Heading to Austin for the Nebulas, where I expect to lose to Karen Joy Fowler, but it really is an honor just to be nominated. I realize from reading Jennifer Pelland’s blog just how blase’ I’ve been about the whole thing so far. My heart will probably start to pound when we sit down for the banquet.
Sorry for the last couple of weeks’ radio silence. I’ve been distracted. Haven’t done a lick of writing or editing since the novel workshop, though I’ve nibbled around the edges — collecting notes, outlining, writing character sketches for a short story. I may be in the same sort of post-novel funk/recharge period that Elizabeth Bear has mentioned.
Most of the last couple of weeks, it seems, has been spent on the bathroom remodel. The bathroom seems to be even harder than the kitchen (or perhaps it’s just fading memory of how hard the kitchen remodel was) because the room is so small — everything is a game of inches. For example, there’s exactly 37″ between the door and the toilet, and that is where the sink must go. There are plenty of 39″ wide sinks (consoles and vanities) and plenty of 30″ wide sinks (mostly pedestals) but not much in between. However, I recently realized that the current wall at 37″ might be movable, by at least a couple of inches, which might allow us to use a 39″ Villeroy & Boch that looks great. But even if it can be made to fit, will that impinge on one’s elbow too much when sitting on the toilet? And we haven’t even begun to decide on colors yet.
Other items I would have blogged about in the last two weeks if I’d been paying attention: Rob Vagle and Ximena Hernandez’s wedding in Eugene (the most amazing wedding I can recall, it was staged as a silent melodrama complete with sneering mustachio’d villain), a couple of science fiction writers’ events at the Mount Hood Community College library (at which I got to spend much time with Camille Alexa among others), performances of Sweeney Tood and A Streetcar Named Desire, and a square dance in Palm Springs.
I have miserable airport karma in Palm Springs. I’ve been there maybe ten or twelve times in my life, and on at least four of those occasions I’ve had some kind of “issues” getting there and back. Last year I was stranded in Phoenix overnight. This year, when I got to the airport I found that I could not get a seat assignment for my PSP-LAX flight because it was overbooked, and I was told I would only get on the flight if someone with a seat volunteered to be bumped. I asked if there was any alternative, and after some kerfuffle one of the gate agents suggested that they were already sending some other people (who had been in the same situation and failed to get on the previous flight) to LAX via taxi. So they put me in the same cab.
A taxi. From Palm Springs to LAX.
It was a $300+ fare, but it was United’s nickel and, because technically I volunteered to be bumped from my flight, I got a free round trip ticket too. (I’ll be using that to get to Albuquerque for Taos Toolbox in June.) There was some traffic, but I got to LAX in time for my connection and made it home fine. I don’t know if the other people made their connection, which was a lot tighter. If they missed it, I feel bad because they were delayed a few minutes waiting for me.
One last thing before we board: if you’re in Portland, don’t forget that I have a reading and signing of my first collection of short stories, Space Magic from Wheatland Press, at Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing on May 14, 2008 at 7pm. I hope to see you there!
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