Now that I'm finally caught up here, I can wish Allyson a Happy Agent! I, too, will be putting that puppy on pre-order with Amazon as soon as a publishing date is released.

I must say, in regards to the "how do I look to others online" topic, that I didn't realize, erika, that you were in a wheelchair until you posted a picture of a new haircut and I could see you were sitting in one. The impression I got of you online from your posts was of someone quirky and snarky, that I would not want to get on the wrong side of for fear of your pointed intellect stripping away any pretensions to true intelligence I might have had. But the main reason I learned that about you was because I got the impression from all the other buffistas that you were someone they treasured highly, so I actually paid more attention to your posts than those of a lot of others and discovered you had a very distinctive voice that I enjoyed mightily. So, as someone who came to the board well after you "outed" yourself, I never had any reason to see you as anyone other than someone like myself who found an interesting place to hang with people who had my interests and hobbies.

Damn, Susan, that's too bad. Differences of opinion can be a good thing, let's hope A starts seeing that soon and offers an olive branch.

Damn, Susan, that's too bad. Differences of opinion can be a good thing, let's hope A starts seeing that soon and offers an olive branch.

I just sent all three of them an email trying to sort things out, or at least get us to a point where if T leaves, we'll all be on good terms. Right now I can all too easily picture this being the origin of one of those ongoing writer grudges I've seen all too many of, and 99% of the time they're completely pointless and based on something petty and bizarre. Sheesh, people. It's not a zero-sum game, and I'm saying that as one of the most competitive people you'll ever meet.

A is on the East Coast--I do hope she checks her email tonight, because I'm usually not Calls People on BS Girl, so it makes me nervous. I don't want to lose T for the group and have A angry at me!

T decided not to stick with the group, but I think the discussion I started by emailing everyone to sort it out allowed us to part on civilized terms. Ah, well. I really hoped she'd fit the group, both because I like her and because she's a super-brainy research geek cut from the same cloth I am in that respect, only she's been at it longer and therefore knows much more. I guess that's what I get for trying to choose CPs by how much they'll help with my fact-checking...

It does bring up the interesting question of how to integrate a new member into an existing critique group. We really need a fourth--we started with four and had one drop out because of life changes, and three feels a little skimpy somehow.

I'm doing a rewrite/polish on Save Firefly, which will be the sample essay in the proposal. I expect to complete it by tonight, and was wondering if anyone could do a quick beta to make sure I'm not on crack. I have to add the piece about the movie getting made, and the growing myth that we had anything to do with it.

Allyson, did you finish it, yet? I just ask, because I was reading the Firefly 1 thread this morning. I came across a bunch of posts on 10/31/02 telling you how awful something was. I scrolled back to find the context, and saw that everyone was referring to a post you made in Press. I looked up the post in Press, and it all came flowing back.

Allyson "Sunnydale Press" Oct 31, 2002 9:59:02 pm PST

I'm writing the formal proposal which will go with the sample chapter and annotated table of contents. Sample chapter is pretty much done (thanks for the help, Amy, I think I fixed what needed fixin').

Formal proposal? So unfun. So very unfun. It's like writing your own job review. Bleh. But I plan to be really arrogant and all, "I RULE" about it. Still. Unfun.

I think I'm a big moron, though, Allyson -- did I send you back the original instead of the one with my comments on it? Feh. Anyway, good luck with the formal proposal. Very unfun, I know.

(Squeaking through with "currency"...How apropos!)

Social Change

It’s that time again. End of the month and the check’s late, again. Time to raid the change. I hold the jar, enjoying the heft for the last time. I think, as I always do, “Look at it all hanging out together. Check it out. Social change.” And promise again to find somewhere to use it, a promise unfullfilled until now. My mom doesn’t find our whisper-thin safety net funny. Not that I do...the wisecracks are just hard to turn off. It’s either that or contemplate being like some rich person’s crazy cousin living in their garage, and even puns are better than that.

Allyson, sent, very late last night. Please to excuse if incoherent.

Another squeaker!

Trust

The smell of the pastry was mouth-watering. I asked the baker, “Cuanto cuesta?” He rattled off a sequence of words. I thought I recognized “cien”—hundred—or was it “cientos”—hundreds, the plural?

Shopping in Jerez was part of our orientation tour. We’d been taught common Spanish phrases earlier in the week, including the denominations of the local currency.

I glanced in confusion from the change in my hand to the baker. Gently, he plucked a gold cien peseta piece and three smaller coins off my palm. We smiled at each other, completing our transaction in an unspoken currency—trust.

Tep, new topic? I just finished a grisly copyedit (after a marathon three-day edit) and I'm itching to drabble.

Need suggestions? I've got:

"heat"
"wicked"
two people in a cemetery
"growing"
one person exploring an attic
"toys"

Why can I never get formatting right the first time? Grrr.