Maggie’s Blog

And the weekend is over again. It flies by so fast these days. Ah well, at least it was a good one! 

Naturally, this week contained the infamous Valentine’s Day, and Andy and I decided to take a drive down Route 14 on the Washington side of the Columbia River Valley. It was stunning. Moss, trees, tunnels, enormous rocks jutting out of the ground, steep drop-offs, the clouds swirling around the looming, snow-frosted hills–amazing. Naturally, we forgot the camera. ^_-

We also junked out on candy and pizza and watched Jason Bourne kick the crap out of various undercover agents in The Bourne Ultimatum. Very fun. Lots of explosions! ^_^ 

Oh! And I got an easel. A proper, standing easel! And it was 40% off, which is SUH-WEEEET. 

Sunday commenced in the usual way: breakfast out at Pig N’ Pancake (yes, the name is awful), and then grocery shopping at Winco. After that, I did some painting, which is still a work in progress, because it’s a lot more complicated than my last few attempts. I definitely still have the problem of making the models (in this case, myself) more attractive than they are in real life. Mrs. Pepper, my high school art teacher, once called me out on this, but I just can’t seem to help it. Ah well, one of these days I’ll get hard-core realist on your butts, and then we’ll see who wishes I didn’t polish up that little flaw! But then again, it’ll be hard-core realist, so it’ll actually look better. Ah well–it’s a conundrum. 

We also finished off Season 3 of Earl, which means no more Earl until #4 comes out. ;_; That makes us sad. But until then, we will just have to root around for other TV shows to watch obsessively. ^_^ 

Writing Stuff:

Continued on the path today. Only had a 1/2 hour lunch, so I got only ~400 words done, but it was still steady progress. I had a bit of a scare yesterday–my computer randomly decided not to turn on. O_O Luckily, it was just some funny logic problem in the computer’s brain (yes, I realize I’m very technical), and we got it back on without too much trouble. But for about ten minutes there I think I was having a mini heart-attack. I mean, sure, I save compulsively, but that doesn’t do any good if the computer itself craps out on you! And yes, once it got back online, I immediately grabbed my thumb-drive and hauled serious wordage over to it, just as a back up. 

*Phew.*

Crisis averted.

Just a short little post today. The Corporate head-honchos are down in Portland for today and tomorrow at work, and as unbelievable as it may sound to some of you, it’s actually a lot of fun. They’re all really nice, and it’s great to have the extra people in the office. It’s been a little quite of late. Plus, there were brownies, and that just spells AWESOME.

Catching up on my submissions queue at Apex, which is very good, too. Voting on Holding 2 tonight, as well. ^_^ 

Writing Stuff:

Got a bunch of writing in today. It was one of those delightful 1000 word rampages I occasionally get on during my lunch break. I blame the brownies, because I was full enough to forget I was supposed to be eating lunch. (Never fear, I did remember after my boss found my food in the microwave when he stopped in for a coffee refresh, and it was only a half-hour into my break.) ^_^ I love it when the writing clicks so well I lose track of time. Doesn’t happen nearly often enough!

It was cold today, too cold. Cold enough to spit snow out of the grim sky throughout the morning and well into my lunch break. Meanwhile, I’ve caught that nasty little bug called Spring Fever, and could barely keep still in my seat at work because I was so pumped with energy. It probably didn’t help that I was doing mostly routine data entry today, and therefore had more time to dwell on how much I want it to be spring already. ^_^ It’s just that the past few days have been so deliciously warm–not hot or anything, but a nice upper 50’s into the 60’s. Oh, it has been lovely. And it sank into my skin, and now I’ve got the bug, and I don’t care what that darned groundhog thinks about it. I want spring already!

I’ve also determined that I have a terrible inclination to want to do too much all at once. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been eyeing the possibility of getting an MFA in Creative Writing, going to art school to get a BFA, getting a Masters in Elementary Education, going back to school and getting a bachelor’s degree in something useful like Physics or Biology, training to be a massage therapist, buying a Xiao so I can learn to play it because it’s just such a cool instrument, learning Spanish, brushing up my Mandarin, maybe picking up Russian for kicks, teaching English in Korea after Andy graduates, go/learn how to rock-climb safely so I can go places other than a gym, traveling a la carte to Europe on a backpacking expedition, and on, and on. 

There’s no end. I want to do it all! But I’m also practical enough to recognize that some of these things simply cannot be. After doing a little research, art school is out at least while I have a job. There just isn’t time. Plus I’d need to recreate a new portfolio, since the one I made back in high school really doesn’t represent me anymore. In the same way, the MFA in Creative Writing is out. I found some good programs that require low-residency, but even the low-residency would eat up all my PTO time, if not go over it, and I can’t afford that. Plus, I want that PTO for my own little trips/excursions/conventions (^_^!!). I would also need to create a portfolio of fiction to go with that application.

