It is February, and it is snowing again. I quite like the snow, to be honest. I don't drive, and I live right next door to my office, the grocery store, the gym... you get the idea. The only thing I'm starting to pine after is outdoor runs. The cold doesn't matter, but the unmelting slush piles do. Ah well. It will be spring then summer soon enough, and I'll be bitching about the heat and humidity, so.

I've been making a concentrated effort to spend more time away from the internet these past few weeks. It's been good, and I think I'm going to keep it up. I've gotten a lot more reading done than I have in awhile. In particular in the past week I've read To the Lighthouse, Ship Breaker, and Flambards. ( Spoilery thoughts contained herein. )

I’ve also been working my way through Barbara Tuchman’s The Guns of August and The Zimmerman Telegram, in the name of research. Excellent so far, both of them, though Guns is a little hard to follow at times. (Undoubtedly largely because I keep reading it in fits and starts, and thus can’t keep all the people and places in my head. Ah well.)

Brief pimpage before I am done, for the Veronica Mars fandon inclined: vmfictitious is in full swing and there is some cool stuff going on over there. I’ve got a fic review up, and there are contests and interviews and all manner of lovely things. Go check it out.

This entry was crossposted to http://jesstherobot.dreamwidth.org/2107.html, where there are comments.

Up at 8:30 on New Year's Day, how about that. We went to "Times Square" last night, which is in quotations because the closest we could get was about ten blocks away. Still, we had a clear view of the ball, so I'm officially crossing that one off the bucket list. The upside to spending four hours getting routed by the NYPD through giant crowds of people is that you could not get alcohol in, so I am fresh as a daisy to start the new year. Which I am about to do, with a cup of coffee, and then a run through Central Park. Not such a bad way to kick things off, I think.

Happy New Year, everyone.

This entry was crossposted to http://jesstherobot.dreamwidth.org/1958.html, where there are comments.

Oh, the internet, it has been so long since we've seen one another. Here is what I have been up to for the past month-ish solid: trying to graduate from MIT. Again. But now I am done (hopefully, I mean, unless I failed something, which would be a bummer), and ready to, um, do the next thing in life. Whatever that ends up being. (Probably still working for the robot company. We'll see.)

Today, I'm boarding a plane back home to Tennessee for the holidays, and my current plan is to not really think of anything having to do with work or school until 2011. I'm going to read a lot. I actually polished off Split by Swati Avasthi and Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan over the past couple of days. I had mixed feelings about both, though good overall. I'll probably try to find the next books in Marie Brennan's series eventually. Now I'm part of the way through To the Lighthouse, which I am absolutely loving (how did I not read this earlier?), and I've got Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Dhalgren lined up next. Oh, also, I set up a goodreads account awhile ago, and I'll probably be using it to keep track of what, precisely, I've been reading, though I might stick to doing review-type-things here? I haven't decided yet. But I'm jesstherobot (at gmail) on there, as well, if anybody wants to be goodreads buddies.

I completely failed at NaNoWriMo this year (haha, the last time I posted on LJ was right at the start of it... how tragic). Probably could have seen that one coming. I think I'm actually at a place where I'm ready to re-write Flood from scratch. It's not finished, but I have about fifty thousand words, and what's missing is more transition scenes -- the ending is written already. But it needs a major overhaul, mostly in tone and character motivation. So getting started on that is on the docket for the break. I've also got a short story (involving a Michael Jackson impersonator, and killer robots) that I will probably try to finish up, first, just to have it out of my brain. Also the zombie prep school project with docvita and the dystopian future identity-thing with another friend. It is really, really nice to have time for non-school projects.

For now, though, I should go for a run and take a shower and pack and all those important things. ready, go.

This entry was crossposted to http://jesstherobot.dreamwidth.org/1414.html, where there are comments.

Oh, spasm.

