Not awake. Worked my butt off yesterday and will do so again today. Large computer conference starts on Monday. I'm just bummed that they insist on hosting their PC version here and their Mac version in California. I really think it should be the other way around!!

Oh, well. After weeks of not making 40 hours, it'll be nice to see a 50 hour paycheck.

The writing in non-existant. Not much choice. I probably won’t get any done this week. I’m going to drop out of the Forward Motion word count Dare. I’m already hopelessly behind. I guess this year’s just not a word count year like last.

Long ago I wrote a short blurb at TowerRat.com about my time in Germany. Got an email from one of my platoon mates yesterday. It’s been fun rehashing the memories. But I’ll never forgive him for that bawdy drinking song that’s been in my head since me wrote me. Hey! It ain’t MY fault the memory prompt for him comes in an audio file of Barnacle Bill the Sailor! (Versions here and here.)

2318 words today! Chapter 16 finished! YAY!

What with all the political shenanigans, I forgot to post my word count yesterday. (Or did I? Damn senility!)

1186 words yesterday. Finished a chapter and also finished editing the first chapter of On Azrael’s Wings. (That really sounds familiar . . . I think I did post that.) Today only 514 words. My defense is a doctor appointment.

On the medical front, the rheumatoid arthritis is still quite manageable. YAY! My right wrist has been bothering me since we got back from our vacation, however. Dr. D took a look at it, noticed some heat (though it has never been red or obviously swollen) and signed me up for my first cortisone shot. gulp

I think it's time to do some research.

1198 words, all on my editing project.

Lots of work at work. Finally finished cleaning out the office and finding paperwork that's been lost for months. I hear rumor it might not be until mid-August before we get into the official interview process for my new boss. Until then, we go along as we have.

Shouldn't be a problem. LOL!

Watching The Mask on TBS. Ah, the good ol' days. It's been awhile since I've seen it. Odd thing is, it doesn't seem as funny as it did when it first came out. Guess I fell out of interest with Jim Carrey.

Yesterday, I swore I was scheduled at 2pm for work. It even says so on my calendar. As I was preparing to settle in for a writing session at 11:15am, I received a call. I was scheduled for 11am! Uh oh!

So, no writing yesterday. I do my writing in the morning before work. It's a rare day that I can write after getting home.

1111 words today. At a bit of a loss in a scene for the next Iditarod chapter. Got over 300 words before I stalled. I'll think more on it tonight, see if I can give it a boost. I only need about 7 – 800 words to round out that chapter.

Worked on my editing project for the rest of the word count, On Azrael’s Wings. Be kinda cool to have TWO manuscripts to offer my publisher at the end of the year. Can’t guarantee I’ll get two contracts out of it, but I can try. Either they’ll say yes, yes, yes to both or I can sell one there and have another to shop around.

On the work front, my boss of the last 4 years has moved on. No manager in the department. Don't get me wrong, he was a good guy in that he backed me up in most every thing I did. But he was a space cadet – couldn't remember things from day to day, scatterbrained. It's a relief to get the office cleaned out. I don't know how many times I found associate reviews, and assorted HR paperwork squirreled away here and there . . . usually months late. (Of course, I haven't even gotten to the file cabinets, yet. Gods know what I'll find there.)

Rumor has it that there are three people wanting his position. I'm really hoping for one of them. She's worked in our department before and the guys all respect her (a MAJOR undertaking there, let me tell you.) So, I'm crossing all my body parts for her. It may be a month or more before we hear anything for sure.

2156 words. Last night a friend of mine noticed that the romance is somewhat lacking between my two main characters. So, I had to insert a chapter in between 11 and 12. Wrote the whole thing today.

I love dialogue . . . it takes up so much in the way of word count . . .

Chapter 13 finished. A total of 1646 words written today. If I make 1200 tomorrow, I'll catch up to the 1k I DIDN'T write on the first.

I've come to the conclusion that I jinxed myself at the beginning of the year when I set the goal of 365k for the year. That's a lot of words. I promptly stopped writing afterwards because the sheer magnitude seemed too large. (Though, it's only 1k a day.) So I'm dumping that particular goal, preferring the original 1k per day. It's smaller, and if I don't make it, there's always tomorrow.

1233 words today. Chapter 13 is well along.

Saw Shrek 2 this afternoon. There’s another DVD we have to purchase when it comes out. Hilarious!

Just finished watching a DVD called Skins. It's about a Lakota res cop with an alcoholic brother. It's pretty damned bleak and pretty damend good. Of course, it has Graham Greene in it. I really like the characters he portrays in nearly every movie I've caught him in. This one is no exception.

Now I'm off to bed. Tomorrow's plan is to finish chapter 13 and hopefully get a good start on 14.

‘ve signed up for the July / August Dare at Forward Motion, specifically the word count apprentice dare. 1k a day or BUST!

I hope to finish the Iditarod story in that time. Then I’ll toss it onto my mailing list. From there get back to On Azrael’s Wings edits for about two weeks, and submit it to my publisher. THEN my wife should be finished with her rereading of the Sanguire, and I’ll finish that by the end of the year.

Whew