The Masters in Elementary Education is something I would absolutely love to do, however there are very few program offerings here at the moment, and the one there is has a long lead-time for applications. This, compounded with the fact that Andy and I are pretty convinced (at least as of the moment) that after he graduates school, we may head back to the New England area, in which case I’d need to get licensed in that state anyway, so it might be worth just waiting until that time to get the Masters. Plus, I wouldn’t mind having/raising kids first, which would give me more experience with kids in the age-range I think I’d like to teach, plus give me an easy way to get into helping out in local schools.

The bachelor’s degree in physics/biology is out because I know it would drive me insane, which is why I didn’t do it in the first place. Instead, I’ll work on building up my laymen’s knowledge of the subjects which interest me. 

Massage therapy just doesn’t interest me that much, personally, and with the amount of time it would require (at least at WSCC), I just don’t have the energy. It’s still in the back of my mind though; so I might do it yet. No hard decisions on this, but it’ll be put off for a year at least. 

Xiaos are cool, and I do plan on getting at least a cheap practice one to play around with. Also, Andy and I want to take Cello lessons in the future. Time management is the issue here. 

Spanish is practical, and I’ve got the lessons I need to start. Now I just need to actually start. Can’t find my Mandarin review stuff, which is driving me nuts, because I’m pretty sure we brought it out… Don’t know… but I would love to be able to read Chinese fantasy novels. Russian is on the list because Andy loves (and speaks some) Russian, and it would be cool to know what he randomly says (also, if I ever got really good at it, I’d love to read Dostoevsky properly). 

Teaching English in Korea: it’s not off the table from when we graduated this spring, but there’s no definite decision here either. It’s just a daydream of ours that we don’t take too seriously, but don’t quite remove from discussion, either. Same goes for our a la carte tour of England/Scotland/Ireland. 

Rock climbing: this weekend, is the plan. 

Writing Stuff: (more…)

I’ve determined that the #1 thing you can do to improve your chances of being accepted at any given publication is to read the guidelines. Over and over, I see editors pleading for this little consideration on their guideline pages, and it always struck me as redundant. Of course I’m going to read the guidelines! Who wouldn’t? 

Apparently, a lot of people. Not just beginners, either, but pros too. I think it irks me more with the pros, because they should know this stuff by now. It makes me wonder how seriously they take submitting to Apex Magazine that they so obviously break our very first request in our guidelines. I’m not going to lie: it irks me. It’s a waste of my time as a slusher, and their time as a submitter, and no one likes wasting time. 

But I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt to these submitters. In fact, I’ve created a list of reasons I must assume account for their blatant flaunting of our guidelines. 

1. They’re still using the print form of The Writer’s Market, which, since it has to be published for the upcoming year, seems to be out of date and inaccurate (particularly for online magazines) for almost the whole year. Cure: Utilize the net. It’s worth knowing if you’re wasting an editor’s time, or they’re closed to submissions for a period of time, etc., etc. Always check the online guidelines, if they’re available.

2. They suffer extreme migraines every time they look at a computer screen, and therefore cannot navigate to the “Submissions” page on the Apex website before being overcome with brutal cerebral pain. Cure: Get a friend to utilize the website and check our guidelines. And get lots of rest in a pitch-dark room.

3. They don’t recognize that SF–for Apex–stands for Science Fiction, not Speculative Fiction in general. Cure: Read (or at least skim) some of the stories on Apex’s site. Come on, folks, it’s free. It’s only going to cost you a little time to see that the stories we publish are heavily (if not totally) science fiction-centered. 

4. Their dog ate the guidelines. Cure: Feed the dog more often. And guess what? The guidelines are available anytime online. 

5. During an alien abduction, those nasty little green men stole all the data about the guidelines out of their brains in order to feed the nuclear-powered extraterrestrial fiction-producing machine, which is the sole reason they’re not getting accepted at magazines like Apex. Cure: This is the only acceptable excuse. And yes- I’m being facetious. 

6. They’re too busy to check guidelines. Cure: Then why aren’t you too busy to submit your manuscript?

I could come up with more reasons, I’m sure, and the more submissions we get that are so completely out of the ballpark, the more likely I am to waste time on a blog complaining about it. For the record: from time to time, I have seen some really well-written, clever, even inspiring pieces of non-dark SF…

but they still got rejected for not fitting guidelines.

The weekend has been far too short. 

