what i do – marginalia and such

life: June – month in review

june in review

It was a busy, productive month.

Sent out more queries.

Finished the read-through for my current WIP, which will see me through the next quarter.

Bought my first maxi dress, which makes me feel extra breezy and stylish (not something I thought possible because maxis always seem the purview of taller girls). Much needed for the hot, hot heat. (I may have settled on this particular brand because the name sounds like mine – Grecerelle)

Took a week-long break and ate a lot of cake and things to celebrate my birthday, including real dairy ice cream (with the help of Super Enzymes). My body did not hate me for it (although my joints are currently protesting and my eczema is flaring *sigh*).

But the pièce de résistance(!)

The boy surprised me with a penguin encounter for my birthday.

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life: an update

I had a major life crisis two weeks ago and am only just starting to feel “normal” again. I’m not ready to talk about it (because it’s a rather loaded subject and I’m not interested in opening myself up to trolls), but I will say that I’m fine and getting better and my mental health is much more stable than it was at the time. I had planned on posting lofty July goals, but now I’m just looking forward to getting any writing done, getting back to exercising after a two week break, and focusing on improving my mental state. It’s been difficult, but such is life and I had support from the ones I love. And Harry Potter. I’ve read and watched a lot of Harry Potter.

That’s that.

In better news, my promotion file is DONE. I just printed and added the last of the letters I was waiting on, checked my contents, and made sure it looks neat and tidy. Tomorrow, I ship it off to the other campus and sit back to wait. Until February.

View this post on Instagram

My files are ready… with a little help from my friends @unlikelylib @hammillsfiu @amiuliano @frankinthemia (and a few others whose handles I don't know)

A post shared by Gricel (@emperatrixx) on Jul 13, 2017 at 7:27am PDT

This shows more details than I normally share, but I’m a public entity and google-able, so… nothing you couldn’t find with a quick search. *shrug*

Wish me luck.

Video tomorrow (just an update on shoes I reviewed a few months ago), and *fingers crossed* a more regular blog and video schedule for future posts.

life: month in review

January felt busy… in more ways than one. It also felt strained and hectic, but that’s a post in itself. Just breathe, I tell myself. I am a pessimist at the best of times, I just need to breathe.

Anyhow, looking back, I accomplished a lot of things, and that’s something to celebrate after all the badness that threatened to bring me down.

I celebrated my ninth anniversary and took a mini-break to join in my friend’s wedding.
There were dates, and lots of them. Just time to get away from the daily grind.
I cut my hair.
Finished 25 of the 31 days of Yoga Revolution (will make up the missing days this week, and complete day 31 tonight).
Balanced festive eating with paleo-ish eating, which was good.
Read a few books:
- Air & Light & Time & Space by Helen Sword (on academic writing, pre-pub)
- Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal (Regency fantasy goodness)
- Polish your Poise with Madame Chic by Jennifer L. Scott (for the inspo)
- Demon’s Curse by Alexa Egan (for the mystery, fantasy, sexiness)
And rewrote/revised/edited a total of 14,770 words as of this morning.

Here’s hoping for better days.

How was your January?

vlog: update and adventuring

I filmed a quick life update yesterday morning… things are still in flux, but getting better. Just really tired at the moment.

the view from Sunday: catching up

It’s October! My Whole30 just ended and I’ve started reintroducing the two grains I really miss: rice and oats. I don’t eat these every day, but I definitely miss them, and the chicken tikka I just made will taste much better with basmati than zucchini (IMHO).

Still no car but twitter came to the rescue (yes! it really did!) and I managed to finally get my claim reassigned to someone who is not out of the office for the next two weeks. I’ve started wrapping my head around the idea that I will need to buy a new car for the second time in two years, so my mood is finally starting to lift. Which really means I’m feeling much more positive about life in general and I’m starting to get back to a regular routine.

Today has been a day for writing, cooking, and walking, which is a sign that things are looking up.

The view…

Lazy kitty spent all morning watching me write.

Lazy weekend writer selfie, sans makeup and ready for October.

Totally not Whole30 biscuit. I was in heaven.

Hope your Sunday is looking up too!

week of welcome, or someone get me another coffee

It’s midway through the first week of classes and I am feeling burned out. The amount of energy required to be upbeat, friendly, and constantly available makes my little introvert heart feel like curling up in bed for a week. I love working with students. I think they’re fun and they keep me fresh and engaged, but there’s a sense of infectious energy that becomes overwhelming after a few days. I almost feel like I’m catching a cold, I feel so tired and worn. I’ll be fine next week, but, for now, it takes all my energy to make myself perky enough to provide a welcoming atmosphere. Mind you, I work with college students. I have no idea how the primary school folks make it work.

