Doldrums

[ksmith]

Two and a half weeks until Thrillerfest, which means not really the doldrums. More like, I should be thinking about what to pack but I can’t face it yet. I have a lot to work to do between now and then, so instead I’m dicking around online in search of bars in NYC that make sazeracs. Taking recs for food trucks and restaurants.

I get a year older during the visit. Born on the 4th, me. Looking forward to an NYC fireworks display. Also, walking the High Line, the Hudson Riverwalk. Puttering. I love New York. I really do.

And then there’s the con itself. I have a cool panel on Friday morning at 1020am:

WEREWOLVES, VAMPIRES OR WITCHES? Thrillers On The Wild Side
Panel Master: Heather Graham
Kelley Armstrong
Mell Corcoran
Christine Feehan
Alex Gordon
Donna Grant
Alexandra Ivy

Then I get to go to panels, sign some books, talk to folks, fangirl, etc etc. Hoping for decent weather.

Reading–I am ashamed to admit that I don’t read as much as I used to. I mean, I read a lot online–news and political blogs. Science articles. But as for fiction…I must have well over 200 books in my electronic TBR stack (we won’t even talk about the jammed bookcases). I finished Robin McKinley’s SUNSHINE a few weeks ago, and loved it. Wanted to start something else, but I have research to do and that means nonfiction. That current book is THE EPIGENETICS REVOLUTION by Nessa Carey, and I should be way further along than I am.

I feel…guilty. Writers should read. It’s a major tool in the kit. It’s the primary way to learn what’s out there.

Also, it’s fun.

I have some beta-reads on tap, so I can rebuild the reading muscles that way. Then there are some golden oldies: MR James, Terry Pratchett, Preston & Child. Honestly, if someone stranded me on a desert island with my iPad and a solar charger, I’d be fine for at least a year. Two, possibly.

Oh well, back to something resembling work.

Mirrored from .

Comments

[e-moon60.livejournal.com]

Are you driving, flying, or training to NYC?

I'm in an enforced layoff...not exactly from work, but from the schedule I was keeping. In between rewrite and copy edits, concentrating on recovery and reconditioning. More rest, better food, slowly building exercise because between a humongous rewrite, rain, and Lyme and its treatment, I'm in worse condition than I've been in years. Now it's very hot and dry and BRIGHT. Just got in from first bike ride since this mess started (almost six weeks) and at 9 am it was already hot, sun high in a clear sky.

I hope you have a great time in NYC and expect you will. I do...though I have yet to walk the High Line it's on my list.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Lyme? Damn. Did you mention this on SFFNet--I must've missed it. Did they catch it early, or is it later stages? I hope your recovery proceeds apace.

God, I hate ticks. I always worried about walking through high grass. Then I learned they could fall on you from the trees.

I did read that you were backing off the schedule you had been keeping. I hope you're able to settle in and resume the activities you enjoy.

I'm flying to NYC. I took the train once, back in 2000 iirc--it was a year that the Nebs were there. I booked a small compartment, which was more than 2x the cost of a plane ticket, but I wanted the experience. Got to see the Hudson River Valley--it was gorgeous despite the low clouds and mucky weather. I would've loved to have seen it in full sun.

I loved walking the High Line, the views of the Meatpacking District and Chelsea. I checked the calendar, and they offer all kinds of things--stargazing in the evenings, Tai Chi and meditation during the day. I have some off days between the FBI presentation and the con itself, and I really want to walk all over the place and check out some of the programs.

In addition to the High Line, there's the Hudson River Park walkway: https://www.hudsonriverpark.org/explore-the-park/map#search=activities

Until I learned about these places, all I knew of Manhattan was Midtown. I enjoy the other areas so much more.

[e-moon60.livejournal.com]

Lyme was caught early; started the meds a little less than a week after discovering the attached tick. The "ring" rash was only 3/4 inch across; good thing it was there because I had mistaken the onset headache for one of my sinus migraines relating to weather (which was active right then.) Full 2 week course of Doxycycline. Rash quit expanding, started fading within a few days, kept right on fading. So I should be OK. Helps to have doc (even retired) in the house. I said "This rash has been getting bigger, not going away and it looks like a ring to me." He looked at it and said, "Yeah, that looks like it, all right. When was it I pulled the tick off? Six days--five? I'll go down and pick up some Doxycycline for you." (Pharmacy is 20 miles away in county seat.)

The train IS expensive but I tolerate it better these days. Fewer trips, but arrive in better shape.