Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've had a cold all week, and while it wasn't really a bad cold, still I had no will to do much of anything. My house is a mess, dirty dishes are piled to alarming heights, I've done zilcho writing, and my dog is in dire need of a bath.

But fortunately, like I said, it wasn't a bad cold, and I seem to be over the worst of it. I didn't go running yesterday, obviously, and won't tomorrow either (my Grand Plan had been to go running on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings, since I get out of work a bit earlier those days.) However I think I will take Zeus for a good long walk tomorrow. He hasn't gotten out much with me being sickish and I'm feeling like I'm neglecting him. He's an awfully big dog to stay cooped up in the house all day.

I'm still waiting to hear back on my submission to the Avon anthology, which means that I won't be submitting to the S&S antho this year. I know, I could have written something new for it, but no ideas sprang to mind, and I haven't been much in the frame of mind to force a story out.

Only other news is that I bought a pistol. I've been wanting to buy one for a while, but this week I decided to go ahead and start shopping. Tuesday afternoon I went to a place that one of my cop buddies had recommended and spent close to an hour with the extremely helpful guys there handling a great variety of handguns. I knew pretty much what I wanted (semi-auto, 9mm) but there was still a pretty large assortment to go through. However, I kept coming back to the Glock 19, a very high quality handgun which also fit my hand nicely. (I have small, girly hands.) So after thinking about it overnight, I went back Wednesday morning and bought the Glock. It took about two hours to do all the paperwork and background checks, as well as learning in detail how to field strip it and clean it, but by noon I walked out with my new acquisition. I, of course, also bought all the "trimmings," i.e. ear and eye protection, holster, ammo etc. I'm planning on going out to the range tomorrow and putting about a hundred rounds through it to see how it handles.

Yes, I enjoy guns and enjoy shooting. I approve of responsible ownership of guns. I live by myself, i.e. no kids in the house, so I had no qualms about getting a pistol. Once upon a time I was a very good shot, back when I had a rare opportunity to train with an expert marksman who was generous enough to supply me with guns and ammo. However it's been nearly seven years since I've done any shooting (except for the bit I did with my brother up in Seattle) and it will be interesting to see how I do now.