Champagne and Socks

Well today was my third Monday in my new job. Soon I won’t even be the new girl anymore. Time flies and reality has this thing it does where it freaks me out – I’m ever fascinated by the consciousness of *now* – and it’s not something I can explain well. Needless to say, this is my new routine and it’s like the old one never existed.

Anyway, I drive an hour and a bit more south each day to work now. And frankly, I kinda have my groove going on now. I leave early – about as early as I was driving the other direction – but there is no traffic, it’s a straight drive, and I get in at 8am so I can leave by 4pm and be home with afternoon/evening left. Ish. I *am* enjoying the drive. Last week I listened to Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner as well as starting to catch up on longer podcasts in my library. This week I have started with The Art of War and more podcasts. I’m way behind on podcasts having fallen off the wagon along the way so I’m really starting to feel like I’m tidying up and catching up on things. Today I really enjoyed the Coode St podcast featuring Cheryl Morgan and discussing Hugo categories and politics.

I’ve not really mastered using after work time properly yet and the only thing that is still a bit of an issue is this loss of time. (I’m supposed to be sleeping right now instead of writing this post). This the one thing that I am struggling with – the loss of time. I had a bit of a moan about it to C last week who sighed and said that I need to do less or expect to do less. To wish I wailed that if I did *less* than I do now, it wouldn’t *enough* because it’s not enough now, there is simply too too much I want to do. He shook his head at me, as he does. So I’m working on that bit still.

I’m also starting to socialise a bit more now. Remembering who has a new puppy, who is likely to be [this is a thing that they do at my work that I can’t talk about here] and ask about how that’s going or who might not be in etc. And so on. So I’m able to do that whole small talk thing with people which saves one from the awkward morning tea hanging around thing (which I was doing up til now!). Also feeling ok about laughing out across the cubicles, though not really much shouting. I’m still acclimatising to the open office floor plan again. Having worked in this style before so I know eventually I will be able to tune it all out. Eventually. Eventually. Another cool thing though is since I am now working where I am, I can do the whole “local produce” thing. They have a system at work where you can order local fresh fruit on Monday and it gets delivered to the office Wednesday. I only found out about it last week so this is the first week I’m trying it out. I ordered an 8kg box of mixed fruit. We don’t eat that much fruit round here but I’m hoping that we will, cause it’s good for you! But I might be gifting fresh stone fruit when I come avisiting! There’s lots to take advantage of and I intend to do so, since I’m putting in the hard yard of the commute anyway. I only wish I had a good way of transporting dairy cause there’s this farmer’s market near work …

That’s work. This weekend I finally managed to get to Bunnings, realising that if I didn’t go this weekend, I wouldn’t get there at all in February. I wanted to get a composting bin for our place as a partial offset to my increased commute. So I finally got one and set it up. I just need to double check what can go in etc and then we can also finally do a spring clean of the fridge I also FINALLY got a tahitian lime tree which I had been chasing for a while. And a dwarf pink lady apple tree. So there was much potting of trees and cleaning up of the patio and whatnot on Sunday evening. I just need a new pot for my lemon tree because the puppy seems to think that pot his is toy.

I’ve been wanting to start a new blog series here and had intended to post the first instalment tonight. It didn’t happen. See above re time and my loss of it. So instead I think I might try to first get back into the habit of posting everyday. Gotta start with the low hanging fruit, dontcha?

Yesterday Galactic Suburbia put up a Very Special podcast, announcing the honours list and winner of the inaugural Galactic Suburbia Award.

Below are Tansy’s shownotes for the episode. I just wanted to say how proud and honoured I am to get to play a role with my two fabulous friends on Galactic Suburbia and how truly honoured I am to read, listen, see and hear about the feminist conversation that goes on every day *out there* on twitter, on podcasts, on blogs and flickr and tumblr and at conventions.

After much discussion, and wanting in particular to create something that wasn’t already out there in the multitudinous world of spec fic awards, we came up with this definition:

The Galactic Suburbia Award: for activism and/ or communication that advances the feminist conversation in the field of speculative fiction in 2011

We didn’t put links to the honours list and winner as show notes to the podcast, because we wanted our regular listeners to have at least SOME sense of anticipation as they listened, but now it’s well and truly out there, so here is the list:

Honours List

Carrie Goldman and her daughter Katie, for sharing their story about how Katie was bullied at school for liking Star Wars, and opening up a massive worldwide conversation about gender binaries and gender-related bullying among very young children.

