Status Quo

Well, there’s good news and there’s bad news.

Although I am not 100 percent sure yet, I am fairly sure that I out at UCF for the English Language Institute position. I would have heard yesterday if I was still in. I didn’t hear today, and while I’m not certain really until Friday, I expect that’s it. And honestly, I’m disappointed, but I gave a really good interview that repped my personality, philosophies and skills well. I can’t do better than that.

So, while I might not get a new job, there most likely won’t be the thrill of living at least one year apart and scrambling to move to Florida and find a place to stay, no doubt by mid-January. That sounded like a world of pain.

I’ve been getting a lot of rejections lately for the novels and the shorts. Good rejections and Formy McFormerston’s. Man, I gotta do something for morale, between the job and the rejections. No gets kind of old.

But hey, Bryon’s new doctor is helping him reframe his stomach issues in a more positive, less anxiety laden way. We’re both changing up our diet to be less acid-y to help out, and we’re working on relaxation as hard as we can. 🙂 What? I don’t understand.

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I’m about two days behind on word count for NaNoWriMo. It happens. I have some writing time Friday morning. While I have been going through an interview process, I’m also involved in one, and this week was about 4 candidates. I’m also trying to get some logistics set up for some student interviews in Brazil the week after we get back from Thanksgiving.

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving, all the writing, the feasting (not too much, just enough) and hitting my house with a Christmas stick. Tomorrow, we have the electricians getting down and dirty with our remast as we continue bathroom quest. Stay tuned.

Essayist; Readings; Contemplation

John Scalzi writes most intelligently about the passing of his beloved Lopsided Cat. I know you all like him as an author of fiction, but the man is a hell of an essayist as well. I suppose there isn’t a lot of money in being Russell Baker or Annie Dillard, but I do appreciate heartfelt nonfiction.

And it made me cry and want my cats, so you know, good writing all around. Good essay succeeds because it touches all the things in us that are human and that are common about being human. Scalzi nailed my feelings about pets here, and I suspect neither of us are unique.

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For your enjoyment, thanks to Brent over in Adventures in Sci Fi Publishing, here’s the first set of our Icon readings featuring Ransom Noble, Chris Corenell, Stephanie Vance and Jim Miller-Meeks.

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This morning’s question as I get ready to begin my NaNoWriMo session is this: Am I a professor who writes, am I a writer who professes, or am I a writer and a professor? I suspect I don’t have an answer to that, but I will mull it over and get back to you.