Every Creature Was Stirring, Even The Hyperactive Dog

The house is atwitter as we prepare for my relatives to arrive. My aunt and uncle, and their two kids, are coming in from England for the first time in a year. I haven't seen them in four years. Then my grandmother, and possibly her boyfriend, are going to be coming as well.

My mother is stressed to the extreme. We now have enough vegetarian food to survive a short nuclear winter. The house has been cleaned several times. Everyone has been lectured to be on their best behavior.

Went to the library, where I had the following conversation:
[LV goes to desk, and gives Librarian her last name]
Librarian: Can I ask where you got your name?
LV: Um... from my Dad.
Librarian: It's very unusual, is all.
LV: Really? I know a lot of people with my name. It's actually kind of annoying.
Librarian: I meant for girls.
LV: What?
Librarian: I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude. I've just never met a girl named Richard before.
LV... WHAT?
Librarian: Also, you owe $3.75.

Eventually we worked out that A] My name was in fact not Richard, and B] That I owed no money whatsoever. She was very embarrassed. I was mostly amused. Anyway, I got my new books, and returned those I had finished.

New Library Books
* Strange Doings - R.A. Lafferty
* Cold Hand In Mine - Robert Aickman
* Arkham Asylum - Grant Morrison

But first I have to finish my two other library books. And that damnable Twilight keeps calling to me temptingly from the bedside table, beckoning me with promises of teenage lust and vampires and easy, enjoyable summer reading.

Most of the day was about preparing the house and grocery shopping, and calming my mother's frayed nerves.

I should be writing, but I don't really feel like it. Which is bad. Must keep up the enthusiasm. It's almost done, Elle. I keep telling myself that.
- LV

moreless

A Post A Day Makes... Good Stuff Happen

338 pages, but I plan on writing more later. It's weird, I feel like I'm writing an awful lot, but page-wise it doesn't add up to much. Weird bit at the moment; Anna's having two concurrent conversations - one with her 'partner', and one with her dead boyfriend who can't talk. It makes sense if you've read the book, which of course no one has.

It was raining torrents this morning, so I tried to rally a group to see DARK KNIGHT. No dice. My friend Aye went to see WALL-E, but it wasn't playing, and my youngest cousin went to see the vile new MUMMY disaster. I stayed at home with the rest of the clan, writing and sulking over various injustices being forced upon Jay, my favorite (and eldest) cousin.

I will say it again: parents suck. And they inflict such pain on their children, such damage, without ever realizing what they've done, or what STUPID SHIT they're getting worked up over. Of course, I can't say anything. I'm supposed to be ignorant of the whole situation. But when the the shit hits, if I'm here, some of it is going to get on me, I can tell you that.

That was a disgusting metaphor. Apologies all around.

I need to stop biting my nails.

CTRL+ALT+DEL has long been my favorite webcomic. Besides being absolutely hilarious, it frequently commented on movies and TV shows I like, and let's me pretend I know anything about gaming. But lately, it's been off a little. The new arc involved a character having a miscarriage. I supported the storyline, mainly because I genuinely believed that the writer, Tim Buckley, could pull it off as a serious story while not completely losing the funny aspects of the comic. And I still do. But it just hasn't been that funny lately, which is disappointing. Oddly enough, or maybe not given their name, the new Sillies section of the website is as funny as any of the original material. I appreciate Tim's attempt to cover serious ground. I really do. He's written some lovely pieces, and is being emotionally honest. I don't even mind the change from his usual pop culture references. But I feel like I've been reading a different comic the past few weeks, and to be honest I don't love it. Tim claims he has an elaborate story arc planned, and I really am trying to have faith in him. He hasn't let me down yet. But damn it, I miss the funny.

That was much longer than I intended.

OK, enough procrastinating. Time to make the words.
- LV

moreless

Writing Notes, & Not Much Else

331 pages. I'm sure it will be much less when I finally type this monster up, as I have huge handwriting and also put a space between each paragraph, since my handwriting is so supremely demented. But I have to go back and rewrite a lot. The second draft is going to be a monster. I need to:

* expand on the character of Robert, who becomes vital in the last third of the book, but seems like kind of a whiny wanker throughout the first two thirds.
* add the supernatural bit much earlier. Looking back, it makes so much sense - of COURSE Jack's still around, in some form, and of COURSE he's going to drive Anna nuts. But when I started it out, as much as I wanted to add that in, I felt like it would be too much. Then I thought, fuck it. I'm writing a book that probably won't be read by anyone but me, and whoever rejects books at a few publishers. And it makes sense. And I like writing it. So there.
* expand a few other scenes, because I didn't realize aspects of them until later.
* do some research on the execution scene, because it's pivotal even if it's very early in the book, and I feel like it would be disrespectful in some way if it wasn't totally accurate.

I didn't get as much writing done as I wanted today, what with relatives all over the place, and shopping, and being force-fed enormous plates of food from well-meaning relatives (there wasn't that much force, at least in the beginning, because the freshly caught crab was delicious, but a human stomach can only hold so much before it begins to rupture).

Thursday is my cousin Jay's birthday, so I expect that I'll be busy with relative activities the whole day. I adore Jay. She's like the little sister I always wanted. She's probably the kindest person I've ever met - genuine, authentic, and sweet.

Here are some pictures of my dog, Hunter, named after the late great Doctor Hunter Stockton Thompson. Knowing his personality as I now do, he may have been misnamed.


A blurry Hunter, wandering around the deck the day we bought him.


My favorite picture. He's put on some weight, and is developing some dark brown spots on his back. He's no longer a shy, scared creature, but a psychotic love-dog who wants only to lick you until there is nothing left to lick. Then he wants a belly-rub.


Those are my feet in the corner.

I'm really annoyed I only saw HELLBOY 2 once. It kicked all the asses in the world. And screw you all, I love Ron Perlman. He PWNS everyone. Ever. All the time.
- LV

moreless