Cheryl Morgan for Female Invisibility Bingo, associated blogging and podcasting, and basically fighting the good fight

Helen Merrick, for the Feminism article on the SF Encyclopedia

Jim C Hines for “Jane C Hines” and associated blogging, raising awareness of feminist issues in the SF/Fantasy publishing field.

Julia Rios, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond for Episode 11 of the Outer Alliance podcast (The Writer and the Critic special episode)

L. Timmel Duchamp – for continuing to raise issues of importance on the Ambling Down the Aqueduct blog and various Aqueduct Press projects

Michelle Lee for the blog post “A 7-year-old girl responds to DC Comics’ sexed-up reboot of Starfire”

Winner

Nicola Griffith – for the Russ Pledge, and associated blogging

The winner will receive a Deepings Doll hand-painted figurine of a suffragette with a Galactic Suburbia placard, hand-painted by Jilli Roberts of Pendlerook Designs. (Tansy’s very talented mother!) Each Deepings Doll is individual, so the one each winner will receive (we do plan to make this an annual tradition) will be unique.

If you have ideas for our Honours list for 2012, please email us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com or tweet @galacticsuburbs

We have a lot in the works over at Twelfth Planet Press and are looking for enthusiastic people to come on board and help us. Hence another ad!

Twelfth Planet Press has several great opportunities for those looking to gain experience in ePublishing and be part of a fast growing indie press. The Twelfth Planet Press ePublishing team is expanding to meet the demand for high quality eBook production. Several short term intern positions and a volunteer eBook Designer will play a vital role in the development and delivery of Twelfth Planet Press eBooks and online products by supporting the conversion of our back catalogue to eBooks and in-development projects.
As the successful candidate, you will love reading, have experience in copyediting and proofing, have competent to advanced computer proficiency, have access to eReader software (preference will be given to applicants with access to multiple platforms) and if applying for the eBook Designer position, will have experience with coding. You will be enthusiastic, with strong communication skills, have attention to fine details and be willing to manipulate data. You will be a team player, open to feedback and constructive criticism but also an independent worker with initiative and ideas.

These are volunteer positions with no salary attached. It is expected that these roles will offer experience, skill development, network building, exposure and perks including Twelfth Planet Press product. These roles will be filled by more than one person, in more than one location. This role is not limited to Australian applicants.

Your application should include a cover letter addressing aspects of the job description as presented in this advertisement, detailing your relevant experience in proofing, copyediting and/or eBook layout and production, your interest and involvement in publishing, what you hope to get out of the experience as well as how much time you have available for this role.
Email your application to contact@twelfthplanetpress.com along with your current cv by February 14^th 2012.

Twelfth Planet Press has a great opportunity for someone looking to be part of a fast growing indie press and gain experience in the world of publishing. The Publicity and Promotions Coordinator will play a valuable and key role in the Twelfth Planet Press team and will drive the promotion and expansion in the international publishing scene.

As the successful candidate, you will love speculative fiction, have knowledge or experience of the publishing industry and a passion for independent press. Publicity, promotions or marketing experience is appreciated, but not required. You will be enthusiastic, outgoing with strong communication skills and interested in building on the networks and promotional opportunities already developed and used in house. You will be a team player, open to feedback and constructive criticism but also an independent worker with initiative and ideas.

Role description:

• familiarity with Twelfth Planet Press products, both published and forthcoming
• writing content for press releases, website and social media outlets
• developing and expanding promotion contacts and networks
• developing a marketing strategy
• representing Twelfth Planet Press at conventions and other industry related events

This is a volunteer position with no salary attached. However, it is expected that this role will offer publishing industry experience, writing skill development, networking opportunities, increased industry profile and perks including Twelfth Planet Press products. This role may be filled by more than one person, in more than one location. This role is not limited to Australian applicants.

Your application should include a cover letter addressing aspects of the job description as presented in this advertisement, detailing your relevant experience, your interest and involvement in speculative fiction publishing, why you want to join the Twelfth Planet Press team and what you hope to get out of the experience as well as how much time you have available for this role. Your application should also include examples of any previous promotional work and short writing examples (preferably non fiction).

Email your application to contact@twelfthplanetpress.com along with your current cv by February 29^th 2012.

The new episode is up! Go fetch it and consume it with digital gusto!