Just spent the last five days totally cut off from the world, on a cruise with my boyfriend's family. Which was, you know, lovely, except it was my boyfriend's family, so not exactly RELAXING as a cruise is intended to be, if you catch my drift. So that is why I am crazily behind on all internet things, so apologies for that. It might be awhile before I'm properly caught up, as well, as the month of November is going to be mad like a mad thing.

For one, it is the first day of NaNoWriMo! Huzzah! I am totes cheating this month, and just going to be blitzing through the last half of Flood (the WWI killer robots story), hopefully, hopefully. And of course I have not written my words yet for today. But fear not, they will get written! Uh, once I unpack and get to the gym and buy groceries... and then there's the small matter of my thesis and a midterm coming up and a problem set that needs doing and um...

Did I mention November is going to be mad like a mad thing?

This entry was crossposted to http://jesstherobot.dreamwidth.org/1183.html, where there are comments.

testing cross-posting capabilities. jesstherobot can now be read at lj and dw, whichever is your poison.

Oh man, school is back in session and I am SO MUCH HAPPIER. Things I have learned in the past year of trying to be self-employed: I am really really bad at self-motivation. The structure of school is just what I needed to start being a productive human being again, apparently. Also, there's the added bonus that my thesis work will actually translate into work for the robot company, so it's like a double whammy of productivity.

I also have a social life again all of a sudden, apparently? I'm going to not one, not two, but three housewarming parties this weekend. Oh, as well as a reading by assorted authors who have been published in Strange Horizons, at the Pandemonium bookstore. That should be quite fun. Then next weekend in Maker Faire in New York, and my roomie's birthday party. absurd.

I've been reading a lot of young adult fantasy recently, it would seem. I mentioned Tithe, The Changeover, and Demon's Covenant; I also finished Mockingjay and Clockwork Angel. ( Spoilery and extremely rambling thoughts herein. )

Ahhh Mockingjay is out! I am so excited. I bought it today, but am making myself wait to read it until I finish one of the three books I've already started. (Guns of August, American Home Life 1880-1930, and Midnight Never Come, if anybody's interested. Why yes, I am still researching for the killer robots book, why do you ask?) Anybody read it yet?

Also, Joanna Newsom is my new musical girlfriend. Oh my god Good Intentions Paving Company, oh my god. Here, have an earworm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STwVx6ynYjk

I haven't posted in forever. I am trying really, really hard to get through this draft of Flood. That and not totally sucking at work is taking every spare bit of energy I have. I don't know why it's so important to me to finish this thing, but shit, people run ultramarathons for no other reason than to say they did it so I guess it's not such a ridiculous thing.

I read The Salt Roads. It was beautiful and fucked up and reading it exhausted me completely, ha. I loved it madly and I've got Midnight Robber on deck next, though I'm doing a little fluff reading first to soothe my brain. Finally read Margaret Mahy's "The Changeover" after like, fifteen years of urging from my mother (in my defense, she's got a doctorate in literature education, so uh, my TBR list from her is pretty epic), and now I'm reading Holly Black's "Tithe", very fun so far. I also have a mad desire to write fic for the first time in forever. Maybe as a treat once I finally finish this damn draft argh.

I am ready to go back to school in the fall.

That is all.

The rest of Friday, ( in which I ramble extensively on things I know very little about. )

Saturday I actually succeeded in taking pretty good notes at the panels. I'll try to get all that written up later today or sometime tomorrow.

So, ReaderCon! It was quite an experience. It was kind of a funny thing, it seems like many people go to cons largely to catch up with fandom friends, etc. But since I’m not really terribly active in fandom, I didn’t... really... know anybody there. There were a couple people from my writing group, off and on, but for the most part it was just me by my lonesome, bouncing from panel to panel and soaking it all in. I had a really wonderful time, though, and I learned a lot. ( In which I blather about the whole thing at great length... )

Geez, that's only halfway through Friday and already it's getting pretty copious. I should probably do some actual work today, too, grumble grumble. Uh, more tomorrow, I suppose?