Well, obviously I'm getting used to using the laptop (like I gotta choice!), though I don't have any desk space in my tiny little room and I'm forced to sit on the floor with it. And, at least it's not thoroughly uncomfortable to hold it in my lap while I type. My downloading yesterday ended up taking a whole lot longer than two hours, especially after I downloaded Netscape Communicator. That took forever. And today I still have to download the various chat clients that I use.

But other than my computer woes, things aren't going all that bad. Last night I was on the floor, back in the suit, and happened to have the 8-4pm shift, which happens to overlap graveyard shift for 2 hours. (Graveyard is the shift that I used to be a full-time pit boss on.) Well, I got a really nice warm fuzzy feeling when three different graveyard dealers came up to me and told me they were glad to see me in the suit again and that they'd missed me. That was extremely cool to hear.

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Okay, so most of you who read this have probably figured out that I'm getting divorced. I've tried not to air too much of my dirty laundry in public partly because it can come across as tacky, and also partly out of respect to my soon-to-be-ex-husband, Jason. Because, though this amazes many people, I still love him and respect him. I just can't live with him.

Anyway, we talked yesterday--talked the way we always liked talking, about computers and technology and speculations on the future of the world as we know it. We talked the way really good friends are supposed to be able to talk. We're getting divorced so that we can still stay friends, and I'm beginning to think that maybe it will actually work. Yeah, I still get weepy on a fairly regular basis, but godalmighty it could have been a whole lot uglier.

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My writing. Hmmm. What can I say about my writing.

It's very slow. At least right now. I went through such a long stretch there where I really didn't write at all. Yeah, I know, I'm excused. After all I was kind of involved in major sweeping changes. But now things are settling out, I have a daily routine, I have way too much free time. (Of course I suppose it doesn't help when my fucking computer decides to eat itself.) But anyway, my writing is slow. I feel like I'm out of practice, and I'd better get back into practice before Clarion.

But at least I have been reading a lot. Lately it's been stuff written by my soon-to-be Clarion instructors. I've been haunting used bookstores and picking up tons of old award-winning-stories anthologies, as well as every "Best of" antho I can find. In a way I'm a bit appalled at how poorly read I am for someone who grew up reading SF. But now, after reading Connie Willis, and George R.R. Martin, and Paul Park, I can see how much more there is to it.

I'm really enjoying reading all of Connie Willis's books. She's quickly becoming my favorite author simply because she can tackle deep emotional issues, yet also deal with things with a light humorous touch. Bellwether was terrifically amusing, and Doomsday Book was intensely gripping. However, I found Lincoln's Dreams to be quite creepy. I lent all of the Connie Willis books I have to my mother, since, after all, she's the one who started me reading SF way back when. She started reading Doomsday Book and ended up putting off grading term papers to finish it. (And she only had a few historical nits with it.)

Oh, by the way, my mother teaches college-level history.

By the way, I'm enormously proud of her. She went back to school to finish up her undergrad degree when I went off to college. And now she's teaching college. She's a totally cool chick. ;-)

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I think I've rambled enough for now.