The Cantina Staring Back At You From The Abyss

You did great! I hope you can come back. We're a supportive group. It was fantastic to see you there!

Hint: If you go down to the corner, past the coffee shop, and turn right, there is a hidden parking lot on the left, free after 5pm.

Brightdreamer: I'd actually come up with the last suggestion last night (the library is dangerous and must be destroyed).

I MADE IT INTO QUERY KOMBAT!!!!

*externally screaming*

Friday morning, finally, which means tomorrow is Saturday at long, long last... (Dang, that extra day of overtime makes the week long... which makes me a complete and total wimp, I know, but there it is.)

Not much new. Figure I'm pretty much stuck with the one logo design as nothing else is working, so I want to trace out a somewhat cleaner copy to work with before I finalize lines and ink. And I'm taking a second run on a book that had stalled out. I really, really hope it lives up to its potential soon - so far, I'm only a few chapters in, and it feels more like a middle-grade story that snuck into its sister's room to play dress-up as a YA novel. (I also already hit bingo on the cliche card... at this rate, I'll have blackout by the halfway point.)

Eh, well. Time to do some morning websurfing, then off to work. Fingers crossed I don't have to shop my way home.

Morning everyone.

Just peeking in. Lots to do. Freelance out the wazoo and now have yarn for my sister's baby blanket that I promised. Doing a simple striped granny in grey, teal, light green, purple, and lavender. I am going to need to order some more yarn but waiting until I have the first full round of the colors so I know how much more I'll need.

Outlining a new series. Well, first book anyway. Kind of disappointed in who the bad guy is but that's how all the pieces fell together.

Today is mad scrambling to get some things finished before I go to work.

Maggie Maxwell said:

I MADE IT INTO QUERY KOMBAT!!!!

*externally screaming*

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Hot diggity! How many entrants were there? That's awesome!

shortstorymachinist said:

Hot diggity! How many entrants were there? That's awesome!

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400+ narrowed down to 64. I was certain I wasn't gonna make it, but apparently something stood out.

Afternoon, Cantina. I honestly don't feel very good right now. Felt fine earlier, but then a smell make me queasy and while the smell is gone, the queasiness seems to be sticking around and I keep being afra



*fifteen minutes and a mad dash to the trashcan later*

Well, that answered that question. Great. I hope I don't have a stupid stomach virus or something. Thermometer says my temperature is normal, so maybe one of the breakfast items just didn't sit right. I'm gonna crawl under the smibble pile for a bit and hope I feel better.

Maggie Maxwell said:

I MADE IT INTO QUERY KOMBAT!!!!

*externally screaming*

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CONGRATS!!!! (I did not make it )

greendragon said:

CONGRATS!!!! (I did not make it )

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Aww, I was rooting for you Thank you though.

It's bizarre reading the #QKSlush hashtag now that I know at least one is talking about me. The person who picked me said she had three YA fantasies narrowed down, and now I know one of them was mine.

This morning, I had 78 reviews on Amazon on Legacy of Hunger. It's taken me years to beg, borrow and steal for those.

Later this morning, I had 74. I investigated, and saw the 74 showed up when I clicked the ebook copy, and 4 showed up on the print copy. No other books appeared to have this separation. I sent an email of inquiry.

Then around noon, ALL MY REVIEWS WERE GONE. It said 1 was left, but nothing listed when clicked.

I called - "oh, there's a known glitch. We're working on it. No idea when it will be resolved."

Yay. I JUST signed up for a promo on that book for next week, paying money for it and everything. And it's one of those where they require a minimum number of reviews, or your fee is forfeit. Joy.

Maggie Maxwell - Congrats on advancement!

greendragon - Bummer on the review mix-up. (And I figured you had it covered on the short story, what with your evident ability to finish things - was just spitballing anyway...)

E.F.B. - Hate it when that happens. Sometimes your gut just says No for no earthly reason... fingers crossed it's not a bug and is just a transient Thing. (Though I'll admit I get a little paranoid about such things, especially with Dad's history... if you get nasty, persistent gut pain or other disturbing symptoms, don't play the hero, okay?)

Friday afternoon, and another tiring day of work. Idiot Me also picked up another day of overtime next week. (Am thinking of ordering another DVD or something... plus it's an over-70 hour month anyway, so why not get a little extra while I can. Weird rules for our pay grade means we can't work more than 69 hours a month except for four times a year. Do not ask for reason or logic behind that rule, especially when some months naturally go over that limit, for there is none.) But we got out an hour early, and numbers have been down with summer approaching, so I'm anticipating a very light load on Tuesday that we'll pay for on Wednesday.

