Six months from now ...

I just realized that six months from today, Damsel Under Stress comes out. That seems a long time from now, but I have a feeling it will be here before I'm ready.

Today's been my favorite kind of fall day -- cool and brisk, with steely gray skies that make indoor lights look warm and inviting. I was out running errands, and I found myself wanting to visit every store in the strip mall because they all had this golden glow to them (I'm sure they do that on purpose). Now the sun has come out, just in time for a sunset. I can see the first couple of gold leaves on the trees outside my window.

I'm gearing up for yet another trip, this time to Austin for the World Fantasy Convention. It's good that I've made all these goodies and am giving myself things to look forward to. Otherwise, I might have had to be dragged out the door. I feel like I just got home, and now it's time to leave again. It will be almost two weeks until I get to spend an entire week at home. I made a fun mix tape today for the road (as my car is old enough to still have a cassette deck and I'm one of the five people in America without an iPod), just randomly putting on all the songs I really like that make me think there has to be a story in there somewhere. I especially enjoyed putting a Barry Manilow song on right after a Queensryche song, just for the oddity. When I say "mix" tape, I really mean it.

Someone from my old working life called me this morning to offer me a freelance gig, and I turned it down. That felt kind of good, for a number of reasons. For one thing, it was nice to be successful enough that I don't need the money. But it also made me realize I'd come a long way toward being the person I want to be, and I didn't want to step back into that old life. It would have required being the exact opposite of my true personality, and just thinking of it made me feel stressed. Once upon a time, I might have thought it sounded like fun, but I can't dredge up that part of me anymore. I did feel a bit guilty because it sounded like they were really counting on me and that they'd already promoted the idea of me to their client, but I got over it. The date they wanted fell on a day I was planning to take as a vacation day, and I have a couple of deadlines for other little projects coming up that will pay more and be a lot more fun to do. I haven't officially announced them yet, but let's just say that I've managed to turn still more of my hobbies and obsessions into "work," and some of you might recognize the subject matter for one of the projects. It involves a pet theory of mine I've been expounding upon for years, and now I get to fully develop it and write about it at length, 3,000 words worth.

I think I've officially reached the point where I can't stand the condition of my house anymore. Unfortunately, it's at a time when I don't have time to deal with it. I may do some tidying tonight so I don't cringe too horribly when I get home from Austin, and then I'll have to get busy doing some real cleaning and organizing when I get home.