MBA thoughts

So I got the new job at the market, and it's going really well. I mean really well. I've had an average of a job offer a week since it began. Some I've taken. Almost all of them involve advising start-up companies in one form or another, which is fine and has worked so far, but I feel a bit of a fraud. I don't have much experience, and I don't have any qualifications.

Hence MBA. Wash U is interested in having me, I just need to sit the GMAT and get a decent result. I hummed and hawed for about a week and have come to the conclusion that I should just sit the test - if it goes badly, I'll write off the whole idea. If it goes well, then I have a cunning plan...

On a completely different topic, I leave to sell the comic book at 6.00am on Wednesday. The portfolios are looking good, and there are only a couple of small things to do to make it fly. I want this to work so very much.

In summary

- New York was fun, but much like London. It was wonderful seeing Amy. I crave her company often.

- Tim has shaved his head and looks a little like a convict.

- I have a new job running the farmers' market in Clayton. It's working so far. I am quietly obtaining St Louis notoriety.

- Odin is having kittens.

- Peter, and his cat Missi, are staying for a short time until he can move in with Linda. Interesting cat times abound.

- We have a comic book! (more work to be done, but essentially there).

- Teabringer has had lab results! I could tell you what they were, but I'm not entirely confident I would do that well.

- No agent yet. No recent publications. Actually managed to do writing this week for the first time in three weeks.

- Jessica still need front forks.

- The British Ladies are coming on the first Saturday of next month for a garden party.

- Teaching is going well. I thought one had got away, but he came back.

- I'm seriously contemplating a whole month back in Britain come the middle of December.

- Game is going well. For the most part. Much fun was had last night.

- The Welsh choir has no more engagements until July. The coup continues to hold in church, therefore I am still on strike.

- Sorry I'm such a hopeless case. If I owe you a phone call or letter, I really will try to get hold of you soon.

Must listen

You only have seven days, but this is hilarious.

Mark Thomas on the demonstration laws in London's parliament square.

A quote from this 'The police can, on the day, impose restrictions if, in the defense of surrealism, you do anything silly.'

Spring Cleaning

Of mind and house needs to be done. Over the last couple of weeks the sun has shone through the windows revealing corners in need of scrubbing, and every time I open a cupboard or drawer I'm aware that they need bottoming out. My trouble is where to start - the library is worst, probably because I essentially live in this room, despite having a whole house.

Writing also needs something of a spring clean. I have 15 (!) short stories to finish, and 8 to re-send; although I have no markets selected. I'm also about halfway through the agent query process now, with seven sent of about 15 (there are still a couple I haven't decided about). I should also sort my rejections and acceptances into some sort of filing system which is viable for the long term. At the moment I have a plastic envelope which is beginning to bulge. For the first time yesterday I fantasised about a filing cabinet.

My copies of The Blotter Rag arrived, so they are with the Kinships Magazine awaiting Wanderings before I organise and send one copy of each home...see? My piles of paper have piles of paper.

I should also write letters. The Doctors are having a baby, the English-American is getting married and I have any number of letters from friends which should have been replied to already.

This need to spring clean was precipitated, I think, by the arrival of the wonderful new monitor, which resulted in the computer-graveyard effect in the library. I have found the old one a home, but it is the last level of mess I can stand. Tonight I have a meeting, but tomorrow I think I will start organising.

The garden is beautiful, though. Everything is coming back to life. We're going to put in a new bed outside the living room window.

Oscar Wilde

I have discovered that whilst listening to good writers when writing is often inspiring, but listening to brilliant writers is perturbing to the point of making work impossible. I shall never listen to Oscar Wilde Whilst trying to write again: to live up to standard is quite impossible, even for the most inflated ego.

Rejection

Okay, so Belinda came back with a 'thanks but no thanks' form letter; which initially was upsetting, as I'd been making all the other rejections not matter by telling myself the big thing was still out. But on the up side I think it probably did a lot of good, as now I'm going to go agent hunting. Which I wasn't before, because I thought I could handle the marketing thing.

Ho hum. The marketing thing. Well, I'm better at it than I was. I've learnt a couple of tricks and decided that some things just have to be left to try, try and try again. There is more than one thing sold now, and a short list of places I've been published. Nowhere big or impressive, but places have published my stuff and I even have a nice comment next to a piece I can use as a review.

Essentially, however, an agent is what is required. I truly don't have the time I want to write in. There are too many hours put into: 'Who might like this?' 'How does it need to be formatted?' 'How will I re-phrase the covering letter to make it jump out?' and the eternal 'Please, get me out of the slush pile!'

