I talked to Kee yesterday, and she promised me that her New Year's resolution is to finish her novel, come hell or high water. I know she has it in her, so it is just a matter of getting back in the habit of sitting down at the computer and putting words on the screen, which sounds way easier than it actually is, especially when you come from a long line of procrastinators like us.*

And I am determined to finish my paper. This morning I got up early (for vacation) and read through the first chapter of a book on the linguistics of space. I have a lot more to read, but so far I have just been copying and collecting articles and chapters. I bought a new binder yesterday for my materials, and to get in, the article has to be read. I'll keep everyone posted on my progress, because that is the only thing that might help me keep my nose to the grindstone.

Well, not the only thing, because John bought me this lovely little laptop for xmas:



I am still getting the feel of it, but I loaded the software from our internet provider, so I can at least get online with it if needed. But I don't plan on doing more than uploading my blog posts from here. The laptop hadn't come in yet on xmas, so John gave me a card with an evil xmas squirrel on the front and a picture of the laptop on the inside, and then he told me that he thought I could use it, what with all my writing projects.
Subtext = Get off your ass and get to work.
Except John is too sweet to put it like that, even if that is what it comes down to. But I don't plan on letting him down, so full steam ahead, and all that!

*My father once bought a car when I was 13?14? to fix up for me to drive when I got my license, and it had to be towed to the house he moved to when I was already married.

As much as I would like to whine and bitch and moan, it would be very unbecoming of me. I promised Kee a while back that I'd put up a link to a blog post by Elizabeth Bear, detailing her workload for a two-year period.

"My to-do list for the next two years, not counting CEMs, galleys, editorial rewrites, reading about a hundred books, and other unpredictable thingies...."

A frightening list that adds up to roughly half-a-million words.

She also writes non-fiction in the form of magazine articles and is a prodigious blogger. Writing is now her full-time job.

Here's a little place-warmer:

"The great thing about reading books is that it makes us better than cats. Cats are said to have nine lives. What is that compared to the girl, boy, man, woman who reads books? A book read is a life added to one’s own. So it takes only nine books to make cats look at you with envy." (Yann Martel)

I am working on a presentation to give on Thursday, and I've written three different introductions, and they all still sound like suck. I am gradually sliding into apathy, which is not good since I just crawled out of it this morning.

With that said, I just wanted to give all 2 of you a heads up that I am officially withdrawing from the Internet (including email) during the week. I have written in my journal, in large, unmissible letters, that I am no longer allowed on the Internet without a to-do list. I just can't be trusted not to piss away my time reading about the relative lameness of the various Olympic mascots.

If you desperately need me in the meantime, cc John so he'll pass on the message, or call me.