Peeking out from under my rock...

[aearwen2]

Believe it or not, I'm still alive and kicking. Busy and working on things that I thoroughly enjoy as well, which is also good. Shoulder starting to hurt again, and not going back to the orthopedist for another set of cortisone shots until early September, which is not so good.



The annual Convention at the Theosophical Temple is in full swing - although, as a more or less outsider, my participation is limited to those events where my piano skills are required. A musical review entitled "The Internationale" takes place this Saturday evening, which is where my current case of performance jitters comes from. As solos, I'm playing Morning Mood from Peer Gynt by Grieg and Sakura Sakura Fantasy by Kozaburo Y. Hirai; and then am accompanying a range of songs from The Wind Song (I wrote the music, a friend did the lyrics), Alouette, O Sole Mio, I Vow To Thee, My Country (by Holst), Am Brunen Vor Dem Tore (by Schumman), A Scotch Song (by JF Hance), and Waltzing Matilda. Other pieces are being accompanied by guitar (which means NOT me!!) Should be a fun performance - IF my hands allow me to play my bit without shaking too hard.

Writing-wise, I've been working on a Doctor Who fic – if you couldn't tell from my postings lately – but am slowly starting to do the real prep work to start a complete rewrite of an O-fic novel that's been brewing for the last few years. I'm currently working on world-building and character sheets, and also doing a complete outline of the plot so I have something to work from. I love Maple as a research tool and outlining program!! I have Liquid Binder too, but I've yet to figure out how to use it well enough to give it a thorough tryout. I'm gonna try, in the in-between times, to get my DW fic finished and maybe do more work on IDD - I'm very close to having that monster finished too!!

All my kids are doing well too - which is a very nice development. Daughter Súl has started working at a day-spa within walking distance of the house here, and really likes it. She's thrilled not to have to worry about stop lights, other idiot drivers and congestion on the way to and from work; and she takes a variety of different routes that allow her to enjoy all the flowers in the yards. Daughter Vanna is progressing in her transgender process, now nicely into hormone therapy. The name change is now official, and I guess she's working hard to save up the money to get surgery, which she intends to happen in San Francisco in the next two or three years. Son JJ is unfortunately losing his job to the crummy economy, so his Regional Center for the Disabled rep is working on trying to locate another appropriate workplace for him. He didn't so much like the job as he really loved the people he was working with – I've been telling him to get phone numbers, etc. so he can keep in contact with them. He's also facing probably surgery for a lesion on his backside that will mean that we won't be able to afford to go to Oregon next Spring.

Hubby is nicely occupied taking care of the landscaping around the place and in starting the process of fixing up the bathroom. The one spot where water damage had essentially melted the sheetrock has now been repaired so that when painted, nobody will know anything was ever wrong. He's also planning to replace one side and the door on the sink cabinet, repaint the place, and is building custom footboards to go around when all is said and done. We're saving now for the shower insert to take the place of the tub we have now.

So, even though I may not be very chatty lately, I am still around and doing things. I've been debating putting the first chapter of my O-fic novel up in LC when I have it ready, but I'm gonna be very careful to make certain that any editing help I get doesn't make the thing unsellable. I already blew that with two other O-fic novels, so I've kinda learned my lesson!!



That's it from the Left Coast of California, folks... 'Til next time...

Comments

[engarian.livejournal.com]

*hugs* and I know you'll be brilliant when you play on Saturday night! You can tell me all about it next week.

I cleaned until 9:30 pm and fell asleep listening to DH vacuuming. As of now, I have a new toilet, a working sink, and I think the plumber said he might be able to get me a new sink fixture (very hard to find for this sink). I'm also several thousand dollars in the hole from the whole experience *sigh*

Maple, huh? You mentioned this yesterday, I should take a look at it.

- Erulisse (one L)

[aearwen2.livejournal.com]

I really like Maple because it's so easy to figure out - and the way it puts things together in a hierarchical form is perfect for doing plot outlines. I can do world-building entries higher up on the tree and then refer to that while working on plot points later on. I also can slip my character sheets between the two and, when I take the time to really fill those things out, I know my characters a whole lot better.

Now the gals writing DoT recommended Liquid Binder, and I went ahead and bought it - but it's a whole lot less intuitive. One of these days when I have nothing else to do *cough*yeah-right*cough* I'll play around with it.

Feel for you on your repair bills. That shower enclosure will be a bigger ticket item - especially since we're gonna want glass shower doors as well. (We're spoiled -we have them for the tub now.)

Talk to you next week - hopefully with a positive report on Sat nite's doings.

[aearwen2.livejournal.com]

Will do.

Yeah, I love Peer Gynt too - unfortunately the piano is really insufficient to express Morning Mood properly. The arrangement is a good one, tho, so I'm at least not short-changing it. It's the Japanese piece that's giving me the jitters - a complex thing to play, that one. Found it on YouTube and managed to order the sheet music in time to have it practiced up.

[aearwen2.livejournal.com]

I learned to read music before I learned my ABCs - my mom taught me piano from when I was 4 to about 6, and then had teachers until I was 12. Took up violin at 10, and my teacher wanted me to go to conservatory. But my love of languages took me in a different direction.

We loves discerning listeners, Precious, we really do!! :-D

[sykira]

Nice to see an update from you! Wow, a lot going on.

Okay, I'm deeply curious, how does editing help make your fic unsellable? Is it like if you have someone else writing chunks of it?

[aearwen2.livejournal.com]

It isn't the editing that makes it unsellable, it's the posting of the work in a public place where anybody and their grandma can see it. I could probably get away with posting it to LC because I would post it where only members would be able to read and comment. But the moment I put anything up in here, for example, I blow it out of the water sales-wise. Even should I take it down again - delete the entry in here, remove it from my personal site - publishers would reject it due to public exposure. Pretty hard to charge to read stuff that has been available for free on the 'Net.

[sykira]

I know that used to be true but I think with 50 Shades the world is changing - she clearly had that stuff posted publicly, albeit before she filed off the serial numbers by changing the names and occupations and removing the vampire stuff?

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

Published writers do it. But maybe that is OK in their case since they already have agents and publishers?

[aearwen2.livejournal.com]

Also there could be a difference between the rules of the road in the UK versus US as to what one can do without jeopardizing First Rights sales.

[galantha-nivala.livejournal.com]

Enjoy the performances! There's nothing like connecting with people through music. The performer gets way more than she gives.