Got dinner (chicken salad) chilling in the fridge, so I'm free to sit around. Will take one last crack at a logo redesign ('cause I really, really don't think the one I have is much good.) Later tonight I'll be rewatching my Expanse ep; a lot was going on, and I'm sure I'll pick up more this time around, especially without SyFy's frellin' commercial breaks. Worth the money to buy the season pass on Amazon Prime, definitely...

Maggie, congrats on the thing!

GD, how frustrating! I hope they fix it soon.

Brightdreamer said:

E.F.B. - Hate it when that happens. Sometimes your gut just says No for no earthly reason... fingers crossed it's not a bug and is just a transient Thing. (Though I'll admit I get a little paranoid about such things, especially with Dad's history... if you get nasty, persistent gut pain or other disturbing symptoms, don't play the hero, okay?).

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What hero? No heros here, just a sick and unhappy me. It apparently is a stomach virus and is going through all the usual things I get when I get one: No pain, just bouts of queasiness, generally feeling bad and tired (took a nap after "lunch" because I was falling asleep sitting up and I never do that) and temperature of 100.1. May even be a virus I've had before because it's not the worst ever. (The fact that I felt well enough after my nap to get on the stationary bike and gently petal for 15 minutes is saying something.) Largely I'm just super annoyed at feeling bad enough to not want to do anything and not being able to eat more than crackers and broth. Blaaaaaaah. Hoping it's just a 24 hour bug and I'll be better by tomorrow.

E.F.B. said:

What hero? No heros here, just a sick and unhappy me. It apparently is a stomach virus and is going through all the usual things I get when I get one: No pain, just bouts of queasiness, generally feeling bad and tired (took a nap after "lunch" because I was falling asleep sitting up and I never do that) and temperature of 100.1. May even be a virus I've had before because it's not the worst ever. (The fact that I felt well enough after my nap to get on the stationary bike and gently petal for 15 minutes is saying something.) Largely I'm just super annoyed at feeling bad enough to not want to do anything and not being able to eat more than crackers and broth. Blaaaaaaah. Hoping it's just a 24 hour bug and I'll be better by tomorrow.

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Hope it works itself through soon. (As I mentioned, I get a bit paranoid about gut bugs - Dad spent Xmas in the hospital when a "gut bug" turned out to be an intestinal adhesion... long story short, we're damned lucky he's still with us, and he wouldn't have been if we waited much longer to get him to the ER. So, again - serious, unusual gut pain or worsening symptoms = don't play around... I mean it.)

Well, it's later on Friday, about to head into bed. May have a logo layout I like better, but will have to hustle as the clock's ticking (want both logos done by mid-June if humanly possible, and I can't even start the second one until this one's in the can.) Rewatched the Expanse ep on Prime, thinking how much I'll miss the show after this season.

Then I checked Twitter...

Officially announced not very long ago, Amazon's picking the show up for another season!

Damn, but it's good when the good guys win a round!

They finally got all my reviews back, and where they belong! Woohoo! And I got a new one, so 79

Thanks, brightdreamer, for both the spitballing and the compliment~!

Today I'm off to setup and run my booth for the first day of Glassfest, the local festival. I detest same-day setups. Sweating for four hours and then dealing with customers for eight without a shower isn't kind on EITHER the vendor or the customer. Also, they give us 3 hours to set up. Most shows allow a minimum of 4. My setup usually takes 4, but my husband can at least help since it's local. Tomorrow looks like rain, so I hope today is a good day.

Maggie Maxwell said:

I MADE IT INTO QUERY KOMBAT!!!!

*externally screaming*

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Congrats Maggie!!!!

Feel better EFFB. And the rest of you: have a great weekend!

Morning, Cantina. *drapes self across smibble pile* I slept like a rock last night. So far I seem to be feeling okay? I mean, I'm not 100%. My muscles are sore from yesterday and I'm definitely having to take things slow, but I just ate a scrambled egg and my stomach seems to be accepting it, which is more than it did last night when my mom tried to make me a poached egg on toast and I got queasy at the mere sight of it. Guess I'll try to write some. *ambles off*

Belated congrats and good wishes to all.

Speaking of introverts needing time and space, this introvert who masquerades as an extrovert hit her limit this week after big leadership meetings, unexpected conference presentation where she did a dance monkey dance thing on a subject she knows...kinda, 4am client calls, and and After two 70+ hour work weeks, I'm taking an extra long weekend. And I started it by visiting my mom yesterday, I packed my husband off to the cabin after he freaked out with job stuff, and now? Now I'm going to organize my life/home, write, and get some gym time in. Yes yes.

Also so hiding in the smibbles. So I thought I'd wave before disappearing for a while again.

Maggie Maxwell said:

I MADE IT INTO QUERY KOMBAT!!!!

*externally screaming*

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Awesome job!!!! *Insert quippy Mortal Kombat joke*

Yesterday's art show started out great - in the first hour, a return customer came and bought $300 worth of jewelry, which meant my costs for the show were covered already. Rare so early! Only $100 in sales the rest of the day, though, and today looks like on-and-off rain all day, so few sales prospects.

