is really disappearing. Today I spotted some tulips just beginning to poke up through the soil in the side garden. Hurrah! I think it's safe to say out loud that I made it through the winter without a bout of the depression that's plagued me the last two years.

For this I credit a couple of things. One, I was determined to avoid that crash this year, and went out of my way to plan lots of things to keep me busy. Almost too busy, but that's another story. Two, I exercised faithfully through the months after Christmas. Recent studies show that regular exercise is a factor in alleviating depression. And three, I was aware of the danger, and monitored my well-being regularly. I also pampered myself a little bit. It all seemed to work.

Now I find I'm crashing a little bit. Not into a depressed state, but into an exhausted one. I keep saying that I need to clear a few things from my plate, but I don't seem to be able to do it--however I think that's about to change. The workshop is almost over and I don't have another one scheduled until June, if I even have enough registrations to run it then. The Scriptorium is a little easier now that I have some more help. And once I get the anthology story written I have no pressing deadlines except for those associated with that project for a while.

Now if only I could keep up with the demands of blogging....

One thing I learned today: Some days, you just
don't seem to learn anything new.

It's Official!

mood: Great
music: Kiss Kiss by Holly Valance
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The Writer's Federation has announced the results of the 28th Annual Atlantic Writing Competition. Here's the one that pertains to this blog:

The H.R. (Bill) Percy Prize for Unpublished Novel
SECOND: Sherry Ramsey (Sydney Mines, NS) for One’s Aspect to the Sun

Woohoo! The feedback from the judges was wonderful, and both gave excellent direction on how to make improvements (although they both loved the novel). So after I clear a few things off my plate I'm going to spend a couple of months rewriting and then send it out. One judge even mentioned that she hoped to see the novel (and sequels) on shelves soon. Funny that the sequel is already written in first draft.

One thing I learned today: Japanese cell phone owners
can now read novels on their cell phone screens. I don't know, I think that's taking the whole gadget thing a little too far. Full story here.

mood: Energized ?
music: The Old Black Rum -- Great Big Sea
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Back for another kick at the blogging can. Let's see, what's been happening in the past month?

I've had some good writing news, which I can't reveal just yet, a couple of rejections, and just got notice that my poem, "Ghosts and Dark Objects" is now online at Astropoetica. I've been distracted by other things for the last few weeks, but I'm trying to refocus on several writing projects now and to start meeting a writing quota.

The last few days have been springlike, which is very encouraging, although I'm not letting myself get too excited about it since there could still be storms waiting in the wings. I've made it through the winter, though, without any bouts of depression or winter blues, so it's been a good one.

Time to clean off my desk and dust off my word count tracking spreadsheet.

One thing I learned today: Shoppers at a German supermarket can now pay for their purchases by fingerprint. It's cool to be living in a science fictional present.