[Writing] I am writing, just not on schedule.

That's because I've been spending the last few days trying to create a decent synopsis for dancinghorse's critique of the first few chapters of A Division of Souls. So yeah, sorry that it's late, Judy, I'll try to get it to you as soon as I can! Hopefully if I can get some serious writing time this weekend, I can get it done, or at least closer to done.

As I mentioned earlier, the unintended plus on writing this synopsis is that I can now see where the overall plot needs a little work. This is everything from little plot movements that need to go in a slightly different direction (yet to the same spot) for it to flow and make more sense, to big passages where a different scene (or at least a scene written differently) could vastly improve it. I guess the overall thing is that writing the synopsis is forcing me to read the story with a somewhat distant eye instead of being emotionally involved. I notice that when I'm emotionally involved in the story, I tend to be passive and let it flow by. This is all well and good as a reader, but I guess that when I turn the Writer Brain on, especially during revision, I need to back away from it--get less emotionally invested in it--and try my best to be analytical. I'll admit that's my weakness, not liking to be analytical, because I always feel it takes away from the original intent...but with time and experience, I've come to realize you can still be analytical and not be cold and heartless. Overall, though...the fact that this long (LOOOOOOONG)-term project of mine is reaching new heights makes me proud of it, and that's a great feeling.

It's things like this that remind me that, despite the slogging and still not being professionally published, I still love the art and the process of writing, and that I continue to work at it despite the mood of my day. I may not be able to devote more than an hour or so a day, but going on a decade and a half, I still feel the guilt if I skip a day, even if I'm on vacation. I still think of it as my long term career, even if I'm still working a regular day job to pay the bills.

More soon...

Record Store Day!

So yes, as was my duty, I headed up to Amoeba today for Record Store Day (Emm headed instead over to the de Young Museum to check out the Olmec stone head and the Balenciaga fashion exhibits) and spent mumbletymumble dollars on some nifty things. It was a bit of a chore getting there, as I decided not to wait the extra 24 minutes for the next 33 bus to get me just over a mile's distance. Walking up Arguello to Fulton wasn't too bad...but walking from Fulton up to the northeast corner of GGP is a bit of a chore, since it's all uphill. On the way I did walk by 2400 Fulton, known in 60s lore as the house owned by Jefferson Airplane, which looks pretty much the same as it did back then.

[Side note: one of these days I'd like to take a walking tour through the Haight and take pictures of all the houses and stores that were famous back in the hippie days...I know it's probably been done and posted/published, but given that I live in this city and am just a bus ride away from a neighborhood with a very famous musical history, it would be fun.] [ANYWAY...]

So! The spoils:

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, Part I dvd

Buffalo Tom, Skins (Ltd Edition with outtakes cd)
Crowded House, Intriguer (surprised we don't own this already)
Crowded House, Travelogue 2010 (3 cd live album I didn't know existed!)
The Feelies, Here Before (Yay, new album!!)
Foo Fighters, Wasting Light (WOOO! Been waiting for this one!!)
Good Charlotte, Cardiology (yet another album I picked up for Emm...I sense a theme here)
Ladytron, Best of 00-10 (I keep forgetting I like them)
Low, C'mon (came with a free 5-track acoustic EP)
The National, High Violet (Ltd Edition with extras cd...again, another theme here)
The Smithereens, 2011 (Yay, new album, with Don Dixon producing!)
Yellowcard, When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes (Yay, new cheap album!!)


And some odd freebies, including random posters, an Epitaph Records sampler, a Christian Gospel sampler, and a Belle & Sebastian seven-inch. I figure that B&S single is the only thing I'll end up saving...

I was very close to buying the new remaster of The Church's Starfish (which has an album's worth of extra tracks), but I think I'll wait on it for now, since it just came out and was a bit over twenty-two dollars. Yeah, in the past I'd have picked it up despite the price (and if I hadn't picked up the Harry Potter dvd, it may have made the cut), but I figure I'll wait for a sale or find it online for cheaper.


So! After a few hours' of browsing and listening to the Kinks' Lola vs Powerman and the Moneyground, Part One (a very odd choice for Amoeba's store play, but a nice one nonetheless, at least it wasn't something horrible or earshattering), I headed out to Golden Gate Park to meet up with Emm, who by this time was hanging out at the Arboretum. I cut through due west, surprising myself by finally finding Hippie Hill (and yes, there were neohippies there) as well as the very quiet and nice AIDS Memorial Grove, before coming up on the back end of the Academy of Sciences. There was, I believe, a high school band playing Sousa marches on the Music Concourse stage. That's when Emm and I finally met back up and headed home. We stopped at the Hawaiian BBQ place on Clement on the way (Two large chicken katsu sammiches and 2 drinks for just $8.50? That's a steal!), a quick shopping stop at the Smart & Final, one last stop for iced coffee/tea, and then home.

So yes...I'm tired, but we had quite a lot of fun today, and I got to celebrate Record Store Day in the process. Woo!