Luckily, I have tomorrow off to rest.

zanzjan said:

Just a note for anyone who hasn't seen the post in announcements, but AW will be down from 7-11am tomorrow (uh, today now? Sunday) for maintenance.

Details here.

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Heh, I seem to have slept through it. Good thing, because I totally missed the announcement. *blush*

Slept through the downtime (more or less, given my spotty sleep pattern) myself...

Well, yesterday was busy with family stuff and some frivolous book buying (I am a weak, weak person.)

Today, while I have the house mostly to myself (Mom's off at a festival with her brother, sibling's off on Errands, and Dad sleeps in late), I need to buckle down and get logo work done. Have two designs I may end up inking. Not in love with either one, frankly, but it's almost June...

Also probably should try fixing the vacuum cleaner (we think the belt driving the beater bar is broken.) And there's that repaired lawn mower staring at me from the back patio... but my priority is logo work. Logo work, and checking humm feeders; must be a round of fledglings out there, 'cause they're dangerously thick and draining five to six feeders daily.

Ugh. Though I am slowly getting over this virus, it is still annoying to know that I want food, but I can't really handle the things I really want, nor am I truly feeling hungry yet. Also am still struggling a little with focus, tiredness, and a little moodiness, all of which are typical for me when I'm sick. I hate stomach viruses.

E.F.B. - Sucks when they linger, though at least it sounds like it's headed in the right direction... more or less.

So, later on Sunday, and you know the lawn mower we just got back from servicing, after it refusing to even start most of last year? (Maybe you don't - I thought I mentioned it here. If I didn't, or if you don't recall, we got our nonfunctioning lawn mower serviced the other week. There, now you're up to speed...) Guess what happened when I was trying to mow the jungle/lawn this afternoon... Go on, guess. Bet you can't guess, can you?



Now, I got further than last year, but nowhere near done before it finally shut down and refused to start again. I want to believe it's because the "lawn" was just too thick, and it needs cool-down time. I really, really want to believe that. Because if I don't I might throw the blasted thing through a certain repair shop's window...

Ergh.

In other news, I'm slowly warming to the logo design I'm prepping. Will probably end up inking tomorrow; still getting final pencil lines done, may do another clean "light table" trace (my "light table" being taping it to the sliding glass door, 'cause I don't have the money or space for an actual light table or light table equivalent), but so far it's better than what I had. I think. TBH, I've lost all sense of anything and just want the danged thing done ASAP...

And I've been reading that iffy book on and off, and it's not really improving. Too much of it really feels like a middle grade title, and it's throwing me. The MC even reacts more like a preteen than a 17-year-old... I fear I may be reading it more to potentially warn others than out of anticipation of improvement, though somewhere deep down I'm hoping it surprises me.

Probably about time to contemplate dinner options. Will be nuke-your-own night owing to Mom still being out and me being a fat lazy idiot who doesn't want to cook.

Brightdreamer said:

So, later on Sunday, and you know the lawn mower we just got back from servicing, after it refusing to even start most of last year? (Maybe you don't - I thought I mentioned it here. If I didn't, or if you don't recall, we got our nonfunctioning lawn mower serviced the other week. There, now you're up to speed...) Guess what happened when I was trying to mow the jungle/lawn this afternoon... Go on, guess. Bet you can't guess, can you?



Now, I got further than last year, but nowhere near done before it finally shut down and refused to start again. I want to believe it's because the "lawn" was just too thick, and it needs cool-down time. I really, really want to believe that. Because if I don't I might throw the blasted thing through a certain repair shop's window...

Ergh.

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Ergh, indeed. We'd be lost in a tick-infested jungle if we didn't have a lawnmower for most of the year. Hope you're able to find a better repair shop.

me being a fat lazy idiot intelligent lovable human being who doesn't want to cook.

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Fixed that for ya.


Morning, Cantina. I iz hungry this morning and just ate a full breakfast without regretting it! Mmm, scrambled eggs and homemade fruit tarts, how I've missed you. <3

Put teh new internet provider through some more paces this morning by downloading a video game and was pretty pleased. It got a 4.5 gig game downloaded in 15 minutes. Old provider typically took over an hour to download any size game. Looking forward to playing Rime as it looks like a puzzle game with a story, and that's right up my alley. I started it up just to be sure it got downloaded okay and it was funny to see how da lab puppy and da beagle were both curious about some of the on-screen movements and noises, especially the barking fox on the main menu screen that made them both turn and stare with heads tilted, wondering where the doggy was. XD

Hoping all US Cantinites have a good Memorial Day, and to any of you who have been in the military in any country: Thank you for your service. <3