Monday, February 27, 2012

birthday madness

I don't know how to express the depth of appreciation I have for my husband.  He pulled together a birthday party for me that was a beautiful event full of laughter and life and love, and for one blissful day I was able to ignore everything that is going wrong and concentrate on the things that bring me joy.  I was surrounded by friends and loved ones and even received presents (which were totally unexpected on my part - I thought people were just bringing snacks!).  We played games and went from naughty to silly and back again.  The food was great, the people were even better and I think good times were had by all.

Of course I stayed up too late and had too much sugar and missed a dose of my new meds, but the payback I've been feeling since then has been oh-so-worth-it.

I've also been whittling down that bucket list.  I ePublished my Children's book of puppy-point-of-view stories, The Schubark Chronicles available now as an EPUB file, and soon to be available in the iBookstore and at Barnes & Noble for NOOK readers.  One of my dear friends not only bought the book, but read it right away and posted a review - then listed me on Goodreads as well.  I'm still pretty excited to be listed as an Author on Goodreads - that's a pretty big deal!

Now I need to move forward on Solerna, my YA novel.  I need to add a glossary and tweak a few things from the latest editor review, then format it for ePub and standard publication.  I hope to have it up and available (at least for ePub) by the end of the week.  Standard publication will take a little longer as I will have to go through a proof copy before it goes live and that will take a couple more days.

That bucket list is shrinking day-by-day.  Here's what's left:

Throw away/give away/sell/recycle all the stuff I'm not actively using and/or don't love.
Grow cotton.
Busk as a bard. 
Read aloud to a group or an individual:
     - Solerna (my YA novel)
Grow orchids.
Learn to identify 10 constellations. (I already know 5!)
Make an amigurumi.

Spend 24 hours in silence and without technology.
Get certified to teach in Florida (and Missouri?)
Go to Dragon*Con in 2012.
Wear a lolita outfit.  In public.
Publish Solerna
Watch a Cirque du Soleil show.
Make a basket.
Try raw sugar cane.
Go on a road trip with no destination and no plan.
Build a cabin.

My next goal will be a book signing for Solerna, hopefully at the local community college.  I think it would be fitting to do it there as a sort of "local grad does good" event.

I'm trying to find time to do the 24 hours without speaking or technology - maybe this weekend will work.

For now, I have a tutoring job in 11 1/2 hours (so yes, I should be sleeping) and have a bunch of work to do on the first entry on that bucket list.  I have a job interview on March 13th that I am very excited about.  It is a part time position at a library of sorts, so it is something I'll be physically able to do - at least for a while yet.

And now the best news of all - the medication seems to be working.  I don't have definitive proof of that yet, because without insurance it is difficult to get the testing done that will let me know for certain, but I do know that I am more alert and able to do more things for longer periods of time since I started on the new program.  I've had some other signs that things are healing, but I want to hold off on that bit of news until I know for sure (or at least until I have more data.)

tl;dr - Great birthday.  Book published. Job interview. Medical improvement.

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