Random Thoughts

I Love Me Some B&N.

I received notification of a BIG book sale at my church yesterday. Oh man, did I have fun. I ordered 10 YA books for twenty-five smackers. Dude, that rocks. :)

Funny, I look around my room and _every_ available surface is overloaded with books -- I have no idea where I'm going to put this new shipment. LOL. Looks like it's time to box up a few -- hopefully there's space under my bed. (g)

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Soapbox Speech From A Waitress:

I'm waitressing right now--only until I figure out what the heck kind of job I want. (To be honest, I'm putting off a hardcore job search until I finish FI. Soon...it will be finished SOON.) I love the people I work with -- the job is so-so, but it pays the bills for now. That said, I have to take a moment to say something on behalf of my coworkers. Just two little suggestions for those of you lucky enough to be able to go out and enjoy a nice dinner with servers at your beck and call.

1. When dining out on a major holiday (cough) such as Father's Day, remember that it's going to be busy. Food may be slow, things may go wrong -- but well, the server that you're tipping gave up the chance to be with his/her family (most likely they weren't even given a choice of getting the day off) and most of them probably won't get a break--meaning, they'll probably work for about 12 hours straight, on their feet, with people yelling at them All Day Long. Be nice. Tip them well. They make crap wages and work their arses off For You. That goes double for the kitchen staff. Imagine standing 12 hours beside hot ovens and grills. Yeek.

2. If you stop by a restaurant and discover it's closing in _two minutes_, walk away. Go through a drive-thru or to a restaurant that keeps later hours. I'm speaking from experience. This happened to me tonight, and the table stayed for an hour and a half _after closing_. Dude, I make $2.13 an hour, and I didn't even have a book with me. LOL. I respect your right to eat, but surely there are other options. (g)

*steps off soapbox* Gah, you know I must be grumpy to blog about this. (g)

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FAKING IT Update

I'm puttering along with FI. I don't know whether or not I'll be finished by the end of June, but it won't be much longer if I fail to make that goal. The good news is that the fam and the dogs are going on vacation. Ah, privacy...quiet...hours and hours of solitude to get things done. I can't wait, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The end of a novel is always the toughest for me. I'm totally not one of those people who speeds up and plows through at the end. Nope. I drag my feet and whine the entire way -- it's not pleasant. I will be a grumpy mess. It's a GOOD thing I won't have any witnesses to this time period.

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Book Love

I'm having major book love right now. I just started Dennis Lehane's MYSTIC RIVER and I'm simply in awe of his writing chops. That, coupled with the other authors I've gone ga-ga over in the past couple of weeks, and I'm feeling a HUGE amount of writer's envy. It makes me want to work harder, and I'm feeling completely inadequate by comparison. Ah well...onward I shall go.

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Synopsis Madness

The June writer's synopsis exercise is OUT OF CONTROL on the forum. LOL. I completely didn't expect this level of participation and I'm struggling to stay on top of my crits right now. To be honest, I'm failing miserably. (g) I've only crit about a quarter of the participants, so, if I haven't gotten to yours, I will. Eventually. I've been trying to make my own writing a priority every day. Because I'm so out of practice, it's been a struggle to meet my word count goals. I'm left with little time to do other things... or I'm too mentally drained to feel I can give any kind of helpful advice. But I'll plug away at them when I'm able. Sit tight.

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Okay, I've rambled on long enough. Excuse my randomness. (g)