May 3, Houston: The big one -- the Inprint reading -- occurs at the Alley Theatre on Monday, May 3. Do not miss it or you'll be sorry. I'm not kidding -- I'm going to say the craziest, most intellectual yet hilarious stuff I can think of, and I'll be sharing the stage with the ultra sexy Oscar Casares, too.
June 24, Houston: I'm one of the peeps scheduled to read at Poison Pen, at Houston's famous Poison Girl bar. Besides me, everyone there will be ultra, *super* sexy. Come see me and drink!
June 26, Washington, DC: I'll be reading at the American Library Association conference. Come on down.
My other blog: Go read my the Houston Chronicle parenting blog (or my ChronMomBlog, as I like to call it) and make sure my kids won't resent me more than other kids resent their own parents.
Buy my new novel, Lone Star Legend. Already did? Well, buy a few more for your friends, then. :)
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Time to Whine!I'm slightly stressed because tonight is the last night I have to finish up my novel revisions. Deadline is tomorrow at 1 PM, which is also the time I need to be on the road, on the way to Austin to spend the weekend with my kids. Oh, and I haven't packed for that trip, yet.
When I come back, I need to hurry the hell up and pack everything in my apartment, then arrange times for all my post-closing house repairs and renovations. Then, on Friday, I close.
I have until August 1 (that means one and a half weekends) to get out of my apartment and get as much unpacked and set up as possible. Because, on August 1, I have to drive to Austin to pick up my kids and bring them home from their summer baby-daddy visitation.
Then, three days after that, they go to Austin for a normal baby-daddy-visitation weekend. Meaning that I get to drive to Austin again that Sunday to pick them up. Then, after that, we have one weekend to get all their school clothes before school starts on August 16.
Did I mention that my work commute will increase from 2 minutes to 45 minutes to an hour? Oh, and I still don't yet know where I'll be putting my kids after school.
But first, before I worry about any of that... I need to finish my novel revisions. Tonight.
I think I can do it. It should be easy. Ain't I a woman? Ain't I, to be precise, a single mom and novelist with a full-time job? Am I not Devo?
Okay, that didn't make sense, I know. Probably a symptom of very slight stress. (Or PCOS. That reminds me - I also have to go to the doctor next week and let her know that my PCOS treatment has stopped working. If you don't know what PCOS means, don't worry. I can sum it up for you very simply: I'm eggless, I probably have diabetes, and I must carry emergency feminine hygiene products in my purse at all times. And I'm fat, but no one knows if the fat is the symptom or the underlying cause.)
I have nightmares every night, but they no longer bother me. This week's have included lost babies, mean bosses, car crashes, and cannabalistic puppies. The puppies were due to the fact that the kids' dad just informed them that he's getting rid of all their puppies. Unless, of course, their mother would like to take the beloved puppies to her new house on August 1.
Really, now that I've typed all this out, it doesn't sound like much. I'm pretty sure I can handle it.
I'm looking forward to our housewarming party, actually. 3:31 PM #
Comments:
Would that make you Devo 3.0?# posted by
NemesisVex : 5:17 PM
Wow, you have a lot on your plate, but so much of it's great. Congrats in advance on finishing the revision and on the house closing!
# posted by
Kaijsa : 8:54 PM
Hi Gwen,
Are you sure it's Devo? Maybe you mean your a Diva? H-mm?
Oh no, your not whinning, your in a full blown panic attack! And most almost home owner to be are in the same boat--panic wise--plus you have the book to revise(never an easy job), and the kids to fret over, and the kids daddy adding fuel to the fire--with the puppies!
Yikes! I would be in a panic too!
Hang in there! You can do it! I know you can! I have faith in you--Gwen!
Janice~
# posted by
Janice : 11:29 PM
Gwen,
Are the kids excited about the house?
Kate
# posted by
kate : 9:57 AM
I didn't mean to be so Pollyanna in my last post. It certainly sounds like you have a lot of stress, but I'm hoping the awesome stuff outweighs the crappy stuff.
# posted by
Kaijsa : 2:13 PM
Gwen -
If you're reading this - Stop it! and go finish your novel!
-Your annoying conscience
# posted by
Tanya : 3:07 PM
wow baby-daddy sounds like a peach. I know this is not the focus of your post, but if you need help placing the pups, I know people (if you need it).
# posted by
Stinkydog : 4:49 PM
Wow, I thought I had a lot of stressful stuff going on. You've got me beat hands down, and I bet you're doing a kick-ass job of it, too. Do you need a president for your fan club?
# posted by
Doppelganger : 3:33 PM
How did final edit go? Also, I'm sure this is an appropriate response to a post about how much you have on your plate, but we should get together soon. Any ideas? Any long-term timelines? I can tentatively plan years in advance. More time to cancel.
# posted by
olive & rose : 12:21 AM
(Note to self: use obscure music references to coax Nemesis Vex into commenting.)
Janice: No, not really a panic attack... Sometimes I have a lot going on, but I still want to write a blog entry, but I don't want to "whine," so I post random, meaningless stuff. This time, however, I decided to just post what was actually going on.
Kate: It's hard to say. They don't express excitement in the same was as me. The oldest is glad to be getting his own room, but I suspect he won't believe it til he's in it. The middle asks a lot of questions, clarifying it in his mind - so he also won't be excited til he's there, I think. The youngest talks with me about it the most, asking for descriptions and colors. So, he's my favorite child. Just kidding. Ha.
Kaijsa: You didn't. In fact... today I was sitting at Fuddrucker's (hamburger place with suggestive name) watching my kids play video games, and I realized I was very happy. And content. And then I thought of your comment, funnily enough. I thought, "Yeah, she was right."
I still have the bracelet you made me, btw. (If that was you. If not, please forgive me for mixing you up with someone else. But it was you, right? Red glass beads? :))
# posted by
Gwen : 9:58 PM
(Man, I need to update my Blogger photo.)
Tanya: Ha.
Stinkydog: Thank you! Actually, I saw the puppies this weekend, and talked to the kids and my bf and my cousins about it, and now we might take two. We can do it!! (Pictures of puppies will be on my Flickr page tomorrow, prolly.)
Doppel: Only if it means we get to hang out and do fun stuff. (Vancouver in summer, Houston in winter.)
Rose: As always, the more I edit, the better the book becomes. No matter how much I didn't want to edit again. And, yes, we do need to get together. I almost called you from the road, but then I didn't because I didn't know if you wanted to hear me whining about my poor cell reception.
# posted by
Gwen : 10:02 PM
Yes, I'm the bracelet maker! Funny, I haven't made anything in so long.
# posted by
Kaijsa : 3:58 PM
Vancouver in summer, Houston in winter.
Oh my god. That sounds like heaven. I'll get the paperwork started immediately.
(Funny that you mention the weather, because I'm watching the weather report on the news right now, and just seeing how fucking hot it is in the rest of Canada right now is making me cringe. Vancouver has turned me into a delicate hothouse flower.)
# posted by
Doppelganger : 11:33 PM
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