Friday, after work, Andy and I spent some time with his chiropractic comrade Joel and friend Theresa learning to play bridge. We learned very quickly that it would be a while before we ever deliberately win a “trick”, but that dumb luck can be pretty useful for the uninitiated beginner! ^_^ We also taught them to play cribbage, which–while far less challenging mentally–is a darn fun game. And a good time was had by all!

Saturday, we took Oz-bodkins to the vet again to look into his (this time, minor) health issue again. He’s perfectly happy and it doesn’t seem to be bothering him, so the vet doesn’t see much need for urgent action. We’ll just be keeping an eye on it, and if he starts neglecting food or water, then we can bring him in again. 

Other than that, we cleaned the apartment (which was in desperate need of a tidying), and Andy studied. I, on the other hand–despite the best intentions–did not get any writing done, on Thief Dilemma or [unnamed novella project title here]. Lame. This always seems to happen to me on weekend. I’ve got plenty of time, but I don’t use it at all. Did get some reading done, so that’s at least a little better. I still could have read *a lot* more. Bummer. I think that’s why I feel like this weekend was so unproductive.

Today, we did our usual routine of Pig N’ Pancake (yes, the name is terrible, but the food is pretty darn good), then grocery shopping at WinCo. Didn’t do a whole lot other than that, actually. Little reading, little youtube-ing, finished Earl, and then just finished The Secret Window. It’s not quite bad enough to put on our worst-movies-ever list, but about ten minutes in we had both guessed the ending, and then it was just long and drawn out from there. Ah well. Andy’s been studying all day getting ready for mid-terms, so at least he’s been productive, even if I haven’t! 

Writing Stuff:

On a semi-positive side note, “Mimicry” got an honorable mention in the Writer’s of the Future contest! Of course, it’s just an honorable mention, but still. I feel like it’s a definite sign of progress since I haven’t received a mention before, while simultaneously reminding me that there’s plenty of room for improvement. Well, improve I shall! 

And “Mimicry” is waiting to head out to its next market.

To the guys at work: Was it good? Did the cheese and the pepperonis and the crust and the sauce just go oh-so-well together? Did you think- Wow, I’m glad I found this pizza in the fridge tucked behind the banana and the kiwi in that brought-from-home ziplock bag!

You know who you are. I will find out. And then-! Ooooooh, you don’t wanna know.

^_^

ANYWAY, so it’s been a little while since I updated, not that I suspect many people noticed, but hey–like the subtitle of this blog says: no one’s forcing you to read this. Lots of stuff has been going on actually since I last posted. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but I’m now a full-time employee! YAY! I get benefits and a raise and PTO! I’ve never had PTO before! O.O

The last few weeks have seemed really insanely busy, too, which might explain my brief absence from the blogosphere. Andy and I finally topped off our housing furniture needs (dresser, bedside tables, bookshelf #2, desk, hampers)! YAY for a place that looks lived in and homey! We also got… A FICUS. Yes. You read that correctly. We have a tiny tree in our house now. It makes me happy. Now the challenge is just to keep it alive (I fear I lack my mother’s gift for gardening).

Besides that, I’ve basically just been trying to get to bed early enough to get some scarce reading-time in, which has actually been going really well. I finished House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (*love*), and am now moving on to The Custom of the Country. I’m finding this second one a little tougher to get into, but knowing how well she can evoke my emotions later on, I’ll put up with a little slowness in the beginning. I think I’ll also be reading Age of Innocence, and perhaps The Reef. If I’m really on a roll, I might go so far as to hit up Summer and some of her other short-story collections. But I have determined that after this, my author-focus is going to shift to Octavia Butler. Her SF blows my mind in the best of ways, and after reading Dawn I was determined to read as many of her other works as possible. 

But enough of that. 

Before I forget, let me mention that Apex Magazine just put out the delicious cyborg version of itself: a PDF reincarnation of the original APEX SF & HORROR DIGEST. These PDF versions, beginning with this month’s issue, will contain all the stories to be found online, but will have cover art, inside art, essays which won’t appear on the website, as well as other nifty tidbits! It’s well worth the $2 per issue (ONLY TWO BUCKS! O.O!!). I already bought my copy. How about you? 

In other news, I’ve got a bunch of pictures I’ll need to post of the furniture editions/other various things that I’ve been meaning to put up, but alas-! have not. I’m going to try to do better with visuals/videos/etc. because I think it’s pretty fun, and I might as well have fun! 

I’ve also been sporting with the idea of starting to post book reviews (mainly of science fiction, horror, and fantasy). I need to read a lot more than I have recently, but thanks to getting rid of cable TV, I actually do have more time (time I am now spending writing this blog entry). I did some book reviewing in college for the school newspaper, and actually enjoyed it quite a bit. If you have an opinion on this matter, I’d be interested to hear it.

Writing Stuff:

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