Now I must leave you and investigate Miss Snark on how to woo the agent of my dreams.

Biological processes

Because it is very cool, and people who haven't see it should, I give you The Life of A Cell.

Where are you?

Create your own visitor map!

The Creative Profession

It's time to do a quick update on the writing thing. In short, it's going okay. I have a publication record of six rejections to one publication (not too bad) and a few publications under my belt. There is one novel finished and sent, and this week John and I completed the thumbnails for the first issue of the comic. We've settled on 32 pages in black and white, with a couple of bits of red. We're both seem to be improving and we've found a good pace.

First title: Black's Magic - The Things We Do For Love

I have also entered a few competitions. My submission at Escape Pod isn't doing nearly so well as Anarkey's, but going over there and seeing what was doing well was enlightening. No word back from any of the others yet.

There should also be a confession here, and that is I haven't turned around the few rejections that I've had, and I haven't managed to complete either Hawk House or The Exit Generation yet. They both have great potential, but they seem like monstrous tasks just now, and all my excitement is with the new novel - Jamie's Secret. YA and quite angst-filled, but it deals with a lot of subjects I want to address and I'm enjoying writing it. I'm having a small problem getting a positive chapter in early though, as there is a lot of setting up of things to come. Almost all my characters are starting from difficult or unpleasant situations in one way or another, and I need something happy to make the arc readable. I suspect this will have to be done by putting in another character.

I've also been trying to do more editing-based stuff. It's much easier to find the flaws in my own stuff if I'm used to spotting it in other people's work. To that end, I read The Ad Hoc Leader's Rich Guy novel, did a farce plot and helped out with some smaller editing tasks. I've discovered that a lot of people seem to have the same problem plotting; it's tough to get the slope to the climax right. Beginnings are easy, middles can be written through climaxes are easy, but the chunk before the climax is tough, and knowing when to stop the wind down at the end is hard too. This seems to result in there being too much middle, then a climax which isn't well lead up to and a drop-off which is either too detailed or leaves the reader going 'But what happened to...!'. I've seen this problem in both of the short stories I haven't fixed, and in a couple of stories I have out. It is something I need to work on.

On the bright side, I got a really nice acceptance letter which came with an invitation to read the piece in North Carolina. Fortunately the editor was happy to do that for me. Mum also sent me an e-mail from Nigel, who wrote the last post I made. We're going to talk about re-writing for a more specific market.

Now I just need to stop being distracted by pretty new projects and get on with the shiny ones I already have.

Something to keep the submissions going

The Toddler's Guide to Perseverance
By Nigel Risner
(And I hope he forgives me for publishing it here, but as it came in a mass-
mail care of my mother, I think I'm okay)

My brother in  laws two-year-old daughter asks for ice cream about one
hundred times day.  You think I'm exaggerating for effect, but I am really
not.  She starts when she first gets up in the morning, requesting it as
her breakfast. She asks mid-morning, several times. She asks for it as an
appetiser to her lunch, asks for it when my mother in law is caring  for her
as well asks at snack, dinner, and about 70 other times during  the day.
Sometimes she employs tactics of terror, kicking and screaming  until our
very nerves tremble. Sometimes she flashes the sweetest  smile.

And of the hundred times she asks per day (I made it a nice round number,
but I suspect it's probably higher than that) she gets ice cream maybe once
every two or three days. Sometimes she wears us all down once a day for
a few days. Now, before you start thinking this is an article on parenting
techniques (as in, what NOT to do), I'm actually using this headstrong toddler
as an example. An example of what TO do. Yes, an example  for even you
to follow.

Because what is her success rate? On a good  day, it is one per cent.
ONE PERCENT.
She FAILS 99 per cent of the time. She tries a variety of approaches, and
finds that 99 times out of 100, they do not work. And yet, she gets a bit of
what she wants just about every day.

Why? Let's examine. First, she makes it very clear what she wants.  She
tells us the colour, flavour, in detail, in her request. She starts early in the
morning and doesn't let up until night time.  She actually hits up her father
more than her mother knowing he's more of a softy, so she knows the
proper venue for her request.

Lesson to be learned: Be  REALLY clear on what you want. It's hard to
expect the world to give you what  you're looking for if you don't quite know
what it is. Define the colour and  flavour of what you want.

