It’s been a tremendously busy week over here, thus my dearth of posting. The construction/demo continues apace, but it continues at a very different pace than we were warned; rather than a week of extensive home invasion/refurb then peace, we’ll be getting intermittent home invasion/refurb for the next couple of months (at least). The long and short of this is that some days are okay (when the electricians are working at the other end of the building), and some days are bad (when they’re inside my apartment, or working above/next door to me). Oh well. Nothing to be done about it now.*

They’ll be here on Monday, which will annoy me a bit because I won’t be here — and I live in more-or-less permanent fear of my cat dashing underfoot/underpowertools/out the door. So although I don’t want to sit here and listen to the work all day, at least if I’m here, I don’t worry about the cat. On the upshot, I’m slightly less fretful now that I’ve met and spoken with the electricians a time or two. Thus far they’ve been very aware of the building’s feline population (call it legion, for they are many); and even though I didn’t request it, during their previous visits they’ve been very careful to keep the door closed as they come and go. I have definitely appreciated the courtesy.

Anyway. New subject.

Sooo. The reason I’m going to be gone much of Monday is as follows: For the first time in ten years, I’m going to the dentist. I’m starting to have trouble with a couple of my back teeth, and one of these troublesome teeth has very suddenly begun to cause me quite a lot of pain (though it’s easily managed with Motrin, at the moment — so really it’s not THAT bad). Since I’m going to be heading off on tour next month, I really wanted to get this addressed before finding myself out in the boonies, in my friend’s car, hundreds of miles from a dentist, and trying to act personable during this big-ass, week-long event.

Why has it been ten years? I think I mentioned this in one of those “20 things about me” memes; but to recap, the reasons are several and varied. (1). For about eight of the last ten years, I haven’t had any dental insurance. (2). I had SO MUCH WORK done on my mouth when I was younger, that I hated the idea of letting anyone poke and prod at my teeth anymore. (3). The longer you go, the worse you need it, and the less you want to bother with it. Yanno? But I’m finally sucking it up and going on Monday, to a dentist my husband has come to like quite well. My appointment is at 9:30 in the morning, in part because they fully expect me to be there awhile.

And now I give you some links.

• Penguicon I finalized my travel arrangements for this fine, upstanding convention — and I will be one of their “nifty” guests. I’m not real sure what this “nifty” designation means, but hey, I’ll take it. They put on a good show, and I’m proud to be part of it again this year.

• Coilhouse #2 is totally hot. I should know — I’ve already got my copy. It’s a beautiful magazine from cover to cover, and this issue features some excellent stuff, including interviews with Margaret Cho and Selene Luna, some amazing art and fashion spreads, and the hippest damn paper dolls I’ve ever seen.

• Red Staters are the largest pornography consumers, bar none. It’s no surprise to me that the distinct and direct correlation is there; I don’t think it’s any big secret that the more repressive the culture, the more desperate the need for sexual outlets.

• Fighting the Plague in the Great Plains with Gerbils. Giant gerbils from Kazakhstan may be the last best hope for understanding and controlling outbreaks of — you got it — bubonic plague. Because real life is weirder than fiction, that’s why.
  

And here’s the recent progress on my book about a kidnapped baby with webbed hands and feet; her 17-year-old half brother who’s determined to rescue her; a creepy island in Puget Sound that’s been quarantined since 1918, and the Mother Hydra cult that has established itself thereupon; now with Bonus! fish people, religious zealots, and a teenage cryptozoology fanatic who really should’ve picked another hobby:

Project: Far-Fetched
New Words: 638 (boo.)
Present Total Word Count: 20,075 words
Goal: 65,000 words

Observations: The island is everything I’d hoped it’d be and more. We’re starting at an abandoned lighthouse, where a very expensive motorboat has been beached and seemingly forgotten. Our heroes are not alone. That’s both good and bad.

Things Accomplished in Real Life: Settled the aforementioned travel plans; spent several hours filling out paperwork for the CPA and adding up receipts; filled out a new patient packet for the dentist’s office (which took longer than you’d expect); cleaned house including bathrooms, kitchen.

Reason for Stopping: I don’t remember. To tell you the truth, I haven’t worked on this in a couple of days; I’ve been trying to get ahead of my day-job game a little bit, since this coming week is filled with appointments and whatnot. I might try to get a little work done on it today, but then again, I might not.

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* We’re looking into some options involving a reduced rent/etcetera, but PLEASE do not comment or email with suggestions. We have our reasons for staying put, and I don’t intend to go into all the details here in order to validate our decisions. Thanks.