In which women aren’t funny, don’t write important books, but come in handy as assassins and thieves.

News

Connie Willis named SFWA Grand Master

Liz Bourke on Strange Horizons & the art of the mean review

Survey shows that men (as well as women) often play characters of the other gender while gaming – in many cases, men are bored with or alienated by the big musclebound male characters, which game designers think they want. Sound familiar?

Hoyden about Town are asking for guest bloggers to crosspost their Australian Women Writers Challenge reviews on Hoyden (ASIF also keen to do so)

More on feminine tosh: a good solid article in the Australian media (shock!) about the women in literature issues of recent months (and, you know, decades).

Have we been following the “Women aren’t funny” stoush that played out in NYT? This interesting development.

DC Comics – cancellations & new titles – Tansy is especially excited by World’s Finest (featuring the Earth 2 Huntress & Power Girl)

Stranger with My Face – Women in Horror film festival in Hobart, Tasmania – 17-19 February

Tansy’s book launch for Reign of Beasts (Creature Court Book Three) on 2 February at Hobart Bookshop, 5:30pm.

What Culture Have we Consumed?

Alex: Ashes to Ashes season 2; Dr Who season 1; Rocannon’s World, Ursula le Guin; The Declaration, Gemma Malley; Grey, Jon Armstrong; The Collected Works of TS Spivet, Reif Larsen. BBC 4 “Cat Women of the Moon” podcast

Tansy: Destination: Nerva (Big Finish, audio), Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon, The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson, DVD Extras Include Murder, by Nev Fountain

Alisa: absorbed in novel submissions; The Big Bang Theory; Swordspoint Audiobook, written and performed by Ellen Kushner

GS Award will be proclaimed… in a short while!

Winner of Alex’s Yarn giveaway: Jo

Tansy: Creature Court trilogy give away!
Email to tell us about one book you read after we talked about it on GS to be eligible

Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook and don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

Twelfth Planet Press Call for Submissions:

A Stitch in Time Travel

Craft Ebook Project

Twelfth Planet Press is looking for innovative and fun science fiction, fantasy or horror inspired craft projects on the theme of time travel for a Geek Craft ebook to be released at Craftonomicon, the Australian National science fiction convention, 8 – 11 June, 2012.

Projects

We’re looking for anything from a knitted scarf or jumper to socks, toys, hats and anything and everything in between. Draw inspiration from your favourite books, comics, games, movies and television. We want it creative and geeky!

Some examples of what we’re looking for:

Knits for Nerds

Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi

Steampunk Softies

The AntiCraft

Submission details

Your submission should include:

1. your pattern with clear step-by-step, repeatable instructions;
2. list of materials and supplies required;
3. photos for easy reproduction of your project by others;
4. whether your pattern has been beta tested by others
5. your contact and paypal details.

Wearable patterns should include suggested sizings. Consider using http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/sizing.html. We will give preference to submissions that provide a range of sizes.

Your photos should show the completed work but might also include steps along the production process. They should be in colour and good lighting, with a minimum of 72dpi resolution.

Send your submission to contact@twelfthplanetpress.com with “Craft Project Submission” as your subject heading.

Submission Period Closes April 30, 2012.

Payment: $50 for each pattern or tutorial and a copy of the final publication.

Caveats

We are looking only for previously unpublished works. Please note, work published on a blog is considered previously published.

We are not accepting any works derived from copyrighted franchises.

We are aware that riffing off a theme or idea is a large component of this kind of project. Please let us know about the original products that inspired you so we can determine whether your submission encroaches on any intellectual property rights or copyright infringements.

Additionally, if you do obtain permission to design a project inspired by someone else’s creative work, please include this with your submission.

It’s been a really full on week, and I want to sit and write about it. But first I have a couple of Twelfth Planet Press developments that I really want to plug in this space.

This space. What is it anyway? What is it *for*? I really knew what my livejournal account was for, I knew why I posted there and I knew what and how and for whom. But after nearly 200 posts in this new space, it still feels like clothes that don’t quite fit or  party where you don’t really know anyone. I thought if I just wrote, it would sort itself out, that I would find a voice or a tone or a something. But I haven’t really. LJ always felt more intimate. It felt more personal. But then, 5 years ago, I could write a lot more anonymously than now. And now it just feels really self conscious.

Anyway.

