State of the valis union

[valis2]

Completely forgot about Snupin chat today, am so bummed, beyond belief, because of fest reasons...I love discussing fest fics there, and this would have been a great chance to hear lots of fun stuff. Wah. Too bad there isn't a transcript available.

Have wrapped gifts, but still have crafting to do to round it all out.

I special ordered two eight pound capons for Christmas Day. I special ordered them a week ago. Now that I have purchased them ($91 total) I find out that my uncle is unable to attend, and that other people aren't attending as well, and I could have easily gotten away with one. Damnit. So I'm putting the other in the freezer for another special occasion. My grandmother is also attempting to get out of it by using Passive-Aggressive Level 5 behavior; namely, telling my mother that she doesn't want to "intrude" on our celebration, that her granddaughters never call or see her, and that she'll just spend it with her friends. Y'know, I almost wish she would just stay home.

Have done major work on the revision of tLS. I am revised up through 64, I think (75 chapters total), and have uploaded through chapter 60 on fanfictionnet, fiction alley, and SH. Now to finish on the Archive at the End of the Universe, though it's kind of like, why, because no one ever reviews almost anything there. I also dropped three more stories at SH. I am hoping to get a few more readers for some of my drabbly stuff there...it's all been languishing at the Archive, with few reviews or hits, and I was thinking that SH readers might be interested.

Am kind of down, just a little. I feel anxious. This year I was gone from home for 148 days; next year I will be gone for 115 days just in the first six months. I'm starting to feel my tension levels rise, because I'm leaving in mid-January. I'm trying to enjoy my time home, but I just feel like...I have too much to do, and I keep wasting time on other things. I hate feeling like this. It's a cross between guilt and stress and enjoying lazy pursuits.

Enough whining. Back to the crafting desk...

Comments

[aubrem.livejournal.com]

Not whining, well-deserved letting off of tension.

I am always impressed by how much you put into your work. I'm not much of a self-starter unless I'm very inspired. Clearly you excel at doing what needs to be done and going all out. I bow to you. : )

Here's to a smooth and lucrative 2007 for you Valis!

::raises glass::

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Heh...thank you so much for always being such an unflagging support! You make me feel like I'm really accomplishing something. :)

Rereading the story has made me think that it is definitely not for everyone, and it does have its moments...good, bad, and rushed, to be honest. But I think I have a slam-bang ending, and I'm actually eager to finish it, if the schedule will permit it.

Seriously, I lot of the weird ideas I have really fire me up. I don't see a lot of fics with the same ideas, and that gives me hope that this might turn out to be a nice read overall when it's finished.

And here's to a fantastic 2007 for you! *hugs* Thanks so much for always being there. :)

[imafarmgirl.livejournal.com]

Are the revisions a big enough deal so that we should reread them?

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Honestly? Probably not. I mostly looked for instances where I wrote He was looking for soapscum and changed those to He looked for soapscum. I also fixed a lot of little canon errors, like the Katie Bell messup...I went by the Lexicon's dates, and thought she was in her 7th year as Harry was in his 5th, so I thought she was gone. And I accidentally switched Dean Thomas for Jordan at some point and never noticed.

Also, I incorporated one or two HBP things, like Snape not being a pure-blood.

I did a little embellishing here and there, and omitted a lot of useless words, and in general, fixed a lot of little things that bugged me. There were a few typos, too, despite beta reading and multiple re-reads; I often type suspicious for suspicions. I'm so glad that I've done this, though, because I don't plan on revising it any further. I want to finish it, and it's really important to me that the few people who are waiting for it to be finished before reading it will see a better work.

[imafarmgirl.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, yes do finish. Big grin.

[artystone.livejournal.com]

$91 for, let's face it, chicken?
What are those things made of? Holy cow.

And what? No excuses about "the birds" this time?

[valis2.livejournal.com]

They are incredible. Mouth-watering. Dripping with fat. Moistest fowl I have ever consumed.

I am totally hooked on capons now. ;)

And, no, she's stepped up her game. She's making it sound like we're not her family anymore. I overheard my mom talking to her on the phone, and while I could only hear my mom's side of the convo, it was extremely difficult not to just grab the phone and say "YOU ARE GOING TO COME OVER AND HAVE CAPON WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT." She's already moaning and whining about what a bother it is to pick her up and that she'll just spend the time with her friends.

Argh!!

[artystone.livejournal.com]

LOL, what makes her think her friends want her?

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Yeah, exactly!

But what she'll do is tell them how OMG MEEN we are and then they'll feel sorry for her and drag her ass to their place. It's her favorite ploy...the 'feel sorry for me' crap.