Jan 11, 2008
I promised yesterday that I’d have a new feature today.
I did a little rearranging of my blog. I took out the what I’m reading page, because I never remember to update it and I never seem to be near the computer when I finish a book. But to give you an idea, I have a bunch of the books on the go right now. I’m re-reading Bridget Jones’s Diary, because the CBC ran the movie and the sequel like a million times last week, and I’m part of the way through: Eve Kenin’s Driven, Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, and something else I can’t seem to remember. (Tho, I have Megan Hart’s Broken, which I’m dying to start, but am holding off ’til I finish one or more of the other books I’m in the middle of.) And I just finished Rachel Caine’s Stray, and Jacqueline deMontravel’s Escape from Bridezilla.
And I added a new page. I know I’d initially intended for Fridays to be Ask the Grammar Geek day, but people stopped sending me questions. But what’s funny is that where so many people get random sex-related search words that bring people to their blogs, almost all of my search terms are grammar-related.
So I created a new page… Ask the Grammar Geek. That page is going to be a giant Q&A free-for-all. Post a question in the comments and I’ll answer it. (well, within reason. I obviously won’t answer questions about a specific submission or manuscript. And I may be secretive about personal questions. *grin*) But grammar? publishing? editing? writing? even web design… hit me with your best shot.
Nov 15, 2007
So, I finally got around to taking my laptop in to get fixed. I thought, okay, a couple of days, maybe a week and it’ll be back in my control-freak, separation anxiety, holy crap, I just gave away my life hands.
Turns out? It’s going to be at least three to four weeks before they’ll be able to get it back to me. Three to four weeks. I’m going insane. Yes, I’ve backed everything up on it… in three separate places…just in case I get the refurbished replacement (it’s hardware issues, not software issues), but still… it’s familiar, it’s organized the way I want it, it’s easy access to emails.
Fortunately, my subs folder is still accessible through our webmail server, so I won’t get too behind on that kinda thing, and I have a work laptop as backup for laptop use (possibly two, if I do something that I haven’t decided is a good idea tomorrow…), and I’ll be able to get rid of much of the extra crap I had downloaded and stored on that poor little thing.
But still… I miss my laptop. 
And, as if that isn’t enough anxiety, my alter ego is waiting on some news… from a couple of sources…my work life is in a little bit of uncertainty and I have a smidge of insomnia, which tends to take hold when I’m stressed. So I’m a little on edge. *grin*
So, let me ask you… what do you do to relax? I’ve tried Yoga Nidra, which actually makes me more awake when I’m done, and reruns of Beverly Hills 90210, and neither are getting me in the zen state I’m craving… any suggestions?
Oct 11, 2007
Ugh, you take a couple of days off and your whole schedule goes all to hell…
So, now I’m trying to catch up. I have three novellas and a novel to edit in the next week (yikes!), plus I’m taking a month-long online course starting tomorrow, and my alter ego may have signed up for one or more (*cough* three *cough*) of the fast-draft writing challenges floating around the internet. And I have to take my laptop in for repair because the plug and the place where the plug plugs in don’t like each other very much.
Sometimes I wonder about me and my anti-taking a break tendencies. *grin*
On a good note, my submissions folder is caught up to mid-September, my website redesign is almost done (tho, I’ll be eternally grateful to anyone who can tell me why my gifs with a transparent background always have an ugly pixelly border around them. grrrr… and how I can get rid of it…), and I’ve already finished two of the outstanding edits. phew.
So, I’m off to edit…
Sep 18, 2007
I’ve noticed the expression “if you think xxx, you have another thing coming” in a couple of manuscripts I’ve read lately.
Now, I’ve always heard it as “if you think xxx, you have another think coming” which, really, makes much more sense in my head… It’s a symmetry thing… you’re thinking x, and now another think (a purposely misspelled idiom for, again, symmetrical reasons) is gonna come your way.
And I was all set to do a whole Ask the Grammar Geek post on why you have to use “think” instead of “thing”. I even went Googling to prove me right (crap, considering I work for Yahoo! I really should go yahoo-ing, but it really just doesn’t have the same flow. Shhhh. don’t tell my boss. 
) and this is another one of those sayings that has a lot a lot a lot of controversy. Some people are adamant about it being “think”, others are, no, no way, uh-uh, it’s “thing” and think is dumb.
The Pedant’s Revolt: Why Most Things You Think Are Right Are Wrong says that it’s think. Other internet resources argue that it was originally thing, and the saying has morphed over the years to think.
So, what do you think (or thing)? I’d be interested to hear other people’s thoughts on the issue.
I also found, in this same search, that apparently the language has morphed for the saying “I couldn’t care less” making it “I could care less”. I HATE hearing I could care less, and yet it’s all over the TV. Drives me right up a wall. Think about it. If you could care less, then you have more caring you could do, thus pretty much negating what you were trying to say in the first place. Right? Right? 
Aug 10, 2007
Probably not exactly safe for work, but darn hilarious nonetheless…
If y’ever wondered why ya need an editor:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjhOBiSk8Gg]
Aug 06, 2007
Me.
I did warn y’all that I’d be scarce, I just didn’t realize how scarce.
The good news is I’m four days and one website design away from graduating from the webmaster program I’ve been taking all summer.
The bad news is that not only have I fallen completely behind on some projects, but my personal life went all to hell this weekend. So, the potential for non-scarcity is still quite possible for a little while longer yet.
That being said, stay tuned for a big announcement about a new project I’m starting in the next couple of weeks.
Jun 30, 2007
Yes, for your reading pleasure, Rene Lyons has interviewed… me. Check it out to find out what really happens to me after midnight…
Jun 27, 2007
I know, I said posting would be sporadic at best, and here I am with like three posts this week.
But, I have to point y’all to a great reference. This week, December Quinn is looking at some of the publishers, both online and in print, and she’s got some great suggestions and thoughts about what to look for when deciding to submit your work.
So go take a look…
Jun 24, 2007
At last! A blog after my own heart…
Now, do I tell the instructor in the course I’m taking that there are multiple apostrophe abuses on his web portfolio? *grin*
May 07, 2007
I’m blogging over at the Samhain blog today… Come visit me.
And I promise a more detailed blog soon…
Greetings and Salutations. I am Laurie M. Rauch, Owner and Chief Code Nerd of 