I started my new job this week. And for much of the week I just wanted to write a post with the one sentence: Life is weird. But halfway through I thought, no … life is interesting. When I first applied for this job I knew there was an hour and a half commute and I told C that I would have to leave home at *7.30* to get there by 9 and we both wondered how in the hell I would be able to do that. But then … then I had that weird jetlag thing and I started the getting to work at 7.30 thing so leaving home at 6.30 was completely doable. And so it is. And I dunno. Isn’t life funny the way totally disparate things can synchronise?

I like my new job and workplace so far. Everybody is really nice. I really like my new boss and team. The drive is long but I have signed up to try out Audible. com and that’s been working well. And the view is very pleasant. I’ve restructured the way I eat in the day so as to not get sugar drops on the long drives. I’ve started packing my own lunches now as well as breakfast cause there is no onsite canteen. And I’m happy. So far I’m really happy. The work is interesting and challenging. It’s enough in my experience to be able to hit the ground jogging but broader than my knowledge so that I will have to work hard to get up to speed for the level I will be expected to perform at – but I got an itemised checklist for what that specifically means. It’s going to be hard work and full on and challenging – this is both a little bit daunting and also the reason I went for the position. There’s room for me to grow and evolve and that’s exciting. So … this was a good thing.

And today we headed off to the jewellers to hand over my gems for my engagement ring, I’d been working to and fro with her on ideas for the ring and today we finalised it. And we got to use the gems as the deposit. There aren’t many moments in your life where you get to use stones as currency and I loved it! It did make me feel a bit like a swashbuckling pirate. I also played up a bit with the “have you brought the diamonds?” It’s not often you get to feel like you’re in a heist movie! I’m happy to have locked in a decision and am really looking forward to seeing the final product. Couple of weeks and I’ll finally have it. It’s amazing how many people’s eyes go straight to your left hand when you tell them you just got engaged. I’ve also been blown away by how many women will let you try on their rings to see what you like and what suits your hand.

That’s mostly my weekly check in. I’m intending to go back to working one full solid day of the weekend for TPP to make up for the lack of time I have in the week now from the commute. I was really really tired (and headachy) the first couple of nights and couldn’t do anything other than collapse on the couch. It’s amazing how draining just showing up to a new place, learning the ropes and meeting new people can be. I mean, I worked the full week before I started here and in work really similar. It’s not like I suddenly rocked up in ER for a Saturday night shift after being a pool boy or anything. Weird.

Tags: life, tpp, wedding, work

This afternoon we headed up to Perth to celebrate my niece’s second birthday. Wow. Time has flown by!

My parents are still away so we could only hang out amongst ourselves, not having any bubs of our own as distractors.

My sister is an amazing cook and she outdid herself today. There were club sandwiches, sushi, pizza, fairybread, and so many other things. I grabbed some photos of these cute biscuits she made:

racing car teddies and teacups!

And the piece de resistance, teddy bear birthday cake:

I had a really good week. One of those rare great weeks that I can’t even remember the last time I had one. And I don’t mean a week in which something awesome and unexpected happens. I mean, that the whole week rocked.

Monday I had to tell the boss I had given notice and that Friday would be my last day. I’d been kinda dreading it because I wanted to avoid discussing it. He’d been away since about 8th of Dec so… yeah it went how I thought it would go.

Tuesday though was the team’s farewell lunch for me and M, who was also leaving. It was really lovely and my face hurt from smiling for the rest of the day. A couple of past team members came along which was so lovely for the opportunity to catch up with them. And we both were given a voucher for a manicure/facial and I got this frog, which is a bit of a work in-joke. I think it’s hilarious and I’m going to take it to work and put it on my new desk.

And then when I got back to the office, reception called to tell me I had a delivery and when I wandered down to collect it, I discovered that C had sent me flowers and chocolates to wish me good luck on my change of job. And everyone agreed that he is a great guy and a keeper. But I already knew that.

Wednesday and Thursday I spent tying up loose ends, writing handover notes and filing and trying to mentally and emotionally move on. I’m kinda sad about leaving this team and the work. I’ve been there 4 years and I feel like I accomplished a few biggish kind of achievements and worked towards progressing some weaker areas. I networked a lot and met a lot of really great people, both in my agency and outside it. And I’m going to miss my team. Though M is also leaving so the team is kind of splitting up in any case.

