Just a quick update
Just to let you all know, Chapter 18 is finished. I’m just waiting for it to be ran through my quality checker and then it’ll go live!
Tag Archives: update
New place, who dis?
So, it’s been a hot minute, huh? Sorry about that. I meant to post regularly about the moving sitch, but…well, moving turns out to be quite a chaotic event. It’s been so long since I did it, I think I’d forgotten. I have been duly reminded, that’s for damn sure.
The past two weeks have been busy AF. Between moving, getting to the new workplace, getting used to the new workplace and co-workers, finally getting my promotion (!!!)…yeah, it’s been a ride. I’ve even already had my first taste of drama in the new place (wtf, neighbor?). It’s okay though, cause now I’m unpacked enough to feel up to writing and I’m starting to get a feel for Shelly again. I lost her for a while, which is part of why I just couldn’t write, even when I did find a second to sit down in front of the laptop. I’ve been itching to get back to her story ASAP.
I’m not setting any date for when the next chapter will be out – I don’t want to make myself a liar (again) – but I am working on setting aside time devoted solely to writing. I couldn’t do that before, so I’m excited to give it a try now. I’m especially hopeful, given that my new roommate also writes and understands the frustration of distractions getting in the way of words.
On that note, I’m writing this instead of working on chapter 17. I should probably get to that…
Shoo 2020, Shoo!
Pretty sure we can all agree that 2020 has been an absolute shit show for most people. Even other writers, those of us who thrive on social distancing ourselves from anyone and/or everyone, are starting to feel the struggle…which is why I kinda feel bad for this next part.
This past year was amazing for me.
There have been down moments (remote learning is not fun to deal with, and some a$$hat got hold of one of my credit cards), but overall, my life has changed for the better. I’ve got a new job I love (except for the idiots who come in, refusing to wear a mask) and coworkers I enjoy working with. I graduated college, summa cum laude. I self-published my first book. I finally got my teeth taken care of, I’ve started eating a little healthier (I’ve lost 10lbs! *dances*), and I’m taking steps to keep the momentum. I’m about halfway packed for my move next month and have paid off one of my big monthly bills.
I’m trying not to jinx anything, but I can’t help but to be excited for the new year.
We have new leadership (suck it, dumpster fire!), a new vaccine (yes, it was rushed; no, I don’t exactly trust it, either, but it’s better than nothing)…in 39 days, I’ll also have a new address and a new roommate. It’s hard not to feel hopeful.
I am standing by my decision from last year; I’m not going to focus on any new year resolutions. I’m just going to keep on working on where I want to be in 2030. For 2021, that means the Indiana side of Louisville, Kentucky. Between now and the end of January, there’s going to be a LOT going on. If anything good happens, I’ll share it, but what fun stuff can come from packing? And why do I have a sudden sinking feeling that this move is going to be more eventful than anticipated? 😬😬😬
When spring comes March(ing) in…
Is it weird to have a favorite month (besides October)? I feel like maybe it is, but I don’t care. I love March. I don’t particularly care for the weather it brings, but that’s because I live in Texas. Atmospheric instability is not our friend here. When I lived in areas where tornadoes weren’t a season all of their own, March brought me quite a bit of joy. Seeing the flowers pop up everywhere reminded me that spring was on its way.
Now, I greet the new season with mixed feelings. Spring in Texas means the coming of insane amounts of pollen and severe weather. It also means we’re on our way to summer, and in Texas, that almost always ends up with day after day of temperatures just below face-melting. This knowledge competes with the childhood memories of the happiness spring brought, and honestly, it’s just a very conflicting time.
This particular March, however, brings about my last term/semester at college. I’m excited for the classes, but I am not excited about the homework load. I’ve been spoiled this past year, only being part time. Plus, I’ve taken this past term off, so I went from months of (comparatively speaking) very little homework, to no homework at all, and now I’m about to have double homework.
Not to fear though, I have the chapter 12 of “Don’t Feed the Trolls” already scheduled to post on the 19th, and chapter 13 for April 16th. If all goes well, chapter 14 will be posted on May 14th, but that one is still iffy.
In the meantime, enjoy this month’s mismatch of songs. I tried to include a little bit of everything, and I’ve even thrown in a fun one for St. Patrick’s Day.
Now, I’m off to plan the kids’ annual April Fool’s prank.
Hindsight is 20/20 (And so is next year…)
Two posts in the same month, holy crap. You all good?? Yeah, I probably should’ve warned you all to sit down first. Oops?
So, I’m a big of not doing the whole “New Year, New Me” crap. I see it as a bunch of hooey that people do to make themselves feel better about the new year, and it annoys me to no end, because so few people actually stick to them. By the end of March, everyone is usually right back to their usual selves. I’m not excluding myself from this, either. I’ve done it plenty of times, myself. That’s why I stopped doing New Year’s Resolutions.
The end of this year, however, is also the end of a decade. That’s a bit different, amiright? Of course, I’m right. Tiffany is always right. (Shut up, Biblio.)
