Escape

My brain is looking for escape routes.  Yesterday I wanted to write on anything except what I was supposed to.  Last night I even came up with a new story idea.  This morning I came up with more ideas--luckily one was for Masks--but the primary idea was for a project that has been on a backburner and will probably stay there for a long time.  I can blame my heavy schedule for this bout of escapism, but that would be just an excuse.  I know how to kick this.  Write anyway.

Definitely owe INK a dollar, and considering Radcon, that'll be another dollar because I'm not going to get a sub in by next Monday either.  Might as well pay up now.  But hey, after Radcon I'll be home free for quite a while.  With two day jobs days of work a week, three max, and the fact that lately my schedule has been arranged so that the workdays are consecutive, I'll have a lot more free time to get writing projects done.  I'm really, really looking forward to that.  Radcon has become my Thunderdome, and all I want to do is get beyond it (she said, dating herself yet again.)  I'm sure once I get there, though, I'll have such a blast that I'll forget all about these silly things called deadlines and goals, at least for a while.

Overbooked

This happens periodically, and each time I'm not any better equipped to cope. I just have to ride the wave out.

I'm overbooked. Writer's workshop for OryCon 29 is needing more and more attention. I'm still working my 3-4 days a week at the store. I have a bunch of pictures to take for Rory's book, and an important portrait to help make happen. And then I have my regular house stuff, and the garden needs to be put to bed in stages or I'll never get it done in time and have a serious mess in spring to deal with. All this, plus we're going on vacation in just barely over two weeks.

Which means I've written only a paragraph here and a sentence there this past stretch. It's especially frustrating because I'm so inspired right now. That leads to weird dreams.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to write some tomorrow evening. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Late nights with a jester

Lately I've been writing on Masks very late, sometimes until 2am. Maybe it's the warm weather, although that doesn't make any sense because my office is cool and makes a great retreat when everyplace else is uncomfortably hot. I know my sleep cycle is out of whack, although I'm not sure if it's the writing, or if I'm writing because it fills the time while my sleep cycle is out of whack.

The nice thing about writing at night is that I don't feel guilty about not getting various chores done inside and out. Another thing is that the house is really quiet, and there are no interruptions. I miss morning writing, though. I have more stamina, and if an idea is really moving me forward, I can keep going all day (provided work doesn't get in the way.)

It's almost 1am now and I'm finally tired and ready for bed. Have to work tomorrow, er, today. Eck. No rest for the wicked! Or something like that.

Part time means never having to say I'm available

Before I start, heh, I love the Moody's comment about a period agricultural event. If only ...

I've been griping about my work schedule for a couple of days now. Apparently part time has been translated into Kami working six days in a row, getting one day off (Wednesday) and then working some more followed by getting Saturday off. Okay, yes, I'm looking forward to the ensuing fat paycheck. But dang! I have stuff to do, people! Once again I'm facing an unhappy chat with the manager which may not become necessary if, on the upcoming Thursday, I look at the schedule and see a heap of days off in a row. Problem solved. Normally I make excuses for management along the lines of so-and-so is on vacation or what's-her-name is sick so we have to fill in, yay checking account. In this case, though, a managerial type is on vacation and there is no such thing as filling in from the ranks for that position. Other supers fill in, not us grunts. They even pulled a super from another store to help. So what gives??!!

What gives is someone who doesn't like to do scheduling, or any paperwork for that matter. Rather than deal with the issue by making everything as automatic as possible (by making the schedule almost identical each week, shuffling people around only as needed to cover vacations, etc.) the manager has chosen to just fill shifts with qualified personnel in pencil apparently at random until all shifts are covered and then tack the schedule on the wall. Which is followed by us recipients of said schedule looking at it and scratching our heads wondering WTF. This negates such niceties like being able to say with fair certainty if you can make the picnic in two weeks or the Friday meeting down at the local burger joint that happens every other week. There isn't even a pattern as to shift or post. Nor is there much advance notice--it's posted week by week, one week at a time Sunday-Saturday on Thursdays, period. How in the world can people plan weekend stuff with their families if they only know if they'll get the Sunday after the Saturday off two days in advance? I've never seen a schedule done this way, dartboard style. I hope to never again. It's terribly inconvenient for everyone, including the schedule maker, although he probably doesn't see it that way. For him, short term, it appears to be the least stressful way to fill positions.

He'll be retiring soon. I like the man, and yet, yay!!

He needs to retire. In the meantime, apparently working part time means never having to say I'm available on a given day. Boo, drat.