#38: killing time, finding bliss
This morning I'm waiting for a new keyboard to be delivered. Sally the enormous puppy lunged at my desk, messier than usual because I've got more than the usual irons in the fire at the moment (deadlines swarming as they are wont to do) and knocked over two semi-full glasses of water. The only casualties, thankfully, were one of the yellow legal pads on my desk--and luckily it was just my ongoing to-do list and jotting notebook, not the one with all the interview notes for a freelance piece I'm working on--and the keyboard, which no longer has a working space bar. I poured water out of it. Oh well.
Here's hoping the new keyboard talks to my set-up; laptop plugged into enormous monitor. Usually I end up running out, having destroyed yet another wireless keyboard with my typographical abuse, and buying whatever says mac compatible at staples. This time I looked at reviews and bought a cheapish mechanical one. We'll see.
Anyway, it's a holiday and I don't really want to work work on my laptop unless I can help it (I really like my desk set-up, and honestly the only time I write away from it is usually outside on my neo but it's another gray rain rain rainy spring day), so I've been doing one of my favorite time-killing activities, catching up on feedly posts (I am old school and still mourning Google Reader) from Austin Kleon and Messy Nessy Chic. I'd somehow missed Austin's idea borrowed from Joseph Campbell of the Bliss Station, though I love that, and I think my bliss station isn't either a place or a when, but a state of mind. It's usually when I'm in motion, walking, thinking, observing. Sometimes walking through a gallery, which I've talked about before as a favorite brain reset activity. But on the daily it's being up and about that brings me bliss and makes my brain happy--I suppose it's also true of my favorite classes at the aerial studio. Anyway, I love saving up Austin's posts and reading them all in a half-hour. Same with Messy Nessy Chic, where you can learn about things like an outlawed secret Masonic society devoted to pugs (!!!) and the fascinating life of Zitkála-Šá, a Native woman who took on Broadway.
My keyboard is still not here, but on this gray rainy day my brain is delighted. I feel like my train spent a little time at the Bliss Station. For that matter, reading is kind of a bliss station, isn't it? I just finished Laura Lippman's remarkable Sunburn, highly recommended, and Roshani Chokshi's Aruh Shah and the End of Time, also highly recommended.
I didn't realize I hadn't updated you guys since the new year, but I promise to be better about that. What's new? Paperback releases coming up at the beginning of May for the first middle grade and the third Lois Lane, and at the end of May mine and Christopher's second middle grade will be out (The Sphinx's Secret). One secret project is wrapping up and the details will be announced soon, another is just beginning but has a crazy deadline and so will be announced sometime this year too. I decided to take on some more freelance journalism work, which I enjoy, so I'm also working on a profile and a feature package at the moment, and I have a YA novel that's halfway done and needs to get finished this year. I've started going to ballet class, because I also started going to pole class and my pole instructor said try a dance class just for comfort in movement. I've also been going back to silks. It's a spring of movement, after a too-long winter. Now if it would only stop raining. You don't want to know what a border collie puppy is like when she's overly cooped up. I promise.
Anyway, we are in this household busy bees making the words. While I wait for my keyboard -- if all goes to plan, my next missive to you will be typed on its extra-clicky keys.
I hope the sun and some bliss find you, wherever you are. Until next time,
G