Friday was my last day and I spent it really manically trying to finish up memos and letters to pass on to the others to just wrap up and send out. And I packed up my office and we had afternoon tea and then … then I left. And I couldn’t really believe that I had given them my keys to the building and was actually leaving. There were lots of hugs and that was the moment that I finally realised it was real and that I was sad. And J gave me the gorgeous card up in the top photo which says “Well-behaved women rarely make history”. I’d gotten a really lovely group card and so many people said so many beautiful and well meant things and then I got this follow up one from a teammate who I have I guess gotten really close to only in the last year or so. We’ve had so many heart to hearts and she held my hand at work through Swancon. So sad to leave her but also so touched that she really “got” me. Isn’t that what we all want in life, to be understood?

C had dropped me to work and so had picked me up, and attended the small farewell afternoon tea so I had him to leave with and not feel really down about having left my team. And we headed off to do more shopping and then to have an early dinner at the Daily Planet before meeting Marianne and Jonathan to see Ira Glass! I had been so looking forward to this. We headed up to the bar to hang out, wondering if they might come up there but they didn’t and then I couldn’t remember if we’d booked our tickets to be seated together. We hadn’t, as I recall now, we’d just talked about it online and both bought tickets at the same time. It was only then that I realised that we would just be at the same event together but not actually *with* each other. So we went in and were looking for where our seats, they were 3 rows from the front and C turned to me and said, “really?” and all I could do was shrug and say, “I’m a REALLY big fan”. And then … and then you won’t believe it. Our seats were right next to Marianne and Jonathan. Unplanned, pure coincidence, utter serendipity. And in that exact moment, as we sat down next to our friends and C settled in for 2 hours of watching someone he’d never heard of speak, I knew that the universe was smiling down at me, and that everything will be be ok. That I am in the right place, at the right time. Finally.

And I just loved Ira Glass. It was a fantastic performance. Really interesting and engaging and so very very enlightening, not just on how they  put the show (This American Life) together but on what they intend for the show to be and a lot on good storytelling. I got a lot out of it – first the buzz of inspiration to want to go home immediately and throw myself back into TPP but second, he had a lot of interesting things to say about storytelling and on building momentum and how to seduce your reader/listener to not put the work down/turn off the radio. Since I’m currently reading novel manuscript submissions and thinking about that a lot, it couldn’t have been a better time to immerse myself in the careful musings of such a great storyteller/editor. And it made me realise how the asking for only 3 chapters is really a great submission process because, I should NEED to ask for the rest of the manuscript because I NEED to know where the story goes. And if I don’t, then that’s not a project for me. I also really got a lot out of how he spoke about the show and how he thinks about what it is and so on. I think you do need to know what your intent is from the outset. If not what it will end up being, at least what it is that you set out to do. Because that should underpin every decision you make after that and should allow you to constantly check back in with whether what you are doing now is consistent with what your project model or philosophy is.  At the end of the day, when I’m stuck on rejections, I do this, I look back at what TPP is and what I see that it should be, and if something doesn’t fit with that, then it’s not a project for me.

After the show, we headed off for coffee, the four of us and just hung out and caught up. And it was the perfect end to a damn fine week.

Last night I had an acute Crohn’s flareup that lasted into this morning and so I was home sick and feeling sorry for myself today. I ended up not really doing much of import. But finally finished the third quarter of the monochrome quilt. It’s actually a rather large project – a queen size bed – so I had trouble fitting it all in the photo. When it’s finished I’ll hang it on the washing line for a good proper pic.

You can almost see the second red block I got to insert in this quarter (at the top of the photo). There is one more to go into the final quarter. When you piece this many blocks together, the random red is like this huge reward. And for the final quarter, it’s up in row two which is both exciting but means the pay off is sooner rather than later. Any hoo…

Not wanting to let this project languish like last time, I did a count of the remaining blocks I’d already made, to see how many and of which still needed to be made. I have been following my own handy chart for the piecing and whilst I haven’t stuck to it perfectly, it’s been a great guide. Anyway, I discovered that I was just 11 blocks from the end. That’s right, I let this project languish for over a year when I only had 11 blocks to make and then the rest of the project to assemble. Sure, it’s taken me about a week to assemble (and sew) the third quarter and then to look at what remained to discover this. but I can’t help thinking this is a lot like many other abandoned projects of mine – so close to the finish line and then just tossed aside for something more exciting and new.