Second, failure is not any kind of deterrent  for her. She is the embodiment
of the old adage, "'No' just means try again  later." She puts no negative
spin on herself for the 99 times she fails to get what she wants. She doesn't
say to herself, "Oh, I've failed. Maybe I'm not meant to have ice cream.
Maybe I should just learn to like this broccoli stuff.  Why - oh why - do I never
get what I want?"  She just asks time number  83.
And 84. And 85...

Lesson: Failure simply means TRY AGAIN. It does not mean anything
about you, that you are not worthy or not special or not  meant to have what
you want. You just have to keep trying.

Third, she learns from her mistakes. I notice she's refined her request time
to times when she considers us most vulnerable. She gets us when we are
tired  or otherwise occupied, or when there is someone else around and
I'm not as likely to stand firm.

Lesson: Learn from your failures. You'll eventually  be able to cut them
down if you learn what NOT to do.

Fourth, she's  flexible. At times when she sees we are  steadfast in our
refusal to provide her drug of choice (ice cream, before you go off to
summon the proper authorities), she starts to negotiate for an alternative. 
Lollipop? Chocolate? Raisin? She usually gets us with the raisin.

Lesson: Be flexible! Maybe you can't get EXACTLY what you want, 
but you can get an approximation. Ask for raisins!

Fifth, she eats like a pro. She eats broccoli, seafood, any crazy health
food we decide to feed her.  It makes me more likely to give her ice
cream when I see she's  "paid her dues" and eaten all the good stuff
I want her to.

Lesson:  Pay your dues. Life rewards the hard working and the diligent.
Eat your  broccoli and you're more likely to get the ice cream.

Lastly, she loses  with a big smile. Sometimes it turns into a joke and we
laugh. So even when I "win" (and I don't really suspect I ever truly do),
we stay friends and go on  to negotiate another day.

Lesson: Take life's bumps with a smile. You  never know when life is
just two requests away from giving you a great big  ice cream cone.

New Year's Resolutions

A little belated, but a good thing to do. They are all work based this year.

1) Get something resembling a proper income for writing. It doesn't have to be much, but I need something to show for the work I'm doing.

2) Finish another two books.

3) Finish and market the comic book.

4) Keep the short stories out, rather than languishing unedited or just unsent in my machine.

January will mostly be spent trying to get those languishing tales out, so I can organise myself properly. I'm not as good as I should be at marketing myself and my work - this is a skill I must obtain to be a successful writer. I have been trusting to luck for too long.

And now I've told people, which may well help me keep them.

I've written a book

...and a plot summary and a covering letter. It's in a big brown envelope and is about to go into the post. The final title:

Belinda: Never Too Old

Wish it luck.

Odin

Two summers ago a litter of cats was birthed in the tin shed in the garden next door. Strays. I considered briefly doing something about them, but not sure what that something was, I did nothing except leave out some water when the weather got really hot.
Then, last spring, we had new people next door, come in to refurbish the place and sell it. The cats were fully grown, and suddenly seemed to be hanging around much more. There were eight that I could see. I've always got on well with cats, so didn't mind that they had taken up residence on and under porches, in the sheltered places around the house.
I learned, just as the house next door was going on the market, that they had been feeding the cats. The woman concerned had been trying to just feed the one cat - the one with the milky eye, the one who couldn't hunt well. The one living under our holly bushes. The thing was, she had no idea how much one small cat ate, and so had been putting out enough food for all of them.
A month ago the people next door departed, and most of the cats went too, although a couple stayed in the ally to scrounge from bins. The cat with the milky eye seemed to be gone.
Then the ice storm came. It was bad. The cat with the milky eye holed up under the back porch. Tim gave it tuna after some discussion regarding the wisdom of feeding wild animals.
It took up residence on the back porch. I gave it some more milk and tuna one day when it looked particularly hungry (yeah, okay, you can read cute for hungry). Then today it was bold enough to sit on the porch all day. It only ran away when one of us was out there, and even then it didn't run far.
I gave it a box with a blanket. It has it's own dish. Tim named it Odin. It's hanging from the back door looking in at the window as I write.
I think we've been adopted.

Triumphs and Annoyances

Jessica is in the shop again. I only just had a new master cylinder put in and she started making a peculiar noise - I think the fault lies with the fan belt, wherever it is, it looks like I'll be car-less for WUTA tonight.

On the bright side, I now have all the Christmas shopping done and posted. I may get a couple of little things to add to Teabringer's pile, but I'm essentially finished. Next week I'll do the decorations, once the cleaning is done. I'm feeling festive and the snow is very cheering, if a little lethal.

