"I love deadlines.
I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."
--Douglas Adams
I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."
--Douglas Adams
I appear to have finished cleaning my office--thoroughly, that is, for the first time since moving into the house in '02. I wish I could say I was 100% satisfied. I'd like to know what's on the various backup discs. I wish that I had a good system for maintaining and tracking my contacts (stray business cards were tucked into a large envelope and slid into the appropriate folder), and that, say, my various media coverage articles were organized by date. But big picture, the place is a lot more functional and airy feeling than it ever has been.
Gems found in my desk included a pair of rhinestone earrings, 78 cents, a photo of my dad smiling at me as I snapped it, seven strips of bat stickers, a pen with an audio record function, a compass, several packages of Post-It notes, and my long-lost Scotch Tape.
I also was thrilled to re-discover the beginning of an article I've been trying to write some time, from back when the idea was fresh, scribbled in blue ink on a giveaway notebook from a hotel in Tucson.
What's more, I found a little bracelet with four bells, a souvenir gift made by a teacher. A group of kindergarteners each shook their own as I turned pages while reading Jingle Dancer (Morrow/HarperCollins, 2000) some years ago at an Austin elementary school. I remember thinking that they were like puppies--squirmy and cute and absolutely adoring. They seemed to love Jenna's story almost as much as they did making noise. I had a wonderful time and was smothered in a group hug.
I'm as ready as I can be for VC student packets to begin arriving this week.
Spooky News & Links
Thanks to KCC for her shout-out about Tantalize!
I'm currently relaxing with Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii (Signet, 2006), which is hysterical but probably best appreciated by fans of the TV series.