The calculator says 756 – that’s how many diamonds went into this project. And the photo below shows the 52 blocks I had already pieced last year (or the year before!) that will make up the final quandrant. and above them are all the extra diamonds I cut out. You can’t really tell  but that is one big pile of random diamonds I don’t need – I’m guessing there is maybe 100 extra.

And I can’t help thinking that the (lack of ) process of this project shows some insight into how I could improve the way I work, generally. See, I had a plan at the start (see chart in the photo, it has a key and everything).  I had all the tools and materials that I needed. And I had enthusiasm. But what I lacked was organisation and management of the project as it unfolded. I tend to wing things in life. Had I had a better logging and management system, I would have made the right number of blocks for each type (I labelled them by the dark diamond) and I would have known I only needed to cut out 756 diamonds in total. Instead, I never really knew how many of what I had or needed to make and the thought of having to audit it in the middle was too confronting and difficult so I just pressed on. Hmmm … this sounds a lot like my finance spreadsheets, doesn’t it?

So, I applied this newfound knowledge to a new problem just today. I realised that the next step (see last post on this topic) for a particular project at TPP was to assign something an ISBN. But I’d been holding off on that because .. .well, I have no system for those. What? Well a press just falls out of your handbag, you never really plan on it, who knew I’d have over 40 to juggle so soon? Anyway, there was only one thing for it – design a logging and management system right then and there. Ahem. A spreadsheet was called for. And whilst, yes that raised more questions than perhaps it answered, I can’t help but admit that I am further ahead. And a bit more organised.

I’m coming to think that I’m not as organised a person as I might like to think. Perhaps that will be something I can report that I changed in 2012?

We’re looking after my parents’ dog, Morrie, at the moment. He’s quite old, not interested in making new friends, yet despite this, unbelievably patient with the puppy who does not take no for an answer. It took a good few days for Morrie to settle in. He kept looking like he thought Sasha had cooties. But yesterday, for some reason, he seemed to really settle in. He started patrolling the perimeter and sitting guard at the front door, in turns. This mesmerised Sasha who went from constantly antagonising Morrie to sitting in choice viewing spots and watching Morrie get hot under the collar. Now they are both tiring each other out and napping and not annoying us, more importantly.

Anyway, I just noticed that Morrie puts himself to bed and then doesn’t get up for anything. Puppies on the other hand, are always up for any old caper and will happily wake up and wander down the other end of the house with you, no matter the hour. On noticing this, I remarked to C: We should get another puppy when Sasha starts to get old.

C: I’m planning on doing that with you, too.

Me: *unimpressed look*

C: Yeah, isn’t the old one supposed to train the new one?

Me: You really want *me* training your next wife?

C: maybe I’ll pay someone.

So now I am sitting in bed, nursing a very painful spicy food incident and contemplating my holiday that was, as the prospect of hours to returning to the day job tomorrow approaches. Holidays are no way long enough and I really really wish I didn’t have to go to work yet. I only have 8 days left in this job to go. I of course got nowhere near what I had hoped to get done done. And I’m getting more and more scared about the longer commute that I have signed up for with my new job. I’m consoling myself on the first with the fact that the holidays have kickstarted my getting round to a bunch of things which I can continue to work on, in shorter spurts, as of tomorrow.

• I got started on sorting out and clearing out the two spare rooms which have some of the last, and worst, of my unpacking. You know, all the stuff that you don’t know what it is or what’s with it so you don’t unpack it cause you’d have to sort it out.
• I also sorted and tossed yet more of the postgrad stuff.
• I homed a few more of my pictures on various walls.
• I started some low effort gardening (mostly setting the habit of watering things)
• I watched about 50 hours of The Vampire Diaries. Ahem
• Also watched bits of Homeland, Psych, Primeval, The New Girl, Whitney, The Big Bang Theory, Private Practice
• Sorted out my quilting – did about half of my xmas presents (the rest still to go), discovered I had one quilt top finished and located backing and wadding for the finishing of the project (that’s as far as that got), almost finished the third quarter of the monochrome quilt, made up almost 50 of the charm hexagons for my charm quilt (and discovered I have many many triangles precut for this project).
• Read several books
• Bought a ipad
• Started my 2012 Last Short Story Reading
• Participated in the Mega Boxing Day Podcast
• Worked on three different Twelve Planets collections
• Worked on a couple of unannounced TPP projects
• Found a couple of comics that I’m dabbling in
• Opened and started processing TPP’s novel manuscript submissions call

Ok, after that list, I guess I did ok with my holiday. I felt really like I had nothing left to give to the year and spent a lot just “pottering about the house” which is one of my favourite things to do when I’m on downtime. So I have to be happy with that. Even though a lot of things didn’t get progressed as far as I’d like.