The writing is going well; I have another publication out (I think this week) in Kinships Magazine. It's Black Dust, for those who know it, which is well omened given that the novel length concept is going out at the end of the month. The Artist and I are working on Black's Magic as a comic. It's going fantastically well and both of us are very excited and working hard on it. I think we may spend a week working on it in January. The Artist also came up with a wonderful origami card for advertising, and I've worked out the art so it works upside-down and back-to-front.

This weekend is the concert at the Library. I'm due to tell a story there and need to finish it up and make it sound pretty, maybe do a dry run for Bertie and Lillian, so that I know what I'm doing. The story will be a weird puff-the-magic dragon/Celtic mythology cross. Perhaps I'll take it to WUTA tonight.

Plan for December: Finish Belinda. Market everything that is currently incomplete/waiting to be sent out again. Clean and decorate for Christmas. Complete the script for the first issue of Black's Magic.

Finger's crossed.

A Long-Overdue Post

So I haven't posted for a while. But after a spectacular day with Anarkey and her family yesterday, I thought I would follow her good example and try to post more.

Thanksgiving was lovely - great food, wonderful company and games. Just perfect. To crown the day I got an acceptance on a short story as well. It's based on the concept Belinda is based on, and Belinda is what I'm trying to finish for the start of next month. It's close, really close (about 40 pages left to write) and I have somewhere to send it. The deadline is what's making me write and having a book done by the end of the year and sent would be wonderful. I'm also going to try an clear the marketing, so I have nothing sitting waiting for an edit in January. If I'm successful in this, I may even meet the submitting one thing a week challenge from the beginning of last year.

Game is also some fun at the moment. Sophia is back - with all that entails, and it looks like the praxis wheel has finally left St Louis, so I can dip my toe in other politics.

In other news, I joined the Catholic Latin mass choir, because I missed singing in Latin. The choirmaster is in the Welsh choir. I love the music, and the people are pleasant, but I'm very worried about the more crazy end of the church. I almost left twice over the second amendment, but reasoned that I can probably discuss it better with those with opposing views now I know what they are being told from the pulpit. I'll be singing a little solo stuff for midnight mass.

Teaching is going very, very well. I'm coming away from Monday lessons feeling I can make a difference. I wish people would spend more time giving one another confidence rather than taking it away. Self-belief is so easy to lose.

Winter is coming. This makes me happy.

Talk like a Pirate Day

...is tomorrow landlubbers

Disasters and how people make them better

We are here. We are safe, we are well. The recent storms seemed to knock out a good deal of U. City but our little house only lost power for a few moments. I was in South County and after spending some time clearing and checking to see if roads were opened, I made it home after the first storm. People were panicing even on that first night; filling gas stations and grocery stores which didn't have the power to cope. I went to sleep, imagining that everything would be fine by the next day.

Everything was not fine. People were still without power, the heat was scorching and, to a couple, deadly. We called around a little to offer our spare, air conditioned space. A family from Tim's lab came to us. A few others said they would brave it out, moving downstairs or into basements to sleep.

Yesterday things seemed to be looking up. Much of the city was back on again, or looking like it would be soon. Then we had another storm rip through. More power out, I noticed that our roof shingles didn't look as sturdy as they ought. I was still supposed to be working on a couple of mall jobs.

When the weather calmed I headed out to the Mills mall to find it dark, yet the doors were open and some people were wandering deserted corridors under butterflies and flowers left in the darkness. Some enterprising coffeee shops were still open. I headed to the Gallaria. It was swarming with people, too busy for comfort. I did the job I needed to do with Viderick's assistance and we ran over to Clayton for coffee. I needed one more thing before Carbondale, a single business card from an optician on a side street. While turning onto the side street (I was stopped, indicating and otherwise behaving as a good motorist should) a white transit van drove up my trunk.

Viderick was hurt, I was shaken. Despite my best hopes I think my car is now dead. There is no trunk left, the crumple went right up to the rear windshield. I can see the fuel tank. It took more than two hours for the police to deal with their stuff and the tow truck to arrive. It was six o'clock before I was home and could tell Teabringer. Viderick and I went out drinking...there was little else for it. I owe him more thanks than I can give for staying with me and holding my hand throughout (even through dealing with insurance companies-above and beyond) and cheering me with thoughts of a new car when I looked unsteady. I think we were very lucky it wasn't worse.