Sticking to a chapter a day reading plan for the draft read-through, so that’s something. Also, planning activities for an upcoming library fair, and scheming to find ways to stretch my budget. Fun times.

July goals

My mind is all awhirl! I only just realized it’s Tuesday and I had yet to post. I’ve been working on my video for Friday, so more on that later…

This month, I’m focusing on de-cluttering my brain. I struggled figuring out my next writing project: review the latest draft or start outlining the next novel? An email from Camp NaNo gave me the push I needed, hence my decision to outline first (probably the best choice, gives my head time to clear out before I look at the draft again).

So, here goes…

Work on the Camp NaNo outline project
Detox! Urg, too much indulgence during my vacation, so I’ve started another Whole30.
More of the usual, but definitely more yoga, as last month kind of fell apart towards the end (right when I was seeing some real progress).
Read a few books on writing and publishing (I’m ready for some post-drafting inspiration), and research the query process for the sake of knowledge.

How about you? What are you working on in July?

just another update

Feeling a little uninspired but I’m going to stick to my schedule. Or else… So updates! I have a new employee starting tomorrow, which means I need to get into full #bosslady mode. Which is ironic, as I am the least boss-like person I know, yet I still manage to get myself dragged into leadership roles. Such is life. I can do the thing and do it I will. Just have to be on good behavior. No shenanigans with the troublemakers. I can be serious. If only until new girl catches on to my ploy.

Anywho… writing! It’s happening. I’m nearly done with the latest draft, just 2 more chapters and an epilogue to go. It’s startling how far the story has come. Deep POV FTW. Sometimes it’s hard to get away from the characters, they kind of get stuck in my head and I feel like I’m carrying these moods that have no bearing on real life. #writerproblems

Progress. Just making progress.

Lifewise… Whole30 is going strong. I’m on day 24 and already looking forward to keeping up my new habits — fewer grains, no dairy, less soy, more veg, and more awareness of sugar. I’ve noticed a real change in my body composition and just feel better all around (PMS drama notwithstanding). I can see this being a thing. I really can.

Oh, and I finally finished Emma (which took me longer than I expected, but distractions), so I’m on to the ever growing pile of books I need to stop checking out from the library.

my alter ego

A bit about me… I am a writer, yes, but I am a librarian by day. Why? Because it pays the bills and feeds the kitty. Every so often, folks ask me why I became a librarian, so here’s the story…

I, like many bright-eyed undergrads before me, decided to go to grad school and get a master’s degree in my chosen field–English. What does one do with an English degree you might ask… a lot, actually, but that’s a story for a different day. If you’re like me, you teach freshman comp as a TA and become an adjunct. The life of the adjunct is a cruel and brutal existence, only compounded by the cutthroat battle for tenure endured by hungry PhDs. I chose an alternative route… I got a library degree, stayed in academia, and managed to find a solid job with decent pay and room for growth.

I should like to share some truths and misconceptions about what I do:

Yes, I read a lot. That does not mean that I read on the job. I check out books and read them at home, just like everyone else.
Yes, many library resources are available online. Yes, people do still come to the library for help.
No, I do not shush people. Actually, I’m a radical sort who thinks libraries should meet the needs of the people not the librarians.
Yes, I wear a sweater and glasses. Libraries are cold because it keeps the mold off the books. And I’ve wore glasses long before I ever dreamed of becoming a librarian.
I write a lot on the job. It’s a different beast from my creative writing, but it keeps the wheels going.

a look at June in pictures

June proved to be an eventful month, what with there being birthday cakes and presents and all. But there were also books! And trips! And chairs!!!
Here’s a look at some of the best things that happened in June (sans the birthday stuff, for that silliness see this post)

OMG! I got a book signed by Neil Gaiman. The joy and joyness cannot be contained! Also, the book is beautiful.

See! There he is in all his mad-haired, creative genius glory!

I also had a rare beach outing. It was really a momentary excursion, but there were dolphins and seashells.

And I got chairs and only had to spend $40 on the gas to pick them up. The kitteh is more than pleased. He purrs with pleasure every time he climbs on them.

July is proving to be a busy month… much busier than I anticipated. I’m doing what I call Camp NaNo part 2, in the hopes that giving myself a deadline means that I will finish Cassiel within the month. It’s starting to grow out of control again. I need to reign my creative juices in… I’m wordy to a fault. There must be a project that I can complete in less than 100k. This is not a good thing. Really, I need to focus on action and cut out the extraneous stuff. I’ve let myself go with setting and inner thoughts. I need action!!! ACTION!

So that is that. If it’s a bit quiet around here, it probably means I’m being a stern taskmaster and making myself stick to writing… turns out, I also got in a bit over my head and have to frantically rework some of my work-related writing for publication. My fingers may very well go on strike after all this.