But I did get a bit of insight into how I operate – know thine enemy – in terms of procrastination. I figure if I can figure out why I don’t do things I really want to, maybe I can figure out a way around my own obstacles. Or something. Don’t read that too closely, it’ll give you a headache. I often figure up tricks to get myself to do things I don’t want to. And whilst, the making myself do things I don’t want to do is more a thing of the past, making myself do things I want to do is kinda new and still shiny. Anyway, what I discovered is I often abandon or avoid things when they require going to find something out, or figuring out how to do something, or if left fallow too long, not knowing where I was up to or what I was doing.

So the whole sorting out my craft cupboard involved grouping like with like ie all parts of each project in one place and then taking stock to see where each was up to. And that alone was enough to get my enthusiasm back for about 6 projects at once. Often just identifying what the next step is (something C is often saying to me) was enough to help me move forward. It meant that instead of starting a bunch of new projects which had been my plan, I ended up happily working on older ones. I took this and applied it to other things, like sorting out scary packing boxes of doom, and emails that were waiting for answers, and TPP projects I’d stalled on, and found great success. It seems so simple but I think I need the reminder – when looking at something I’m avoiding, think up what just the next step is. Maybe that should be my thing for this year.

Tags: holidays, new years resolutions, puppy, quilting, reading

Things have been quiet here because I’ve found myself doing exactly what I had planned to do this break – watch TV and sew. This is both time consuming and I’m finding myself zoning out with not much of importance to think on and to write about. I’d thought that I would have this break to work on new and exciting projects but what I’m really enjoying is picking up long ago started ones and working on them. It both feels good to work towards finally finishing things but also I’m enjoying the process without having to be creative. I’d wanted to take this time to be creative but really, I’m burnt out, it was a tough, big year and being creative takes inspiration and energy which right now I’m low on. And the clearing the decks on projects makes way for being creative later.

I finally pulled out most of my craft to tidy my craft cupboard and take stock of the projects within. I have most of the quilting projects now itemised with an idea of where I’m up to with each ie the reason why I’d abandoned them cause the next thing was too hard. I still have my knitting and cross stitch to go but it feels good to get my head around what’s left and to also just sort it all and collate the projects which were a little jumbled and spread out due to my move. It’s sort of appealing to the tidying up frame of mind that I’m in right now.

We’re slowly tidying and culling and pulling our home together. I’ve been hanging pictures and throwing out more junk and settling further in. I also started work on the backyard garden. It’s a very very small start – a couple of fruit trees which I have potted and have on the patio for now. And a few more herbs to go with the tomato plants I planted earlier. I’m sort of aiming to green up the patio first as I get my head around a much bigger plan for the backyard. I’d planned on doing the backyard as my 2012 project but that was before planning a wedding jumped the queue. That being the case though, I can’t leave the barren wasteland as it is for the next year either. So … something will have to be done.

I’ve been thinking about new years resolutions and whether I should have any. I think though, in truth, that stuff, the ones you actually pull off, happen organically because they are the things you genuinely want to change or work on or towards and the rest is the list of things that you think you want or ought to be but are not. And I gave that stuff up last year – the whole wanting to be something that I’m not or like something or someone that I don’t. So writing a list of things that I wish I wanted to do or be … well, that’s not me anymore.

And at the same time, there are things that I genuinely want to do better and I’m already working on those – keeping my email at zero inbox, not there yet but working on it. Being a better friend to those closest to me – again, working on that. And this year’s goals for Twelfth Planet Press. Last year we achieved Sales Goal B – Goal A was perhaps a little overambitious given the current state of the world and publishing so I’m happy to have achieved Goal B, especially since it was benchmarked to the Worldcon year of 2010. 2012’s goals are bigger still, I guess. And will require you know, the usual, to work harder and smarter and savvier and all that. It’s not a list of goals, I guess, if it doesn’t require ratcheting it up another notch or two. Dream big, otherwise why bother dreaming at all, yeah?

Wishing you a happy new year and hoping your resolutions stick and your year is everything you hope it will be.