So tonight there will be a party and we will celebrate how good it is to be alive, and with good freinds.

Lets hope all the power is back on again soon.

Maybe I should try something new...

Which OS are You?

I have no clue how I would operate it 'though.

I like this one much better, but it's probably my ego talking...


Which File Extension are You?

Adult Education

Saturday was teacher training day at the Y for those of use volunteering to teach adult literacy. They started in the middle of the night (8.45 am), but as I managed to get to sleep before 2.00am the night before it wasn't too painful. We covered a lot of material in six hours, including some fascinating information regarding the difference between teaching adults and children, and the reasons why adults who have never read in the past come to the classes.

Here are some of the facts/stats that we were given:

General

- 90 million (nearly half) American Adults have limited basic reading and writing skills.

- 17% of Missourians score in the lowest five levels of literacy.

- 950,000 Missourians age 16 and older (28%) do not have a high school diploma.

- Children of parents who drop out of school are six times more likely to drop out than children of parents who finished school.

- Children's literacy levels are strongly linked to the educational levels of thier parents, especially their mothers.


St Louis City (pop age 16+: 306,308)

-35% at Level 1 (National Adult Literacy Survey)
-66% at Level 1 or 2
-37% lack a high school diploma or equivalent


St Louis County (pop age 16+: 775,060)

-16% at Level 1 (National Adult Literacy Survey)
-37% at Level 1 or 2
-17% lack a high school dipolma or equivalent


Missouri (pop age 16+: 3,939,284)

-17% at Level 1 (National Adult Literacy Survey)
-46% at Level 1 or 2
-25% lack a high school diploma


National (pop 191 million)

-21-23% at Level 1
-25-28% at Level 2 (46-51% at Level 1 or 2)

"Literacy experts believe that adults with skills at Levels 1 and 2 lack a sufficient foundation of basic skills to function successfully in our society."

Many factors help to explain the relatively large number of adults in Level 1: 25% of adults in Level 1 were immigrants with limited English. 60%+ did not complete high school. 30%+ were over the age of 65. 25%+ had physical or mental conditions that kept them from fully participating in work, school, housework or other activities. Almost 20% had vision problems that affected their ability to read print.

-adapted from NIFL: Frequently Asked Questions


There are, of course, more students than tutors. We do this all one to one. The students come to us requesting assistance, often they don't want freinds, family or collegues to know that they are learning. They need more people to help, it requires an hour or two of commitment a week and two Saturdays for training, they provide materials, locations for teaching in (public venues), matching tutors to students and assesing the level of the student. It is worth it.

In other news, I watched a hawk carry off the rabbit that had been eating my veggies today. Spectacular.

A Trip to Hermann

The invitation came in a thick cream envelope, and in the hand of a friend. I remembered that she had been pessimistic about this place on her first visit, more than a year ago. This time the pessimism was mine, for a different reason. I come from farms, from rolling countryside. I know it isn't romantic. I don't like mud, or biting insects, or long periods in the sun, or sleeping under the stars. I have a stubborn fondness for indoor plumbing and hot water. But the friend who gave me the invitation promised guest houses and good food, so on Saturday we threw drinks and lawn chairs into the car and headed out to our destination.

We arrived to see the Harpist, sitting under the tree, harp between his legs, playing 'The Ash Grove'. He told us that the others were inside, eating cheese and cracker for lunch. We went and introduced ourselves to the few who had arrived. Within the hour we were down at the creak. Something of the child had been released in me, I climbed a tree (despite the heels), and paddled in the stream (having tied my skirt up). One person fell in, the cows lowed, alarmed by the interruption. We lost Teabringer down there for two hours and he found snakes, Cray fish and minnows.

Our host took us on tractor rides (a tiny 4x4 in reality), and let one of the party drive. I sat for a long time taking with The Harpist, and he looked through my music and played for me while I sang. Dinner was served as a thunderstorm passed by to the North. Many of the people cooking also write for Sauce, and the spread was magnificent. We ate and drank. As the sun set we all moved towards the newly-lit fire and sat around it. I tried some of Transylvanian Dutch's white port. Papers, flies and musical instruments emerged. Everyone who had been invited had a talent to offer.

Readings and music went into the night. The red sparks from the fire drifted to join the steady stars in the sky. Lighting bugs flashed to their own music in the prairie. The frogs in the creak were audible from the farmhouse.

We left a little before midnight, after the host had gone to bed and the party was winding down. And I knew that we were lucky to have found such great friends here.