It’s Kind of a Dream…

…that a publisher might call out of the blue and say “Hey, we’d like to reissue your out of print books.”  And then one day it happens.

Like today.

Apex is going to republish When Darkness Loves Us in time for launch at Orycon this year, and perhaps Black Ambrosia.

My first two books.

Very fun.

Ghost Story Weekend Registration

Registration for Ghost Story Weekend at the spooky Oregon Coast is now open on ExpressLane.

Note that there are two sections: One is for 11 of us, who will stay in the cabins, and the other is for Florence residents who will go home at night (missing the best part, if you ask me).

CRN 43125 is for attending the workshop alone, no overnight stay.  The tuition is $64 plus college fees of $8.00; total cost $72.

CRN 43124 is for attending the workshop AND staying in the Siltcoos cabins.  The tuition is $64, $45 for overnight, shared accommodations, and the $8 college fee:  total cost is $117.

I’ll email everybody who registers as the time approaches…

See you then…

The peas are in!

The last two weeks of February are almost always beautiful. This is the promise of spring, I guess, or the false-hope that spring has actually arrived. These two glorious weeks of blue sky and light-jacket weather after months of cold gray drizzle make me a little giddy.

The first thing I do is get the pea bed ready, put up the trellis, and plant the peas.  I did that today.  And while I was in the garden, I pulled a bunch of weeds, and noticed the violets that are up, and the crocus. The daffodils are budding, and the tulips are popping up. Spring is definitely on the way.

But after the peas are in, winter returns. It always does. In fact, it’s going to rain tomorrow and turn cold again. But the rain isn’t the worst part. The worst is the fog. So we have cold, drizzly fog, after two weeks of actually believing that spring might be within grasp.

Every year I tell myself not to fall for nature’s cruel trick, but it never works.  I fall for it.  And I’m disappointed. Every year.

And yet, the peas will eventually come up, cold, drizzly fog and all, and by the time they’re ready to be lightly steamed and salted,  it really will be spring.

Investing in friendships

I just got home from a long weekend trip to visit friends I don’t often get to see. We had a great time. I enjoyed the break from my work/school routine, the Oregon winter, and got to see sun, thrilling desert and important people.

On the complicated and frustrating way home (travel can be such a pain in the ass), I realized that investing in friends and family is the most rewarding effort possible. Spending time with each other, even if it’s just watching television side by side, lets our spirits commune. A cup of coffee (or ice water, as the case may be) for an hour at the kitchen breakfast bar is more important than a thousand emails.  I mean I know this. I’ve always known this.

But this trip, for some reason, turned my head around. None of us is getting any younger, and some time I’ll go to Arizona and find that I have one fewer friend to visit. That will be a sincerely bad day. But it will be much less horrible because of the trip I just had–the time I just invested–in wonderful friendships.

So I say this: If there’s someone you want to visit, get on with it. Time’s wasting. Your relationship is languishing. Forget the stock market and invest yourself in the most important, lasting, reality in the universe.

Facebook: Okay, now I get it

Well, that didn’t take long.

I searched and found a couple of people I knew, so I invited them to be my “friend.” Soon their friends were my friends. Then my dog has her own page on Dogbook (can you believe this?) and she has her own dog friends. And I’m a member of groups, and they have friends.

It’s the ultimate time suck. And addictive.

Perhaps I’ll be there more often than I imagine.  And I still feel as though I ought to have a professional presence there as well as a personal presence. Hmmm. Maybe the twain will finally meet.

Regardless, I better go check to see what all my “friends” are up to. That will keep me from pining about not having the new updated Kindle.

Facebook: I don’t get it.

So I’ve heard lots and lots about Facebook, so I decided to join. I joined MySpace about a year ago as research, but it didn’t impress me. I’ve been there a total of two times. Now, I guess MySpace is so last year and Facebook is very user friendly and absolutely imperative.

Really? What’s the point?

If I make a page using my professional name, then none of the people from my high school(s) would recognize it, and there’s no way to put a second searchable name in there.  So does that mean I need two Facebook pages? Do I want to hear from those people anyway?

So I guess I’m asking…. what’s the point?

I already belong to groups with common interests, like Ravelry for knitting (totally awesome). And I stay on top of news of The Urantia Book through other outlets, although I see that Facebook does have several Urantia book sites.

Mostly, I’m busy with work and school, and don’t have a lot of time to sit online and dawdle. Is that what this site is for? Sucking time?

I can think of better ways to waste time.

So I’m on Facebook, but you’re not likely to see me there very often.