Instead of making big changes this year, I am setting goals for where I want to be when the clock strikes midnight, January 1st, 2030. None of them are significant changes, mind you, just small improvements here and there, and I’m approaching them all, one step at a time.
The first big step has to do with this blog, and all of you who have found it worthwhile to hang around, even through the dry spells. Again, nothing big, but I do have plans. If all goes well, “Don’t Feed the Trolls” will be completed by the end of the year, and “Say ‘No’ to Zombies” will be off to an editor.
I will also be trying to be more active on Instagram (no promises, though. I hate that you can’t add proper links).
You’ll see the first of the planned changes at midnight on the first. The next should go live on January 6th. Music Monday is back, but with a new incarnation. You’ll see.
In the meantime, Happy Holidays, everyone.
I’m still alive! (But the cake was, indeed, a lie…)
Quang Nguyen Vinh @ Pexels.com
Okay, quick! I need a show of hands: who here is surprised at the length of time between the last post and this one?
….no one? Okay, good. Just making sure I’m staying on brand. I was worried there.
So, a couple things have changed in the past couple months. I did have the dental surgery. Things went a bit sideways there (Side note to all the doctor/dentists/etc. of the world: LISTEN TO YOUR PATIENTS), but we finally managed to get it done the last week of October. Since then, it’s been healing and fighting with professors. The fight was resolved, the healing will continue for the next several months, but all is well there.
The class I’m currently in was a bit intensive, and I have two final projects due. After that though, I have a two-and-a-half month break. Currently, the plan is to take some time for reflection. This coming year is going to be a big one for me. I will be graduating with a bachelor’s degree in May, hopefully meeting up with the wonderful @thebibliofeels , starting a new job (again: hopefully), and – if all goes well – moving to a completely new (to me) area. I’ve lived in Texas for the past eleven years, and I hate it. I don’t do well with the heat, and I miss having actual trees and grass that is alive, not brown and ready to burn if you so much as look at it funny. I’m quite excited about it all, and can’t wait to see where I am in life this time next year.
There’s good news for you all, too: I also plan on writing during my almost three month sabbatical. Right now, I have it planned to have at least two (hoping for three) chapters of “Don’t Feed the Trolls” finished and ready to post. I also am planning on setting aside time to do some editing of my older work. I’m focusing more on getting the new chapters finished though, because my last semester begins in March, and I’ll have two classes, rather than one, and immediately after that is when I have to start planning my graduation travels.
See, I’ve been gone, but I haven’t forgotten you all. I’m just trying to find a better way of connecting and give you what you want~ It’s a work in progress, but the work is progress, so there’s that, at least.
Also, I got an Alexa device for an early Christmas present, and I fully intend on using it to help with productivity. New year, not a “new” me, but an improved one, I think…
Hey Alexa, play RuPaul “You Better Work…”
August – watch out, you must.
Yeah, I’m not even going to give you any excuses this time. I just plain forgot to post the new chapter. It’s been scheduled to post now though, so I can now make the promise that there will be a new chapter of “Don’t Feed the Trolls” on Thursday. Well, Thursday in the states, anyway. If you’re far enough overseas, it might be Friday for you, but I don’t think I have any readers that far east.
Currently, the plan is to schedule the next two completed chapters for September 30th, and then October 30th, after which, there will be a break in posting because – if all goes well – I’ll be having dental surgery (*dance break*).
Now, from here on out, there’s some good and bad news, both. The bad news is that for my next two classes, I’m going to be swamped. This next class, especially. It’s bad enough that I’m already working on assignments and I’m on my summer break. Every week, it’s basically three full papers. This is the first class I’ve had that is this intensive, so I’m trying to give myself a head start. The next class is a 400 level diversity class, and I’ve already been told that it is also an intensive class. Wish me luck, ya’ll, that’s all I’m saying.
The good news is, I only have four classes left – total. My last class ends in April 2020, and I should be allowed to walk with my graduating class that May. After that, the only thing that will get in the way of my writing should be work – and believe me, work alone is not much of a deterrent for me~
Before you all think that I won’t be writing between now and May, that is not at all what I mean, I promise! I have a two week holiday break this winter, and I’m going to be writing between now and then as much as I can.
So, long story short: new chapter on Thursday, new classes are a headache, surgery (hopefully) in October, and I’m a college graduate as of April/May 2020!
For those of you wondering, by the way: the title is from an old poem I learned when I was a kid about how to remember the hurricane season start and end dates:
June, too soon.
Unknown
July, stand by.
August, watch out, you must.
September, remember.
October, all over.
June’s over? Julying.
Monthly update incoming!
No real “news” per se, except that my new class has started, and I’ve begun a bit of a challenge for myself.
In previous years, I tried doing the “page a day” challenge, but that was too much to suddenly cram into a day. I managed it before by cheating my ever lovin’ arse off, but I don’t like winning like that. So I’m trying something a little different this month.
