Well, Chicolini (my Fiat 500) has a new battery. I should have known it was coming. First, it was the slight growl before starting. Then, the growl acquired an crescendo-pause-decrescendo-roar. I found that I had to pump the accelerator a couple times. In the last couple of days, all of the dash lights have brightened and dimmed in time to the growling. Of course, we're also having a cold snap here in the greater Philly... Read more →
Change is good! Embrace it! Welcome it! Oh God. I got a new work laptop today. My old one was over four years old, which apparently makes it quite the senior citizen. My old computer and I got along fine. I knew where everything was and how it worked; Windows 7 and I were pals. My files where all organized just the way I wanted them. The computer behaved itself, for the most part -... Read more →
Circus folks never say good-bye; rather, they say “See you down the road.” Down the road — it's a circus version of the space-time continuum. It means days or weeks or years; it means the next lot, the next gig, the next season. It means that at some point in time and some place in the world, you will meet again. You come together in a tight-knit community for a summer or a season or... Read more →
Joe was working the register at his store today. Now, the vast majority of customers at Joe's store are very nice people. They're friendly, and polite, and reasonable. Of course, there are also assholes, and bullies, and idiots. One of his coworkers, a lovely young woman, was working beside him. She's not tall. At one point, Joe noticed that the man she was waiting on was quite large - tall and massive. He was leaning... Read more →
It's almost six months since I finished chemotherapy; almost three since my oncologist gave me the good news that I'm in complete remission. My next appointment with her is December 16th. It only requires blood work, yay. The CT scans require more time, drinking some nasty stuff, and breathing/not breathing on command. The only pain involved is the needle stick for the contrast dye. Well, and the fact that the whole shebang is a pain... Read more →
Only the second day of Holidailies, and already I'm defaulting to a meme! At least it's Sunday Stealing and it's Sunday, so I'll use that as my excuse. Classical: If you were an Olympian god, what would you be known for? I would known for doing Olympian godlike things. Byzantine: Do you prefer gold or silver accessories? I have no preference. I own more silver, but I also like gold. Back in the 80s, I... Read more →
You'd think that writing 50,000 words during November would have been enough writing for awhile, but I am a glutton for punishment, so... Holidailies! The internet challenge where bloggers everywhere promise to write a post every day in December! I have participated in Holidailies for many years - maybe 15? So... yeah. Here I go again. Joe has been working this afternoon, so I have been doing various stuff: I walked, kicking off a new... Read more →
I won National Novel Writing Month 2018! So far I've written 50335 new words, not all of which are crap. In fact, I rather like some of them. For this iteration of NaNo, I decided to work on the third book in the Girl Clown series (like I have more than one series, heh). I wrote a new beginning, some additional middle, and I'm almost to the end. Like last year, though, there's no crisis.... Read more →
Well, September and October just slipped right past me! To catch up, here are ten things that happened. I had my first followup appointment with my oncologist in late September. The verdict? I'm in complete remission! I tell you, when your oncologist walks into the exam room with a big smile on her face, you can be pretty sure that it's good news. My blood work was good and my CT scan showed no enlarged... Read more →
Ronni Bennett, of the wonderful Time Goes By blog, asked: What I am wondering is how you experience yourself in dreams. Are you ever older or younger or different in some ways from what you are when awake? Has that changed as you've gotten older? Interesting question. I remember some of my dreams, both good and bad. I have recurring dreams - mostly where I'm trying to climb up or down staircases that become high... Read more →