Sigh. There is something about a combination of sleep deprivation, gray weather, and utter boredom that just f*cks with me.

Don't get me wrong. I heart gray weather. Sleep deprivation has its time and place too, especially if it's for a good cause. Boredom, however, is one of my worst enemies. Boredom is even a character in my book - a poorly dressed and pimply one, I might add - who is usually accompanied by his jabbering sidekick Anxiety - and together they wreak all kinds of havoc for my poor protagonist.

These two, combination with aforementioned factors, can seriously kick my a*s.

Never mind that I've been complimented at least twice on my outfit today. There I was, wandering around the Geeksoft grounds in my bored anxious gray haze, when some random Geeksofter startled me by saying "Smokin' outfit!"

I was like huh, who me? I mean, I'm wearing the same damn outfit I was yesterday (deduce what you will from that) and I felt a little more smokin' then but for just one brief moment I felt smokin' today too. Then the smoke drifted away.

So besides complaining, what else can I tell you? I'm making progress on that stupid article. If writing yet another draft with a whole new spin that still sucks is progress. I've gained back nearly all the five pounds I lost in Patagonia. OH. Did I mention I wish I were still on vaction when I never got bored or anxious?

Ha ha ha ha. Isn't it funny how vacation always become so idyllic in retrospect? There WERE a few times I was bored on vacation and there were PLENTY of times I was anxious (oh let's see, I worried about having a heart attack while out in the middle of nowhere; I feared blowing off a cliff in the wind; I was certain the plane would crash, etc. etc.), and there many of times I desperately missed people at home. But once you get back it's like oh, my vacation was SO perfect I was SO relaxed I didn't worry about a THING! What a lie. But hey, it was still good. And it would be completely honest to say I didn't worry about as MUCH stuff.

I mean, how could you worry about all the petty crap you usually worry about when you're just hanging out in the mountains, sucking in fresh air, and looking at views like this?


In other news, oh, my first novel is coming out in a month or so. I am so excited terrified. (Can you tell I just learned how to do the strikeout command?). I will be doing bookstore events in Seattle, Portland, and the Bay Area, and will be making the schedule available shortly. So if you live in any of those cities, *lucky you!* I'm contemplating a little east coat jaunt too, but that's speculative at this point.

OK. You've heard far too much from me already. Momentarily, I will stop complaining and do something productive. Yeah, any second now.