Instead of trying to write 500+ words, I’m keeping it simple. 100 words a day. That’s it. It can be a blog post, it can be a short story, it can be part of Don’t Feed the Trolls. As long as it’s 100 words in the same project. The point isn’t to get a chapter done or push out as many words as I can in a day – it’s just to get into the habit of sitting down and writing. Maybe next month it’ll be 200 words. Maybe I’ll wait til after I get my teeth taken care of in September or October. It will depend on if I can get into the habit and stay in it.
I am also going to have to change my posting schedule around. Instead of a chapter a week, it’s probably going to be closer to a chapter a month. I’m not happy about this, but there’s so much more planning going into each chapter, on top of having to go back and edit “Say ‘No’ to Zombies” so I can have that ready before the end of the year.
Yeah, I suppose I should’ve warned you all that this was gonna be a crappy update, but there you have it. At least I’m not announcing the death of another novel, right?
Oops, Eye did it again…
Hey-lo, people! I had to scroll through a bunch of posts to make sure I hadn’t used this title before. That was annoying, but on to the news:
Okay, some of you might’ve noticed that I didn’t update “Don’t Feed the Trolls” this week. It wasn’t because I forgot to post it – I had already planned on not posting, actually – I just forgot to keep you all in the loop. Oops?
The reason for no update this week was because I had an appointment with a cornea specialist. I believe I mentioned it in a previous post, but at the last appointment with my eye doctors, they noticed a “blemish” in my right eye, and they were concerned. They were tossing out the big “c” word again, and talking about “up-growth” and “down-growth.” I wasn’t too worried about it, because it’s the eye that I can’t really see out of anyway, but you can’t play around when it comes to cancer.
The appointment was on Friday, and the kids were also home from school (end of the year – they only have one full day left, and two half days). When the kids are around, it’s near impossible to get any homework done. Robin likes to run his mouth constantly, and if he’s not bugging me, he’s annoying his sister, which means I get to listen to both of them go at it. I usually try to have my homework done by Friday night, because I have the kids all day during the day on Saturday, and work at the gas station that night. Sunday is the one day I have completely off, and I try to keep it free. This time though, with the kids being home, and not knowing if the doctors were going to want to dilate my eyes, send me down for a CAT scan, etc., I had to rush to get it done by Thursday night. That meant no time for writing on Trolls – or anything else, for that matter – hence the lack of warning about no updates. To be fair, I would’ve had time to write up a quick post last week, had I known then that the kids didn’t have school this Friday, but I didn’t find out until too late, and then it was scrambling to decide what we were going to do with them, since everyone else was working.
It was a bit of a nightmare, frankly, but we got it sorted out, and I made it to my appointment, ohhh, three hours early? Fun times, people. Fun. Times.
The good news is, I was right not to be worried about the whole eye thing. I forget his exact wording, but basically, the cornea specialist said that the “blemish” is a result of losing part of my cornea in the accident. I think he said part of the iris actually moved, and that’s what is causing the pigmentation. He made some noise about attacking the cataract in that eye, but that it wasn’t something I don’t need to worry about for another 20-30 years, so that’s a good ways away. They also checked my eye pressure again – glaucoma is still a concern – but even that was okay. It was on the “high” end of the normal spectrum, but it was still within range.
The bad news is that the doctor couldn’t sign off on me yet. I have to travel 30-45 minutes – each way – to the appointments, so I was hoping I was done, but nope. This doctor was “just” a cornea specialist, not one of the doctors who have been following my case for the past three years now. Hopefully though, I’ll only have one more appointment with them, and then I can go back to having the doctor down the road keep tabs on me. He’s a lot more expensive than the others, but he’s also only about five minutes away, and really good.
Don’t Feed the Trolls:
Honestly, for the next couple weeks, you guys should probably forget about regular updates, I’m just going to tell you now. The next two semesters I have are all filled with 300-400 level classes, which means a ton of homework each week. I’m trying to write on a regular basis, but the school year for Batgirl and Robin is also winding down, which means life is getting a bit more hectic. I’m still hoping to get a chapter out at least once a month, but I can’t make any promises at this point.
I’m also considering saying “screw it” and releasing “Say ‘No!’ to Zombies” on Amazon while I work on Don’t Feed the Trolls, but I haven’t decided yet. I’ll keep you all updated on that one.
That’s it for now. I have to work tonight, and then tomorrow I refuse to do anything but bury my head and try not to think about how much crap I have to get done with the kids around all summer.
Wish me luck.
[Updates] Chapter numbering issues.
So. I had myself a nice little idiot moment, apparently, when I was posting the previous chapters of “Don’t Feed the Trolls.” I’m not entirely sure what I was thinking when I posted them, I swear, but the chapter numbers were all wrong. I’m only on Chapter 3, but according to how I labeled them on here and over at Ao3, I was working on chapter 5?!
Yeah, I’m not sure what was going on there either. The good news is, I have everything fixed. Kinda, anyway. I also finally got the page for the project working right. Chapter 3 of “Don’t Feed the Trolls” is with my beta and should go live on Thursday.
Tiffany Crystal's Forecast for the day: 