Heh. Someone suggested I do a poll to find out whether you guys mind doing polls for me... :-)
Yesterday was good. I watched Battlestar Galatica first thing in morning -- I don't think I've ever mentioned that I had a horrible crush on Apollo when I was about fourteen. My best friend had a crush on Starbuck, so it worked out perfectly; we'd sit and drool together, and didn't need to get competitive at all. This was a good thing for her, 'cause she already had Cassiopeia and Athena competing for Starbuck's affections. This was a good thing for me, because my best friend was and is a babe, and my chances would not have been good if she'd gone for Apollo (this is the friend who's an actress in L.A. now -- 5'4", naturally blonde hair, blue eyes, dancer's body...). We had so much fun lusting after our objects of affection -- though my sex drive didn't really kick in 'til college, so it was really more misty romantic yearnings than lust.
Anyway. I didn't get any work done yesterday, which I figure is okay every once in a while. :-) I did watch a couple more sf shows in the morning as I puttered, and then people came for brunch (not as many as I'd hoped, but a respectable number, which is always a relief), and some stayed until 2-ish and some stayed until 5-ish, at which point we went out for Thai food (which was really a little more expensive than I should have paid, but oh well. It was good). Great conversation, and I got to know Jim and Kerry (a couple who play early music with me on Thursdays) better -- they're really cool. We have a lot in common -- but they work as truck drivers! They haul an 18-wheeler, usually carrying military explosives. They mostly work locally, but they used to drive cross-country all the time; driving together, switching off. I think you have to get along with your partner damn well to be able to do that. Kerry doesn't talk much, which has got to help.
In the evening, I was on the phone. Chatted with both Kevin and Karina, then spent a good chunk of time talking to Alex, who is making some Life Choices (TM) right now. He said I was helpful; hope so. I'm wary about giving advice to people about large things -- I tend to just throw examples at them of what other people I know have done in similar situations and how it's worked out for them. It works better if they know those people too. He also manged to throw a couple very sweet compliments my way during the conversation; it's so nice having an ex that you're on good terms with, who is still comfortable flirting with you. Good for the ego. :-) After I finished talking to Alex, I ended up on the phone with Jed about magazine stuff -- I think we've talked every day for the past week. We'll see if the streak continues.
We finalized the magazine design this weekend, btw! Yeah! I think it's lovely and elegant and simple and intense. And viewable in lynx. :-) I'm really pleased about it. Part of me wants to do a redesign for Clean Sheets now, but I don't have the time and CS doesn't have the money. But someday that would be good. The CS design is fine, but I'm just not that fond of pastels; I'd rather have some deep, saturated colors in there. We'll see.
Hmm...projects for today. Continue with the CS Book project -- I've started getting response from authors, which means I should do clean-up revisions. Do my syllabus for the fall so Adele can copy it for me when I go into campus tomorrow. Sign up for the last set of driving lessons, probably Friday. Clean up brunch remnants. (I really shouldn't eat half a quiche myself -- but I hate to throw it away. Hmm...) Read manuscripts for ChiCon workshop (I'm moderating one on Friday night). Find out if Roshani wants to go to the authors' reception with me Thursday night. (Jed won't have arrived yet, and I'm pretty sure Kevin won't be interested). Mostly, I think today is a day for tying up odds and ends. I'll probably do some reading -- try to finish that Chuck Wachtel book that put me to sleep Saturday. Tomorrow I'm busy on campus all day; I hope I can take Wednesday and go to a bookstore and get some writing done. And then Thursday, classes start. Eep!
2:30 -- Just wanted to show you guys the Kirkus Review of Aqua Erotica -- generally very positive:
It would have to a very steamy bath indeed to match the temperature of the best stories collected here, which use the unifying metaphor of water to ring some sexy changes on the usual tanglings of orifices and organs. In Michael Hemmingson's "Movements," group sex in a Jacuzzi is only the beginning for a husband and wife on the verge of breaking up -- until they find that infidelity isn't just an aphrodisiac, it's also good business. Hemmingson leavens the raunch with sly humor, as does Diane Kepler in "Hydrodynamica," the tale of a physics student who takes a "study break" with a rain-soaked fantasy. Poppy Z. Brite's "Nothing of Him Doth Fade" takes a darker view as it depicts a gay couple lost at sea during a diving tour, both of whom "did not trust death to give them that fabled final orgasm." Diving is also the excuse for "In Deep," by Simon Sheppard, an explicit account of a down-and-dirty gay tryst that escapes hard-core classification (if at all) only because of its razor-sharp prose. Billed as "the first waterproof book for adults" (that means plastic cover and pages), editor Mohanraj's volume of high-class erotica hardly needs such a gimmicky presentation. Hot and wet -- also extremely well crafted. -- Kirkus Reviews, 7/1/00
Slightly snide, but overall, very positive. :-)